70 



The report of the Ontario Department of Agriculture states that last year 

 (1891) there were in operation 838 cheese factories, with 45,066 patrons. The 

 supply of milk was 865,453,574 pounds from 296,196 cows, and the 81,929,042 

 pounds of cheese manufactured was sold for $7 ,056,484. The progress being 

 made by this industry is shown in the fact that the total output was 13,000,000 

 pounds higher than the average for the previous nine years. 



It is not claimed that the operation of dehorning can be performed without 

 suffering, but the real question to be considered is : Are the advantages such as 

 justify the infliction of whatever degree of suffering attends the operation ?' 

 Those favoring the practice concede that there should be proportion between the 

 suffering and the results attained, and that if, in the opinion of men of ordinary 

 humanity, the pain inflicted is excessive, the practice ought to be prohibited. 

 We have already referred to the advantages. In seeking to ascertain the prob- 

 able amount of pain endured by the animal, the anatomy of the horn and head 

 was studied ; expert evidence was received ; practical farmers who had per- 

 formed or witnessed the operation were questioned as to the conduct of the ani- 

 mals during and following the operation, and the Commissioners witnessed for 

 themselves the operation performed on six animals of various ages. They entered 

 upon the investigation rather opposed to the practice than otherwise — certainly 

 none favored it — and they endeavored throughout the enquiry to be impartial 

 and judicial. On witnessing the operation they did not find the evidence of 

 suffering so great as they had expected, and the after effects did not indicate any 

 serious interference with the health or comfort of the animal. This, too, was 

 the conclusion of all the witnesses who had seen the operation. To the 

 veterinary profession one would naturally look for an authoritative statement as 

 to the probable extent of the suffering, but here the divergence of opinion was 

 found to be as wide as in the case of witnesses who had never seen the operation 

 performed — those who were opposed to the practice stated that the suffering 

 would continue for a lengthened period after the operation, but the symptoms 

 which they said they would look for, are, according to the evidence, rarely met 

 with after dehorning. There was a difference of opinion, also, as to whether the 

 matter frequently discharged from the aperture after dehorning was the product 

 of inflammation or merely the ordinary discharge provided by nature for the healing 

 of the wound. The Commissioners, while believing that a discharge of this kind is 

 often aggravated by exposure or neglect, are not inclined to regard it as indica- 

 tive of severe suffering. The degree of sensitiveness contained in the nerves of 

 the horn is also a controverted point on which it does not seem possible to obtain 

 any final decision. 



Admitting, however, all that has been claimed as to the extreme sensitiveness 

 of the structure, the operation is one that is very speedily performed — the average 

 time for removing each horn being from h\ to 6 seconds when performed by an 



