July, 1912.] 



49 



Live Stock. 



can see him at hi& wits end what to do ; 

 how he casts his eye around until it 

 alights on coffee or cart-grease, vinegar 

 or sheep dip, and he remembers that his 

 grandfather once cured an ox of gall- 

 sickness with a mixture of these, so the 

 different ingredients are duly measured 

 out, mixed, well shaken, and poured 

 down the throat of the unwilling beast, 

 one dose usually being considered suffi- 

 cient. My experience tells me that it 

 often is, and the expectant hearts of the 

 attendant Kaffirs are thereby gladdened, 

 and a "meat hunger" which was fast 

 developing is assuaged, the farmer ex- 

 pressing his conviction that it is a new 

 form of gall-sickness s quite different to 

 what his father had to deal with, and 

 then the slight commotion thus raised 

 subsides, dies out, and there is nothing 

 left to tell the tale but a sundried hide 

 which will some day be made into reins. 

 Still there are many remedies of the 

 home, which if properly used and with 

 discretion may often be pressed into 

 service, and it is proposed to enumerate 

 a few of these, to give their actions and 

 uses, and include any hints which 

 practical experience may dictate. 



Dop, Whisky, Brandy, and Cape 

 Wines.— Now although it is unusual to 

 find any of these displayed on the side- 

 board of most farmhouses, it is gener- 

 ally found that on emergency a little, 

 especially of the first or last, may be un- 

 earthed, and on occasion a better stimu- 

 lant cannot be found. There are many 

 times when a horse has been overdriven, 

 or "driven over his water " so called, he 

 stands dejectedly in his stall with a cold 

 sweat, quickened breathing, and pos- 

 sibly trembling all over, a quarter of a 

 bottle of "dop" or similar spirit with 

 the rest of the bottle filled up with warm 

 water, well shaken, and given by the 

 mouth, will often stimulate the animal 

 to look for food within twenty minutes, 

 when a nice hot bran mash will complete 

 the cure, and he will be all right in the 

 morning, a serious illness having pos- 

 sibly been averted. Beer or stout may 

 be given as it is, or warmed in a sauce- 

 pan with a little powdered ginger added, 

 but spirits of any kind must be diluted 

 7 



with three times their bulk of water or 

 milk, for it must be remembered that a 

 horse hasn't got a tin throat. The above 

 remarks apply equally to cattle where a 

 stimulant is required. A cow has a diffi- 

 cult calving, the assistance, although 

 well meant, was probably roughly 

 rendered, and after the birth the cow is 

 unable to rise, a good stimulant given 

 every four hours will often be all that is 

 required, and within the twenty-four 

 hours she will be milking freely and 

 feeding well ; in other words, whenever 

 a general stimulant is required no harm 

 will be done, and much good may accrue 

 if any of the spirits named are given in 

 the doses indicated. 



Turpentine is probably found in every 

 farmhouse, and is used indiscriminately 

 for every disease and condition under 

 the sun, consequently the results 

 achieved are varied, and this explains 

 why it is condemned by some and ex- 

 tolled by others, but if used where its 

 special action is indicated it is most 

 useful and can be depended on. For 

 killing worms and other internal para- 

 sites it is one of the most useful home 

 remedies that can be applied, and 

 in cases of colic in horses and 

 hoven in cattle it is a very reliable 

 remedy, and in conjunction with 

 other home remedies which are usually 

 found on the farm will usually effect a 

 cure in a very short time. One of the 

 commonest "worries "of the farmer is 

 worms in calves, and in these cases the 

 administration of turpentine (mixed 

 with raw linseed oil or milk) in doses of 

 a tablespoonful and a teaspoonful for 

 lambs and kids generally produces the 

 desired effect, but not always ; some 

 cases are most intractable, but in these 

 we can forsake our household dispensary 

 and obtain from the chemist some ex- 

 tract of male shield fern, which can be 

 administered in doses of 1 drachm with 

 half a dose of turpentine and the usual 

 amount of linseed oil, this mixture in- 

 variably producing the desired result. 

 In colic in horses or hoven in cattle it is 

 recommended that 2 ounces of turpentine 

 and 1 pint of raw linseed oil be put into 

 a whisky bottle, well shaken until 



