274 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 



which time the patient will be so far recovered as to be placed in pas- 

 ture. 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. 



Fractuee of 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 is likely to affect the animal. First and most com- 

 mon, the horny crust is likely 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, where the horny covering is knocked off, little 

 attention is necessary. The animal may be relieved from suffering 

 by smearing the stump with pine tar and wrapping it in cloth. If 

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

 The necessity for such an operation must be determined by the con- 

 dition of the injury, influenced to some extent by the ideas of the 

 owner 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 wire or cord and allowed to remain six weeks or two 

 months. 



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

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

 pressure. After the hemorrhage 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 op the bones op the pace.— These occasionally occur, 

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



