310 



Ringing Bulls. 



Vol. VIII. 



such grounds as might open the way to 

 others ditferently situated, who might be in 

 a better condition than myself to enter the 

 field of fiir competition with Mr. Sotham ? 



Had I used my real name, could it hive 

 more weight in the premises than a fictitious 

 one, inasmuch as the matter was of a public 

 and not of a private character] And in ad- 

 dressing Mr. Sotliam on such a subject, was 

 it not natural in me to suppose, that did I 

 use my own name, I might be accused of 

 presumption or vanity, in making a show in 

 the eyes of the public — placing myself in a 

 position I could not maintain. And would 

 not these reflections naturally induce to the 

 course I adopted. I submit therefore, in 

 view of all the circumstances, whether it 

 was proper in Mr. Sotham to refuse the ex- 

 planations sought by me, through so respect- 

 able and appropriate a channel as the " Farm- 

 ers' Cabinet," and whether in so doing, he 

 has not placed himself in an equivocal posi- 

 tion, and from which nothing can extricate 

 him, but plain and pertinent answers to the 

 questions propounded by 



Your obedient servant, 



Fair Play. 



March 21st, 1844. 



The foregoing communication was intended by the 

 writer, and was received in time for the last number: 

 it had in fact, been placed in the hands of the printer. 

 Subsequently to its reception, the letter from W. H. 

 Sotham, dated March 20th, and alluded to in an edito 

 rial a month ago, coming to band, and feeling as if 

 we wanted to say a word in the case, we concluded to 

 postpone the above till this month. " Fair Pl\y," 

 will please excuse the delay.— Ed. 



Ringing Bulls. 



In order to manage and handle bulls witl) 

 safety, it is proper and highly necessary to 

 have a ring in their nose. Nothing will so 

 completely subdue, and render them man- 

 ageable, as a ring, and it should be put in 

 when young : our practice is to ring them 

 when about eight or nine months old, as at 

 that age, or even if one year old, it can be 

 put in with very little trouble, and no risk. 

 As soon as they attain the age of eight 

 months, if well grown, they are apt to get 

 so headstrong, like some of our boys, that it 

 is difficult to lead or manage them, with a 

 halter or a rope around the horn.s. Besides, 

 if they begin to show any temper, or a di.s- 

 position to be cross, the ring has a wonder- 

 ful effect in cooling them down. If suffered 

 to go until they are eighteen months or two 

 years old, the trouble of putting in the ring 

 will be much increased, as well as the risk 

 of injuring the animal, by pulling the ring 

 out of his nose. 



By those who have not had experience in 

 tlie business, it is considered very difficult 

 and troublesome to put in the ring; but such 

 is not the case, and when every thing is 

 prepared and ready, it is but a few moments 

 work. 



Formerly it was difficult to obtain a suit- 

 able ring ; they were generally made by a 

 common blacksmith, in a very coarse bung- 

 ling manner, and so rough and large, that it 

 would make one's nose ache to look at them. 

 The wire was often from three-eights to one 

 quarter of an inch; and the diameter of the 

 ring, from three to four inches; and the 

 joint, if it had one, so coarse and rough, 

 that it would not slip through the hole in 

 the nose, and the weight seemed to bear 

 their heads to the ground, more particularly 

 when loaded by the weight of a needless 

 chain. 



The first ring we had occasion to use, we 

 got made by a blacksmith, who said he had 

 made a number for the purpose. It was 

 about three inches in diameter, without a 

 joint, and left open sufficiently wide to put 

 into the nose, after which it was closed by 

 placing the head of an axe on one side, and 

 then by several raps with a heavy hammer 

 on the oppo.-ite side, it was closed, but not 

 always so as to have the ends come together 

 evenly, the edges of which would constantly 

 irritate, and keep the nose sore. 



The method which we adopted to make 

 the hole, and which we have seen recom- 

 mended in some of the agricultural works, 

 is cruel and barbarous. It was an iron rod, 

 larger than the wire of the ring, tapering to 

 the point like a bodkin, which was heated 

 just sufficient to distinguish the heated part 

 in daylight, and thrust through the cartilege 

 of the nose, far enough to make the hole 

 sufficiently large to give free passage to the 

 ring. In this way it not only rendered the 

 animal's nose very sore, but it took a long 

 time to heal. After one or two trials, we 

 abandoned it, and set our wits at work to 

 remedy the evil. We accordingly applied 

 to a white-smith or cutler, and had some 

 made after a plan of our own. They were 

 made of steel, the wire a quarter of an inch 

 in diameter, with a joint, and the end halved 

 and secured with a small rivet or screw, 

 with the head countersunk, so as to be per- 

 fectly smooth on the surface. These rings 

 were finished perfectly round, smooth and -i 

 highly polished, which in a measure, pre- 

 vented them from rusting. 



To make the hole in the bull's nose, we 

 then took an old steel, such as is used for 

 sharpening knives, and had the point flat- 

 tened to an edge on both sides, which we 

 call a stiletto. This cut a hole a little 



