934 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
Ailing  Animals 
Answered  by  Dr.  A.  S.  Aelxander 
“Scratches”  of  Horse 
1  Imve  a  young  horse— last  Fall  it  had 
scratches  on  the  fron  tfeet.  I  applied 
some  grease,  and  it  disappeared,  but  re¬ 
turned  this  Spring  much  greater  than  in 
Fall.  c.  n.  jr. 
The  term  “scratches”  used  by  stock¬ 
men  for  several  different  diseases  of 
the  skin  of  a  horse’s  legs.  To  the  veter¬ 
inarian,  however,  “scratches”  means  a 
sore  and  cracked  condition  of  the  skin 
at  the  back  of  the  leg  just  above  the  heels 
and  below  the  fetlock  joint.  That  con¬ 
dition  is  practically  the  same  as  a 
chapped  condition  of  a  person’s  hands 
caused  by  neglecting  perfectly  to  dry  the 
hands  after  washing  them  in  cold  weather. 
In  horses  the  cause  is  wettine  of  the  skin 
and  standing  in  a  cold  draft  in  the  stable 
or  outdoors  ;  or  not  perfectly  drying  the 
legs  after  they  have  been  washed.  It  is 
best  not  to  wash  a  horse’s  legs  from  No¬ 
vember  to  May  in  a  Northern  climate, 
and  always  to  dry  the  skin  after  washing 
by  rubbing  thoroughly  with  fine  sawdust. 
When  the  legs  are  muddy,  let  the  mud 
dry  and  then  rub  it  off  with  a  wisp  of 
straw  or  hay  or  a  brush.  If  the  form 
of  scratches  we  have  described  is  present, 
treat  the  case  by  poulticing  with  hot  flax¬ 
seed  meal  and  bran  for  two  days;  then 
wash  the  parts.  Do  not  repeat  the  wash¬ 
ing,  but  two  or  three  times  daily  apply 
freely  a  mixture  of  two  parts  of  flowers 
of  sulphur,  one  part  each  of  compound 
tincture  of  benzoin  and  spirits  of  camphor 
and  eight  parts  of  unsalted  lard  or  lano¬ 
lin.  In  an  old  or  chronic  case,  when  the 
skin  has  become  white,  thick  and  un¬ 
healthy  so  that  it  readily  cracks  when 
the  horse  is  worked  or  exercised,  the 
above  treatment  will  not  suffice.  In  such 
a  condition  we  have  found  it  much  better 
to  blister  the  part  lightly  by  rubbing  in 
a  mixture  of  one  part  of  powdered  can- 
tharides  and  24  parts  of  unsalted  lard. 
Doing  so  removes  the  outer  or  scarf  skin 
and  new  skin  replaces  it,  and  often  re¬ 
mains  healthy.  If  you  mean  that  the  skin 
of  the  leg  above  the  fetlock  joint  is 
cracked,  sore,  gummy  or  discharging  irri¬ 
tating  liquid,  clip  off  the  hair,  wash*  the 
skin  and  dry  it  perfectly,  and  then  every 
day  saturate  the  parts  with  a  mixture  ot 
four  ounces  of  flowers  of  sulphur,  four 
ounces  of  oil  of  tar,  and  a  pound  of 
melted  unsalted  lard.  Reduce  grain  feed  ; 
do  not  feed  corn,  and  see  that  the  horse 
works  or  takes  active  outdoor  exercise 
every  day. 
Enlarged  Glands 
1  have  a  horse  which  has  swollen  glands. 
Can  they  be  cured?  I  have  blistered  him 
several  times,  which  relieves  him  for  two 
or  three  weeks;  then  it  is  almost  impos¬ 
sible  for  him  to  eat  or  drink  until  he  is 
blistered  again.  He  has  been  troubled 
since  last  July.  The  horse.  is  about  12 
years  old,  sound  and  well,  aside  from  this 
Leaking  of  Milk 
I  have  a  purebred  Guenrsey  cow ;  she 
would  be  valuable  if  she  did  not  leak 
milk.  Is  there  anything  that  can  be 
done  to  help  it.  F.  h. 
Maine. 
In  normal  conditions  of  the  teats  milk 
is  kept  from  leaking  by  muscular  fibers  in 
their  walls  which  act  as  sphincters.  It 
sometimes  happens  that  the  entire  mus¬ 
cular  system  of  a  cow  become  weak  and 
when  that  occurs  the  sphincters  may  fail 
to  keep  milk  from  leaking  out.  More 
often  the  weak  condition  has  been 
Injured  Horn 
What  is  best  to  apply  to  a  year-old 
heifer’s  horn,  the  end  of  which  has  been 
broken  off?  It  bled  very  freely,  and  I 
put  “vaseline”  on  and  tied  with  cloth. 
New  York.  b.  C. 
It  should  be  understood  that  the  horns 
are  continuations  of  the  skin,  just  as  a 
person’s  nails.  The  fingernails  grow  from 
a  fleshly  pododerm  tissue  or  matrix  and 
in  time  are  renewed  when  torn  off.  In 
the  same  way  the  hoofs  grown  down  from 
the  coronary  band  of  secreting  tissue  at 
the  hoof  head.  The  horns  grow  from 
hollow  cores  which  connect  with  the 
frontal  sinues  or  cavities  of  the  skull, 
and  which  are  covered  with  red  sensitive 
horn-secreting  tissue.  When  a  horn  is 
knocked  off,  exposing  the  matrix,  new 
horn  will  grow  if  the  latter  is  kept  pro¬ 
This  picture  shows  a  tliree-horse  team  hauling  a  spring-tooth  harrow  on  a  farm  in 
Northern  New  York.  These  horses  are  of  about  the  type  now  used  in  that  section. 
They  are  not  heavy  drafters ;  rather  light,  but  quick  and  active  and  capable  of  doing- 
rapid  work.  The  spring-tooth  harrow  is  still  one  of  the  most  popular  tools  in  fitting 
land  after  plowing.  It  is  especially  useful  in  preparing  sod,  or  in  working  on  rough 
and  stony  ground.  (With  a  spring-tooth  to  work  over  the  furrows  and  a  spike-tooth 
or  Acme  to  smooth  and  fit  the  surface,  a  very  good  fitting  can  generally  be  obtained. 
caused  by  rough  milking,  especially  when 
“breaking  in”  a  heifer  to  milk.  At  that 
time  the  teats  are  very  tender  and  a 
strong  handed  man  is  quite  liable  to 
bruise  them  badly  without  knowing  that 
he  is  doing  so.  It  is  this  harsh  milking 
that  causes  a  heifer  to  become  a  kicker 
and  once  the  vice  is  learned  it  generally 
proves  permanent.  Another  cause  of 
leaking  from  a  teat  is  the  persistent  use 
of  a  probe  or  dilator  when  a  sore  has 
been  present ;  or  it  may  have  been 
caused  by  trampling  or  the  use  of  a  teat 
bistoury  which  has  cut  two  deeply  when 
a  small  opening  in  the  teat  of  a  hard 
milking  cow  was  enlarged  by  that  opera¬ 
tion.  In  such  cases  there  is  no  remedy 
and  it  is  best  to  let  a  calf  nurse  or  dry 
ofF  the  milk  secretion  in  the  affected  teat. 
tected  against  germ  infection  and  further 
injuries.  Your  treatment  was  fairly  good, 
and,  no  doubt,  has  protected  the  wound. 
It  would  be  best,  however,  at  the  present 
stage  to  remove  the  dressing  and  gently 
cleanse  the  wounded  parts  with  warm 
water  containing  a  teaspoonful  of  coal- 
tar  disinfectant  per  cud.  When  that  has 
been  done,  dust  the  Avound  freely  with  a 
mixture  of  one  part  of  idoform  and  seven 
parts  of  finely  powdered  boric  acid,  or  if 
the  smell  of  iodoform  is  very  obnoxious 
and  milk  has  to  be  handled  by  the  one 
attending  to  the  case,  substitute  a  mix¬ 
ture  of  one  part  each  of  subnitrate  of 
bismuth  and  calomel  and  six  parts  of 
boric  acid.  Some  prefer  to  cover  the 
wound  with  sterilized  cotton  saturated 
with  a  three  per  cent  solution  of  coal-tar 
This  little  picture  shows  a  group  of  lambs  on  a  farm  in  Schoharie  Countv,  N.  Y. 
The  sheep  are  slowly  coming  back  on  our  New  York  farms,  and  while  return  is  not 
as  rapid  as  it  might  be,  there  is  a  steady  gain.  This  is  a  good  thing  in  many  ways, 
and  we  hope  that  prices  for  mutton  and  wool  for  the  next  few  years  will  warrant  a 
large  increase  for  New  York  sheep. 
trouble.  A.  j.  s. 
You  do  not  state  the  location  of  the 
glands  that  are  swollen,  so  one  cannot 
make  a  positive  diagnosis.  As  the  horse 
is  unable  perfectly  to  masticate  feed  and 
drink  water,  however,  we  take  it  as  prob¬ 
able  that  you  refer  to  the  glands  under 
the  jaws,  below  the  ears  and  about  the 
throat.  The  ones  under  the  jaws  and 
ears  are  salivary  glands,  and  those  from 
the  latter  location  have  large  ducts 
(Steno’s)  which  conduct  saliva  into  the 
mouth,  discharging  it  opposite  the  third 
upper  molar  tooth  on  each  side.  We 
think  it  quite  possible  that  these  ducts, 
or  one  of  them,  may  be  partially  blocked 
by  a  stone  (salivary  calculus),  which 
might  easily  be  removed  by  a  qualified 
veterinarian  and  practically  end  the 
trouble.  If  no  such  condition  is  found 
present,  he  should  make  a  careful  exami¬ 
nation  for  glanders,  which  is  an  incurable 
and  contagious  disease,  not  only  in 
horses  and  mules,  but  communicable  and 
fatal  to  man.  It  is  accompanied  by  a 
sticky  discharge  from  one  or  both  nos¬ 
trils,"  and  mouse-bitten  appearing  ulcers 
may  be  seen  on  the  lining  membrane  of 
the  partition  or  septum  between  the  nos¬ 
trils.  In  glanders  the  glands  under  the 
jaws  are  enlarged  in  grape-like  bunches 
attached  to  the  bone  of  the  jaw  on  each 
side,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  a  hind 
leg  swollen  and  possibly  broken  out  with 
farcy  buds  or  buttons.  An  affected  horse 
has  to  be  destroyed,  according  to  State 
law,  and  the  stable  cleansed  and  disin¬ 
fected,  but.  the  owner  is  remunerated  for 
his  loss.  If  there  is  no  sign  of  glanders, 
then  we  think  it  about  certain  that  the 
swellings  are  an  indication  of  infec¬ 
tion,  probably  remaining  from  distemper 
(strangles)  or  from  influenza,  often  called 
shipping  or  stockyard  fever.  In  that 
event  the  veterinarian  should  give  treat- 
meant  with  anti-streptoccic  serum  or  with 
a  bacterin,  an  autogenous  one  being  pref¬ 
erable.  Meanwhile  dissolve  a  dram  of 
iodide  of  potash  in  the  drinking  water 
night  and  morning  for  five  consecutive 
days  for  two  weeks,  and  repeat  the  treat¬ 
ment  later  should  the  glands  again  swell 
and  distress  the  horse.  Instead  of  blister¬ 
ing  the  glands,  clip  off  the  hair  and  rub 
in  some  10  per  cent  iodine  vasogen  or 
petrogen  daily,  or  use  a  proprietary  re¬ 
ducing  preparation,  which  you  can  buy 
at  a  drug  store.  It  would  also  be  advis¬ 
able  to  have  the  veterinarian  put  the 
teeth  in  order. 
When  milk  leaks  from  all  of  the  tears 
milking  three  times  a  day  should  be  tried 
and  in  addition  to  that  the  teats  should 
be  immersed  in  a  strong  solution  of  alum 
for  five  minutes  or  more  night  and  morn¬ 
ing.  If  that  does  not  help  then  coating 
the  tips  of  the  teats  with  melted  wax  or 
paraffin  after  each  milking  may  be  tried, 
and  if  that  also  fails  flexible  collodion 
should  be  applied  night  and  morning  until 
it  makes  the  tips  of  the  teats  somewhat 
sore.  It  may  be  necessary  to  stop  using 
the  collodion  for  a  time  when  that  has 
happened,  but  it  may  again  be  applied 
later  if  found  necessary.  When  such 
means  fail  we  advise  carefully  swabbing 
the  lining  membrane  of  the  teat  duct 
with  tincture  of  iodine  applied  by  means 
of  a  probe  or  little  twist  of  sterilized  cot¬ 
ton  on  a  toothpick.  Doing  so  slightly 
cauterizes  the  membrane  without  causing 
infection  and  swelling  results  so  that  milk 
is  retained.  The  treatment  may  be  re¬ 
peated  as  often  as  proves  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  desired  end.  but  it  is  best 
to  have  it  done  by  a  veterinarian. 
disinfectant,  and  that  is  very  good  treat¬ 
ment  when  infection  of  the  wound  has 
taken  place.  After  the  dusting  powder 
has  been  used,  wrap  the  horn  stub  or 
matrix  lightly  with  sterilized  cotton,  on 
which  some  of  the  powder  has  also  been 
sprinkled.  The  cotton  may  then  be  lightly 
bound  in  place  by  means  of  a  cheesecloth 
bandage  2  or  3  ft.  long  and  2  or  3  in. 
wide,  or  a  horn  case  of  light  leather  may 
be  applied,  provided  it  will  not  irritate 
the  wound.  The  dressing  is  to  be  re¬ 
moved  daily  and  a  new  lot  of  powder  and 
cotton  put  on.  If  the  wound  forms  con¬ 
siderable  pus  and  does  not  look  healthy 
after  a  few  days  of  treatment,  cleanse  it 
perfectly  and  then  give  it  one  thorough 
painting  with  tincture  of  iodine.  When 
that  has  been  done,  continue  the  use  of 
powder  as  before.  If  the  wound  should 
have  a  foul  odor,  which  is  liable  to  be  the 
case  when  treatment  has  not  been  started 
early  or  where  flies  have  irritated  the 
wound,  swab  it  with  a  two  per  cent  so¬ 
lution  of  permanganate  of  potash  twice 
daily,  and  it  will  soon  become  clean  and 
July  7,  1923 
lose  the  objectionable  odor.  Under  these 
treatments  a  new  horn  will  after  some 
months  replace  the  lost  one. 
Lame  Horse 
I  have  a  lame  horse  which  no  one 
seems  to  understand.  The  lameness  was 
first  noticed  about  four  weeks  ago.  but 
for  a  few  days  we  thought  she  only  made 
a  miss  step  as  she  favored  it ;  one  step 
only  and  not  very  often.  It  is  right  for¬ 
ward,  then  she  did  so  more  often  but 
only  a  day  or  two.  Now  when  she  leaves 
the  stable  first  few  steps  are  quite  lame 
but  after  going  40  or  50  rods  lameness 
disappears.  Work  does  not  hurt  her ; 
she  comes  in  at  noon  square.  A  high 
heel  shoe  makes  her  worse.  I  can  find 
no  sign  of  corns  or  swelling,  heat  ->r 
tenderness  anywhere  A.  w.  A. 
New  York. 
The  symptoms  are  those  of  navicular 
disease,  sometimes  called  coffin-joint 
lameness.  As  yet  it  has  not  become 
chronic  so  that  we  scarcely  think  it  likely 
that  the.  surface  of  the  navicular  bone, 
over  which  the  flexor  tendon  plays,  has 
become  ulcerated.  It  may  be  that  the 
condition  is  simply  an  inflammation  of 
the  synovial  bursa  of  the  navicular  re¬ 
gion  and  that  is  termed  navicular  bur¬ 
sitis,  or  it  may  be  inflammation  of  the 
tendon  sheath  or  a  slight  sprain.  If  vou 
can  employ  a  qualified  veterinarian  it 
would  be  well  to  have  him  inject  a  co¬ 
caine  op  eucaine  solution  upon  the  digi¬ 
tal  nerves  so  as  to  render  them  insensi¬ 
tive  when  that  is  done  lameness  located 
in  the  navicular  bone  region  of  foot  sub¬ 
sides  for  a  time  but  returns  when  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  the  locally  applied  anesthetic 
wears  off.  It  is  simply  done  as  a  means 
of  making  sure  that  the  foot  is  the  seat 
of  the  lameness.  In  chronic  navicular 
disease  the  foot  is  contracted,  smaller 
than  its  mate  and  often  hot  and  dry. 
jSavicular  lameness  is  present  when  the 
horse  starts  to  trot  but  quickly  subsid 
with  exercise.  The  affected  foot  usually 
is  pointed  forward  when  the  horse  stands 
at  rest.  The  only  certain  way  of  re- 
moving  navicular  disease  lameness  is  to 
have  the  horse  unnerved  by  a  trained 
surgeon.  The  trunk  nerve  is  severed  and 
a  portion.  removed  on  each  side  of  th  • 
tetlock  joint.  Healing  then  soon  occurs 
and  the  horse  goes  practicallv  sound,  but 
afterwards  a  metal  plate  should  be  placed 
over  the^  sole  of  the  foot  at  shoeing  time 
so  that  it  will  be  protected  against  naii- 
prick.  A  punctured  wound  causes  an  un¬ 
nerved  horse  no  pain,  therefore  may  be 
unnoticed  and  tetanus  (lockjaw)  result, 
from  lack  of  antiseptic  treatment.  If 
you  cannot  employ  a  qualified  veterin¬ 
arian  we  should  advise  you  to  have  the 
shoes  removed ;  then  keep  cold  wet  swabs 
upon  the  hoof-liead  for  a  month,  or  have 
the  horse  run  barefoot  on  low,  moist 
pasture.  After  the  swab  treatment, 
should  lameness  persist,  clip  the  hair 
from  the  hoof-head  and  blister  it  two  or 
three  times,  at  intervals  of  two  or  three 
weeks  with  a  mixture  of  two  drams  of 
powdered  cantharides,  two  drams  of  bi- 
niodide  of  mercury  and  three  ounces  of 
lard.  Rul>  it  in  a  little  at  a  time  for  15 
?U11^r.es'  Then  tie  the  horse  up  short 
tor  48  hours  when  the  blister  should  be 
washed  off  and  a  little  lard  applied  daily. 
It  you  let  the  horse  run  on  grass  also  ap¬ 
ply  the  blister  at  intervals  of  three  weeks; 
keeping  the  horse  in-doors  at  the  time. 
(Continued  from  Page  929) 
orated  milk  in  the  world,  which  is  being 
advertised  and  sold  extensively  under  the 
Dairy  lea  brand.  Two  manufacturing 
plants  have  been  added  during  the  year 
—one  built  by  the  Association  at  Milton 
la.,  and  the  other  bought  from  Nestles 
lood  Co.,  Troy,  Pa. 
The  Secretary  said  that  on  April  1 
the  Association  had  64,251  pooling  con¬ 
tracts  on  hand,  and  that  since  then  eon- 
tracts  had  been  coming  in  at  the  rate  of 
i°  The  Association  now 
ias  Aoca^Si  The  Treasurer  showed 
mrt^SOC!atS  assets  t0  be  °ver  $19.- 
000,000;  buildings  and  equipment  are 
valued  at  $6,000,000. 
~  Tber  following  officers  were  re-elected : 
'^Slocum,  Milton,  Pa.,  president; 
John  D.  Miller,  Susquehanna,  Pa.,  vice 
president;  Albert  Manning,  Otisville,  N. 
ttV’-  see£eta£y ;  Bruce  M.  Kilpatrick. 
Utica,  N.  Y.  treasurer.  The  directors 
also  elected  four  members  of  the  Execu¬ 
tive  Committee,  as  follows:  Paul  Smith 
Isewark  Valley,  N.  Y. ;  Fred  II.  Sexauer.' 
Auburn,  N  Y. ;  W.  U.  Rixford,  Welles- 
ville,  N.  Y. ;  J.  A.  'Coulter,  Woodville. 
A.  Y.  Mr.  Coulter  succeeds  John  S. 
1  etteys,  Greenwich.  N.  Yr.  The  others 
were  re-elected.  The  President  is  ex- 
officio  the  chairman  of  the  Executive 
Committee,  which  acts  as  a  Board  of 
Governors. 
In  spite  of  repeated  warnings  from  his 
father,  Bobby  persisted  in  driving  nails 
into  blocks  and  boards.  He  had  arrived 
at  the  play-at-carpenter  stage.  One 
morning  dad  heard  the  familiar  pounding, 
and  looking  out  saw  Bobby  busily  bang¬ 
ing  away,  Sister  Mary  down  beside  him. 
apparently  looking  on.  “Haven’t  I  told 
you,  Bobby,  that  you  will  mash  vour  fin¬ 
gers  if  you  drive  nails?”  the  father  asked. 
“Yes.  I  know,  dad,  but  Mary’s  holding 
the  nail.” — Chicago  Tribune. 
