32 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jan., 1902. 
The Horse. 
CASTRATING COLTS. 
The doing away with the use of the searing iron when cutting colts has 
saved much unnecessary pain to the unfortunate animals. Not only is much 
pain saved, but a searing iron will not prevent loss of blood so readily as the 
instrument now used, which, with a quick wrench, tears the arteries of the 
string. It is the constitution of the walls of all arteries to curl up inwards 
when torn, and so form a plug which stops the flow of blood. Consequently, a 
clean-cut artery, especially if cut with a fine-edged knife, will bleed profusely. 
The searing iron is used to counteract the effect of this, but it is much more 
severe on the horse, and is not nearly so effectual in preventing the loss of 
much blood. An instrument for taking the stones out in the proper way can 
be easily made by any handy station man. It is useful to those who have only 
a few colts to cut now and again. 
CLOSED 79) 
The string is first held by acold searing iron or an instrument made on the 
same principle; then the string is gripped immediately below with the 
illustrated instrument. The teeth « fit into holes made for them in the other 
side, and the string should be placed between the two teeth. Then x, which is 
a buckle from a stirrup-leather with the tongue taken off, is pressed as far 
down the lever as it will go, so as to grip ‘the string in a vice and diminish the 
pain. A couple of quick turns will then take off the stone. The lever p can 
be made from pieces of palings cut smooth, and c should be cut out of a good 
durable wood. The instruments should be well boiled both before and after 
use.—Pastoralists’ Review. 
ANOTHER ANTIDOTE FOR SNAKE-BITE. 
The following is from a correspondent to the Cologne Gazette :—The writer 
is an old settler living some fifty years in San Martina du Gaziwari, Brazil, 
South America. He writes: As we have here a simple antidote against snake 
poison discovered, I think it my duty to humanity to make it known. One of 
the simplest and safest remedies against the deadly poison of snake-bite is: 
Petroleum to be applied to the wound at once, and to keep it saturated. He 
writes it is astonishing how this remedy helps. Six persons who have been 
bitten by snakes, of which one was a son-in-law, and the other a grandchild, 
have used this remedy, and all slept well the first night, and could follow their 
work the next day. My son-in-law was 200 metres distant from the house, 
and when he arrived his foot was swollen and wound was black and green. 
He used petroleum. After applying this, the pain left him totally ; a day after 
he was perfectly well. 
Since we know of this remedy we are not afraid of the snakes, and every- 
body that works far from home takes petroleum with them in case of snake- 
bites. If somebody is bitten on the finger or toes, it is the best to bathe the 
afflicted part in petroleum; if this can’t be done, then saturate a piece of cloth 
in petroleum, place it on the wound, and keep it well saturated. 
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