1040 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 5, 
DISHORNING CATTLE. 
Tell me about the dishorning of cattle, 
the best instruments in use, where they can 
be obtained and cost of same; what age 
cattle should be before the horns are taken 
off, the best time of the year for dishorn¬ 
ing and treatment after the horns are re¬ 
moved. p. B. 
Virginia. 
Cattle are dishorned as a means of 
protection from those of vicious tem¬ 
perament, to save space in shipping and 
to keep both beef and dairy animals 
quiet. Dishorning is done most humanely 
and best done when young—from three 
days to about a week old. It should 
then be done when the “button” or im¬ 
mature horn can be felt freely movable 
beneath the skin, and before the inter¬ 
vening connective tissue has become ossi¬ 
fied. At this stage the button can be 
removed and further horn growth per¬ 
manently checked by the use of caustic 
potash. The method is as follows: 
Clip off the hair on the button as closely 
as possible, and apply the caustic potash. 
Care should be taken to cover the entire 
button and the button alone. The potash 
is applied by wetting the skin and rub¬ 
bing on the potash. Others moisten the 
potash and apply to the dry button. In 
either case care should be taken not to 
allow the potash to get into the calf’s 
eyes 01 anywhere it is not wanted. The 
operator should have his fingers well 
protected, otherwise it may cause a very 
painful burn. The caustic potash is pre¬ 
pared in sticks and can be purchased at 
almost any drug store. While in the 
button stage and for a short time after¬ 
ward, before the horn)’ tissue becomes 
too solid, the horn may be removed with 
a gouge, after which the wound should 
be washed with a disinfectant and cov¬ 
ered with absorbent cotton to keep out 
the dirt and stop the flow of blood. Pine 
tar and cotton are good and are some¬ 
times used for that purpose. 
Older animals can be dishorned with 
a bone saw, such as used by butchers, or 
better, with a dishorning shears. In 
either case the animal should be securely 
fastened. If the head or body is free to 
move it will cause discomfort for the 
operator to say the least, and may re¬ 
sult in splintering the horn. If the ani¬ 
mal cannot be secured in a stanchion it 
should be thrown, its feet firmly tied to¬ 
gether and the head held steady, close to 
the ground by means of a halter or by 
placing a plank across the neck. The 
uppermost horn is removed, the animal 
is turned over and the remaining horn 
is taken off. 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. The wound should 
be washed with a disinfectant, followed 
by the application of cotton pads. These 
should be tied on. Some use pine tar 
and cotton. If the saw is used care 
should be taken that none of the bone 
dust stays in the horn. Generally the 
flow of blood and the tossing of the 
animal’s head will be sufficient to take 
care of that. Should pus form from 
that or any other reason the wound 
should be thoroughly washed with a dis¬ 
infectant and dressed with fresh cotton. 
Although the dishorning shears are 
quicker and many prefer them for that 
reason, yet there is danger of splinter¬ 
ing the horn if the shears are dull or of 
poor quality. By sawing around through 
the outer horny layer and then quickly 
sawing through the sensitive tissue a . 
neater operation will result. Many pre¬ 
fer the saw because of the price, ranging 
from $2 to $5. Dishorning shears range 
from $6.50 up, while a gouge will cost 
about $1.50. Caustic potash or the 
gouge is used with calves about three 
days to 10 days of age, while cattle are 
dishorned at almost any age, preferably 
under two years of age. The operation 
should not be done in “fly” time, but 
rather in the late Fall or early Spring. 
In the Middle West dishorning is 
quite generally practiced on dairy cattle 
and cattle going into the feed lot, par¬ 
ticularly is this the case with vicious 
sires of those types. Breeders of pure¬ 
bred stock, however, do not favor dis¬ 
horning, especially if they exhibit stock 
at the fairs. Other things being equal, 
a judge will decide in favor of the 
horned animal against the dishorned. 
This does not mean that judges will dis¬ 
criminate against cattle that are natur¬ 
ally polled or without horns, for they 
are generally shown in different classes. 
An animal may be a very good represen¬ 
tative of its breed except for a defective 
or ill-shaped horn, and there is a pos¬ 
sibility of the dishorning hiding a de¬ 
fect. 
The question sometimes arises whether 
or not continued dishorning would re¬ 
sult in a polled breed, one that would 
reproduce polled animals. That would 
lead us into a discussion of the trans¬ 
mission of acquired characteristics. As 
far as any evidence at hand at present 
shows, continued dishorning would not 
influence the horns of the offspring. On 
the contrary, the fox terrier has been 
docked for generation after generation 
with no appreciable effect toward the 
establishment of a short-tailed breed. 
L R. D. 
AILING ANIMALS. 
Ringbone. 
I have a horse that is lame in one leg 
and the blacksmith told me it was ringbone. 
Is • there a cure for it? The blacksmith 
told me there was no cure. 
Connecticut. n. j. 
Blisters or liniments will not be likely 
to cure the lameness of a bad case of ring¬ 
bone ; but it should be quite possible to 
remove it by having the ringbone puncture- 
fired and blistered by a graduate veterin¬ 
arian and afterwards allowing six weeks 
rest tied up in stall. If the lameness per¬ 
sists the ringbone may be repeatedly blis¬ 
tered after the six-weeks’ rest. a. s. a. 
Abortion. 
Would eating wheat cause a cow to have 
abortion? We know of no other cause. 
New York. t c. w. a. 
Indigestion from any sudden change of 
food or from any unsuitable food may induce 
abortion. Feeding wheat might well cause 
sufficient disturbance to cause abortion, 
but we are unable to say that that was the 
cause. It always is best to treat every 
case of abortion as if it were known to 
be due to contagion, otherwise other cattle 
may contract the contagion and prove a 
loss to the owner. Treatment for con¬ 
tagious abortion has been given several 
times in this department. A. s. a. 
Decrease in Milk Flow. 
I have a Jersey cow about eight years 
old. She had a calf in July and gave over 
12 quarts of milk. She was quite thin and 
has only of late improved in weight, but 
has fallen off in milk to five quarts. The 
pasture is good and in addition I give 
sweet apples occasionally, two quarts meal, 
two quarts bran twice a day, morning and 
night, salt, clean water. She was kept in 
an open shed during warm weather. Can 
you tell me what to do to increase the 
milk? I have sprayed her to keep the flies 
away. h. y. 
Rhode Island. 
Better keep the cow off grass and feed 
good mixed hay and corn fodder or sil¬ 
age, and in addition allow cornmeal, bran 
and other feeding meals likely to improve 
the milk flow. Medicinal treatment should 
not be necessary Warm drinks would 
prove beneficial. a. s. a. 
Lame Colt. 
I have a colt five years old which was 
not used to work, and I used him on the 
harrow half a day. Since then he has been 
lame in the left leg: the nerve in the 
shoulder is swollen a little and is a little 
sore when pressed hard. 11 is legs seem to 
be all right, no swelling except that men¬ 
tioned above. What would be good to cure 
lameness? Is there anything to stop a 
young horse from stumbling on the road? 
Connecticut. p. j. c. 
Very likely the colt has been sweeneyed 
in working. The muscles of the shoulder 
in that case will begin to waste away. 
Mix together equal parts of aqua ammonia 
and turpentiue and shake up with six parts 
of raw linseed oil. Rub the shoulder 
muscles with this once a day. Proper 
shoeing will doubtless correct the tendency 
to stumbling, provided the horse is not 
afflicted with ringbone or some other seri¬ 
ous trouble of the tendons or bones. 
a. s. 
a. 
Worms. 
I want to ask a remedy for bots and 
worms in horses. Our team here is a pair 
of six-year-olds that came from the West 
this Spring, and they both have worms. 
One has had two light attacks of worm 
colic, and a few days later passed two 
bots. The horses weigh a little better than 
1.100 each, are in good flesh, and feel well. 
I feed them whole corn and bran, corn and 
oats, cracked corn and bran or oats, any¬ 
where from six to 12 quarts a day per 
horse, according to what they are doing. 
Maine. ' c. j. b. 
Feed on whole oats, bran and hay. Do 
not feed corn before cold weather comes 
on. Avoid hay from low wet land. In 
the feed mix night and morning for a 
week a tablespoonful of a mixture of equal 
parts salt, dried sulphate of iron, flowers 
or sulphur and ground gentian root: then 
skip 10 days and repeat. Omit the iron 
for mares in foal and in their case double 
the dose of salt. Medicine has no effect 
upon bots nor is there need of treating 
horses for those parasites. a. s. a. 
Lame Sow. 
I have a live months’ old sow that seems 
to have weak back. She has difficulty in 
getting on hind feet after lying down, al¬ 
most drags them at first ii' hurried, but 
after standing a bit she obtains better con¬ 
trol of them. What can I do to remedy 
this condition? She sleeps dry and is 
kept in sod floor portable pen (moved to 
new orchard sod every day or two), is not 
ringed and has been fed cornmeal, mid¬ 
dlings. tankage, table refuse and some 
apples, charcoal, salt. etc. She is not thriv- 
considerable less than her 
her. g. j. m. 
ing and weighs 
sister, kept with 
Pennsylvania. 
Give tln» sow 
board floor to 
her run out du 
not lie on a sod 
her present 
epsom salts 
the bowels acting 
of ounces of raw 
time when the droppings are 
dry. Stop feeding corn and 
a pen in the stable, on a 
be well bedded : but let 
•ing the day. She should 
floor or any damp place in 
condition. Physic her with 
in slop and afterward keep 
freely by mixing jl couple 
linseed oil in slop at any 
seen to be too 
meal and con¬ 
tinue light slop of milk, middlings and 
flaxseed meal, to each quart of which add 
one ounce of lime water. Rub her loins 
once daily with druggist’s soap liniment 
four parts and turpentine one part. 
A. S. A. 
Get the manure on to 
your land when it will 
do the most good—di¬ 
rect from your barns to 
your fields while it still 
contains its full fertiliz¬ 
ing properties, much of 
which are lost in the dung heap 
The Star Litter Carrier will do 
for you—carry the manure out auto 
matically and dump it into 
spreader ready for the land. 
The Star Litter Carrier will soon 
pay for itself in the labor it saves. 
It will cut in half the cost of keep¬ 
ing your barns clean—save you the 
greater part of the wages you are 
now paying for that purpose. It 
does the dirtiest, hardest work on 
the farm better than 
it can be done 
in any other way. 
The Star Litter Car¬ 
rier is not for the big 
farm only; it will 
save money, time and labor on any 
farm in the country. It will save 
being without it, 
used it on your 
once 
farm. 
of 
STAR 
Litter Carrier 
would n 
think of 
you have 
Write us for full particulars. 
Send us a rough ground floor plan 
your barn, giving dimensions 
and distance you 
would want the car¬ 
rier to run out of the 
barn. We will send 
you, by return mail, 
our illustrated cata¬ 
logue andexactcostof 
the complete equipment you should 
have 
in your barn. Write to-day. 
HUNT, HELM, FERRLS & CO., 55 Hunt St., Harvard, Ill. 
For 25 years makers of money and 
labor saving barn equipment. 
TAKE A GOOD 
LOOK AT THIS LABEL 
It stands for all that is best in shovel construction. It 
is a positive guarantee that any shovel bearing this 
label ar.d the “ O. Ames” die-stamp is the best— 
the world's standard. 
Thats 
the 
Shovel 
O.AMES 
r KOKEKTSON’S CHAIN 
HANGING STANCHIONS 
“I have used them for more 
than TWENTY YEARS, and they 
have given the very best of satis¬ 
faction in every way,” writes 
Justus If. Cooley, M I)., Plainfield 
Sanitarium, Plainfield, N. J. 
Thirty days’ d ial on application 
O. II. ROHERTSON 
Wush. St., Forcfltville, Conn. 
COW COMFORT 
Means Cow Profit 
The quality of Foster Steel 
Stanchions is known everywhere 
Durability and ease of operation 
unsurpassed. Send for new cata¬ 
logue of Stanchions and Water 
Basins, showing model stables 
Foster Steel Stanchion Co., 
DOti Ins. Bldg., Rochester, N. V 
Ames ” Shovels 
are built right on scientific 
principles. Design, material, 
construction, workmanship 
— every part from start to 
finish has been planned 
and worked out with 
an eye single to the 
highest efficiency and 
durability. 
THE QUALITY 
MARK 
Remember to look 
for the “O. Arnes' ^ 
stamp and label it 
you want to secure 
quality-made shovel. 
We would like In wail you 
“ Shovel Facts." It is fn 
just seud us your name and ad¬ 
dress on a post card. 
OLIVER AMES & SONS 
Corporation 
Ames Building, Boston, Mass. 
Lean Meal, 
Gristle & Bone 
Greatest of all egg 
makers—costs least, 
produces best results. 
Prepare quickly and easily 
with the 
STANDARD 
Bone Cutter 
The pride of poul- 
trymen. No other 
runs so easy or does 
such good work. 
Cutis different from others. Handle* green or dry 
bone, clean or meaty, large or small. Cuts with or 
across grain. Sent on trial. Test for yourseif. 12 
sizes. W rite today for Free book. 
Standard Bone Cutter Co.. Milford, Mass. 
rDIIMP'C IMPROVED 
uKV/moo warriner 
STANCHION 
“ JNIy bam that was 
BURNED 
was fitted with Crumb’s 
Warriner Stanchions. If it 
had not been for the ease with 
which these fasteners were 
opened I should have lost my 
cows,” writes Mr. Everett 
Gains, Bernardstown, Mass. 
Booklet Free. 
WALLACE It. CRUMB, B.iJUu, Forestville, Conn. 
{increase Stock Profits^ 
Mix cut roots with dry feed—double Its 
value, keep stock healthy, and they pay a 
bigger profit on less feed. Boots Increase ▼ 
relish and digestion. And the 
Banner 
Cutter 
Root 
Is the only ma¬ 
chine making the 
'‘Non-Choke Curve Cut” feed 
from roots,etc. Self feeding; cuts fast 
and easy; separates dirt from roots. 
Made in 7 BtyleB and sizes. Book Free. 
0. E. Thompson & Sons, Yprilanti, Mich. 
Hi EXCELSIOR SWING STANCHION 
Warranted The Best. 30 Days’ Trial. 
Unlike all others. Stationary when open. 
Noiseless Simple Sanitary Durable 
The Wasson 
Box GO, 
Stanchion Co., 
Cuba, N. Y. 
