1911. 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
21 
THE PAIN OF DISHORNING. 
On page 1040, regarding the dishorning 
of cattle, the writer says that “at least a 
quarter to one-half an inch of flesh should 
be included, as the horn should be cut as 
close to the skull as possible.” Another 
authority, I have noted, has said that 
three-quarters of an inch of the hide should 
be taken. The practice of dishorning, if 
done properly, on older animals, appears to 
be diabolical, as far as the act is con¬ 
cerned, and I wonder that your journal, 
which is conspicuous among agricultural 
papers because of its bravery in standing 
for what it believes to be right, should 
recommend torturing a helpless animal for 
any length of time without giving it an 
anaesthetic. james a. smith. 
Connecticut. 
This subject has been discussed over and 
over again in about all of the journals “in¬ 
terested” in the country, and the common 
consent is that it is preferable to prevent 
growth of horns by applying caustic potash 
to the skin just above the horn button 
when the calf is but a few days old. This 
causes little inconvenience and results in 
a polled head that cannot be distinguished 
from that of a polled-bred animal. For 
beef animals the no-horn idea is best man¬ 
aged by using a polled bull. We are now 
getting all of the beef breeds polled for 
those who hate horns. Even the Short-horns 
have now a polled variety, known as the 
“Polled Durham,” and they are purebred, 
fine beasts and mostly eligible to registry in 
both herd books. The Ilerefords are estab¬ 
lishing a like variety and record. Despite 
the possibility of having polled calves born 
or artificially made to grow up hornless, 
horned “critters” continue to form the ma¬ 
jority of our bovine stocks. What shall be 
done with these? Shall we “take arms 
against a sea of troubles and by opposing 
end them” or shall we put up with the 
nuisance of horns for the sake of saving 
the animal pain in losing them? While 
few people are willingly cruel they deem 
it a practical necessity to dishorn cattle and 
they try to do it as painlessly as possible. 
It is not feasible to chloroform cattle while 
operating on the horns; the operation then 
should be done as quickly and humanely as 
possible. There is no excuse in slowly saw¬ 
ing through the butt of the horn with a 
blunt saw; nor do we think it necessary to 
cut far down in the flesh or skin. The 
horn should be taken off as close as possi¬ 
ble, else an unsightly “scur” may grow. 
The operation should be done when the 
horns are thin. It causes more pain to 
remove the thick horns of an adult animal 
and that only should be done in the ease of 
a vicious bull or cow. The humane socie¬ 
ties of several States tried to stop dishorn¬ 
ing, but the practice was so general and 
widespread that the attempt failed. To 
make dishorning a misdemeanor would ne¬ 
cessitate putting castration on the same 
basis, as that operation causes at least as 
much pain as dishorning Docking of horses 
has been made a punishable offense iu many 
States and rightly so; but men continue 
to trim dogs’ ears and to dock puppies with 
seeming impunity. The tails of lambs also 
ars docked, and unless the operation is per¬ 
formed properly the animals are apt to 
suffer much misery from maggots. Per¬ 
sonally the writer does not like to mutilate 
an animal, and he has never docked a horse, 
nor trimmed a dog’s ears and could not be 
engaged to do so. But as a commercial 
proposition he deems dishorning of cattle 
profitable and often absolutely necessary. 
An anaesthetic should be used- in all major 
operations upon animals, but it has rot 
been found feasible to introduce such a 
practice as regards the dishorning of cattle, 
or the branding of cattle, or castration of 
calves, or docking and castration of lambs, 
or the slaughter of animals for food. Many 
castrators of fine horses now use an anaes¬ 
thetic ; if the owner is willing to pay for 
It and the extra help required. There is 
the rub ! It costs money and time to put 
animals under the influence of anaesthetics 
and it is done at considerable risk of life; 
therefore men object and so many a poor 
beast has to suffer. Let us hope that the 
suffering may be made as slight as possi¬ 
ble and short in duration. a. s. a. 
Stimulating Milk Flow. 
I have a Jersey cow about 10 years old. 
She -was fresh October 7, but made no bag 
until calf was three days old. I could not 
dry her up. She gave a small flow of milk 
up to three days before calving. She was 
on good pasture all Summer. For the last 
six weeks I have been feeding chopped feed 
and clover hay. She has ravenous appetite 
and apparently in good health. The calf 
has taken all the milk from the first, and 
is in good condition. She has always been 
a heavy milker, and we have got from two 
to five quarts at a milking besides what the 
calf took. Can you tell me how to increase 
the milk? E B s 
A\ ean the calf and milk the cow three 
times a day. Patiently massage the udder 
when occasion offers and at night rub well 
with brandy. See that her bowels are kept 
acting freely. Twice a day give at least 
one quart of warm flaxseed tea, adding half 
a cupful of black strap molasses. If this 
opens the bowels too much, reduce amount 
of molasses. If milk does not quickly in¬ 
crease add to the drench twice daily a heap¬ 
ing tablespoonful of a mixture of equal 
parts ground anise seed and fennel seed. 
Feed her mixed clover hay, silage, bran, 
gluten meal, a little cornmeal and a little 
dried brewers’ grains. Start with one pound 
of concentrated food per 100 pounds live 
weight and increase the amount as milk 
flow increases. Keep her from chill. Take 
chill off drinking water. Keep her from 
lying on cold grouud or floors. a. s. a. 
Rheumatism. 
I have a fine heifer 10 months old which 
became stiff when she was seven months 
old; it first affected her hind legs but later 
went to her front legs. I consulted a 
veterinary and he thought it was due to 
the heat. She has been in a large pas¬ 
ture with plenty of shade, and eats and 
drinks well, but does not seem to im¬ 
prove any. Will you tell me what to do 
and what ails her? d. c. 
Wisconsin. 
It seems likely that rheumatism maj 
be the cause of stiffness; but the heifer 
might show such symptoms from rickets 
affecting the bones or from tuberculosis, 
which not uncommonly causes stiffness. 
If she does not show the latter disease on 
being tested with tuberculin, try effects of 
salicylate of soda given in one dram dose 
twice daily and then three times daily, if 
found necessary. Stop for a time if the 
medicine impairs the appetite. If any JolnJ 
is enlarged or sore paint it with tincture 
of iodine two or three times a week. 
a. a. a. 
Wart on Mule. 
We have a mare mule developing what 
seems to be a large wart on the inside of 
the left hind leg, on the lower thigh, just 
high enough so that it rubs on the abdo¬ 
men when fighting flies, and this keeps it 
raw most of the time. What can we do 
for it? The wart is now nearly half as 
large as a man’s fist. T. B. 
Mississippi. 
The wart should be cleanly removed by 
careful dissection, followed by cauteriza¬ 
tion. If this cannot be done, then tie a 
small cord very tightly around its base and 
once daily paint with glacial acetic acid 
until it drops off or withers up. a. s. a. 
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