324 ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FARM HORSE. 
before the foal be allowed to suck. It is a well-known fact that 
hundreds of calves are yearly lost by giving them milk only a 
few degrees warmer than the milk of the cow. Scour or bloody 
flux is the invariable result. 
Castration. 
This operation is not usually performed until the colt is from 
one to two years old. The best criterion as to when the animal 
ought to be castrated is to observe his external form. If there is 
a want of crest, or if the shoulders are thin, and his form is meagre, 
it will be best to defer it for awhile: on the contrary, if there is a 
disposition in the colt to become heavy or gross, the operation 
should not be delayed. The month of May is well suited for the 
performance of the operation; so is September, if the colt is to be 
operated on before being separated from its dam. The weather 
and temperature of these months are most congenial for the opera¬ 
tion. Very few premonitory steps need be taken before the colt 
be cut, keeping it without food over-night being all that is re¬ 
quired. Let the colt be ever so well castrated, considerable swell¬ 
ing of the parts now and then ensues, which will require to be 
combated by bleeding, laxatives, and fomentation. Matter some¬ 
times forms, when the incision will require to be opened afresh, to 
allow its escape. After it is all evacuated, the opening will heal 
again spontaneously. Should the weather happen to be wet or 
cold, the animal ought to be housed for a few days. 
Hereditary Disease. 
I have slightly hinted on the evil of breeding from an animal 
labouring under any constitutional disease or defect in a former 
part of this essay: I shall now enter more minutely into this most 
important subject, viz. the transmission of disease from parents to 
their offspring. A want of due attention to this in the breeding 
and rearing of all animals by the farmer, has been attended with 
more disappointment and loss than any other cause. How obvious 
is the necessity, then, to select breeding animals, as far as human 
skill can discover, free from every taint capable of propagation ! 
Even in this enlightened age much too little attention is given to 
this most essential subject. It is admitted, by human as well as 
by veterinary pathologists, that disease, temperament, internal and 
external defect in organization, can be inherited from both parents 
in their offspring. In the sexual intercourse of the horse, how 
manifest it is that more circumspection ought to be exercised for 
improving the offspring, when we reflect on the many living tes- 
