SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
59 
PRACTICAIi FACTS AND HINTS ON HORSES. 
HOW TO OIE A HARNESS. 
BY JOHN GEORGE DICKINSON, M. R. C., V. S. BOSTON, LINCONSHIRE. 
I purpose contributing to the Edinburg Veterinary Re- 
view a succession of papers, made up of odds and ends, 
put together in writing in the manner most easy and con- 
venient for a practitioner engaged constantly, and whose 
time may strictly be said to be not his own. 
The first case I have chosen is one showing the evil in- 
fluence of the bearing rein. A bay gelding, seven years 
old, the property of a carman, was brought to me, pre- 
senting the following symptoms : 
Flow of frothy saliva from the mouth, v/ith peculiar 
spasmodic twitching of the muscles of the face and throat; 
there was difficulty of mastication and swallowing; the 
head was subject to violent jerks or twitches, attended 
with much pain, causing the animal to run back. The 
symptoms had appeared after the owner had thought fit 
to punish his horse with a severe bearing rein. I at once 
removed the cause, ordered hot fomentations and friction 
to the affected parts, exhibited stimulants, and all symp- 
toms subsided, with the exception of a slignt cough. 
We have often been told that the practice of using the 
bearing rein, very frequently p/oduces roaring in horses, 
but the results as observed in this horse, have not hither- 
to been noticed so far as I am aware. In communicat- 
ing the facts to Mr. .John Garagee, of the Edinburg New 
Veterinary College, however, I obtained a very satisfac- 
tory explanation. Mr. Gamgee considers the symptoms 
due to nervous derangement, from pressure indirectly ex- 
erted by the lower jaw on the jugular vein, the freedom 
of the circulation being also otherwise impeded from the 
uplifted position of the head, &c. Mr. Hunting, of South 
Hetton, has informed Mr. Gamgee that he believes me 
grims is due to pressure on the veins at the roots of the 
neck, by the collar, in peculiarly-formed horses, and he 
asks, “Who has known of a saddle horse affected with 
megrims'?” Moreover, Mr. Hunting says, all horses sub- 
ject to megrims may be permanently relieved if worked 
with pipe collars. Dealers and others in some parts have 
learned that some horses have megrims when worked 
with the bearing rein or collar, whereas they are free from 
the disease if put to work with a simple breast-plate. As 
Mr. Gamgee says, we have a more rational explanation of 
tight-reining causing roaring than is usually given. It 
is true, the old explanation is sometimes sufficient, that 
tight-reining distorts the respiratory passages, and in- 
duces constriction of the trachea, &c , resulting in perma- 
nent interference with the breathing; but sometimes such 
mechanical interference is not the result of the use of the 
bearing rein, and we have the common lesion of the larynx 
or atrophy of its muscles. In these cases, according to 
Mr. John Gamgee, the superior laryngeal nerve has suf 
fered through the repeated interference of the circulation 
of blood to the brain, and the early symptoms indicate 
general disturbance of important functions, such as those of 
the lungs and digestive organs, which are under the con- 
trol of the pneumogastric nerve. 
I beg to ask, if we find so much interference resulting 
from tight-reining, and confining the horse’s head in an 
elevated position, on what principle can we defend the 
use of high racks 1 Our animals show their -preference 
to a more natural method of picking their food by pulling 
the hay out of the lofty recess, and when on the ground 
they leisurely partake of it. This should never be lost 
sight of in the construction of stables. 
Agitating Plants. — It is a remarkable fact that trees 
which are regularly shaken every day in the green-house 
grow more rapidly and are stronger than others which 
are kept unagitated.— 
We all know that it is o) great benefit to oil our har- 
nesses, yet many of us neglect to do it, because we regard 
it as a dirty job ; but it is easy enough, if done right. My 
process for doing it is as follows: 
First, I take the harness apart, having each strap and 
piece by itself; then I wash it in warm soap suds. I 
used to soak it in cold water for half a day, as others did . 
but I find that warm water does no harm and much fa- 
cilitates the job. When cleaned, 1 black every part with a 
hafmless black dye which I make thus: — One ounce of 
extract of logwood, twelve grains bichromate of potash, 
both pounded fine; upon that I pour two quarts boiling 
rain-water, stirring until all is dissolved. When eool, it 
may be used I keep it on hand all the time, in bottles. 
It may be applied with a shoe brush, or anything con- 
venient. If any one objects to the use of this blacking, 
fearing the bichromate of potash it contains would injure 
the leather, I would just say that this kind of potash will 
not injure leather, even when used in a much larger pro- 
portion The blacking generally contains copperas — a 
sulphate sometimes made of oil vitriol and iron, and it is 
found that it will eat out the life of leather, unless used 
with great caution. When the dye has struck in, I go 
through with the oiling process. Some have a sheet-iron 
pan to oil in, which is better than any’- thing; but 1 have 
a sheet of iron nailed to a board ; it is about two by three 
feet square. This I lay upon a table, and I lay a piece 
or part of the harness upon this, iid with neats-foot oil 
applied with a paint brush, kept for the purpose, I go over 
it, oiling every port is oiled. The traces, breechirig, and 
such parts as need the most, 1 oil again. For the last oil- 
ing I use one third castor oil and two-thirds neats- 
foot oil mixed A few hours after, or perhaps the next 
day, I wipe the harness over with a wollen cloth, which 
gives it a glossy appearance Why I use some castor oil 
for the last coat, is, because it will stand the effects of the 
atmosphere, the rain, &c., much longer than neats-foot oil, 
consequently the harness does not require oiling so often 
by its use. One pint of oil is sufficient for one set of 
harness. 
The common way of oiling a harness is to apply as 
much neats foot oil containing lamp-black as tne leather 
will take up ; then washing off with castile soap and 
water. This way is not so good as mine, because it 
makes the harness smutty, and also the soap that is used 
contains barilla — a strong alkali, which cuts up and feeds 
upon the oil in the leather, and the weather (especially 
if rainy) soon renders the harness stiff and unyielding as 
before; the wax in tbe threads is also destroyed, and the 
stitches give way. I have experimented with different 
kinds of oil, and find that the kind, and the process, I 
now use is the best — New England Farmer. 
Rest and Digest ! — There is no doubt that moderate 
exercise promotes digestion, but too active exercise re- 
tards it. An experiment was once tried by some phy- 
siologists in England to test this theory. Two fox hounds 
were fed with a full meal. One of them was taken and 
put on the trail of a fox and run for a few hours. The 
other was left to enjoy his leisure at home. At the same 
time, both were killed and opened. The food of the one 
that staid at home was nearly all digested — that of the 
one that had been exercised violently in the chase, only 
partially digested. 
1^^ A farmer on the Wauash has made four hundred 
gallons of molasses from the sugar cane grown on a sin- 
gle acre of ground the past season. The molasses selling 
readily at fifty cents per gallon, gives him tws hundred 
dollars as the return of his crop on a single acre. 
