THE SOUTHE 



RN PLANTER. 



297 



produced by the halter in breaking young 

 horses, than anything I can compare it to. 

 Indeed, so similar are the two, that jock- 

 eys frequently trade off horses having in- 

 cipient big-head, stating that the appear- 

 ances have been produced by a halter. — 

 The horse first loses that delicacy of pro- 

 portion about the head, which is one of 

 his greatest ornaments, looking clumsy 

 and awkward on account of the swelling 

 which takes place first at or near the place 

 where the nose-band of the halter passes 

 round the nose. The tumors are at first 

 small and circumscribed, and may not be 

 noticed by a careless observer. Their situ- 

 ation is on each side of the face at the 

 place above indicated, and when they ac- 

 quire their greatest size, they extend to 

 the eyes, or thereabout, and their eleva- 

 tion will be one or two inches, and in bad 

 ■cases more. The head now presents a 

 peculiarly clumsy appearance. Frequent- 

 ly before the upper part of the head ad- 

 vances so far as just described, the affec- 

 tion seizes the lower jaw bone, which be- 

 comes much larger than natural." 



The shoulder, also, he says, is liable to 

 be attacked. It begins to swell at the 

 points, from which it extends and em- 

 braces the whole scapula. But the disor- 

 der observes no regularity in attack and 

 progress, " Sometimes the face alone is 

 •affected ; sometimes the lower jaw, and 

 sometimes the head is last affected ; the 

 complaint beginning in the shoulder, and 

 extending to the limbs, and finally to the 

 head. 3 ' In some cases, it is said the dis- 

 order does not extend to the head, and in 

 such cases it is called the u stiff disorder, 5 ' 

 though the complaint is said to be the 

 same, as is proved by its being cured with 

 the same treatment. It appears to be 

 known by the various names of " big- 

 head," "big-jaw 5 ' "big-shoulder," and 

 <l stiff disorder, 11 but the same treatment 

 is recommended for all. The disease is 

 divided into three stages. The first stage 

 is known toy stiffness in the limbs, lame- 

 ness, &c The second stage is shown 

 by the enlargement of the head, jaw or 

 shoulder. The third and last stage is 

 shown by the protuberances on the head ; 

 having gained a considerable size and 



bony consistence. The treatment for the 

 first and second stages is given as follows : 



" 1st. Apply a cord around the upper 

 lip, put in a stitch and twist it so as to 

 hold the horse still. This is a common 

 operation, and familiar to every farmer. 

 Then cut through the skin on the middle 

 of the nose, vertically, and immediately 

 on the rounding part between the nostrils. 

 Let the incision be no deeper than to ex- 

 pose the tendon which passes down in 

 this place. Lay hold of the tendon and 

 cut it in two; then cut it off again at the 

 distance of about one inch, taking the 

 piece entirely out. (The piece must be 

 taken out, or the cut extremities would 

 soon reunite.) Next, double one ear 

 and excise about an inch from each cord ; 

 so with the other ear." 



After the operations have been perform- 

 ed, it is recommended to turn the horse to 

 grass, to give him no grain, and neither 

 ride nor drive him until he is well, which 

 it is said will require several weeks, and 

 it is recommended to give him on alter- 

 nate days, a tea-spoonful of saltpetre, and 

 a table-spoonful of sulphur, for nine or ten 

 days ; bleeding him every two or three 

 days in the course of that time. 



In case the disease has reached the 

 third stage before treatment is commenced, 

 it is directed to " bore a gimblet-hole in 

 each protuberant bone of the face, (one 

 on each side,) and introduce into them a 

 piece of arsenic the size of a pea, wrap- 

 ped in tissue paper." 



CANADA THISTLES. 



Some persons suppose that this plant is 

 only propagated by root, not from seed. 

 The idea is unquestionably erroneous, and 

 leads to a carelessness which permits the 

 increase of the pest. It is true that it 

 spreads rapidly by roots ; but w T here it is 

 seen to spring up, as it frequently does, at 

 a considerable distance from where it had 

 previously grown, it may be known to 

 have sprung from seed. It should there- 

 fore be made a rule to prevent its seeding 

 in all cases. 



In pastures and all grass grounds, this- 



