DEHORNING, SPAYING, AND CASTRATING CATTLE 380 



exposed end is dipped in water to moisten it. When 

 not in use, the potash should be kept in a closely stopped 

 vial with a rubber stopper. Failure or partial failure 

 may follow an application insufficient in quantity or when 

 the application has been too long deferred. When only 

 partially destroyed, the horns continue to grow more or 

 less until the animals are matured, and they are more 

 or less deformed. The Bureau of Animal Industry of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture recom- 

 mends the use of a liquid preparation made up of 50 per 

 cent of caustic soda and 25 per cent each of kerosene oil 

 and water. 



Methods of dehorning cattle. — The removal of horns 

 by the use of clippers or dehorners is the speediest 

 method of removing them. Dehorners are instruments 

 that work on the same principle as shears and imple- 

 ments used in pruning trees. The power to cut off the 

 horn increases with the length of the handles up to a 

 certain limit. When horns are to be removed with a 

 dehorner, the head of the animal should be tied firmly 

 to a post of sufficient strength. The horns are then 

 quickly removed. The implement should come down 

 close against the skull at the base of the horn. The 

 danger of cracking the horn at the skull is thus reduced 

 and the appearance is less objectionable. The chief 

 merit of this method of dehorning is its quickness. 



Horns are frequently removed by the use of the 

 saw. The animals are secured as in the former in- 

 stance and the horns are then sawed oS close to the 

 poll. It has been noticed that when they are sawed 

 thus close, the healing is more rapid than when sawed 

 off less close. When the saw is used, bleeding is less 

 profuse than when the clippers are used, as the saw 

 makes a rougher cut, and it does not crack the shell of 

 the horn at the base as the clippers sometimes do. Many 

 cattlemen prefer to dehorn with the saw for the reasons 

 named. 



