926 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 17, 1913. 
Live Stock and Dairy 
Care of Sheep. 
Cau you furnish me with some good 
ideas on caring for sheep, best breed to 
invest in, how to speculate with them for 
doubling, whore is best place to put 30 
or 15 to double, and what price should 
be paid for good sheep? When is best 
time to buy for best results? Where can 
one get good sheep? C. E. C. 
Oswego, N. Y. 
What is the best breed of sheep to buy? 
An old question to which there can be no 
direct answer, because so much depends 
on the personal likes and dislikes of the 
buyer. Generally speaking for eastern 
conditions some one of the mutton breeds 
such ns the Shropshire, Hampshire, Dor¬ 
set or any other might be best suited. 
This statement is made without any 
thought of casting reflections on the 
cross-bred Merino as a profitable mutton 
sheep, but for a beginner doubtless more 
satisfaction will be secured with pure¬ 
bred than with cross-bred sheep. The 
local market demand is for mutton than 
wool. Hence if one is to grow sheep the 
market demands should be considered. 
When is the best time to buy? When 
a bargain is in sight. Still for a be¬ 
ginner perhaps it will be best to plan to 
purchase in the Fall rather than in the 
Spring. In the Fall breeders sell their 
surplus stock of sheep, and too, by buy¬ 
ing at this time the beginner will have 
time to become familiar with the business 
before lambing time and by the experi¬ 
ence gained should not run so much risk 
of losing lambs at birth. By a little 
calculation—the gestation period of sheep 
being five months—the ewes should be 
made to drop lambs in April. It is a 
good plan to buy yearling ewes to be 
bred in the Fall -or vigorous aged ewes 
with good teeth. 
IIow should they be handled to insure 
doubling? They should be handled with 
exceeding care. Some beginners are in¬ 
clined to figure their profits on paper. 
It is the easiest way but not the wisest. 
To double a flock of sheep in one year 
one must have strong vigorous ewes and 
be a good shepherd. Something depends 
on the breed of sheep but more depends 
on the keeper. A normal ewe will pro¬ 
duce one lamb each year; some breeds 
will produce twins and frequently triplets 
but it is seldom that a flock of sheep ever 
increase more than 100 per cent.. In 
exceptional instances flocks have been 
known to increase 200 per cent. The 
average is less than 100 per cent. A 
barren ewe or a neglected lamb will re¬ 
duce rapidly the prospects of doubling. 
The ewes must be wintered in good con¬ 
dition, must have close attention at 
lambing time, and the lambs must 
be well cared for if one hopes to 
double his flock in one year. 
What price should be paid for good 
sheep? Purebred sheep sell for prices 
ranging from $10 up. Cross-bred sheep 
range from $5 to $10 per head depending 
on age, and condition of flesh, etc. 
Where can one get good sheep? Adver¬ 
tise. Read the advertisements in The 
R. N.-Y. Enquire of the farmers in any 
neighborhood. 
IIow best to speculate with sheep? 
Don’t do it. Speculating with sheep is 
nearly as bad as playing the ponies—■ 
takes time and money. Sucess with sheep 
will be measured in the same way that 
success in any business is measured. A 
sheep farmer must understand sheep; he 
must like sheep; and to be successful he 
must stick to the business. 
E. E. ROBERTSON. 
Defects in the Tuberculin Test. 
In view of the enormous value of an 
infallible test for the detection of tuber¬ 
culosis in cattle, the failure of tuberculin 
to detect the disease in all of its stages 
is much more than regrettable; it is the 
source of a very considerable hardship, 
not to say injustice, to cattle owners 
and breeders, since the tuberculin test 
has been made the legal criterion by 
which a dairy animal’s fitness for a place 
in the herd, for sale, or for transporta¬ 
tion from one locality to another is to be 
judged. Physical examination, even by 
the most expert, is admittedly a failure 
as a means of detecting tuberculosis in 
cattle, and the limitations of the tuber¬ 
culin test are such as to make it an open 
question whether our laws which are 
based upon the use of this test should not 
be considerably modified. 
No one questions that the tuberculin 
test is the best single means at our 
command for detecting tuberculosis in 
cattle, but, because of this fact, too little 
has been said of its numerous failures, 
and of the reasons for them, and the pub¬ 
lic has been educated to place too impli¬ 
cit reliance upon it as a means of ex¬ 
cluding diseased cattle from dairy herds, 
or from inter-state shipment. It is prob¬ 
ably entirely fair to say that the gener¬ 
al public, so far as it has any acquaint¬ 
ance with the matter at all, fully believes 
that a cow which fails to react to the 
tuberculin test is necessarily free from 
tuberculosis, and some of the laws gov¬ 
erning the disposal of cattle are appar¬ 
ently based upon this erroneous assump¬ 
tion. It seems, further, to be the belief 
of many in the veterinary profession and 
of some of those in control of the admin¬ 
istration of the cattle laws that this mis¬ 
conception should be encouraged, and that 
the limitations of the tuberculin test 
should be discussed behind closed doors 
and only among those of sufficient tech¬ 
nical education to appreciate the com¬ 
plexity of the subject. 
In the opinion of the writer, this atti¬ 
tude is a mistaken one, and it would be 
better for all concerned if it were freely 
admitted, and generally understood that 
ability to pass the tuberculin test is no 
guarantee of freedom from tubei’culosis, 
and that reliance upon this test alone 
will not suffice to rid a herd of the dis¬ 
ease or prevent the transportation of dis¬ 
eased cattle from one locality to another. 
If these facts were generally understood, 
many bitter disappointments would be 
saved buyers and there would be far less 
danger of unjustly smirching the reputa¬ 
tion for honorable dealing which is the 
greatest asset of the cattle breeder. 
Probably the greatest defect in the tu¬ 
berculin test lies in its inability to de¬ 
tect those incipient cases of tuberculosis 
which have not progressed sufficiently 
for to cause a reaction but which, a few 
months later, may cause a breakdown of 
the animal. It is a failure, also, in ad¬ 
vanced cases, but these are likely to be 
detected by physical examination. There 
is still a difference of opinion as to 
whether tuberculosis may not exist in an 
arrested form which, later, may resume 
its malignant course, but the greatest 
danger lies in the incipient cases which 
do not react to the test. Such animals 
may be tested, pronounced free from the 
disease, and sold; a few months later they 
become evidently out of condition, are 
again tested and are found unmistakably 
to react. Knowing that the animal has 
not had time to acquire the infection and 
develop it to its existing stage, the pur¬ 
chaser at once assumes that he has been 
defrauded and that the animal had either 
been “doped” before the original test or 
that the veterinarian making it was 
either incompetent or dishonest. In his 
disappointment and chagrin at his loss, 
he is likely to make charges against the 
original owner of the animal, and a few 
repetitions of these are sufficient to place 
that breeder’s reputation under a cloud. 
The only remedy for the state of af¬ 
fairs seems to be either to discard the 
tuberculin test entirely as a guarantor 
of freedom from infection, or to require 
repeated examinations at intervals of 
several months unless the herd from 
which the animal is taken is known to 
be free from tuberculosis. In the latter 
case, it may probably be safely assumed 
that, not being exposed to infection by 
its mates, a non-reacting animal is itself 
free from the disease. In the matter of 
inter-state commerce in cattle, it is self 
evident that the single tuberculin test 
required before shipment is practically 
valueless; true, it will detect many cases 
in the active stage, but it will miss so 
many more in the incipient, arrested, 
and advanced stages that, as a protec¬ 
tion to a herd, a community, or to a 
State, it is a wall of sand. M. B. D. 
Tumor. 
I would like information about a three- 
years-old hound. About a year ago a 
growth started on his chest; it is about 
the size of a medium-sized potato. Now 
it seems to hang from his body in a sac; 
where it is connected to his body it is 
about a half inch in diameter. It doesn’t 
seem to cause him any pain. The lump 
is loose in the sac, and is quite hard. 
New York. H. M. K. 
A small tumor no doubt is present and 
should be removed by operation. If you 
cannot have this done then place a small 
rubber band around the neck of the tu¬ 
mor and in a few days put on another 
one, more tightly than before. When 
the tumor drops oil cauterize the base 
lightly with a lunar caustic pencil, such 
as is used for warts of man. a. s. a. 
Switching. 
I have a spirited driving horse that 
has a bad habit of switching his tail over 
the lines. Is there any method by which 
he can be cured of this vice? I have 
been advised that by cutting a cord in 
his tail I can stop him from switching. 
Is this dangerous? He is not vicious or 
a kicker but is a little unruly when he 
catches the lines. Your advice on this 
matter will be appreciated. b. j. 
Wisconsin. 
Switching can be lessened by using a 
very thick crouper under the tail, or 
tying strands of hair from the tail to the 
harness on each side, or using leather 
straps for the purpose. The operation 
upon the muscles of the tail to prevent 
switching can only be performed by a 
trained and experienced veterinarian who 
has a perfect knowledge of the anatomy 
of the parts involved. a. s. a. 
Worms in Dogs. 
Would your veterinary department 
publish some pill prescription for ridding 
puppies of worms? I have tried oil of 
maiefern giving in milk, but the dogs 
vomit this and of course it is useless. 
Bills in my opinion are better for such 
purpose than liquid medicines. 
Virginia. R. M. R. 
Worm medicine for dogs may be bought 
ready for use, with instructions at any 
up-to-date drug store. If you do not 
care to give fluid medicine give pow¬ 
dered kamala in capsules, although it 
usually is given in soup or cream. The 
dose for a collie is one dram ; small dogs 
take less in proportion. The dose may 
be repeated in two weeks if thought ne¬ 
cessary. One to two or three grains of 
santonin, followed by a physic, is an ef- ; 
fective remedy, but somewhat dangerous. 
Fistula of Milk Duct. 
I have a cow that has injured the end 
of one of her teats four times in the past 
two months by stepping on it while get¬ 
ting up. Each time the cut has healed 
up, but left a small hole about half an 
inch from the end of the teat through 
which a small part of the milk would 
come. This (the fourth) time this hap¬ 
pened while the cow was out to pasture 
and the cut goes clear through the milk 
duct. Can this cut be healed over prop¬ 
erly by drawing it together and using a 
tube, or can the end of the teat be cut 
(as I have heard of another party doing 
in this case) so that the milk will not 
run out? This cow is due to come in 
shortly. Will you kindly advise me in 
this matter? H. H. B. 
Rhode Island. 
Cutting off the end of the teat would 
be ruinous as the milk would leak away. 
The cow must be operated upon while 
dry. Freshen the edges of the fistulous 
opening with a small, sharp clean scal¬ 
pel. bathe with a 1-3000 solution of cor¬ 
rosive sublbimate (bichloride of mer¬ 
cury) dust with iodoform and then band¬ 
age with surgeon’s plaster from tip of 
teat to udder. Remove the tape in a 
week or ten days and the wound may be 
found healed by “first intention.” It would 
be best to have a skilled surgeon oper- i 
ate, if that can be managed. A. s. A. 
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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30th St. New York City 
THE GASOLINE ENGINE ON THE 
FARM. Its operation, repair and uses. 
By Xeno W. Putnam. 
Tilts Is the kind 
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530 pages. Nearly 180 engravings. 
This book will be sent to any address prepaid for 
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The Rural New Yorker, 333 West 30th St., N. Y. 
