1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
827 
Ailing Animals. 
ANSWERS BY DR. F. L. KILBORNE. 
Abortion in a Cow. 
I have a cow which lost her calf Octo¬ 
ber 20. She was due December 28. I can¬ 
not give any reason, unless she slipped go¬ 
ing in or out of the stable, which is up 
quite high and has a plank walk with 
pieces nailed on, and about a foot drop at 
the bottom. She seemed all right, but 
found the calf out in the field where she 
was at pasture. Would there be danger 
of abortion occurring next time? Would 
you advise giving her anything now, or at 
seven months, the period at which she 
aborted this time? She always seemed to 
be a healthy cow. e. h. b. 
Rochester, N. Y. 
A strain resulting from a slip or high 
step is a not infrequent cause of an 
abortion. If she is a desirable cow, I 
would advise keeping her over, other¬ 
wise not. She ought to be as good as a 
farrow cow, and would, therefore, pay 
her keep. I would not breed her again 
until at least two or three months after 
all vaginal discharge has ceased. Hav- 
<ing lost her calf once, she would be more 
susceptible to causes that might induce 
abortion, than if the accident had never 
occurred, but with a little extra care to 
avoid all causes that favor abortion, she 
would probably carry her calf the full 
term. 
Collar Tumor on Horse's Neck. 
My horse has an enlargement half the 
size of a fist on shoulder, nearly half way 
up the neck, caused by using harness too 
high and too tight while plowing. I have 
reduced the lump to half its former size in 
three weeks with one quart tincture Lo¬ 
belia. I am now using 40 drops fluid ex¬ 
tract of Poison oak to one quart rain 
water. What is left of the enlargement 
is hard. I have rubbed all the soft part 
away. What do you think of the treat¬ 
ment? What would you do to reduce the 
enlargement? Would you advise light 
work for the horse? a. w. b. 
Dade County, Fla. 
Your present treatment is hardly ac¬ 
tive enough to cause further reduction of 
the tumor. If there is a well-defined 
hard lump, the quickest method to re¬ 
move it is to dlissect it out with a sharp 
knife, and treat the incision as a simple 
wound. If the lump or tumor is not 
well defined, I would first blister with 
the biniodide of mercury ointment 
(biniod'ide of mercury, two drams; vase¬ 
line, one ounce; mix). Should this fail 
to cause absorption, or to reduce the 
tumor, then cut it out. It would be 
better for the horse to have moderate 
exercise. You could probably work him 
in a breast collar without irritating the 
tumor. 
Premature Parturition in Cows. 
1 have a herd of 15 cows, and the past 
Summer four lost their calves at from the 
seventh to the ninth month. I have had 
no such trouble before. My bull is seven 
years old; could his age or inbreeding 
cause the trouble, or is this trouble ever 
caused by some defect in the bull? 
Campville, Conn. g. b. a. 
It is generally held that abortions may 
be due to some defect in the male, such 
as debility from too frequent usage, old 
age, or other causes that affect the ani¬ 
mal’s health. It is, however, largely a 
matter of opinion rather than of fact. 
There are a great variety of causes that 
are known to favor abortion, and others 
that are credited with causing abortions. 
In many cases abortions can readily be 
traced to some known cause, while in 
others there is no apparent cause. If 
there were some defect in the bull in 
such cases, the trouble would very nat¬ 
urally be attributed to him. Inbreed¬ 
ing tends to favor abortions. Overfeed¬ 
ing, indigestible foods, frosted food or 
ice water in large quantities, exposure to 
sudden extreme changes of temperature, 
certain plants and remedies that act on 
the womb, undue use of purgatives, 
over-exertion or straining, running or 
jumping, injuries, especially blows or 
kicks on the abdomen, undue excitement 
or fear, and most serious diseases, are 
known causes of abortion. I would ad¬ 
vise that the aborting cows be not bred 
again until at least three months after 
all vaginal discharge has ceased. Should 
you have further trouble, write again, 
referring to this page. Occurring be¬ 
tween the seventh and ninth month, it 
is technically known as premature par¬ 
turition rather than abortion. 
Sheep on Shares. —The old custom 
was for owner and keeper to share 
equally the increase and wool. This was 
the custom when sheep meant Merinos, 
and the wool insured a larger return. 
The division proposed on page 762 would 
be rather in favor of the keeper. Sup¬ 
posing that two-year-old ewes valued at 
$5 each were let, the owner might expect 
one lamb as the return for an invest¬ 
ment of $10 for one year. Considering 
the lamb worth $3, this on the face 
would appear a good dividend, but the 
depreciation of such ewes, together with 
the probable losses, would fully equal 
half that amount. A depreciation of 50 
cents a year per head is below a fair 
estimate. The average life of the larger 
English breeds in this country is not 
above seven or eight years, depending 
upon the care given them. There is com¬ 
pensation in part for this depreciation 
in the growth of the young ewes. If the 
proposition contemplates the division at 
the close of the three years in the Fall, 
when the young stock allotted to the 
owner would have six or more months’ 
growth of wool upon them, the agree¬ 
ment would not be an unfair one. If the 
owner is not to have this advantage, he 
should require that any losses among 
the old stock should oe replaced by av¬ 
erage animals of the oldest offspring. It 
would not pay either owner or keeper 
to start with a flock over four years of 
age. The older the ewes at the start, the 
greater the advantage of the owner. 
There is little or no profit in inferior 
Sheep. H. V. MILLER. 
Delaware County, Ohio. 
Drying off Cows. —Having seen under 
date of October 28, what Q. R. F., Tolland 
County, Conn., says about his cow, will 
enclose a clipping which perhaps will 
answer the question he asks about her: 
“I have learned not to dry off a cow after 
she has begun to spring bag. If a cow" is 
dried off at this stage she is worth about 
half the next season.— S. B. M.” We had 
the same experience once. Fortunately 
for us, the quoted paragraph appeared, 
shortly after, in our agricultural paper. 
We have never had trouble of the kind 
since with that or any other cow. a. b. 
Anson, Maine. 
Make Cows Pay. 
If every cow would 
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THE 
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