AND CATTLE DOCTOR. 215 



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its efficacy in a thousand instances. It is no other than 

 that of putting a sharpened wire up the nostril quite 

 through the middle of the brain, and by that means 

 perforating the bag which contains the fluid causing 

 the disease. This is, of all other methods, the most 

 certain to succeed : but it has this unpleasant append- 

 age annexed to it, if it do not cure, it is certain to kilL 



This method of cure is not only the most expedient, 

 but it is in every shepherd's power, and one which he 

 can scarcely perform amiss, if he attend to the follow- 

 ing plain directions. 



The operation must be performed with a stiff steel 

 wire, such as is used for knitting the coarsest stockings. 

 It must be kept clean, and free of rust, oiled, and sharp- 

 ened at the point. Care must be taken, however, that 

 its point be only one-eighth of an inch in length, for if 

 it is tapered like a needle, it is apt to take a wrong di- 

 rection in going up the nostrils, fix in the gristle below 

 the brain, and torment the animal to no purpose. If 

 blunt in the point, it often fails to penetrate the bladder, 

 which is of considerable toughness, shoving it only a 

 little to one side ; the safest way, of course, is to have 

 the point of the wire sharp and short. 



The shepherd must first feel with his thumbs for the 

 soft part in the skull, which invariably masks the seat of 

 his disease. If that is near the middle of the head above, 

 where in two cases out of three, at least, it is sure to be, 

 let him then fix the animal betwixt his knees, hold the 

 head with one hand, laying his thumb on the soft or 

 diseased part, and with the other hand insert the wire by 

 the nostril, most on a parallel with the seat of the dis- 

 temper, aiming directly at the point where his thumb 

 is placed. The operation is* performed in one second, 

 for if he feels the point of the wire come in contact 

 with his thumb, let him instantly set the animal to its 



