148 



THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



HORN DISTEMPEE-HOLLOW HOSN, &C. 



Sometimes, Messrs. Editors, human subjects are 

 better otf because no physician can be found for 

 tliem. People who know nofching of medicine may 

 refrain from interference and the patient may re- 

 cover more quickly under the let-alone system, 

 thaci if treated by a regular practitioner. Still no 

 one likes to live out of the reach of medical aid. 

 Our domestic animals, however, are generally 

 ■without the benefit of medical treatment when 

 sick, and worse than this, every one seems to think 

 himself competent to doctor the poor beasts with- 

 out reflecting that there is the same danger in 

 treating animals ignorantly as in treating human 

 beings ignorantly, although, of course, not tlie 

 same responsibility, and the ver}^ people who main- 

 tain that "Dr. Let- Alone" is a good enough doctor 

 in many cases for human subjects, seem to be very 

 mucli afraid of him wlien a beast is found to be 

 ailing. Doubtless every farmer should learn what 

 he can of veterinary practice. We have in this 

 country few regularly educated veterinary sur- 

 geons, and in most cases it would cost more than 

 the value of the sick animal to procure their ser- 

 vices. Tlie fanner is tlierefore thrown on his own 

 resources, and should have by him tlie best books 

 that lie can buy — study them carefully, and when 

 a beast is taken ill, watch the symptoms closely, 

 and if he has no practitioner near him, advise 

 with his book-;, and act as he would if he found 

 himself alone with a sick child or a sick friend, 

 useing what light he has, and above all, the light of 

 common sense^ remembering always that the first 

 thing to be done is to find out, if possible, what is 

 the matter, and always before administering a re- 

 medy, asking himself what he proposes to effect by 

 it. if he cannot make up his mind what disease 

 he is to treat, he cau at any rate treat the symp- 

 toms if alarming, and if not, he has always "Dr. 

 Let-Alone," and ''Dr. Nurse," and "Dr. Nourish- 

 ment," and "Dr. Diet," and "Dr. Starvation," a 

 large but not a toniiidable army of M. D.'s to fall 

 back ujion. All of them, too, very good in their 

 w.ay. If he has more confidence in a neighbor's 

 experience and judgment tban his own, let him at 

 least find out what his neighbor proposes to effect 

 by his treatment and by his prescriptions; let him 

 ask a reason for the treatment proposed, and get a 

 good reason before he allows any experiments to be 

 tried ; let him beware of drugs and nasty messes 

 and cruel external applications, that must do harm 

 if tliey are not imperatively called for; and if lie 

 errs, let liim err on tiie side of mild and humane 

 treatment. Do not suppose that I mean, Messrs. 

 Editors, to condemn homely remedies. Tliey are 

 often very valuable. Many herbs — worm-wood 

 for instance, witoh-hazel, or "witch-hopple," as 

 they call it in tliis neighborhood, and other simples 

 are often useful. Still the doctor who prescril>ed 

 fomentations of " hot water, and you may boil any 

 herb in it you like," was not very far wn)n</. 



Now, ns to "Distemper, "Horn Ail" and "Hol- 

 low Horn," all the same I believe, for I feel sure 

 that tiiere is no disease that can |)roperly be called* 

 by any uf these names, and the natuea aeem to be 



used indiscriuiiaately. We see about so many 

 times every year remedies proposed, and hear, at 

 least I do, of cases in our own districts. Yet ia 

 wliat book except the one you mention in your 

 April number, (Allen's) of any authority, is the 

 disease mentioned as really existing. Mr. Allen ia 

 a man of experience and judgment, but not a veteri- 

 narian, I respect him very much. I have not his 

 book, but I do not hesitate to pronounce the whole 

 quotations in your A])ril number, except the first 

 sentence, irrational and absurd. Of the symptoms 

 mentioned, "bloody urine" points directly to dis- 

 easeof the kidneys, and inflamnuition of the kid- 

 neys is one of the commonest diseases among 

 horned cattle, and I have more than once success- 

 fully treated cases pronounced "horn distemper" — 

 "the eye and head swollen" — a distended eye indi- 

 cates suffering of every kind and from every cause. 

 A swollen head I have never seen. I have seen 

 swellings on the face and jaws, but always plainly 

 from glandular enlargements, or from colds, or 

 bruises. "Standing with the head against the 

 fence," " eye dull and sunken," both indicating that 

 the beast is "out of sorts," but indicating nothing 

 more. "Horns cold." Here M"e have the great 

 trouble. "Horns Aoi" is just as bad. Unlucky is 

 the poor brute that has hot horns or cold horns. 

 He may well wish he had no horns at all. Will 

 the niiiss of my brother farmers ever learn that the 

 heat or coldness of the horns or ears tells no more 

 than that the circulation is impeded or unnaturally 

 accelerated. "Udder swollen," perhaps milh. I 

 like to see them swollen — ()erhaps Garget — which 

 every farmer ought to know liow to treat, but 

 which is not so pleasant. "Shaking the head," 

 perhaps a fly is in the nostril, perhaps tlie beast 

 has received a blow, perhaps it is in pain, perhaps 

 feverish, perha[)S inflammation of the brain — this 

 fortunately very rarely — perhaps inflammation of 

 the frontal sinuses — this also rarely, and not to be 

 reached by any of the so called " remedies for 

 horn distemper," of which, most that I have seen, 

 are barbarous, creating rather than allaying in- 

 flammation. Many silly and more disgu-itiug. I 

 have known men to say '■'it tons horn distemj?er, 

 for we bored the horn and it was hollow." Did. 

 any body ever see a solid horn? and if it ought to 

 be solid, could you make it so by boring a hole 

 in it and putting in pepper or spirits of turpen- 

 tine? 



The fact is that many who ought to know better, 

 call everything "liorn distemper" or "hollow 

 horn," when, as Mr. Allen very .sensibly says, it is 

 often " ludlow stomach," to be cured by poultices 

 of meal applied internally, or else simple fever, or 

 indigestion, or often disorder of the kidneys. But 

 this letter is too long. You must excuse me be- 

 cause, as you know, Messsrs. Editors, I breed good 

 cattle and love cattle, and as there is no veterinary 

 surgeon within a hundred miles of me, I have to 

 treat my own cattle when ill, which I am thankful 

 is not often. 



Let me conclude by advising every farmer to 

 keep by them a copy of Youatt's book, or Dadd's, 

 or both, and to buy Dadd's, if only to read the ad- 

 mirable ch.'i|)ter on "Horn Ail," which I think will 

 convince him that there is no »iirh thing. Indeed, 

 Messrs. Editors, I wish you would, with Dr. Dad<l'8 

 permission, publish that chapter. P. Q. 



