DEHORNING OP CATTLE 39 



forty-eight hours and dress daily with antiseptics. The 

 sutures may of may not be removed according to conditions. 

 In carrying out this operation the chief aim should be to 

 remove all diseased parts, to afford perfect drainage ante- 

 riorly, to secure and maintain antisepsis, and to keep the 

 wound directly on the median line, from which no visible 

 scar will result. 



8. DEHORNING OF CATTLE 

 Figs. 12 and 13 



The horns of cattle, useful as organs of offense and defense 

 in the wild state, become valueless, except in appearance, 

 under domestication. They detract from the docility 

 and convenience of handling the animals, and render 

 them less safe for man and for other animals. The develop- 

 ment of the horns may readily be prevented in new-born 

 calves by the timely application of caustic potash to the horn 

 germ. When this is neglected and it is later desired to be 

 rid of the horns, the operation designated dehorning is 

 necessary. 



Dehorning is performed with either the saw or dehorning 

 shears. Mechanically the saw has the disadvantage of be- 

 ing slower and hence more painful to the animal. It pro- 

 duces a large amount of sawdust which largely drops into 

 the frontal sinuses where it may cause mechanical irrita- 

 tion. It has the advantage of mutilating the arteries of the 

 horn and thereby lessening hemorrhage. 



The shears, or dehorners, are generally preferred because 

 the operation (regularly done without anaesthesia) is 

 quickly accomplished so that the cutting pain is for a moment 

 only, the cut through both the skin and the horn core is 

 smoother, leaving less damaged tissue to necrose and disap- 

 pear, and the wound is left free from sawdust. The shears 



