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moved in whole or in part by the aid of a saw or a pair of 

 strong cutting forceps or shears, and it is just here in reference 

 to the different systems practiced that the question of cruelty 

 mainly arises. No person could reasonably object to the re- 

 moval of just so much of the free extremity of the horn as would 

 expose the sensitive structure or leave it covered only by a very 

 thin layer of horn, but when a saw is driven violently through 

 the sensitive structures of an organ for the space of from one to 

 two or three inches in diameter the limits of necessity or even of 

 expediency are exceeded, and it is incumbent upon all men en- 

 dowed with the slightest modicum of human feeling to join in a 

 vigorous protest and an effectual condemnation of such a bar- 

 barous proceeding. 



It may be argued that after all it is only a matter of degree, 

 and that there is not much difference in reality, so far as pain is 

 concerned, whether you remove one inch from the end of a 

 horn or remove it at its base; as well might one say that if the 

 tip of one's finger were in any way a cause of offense, the whole 

 member should be sacrificed. 



In the public mart of Edinburg every degree of dehorning 

 can be seen, but I am happy to be able to say that the number 

 of completely dehorned cattle bears only a small proportion to 

 those in which partial amputation has been practiced, and from 

 very close observation and extended inqiury, I am enabled to 

 assert, without fear of contradiction, that those animals in which 

 the tip of the horn alone has been removed, can hold their own 

 in point of maturity and value (always assuming that they have 

 received equal care and attention) with those less fortunate in- 

 dividuals whose owners or purchasers regard not the sufferings 

 of the brute creation, and who ruthlessly practice the more 

 severe forms of dehorning. 



In reference to the districts in which dehorning is practiced, 

 .1 may say that I never saw the operation performed in England 

 during my residence there, except for surgical purposes, but it 

 has been practiced largely in some parts of Scotland — mainly in 

 some of the northern counties — and in the south of Ireland for a 



