DISEASES OE THE OX AND SHEEP. 617 



sent itself, and the veterinary attendant may undeniably now and 

 again find room for some doubt as to his decision. Should 

 there be, for instance, any serious loss of blood as the result of 

 injuries to arteries or to veins ; or, again, should there be any great 

 damage sustained by other important structures or organs, the 

 first question which will present itself for unerring determination 

 will be : — " Is there, or is there not, such a chance of recovery 

 as to make it worth our while, and worth the small outlay which 

 will be involved on the part of the owner by reason of the employ- 

 ment of remedial measures and the almost boundless resources 

 of science coupled with skill — is it worth while to treat the 

 given case or cases ? " Occasionally the responsibility may be 

 great. 



A short time ago we were, for instance, called to a case in which 

 several oxen were badly wounded, owing to having injured and 

 torn themselves on barbed wire fencing. Happily, a complete 

 cure confirmed our decision in favour of treatment. In fact in 

 most instances the answer will be, and should be, a very 

 emphatic affirmative to the question above cited; but of course 

 there are cases in which we must unhesitatingly say : — '' No ; it 

 is far better for you to secure what money can be obtained 

 than to incur the expense, even though it be but a trivial 

 expense, which would be necessitated by careful doctoring and 

 treatment, and then, after all, to ran the risk of an unfavourable 

 ending." 



In all doubtful cases the best course, therefore, is to send for 

 the veterinarian without the least delay, and let him decide such 

 questions. We may be very sure that the degree of a veterinary 

 surgeon's success, at least in country districts, will in no small 

 measure depend upon the degree of accuracy with which he 

 •does settle such issues as these. 



We mentioned barbed fencing above ; and it is well to bear in 

 mind that, however useful this kind of fencing may be, it is still 

 •a very fruitful source of severe lacerated wounds. Oxen, like 

 horses, are very prone to intensify the amount of injury they 

 receive in these and similar ways by their frantic and misdirected 

 -efforts to get free. Hence, owners of stock should bear this 

 risk in mind before deciding on the kind of fencing they use. 



Innumerable kinds and degrees of injuries are, of course, met 

 ■with in practice. The skin and the structures (muscles and so 



