I < DISEASES 53 



These additional toes are frequently unattached to any corresponding 

 metacarpal or metatarsal bone, having only a ligamentary union, so that 

 the term is equally applicable to the extra toe often seen on the foreleg; 

 and, as they are neither useful nor ornamental, I would in all cases have 

 them removed, being only a disfigurement in any breed. This should be 

 done when the pups are with the dam, as she will take care of the wound 

 and heal it up by licking it; and this can be easily done with a pair of 

 strong scissors. If left till the dog is older, they are liable to bleed a good 

 deal, and the pain, of course, is greater; in such case, the wound produced 

 by the excision should be at once well saturated with frairs' balsam. If 

 it is thought well to remove the nail only, that can be done by pulling it 

 out with a pair of nippers. 



DESTRUCTION OF DOGS. 



"It is often necessary to destroy dogs that have become so crippled or 

 injured as to make cure very doubtful; and in most litters of puppies 

 there are some so puny or so wanting in the characteristics of the breed 

 that they ought not to be reared. In the latter case it is most humane to 

 destroy such as are not wanted as soon after they are born as possible; but 

 even when a mesalliance has taken place, one at least of the puppies should 

 be left with the dam, unless one or more foster pups of pure blood can 

 be substituted. 



For destroying young puppies there is no more convenient or less 

 painful method than drowning; while for mature dogs a teaspoonful of 

 Scheele's prussic acid will cause instantaneous death. In giving it, the 

 mouth of the dog should be held open and upwards, and the acid poured 

 well back on the tongue. The very greatest care is, however, necessary 

 in dealing with a drug of such potency; and it would be highly dangerous 

 to life if any of it were" spilled over a cut or wound." 



The above was written I think, by F. J. Skinner, as I got it from Field 

 and Fancy, and give it as good advise. I bave used the prussic acid in 

 cases of an old and helpless dog, that had to be put out of the way, and 

 it worked very quickly, as its action goes direct to the heart, the pain so 

 short, that it seems to be humane. Lately I have cloroformed several, 

 and rather favor the chloroform route. I lay the dog down on its side, my 

 right hand under a piece of carpet on which is some cotton in the center, 

 and have an assistant pour on this cotton the chloroform, and I then quickly 

 apply this to the nose of the dog, the cotton, and quickly pull the carpet 

 around the head to neck, holding it there so no air can get in, the assis- 

 tant meanwhile holding the back part and legs of dog. The dog will gen- 

 erally resist the fumes of the chloroform, but only for a few seconds, and 

 in about a minute he will be dead, providing he has not gotten the carpet 

 loose, and some air thereby. 



Drowning is as painless as any death can be, especially for puppies. 

 I get a pail, fill it partly full of water, bave a pan that fits the top of the 

 pail, put puppies in, the pan on quickly, and on top of the pan a rock or 

 lump of coal, heavy enough to hold pan down, and then I go away. 



Debility and Wasting. — It happens sometimes that a dog gradually 



