CATTLE: 



DISEASES AND MANAGEMENT OF. 



CATTLE, Age of, How to Ascertain by 

 their Teeth. — Tne calf is usually born 

 with two fore or cutting teeth, and at a 

 month old, the whoie eight are cut. The 

 age is then guessed at by the wearing down 

 of these teeth, until the calf is eight 

 months old, when tney begin to become 

 narrower and smaller. At eight months 

 the two centre teeth are smaller than the 

 rest; and from that time until eighteen 

 months the others gradully diminish, until 

 the whole are very considerably lessened 

 in size and stand apart from each Other. 



At two years old the two middle teeth 

 are pushed out, and succeeded by two 

 permanent ones ; at three there are four 

 permanent teeth ; six at four years ; and 

 all the eight at five^ when the animal is 

 said to be full-mouthed; but he is not 

 actually so until six years old, when all 

 the eight are level. 



A good judge of cattle will generally 

 determine the age with considerable ac- 

 curacy for many years after that. From 

 six to nine he will be guided by the wear- 

 ing down of the teeth, and after that by 

 the diminution in their bulk, as in the 

 milk teeth. At nine the two middle fore 

 teeth are evidently smaller and narrower 

 than the rest; at ten the two next are so; 

 and so on until twelve, when, as in the 

 steer of two years old, the teetn again be- 

 gin to stand singularly apart trom each 

 other. 



CATTLE, Age by the Horns.— The 

 surface of the horn continues nearly 

 smooth until the expiration of the second 

 year of the animal's life, when a wrinkle 

 or circle of thicker horn begins to be 

 formed around the base. This is fully 

 completed in a twelvemonth, and another 

 ring then begins to appear, so that if the 

 perfect rings or circles are counted, and 

 two added to them, the age of the beast 

 is supposed to be ascertained. These 

 rings, however, are not always clear and 



distinct, and it is very easy to remove on* 

 or two of them with a rasp, at least to the 

 unpracticed eye, when the animal begins 

 to be unmarketably old. In addition to 

 this, a well-known fact should be stated, 

 that if a heifer takes the bull at about two 

 years old, the first ring is formed a twelve- 

 month before its usual time, and, conse- 

 quently, she would always appear to be, 

 reckoning by her horns, a twelvemonth 

 older than she really is. 



After all, the age, 'as denoted by the 

 horn, can only be calculated in the cow; 

 these rings do not begin to appear in the 

 ox or bull until the animal is five years 

 old, and then they are frequently too con- 

 fused to be accurately counted. 



CATTLE, Bleeding, its Utility, and in 

 what cases Necessary.— Bleeding is a most 

 useful and powerful remedy in the cure of 

 inflammatory complaints. It lessens the 

 quantity of blood in the vessels, and di- 

 minishes nervous power. The following 

 are the chief diseases in which bleeding is 

 required : 



i. Where animals in a thriving state- 

 rub themselves until the hair comes off, 

 and the spot is covered with a dry scab ;: 

 while at the same time the eyes appear 

 dull, languid, red, or inflamed, the breath 

 hot, and the veins puffed up, and consid- 

 erably larger than usual. 



2. In all kinds of inflammatory dis- 

 eases, as of the brain, lungs, kidneys, 

 bowels, eyes, womb, bladder, shape, and 

 udder, or in swelling of the joints. 



3. In the disease called blain, and in 

 which bleeding, not only general but local. 

 and local far more than general, has the 

 best possible effect, the tumefaction usual- 

 ly almost immediately subsiding, and the 

 beast speedily recovering. 



4. When the glands or kernels between 

 the jaws, or those of the throat, are en- 

 larged, and especially if they are on.'y 



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