226 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



on a wooden floor and the hoof trimmed by means of a 

 chisel and mallet. The hoof should be oiled and rubbed 

 to a gloss after final smoothing. 



6. If animals have horns, these should be scraped with 

 a steel scraper or glass lengthwise until nearly smooth and 

 then finished off with fine sandpaper or emery cloth. When 

 as smooth as they can be made, the horns should be pol- 

 ished frequently before the show with powdered pumice 

 stone and sweet oil. It is very common to make leather, 

 chamois, or flannel horn coverings to protect the polished 

 horns. 



7. The tail should be washed several times. The day 

 before showing it can be bleached with blueing, if light in 

 color, and then braided into three or four small braids and 

 left overnight. When ready to show, open the braids and 

 brush out the tail, thus giving it a clean, fluffy appearance. 



DISEASES AND COMMON AILMENTS 

 Tuberculosis 



In most cases this infectious disease is of a chronic 

 nature, taking a number of years to run its course, often 

 with no visable symptoms. Consequently the more chronic 

 its character the more dangerous as spreaders of the dis- 

 ease are animals affected with tuberculosis. 



The disease may be introduced into a herd by bringing 

 in diseased animals, by feeding calves milk from tubercu- 

 lous cows (this may happen by using unpasteurized skim 

 milk from a creamery), by showing cattle at fairs, by ship- 

 ping cattle in infected cars, and by pasturing with other 

 cattle that have the disease. The most reliable way to tell 

 whether living cows have tuberculosis is to have them tuber- 

 culin tested by a competent veterinarian. 



Of all the plans tried out for the eradication of tuber- 

 culosis, the accredited-herd plan and the accredited-area 

 plan offer the most promise and are accomplishing the best 

 results. 



