94 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Spavin, Curable and Incurable. 
Every .'igricultiiral editor has almost constant¬ 
ly sent to him for publication, cures for spavin, 
attested in all sorts of ways. Some writers give 
descriptions of their mode of procedure, and of 
the very satisfactory results attained; others 
send simply recipes. "We know it will be very 
hard to convince a horse owner, who has “ doc¬ 
tored” his own and perhaps his neighbors’ horses 
for what he calls spavin, and cured them, that 
true spavin is an utterly incurable disease. It 
seems as if every disease of the hock were cal¬ 
led spavin, without any discrimination whatever, 
whereas this name is properly applied to only 
one. Spavin is an enlargement of the bone or 
bones on the lower, inner and front side of the 
hock joint, or an anchjdosis,—a growing to¬ 
gether of these bones witliout enlargement of 
the joint—as in occult spavin. This growth of 
bone, gradually in manj'- cases, increases until 
the entire joint, except in its articulation with the 
leg-bone (the one above the joint), becomes per¬ 
fectly inflexible, in firct, almost as one solid bone. 
There are ten bones composing this joint, 
which corresponds with the heel in man; they 
are all capped or enclosed with elastic cartilage, 
which protects them from concussion and fric¬ 
tion ; and between and about the bones thus 
covered, lies the synovial membrane, the oflice 
of which is to secrete a fluid to lubricate the 
joint, so that the machinery shall play smoothly. 
Over the joint in several places pass the strong 
tendons of muscles, which move the leg below' 
the hock, and these are bound down to the 
joint by V'cry strong investing ligaments, under 
which they glide freelj'. 
Severe pulling, leaping, wrenching of the leg, 
and other causes, may bring on an inflammation 
of this structure, which, being neglected and 
communicating to the bone, causes osseous en¬ 
largement. In some cases it is at once indicated 
by lameness, or by an inability to carry the foot 
naturally, when first taken from the stable; at 
others it can only be seen or felt wdien carefully 
observed. In any case it is dangerous, and may 
grow worse, 
even when /'( 
cons isting 
merely of 
what the 
horse dealer 
will call a 
^‘•jackf that 
is,a little en¬ 
large m e n t 
low down 
on the inner 
side of the 
hock, orup¬ 
on the head 
of one of the 
splint bones. 
Fig. 2. 
(One of these 
splint bones may be seen as a 
slender pointed bone, large 
at the hock, and extending 
more than half-way to the 
fetlock — sound, in fig. l,and 
much diseased in fig. 2.) 
Any enlargement of the 
bones of this joint is liable 
to cause lameness, because Fig. 1. 
they are so crossed and pressed upon bj’’ 
tendons; but the lameness thus caused is al¬ 
ways most evident when the horse is first taken 
from the stable, and often disappears entirely 
after the animal warms up with e.xercise. For 
this reason a spavined horse, if for sale, is 
never shown in the stable, but always upon 
the road, and after he has been driven awhile. 
By examining the two engravings we present, 
the nature of the disease may be distinctly com¬ 
prehended. The drawings were made with 
great care from specimens kindly loaned to us 
from the museum of the N. Y. College cf Yete- 
rinary Surgeons, on Lexington Avenue. Fig. 1 
shows the bones sound and healthy; fig. 2 rep¬ 
resents a very bad case, of course. Spavin pre¬ 
vents the free flexion and extension of the limb. 
The front of the shoe is usually unnaturally worn 
off, and often the toe of the hoof is worn by 
dragging. For any inflammation or heating of 
the hock, whether obviously spavin or not, give 
rest, good food, not of a heating quality; bathe 
the joint in cold water, either simple or contain¬ 
ing saltpeter or sal-ammoniac in solution, keep¬ 
ing it constantly wet and cool. Should bunches 
appe.ar and not subside under this treatment, 
the usual practice is to excite the skin by lini¬ 
ments or blisters, and to apph^ subsequently an 
ointment containing Iodine, or some of its com¬ 
pounds. But if a veterinary surgeon of ability 
is within reach, by all means consult him. If 
not, talk with j'our firmily physician, and 
exercise common sense. 
Spavin does not render a horse useless for a 
long time, but it makes him unsalable, and is so 
hereditary that a spavined mare ought not to be 
used for breeding, and certainly no spavined 
stallion should be employed as a stock getter. 
Occult Spavin begins with an inflammation, 
leading to ulceration and anchylosis of the joint; 
exterior signs are obscure, but the horse ma¬ 
nifests extreme pain. The treatment is rest in a 
sling, so that all weight is taken from the 
joint, and such external appliances and diet as 
common sense, in the absence of a good veteri¬ 
nary surgeon, Mdll dictate. We have no ex¬ 
perience and shall not attempt to prescribe. 
The disease is unhappily both frequent and dis¬ 
tressing, in some cases resulting in the.union 
into one solid mass of the four little bones 
w’hich rest upon the tops of the metacarpal 
(cannon and splint) bones. Of course per¬ 
manent and incurable lameness is the result. 
Bog Spavin. —This disease is recognized by 
*he formation of a sack of liquid on the front of 
the hock-joint, and is caused by an unnatural 
increase of the synovial fluid, wdiich, as we have 
said, lubricates the joints. It is unsightly, but 
does not ordinarily cause lameness. With good 
usage it is sometimes, though rarely, absorbed, 
and this may be expedited by the application of 
an elastic bandage over the part, Avhen the 
horse is at rest. Tliis puffy swelling, usually 
caused by strains and wrenches, is not for a 
moment to be confounded with true spavin. 
“Blood” spavin is a misnomer. 
How to Clean Seed V/heat 
There are sometimes seeds of charlock, winter- 
cress, cockle, chess, dock, pigeon weed, oats, 
and some other kinds among seed wheat. Be¬ 
sides the seeds of weeds, the small shrunken 
and immature kernels should be separated, and 
the largest and fairest only retained. The small 
shriveled grains may vegetate as readily as the 
plump ones, but the ears will not be so long and 
large, nor the kernels so plump and fliir. 
If a person has nothing but a common fan¬ 
ning mill for cleaning seed wheat, the sieves can 
usually be arranged to separate every thing from 
the best grain. If there be nothing but charlock, 
cress, or dock seed among the wheat, by carry¬ 
ing the grain out on the screen board so far that 
it Avill fall near the upper edge of a coarse 
screen, eveiy kernel of small wheat and seeds of 
weeds will fall into the screen box, and the 
choicest grain Avill be delivered on the floor, or 
in the appropriate grain-box. After such seeds 
harm been separated, should there be oats among 
the seed Avheat, a sieve made of perforated tin, 
or zinc, should be placed in the lower gain of 
the shoe, and the wheat put tlirongh the mill 
again. The perforations in the zinc should be 
just large enough to allow the largest kernels of 
wheat to drop through, while the oats being 
longer than the diameter of the holes, Avill slide 
over them and be collected in a box or on the 
floor by themselves. Perforated zinc, or pressed 
wire cloth for sieves, may be obtained at hard- 
Avare stores, and be fitted to any mill. Re¬ 
peated AvinnoAving Avith a strong blast will, each 
time it is repeated, separate additional light 
grains, and improve the qualit 3 "of the seed grain. 
-- - - 
Coal Tar on Fence Posts. 
The subject of preserving fence timber, though 
often discussed, is still one upon Avhich the light 
of ncAV fiicts and experience is alwa}'s AAmlcome. 
Mr. Gilbert!. Greene, of Rensselaer Co., N. Y., 
Avrites: —“I have been requested by several 
readers of the American Agriculturist, to make 
a short statement of my experiments and ex¬ 
perience in preserving fence posts, Avater pipes, 
making roofs, floors, etc., by the use of coal tar. 
As your room is too valuable, perhaps, to give an 
extended notice of my various experiments, I de¬ 
tail them only so far as preserving fence posts 
is concerned. In the spring of 1858 I had oc¬ 
casion to build a short piece of fence, which re¬ 
quired forty posts. I could not procure such 
timber as I Avished, and was compelled to use 
hemlock irosts, 4x5 inches square, and surely' 
could not ha\'e selected worse ones of any de¬ 
scription. Many of my neighbors said they 
Avould rot off before cold weather set in. Think¬ 
ing it a good opportunity to test the coal tar, I 
treated the posts in the following manner: 
Twenty posts Avere coated with it for a distance 
of three feet from the bottom, and into this a 
quantity of fine, diy sand was rubbed or sprink¬ 
led ; the bottom of tiie post was thickly coated 
Avith tar and sand. Three daj'S afterAA'ard the 
posts Avere brushed off Avith a broom, and 
another coat of tar and sand Avas applied, as 
before. Thej' Avere left exposed to the sun for 
three days, and Avere then set thirty-two inches 
deep. Ten of the other posts were merely coated 
with coal tar, and no sand applied ; five Avere 
charred in a fire and set AA’itliout tar, and five 
Avere set Avithout any preparation Avhatever. 
On my return from the war in May last, I 
examined these posts, and found that the five 
that Avere set Avithout anj'’ preparation had rot¬ 
ted entirely aAvajq and had been replaced ly 
others in the spring of 1862. Three of those 
that Avere charred Avere also replaced at the 
same time, the other two a year later. The ten 
that Avere coated with coal tar Avithout the sand, 
had rotted, and Avere replaced in 1864. Tlie 
twentj' that Avere coated Avith tar and sand are 
still standing, ns sound, I think, as Avhen they 
Avere put there, and I Avould liaA'e no hesitation 
in guaranteeing them to stand for the next 
fifteen years. Above ground tiie posts Avere 
planed and Avell painted.” 
Mr. Greene accounts for these results by the 
fact that a thin coating of coal tar is not im¬ 
permeable to air and moisture, Avhile the thick 
coating of sand and tar is perfectly so. He 
adds;—“If I Avas to build a fence Avhere the 
