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276 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



would hare been suflBcient. And he then 

 itgelj remarki, that the eve has not regain- 

 ed its clearness entirely. B«t, he sajs, the 

 sight is not wholly lost! which is indeed 

 wonderful. The last "hoek" was removed 

 two years ago; and, he says, tliere has been 

 no re-appearanc9. In closing his article the 

 writer says, "these are facts — the opinions 

 of writers on the subject to the contrary, 

 notwithstanding." It is clear to ns that 

 he has been pretty well hooked himself. 



This subitance iu the eye of the horse, 

 called the haw, or hook, is known to an- 

 atomists as the "nictitano membrane," and 

 ia at appendage to the "retractor ociJi," or 

 retractor mu«cle of the eye, and ou which 

 its action depends. It h cartilagiaoas, ait- 

 uated behind the inferior eanthus, betweea 

 the eye-ball and the side ©f the orbit. Iu a 

 healthy condition, the cuticular margin of 

 this sabstauce is commonly black — wLich 

 part is only visible externally. la disease 

 of th« eye this membrane, or cartilagt, be- 

 comea swollen; or its projection may be 

 caused by the action of tne retractor muscle 

 drawing the eye inward to escape the irrita- 

 tion caused by the light. And tlms t'le 

 nictitans membrane is fori-t'd orer the eye, 

 acting, m it were, as a liiird eye-lid, for 

 wiping away dust or other foreign bodius. 

 Horse-owners, mistaking effect for cause, 

 ftrgne that this membrane, which is more 

 readily seen when the eye is diseased, must 

 be the cause of all the trouble; and then 

 they immediately secure the animal to a 

 "hole in the side of the barn," and, armed 

 with, needle and thread aud a small keen 

 blade, extirpate, by piece-meal, the supposed 

 offending substance, somotinic.H by three 

 different operations. A.ud thuK the snppos- 

 •d remedy becomes itself a disease which 

 they cannot control. 



In "Mason's Farrier Improved," a writer 

 gays, the "boeks" is a substance grov/ing 

 npon the inner edge of the wn^her or car- 

 uncle of the eye; that it cjuiscs great pain 

 to the eye, tightness of the vkln, tA'i&atiH of 

 the hind legs — and finally, a general spys- 

 modic affection of the wliole system. All 

 this is to be cured in the following manner, 

 viz.: by securing che animal and rerooviug 

 the hook — being careful to impress upon the 

 reader that the piece cut aauBt not be larger 

 than one-fonrth the size of a fourpence half- 

 penny. Another piece meal operation. 

 Subsequent treatment — The eye should be 

 washed with salt and water, the leg."?, up to 

 the belly, te be bathed iu equal parts of vin- 

 egar, spirit and oil, or fresh butter. The 

 food should be bran and oats, with a spoon- 



ful of sulphur aad saltpetre. And a cure 

 is promised in four or i5ve days. He further 

 says: — "Great care should betaken not to 

 cut too large a piece from the caruncle, as it 

 disfignres the eye and sometimes produces 

 blindness." 



In an old number of the "American 

 Farmer'' wa find the following in a com- 

 munication from W. V. Murray. It was 

 published in 1830, and shows the absurdity 

 of the above treatment. ''Before I was ac- 

 quainted with this subject, I had two fine 

 horses sacrificed to this mistaken and ruin- 

 ous operation. Ignorant quacks do not 

 kr.ow the horse has a raeiBbrane,peculiar to 

 the animal, Vv^hich is at pleasure drawn over 

 the eye. The enlargement of this by fever 

 produces the appearance, which, in jockey 

 slang, ie called the 'hooks.' Reduce the 

 fever by depletion, sach sa bleeding and 

 purging, and the hooks will disappear. — 

 That is, the membrane will be restored to 

 its natural size aud ofiace ; which is, to clear 

 the eye frem dust, etc. I need not say the 

 cutting out of tliis membrane is unneces- 

 sary, as i have proved the ueelessnesa of the 

 operation by restoring a horae without it." 



Thus we see, that Mr, Murray has, years 

 ago, declared what we now sustain. And 

 if some of our practitioner^ hul mone ac' 

 quaintf.iice with the writings of those who 

 havo gone before them, and did not sappose 

 that everything wiiich they had aot them- 

 seivcs seen was seaiethinf^ entirely new, they 

 would be much v/iser than they arc, aad 

 would save tiic journals from the coaimnn!- 

 cation ©f wonders and miracles. Much 

 benefit may be derived from notice* of any 

 new and peculiar feature of disease. Its 

 successful treatment by any one (qualified) 

 of the profession, will sara years oi experi- 

 ment ana of fijijare. The veterinary jour- 

 nals are open to all, for a «maU fee; aad no 

 man who ue.>i;es to advance his own inter- 

 ests, or wouM acciuirs t!ie coaSdence of tiie 

 public, should fail to be a cormtaat re&dtr. 

 — rAiuevic;in Veterinary Journal. 



Price of IIog:;. — We heard upon the street, 

 yesterdny. of t-everal transactions in hogs, on 

 foot, cit S3 gros*. Compared with prices a few 

 months ago, thi? seems quite a falling off. Yet 

 as the aimorit total dependence of our fanners 

 this fall is upon their hogs, to raise money to 

 meet their .January dues, we hope none will bo 

 cheated into mal-:ing sales at a higher rate, on 

 tune — with the ahn05t certain prospect of losing 

 the vrhcle — rather than take the market price 

 in cash. — Morgan Journal. 



