January, 1914 



Shoeing the Farm Horse. 



\yhere farm horses are not re- 

 quired to do much' work on met- 

 alled roa<ls it is a coinmon prac- 

 tice WTth so nit owners to saws ex- 

 pense and let them <fo uns'ho'd, but 

 it is doubtful wheth'ar this course 

 saves much money in the long run. 

 It is all vQTv w"eil to sav that on 

 the land the feet got but very lit- 

 tk wear. That may he so, but 

 moist soil has a decidedly softening 

 effect on the horn, so that the 

 hoofs, if unprotected by shoes, 

 break and wear away yery quick- 

 h-, in spite of the softness of the 

 ground, and in the result unshod 

 horses vyould go tender on the feet, 

 and eventually be lamed. 



Farmers shoidd be specially par- 

 ticular to see that their j^oung 

 draught horses, which are destined 

 later on to be sold for town work, 

 are shod with the greatiest care in 

 order that the shape of the feet 

 may be fully 'preser\ed. Carless 

 shoeing may easily impair their 

 soundness. Buyers of draught 

 horses for town purposes always 

 lay great stress on sound, well- 

 cared. for feet. 



All important consideration in 

 shoeing farm horses is that the 

 horses must not be made too big 

 in the heel. The importance of 

 * this point quite commonly is not 

 appreciated, but nevertheless there 

 are substantial grounds for insist- 

 ing upon it, the reason being as 

 follows : — If the' shoes overlap muchj 

 at the heels, as they very often 

 do, the horse is obliged ta use ex- 

 tra force in extricating its feet 

 from soft or holding soil, because 

 ,the protruding ends of the shoes 

 causes them' to be more strongly 

 retained therein. This involves 

 considerable extria effort on its 

 part, which must tire it to an 

 unnecessary degree, while it also 

 interferes with the action and cur- 

 tails the stride. It is, therefore, 

 highly desirable that the ends of 

 the shoes should not overlap the 

 heels to any apf.reciable extent; on 

 the contrary, they need to be kept 

 as near as practicable flush with 

 the latter. 



Now, as regards the question of 

 calkins. While views may differ 

 as to whether it is an advantage 

 or not to have cart-horses doing 

 draught work in town shod with 

 shoes provided with calkins, there 

 can be no question about it that 

 these appendages are entirely su- 

 perfluous, and confer not the least 

 benefit in the case of farm hoTses. 

 What valid argument can be ad- 



vanced in sup])()rt of them ? None. 

 On the other hand, there are two 

 strong ol)jections to he urged 

 against then!. One is that thoy 

 aPe bad for the foot, because they 

 alter the natural slope, and also 

 by raising the heels, pre\ent the 

 frog from taking its natural bear- 

 ing on the ground. The absence 

 of frOg-pressure, which is thus en- 

 tailed, causes the frog pad to 

 shrink, and the consequence of this 

 is that the heels contract. .-Vnother 

 dcteriment which calkins invoh'e is 

 that they tilt the fetlock and pas- 

 tern joint forward in an abnormal 

 manner, which cannot fail to sub- 

 ject the joints and tendons to in- 

 creased strain and wear. For these 

 various reasons calkins are certain- 

 ly best avoided on farm-horse 

 shoes. — New Zealand Farmer. 



♦ 



An Important Point for 

 Dairymen. 



Sufficient attention is not given 

 by dairymen to the " cleaning " of 

 their cows after calving, and the 

 retention of portions of ihe placen- 

 ta, or after-birth, is a frequent 

 cause of sterility and abortion in 

 these animals. Naturally, the 

 " after-birth " comes awa-^^ cleanly 

 of its own accord. Occasionally it 

 is retained for over twelve hours, 

 and in these latter cases it is ne- 

 cessary to adopt treatment. Often 

 the administration of a drench con- 

 taining the following brings about 

 the desired result : — One ounce am- 

 monia carbonate, 12 ozs. sulphate 

 of magnesia (Epsom salts), 2 oz, 

 common table salt, and i oz. oi * 

 powdered ginger. Dissolve these 

 in two pints of warm water or ale 

 and add a cupful of treacle. When 

 thoroughly mixed, the drench is 

 given by the mouth with usual 

 care. If the "after-birth" remains 

 intact after the drench has oper- 

 ated, it is necessary to render as- 

 sistance by passing the hand and 

 arm, lubricated with carbolized 

 vaseline, into the womb, and ex- 

 ■ercising gradual traction. If the 

 whole of the membranes have not 

 been completel}"^ removed, and the 

 discharge becomes foetid in charac- 

 ter, the womb should be irrigated 

 in a m:anner similar to that prac- 

 tised in case of contagious abor- 

 tion. To do this all that is re- 

 quired is about one and a half 

 yards of 'rubber tubing, lin. in di- 

 ameter, and fairly stout ; a glass 

 funnel (bottle with bottom knock- 

 ed out will answer), and a supply 

 of corrosive sublimate in tabloid 



form. The funnel is attached to 

 one end of the tubing, and tlie 

 other end, after l)eing lubricated, is 

 gently pas.sed by means of the hand 

 into the mouth of the womb. The 

 corrosive sublimate is dissolved in 

 water in the proportion of one 

 part to 3,000 parts, and then 

 poured into the funnel, which is 

 held higher than the animal, so 

 that the fluid passes into the 

 womb. When the womb has been 

 irrigated with a sufficient quantity, 

 usually about a quart, the animal 

 ejects the fluid, and frequently por- 

 tions of the retained membranes 

 will come away at the same time. 

 The treatment should be repeated 

 daily until the discharge assumes 

 its natural appearance or ceases. 

 The buttocks and tail should also 

 be washed down with the corro- 

 sive sublimate solution, which is a 

 reliable germicide. — " Agricultural 

 Gazette, N.S.W." 



^ 



An applicant for the post of mds- 

 tress in a country school was be- 

 ing questioned by those in autho- 

 rity. 



" And what is your position 

 with regard to the whipping of 

 children ? " one member asked. ^ 



"My usual position," she replied, 

 "is on a chair, with the child 

 across my knees, face downwards." 



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