268 AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK. 



SCURVY OF THE TEETH. 



The teeth of old horses, in most cases the front teeth only, 

 sometimes become covered with ridges of white scurf, or 

 calcarioiis, limy deposits, which extend downward to the 

 gums and keep them continually sore and inflamed. The 

 trouble is not wholly incident to old age, for it sometimes 

 affects young horses also. , 



Its causes, in nearly all cases, are very similar to those of 

 decay. In fact, scurvy of the teeth is only one form which 

 their decay assumes, the deposits of the decayed tooth re- 

 maining upon its surface. In the fermentation of the food, 

 that so often follows high feeding and other causes of de- 

 ranged digestive action, carbonic acid gas is generated in con- 

 siderable quantities, and is belched up from the stomach. 

 The teeth are mainly composed of the phosphate of lime, 

 and when this gas unites with the lime which they contain, 

 there results a scaly incrustation of carbonate of lime. 



Mineral poisons constitute a powerful ^agent in producing 

 scurvy of the teeth, no less than other forms of decay. 



TREATMENT. 



The first and most important part of the treatment consists 

 in the regulation of so much of the digestive process as is 

 conducted in the stomach, whose sourness must be promptly 

 corrected. Sulphur and "jimson" seed will admirably serve 

 this purpose, as indicated in the last section. The former 

 acts as a mild alterative, and is the best regulator of the 

 horse's system that we know of. 



Good wood ashes should be kept in the manger. Yellow 

 poplar bark, well pulverized, will prove an excellent adjunct 

 in this part of the treatment. If kept constantly in the 

 place where the horse feeds, he will eat considerable quanti- 

 ties of it from time to time. In some of the Southern States, 

 it is customary to put long poles of green poplar in the stable. 

 in front of the horse, and in a little while he has the bark 

 eaten off them entirely. The bark of the poplar is a most 



