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mil afti rwards to witness a number of operations. Mr. York, who is an enthusiastic advocate 

 of the practice of dehorning, conducted the Commissioners through his stables and showed 

 them some fifty head of cattle that had been dehorned at various periods during the past 

 two ii'iis. He claimed that in addition to being much more easily handled the animals 

 were in better condition than they would have been if the horns had not been removed. To 

 convince the Commissioners of the ease and rapidity with which the herd could be fed Mr. 

 York turned the animals loose into a large open shed furnished with troughs along either 

 side. When food was brought in the cattle were soon standing in a solid row before the 

 trough, each one getting his due share and manifesting a willingness to let others do the same. 



At 2.30 the Commissioners and a large number of farmers from the surrounding country 

 gathered in the stable where the operation was to be performed. The first animal to be 

 rated on was a two-year-old bull. Mr. W. A. Elliott was the operator, assisted by Mr. 

 York and a herdsman. The animal was placed in the stanchions near the door, and its head 

 drawn into position by means of a rope halter and tackle held by Mr. York. By means of the 

 tackle the head was depressed a little, and the herdsman held it in a convenient position for 

 the operator, turning it quickly for the removal of the second horn. Mr. Elliott used a tine 

 toothed saw , well sharpened and oiled, and with quick and steady hand speedily severed the 

 horns from the head. The actual time for sawing off both horns was 13 seconds. In size the 

 horns were much larger than usual, measuring at the base 2]xii inches. The animal uttered 

 no sound, and beyond flinching during the operation gave no evidence of being in great 

 suffering. Blood spurted from the severed arteries, and the bleeding^continued for sometime 

 after the animal was released. The horn was taken off close to the head, a little of the hair 

 being ;dso removed. 



Other animals dehorned in succession were as follows : Cow, (i years old, time 4^ and 5 

 seconds for removing each horn, size of horn at base 2g x 2\ inches; two-year-old heifer, time 

 for removing each horn 4^ seconds ; aged cow, time 6 and 5i seconds : eleven-year-old cow, 

 time 6§ seconds for each horn ; aged cow, time 6^ seconds each. The temperature was taken 

 in each case by Veterinary Surgeons Brady and Brown. It was J 01, 102 and 103 degrees in 

 the different animals before the operation, and these gentlemen reported thit the increase in 

 t. tnperature after the operation was very slight. Each animal on being deprived of its horns 

 was turned into the yard where the six were subsequently seen by nearly 100 persons, including 

 the Commissioners. In none of these cases was there bleeding of any consequence, and from 

 one or two no blood whatever escaped. All parties agreed that the ordinary signs of suffering 

 were wanting, and that it great pain were still being endured it was not noticeable by any out- 

 ward indications. 



The Commissioners next visited the farm of Mr. Roger Hawkins, where a large herd of 

 dehorned cattle was inspected. Mr. Hawkins had the cattle driven in from pasture to show the 

 Commissioners how peaceably they behaved at the water tank The animals, about 35 in 

 number, came into the yard in a body, and 18 of them drank at once from a tank 7 feet in 

 diameter. This desirable result, Mr. Hawkins affirmed, could only be attained by the removal 

 of the horns. 



The Commissioners then met in the office of Mr. Edward York's farm, at 4 o'clock, and 

 received the following evidence : 



Spencer A. Freeman, farmer, village of Culloden, Oxford county, sworn, said : I am 

 engaged in dairying and keep about twenty-five cows ; I have practiced and am in favor of 

 dehorning ; I commenced at first with cutting off the tips of the horns ; this was not altogether 

 successful, as there was the same tendency to knock each other about ; I tried again by taking 

 a little more off the horn, but found they could hook as much as ever in the course of a year 

 or so ; I then decided to have the horn taken off. I had a colt that was ripped up, and I 

 attributed this to the cattle even after they were tipped ; I have known considerable damage to be 

 done by horns ; my brother was hooked in the eye and had his face torn ; and I was attacked 

 myself by a vicious cow, the horn going through my vest ; I dehorned the herd — twenty-three 

 or twenty-four — the last week in December last ; there was a little discharge after 

 the operation some from one horn and some from another; this did not seem 

 to effect the health of the animal. It took about a month for them to heal 

 up, and during that time they did not appear to be the least bit sick — except one cow 

 that held her nose up against the manger that night and breathed as though she might be in 

 some am : it is an important matter to have quiet in a herd, as it affects the How o f the milk ; 

 chasing by a dog or each other would cause them to fall off in the milk supply ; I noticed a great 

 difference in the conduct of the animals after dehorning ; but 1 could not say there was much 

 difference in the flow of milk ; I turn cows and calves and all into the yard and they feed 



I her like sheep ; they would not do that before dehorning ; I had one muley cow ; she was 

 afra d of the others and would not run with them ; the second day after they were dehorned I 



