l6 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



and rubbing- one embryo horn for four or five seconds, then 

 moistening the potash again and rubbing the other horn in the 

 same manner. Each horn should be thus treated four or five 

 times. Four or five minutes' time is required in dehorning a 

 calf. Care should be taken not to have too much moisture about 

 the potash as it might spread and remove the hair from too large 

 a surface. The calf should be kept from getting wet during the 

 next few days for the same reason. Healing soon follows the 

 operation and smooth polls have resulted in every case except 

 the one mentioned as having been done at too late an age. 



The eleventh of last June, all of the cows in the herd with 

 horns were dehorned. All the wounds bled at the time of the 

 operation. Two bled considerably for about an hour and 

 slightly for another hour, but no animal gave evidence of suf- 

 fering from loss of blood. The operation was evidently painful 

 to the animals. The period of pain appeared to be limited to 

 the time when the clipper was in process of closing, which was 

 at most but a few seconds in each case. After being released 

 the animals went about the paddock as usual, and an hour or 

 two later, when they were put into the barn, they ate their dinner 

 as though nothing unusual had taken place. 



The milk yield showed no appreciable decrease, even on the 

 days immediately following the operation. As it was not 

 intended, at the time, to prepare a bulletin upon the subject, the 

 daily milk records were destroyed after being credited upon the 

 monthly account, consequently they cannot be presented here. 



On page 17 are presented the monthly milk and • fat yields 

 of all the cows from May to August, inclusive, that the reader 

 may have the data relative to the thrift and condition of the 

 animals since the operation. As will be seen in the table, most 

 of the animals were well advanced in the period of lactation. 

 The shrinkage in milk flow and butter yield is for the most part 

 less than would be usually expected from advancement in period 

 of lactation. The dehorning apparently had no effect upon 

 either milk flow or yield of butter fat. 



Our experience is in accord with that elsewhere. The Min- 

 nesota Station compared the yield of milk and butter fat of 

 nine cows for three milkings before dehorning with the yield of 

 the same cows for three milkings after dehorning. A very 



