PREFACE. 
After years of delay and many broken promises made to 
friends and former pupils the author submits this little vol- 
ume with the hope that it will meet the expectations of 
those who have urged this work upon him. 
In the preparation of these pages my object has been to 
give to the American farmer and stockman, whose onerous 
duties allow but little leisure for consulting more compre- 
hensive works, a practical common-sense hand-book, 
through which he may be enabled to preserve the lives and 
usefulness of one of the most valuable assets of the farm. 
I have endeavored to eliminate everything not of some 
practical worth and have striven to express myself in plain 
and simple language to the end that any one who can read 
may understand, no matter what his advantages in life 
may have been. | 
In speaking thus plainly I feel that I can more readily 
secure the attention of those whom I desire to reach and I 
can not believe that the simplicity of my work will cause it 
to prove less acceptable to them. 
THE AUTHOR. 
