Vol. LVII. No. 2526. 
NEW YORK, JUNE 25, 1898. 
PER YEAR. 
THE FAMILY HORSE. 
THE HARDEST HORSE TO FIND. 
Every Family Should Have One. 
There may not be any more reason in the claims of 
an all-purpose horse than there is in the heresy of an 
all-purpose cow ; yet there is a distinction that be¬ 
longs to the former that does not find logic in the 
sphere of the latter. It is just as natural that a woman 
should love a horse as her opposite sex, but Nature 
not having given her sufficient animal force to handle 
the modern-bred type that horse fanciers are con¬ 
stantly pressing into the market, she finds her sphere 
in healthful exercise limited, because but one horse 
out of one hundred owned by men of means or other¬ 
wise, is safe to be driven by anything but a horse 
trainer, and even then the most dare-devil jockey finds 
himself occasionally in such close quarters as to make 
horse-training unpleasant, if not altogether dangerous. 
The craze for horses of speed has caused a class of 
horses to be bred that must naturally be high-lifed 
and of a nervous, high-strung character, to do the kind 
of work desired. Such horses are 
all right in their place, but the aver¬ 
age man imagines that he must 
breed ordinary animals to get speed. 
Our experience is that we get every¬ 
thing but speed. Usually every 
mean habit that belongs to a stallion 
of extraordinary speed, and which 
has been bred in that direction for 
genei-ations in that line, seems to be 
transmitted to his progeny. It is 
seldom that such horses are safe for 
family use, and from just such a 
course of breeding, a safe, tractable 
animal can scarcely be found that 
will take its place at any position on 
the farm, and work quietly without 
constant training, or rather break¬ 
ing, every time he is put to work. 
A farmer one year ago began to 
inquire for a family mare, one that 
the wife, daughters and children 
could handle, drive and ride, and 
with which it would be a delight to 
leave home with a feeling of security 
that they might return safe and 
sound. I happen to know the his¬ 
tory of the search which lasted one 
whole year, accompanied with dis¬ 
appointment and sometimes de¬ 
spair of obtaining the desired prize. 
When it was found, a long price had 
to be paid for it. I have procured a picture of it, (see 
Fig. 198), and the little girl of the family, who is 
almost a daily occupant of the saddle on its back. It 
comes to her first solicitation in the pasture, and in 
every particular, is a desirable animal. It is sound, 
five years old, works in any place, does not frighten 
at steam or at a bicycle, but cannot trot a mile in 
three minutes, is valuable to its owner, and is not for 
sale at any price. 
To the observant reader, I suggest a study of the 
portrait, as the likeness of the animal is perfect. It 
has what we term a genial face, a mild, serene eye 
that belongs to a well-disposed animal, choke-full of 
docility and good horse sense. A strong body, well 
underpinned with a neat, symmetrical outline indica¬ 
tive of what a farmer would term an all-purpose horse 
for the farm. 
Every farm should have on it at least one such ani¬ 
mal, so that the women of the family can have the use 
of it at any time for visiting and open-air exercise, 
either in driving or riding. The ownership and use 
of such horses are often worth more to the good health 
of a family than the services of a physician. 
(T^I have known'girls that were delicate, lacking phys¬ 
ical vigor, that were restored to full habits of woman¬ 
hood by daily horseback riding, where an easy-going, 
single-footer was provided for their use. Some locali¬ 
ties have ostracised the riding horse, thereby making 
it an unpopular pastime among young people. In 
eastern Ohio, among our hills and valleys, landscaped 
with a picturesque outline of beauty, adorned with 
clusters of forest trees and ribbed with crystal flow¬ 
ing streams, is where equestrianship has its greatest 
display. geo. e. scott. 
Ohio. 
A “QUACK” AND HIS WORK. 
THE HORRORS OF A COW DOCTOR. 
I have read of several absurd, not to say outrageous, 
treatments of domestic animals mentioned by different 
readers of The Rural New-Yorker, by men recom¬ 
mended to them, who pretend to practice veterinary 
medicine and surgery, without having the slightest 
qualification. The article in the issue of June 4 about 
the hooks, calls to my mind an instance which came 
about in my practice this Spring. A cow had swal¬ 
lowed a small, soft cabbage head, which became 
lodged in the thoracic portion of the oesophagus, and 
I was called to treat the case. After trying every 
rational expedient to remove the obstruction, I con¬ 
cluded that it could not be done, and recommended 
turning the animal over to the butcher. This, how¬ 
ever, was not done ; but an expert (?) who “ had never 
lost a case,” was called. The cow was led out to a tree, 
and her head well elevated ; a hickory stick was then 
thrust down the poor brute’s neck, and the operator 
succeeded, after considerable effort, in pushing the 
stick through. The cow was now untied; but com¬ 
menced shaking violently, and was hardly able to 
move to her stall. 
The doctor (?) then concluded that it was not choke 
that ailed her; but she had the “ hollow horn ”. A 
quantity of tixrpentine was poured in the hollow of the 
head back of the horns, and heated in with a hot iron. 
The discharge, which the operator had confidently 
stated would take place from the nostrils, did not put 
in an appearance, and he came to the conclusion that 
it might be “wolf in the tail”. So the tail was 
split according to all the rules of surgery ; but “ the 
wolf” refused to come out. The cow still shook like 
a leaf, and she must have a passage. Two pounds of 
salts, or as much of it as the animal could be induced 
to swallow, was poured down. This was followed by 
a quart of linseed oil, and as this had no effect, and as 
the operator knew the cow must die if the bowels were 
not made to move, the entrails of a chicken were 
forced down her throat. This the doctor had never 
known to fail. All this took place in the course of a 
day, and in addition, the hickory stick was brought 
into use at intex*vals. 
In the evening, I saw the owner of the cow, who 
told me what had happened, and added that the cow 
was still alive, but suffering terribly. I l’equested 
him to call me when she died, as I wished to make an 
autopsy, which I had an opportunity to make the fol¬ 
lowing morning. The cabbage head was still lodged 
in the oesophagus. The hickory stick had been pushed 
through into the thoracic cavity, and had been forced 
against the walls of the chest so as to produce a dis¬ 
colored spot as large as two hands. The salts, the 
oil and the chicken entrails were 
found floating among the contents 
of the chest. 
This may not be of any interest to 
your readers, but I thought, per¬ 
haps, it might save some poor ani¬ 
mal from undergoing similar suffer- 
ings. The owners of stock might 
better depend on Nature alone, and 
do nothing, than to turn their dumb 
servants over to the mercies of a 
man who knows no more, and in a 
great many cases far less, than the 
man who employs him. In apply¬ 
ing the sciences of medicine or sur¬ 
gery, whether on man or beast, 
common sense should be liberally 
used. Here is a recipe that is al¬ 
ways safe in any ailment. I found it 
in a scrap-book of my school days. 
Cleanliness. 
Fresh air. 
Good nursing, equal parts. 
Common sense, sufficient quantity. 
Administer freely. 
Wisconsin. w. R. CI.AUSSKN. 
R. N.-Y.—Probably all veterin¬ 
arians could tell of similar cases 
where poor, helpless, suffering 
brutes have been tortured by greater 
brutes than themselves. No punish¬ 
ment is too severe for such hum¬ 
bugs. They should be punished to 
the full extent of the law. It is usually this class of 
quacks that have the most to say in opposition to laws 
regulating the practice of veterinary surgery. Their 
abominable practices have no place in this progi-essive 
Nineteenth Century. 
Home-Mixed “Condition Powders”. 
In a recent issue of Farm and Home, Dr. Smead speaks of the 
economy in mixing condition powders for live stock, at home. He 
recommends the following formula as a good general tonic for 
farm live stock: Powdered nitrate of potash, one pound; Jamaica 
ginger, four ounces; powdered golden seal and gentian root, of 
each, three ounces; powdered anise seed, two ounces; mix thor¬ 
oughly and give one rounding teaspoonful in oats or wheat bran 
as a dose. 
The advice given in the foregoing for farmers to 
mix their own condition powders instead of buying 
the expensive proprietary powders sold in the market, 
is perfectly practicable. If a farmer desires to give a 
condition powder on his own responsibility or diag¬ 
nosis, he can just as well mix the powder himself at 
less than one-fourth the cost, that will be as good as 
the more expensive ready-made mixtures. But unless 
a farmer has a pretty definite idea as to what his 
patient ought to have, and it is a case that really 
