430 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



secrecy in the material of his remedies, which he is loth to impart 

 to others. He may castrate a calf, a sheep, or a pig, with some 

 cleverness, perhaps, and possibly help a cow to calve in a tough 

 case, when sheer mugcular strength is mainly required, and give 

 her a simpla drink, if needed ; but as to anything like scientific 

 skill or knowledge, he is as ignorant as a medicine man of the 

 Cheyenne Indians. Such practitioners are frequently resorted to 

 in plain cases, and sometimes with tolerable success ; but in cases 

 of inflammatory, or acute disorders, they are to be avoided. 

 They know nothing of them, and should never be employed. A 

 sensible, observing herdsman, who studies symptoms and effects, 

 can far better be trusted with their treatment, and possible cure, 

 when a competent farrier is not within reach. But aside from 

 diseases, there are some 



HABITS AND THICKS OF CATTLE 



That need looking after, as well as to be discussed ; and before 

 we touch the former, it may be well to notice a few of them. 



KICKING cows. 

 It is sometimes the case that cows, from some cause or other, 

 acquire a habit of kicking. Some would seem to be natural 

 kickers, from their propensity to do so from their first coming in. 

 If such be the fact, and they persist in it, the better way is, if 

 they are not extraordinary good ones, to turn them off for fat- 

 tening into beef. But if valuable for the dairy, they can be 

 easily managed. Our own process has been to take the iron for- 

 ceps, used for holding cattle by the nostrils, and tying them by a 

 rope or strap to a beam overhead, and drawing up their noses at 

 an elevation, and there securing them, while they are milked. 

 If that is not effective, a leather strap, with a loop just back of 

 the buckle end, through which is put the other end, is the best 

 instrument for the purpose. Put this around one leg just above 

 the hock joint, run the smaller end through the loop, that it may 

 not slip down ; then put it around the other leg, and pass it back 



