bones: diseases and accidents. 275 



It should, however, be alone for a time, so as not to take any chance 

 of injury from fighting or other accidents that association with other 

 animals might involve. 



SPECIAL fractures. 



Fracture or the horns. — Of the special fractures liable to occur, 

 that of the horn is perhaps the most common. It is always the result 

 of violent mechanical means, such as blows, injury occurring while 

 fighting, or from the animal getting its head locked in some manner 

 while feeding from a rack. When it occurs there are two ways in 

 which the injury may affect the animal. First and most common, 

 the horny crust is liable to be stripped from the bony projection 

 which it covers. Second, the crust and bone may both be broken or 

 bent down, the fracture occurring in that case at the root of the horn 

 and involving part of the bones of the head in the immediate vicinity. 

 In the first case, if the horny covering is knocked off, little atten- 

 tion is necessary. The animal may be relieved from suffering if 

 the stump is smeared with pine tar and wrapped in cloth. If the 

 core is much lacerated, perhaps it would be better to amputate. 

 The necessity for such operation must be determined by the condi- 

 tion of the injury, influenced to some extent by the owner's ideas 

 on the subject. When the operation is performed, it should be 

 done with a sharp, fine-toothed saw, and by sawing the horn off close 

 enough to include a little of the skin and hair around its base. The 

 practice of dehorning has grown popular in many parts of the coun- 

 try. It is a simple operation, and, although attended with some 

 immediate suffering, does not produce serious constitutional disturb- 

 ance. The advisability of performing the operation on all cattle is a 

 question of expediency and must be justified by the expectation of 

 benefit on the part of the feeder. If the horn should be broken so 

 that the core and crust are bent out of shape without the detachment 

 of one from the other, it may be restored to its normal position and 

 retained there by means of a splint made to fit across the back of the 

 head, so as to be laced to both horns, the sound horn serving to hold 

 the broken one in position. Such a splint may be fastened on by 

 means of either a wire or cord and allowed to remain six weeks or two 

 months. 



If both the horn and core have been broken off, bleeding is usually 

 severe and should be checked by astringents, such as alum, or by 

 pressure. After the liemorrhage has ceased the exposed portion of 

 the fracture should be covered with pine tar, with or without a ban- 

 dage. An imperfect growth of horn will in due time cover the 

 exposed bone. 



Fractures or the bones or the face. — These occasionally occur, 

 and when over the cavities of the nose produce depression, disfigure- 



