212 



THE FARMERS CABINET. 



VOL. I, 



are so well convinced of this, that they have 

 entirely abandoned the practice of boring, and 

 now very rarely sec corrupted horn. 



Another way in which boring may produce 

 a putrid condition of the horn, and lead to 

 erroneous conclusion^', is — that a quantity of 

 blood may collect in the cavities oftiie horn, 

 and head, after boring — which, either from 

 the closure of the passages, or the position of 

 the head itself, may not readily escape. This 

 blood will first coagulate, and afterwards 

 putrify, and dissolve, so as to be carried off, 

 with the secretions, in a putrid and offensive 

 state, while the parts themselves are free from 

 disease. I have seen some of the cells of the 

 frontal bone completely full of blood, from 

 this cause, after death. 



3. Hollow horn — horn distemper. 



The question very naturally presents itself, 

 at the threshold of this inquiry — which is 

 hollow horn ? 1 answer, it is the healthy 

 stale of the. hern. I have already shown, that 

 the horns of cattle are ahvaysh ollow. But, 

 say the advocates of hollow horn — the pith 

 wastes away and leaves the horn dry, and 

 empty. Now I am well aware, that it is 

 rank heresy, to deny the existence ot a thing, 

 which almost every body knows to exist — 

 a thing which almost every body has frequent- 

 ly seen. But I demand, what are the proofs 

 of the existence of hollow horn J What are 

 the signs by which it is known to exist] 

 Why, say the advocates — it is proved to exist 

 by borinff — sometimes the horn is full, and 

 moist, and bleeds freely — at other times it is 

 quite empty, and dry, and does not bleed a 

 drop. In the latter case, the gimblet pops 

 right through to tiie other side of the horn. 

 I object, that these appearances are decep- 

 tive. I have shown that the horn is alwarjs 

 hollow — therefore it can never be full. Du- 

 ring life, the blood must circulate through the 

 horn — therefore, it can never he dry. The 

 pith (as I shall show) never wastes away — 

 therefore, the horn can never be empty. An 

 explanation of the cause of error, will be 

 found in the structure of the horn. I have 

 shown, that the thickness of the bony core is 

 very irregular, and as a consequence there 

 are more, and larger vessels, in the thicker 

 portions of bone. Hence if the gimblet enters 

 a very thin part of the bone, it will pop right 

 through — and, probably, without much bleed 

 ing. The horn will, of course, be empty and 

 dry. On the contrary, if the instrument 

 enters a thick portion of bone, it will, proba- 

 bly, encounter large vessels, and bleed fully. 

 In that case, the horn will he full and -moist. 

 This reason is sustained by facts. A few days 

 since, my neighbor had a cow affccied with 

 the usual symptoms of hollow horn, and was 

 laCGordingly bored. The horns were Ibund 



entirely empty and dry. Three days later 

 they were bored, nearer the head, with the 

 same result, only, the gimblet was a little 

 bloody. The existence of hollow horn was 

 fully proved, by the indubitable evidence 

 of boring, and the animal dcctored for it, 

 during a week, when she died. On a care- 

 ful, and minute examination, I found the 

 horns in a perfectly natural and healthy condi- 

 tion — except slight inflammation from the 

 operations of the gimblet. The cells of the 

 OS frontis contained a quantity of coagulated 

 blood, from the wound of the horn, which 

 had been prevented escaping by the position 

 of the head. When the pith was removed 

 from the siiell, and sawed open, the cause of 

 the mistake was easily discovered. On the 

 side where it had been bored, the bone was 

 less than one eighth of an inch thick — while 

 nearly on the opposite side, it was five 

 eighths — and the larger vessels were observed 

 to pass on that side also. 



Under the head, "Horn Distemper," in the 

 Domestic Encyclopedia, Dr. VVillick re- 

 marks, that "it gradually wastes the internal 

 substance oj the horn, commonly called the 

 pith, vvhicii is the spongy part of the bone, 

 and the cells of lohich are filed with oily 

 matter. Thus, at length, the horn becomes 

 hollow.'^ Refering to a paper, by Dr. Tafts, 

 in the first volume of the memoirs of the 

 American Academy, he says, "it appears 

 that this spongy bone is sometimes partially, 

 and sometimes entirely, consumed.''^ 



There is something wrong in this Horn 

 distemper. Dr. Willick, certainly did not 

 know, that the horns of cattle are always hoi- 

 low — and that the cavity communicates with 

 the skull and nose. He certainly never saw 

 the interior of a recent horn, or he would not 

 have asserted, that its cavities SlVC filed with 

 oily matter. He has evidently drawn the 

 inference that it is so, from what he knew 

 of other bones. The long bones of the thigh, 

 for example contain cavities, which are filled 

 with oily matter. The assertion, that the 

 pith gradually wastes — that it is sometimes 

 partially, and sometimes entirely, consumed, 

 rests upon no better foundaiion, and is 

 altogether gratuitous. Such a wasting of 

 the pith, does not take place. I challenge 

 those who think otherwise, to produce the 

 horn so consumed. It would be assuming too 

 much, to hazard this denial, on my own 

 limited observation, but I am sustained by a 

 host of evidence. 



Few cattle die, who do not labor under 

 some degree of the reputed hollow horn, either, 

 as primary, or accompanying disease. A vast 

 number of the hides otsuch cattle, are annual- 

 ly sold to the tanners, throughout our coun- 

 try. The shell is separated from the pith ot 

 tlie liorns, aflbrding an excellent school tor 



