. De) eisteteieede ~ (helche at toe cf 6 . ety eh Baisitish avai PDD DI Gee = ge pe Bsviews oe , 47, OULLNGE OF OMto: SHERETARE OF Tae eermEode , ARY ASROCIATION OF PRILAPELPH 4) 20, aod, or “MOuSR TAMING MADR East,’ WEL, FH gerd ‘ 4 | GRAN more than me Siciag Mustrations. P 4 a * - a vii PH Raa: ae} JOHN @ POTPER & OM At? SANSOM STREET. BARTLESON & OC. ME QHESTNUT STREET. eI or SO GS: | i he fy * n 4° THE HORSE AND OTHER LIVE STOCK. WITH THE DISEASES TO WHICH THEY ARE RESPECTIVELY SUBJECT AND THE APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR EACH, THEIR HISTORY. BREEDING, AN AND OTHERS, FOR BRINGIN( 2 ) THE I STATE OF PERFECTION BY ROBERT J. PROFESSOR OF PATHOLOGY AND ea Eo (E VETERINARY COLLEGE OF PHILADELPHIA: LATE PROFESSOR ARY MEDICINE IN THE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE OF OHIO: SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN VETERINARY ASSOCIATION OF PHILADELPHIA, ETC., AUTHOR OF ‘‘HORSE TAMING MADE EASY,’ ETC., ETC. - GHith more than Two Hundyed Mllustrations. +t ' ba . ‘' \ \ j 7 .t. \ - \ ‘5 . PHILADELPHIA: JOHN E. POTTER & CO., 617 SANSOM STREET. BARTLESON & CO., 611 CHESTNUT STREET. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by JOHN E. POTTER AND COMPANY, | In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. ~ HORSE AND HIS DISEASES, i eA ee rea hi Ms f tah Indeed Ri Oy aah acer as!) ; HAD Nat ‘nd ere me PREFACE. Tus volume is offered to the consideration of the public, not without a knowledge on the part of the author that many excel- jent works upon the horse have already appeared. It has occurred to him, however, that each of these various works is devoted rather to the consideration of some particular topic of interest in connec- tion with this generous animal, than to a generat treatment of the various subjects which appropriately claim notice in a work in- tended for the ordinary reader. There are comparatively few in our country who are not, at some period or other, brought into contact with the horse, either as owners, hirers,-or in some other capacity. The great majority cannot avail themselves of the numerous treatises already extant, which touch upon this animal, without gathering about themselves a library so iarge as seriously to trench upon their pecuniary com- fort. Besides, so far as the ailments of the horse are concerned, much progress has been made in their treatment within the last few years. Old theories have been exploded, and, as the author believes, an era of a more humane and judicious medical treatment is dawning upon us. A marked improvement is discernible in the class of practitioners who essay the veterinary art ; a greater amount of intelligence characterizes their action, and, as a consequence, the occupation of the veterinary surgeon is fast rising in popular estimation. To these cheering indications of a better day for the horse and his owner, the author claims not to be indifferent. If an experi. ence of fifteen years, diligently devoted to an investigation of the (5) pen en aA A a HN al Me la Be A an Nh ene a OD ooo ot) PREFACE. habits, peculiarities, wants, and weaknesses of the horse, has not been utterly fruitless in results, he flatters himself that he can at least contribute his mite in furtherance of a better understanding of an animal, which can never be too well understood by any one who would gain the greatest possible advantage from such a ser vant. With such views the author has prepared the present work. Its pages are believed to contain a complete, candid, and truthful ex- position of all the points which it is incumbent upon the horse- owner tocomprehend. Standard authorities upon the subject have been freely consulted, and the suggestions therein contained have been adopted, when corroborated by the author’s own experience or observation. Reference has been made to the following among others :—Percival, Blain, Morton, Clark, Finley Dunn, Youatt, Coleman, and Spooner, on the Horse; Herbert’s Horse of America, and Hints to Horsekeepers ; Stewart’s Stable Economy; The Far- ier’s Encyclopedia; and the Morgan Horse by Linsley. The remedies recommended have all stood the test of actual trial, and are known to have proved efficacious in previous cases. As the author has no special hobby to ride, he has in this department of the subject given such modes of treatment only as he personally has superintended in actual practice, no matter from what source they may have been suggested. The very many illustrations throughout the volume it is believed will materially enhance its interest and value. With the hope that the work may meet the approval of the large class for whom it was specially prepared, and with the consciousness that no effort to that end has been omitted by the author, he con- fidently leaves it in their hands, to be dealt with as to them shall seem most meet and proper. CONTENTS. ——<+or— LESS NAOMI DEN ES FLORSE,, .cdscebucsastccha etter sslsstcsscelatosesaneccctaeseetetsachechebizes casehloe MAT, HIORGHS, OF SASKA, AND FABRICA 45.cawaseute caasysenturh poertnaccnasuscnsledvessdiacstecestans cere’ PAGE The Arabian,,........sssseee PUG TAVGAVIQIN, -. vacovucasetscace 295 DLVAUNS HELMS ONC aa sassc vececcsesscnsccseccesaenccescusveneecueesesacsenuvesen eauviversetssesine 295 Strain of the Hip Joint,......... mattanastuewoeswen wavexesanecwe seeedneneateusteateeners Basteene . 296 Shoulder Strain, Open -Jointaystiscscsesnscucensnsesetersscesse SWiClIO; sucsccissoasseecssncuceyceetensscucesmoessecdsacraeradses Ostitissssdv acess Recocg-Lone-oncbemacbente dacvosavevanvscesAdanes vuustesbaugr raencvicae Capulet and Capped Hock,........ eerdraneumescetadecscntses Reteeecetedecerdureeetutenieanus » 299 Caries of the Bones, Bone Spavin,........sceseeeee aeshereisetenemar ener onacenee eieorevpeacceactsenstassdeepiuvevrente suse Ming BONE ss sccsevecssece Sansssauteetea tant anen Nacthenaaenaesenertassyscheareseaterts ae Meseaesaisee's 303 String Halt,........... sueuvencds ccncencucetrcutnepebesenennstensavecseaeniannts Ranaaeysenenne asses a» 305 Blood Spavin, Bog Spavin, and Thoroughpin,........cscccseseceeeeeees paebeatesteonsss) DOG MVACUULGH, corse crcececsaccracscunvocenecccnsevetuensepsevereusssesacchedsehenscvscuctaveenseverettiec! GUO DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES—Continvep. DISEARER OR) THE, EVRA Tc. « sstapuon sca ceunguavscsnacccseaunapaenae svemphbsdea fine cain nase veeneu ons’ ant oexuipias a ceucenieuaeeenaatesacessss 95 Bite CORE” POREIE Jc. 7, eciciassa acs wnsseoone'cccetrataeeaeemeneteeeteeaiarre cere 96 SOOM, VORIS' TAGE, scnsen'cecananee ssnvnacon wdabaaenen aero dacemeue cue ee 97 Eight or Nine Years’ Teeth,........sseee eee Race iecaccsnslvucnenceq'acnsaccts 98 WTO PEEL CMORN, . ... ciacdvee sada sven sansunate tanta eadet tess edevece seeuavere 102 The Arab. Stallion, Jwpiter,..... s.cc.ccesanqeumbertesdcacce kovedeses cnvstocee 105 PEORIA yo Seach cpue aaniad canal Gahsish cox svenvannt SemMMMEmteoadend ant oeserk neveenehe 110 The Agriculturist’s MethHotl,- .-<....chse0 sasuntecwusstteend ous ennses stacevers 117 a ak Aa oe EE SE ROS 14 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE The Usual Meth od.......-ccenrvexvores sosmsdesaeaseteceussctecets iT enanaenem ged 125. i The plrenchy MeO, scsss/ccscccnselcnssensavicetaccacelcunevsaarizearentsciersses tee 124 Customary Forms of Stalls,......... aavelessavavariserens oe At oncocsayieoo ee 126 GrOOMING, «.ccrsnie Vict shate censtacde OhWvEPeaaeeaE eM tad dnestoate lavas szete 133 HIXOLCISOs cosicavesnsso/sovsese' disas sasaucidvecsoscelsasenessslecpeoues:iesuaae ss teaenenete 136 Oat £0. Grass, |. cccsicccoecsssxenceoncaowassnansnanesereatiecsacceatnetadese si eee 143 The American Racer, Black Mariaj.s..icccssasaieseessss\) lccrsteiceseenees 147 AR LUTING, ascscssssxnssaranss/ econ sand Ventacnsay Sens: Saplapeecspsplssmspeaereneaneete 157 DCEVAGO Noa sscisaccasecs carsnscey leneransenlveasSeccaiasnsaensslaeves cavalersesnaaeterannaen - 169 Ground ySurface Ot tlie HOOL)..sc.cecessc.erseranesisuesesecs scdseente ceetsaeee 175 he HOOT Of The wHOUse tacc.ner con covacesscleccenccst sesccaras nnceuseesissccecter 176 A Section Of the: WOOL, .ccj.ccccesceleccacnaVelsesscesccuceacece scrscecssltenece sce 177 The Position Of. The SHOG;. .e.scsscsanacsalenuscwansicsccascciscacdescapeesaaases 187 ihe Proper POrm Of /AjSWOO)lesss=ntcascclarseenenninseseeessiesss--eciteeaeeene 192 UTI EVA W BY cecionsaccacclasscstntelercsshuerinner=easelactensnetl. provision for their strength and endur- 3 SA The annexed cut represents a ..\ grinder sawed across. The five dark yes \ spots represent bony matter; the parts ~, covered with lines enamel, and the white A onivper sawep across. Spaces a strong bony cement uniting the other portions of the teeth. At the completion of the first year a fourth grinder usually comes up, and the yearling has then, or soon afterwards, six NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE, 91 uippers.and four grinders above and below in each jaw, which, with the alteration in the nippers just described, will enable us to calculate the age of foal, subject to some variations, arising from the period of weaning and the nature of the food. At the age of one year and a half, the mark in the central nippers will be much shorter and fainter; that in the two other pairs will have undergone an evident change, and all the nippers will be flat. At two years this will be more mani- fest. The accompanying cut deserves attention, as giving ‘an accurate representation of the nippers in the lower jaw of a two-year-old colt. About this period a fifth grinder will appear, and now TWO YEARS TEETH. likewise commences another process. The first teeth are adapted to the size and wants of the young animal, They are sufficiently large to occupy and fill the colt’s jaws; but when these bones have expanded with the increasing growth of the animal, the teeth are separated too far from each other to be useful, and another and larger set is required. The second teeth then begin to push up from below, and the fangs of the first are absorbed, until the former approach the surface of the gum, when they drop out. Where the temporary teeth do not rise immediately under the milk teeth, but by their sides, the latter being pressed sideways are absorbed throughout their whole length. They grow narrow, are pushed out of place, and cause inconvenience to the gum, and sometimes to the 92 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. cheek. They are then sometimes improperly called wolf’s teeth, and should be extracted. The teeth which first appeared are first renewed, and there- fore the front or first grinders are changed at the age of two years. During the period between the fallirfg out of the central milk teeth, and the coming up of the permanent ones, the colt; having a broken mouth, may find some difficulty in grazing. If he should fall away consider- ably in condition, he should be fed with mashes and corn, .) ) orcutfeed. The cut annexed J represents a three-year-old mouth. ; The central teeth are larger than the others, with two grooves in the entire convex surface, and the mark THREE YEAES. is long, narrow, deep, and black. Not having yet attained their full growth, they are lower than the others. The mark in the next two nippers is nearly worn out, and it is wearing away in the corner nippers. Is tz possible to give this mouth to an early two-year-old? The ages of all horses used to be reckoned from the first cf May; but some are foaled even as early as January, and being actually four months over the two years, if they have been well nursed and fed, and are strong and large, they may, with the inexperienced, have an additional year put upon them. The central nippers are punched or drawn out, and the others appear three or four months earlier than they otherwise would. In the natural process they would only rise by long pressing upon the NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 93 first teeth, and causing their absorption. But, opposition from the first set being removed, it is easy to imagine that their pro- gress will be more rapid. Three or four months will be gained in the appearance of these teeth, and these three or four months will enable the breeder to term him a late colt of the preceding year. To him, however, who is accustomed to horses, the general form of the animal, the little development of the fore- hand, the continuance of the mark upon the next pair of nippers, its more evident existence in the corner ones, some enlarge- ment or irregularity-about the gums from the violence used in forcing out the teeth, the small growth of the first and fifth grinders, and the non-appearance of the sixth grinder, which, if it be not through the gum at three years old, is swelling under it, and preparing to get through—any or all of these circum- stances, carefully attended to, will be a sufficient security against deception. A horse at three years old ought to have the gentral per- manent nippers growing, the other two pairs wasting, six grinders in each jaw, above and below, the first and fifth level, the others and the sixth protruding. The sharp edge of new incisors, although it could not well be expressed in the cut, will be very evident when compared with the old teeth. As the permanent nippers wear and continue to grow, a narrow portion of the cone-shaped tooth is exposed by the attrition, and they look as if they had been compressed, but it is not so. Not only will the mark be wearing out, but the ‘rowns of the teeth will be sensibly smaller. At three years and a half, or between that and four, the next pair of nippers will be changed, and the mouth at that time cannot be mistaken. The central nippers will have attained 94 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. nearly their full growth. A vacuity will be left where the second stood, or they will begin to peep above the gum, and the corner ones will be diminished in breadth, worn down, and the mark becoming small and faint. At this period, likewise, ithe second pair of grinders will be shed. Previously to this may be the attempt of the dealer to give to his three-year-old an additional year; but the fraud will be detected by an ex- amination similar to that already described. At four years, the central nippers will be fully developed; the sharp edge somewhat worn off, and the mark shorter, wider, and fainter. The next pair will be up, but they will be small, | with the mark deep and oes SY CASS ft Seman) ty — MI extending quite across them as in the annexed cut. The corner nippers will be larger than the in- side ones, yet smaller than they were, and flat, and the mark nearly effaced. The sixth grinders will have risen to a level with the others, and the tushes will FOUR YEARS. » begin to appear. Now, more than at any other time, will the dealer be anxious to put an additional year upon the animal, for the difference between a four-year-old colt and a five-year-old horse, in strength, utility, and value, is very great; but the want of wear in the other nippers, the small size of the corner ones, the little growth of the tush, the smallness of the second grinder, the low forehand, the legginess of the colt, and the thickness and little NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 95 depth of the mouth, will, to a man of common experience among horses, at once detect the cheat. The tushes are four in number, two in each jaw, situated between the nippers and the grinders, much nearer to the former than the latter, and nearer in the lower jaw than in the upper, but this distance increases in both jaws with the age. In shape, the tush somewhat resembles a cone; it protrudes from the gum about half an inch, and is sharp-pointed and curved. The appearance of this tush in the horse may vary from four years to four years and six months. It can only be accelerated a few weeks by cutting the gum overit. At four years anda half, or between that and five, the last important change takes place in the mouth of the horse. The corner nippers are shed, and the permanent ones begin to appear. The central nippers are con- siderably worn, and the next pair are commencing to show marks of usage. The tush has now protruded, and is generally a full half inch in height; externally, it has a rounded promi- nence, with a groove on mm, = | cither side, and it is evi- = oy dently hollowed within. Na |. \ The reader scarcely needs || to be told that after the rising of the corner nip- ot Ta al MAY oe | \ per, the animal changes its name. The colt be- comes a horse, the filly a mare. At five years, the horse’s mouth is almost perfect, as represented in the annexed cut. The corner nippers are quite up, with the long, deep 96 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. mark irregular in the inside, and the other nippers bearing evi- dent tokens of increased wearing. The tush is much grown; the grooves have almost or quite disappeared, and the outer surface is regularly convex. It is still as concave within, and with the edge nearly as sharp, as it was six months before. The sixth molar is quite up, and the third molar is wanting. This last circumstance, if the general appearance of the animal, and particularly his forehand, and the wearing of the centre nippers, and the growth and shape of the tushes be likewise carefully attended to, will prevent deception, if a late four- year-old is attempted to be substituted for a five-year-old. The nippers may be brought up a few months before their time, and the tushes a few weeks, but the grinder is with difficulty displaced. The last. three grinders and the tushes are never ° shed. ; At six years, as in the ge Ni a. is annexed cut, the mark on CC, the central nippers is worn out. There will still be a difference of color in the centre of the tooth: The cement filling up the hole, made by the dipping of the enamel, will pre- sent a browner hue than the other parts of the SIX YEARS. tooth; and it will be evi- dently surrounded by an edge of enamel, and there will remain ever a little depression in the centre, and also a depression round the case of enamel; but the deep hole in the centre of 4 i ci en —— > ‘also beginning to be altered. NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 97 the teeth, with the blackened surface which it presents, and the elevated edge of enamel, will have disappeared. Persons not much accustomed to horses have been puzzled: here. They expected to find a plain surface of uniform color, and knew not what conclusion to draw when there were both discoloration and irregularity. | In the next incisors, the mark is shorter, broader, and fainter, and in the corner teeth the edges of the enamel are more regu- lar, and the surface is evidently worn. The tush has attained its fall growth, being nearly or quite an inch long, convex outward, concave within, tending to a point, and the extremity somewhat curved. The third grinder is fairly up, and all the grinders are level. The horse may now be said to havea perfect mouth. All the teeth are produced, fully grown, and have sustained no material injury. During these important changes of the teeth, the animal has suffered less than could be supposed possible. At seven years, as in the accompanying cut, the mark, in the way in which it has been described, is worn out in the four central nippers, and is fast wearing away in the corner teeth; the tush is It is rounded at the point, rounded at the edges, still “SEVEN YEARS. round without, and beginning to get round inside. At eight years old, the tush is rounder in every way; the mark is gone from all the bottom nippers, and it may almost 7 98 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. be said to be out of the mouth. There is nothing remaining in the bottom nippers that can clearly show the age of the horse, or justify the most experienced examiner in giving a positive opinion. This should be distinctly borne in mind, as it is a very common error in the United States, and one especi- ally insisted on by dealers having old horses to sell, that the age can be positively ascertained even to ten, eleven, or twelve years, so that it can be predicated of a horse that he is so old, and no older. This is an absolute fallacy. It is easy, from many general signs, to see that a horse is above eight years old; but it is impossible to judge certainly how much older. The length and angularity of the nippers, the depth of the super-orbital cavities, and other points of information, may enable a good judge to guess comparatively, but never to speak surely. Dishonest dealers have been said to resort to a method of prolonging the mark on the lower nippers. It is called Bish- oping, from the name of the scoundrel who invented it. The horse of eight or nine years old—whose mouth is repre- sented in the accompany: © ing cut—is thrown, and with an engraver’s tool a hole is dug in the now al- most plain surface of the corner teeth, in shape re- sembling the mark yet left . EIGHT OR NINE YEARS. in those of a seven-year- old horse. The hole is then burned with a heated iron, and a permanent black stain is left. The next pair of nippers is NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 99 sometimes slightly touched. An ignorant man would be very easily deceived by this trick ; but the irregular appearance of the cavity, the diffusion of the black stain around the tushes, the sharpened edges and concave inner surface of which can never be given again, the marks on the upper nippers, together with the general conformation of the horse, can never deceive the careful examiner. Horsemen, after the animal is eight years old, are accustomed ~ to look to the nippers in the upper jaw, and some conclusion has been drawn from the appearances which they present. It cannot be doubted that the mark remains in them for some years after it has been obliterated in the nippers of the lower jaw. | There are various opinions as to the intervals between the disappearance of the mark from the different cutting teeth of the upper jaw. Some have averaged it at two years, others at one. The latter opinion is more commonly adopted by those most conversant, and then the age is thus determined. At nine years, the mark will be worn from the middle nippers; from the next pair at ten; and from all the upper nippers at eleven. During these periods the tush is likewise undergoing a manifest change. It is blunter, shorter, and rounder. In what degree this takes place in the different periods, long and favorable opportunities can alone enable the horseman to decide. The alteration in the form of the tushes is frequently uncer- tain. It will sometimes be blunt at eight; and at others re- main pointed at eighteen. After eleven, and until the horse is very old, the age may be guessed at with some degree of confidence, from the shape 100 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. of the upper surface or extremity of the nippers. At eight they are all oval, the length of the oval running across from tooth to tooth; but as the horse gets older, the teeth diminish in size—and this commencing in their width, and not in their thickness. They become a little apart from each other, and their surfaces become round instead of oval. At nine, the centre nippers are evidently so; at ten, the others-begin to have their ovals shortened. At eleven, the second pair of nippers is quite rounded; and at thirteen, the corner ones have also that appearance. At fourteen, the faces of the central nippers become somewhat triangular. At seventeen, they are all so. At nineteen, the angles begin to wear off, and the central teeth are again oval, but in a reversed direction, viz., from outward, inward; and at twenty-one, they all wear this form. It would, of course, be folly to expect any thing like a certainty in an opinion of the exact age of an old horse, as drawn from the above indications. It is contended by some, though denied by others, that stabled horses have the marks sooner worn out than those that are at grass; and crib-biters still sooner. At nine or ten, the bars of the mouth become Jess prominent, and their regular diminution will designate in- creasing age. At eleven or twelve, the lower nippers change their original upright direction, and project forward horizon- tally, becoming of a yellow color. The general indications of old age, independent of the teeth, are the deepening of the hollows over the eyes; gray hairs, and particularly over the eyes, and about the muzzle; thinness and hanging down of the lips; sharpness of the withers, sinking of the back, lengthening of the quarters ; and NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 101 ‘the disappearance of windgalls, spavins, and tumors of every kind. Horses kindly and not prematurely used, sometimes live to. between thirty-five and forty-five years of age; and a well authenticated account. is given of a barge horse that died in his sixty-second year. Under this head of age, nothing beyond the cut of the com- plete aged mouth, with the accompanying description of it, would have been here inserted, were it not for the prevalent opinion, inculeated by interested dealers in the United States, that the age of a horse, after eight or nine years, can be as certainly and as exactly predicated by mouth-mark, and his exact age guaranteed accordingly, as previously to that period. Summing up all that need be offered on this particular point, we simply say, that if one chooses to buy a horse past mark of mouth, he must do so on his own judgment and at his own risk ; for to credit any assertions, or to give ear to any horse- dealer’s opinion on the subject, is sheer folly. S RELATIVE To BREEDING,—a very important ~ subject, all will admit—two very common mis- - takes are made; the first, that mares are bred from only because they are useless for work, and consequently have to be turned out to grass for the season ; the second, that a mare is put to a handsome horse which may chance to strike the fancy of her owner, without @ aoment’s consideration on the part of the latter as to how far his particula: mare is suited to that particular horse. The fog BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. — 103 consequence of the first error is, that the infirmities of the mare are perpetuated in her unfortunate offspring, and thus become hereditary, to the no small disappointment of the breeder. In the second case mentioned, the result is an indescribable mongrel, possessing only acombination of bad qualities, without @ single redeeming trait. Now, no principle is better established in breeding than that “like will produce like ;” in other words, that the offspring will inherit the general or mingled qualities of the parents. So true is this, that there is scarcely a disease affecting either of the parents that is not inherited by the foal, or, at least, to which he does not at times show a predisposition. The consequences of bad usage or hard work even will descend to the progeny. Though the defects may not appear in the immediate offspring, they often do in the next, or some succeeding generation. Some knowledge is therefore indispensable of the parentage both of the sire and the dam. . Both parents should be selected with reference not only to their individual points of excellence, but also to the relative adaptation which the points of one present to the points of the other. Though both may be excellent in their way, one parent may have points of excellence which actually counteract or neu- tralize those of the other. None but sound parents, therefore, should be bred from ; accidents, however, are not to be regarded as unsoundness; but if a defect exists in a mare which is in- tended for breeding, the breeder should be certain that such defect is a mere accident, and not a natural malformation. Both parents should also be as free from moral as from physical infirmity ; from faults orvices of temper ordisposition. Although a defect of one parent may sometimes be counteracted by a pre- 104 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. ponderating excellence relative to that defect in the other, great care is necessary that both parents do not possess the same de- fect. If one would be perfectly certain in breeding, it is better to avoid even such mares as have suffered merely from accident ; nor should the mare be put to the horse at too early an age, if one would avoid the hazard of obtaining an unreliable offspring. The best form of a mare from which to breed, for any pur- pose, is a short-legged, lengthy animal, with a deep, roomy chest and carcass, wide and capacious hips, and a sound constitution. ‘‘ Breed,” of course, must be looked for, accord- ing to the class of horses to which the mare belongs; a good, animated countenance, an upright, sprightly carriage; general structure of muscle, bone and sinew firm, dense, and compact. The head of the brood-mare is an important point to be re- garded ; a mare that hasa heavy head and a stupid countenance cannot breed a good foal, unless to a horse possessed of fire almost to madress—for her countenance indicates her disposi- tion. The neck should be brought out of the top of the withers, and not of the bottom of the shoulders and chest ; the shoulders should be well back, the blade-bone lying obliquely from the shoulder joint ; the blade should also be long and wide, extend- ing nearly to the top of the withers, but attached so closely and so well covered with muscle as not to present any undue pro- minence ; the back of the shoulder should also be well furnished with muscle, appearing to the mounted rider of a wedge shape widening towards his knee; the fore-leg should be perpendicular, the toe and the point of the shoulder being in a right line; the foot should be round, even, and of a dark color; the heels should be open, but not low; the brisket should be deep, especially in the case of a riding-horse, as otherwise a crupper will be re BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 105 quired to keep the saddle in its proper place ; the quarters should be long and oval on the top; the hips cannot be too broad in a brood-mare, though in a stallion too wide hips are objection- able; the hocks should be regarded, and the shank-bone and \sinew, both before and behind, should be well developed, and dropped straight below the joint. As to the shape of the stallion litile satisfactory can be said. It must depend upon that of the mare, and the kind of horse wished to be bred ; but, if there is one point absolutely essential, === it is compactness—as much ——— = = goodness and strength as possible condensed into a small space. Next to compactness, be regarded. A = huge stallion, =with upright THE ARAB STALLION JUPITER. TaD shoulders, never got a capital hunter or hackney; from such nothing but a cart or dray horse can be obtained, and that, perhaps, spoiled by the opposite form of the mare. If, however, a merely slow draught-horse is desired, an upright shoulder is desirable, if not absolutely necessary. - The principal requirements in connection with breeding may be concisely summed up as follows :— First. There should be mutual adaptation in form and size, and indeed in all important characteristics, between the sire and the dam. ecaecldinis\ Canina EA es Mn i ana emia sk 106 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. Second. If the mare be defective in any particular, she should not be bred to a stallion having a similar, or even an opposite, fault ; but one should rather be chosen perfect in that point. Third. Exceedingly small mares should not be bred with enormously large horses ; distortions will generally be the result. For a mare of sixteen hands, a horse of not less than fifteen hands should be selected ; if she be too low or small, the horse may be an inch or two higher, but not of the tall or leggy kind. Fourth. As it is frequently the case, that without any known cause the blood of a certain kind of horses will not cross well with that of another, such instances when ascertained should be avoided. Fifth. If the mare is of a good kind of horses, but one which has degenerated in size from “in-breeding,” (that is, from con- tinuous breeding into the same family and blood—with their own daughters and grand-daughters, in other words—for about two generations,) the only remedy is, to breed to the purest stallion that can be found, but of a different kind from hers, unless some ten or more generations removed. Sixth. After breeding for several generations from males and females of one kind, it is generally beneficial to change to another entirely different; otherwise degeneracy in size will be the general result. The mare should not be put to horse under three years of age. Although some contend that, if lightly worked, she may be used for breeding until she is twenty, yet it is very doubtful whether breeding from any mare over twelve years old, at the very utmost, will prove satisfactory. If a large colt is desired, have a large mare ; as her size has generally more to do with the matter than that of the stallion. The most favorable time BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 107 for putting the mare to the horse is from March to the begin- ning of May; colts foaled in March are generally found to turn out hardier, and to stand better, than those foaled earlier. From the time of covering to within a few days of the ex- pected period of foaling, the cart-mare may be kept at moderate labor not only without injury, but with decided advantage. She should then be released from work and kept near home under the frequent inspection of some careful person. When nearly half the time of pregnancy has elapsed, she should have a little better food, being allowed one or two feeds of grain in the day. As this is about the time when they are accustomed to slink their foals, or when abortion occurs, the owner’s eye should be frequently upon her. Good feeding and moderate exercise are the best preventives of this mischance. As the mare that has once slunk her foal is liable to a repetition of this accident, she should never be suffered to be with other mares between the fourth and fifth months; for so great is the power of sympathy or imagination in the mare that if one suffers abortion, others in the same pasture will too often share the same fate. Farmers frequently suppose that such mishaps originate from some infection; and many wash and paint and tar their stables to prevent an infection that really lies in the imagination. The period of pregnancy varies from forty-four to fifty-six weeks, but it is usually from forty-seven to fifty. If the mare, whether of pure or common breed, be cared for as suggested above, and be in good health while in foal, little danger will attend the act of giving birth to the young. Should there be, however, false presentation of the foetus, or any difficulty in pro- ducing it, recourse should be had to a well-informed veterinary 108 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. surgeon, rather than to run the risk of injuring the mare by violent attempts to relieve her. - After the mare has foaled, she should be turned into some well-sheltered pasture, with a shed or hovel into which she may tun when she pleases. If she has foaled early and the grass is scanty, she should have a feed or two of oats or Indian corn daily ; if the corn is given in a trough upon the ground, the foal will partake of it with her. Nothing is gained at this time by starving the mare and stinting the foal. When the new grass is plentiful, the quantity of grain may be gradually diminished. The proper care of young foals will repay a hundred-fold ; this being, indeed, the most critical period of the animal’s life, when attention or neglect produces the most noticeable and permanent results. If convenient, the foal may be permitted. to run for twelve months at the foot of the mare; but when mares are kept ex- pressly for breeding purposes, many circumstances render this objectionable. Within about a month or six weeks from foal- ing the mare will be again in heat, and should be put to the horse; at the same time, also, if she is used for agricultural purposes, she may resume light work. At first, the foal should be shut up in the stable during working hours; but, as it ac- quires sufficient strength, it is better to allow it to follow its dam. The work will contribute to the health of the mother, and increase her flow of milk; and the foal, by accompanying her, will suck more frequently, thrive better, become tamed, and gradually familiarized with the objects among which it is afterward to live. While the mare is thus worked, she and the foal should be well fed; and two feeds of corn, at least, should be added to the green food which they get when turned out after their work, and at night. BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 109 In five or six months, according to the growth of the foal, it may be weaned. For this purpose, it should either be housed, or turned into some pasture at a distance from the dam. The mare should be put to harder work and drier food. If her milk is troublesome, or she pines after her foal, a few purgatives (one or two urine-balls, or a physic ball) will be found useful. The foal should be fed well and liberally every morning and evening, bruised oats and bran being about the best kind of food which can be given. The money so laid out upon the liberal nourishment of the colt, is well expended; yet, while he is well fed, he should not be rendered delicate by excess of care. Toward the end of summer the foal may be turned out to general pasture without fear of his again seeking his dam. Should the foal be a male,:and emasculation be desirable, it "is better to perform the operation at the time of weaning, that the one trouble shall serve for both occasions. If, however, weaning take place in June or July, when che fly abounds, the operation should not be performed, as this insect by its attacks will cause restlessness and consequent inflammation, and thus retard recovery. arly spring, or an advanced period of autumn, is the best time. This operation should in no instance be performed by any other than a competent veterinary sur- geon. One thing in this connection should be mentioned ; when a horse is suffered to attain two-thirds of his growth before emasculation, an animal is obtained of form, power, and value far superior to that which has been operated upon when a foal. This much is deserving of remembrance; though we cannot omit heartily condemning the practice of emasculation at all. &. BREAKING, BREAKING. No greater mistake can be made than the postponement of this part of the rearing of a horse. It should always commence as soon as the colt is weaned, or immediately after the effects of the emasculation have disappeared; it should in this manner be commenced gentleness and kind- ——. ness. The foal should be daily handled, par- SS tially dressed, accus- tomed to the halter when led about, and ‘soi: even tied up occasion- BREAKING. ally for an hour or so. The tractability, good temper, and value of the horse depend much more upon this than most breeders consider. The person who feeds the colt should have the entire management of him at this pertod, and he should be a trustworthy person, possessed of a quiet, uniform temper and a kindly disposition. Many a horse is spoiled and rendered permanently untamable by early harshness or improper treatment ; and many a horse that otherwise would have proved a vicious, unmanageable brute, has been brought to be a docile, gentle, and affectionate ser- vant by the judicious treatment of those to whose charge his management at this particular period was fortunately in- trusted. Such a treatment is sufficient for the first year; after the second winter, the operation of training should commence in BREAKING. 111 good earnest. The colt should be bitted, a bit being selected which will not hurt his mouth, and much smaller than those in common use. The work of bitting may perhaps occupy three or four days; the colt being suffered to amuse himself with the bit; to play, and to champ it for an hour or so during a few successive days. When he has become accustomed to the bit, he may have two long ropes attached to it, slightly fastened to his sides by a loose girth over the back, and his feeder may thus drive him, as it were, around a field, pulling upon him as he proceeds. ‘This will serve as a first lesson in drawing. If he is intended for a saddle-horse, a filled bag may be thrown across his back and there secured, and, after he has become used to this, a crotch may be fastened upon his back, its lower extremities grasping his sides, and thus preparing him for the legs of his rider. Portions of the harness may next be put upon him, reserving the blind winkers for the last; and a few days afterward he may go into the team. It is better that he should be one of three horses, having one before him, and the shaft-horse behind him. There should at first be the mere empty wagon; and the draught is best begun over the grass, where the colt will not be frightened by the noise of the wheels. Nothing should be done to him, except giving him an occasional pat’ or a kind word. The other horses will keep him moving and in his place ; and after a short time, sometimes even during the first day, he will begin to pull with the rest. The load may then be gradu- ally increased. If the horse is desired for purposes of riding as well as for exclusively agricultural uses, his first lesson may be given when he is in the team ; his feeder, if possible, being the first one put 112 BREAKING. upon him. He will be too much confined by the harness and by the other horses, to make much resistance; and, in the greater number of instances, will quietly and at once submit Every thing, however, should proceed gradually and by suc- cessive steps, and, above all, no whip or harsh language should, under any circumstances, be allowed to be used. Although mild- ness is absolutely essential, it is none the less necessary that the colt should be taught implicit obedience to the will of his master. To accomplish this, neither whip, nor spur, nor loud shouting, nor hallooing is necessary ; the successful horsebreaker is required to possess but the three grand requisites of firmness, steadiness, and patience. When the colt begins to understand his business somewhat, the most difficult part of his work; backing, may be taught him; ~ first, to back well without anything behind him, then with a light curb, and afterwards with some more heavy load—the greatest possible care being always taken that his mouth be not seriously hurt. If the first lesson causes much soreness of the gums, he will not readily submit to the second. If he has been previously rendered tractable by kind usage, time and patience will accomplish every thing that is desired. Some persons are in the habit of blinding the colt when teaching him to back. This can only be necessary with a restive and obstinate one, and even then should be used only as a last resort. In the whole process of breaking it should constantly be borne in mind, that scarcely any horses are naturally vicious, Cruel usage alone first provokes resistance. If that resistance is followed by greater severity, the stubbornness of the colt in- creases in proportion; open warfare ensues, in which the man seldom gains the advantage, and the horse is frequently ren- BREAKING. 123 dered utterly unfit for service. Correction may, indeed, be necessary for the purpose of enforcing implicit obedience, after the training has proceeded to a certain extent; but the early lessons should be imparted with kindness alone. Young colts are sometimes very perverse; and many days will occasionally pass, before they will suffer the bridle to be put on, or the saddle tobe worn. It must not, however, be forgotten, that a single act of harshness will indefinitely increase this length of time; but that patience and kindness will always prevail. On some occa- sion, when the colt is in a better humor than usual, the bridle may be put on, or the saddle be worn; and, if this compliance, on his part is accompanied by kindness and soothing on the part of the breaker, and no inconvenience or pain be suffered by the animal, all resistance will ke ended. ° The same principles will apply to the breaking-in of the horse for the road. The handling and some portion of instruction should commence from the time of weaning; for upon this the future tractibility of the horse in a great measure depends. At two years and a half, cr three years, the regular process of breaking-in should commence. [If it is put off until the animal is four years old, his strength and obstinacy will be more diff- cult to overcome. The plan usually adopted by the breaker cannot, perhaps, be much improved; except that there should be much more kindness and patience, and far less harshness and cruelty, than those persons are accustomed to exhibit, and a great deal more attention to the form and natural action of the horse. A headstall is put on the colt, and a cavesson (or ap- paratus to confine and pinch the nose,) affixed to it with long reins. He is first accustomed to the rein, then led around a ring on soft ground, and at length mounted and taught his 8 114 BREAKING. paces. Next to preserving the temper and docility of the horse, there is nothing of so much importance, as to teach him every pace and every part of his duty distinctly and thoroughly. Fach should constitute a separate and sometimes long-continued lesson, taught by a man who will never allow his passion to overmaster his discretion. After the cavesson has been attached to the headstall, and the long reins put on, the colt should be quietly led about by the breaker—a steady boy following behind, to keep him moving by occasional threatening with the whip, but never by an actual blow. When the animal follows readily and quietly, he may be taken to the ring and walked around, right and left, in a very small circle. Care should be taken to teach him this pace thoroughly, never allowing him to break into a trot. The boy with his whip may here again be necessary, but an actual blow should never be inflicted. Becoming tolerably perfect in the walk, he should be quick- ened to a trot, and kept steadily at it; the whip and the boy, if needful, urging him on, and the cavesson restraining him. These lessons should be short, the pace being kept perfect and distinct in each, and docility and improvement rewarded with frequent caresses, and handfuls of corn. The length of the rein may now be gradually increased, and the pace quickened, and the time extended, until the animal becomes tractable in these his first lessons; toward the conclusion of which, crupper straps, or something similar, may be attached to theclothing. These, playing about the sides and flanks, accustom him to the flapping of the coat of the rider. The annoyance which they occasion will pass over in a day or two; for when the animal learns by experience that no harm comes from them, he will cease to re- gard them. BREAKING. BD Next comes the bitting. The bits should be large and smooth, and the reins buckled to a ring on each side of the pad. There are many curious and expensive machines for this purpose, but the simple rein will be quite sufficient. It should at first be slack, and then very gradually tightened. This pre- pares for the more perfect manner in which the head will after- ward be got in its proper position, when the colt is accustomed to the saddle. Occasionally the breaker should stand in front of the colt, and take hold of each side-rein near to the mouth, and press upon it; and thus begin to teach him to stop and to back on the pressure of the rein, rewarding every act of do- cility, and not being too eager to punish occasional careless- ness or waywardness. The colt may now be taken into the road or street, that he may become gradually accustomed to the objects among which his services will be required. Here, from fear or playfulness, a considerable degree of starting and shying may be exhibited, of which as little notice as possible should be taken. The same or a similar object should be soon passed again, but at a greater distance. Ifthe colt still shies, let the distance be still further increased, until he takes no notice of the object. Then he may be gradually brought nearer to it; and this may usually be ac- complished without the slightest difficulty ; whereas, had there been an attempt to force him close to it in the first instance, the remembrance of the contest would have been associated with every appearance of the object, and the habit of shying would have been established. Hitherto, with acool and patient breaker, the whip may have been shown, but will scarcely have been used ; the colt should now, however, be accustomed to this necessary instrument of 116 BREAKING. authority. Let the breaker walk by the side of the animal, throw his right arm over his back, holding the reins in his left, occasionally quickening his pace, and at the moment of doing this tapping the horse with the whip in his right hand, and at first very gently. The tap of the whip and the quickening of the pace will soon become associated in the animal’s mind. If necessary, these reminders may gradually fall a little heavier, and the feeling of pain be the monitor of the necessity of in- creased exertion. The lessons of reining in and stopping, and backing on the pressure of the bit, may continue to be practised at the same time. He may next be taught to bear the saddle. Some little caution will be necessary in first putting it on. The breaker should stand at the head of the colt, patting him and engaging his attention, while one assistant, on the off-side, gently places the saddle on the back of the animal; another on the nearest side slowly tightening the girths. If he submits quietly to this, as he generally will when the previous process of breaking-in has been properly conducted, the operation of mounting may be attempted on the following, or on the third day. The breaker will need two assistants in order to accomplish this. He will remain at the head of the colt, patting and making much of him. The rider will put his foot into the stirrup, and bear a little weight upon it, while the man on the opposite side presses equally on the other stirrup-leather ; and according to the docility of the animal, he will gradually increase the weight, until he balances himself on the stirrup. If the colt is uneasy or fretful, he should be spoken kindly to and patted, or a mouthful of grain be given to him; but if he offers serious re- sistance, the lessons must terminate for that day. He may possibly be in a better humor on the morrow. BREAKING. 117 When the rider has balanced himself for a minute or two, he may gently throw his leg over, and quickly seat himself in the saddle. The breaker should then lead the animal around the ring, the rider meanwhile sitting perfectly still. After a few minutes he should take the reins, and handle them as gently as possible, guiding the horse by the pressure of them; patting him frequently, and especially when he thinks of dismounting ; and, after having dismounted, offering him a little grain, or green feed. The use of the rein in checking him, and of the pressure of the lég and the touch of the heel in quickening his pace, will soon be taught, and his education will be nearly com- pleted. 3 The horse having thus far submitted himself to the breaker, these pattings and awards must be gradually diminished, and implicit obedience mildly but firmly enforced. Severity will uot oc be nite mails in the great inajanity of cases it being animal, in a moment of e waywardness, dispute the > THE AGRICULTURIST’ S METHOD. ca he must at once be taught that he is the slave of man, and that we Have the power, by other means than those of kindness, to bend him to our will. The education of the horse, in short, should be that of the child. Pleasure is, as much as possible, 118 CASTRATION. associated with the early lessons; but firmness, or, if need be, coercion, must establish the habit of obedience. Tyranny and cruelty will, more speedily even in the horse than in the child, provoke the wish to disobey ; and, on every practicable occasion, the resistance to command. The restive and vicious horse is, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, made so by ill-usage, and not by nature. None but those who will take the trouble to make the experiment, are aware how absolute a command the. due admixture of firmness and kindness will soon give us over any herse. CASTRATION. The period at which this operation may be best performed depends, as has been previously remarked, much on the breed and form of the colt, and the purpose for which he is destined. For the common agricultural horse, the age of four or five months will be the most proper time, or, at least before he is weaned. Few horses are lost when cut at that age; though care should be taken that the weather is not too bad, nor the flies too numerous. If the horse is designed either for the carriage or for heavy draught, he should not be castrated until he is at least a year old; and, even then, the colt should be carefully examined. If he is thin and spare about the neck and shoulders, and low in the withers, he will materially improve by remaining uncut another six months ; but if his fore quarters are fairly developed at twelve months, the operation should not be delayed, lest he grow gross and heavy before, and, perhaps, has begun too de- cidedly to have a will of his own. No specific age, therefore, ean be fixed; but the operation should be performed rather late CASTRATION. f 118 in the spring, or early in the autumn, when the air is temperate and particularly when the weather is dry. No preparation is necessary for the sucking colt, but it may. be prudent to physic one of more advanced age. In the majority of cases, no after treatment will be necessary, ex- cept that the animal should be sheltered from intense heat, and — more particularly from the wet. In temperate weather he will do much better running in the field than nursed in a close and hot stable. The moderate exercise which he will necessa- rily take in graztng, will be preferable to entire inaction. The old method of opening the scrotum, or testicle bag, on each side, and cutting off the testicles, preventing bleeding by a temporary compression of the vessel, while they are seared with a hot iron, must not, perhaps, be abandoned ; but there is no necessity for that extra pain, when the spermatic cord (the blood-vessels and the nerve,) is compressed between two pieces of wood as tightly as in a vice, and there left until the following day, when it may be removed with a knife. The practice of some farmers of cording, or twitching their colts at an early period exposes the animal to much unneces- sary pain, and is attended with no slight danger. Another method of castration is by torsion. An incision is made, into the scrotum, and the vas deferens is exposed and divided. The artery is then seized by a pair of forceps con- trived for the purpose, and twisted six or seven times round. It retracts without untwisting the coils, and bleeding ceases. The testicle is removed, and there is no sloughing or danger. The most painful part of the operation—the operation of the firing-iron, or the claws—is avoided, and the wound readily heals, It is to be remarked, in this connection, that the use 120 DOCKING. of chloroform has been found very beneficial in performing the operation in the old way, both in removing all pain, and also preventing that severe struggling which often takes place, and which has sometimes been followed with very dangerous con- sequences. With the assistance of this agent, the operation has been safely performed in seven minutes, without any pain to the animal. DOCKING. This is an operation, whose only sanction is to be found in the requirements of a senseless fashion. ‘The convenience of the rider,’”’ which is sometimes urged in its favor, is the veriest nonsense afloat. In truth, the operation is one of the most useless which the brain of man, fertile in romance and expedi- ents as it is, ever devised ; since, instead of adding to the beauty of the animal, as some assert, it but adds deformity. Not many years back, this attempted improvement upon nature became a perfect mania. In England, however, this cruel practice has been almost entirely discarded; and it is to be hoped that the operation in the United States also will speedily be frowned down. The operation, as now performed by veterinary surgeons, was introduced some years ago by the American Veterinary Asso- ciation of Philadelphia. It consists in passing a narrow-bladed knife (a pricking knife will answer, ) between the coccygeal bones at the desired point, from above downwards, cutting outwards and backwards on each side so as to form two flaps, which are earefully brought together over the end of the tail and secured by the interrupted suture ; thus giving protection to the stump of the tail, and making a much neater finish than by any other a nn Se DOCKING. 12] nethod which could be adopted. No styptic whatever is re- quired, and there need be no fear of hemorrhage, as the union generally takes place by what surgeons call first intention. If, however, the flaps do not fit nicely, healing will not take place without suppuration. This fact should be borne in mind in performing the operation, as much time in healing may thus be saved. By the old method that joint is searched for, which is nearest to the desired length of tail. The hair is then turned up, and tied round with tapé for an inch or two above this joint, and that lying immediately upon. the joint is cut off. The horse is fettered with the side-line, and then the veterinary surgeon with his docking-machine, or the farmer with his carving-knife and mallet, cuts through the tail at one stroke. Some farmers dock their colts a few days after they are dropped. This is a commendable custom on the score of hu- manity. No colt was ever lost by it; the growth of the hair, and the beauty of the tail not being at all impaired. NICKING. This barbarous operation was once sanctioned by fashion, . and the breeder and the dealer are even now sometimes tempted to inflict the torture of it in order to obtain a ready sale for their colts. It is not, practiced to the extent that it used to be, nor is it attended by so many circumstances of cruelty. The operation is thus performed. The side-line is put on the horse, or some persons deem it more prudent to cast him, and that precaution may be recommended. The hair at the end of the tail is securely tied together, for the purpose of afterward attaching a weight to it. The operator then grasps 122 NICKING. the tail in his hand, and, lifting it up, feels for the centre of one of the bones—the prominences at the extremities guiding him—from two to four inches from the root of the tail, accord- ing to the size of the horse. He then with a sharp knife di- vides the muscles deeply from the edge of the tail on one side to the centre, and, continuing the incision across the bone of the tail, he makes it as deep on the other side. One continued incision, steadily yet rapidly made, will accomplish all this. If it is a blood-horse that is operated on, this will be sufficient. For a hunter, two incisions are usually made, the second being about two inches below the first, and likewise as nearly as possible in the centre of one of the bones. On a hackney, a third incision is made; for fashion has decided that his tail shall be still more elevated and curved. Two incisions only are made in the tail of a mare, and the second not very deep. When the second incision is made, some fibres of the mus- cles between the first and second will project into the wound, and must be removed by a pair of curved scissors. The same must be done with the projecting portions from between the second and third incisions. The wound should then be care- fully examined, in order to ascertain that the muscles have been equally divided on each side, otherwise the tail will be carried awry. This being done, pieces of tow must be intro- duced deeply into each incision, and confined, but not too tightly, by a bandage. A very profuse bleeding only will justify any tightness of bandage, and the ill consequences that have resulted from nicking are mainly attributable to the un- necessary force that is used in confining these pledgets of tow. Even if the bleeding, immediately after the operation, NICKING. 123 should have been very great, the roller must be loosened in two or three hours, otherwise swelling and inflammation, and even death, may possibly ensue. Twenty-four hours after the ope- ration, the bandage must be quite removed; and then all that is necessary, so far as the healing of the incisions is concerned, is to keep them clean. ; The wounds must remain open; and this can only be accom- plished by forci- bly keeping the = tail curved back during two or three weeks. For this purpose, a cord, one or two feet in length, is affixed to the end | of the hair, which | terminates in an- THE USUAL METHOD. other divided cord, each division going over a pulley on each side of the back of the stall. A weight is hung at each ex- tremity, sufficient to keep the incisions properly open, and regulated by the degree in which this is wished to be accom plished. The animal will thus be retained in an uneasy posi- tion, although, after the first two or three days, probably not of acute pain. It is barbarous to increase this uneasiness or pain by affixing too great a weight to the cords; for it should be remembered that the proper elevated curve is given to the tail, not by the weight’s keeping it in a certain position for a considerable time, but by the depth of the first incisions, and the degree in which the wounds are kept open. 194 NICKING. The dock should not, for the first three or four days, be brought higher than the back. Dangerous irritation and in- flammation would probably otherwise be produced. It may, after that, be gradually raised to an elevation of forty-five degrees. The horse should be taken out of the pulleys, and gently exercised once or twice every day; but the pulleys cannot finally be dispensed with until a fortnight after the wounds have healed, because the process of contraction, or the approach of the divided parts, goes on for some time after the skin is perfect over the incisions, and the tail would thus sink below the desired elevation. The French method is simpler and less barbarous than ours, allowing the horse to lie down or move about at = = his pleasure. Where this ope- ration is to be performed, it might be adopted with advantage —= as shown in the- * engraving an- = nexed. 5 If the tail has cree ueCH MERTOD not been unnecessarily extended by enormous weights, no bad consequences will usually follow ; but if considerable inflamma- tion should ensue, the tail must be taken from the pulley, and earefully fomented with simple warm water, and a dose of physic given Locked-jaw has, in some rare instances, fol- lowed, under which tne horse generally perishes. The best means of cure in the early state of this disease, is to amputate THE STABLE. 125 the tail at the joint above the highest incision. In order to prevent the hair from coming off, it should be unplaited and combed out every fourth or fifth day. THE STABLE, The most desirable thing in a stable is ventilation. A horse requires air equally with his master; and as the latter requires a chimney to his sleeping apartment, so does the former. This: may be a mere outlet through the ceiling, or it may be formed as a dome or cupola. It should not, of course, be open at the top, or rain will get in, but roofed over, and have an opening at the sides. Besides this, there should be openings in the wall, near the ground, but not in the stalls. This will produce a thorough air, and may be so placed as not to expose the horses to the draught. The stable should not be less than twelve feet high, from floor to ceiling, and the floor should be well paved, slope slightly back- ward, and along the back of the stalls should run a gutter, about a foot wide and an inch ortwodeep. No stable should be less than eighteen feet deep, and each stall should be at least six feet clear; but if eight feet can be allowed, so much the better. Although some horses will agree when kept together in one stall, it is far preferable to allow each a stall to himself. The manger should be about sixteen inches deep, the same from front to back, more narrow at bottom than at top, and two feet iu length. The rack is best when closed in front, the back part being an inclined plane of wood sloping gradually toward the front, and terminating about two feet down. This kind of rack effects a considerable saving in hay; for the reader searcely needs to be reminded that in the common rack much 126 THE STABLE. of the hay given is dragged down and trampled in the litter. It also prevents the hay-seed from falling into the horse’s eyes ; _for the rack is on a ger, and about three W\\ feetfrom the ground. ‘| Another advantage i gained by this rack ue is the facility with TT WAG) which it can be HO i ; Hit!| filled, thus obvi- l| ating all necessity for a.lofi over tlhe stable, and, con- j|sequently, admit- ting of a greater CUSTOMARY FORM OF STALLS. height of ceiling above the horses, as well as of a superior ventilation. The windows and the doors should be at opposite ends, as ventilation is thereby promoted; the doors should be divided transversely, at the height of about four feet from the eround. The upper portion may thus be occasionally opened. White- wash is a bad dressing for the interior of the stable, as it causes too great a glare of light; paint of a leaden color is best, and it can be washed from time to time with soap and water. There should be a bin, properly divided into partitions for oats, beans, and the like; and this is better at the back of the stable. A few buckets of water dashed over the floor of the stable while the horses are at work, will keep all sweet. The litter ATR. 127 should also be turned out to dry, and a little fresh straw spread for the horses to stale on. A shed placed beside the stable is a great advantage, on two accounts—it admits of the litter being dried, and the horse dressed there in wet and stormy weather. A little powdered gypsum, strown upon the stable floor, will also act by absorbing the ammoniacal gas, and thus removing its foul smell—a frequent predisposing cause of ophthalmia. If the ammonia, however, accumulates in any considerable quantity, the speediest and most efficacious remedy as a disin- fectant is muriatic acid. ATR. The importance of thorough ventilation has been adverted to under the preceding head, but a few words additional seem necessary. A hot stable has in the minds of many been long connected with a glossy coat for the horse. The latter, it is thought, cannot be obtained without the former. To this it may be re- plied that in winter a thin, glossy coat is not desirable. Nature gives to every animal a warmer clothing when the cold weather approaches. The horse—the agricultural horse, especially— acquires a thicker and a lengthened coat, in order to defend him from the surrounding cold. Man puts on additional and a warmer covering, and his comfort is increased and his health preserved by it. He who knows anything of the farmer’s horse, or cares about his enjoyment, will not object to a coat a little - longer, and a little roughened when the wintry wind blows bleak. The coat, however, does not need to be so long as to 128 AIR. be unsightly; and warm clothing, even in a cool stable, will, with plenty of careful and faithful grooming, keep the hair suf ficiently smooth and glossy to satisfy the most fastidious. The over-heated air of a close stable dispenses with the necessity of this grooming, and therefore the idle attendant unscrupulously sacrifices the health and safety of the horse. If the stable is close, the air will not only be hot, but foul. The breathing of every animal contaminates it ; and when, in the course of the night, with every aperture stopped, it passes again and again through the lungs, the blood cannot undergo its proper and healthy change; digestion will not be so perfectly performed, and all the functions of life are injured. Let the owner of a valuable horse think of his passing twenty or twenty-two out of the twenty-four hours in this debilitating atmosphere. Nature does wonders in enabling every animal to accommodate itself to the situation in which it is placed, and the horse that lives in the stable-oven suffers less from it than would scarcely be deemed possible; but he does not, and cannot, possess the power and hardihood which he would acquire under other cir- cumstances. The air of the improperly closed and heated stable is still further contaminated by the urine and dung, which rapidly fer- ment there, and give out stimulating and unwholesome odors. When one first enters an ill-managed stable, and especially early in the morning, he is annoyed, not only by the heat of the con- fined air, but by a pungent smell, resembling hartshorn; what sur- prise, then, need be excited at the inflammation of the eyes, and the chronic cough, and the disease of the lungs, by which the animal, which has been all night shut up in this vitiated atmos- phere, is often attacked; or if glanders and farcy should occa- AIR. 129 sionally break out in such stables ? Chemical experiments have demonstrated that the urine of the horse contains in it an ex- ceedingly large quantity of hartshorn; and not only so, but that, influenced by the heat of a crowded stable, and possibly by other decompositions which are going on at the same time, this ammoniacal vapor begins to be rapidly given out almost immediately after the urine is voided. When disease begins to appear among the inhabitants of these ill-ventilated places, it is not wonderful that it should rapidly spread among them, and that the plague-spot should be, as it were, placed on the door of such a stable. When distemper appears in spring or autumn, it is in very many cases to be traced to such a pest-house. It is peculiarly fatal there. The horses belonging to a small establishment, and rationaily treated, have it comparatively seldom, or, when they do, but lightly ; but among the inmates of a crowded stable it is sure to display itself, and there it is most deadly. The experience of every veterinary surgeon, and of every large proprietor of horses, will corroborate this statement. Every stable, then, should possess within itself a certain de- gree of ventilation. The cost of this would be trifling, and its saving in the preservation of valuable animals may be immense. The apertures need not be large, and the whole, as before said, may ke sco contrived that no direct current of air shall fall on the horse. A gentleman’s stable should never be without a thermometer. The temperature should seldom exceed seventy degrees in the summer, or sink below forty or fifty degrees in the winter. 9 130 LITTEh. LITTER. Having spoken of the vapor of hartshorn, which is so rapidly and plentifully given out from the urine of a horse in a heated stable, the subject of litter comes naturally next in order. The first caution is, frequently to remove it. The early extrication of gas shows the rapid putrefaction of the urine; the conse- quence of which will be the rapid putrefaction of the litter which is moistened by it. Every thing hastening to decomposition should be carefully removed where life and health are to be pre- served. The litter which has been much wet or at all softened by the urine, and is beginning to decay, should be swept away every morning ; the greater part of the remainder may then be piled under the manger ; a little being left to prevent the pain- ful and injurious pressure of the feet on the hard pavement | during the day. The soiled and soaked portion of that which was left should be removed at night. In the better kind of stables, however, the stalls should be completely emptied every morning. No heap of fermenting dung should be suffered to remain during the day in the corner or in any part of the stable. With regard to this, the directions for removal should be per- emptory. The stable should be so contrived that the urine may quickly run Off, and the offensive and injurious vapor from the decom- posing fluid, and the litter will thus be materially lessened ; but if this is effected by means of gutters and a descending floor, the descent must be barely sufficient to cause the fluid to escape, as, if the toes are kept higher than the heels, it will lead to lameness, and is also a frequent cause of contraction of the foot. LIGHT. 13] Stalls of this kind certainly do best for mares; but for horses those are preferable, which have a grating in the centre, and a slight inclination in the floor on every side towards the middle. A short branch may communicate with a larger drain, by means of which the urine may be carried off to a reservoir outside the stable. Traps are now contrived, and may be procured at little expense, by means of which neither any offensive smell nor cur rent of air can pass through the grating. In stables with paved floors particularly, humanity anf interest, as well as-the appearance of the stable, should induce the proprietor of the horse to place a moderate quantity of litter under him during the day. LIGHT. This neglected branch of stable-management is of {ir more consequence than is generally imagined. The farmer's stable is frequently destitute of any glazed window, and has only a shutter, which is raised in warm weather, and closed when the weather becomes cold. When the horse is in the stable only during a few hours in the day, this is not of so much conse- quence, nor of so much, probably, with regard to horses of slow work; but to carriage-horses and roadsters, so far, at least, as the eyes are concerned, a dark stable is little less injurious than a foul and heated one. In order to illustrate this, reference may be made to the unpleasant feeling, and the utter impossibility of seeing distinctly, when a man suddenly emerges from a dark place into the full glare of day. The sensation of mingled pain and giddiness is not speedily forgotten ; and some minutes elapse before the eye can accustom itself to the increased light. If this were to happen every day, or several times in a day, the . ao ee 132 LIGHT. sight would be irreparably injured, or possibly blindness would be the final result. We need not wonder, then, that the horse, taken from a dark stable into a blaze of light, feeling, probably, as we should do under similar circumstances, and unable for any time to see anything around him distinctly, should become ‘ astarter; or that the frequently repeated violent effect of sudden light should induce inflammation of the eye so intense as to terminate in blindness. There is, indeed, no doubt that horses kept in dark stables are frequently notorious starters, and that abominable habit has been properly traced to this cause. If plenty of light be admitted, the walls of the stable, and especially that portion of them which is before the horse’s head, must not be of too glaring a color. The color of the stable should depend on the quantity of light. Where much can be admitted, the walls should be of a gray hue. Where darkness would otherwise prevail, frequent painting may in some degree dissipate the gloom. For another reason, it will be evident that the stable should not possess too glaring a light; it is the resting-place of the horse. The work of the farmer’s horse, indeed, is principally confined to the day. The hours of exertion having passed, the animal returns to his stable to feed and to repose, and the latter is as necessary as the former, in order to prepare him for re- newed work. Something like the dimness of twilight is requi- site to induce the animal to compose himself to sleep. ‘This half-light is more particularly adapted to horses of heavy work. In the quietness of a dimly-lighted stable, they obtain repose, and accumulate flesh and fat. GROOMING. 133 GROOMING, To the agriculturist it is not necessary to say much under this head, as custom, apparently without any ill effect, has allotted so little of the comb and brush for the farmer’s horse. A Sf a. GROOMING. requires little more to be ~ done to him than to have the dirt brushed off his limbs. Regular grooming, by ren- dering his skin more sensitive to the alteration of temperature, and the inclemency of weather, would be prejudicial. The horse that is altogether turned out, needs no grooming. The dandruff, or scurf, which accu- 134 GROOMING. mulates at the roots of the hair, is a provision of nature to defend him from the wind and the cold. It is to the stabled horse, highly fed, and little or irregularly worked, that grooming is of so much consequence, Good rubbing with the brush, or the curry-comb, opens the pores of the skin, causes the blood to circulate to the extremities of the body, produces free and healthy perspiration, and stands in the stead of exercise. No horse will carry a fine coat without either unnatural heat, or dressing. They both effect the same purpose; they both increase the insensible perspiration; but the first does it at the expense of health and strength, while the second, at the same time that it produces a glow on the skin, and a determination of blood to it, rouses all the energies of the frame. It would be well if the proprietor of the horse were to insist—and to see that his orders are implicitly obeyed —that the fine coat, in which he and his groom so much de- light, is produced by honest rubbing, and not by a heated stable and thick clothing, and, most of all, not by stimulating or injurious spices. The horse should be regularly dressed every day, in addition to the grooming that is necessary after work. When the weather will permit the horse to be taken out, he should never be groomed in the stable, unless he is an animal of peculiar value, or placed for a time under peculiar circum- stances. Without dwelling on the want of cleanliness, when the scurf and dust which are brushed from the horse lodge in his manger, experience teaches that, if the cold is not too great, the animal is braced and invigorated to a degree that cannot be attained in the stable, from being dressed in the open air. There is no necessity, however, for half the punish- EXERCISE. 135 ment which is often inflicted upon the horse in the act of dressing ; and particularly on one whose skin is thin and sen- sitive. The curry-comb should always be applied lightly. With many horses, its use may be almost dispensed with ; and even the brush does not need to be so hard, nor the points of the bristles so irregular as they often are. A soft brush, with a little more weight of the hand, will be equally effectual, and much more pleasant to the horse. A hair-cloth, while it will seldom irritate and tease, will be almost sufficient with horses that have a thin skin, and that have not been neglected. After all, it is no slight task to dress a horse as it ought to be done. It occupies.no little time, and demands considerable patience, as well as dexterity. It will be readily ascertained whether a horse has been well dressed, by rubbing him with one of the fingers. A greasy stain will expose the idleness of the groom. When, however, the horse is changing his coat, both the curry-comb and the brush should be used as lightly as pos- sible. Whoever would be convinced of the benefit of friction to the horse’s skin, and to the horse generally, needs only to ob- serve the effects produced by rubbing the legs of a tired horse well with the hands. While every enlargement subsides, and the painful stiffness disappears, and the legs attain their natural warmth and become fine, the animal is evidently and rapidly reviving ; he takes hold of his food with zest, and then quietly lies down to rest. EXERCISE. The remarks upon this branch, also, can have but a slight reference to the agricultural horse. His work is usually, regu- 136 EXERCISE. lar, and not exhausting. He is neither predisposed to disease by idleness, nor worn out by excessive exertion. He, like his master, has enough to do to keep him in health, and not enough to distress or injure him; on the contrary, the regu- larity of his work prolongs life to an extent seldom witnessed in the stable of the gentleman. These remarks on exercise, then, must have a general bearing, or have principal reference to those persons who keep a horse for business or pleasure, but cannot afford to maintain a servant for the express pur- pose of looking after it. The first rule to be laid down is, that every horse should have daily exercise. The animal, that with the usual stable feeding stands idle for three or four days, as is the case in many establishments, must suffer. He is predisposed to fever, or to grease, or, most of all, to diseases of the foot; and if, after three or four days of inactivity, he is ridden far and fast, he is almost sure to have inflammation of the Jungs or of the feet. : Any horse, used for business or pleasure merely, suffers much se more from idleness = than he does from = work. A stable-fed = |horse should have | two hours’ exercise every day, if he is to be kept free from = disease. Nothing of extraordinary, or even of ordinary, ‘labor can be effected EXERCISE. on the road or in EXERCISE. 137 the field, without sufficient and regular exercise. It is this which alone can give energy to the system, and develop the powers of any animal. In training the race-horse, or the horse for hunting pur- poses, regular exercise is the most important of all considera- tions, however much it may be neglected in the usual manage- ment of the stable. The exercised horse will discharge his task, and sometimes a severe one, with ease and pleasure; while the idle and neglected one will be fatigued before half his labor is accomplished ; and, if he is pushed a little too far, dangerous inflammation will ensue. How often, nevertheless, does it happen, that the horse which has stood inactive in the Stable for three or four days, is ridden or driven thirty or forty miles in the course of a single day! The rest is often purposely given in order that he may be prepared for extra exertion—to lay in a stock of strength for the performance required of him—and then.the owner is surprised and dissatis- _ fied if the animal is fairly knocked up, or possibly becomes seriously ill. Nothing is so common and so preposterous, as for a person to buy a horse from a dealer’s stable, where he has been idly fattened for sale for many a day, and immediately to give him a long run, and then to complain bitterly, and think that he has been imposed upon, if the animal is exhausted be- fore the end, or is compelled to be led home suffering from violent inflammation. Regular and gradually increasing ex- ercise would have made the same horse appear a treasure to his owner. Exercise should be somewhat proportioned to the age of the horse. A young horse requires more than an old one. Na- ture has given to young animals of every kind a disposition to 138 FOOD. activity ; but the exercise must not be violent. Much depends ~ upon the manner in which it is given. 'To preserve the tem- per, and to promote health, it should be moderate, at least at the beginning and at the termination. The rapid trot, or even the gallop, may be resorted to in the middle of the exercise, but the horse should be brought in cool. FOOD, One half of the diseases of the horse owe their origin to over-feeding with hay. This applies more particularly to young horses, and to such as are not put to severe work. They are ever placed before a full rack, and, like children gorged with bread and butter, they eat merely for amusement? until at length the stomach gradually becomes preternaturally distended, the appetite increases in a relative proportion, be- comes sooner or later voracious, and finally merges into a mere craving—it being a matter of indifference what the food is, so that the stomach is filled with it. This depravity of appetite is always accompanied by more or less thirst. This’ naturally enough produces general debility of the entire digestive func- tion, including stomach, bowels, liver, spleen, and pancreas; worms are produced in thousands, and symptoms present themselves of so many varied hues, that enumeration, far less classification, becomes utterly impossible. A horse’s appetite is not to be taken as the criterion by which to determine the quantity of hay which he is to be per- mitted to consume; for most horses will eat three or four times as much as they onght. Horses have been known to consume thirty pounds weight of hay between a day and a night; and ten pounds is the most that should have been given during FOOD. 139 that time. Upon eight pounds of hay daily, with a due allow- ance of oats, a horse can be kept in full work, in prime health and spirits. It is better to keep young horses at grass until wbout five years old, and to work them during that period. When kept in the stable and not worked they are apt to ac- quire many very bad habits; and if the rack and manger be kept empty, with a view of preventing the over-loading of their stomachs, they will fall into a habit of playing with and mouth- ing them—a habit which finally degenerates into wind-sucking or crib-biting. ~ The system of manger-feeding is now becoming general wong farmers. There are few horses that do not habitually waste a portion of their hay; and by some the greater part is . pulled down and trampled under foot, in order first to cull the sweetest and best locks, which could not be done while the hay was confined in the rack. A good feeder will afterward pick up much of that which was thrown down: but some of it must be soiled and rendered disgusting, and, in many cases, one-third of this division of their food is wasted.’ Some of the oats and beans are imperfectly chewed by all horses, and scarcely at all by hungry and greedy ones. The appearance of the dung will sufficiently establish this. The observation of this induced the adoption of manger- feeding, or of mixing a portion of cut feed with the grain and beans. By this means the animal is compelled to chew his food; he cannot, to any great degree, waste the straw or hay; the cut feed is too hard and too sharp to be swallowed without sufficient mastication, and while he is forced to grind that down, the oats and the beans are also ground with it, and thus yield more nourishment ; the stomach is more slowly filled, and there- 140 FOOD. fore acts better upon its contents, and is not so likely to be over-loaded ; and the increased quantity of saliva thrown out in the protracted maceration éf the food, softens it, and makes it more fit for digestion. Cut feed may be composed of equal quantities of clover or of meadow hay; and wheaten, oaten, or barley straw, cut into pieces of a half or an inch in length, and mingled well to- gether; the allowance of oats or beans is afterwards added, and mixed with the whole. Many farmers very properly bruise the oats or beans. The whole oat is apt to slip out of the feed and be lost; but when it is bruised, and espe- cially if the feed is wet a little, it will not readily separate, or, ‘should a portion of it escape the grinders, it will be partly pre- pared for digestion by the act of bruising. The prejudice against bruising the oats is utterly unfounded, so far as the farmer’s horse, and the wagon horse, and every horse of slow draught, are concerned. The quantity of straw in the feed will always counteract, any supposed purgative quality in bruised oats. Horses of quicker draught, unless they are actually in- clined to scour, will thrive better on bruised than on whole oats ; for a greater quantity of nutriment will be extracted from the food, and it will always be easy to apportion the quantity of straw or beans to the effect of the mixture on the bowels of the horse. The principal alteration that should be made for the horse of harder and more rapid work, such as the post-horse and the stage-coach horse, is to increase the quantity of hay, and diminish that of straw. Two trasses of hay may be cut with one of straw. Some gentlemen, in defiance of the prejudice and opposition of the coachman or groom, have introduced this mode of feed- FOOD. 14) ing into the stables of their horses, and with manifest advantage. There has been no loss of condition or power, and considerable saving of provender. This system is not however, calculated for the hunter, or therace-horse. Their food must lie in smaller bulk, in order that the action of the lungs may not be impeded by the distention of the stomach; yet many hunters have gone well over the field who have been manger-fed, the proportion of grain, however, being materially increased. For the agricultural and cart-horse, eight pounds of oats, and two of beans should be added to every twenty pounds of cut feed. Thirty-four or thirty-six pounds of the mixture will be sufficient for any horse of moderate size, with fair, or even hard, work. The dray and wagon horse may require forty pounds. Hay in the rack at night is, in this case, supposed to be alto- gether omitted. The rack, however, may remain, as occasion- ally useful for the sick horse, or to contain green feed. Horses are very fond of this provender. The great majority ‘of them, after having become accustomed to it, will leave the best oats given to them alone, for the sake of the mingled cut feed and grain. The farmer should be cautioned, however, not to set apart damaged hay for the manufacture of the cut feed. The horse may thus be induced to eat that which he would otherwise refuse, and if the nourishing property of the hay has been impaired, or it has acquired an injurious principle, the animal will either lose condition, or become diseased. Much more injury is done by eating damaged hay, or musty oats, than ‘is generally imagined. There will be sufficient saving in the diminished cost of the provender by the introduction of the straw and the improved condition of the horse, without poison- ing him with the refuse of the farm. For old horses, and for 142 FOOD. those with defective teeth, cut feed is peculiarly useful, and for them the grain should be broken down as well as the fodder. While the mixture of the cut feed with the grain prevents it from being too rapidly devoured and a portion of it swallowed whole, and therefore the stomach is not too loaded with that _ on which, as containing the most nutriment, its chief digestive power should be exerted; yet, on the whole, a great deal of time is gained by this mode of feeding, and more is left for rest. When a horse comes in wearied at the close of the day, it oc- cupies, after he has eaten his grain, two or three hours to clear his rack. On the system of manger-feeding, the chaff being already cut into small pieces, and the beans and oats bruised, | he is able fully to satisfy his appetite in an hour and a half. Two additional hours are therefore devoted to rest. This is a circumstance deserving of much consideration, even in the farmer’s stable; and of immense consequence to the stage-coach proprietor, the livery-stable keeper, and the owner of every hard- worked horse. Manger food will be the usual support of the farmer’s horse during the winter, and while at constant or occasional hard work; but from the middle of April to the end of July, he may be fed with this mixture in the day, and turned out at night, or he may remain out during every rest-day. A team in constant employ should not, however, be suffered to be out at night after the end of July. The farmer should take care that the pasture is thick and good; and that the distance from the yard is not too great, or the fields too large, otherwise a very considerable portion of time will be occupied in catching the horse in the morning. He will likewise have to take into consideration the sale he FOOD. 143 would have for his hay, and the necessity of sweet and untrod- den pasture for his cattle. On the == whole, however, turning out in this way, when _ circumstances will admit of it, will be found to be more beneficial for the horse, and cheaper than soil- ————— = (=== ferior farmer is some- * times fed on hay or DRE PT Aer grass alone, and the animal, although he rarely gets a feed of grain, maintains him- self in tolerable condition, and performs the work required of him; but hay and grass alone however good in quality, or in whatever quantity allowed, will not support a horse under hard work. Other substances, containing a large proportion of nutriment in a smaller compass, have been added; a brief enumeration of which follows, and an estimate is formed of their comparative value. In almost every part of Great Britain and this country, oats have been selected as that portion of the food which is to afford the principal nourishment. They contain from seven hundred and forty-three to seven hundred and fifty parts of the nutri- tive matter. They should be about, or somewhat less than, a year old, heavy, dry, and sweet. New oats will weigh ten or fifteen per cent. more than old ones; but the difference consists principally in watery matter, which is gradually evaporated. New oats are not so readily ground down by the teeth as old 144 FOOD. ones. They form a more glutinous mass, difficult to digest, and, when eaten in considerable quantities, are apt to occa- sion colic, or even staggers. If they are to be used before they are from three to five months old, they would be materi- ally improved by a little kiln-drying. There is no fear for the horses from simple drying, if the grain is good when put into the kiln. The old oat forms, when chewed, a smooth and uniform mass, which readily dissolves in the stomach, and yields the nourishment which it contains. Perhaps some chemi- cal change may have been slowly effected in the old oat, dis- posing it to be more readily assimilated. Oats should be plump, bright in color, and free from unpleasant smell or taste. The musty smell of wet or damaged grain is produced by a fungus growing upon the seed, which has an injurious effect upon the urinary organs, and often on the intestines, producing profuse staling, inflammation of the kidneys, colic, and inflam- mation of the bowels. This musty smell is removed by kiln-drying the oat; but care is here requisite that too great a degree of heat is not employed. It should be sufficient to destroy the fungus with- out injuring the life of the seed. A considerable improvement would be effected by cutting the unthrashed oat-straw into chaff, and the expense of thrashing would be saved. Oat- straw is better than that of barley, but does not contain so much nutriment as that of wheat. When the horse is fed on hay and oats, the quantity of the oats must vary with his size and the work to be performed. In winter, four feeds, or from ten to fourteen pounds of oats in the day, will be a fair allowance for a horse of fifteen hands and one or two inches in height, and that has moderate work. FOOD. 145 In summer, half the quantity with green feed will be sufficient. Those which work on the farm have from ten to fourteen pounds, and the hunter from twelve to sixteen. There are no efficient and safe substitutes for good oats; but, on the contrary, it may be safely asserted, that they possess an invigorating pro- perty which is found in no other kind of food. Oatmeal forms a poultice more stimulating than one com- posed of linseed-meal alone—or they may be mingled in different proportions, as circumstances require. In the form of gruel, it constitutes one of the most important articles of diet for the sick horse ; not, indeed, to be forced upon him, but a pail con- taining it being slung in his box, of which he will soon begin to drink when water is denied. Gruel is generally either not boiled long enough, or a sufficient quantity of oatmeal is not used for it. The proportions should be, a pound of meal thrown into a gallon of water, and kept constantly stirred until it boils, and five minutes afterwards. White-water, made by stirring a pint of oatmeal in a pail of water, the chill being taken from it, is an excellent beverage for the thirsty and tired horse. ’ BARLEY is a common food of the horse in various parts of the continent, and, until the introduction of oats, seems to have constituted almost his only food. It is more nutritious than oats, containing nine hundred and twenty parts of nutritive matter in every thousand. There seems, however to be some- thing necessary besides a great proportion of nutritive matter, in order to render any substance wholesome, strengthening, or fattening ; therefore it is, that with many horses that are hardly worked, and, indeed, with horses generally, barley does not agree so well as oats. They are occasionally subject to inflam- matory complaints, and particularly to surfeit and mange. 16 146 FOOD. When barley is given, the quantity should not exceed a peck daily. It should always be bruised, and the chaff should con- sist of equal quantities of hay and barley-straw, and not cut too short. If the farmer has a quantity of spotted or unsalable barley that he wishes thus to get rid of, he must accustom his horses to it very gradually, or he will probably produce serious illness among them. For horses that are recovering from illness, barley, in the form of malt, is often serviceable, as tempting the appetite and recruiting the strength. It is best given in mashes —water, considerably below the boiling heat, being poured upon it, and the vessel or pail kept covered for half an hour. Grain, fresh from the mash-tub, either alone or mixed with oats or chaff, or both, may be given occasionally to horses of slow draught ; they would, however, afford very insufficient nonrish- ment for horses of quicker or harder work. WHEAT is more rarely given than barley. It contains nine hundred and fifty-five parts of nutritive matter. When farmers have a damaged or unmarketable sample of wheat, they some- times give it to their horses, and, it being at first used in small quantities, they become accustomed to it, and thrive and work well; it should, however, always be bruised, and given in chaff. Wheat contains a greater portion of gluten, or sticky, adhesive matter, than any other kind of grain. It is difficult of diges- tion, and apt to cake and form obstructions in the bowels. This will more often be the case, if the horse is suffered to drink much water soon after feeding upon it. Fermentation, colic, and death, are occasionally the conse- quence of eating any great quantity of wheat. A horse that is fed on it, should have very little hay. The proportion should not be more than one truss of hay to two of straw. Wheat or * FOOD. 147 flour, boiled in water, to the thickness ef starch, is given with good effect in over-purging, especially if combined with chalk and opium. ; Bray, or the ground husk of the wheat, used to be frequently given to sick horses, on account of the supposed advantage derived from its relaxing the bowels. There is no doubt that it does operate gently on the intestinal canal, and assists in quickening the passage of its contents, when occasionally given ; but it must not be a constant, or even frequent food. Bran or pollard often accumulates in the intestines, when given injudi- ciously, seriously impairing the digestive powers. Bran may, however, be useful as an occasional aperient in the form of a mash, but never should become a regular article of food. Beans afford a striking illustration of the principle, that the nourishing or strengthening effects of the different articles of food depend more upon some peculiar pro- erty which they possess, or upon some upon the actual quantity of natri- tive matter. Beans dred parts of nu- THE AMERICAN RACER, BLACK MARIA. tritive matter ; yet they add materially to the vigor of the horse. There are many ‘horses that will not stand hard work without beans being mingled with their food; and there are horses, whose ten- dency to purge it may be necessary to restrain by the astrin- * 148 FOOD. gency of the bean. There are few travelers whoare not aware of the difference in the spirit and continuance of the horse, whether he is allowed or denied beans during the continuance of the journey. They afford not merely a temporary stimulus, but they may be daily used without losing their power, or pro- ducing exhaustion. They are indispensable to the hard-worked coach-horse. Weakly horses could never get through their work without them; and old horses would otherwise often sink under the task imposed upon them. They should not be given whole, or split, but crushed. This will make a material differ- ence in the quantity of nutriment which will. be extracted. They are sometimes given to turf-horses, but only as an occasional stimulant. Two pounds of beans may, with advantage, be mixed with the chaff of the agricultural horse, during the winter. In summer, the quantity of beans should be lessened, or they should be altogether discontinued. Beans are generally given whole. This is very absurd; for the young horse, whose teeth are strong, seldom requires them; while the old horse, to whom they are in & measure necessary, is scarcely able to masticate them, swallows many of them which he is unable to break, and drops much grain from his mouth: in the ineffectual attempt to crush them. Beans should not be merely split, but crushed ; as they will even then furnish sufficient employment for the grin- ders of the animal. Some persons use chaff with beans, instead of oats. This may possibly be allowed with hardly-worked horses; but, in general cases, beans without oats would be too binding and stimulating, and would produce costiveness, and probably megrims or staggers. Beans should be at least a twelvemonth old before they are given to the horse, and they should be carefully preserved from + FOOD. 149 ‘damp and mouldiness, which at least. disgust the animal, if they dono other harm, and harbor an insect which destroys the inner part of the bean. The straw of the bean is nutritive and wholesome, and is usually given to the horses. Its nutritive properties are sup- posed to be little inferior to those of oats. The small and plump bean is generally the best. PEAS are occasionally given. They appear to be in a slight degree more nourishing than beans, and not so heating. They contain five hundred and seventy-four parts of nutritive matter. For horses of slow work they may be used; but the quantity of chaff should be increased, and a few oats added. They have not been found to answer with horses of quick draught. It is essential that they should be crushed ; otherwise, on account of their globular form, they are apt to escape from the teeth, and many are swallowed whole. Exposed to warmth and moisture in the stomach, they swell consideradly, and may painfully and injudiciously distend it. The peas that are given to horses should be sound, and at least a year old. In some sections, pea-meal is frequently used, not only as an excellent food for the horse, but as a remedy for diabetes. LINSEED is sometimes given to sick horses—raw, ground, and boiled. It is supposed to be useful in cases of catarrh. InpDIAN CorN in combination with roots, forms a valuable article of diet. Horses will eat the mess with an avidity of appetite calculated to excite surprise at first. The mess, to which a little salt should invariably be added, will keep them in fair average condition; and those which it is desirable to fatten may have a small quantity of oats, pea or bran meal added. 150 FOOD. Hay is most in perfection when it is about a year old. The horse, perhaps, would prefer it earlier, but it is then neither so wholesome nor so nutritive, and often has a purgative quality. When it is about a year old, it retains, or should retain, some- what of its green color, its agreeable smell, and its pleasant taste. It has undergone the slow process of fermentation, by which the sugar which it contains is developed, and its nutritive quality is fully exercised. Old hay becomes dry and tasteless, and innutritive and unwholesome. After the grass is cut, and the hay stacked, a slight degree of fermentation takes place in it. This is necessary for the development of the saccharine principle ; but it occasionally proceeds too far, and the hay be- comes mow-burnt, in which state it is injurious, or even poison- ous. The horse soon shows the effect which it has upon him. He has diabetes to a considerable degree; he becomes, hide- bound ; his strength is wasted ; his thirst is excessive; and he is almost worthless. Where the system of manger-feeding is not adopted, or where hay is still allowed at night, and chaff and grain in the day, there is no error into which the farmer is so apt to fall as to give an undue quantity, and that generally of the worst kind. The pernicious results of this practice have been already men- tioned in the commencement of this head, and the practice can- not be too strongly reprobated. It is a good practice to sprinkle the hay with water in which salt has been dissolved. It is evidently more palatable to the animal who will leave the best unsalted hay for that of an infe- rior quality which has been moistened with brine; and there cau be no doubt that the salting materially assists the process of digestion. The preferable way of salting hay is to sprinkle FOOD. 151 it over the different layers as it is put away, or as the stack is formed. From its attraction to water, it would combine with that excess of moisture which in wet seasons, is the cause of too rapid and violent fermentation, and of the hay becoming mois- tened, or of the stack catching fire, and it would become more: incorporated with the hay. The only objection to its being thus used is, that the color of the hay is not so bright ; but this will be of little consequence for home consumption. CLover is useful for soiling the horse; and clover hay is preferable to meadow hay for chaff. It will sometimes tempt the sick horse, and may be given with advantage to those of slow and heavy work; but custom seems properly to have for- bidden it to the roadster or those used for quick work. THE SwepisH TurRNIP is an article of food, the value of which, particularly for agricultural horses, has not been suf- ficiently appreciated. Although it is far from containing the amount of nutritive matter which many have supposed, that which it has seems to be capable of complete and easy diges- tion. It should be sliced with chopped straw, and without hay. It quickly fattens the horse, and produces a smooth glossy coat and a loose skin. It is a good plan to give it once a day, and that at night when the work is done. The virtues of CarRoTs are not sufficiently known, both as contributing to the strength and endurance of the sound horse, and to the rapid recovery of the sick one. To the healthy horse they should be given sliced in his chaff. Half a bushel will be a fair daily allowance. There is little provender, of which the horse is more fond. There is none better, nor, per- haps, so good. When first given, it is slightly diuretic and laxative, but as the horse becomes accustomed to it, these effects 152 FOOD. cease to be produced. They also improve the state of the skin. They form a good substitute for grass, and an excellent altera- tive for horses out of condition. For sick and idle horses they render grain unnecessary. They are beneficial in all chronic diseases connected with breathing, and have a marked influence upon chronic cough and broken wind. They are serviceable in diseases of the skin, and in combination with oats they re- store a worn horse much sooner than oats alone. Potators have been given and with advantage in their raw state, sliced with chaff; but, where it has been convenient to boil or steam -them, the benefit has been far more evident. Purging then has rarely ensued. Some have given boiled pota- toes alone, and horses, instead of rejecting them, have soon preferred them even to oats; but itis better to mix them with the usual manger feed, in the proportion of one pound of potatoes to two and a half pounds of the other ingredients. The use of the potato must depend upon its cheapness, and the facility for boiling it. Those who have tried potatoes extensively in the feeding of horses, assert that an acre of potatoes goes as far as four acres of hay. A horse fed upon them should have his quantity of water materially curtailed. Half adozen horses would soon repay the expense of a steaming boiler for potatoes in the saving of provender alone, without taking into account their improved condition and capability for work. The times of feeding should be as equally divided as conve- nience will permit; and when it is likely that the horse will be kept longer than usual from home, the nose-bag should inva- riably be taken. The small stomach of the horse is emptied in a few hours; and if he is allowed to'remain hungry much be- yond his accustomed time, he will afterwards devour his food WATER. 153 so voraciously as to distend the stomach and endanger an attack of the staggers. When extra work is required from the animal, the system of management is often injudicious; for a double feed is put upon him, and as soon as he has swallowed it, heis started. It would be far better to give him a double feed on the previous evening, which would be digested before he is wanted, and then he might set out in the morning, after a very small portion of grain had been given to him, or, perhaps, only a little hay. One of the most successful methods of enabling a horse to get well through a long journey, is to give him only a little at a time while on the road, and at night to indulge him with a double feed of grain and a full allowance of beans. . WATER, The watering of the horse is a very important but disregarded portion of his general management, especially by the farmer. He lets his horses loose morning and night, and they go to the nearest pond or brook and drink their fill, and no harm results; _ for they obtain that kind of water which nature designed them to have, in a manner prepared for them by some unknown in- fluence of the atmosphere, as well as by the deposition of many saline admixtures. , The kind of water fitted for the horse has not been, as a general thing, sufficiently considered. The difference between what is termed hard and soft water, is a circumstance of general observation. The former contains certain saline principles, which decompose some bodies, as appears in the curdling of soap, and prevent the decomposition of others, as in the making of tea, the boiling of vegetables, and the process of brewing. 154 WATER. It is natural to suppose that these different kinds of water would produce somewhat differing effects upon the animal frame: and such is the case. Hard water, freshly drawn from the well, will frequently roughen the coat of the horse unaccustomed to it, or cause griping pains, or materially lessen the animal’s power of exertion. The racing and the hunting-groom are perfectly aware of this; and instinct or experience has made even the horse conscious of it, for he will never drink hard water if he has access to soft, and he will leave the most trans- parent and the purest water of the well for a river, although the stream may be turbid, and even for the muddiest pool. Some trainers, indeed, have so much fear of hard or strange water, that they carry with them to the different courses the water which the animal has been accustomed to drink, and that . which they know agrees with it. The temperature of the water is of far more consequence than its hardness. It will rarely harm if taken from the pond or the running stream; but its coldness, when recently drawn from _the well, has often proved injurious; it has produced colic, spasms, and even death. There is often considerable prejudice against the horse being fairly supplied with water. It is supposed to chill him, to injure his wind, or to incapacitate him for hard work. It cer- tainly would do so, if, immediately after drinking his fill, he were galloped hard; but not if he were suffered to quench his thirst more frequently when at rest in the stable. The horse that has free access to water, will not drink so much in the course of the day as another, who, in order to cool his parched mouth, swallows as fast as he can, and knows not when to stop. WATER. 155 A horse may, with perfect safety, be far more liberally sup- plied with water than he generally is. An hour before his work commences, he should be permitted to drink a couple of quarts. A greater quantity might probably be objectionable. He will perform his task far more pleasantly and effectually than with a parched mouth and tormenting thirst. The prejudice both of the hunting and the training groom on this point is cruel, as well as injurious. The task or the journey being accom- plished, and the horse having had his head and neck dressed, his legs and feet washed, should have his water before his body is cleaned. When dressed, his grain may be offered to him, which he will readily take; but water should never be earep immediately before or after the grain. If the horse were watered three times a day, especially in summer, he would often be saved from the sad torture of thirst and from manya disease. Whoever has observed the eagerness with which the overworked horse, hot and tired, plunges his muzzle into the pail, and the difficulty of stopping him before he has drained the last drop, may form some idea of his previ- ous suffering, and will not wonder at the violent spasms, inflam- mation, and sudden death, that often follow. It is a judicious rule with travelers, that when a horse begins to refuse his food, he should be pushed no further that day. It may, however, be worth while to ascertain whether this does not proceed from thirst as much as from exhaustion; for in many instances his appetite and his spirits will return soon after he has partaken of the refreshing draught. PASTURING. PASTURING. So far as mere health is concerned, grass is the most salubri- ous food which the horse can receive. When it is eaten where {it grows, the horse is said to be turned out, to be getting a run vat grass, or to be at grass. When it is cut, and consumed in the stable, the horse is said to be soiled. It is probable that grass eaten in the field produces quite the same effects as that eaten in the stable. But at pasture, there are several agents in operation to which the stabled horse is not necessarily exposed. ‘The exercise which he must take; the position which his head must assume, in order that he may ob- tain food; the annoyance he suffers from flies; his exposure to the weather; the influence of the soil upon the feet and legs; and the quantity of food placed at his disposal; are the prin- eipal points wherein pasturing differs from soiling. The Exercise which he must take as he gathers his food, varies according to the herbage. When the ground is bare, the exercise may amount even to work, but to a sound horse it is never injurious; in cold weather it keeps him warm, or, at least, prevents him from becoming very cold. With a lame horse, the case is different. In some species of lameness, as in chronic diseases of the joints, the slow but constant exercise thus rendered necessary is highly beneficial; but the exertion demanded by a bare pasture is unfavorable to any sprain or lameness arising from disease in the ligaments and tendons. Lameness, when very great, no matter where seated, forbids pasturing, even though the grass be knee-high. The pain of standing, and moving on two or three legs, may be so great shat the horse will be obliged to lie down before he has ob- PASTURING: 137 tained half a meal. It is for slight lameness only that horses should be turned out; and the pasture should be such as to afford sufficient nutriment, without giving the horse more ex- ‘| ercise than is good for the disease. | The sh of fast-working horses often become turned, shape- === less, tottering, bent at the knee, and straight at the pasterns. These always improve at pasture, as, indeed, they do in the sta- ble, or loose-box, when tne. horse is thrown out of work. does not appear to PASTURING. be unfavorable to their restoration ; but when the knees are very much bent, the horse is unfit for turning out; he cannot graze ; when his head is down, he is ready to fall upon his nose, and it costs him much effort to maintain his balance. THE POSITION OF THE HEAD in, the act of grazing is unfavor- able to the return of blood from the brain, from the eyes, from all parts of the head. Horses that have had staggers, or bad eyes, those that have recently lost a jugular vein, and those that have any disease about the head—strangles, for instance— should not be sent to pasture. The disease becomes worse. or, if gone, is apt to return. Even healthy horses are liable to attacks on the brain, when turned to grass, particularly when the weather is hot, and the herbage abundant. Horses'that have been for more than a year in the stable, 158 PASTURING. and especially those that have been reined up in harness, often experience considerable difficulty in grazing. The neck is rigid, and the muscles which support the head are short. It is often several weeks before an old coach-horse can graze with ease. Very old coach-horses that have short, stiff necks, should not be turned out when they can be kept in; if they must go, they should be watched, lest they die of want. Exposure TO THE WEATHER. Wet, cold weather always produces emaciation and a long coat. If the horse is put out without preparation, he is apt to have an attack of inflamed lungs, or sore throat, or a common cold, with discharge from the nose, and may sicken and die. Many persons seem to think that no usage is too bad for the horse, if it do not immediately produce some fatal disease. Marly in spring, or late in au- tumn, the animal is turned out of a warm, comfortable stable, and left to battle with the weather as he best can. He crouches to the side of a wall, shivering and neglected, as if he had no friend in the world. In time, the horse becomes inured to the weather, if he does not sink under it, but sometimes he comes home with diseased lungs, and very often with a cough which never leaves him, and which produces broken wind. SHELTER, so easily provided—at the cost of a few rude boards even—is too much neglected in the pasture. A hovel, covered on three sides, the fourth open to the south, and just high enough to admit the horse, will answer the purpose. The bottom should be sloping, elevated, and quite dry. When litter can be afforded, it will tempt the horse ont of the blast. There may be hay-racks and mangers, strong, though of rude construction. In summer, the horse can retire here during the heat of the day, and in the more inclement season he may thus avoid the wind and the storm. PASTURING. 153 Exposure to hot weather is not so pernicious, although it always produces pain, if the horse be turned out in the middle of summer. For a while he is fevered all day and loses flesh; but he soon recovers. The parts that are most apt to suffer are the brain and the eyes. Staggers, that is, an affection of the brain, is not common, and the eyes never suffer permanent mischief. They are inflamed by the flies, but the brain is in- jured, partly by the heat, and partly by the pendent position of the head. Furs. The horse is persecuted by at least three kinds of flies. One, the common horse-fly, settles on his ears and dif- ferent parts of his body, tickling and teazing him. Another is a large fly, termed the gad-fly ; it is a blood-sucker, bites’ pretty smartly, and irritates some tender-skinned horses almost to madness, forcing them sometimes to rush into the water to escape their attacks. Another fly is a small insect,whose name is unknown, which lives in the blood, attacking those parts where the skin is thinnest, as the eyelids, inside and outside, the sheath, and the vagina. The eyelids especially always swell where this fly abounds, and the swelling is sometimes so great as to make the horse nearly blind, while the eye is red and weeping. The injury however, is not permanent. The principal defense which the horse has against these puny, but tormenting enemies, is his tail. On some parts of his body he can remove them with his teeth and his feet; and that which cannot be done by these, is done by the tail. With us, however, in far too many instances the effective instrument which nature has furnished is removed, or materially impaired, before he has attained maturity; and, as if the pains of servitude were not sufficiently great and numerous, domestica- tion is rendered still more intolerable by whim and caprice. 160: PASTURING.. Tur sort. Much has been said about the influence of the soil upon the horse’s feet and legs, and much exaggeration of assertion has been set. afloat. Horses reared in soft, marshy pastures have large flat feet, low at the heels, and weak every- where. On dry ground: the hoof is hard, strong, and small, the sole concave, and the heels high. But to impart any peculiar character to the’ hoof, or to produce any change upon it, a long and continuous residence upon the same kind of soil is necessary. A period of six months may produce some change; but it is so insignificant in general that it is not apparent. The low temperature at which the feet and legs are kept in a moist pasture has probably some influence, though not very great, in abating inflammation in those parts. The legs be- come finer and free from tumors and gourdiness; but they would improve nearly or quite as soon, and as much, in a loose box. When the pastures are hard and baked by the sun, unshod horses are apt to break away the crust, and they often come home with hardly horn enough to hold a nail. Feet that have never been shod suffer less; others should, as a general thing, be preserved by light shoes, especially on the fore feet; kick- ing horses, when shod behind, are rather dangerous ‘among others. It has been supposed that the act of grazing throws con siderable stress upon the tendons of the fore legs, and ulti- mately impairs them. This has been urged against grazing hunters ; but so far as sound legs are concerned, there seems to be no foundation for the supposition, and it certainly has never been proved. PASTURING. 161 QuANTITY OF FooD. In the stable, a horse’s food can be apportioned to him as his wants may require; but at pasture, he may get too much or too little. It is difficult to put the horse where he will obtain all the nourishment he needs, and no more. In arich pasture, he may acquire an inconvenient load of fat; in a poor one, he may be half starved. If he must go out, he may be taken in before he becomes too fat; or he may be placed in a bad pasture, and fed up to the point required by a daily allowance of grain. TIME OF TURNING OUT. Horses are pastured at all times of the year. Some are out for lameness, some for bad health, and some, that they may be kept for less than the stable cost. The usual time of turning out is about the end of April, or the beginning of May. Then the grass is young, juicy, tender, and more laxative than at a later period. The spring grass is best for a horse in bad health, worn out by sickness, hard work, or bad food. The weather is mild, neither too hot nor too cold; when it is unsettled and backward, the delicate horse, and sometimes every one, should come in at night and on bleak days. Toward the end of summer, the grass is hard, dry, coarse, fit enough to afford nutriment, but not to renovate a shattered constitution. The days are hot, the nights cold and damp, and the flies strong and numerous, This is not the time for turning out a delicate or thin-skinned horse. Many persons are accustomed to give the horse a dose or two of physic before sending him to grass. Unless the animal has tumid legs, or is afflicted with some ailment, this is en- tirely unnecessary, though it may do no harm. To prepara the horse for exposure to the weather, the clothing to which 11 162 PASTURING. he has been accustomed is lightened, and then entirely re- moved, a week or two before turning him out. The tempera- ture of the stable is gradually reduced, until it becomes as cool as the external air. These precautions are most neces- sary for horses that have been much in the stable, and particu- larly a warm stable. For eight or ten days previous to going out, the animal should not be groomed. The dust and per- spiration which accumulate upon the hair, seem in some measure to protect the skin from rain and from flies. The feet should be dressed, and the grass shoes, or plates, applied a week before turning out. If they are injured by the nails, the injury will become apparent before much mischief is done; at grass it might not be noticed so soon. On the day of going out, the horse should be fed as usual. If he goes to grass when very hungry, he may eat too much. Indigestion will be the result, which may prove fatal. Weather permitting, night is usually chosen for the time of turning out, as the horse is not so apt to gallop about. Let loose in the day time, many are disposed to gallop till they lame themselves, and to try the fences. In autumn, or early in spring, the stable preparation for grass is often insufficient. If the horse be tender, or the weather unsettled, he should be taken home every night, for perhaps the first week. For eight or ten days longer, it may be proper to house him on very wet or stormy nights. The stable given to him should always be cool, not so cold as the external air, but never so warm as if he were accus- tomed to it ConFINEMENT. Some horses are not easily confined at pas- ture. They break or leap the fences, and wander over the PASTURING. 163 country, or proceed to the stable. The fore feet are some- times shackled in order to confine them; but these fetters, if worn for a long time, are apt to alter the horse’s action, ren- dering it short, confined, irregular, at least for a time, till he regains the use of his shoulders. Sometimes the horse is tied by a rope to a stake driven in the ground. He then requires almost constant watching, for he must be often shifted as he eats down the grass, and he may get his legs entangled in the rope, thereby casting himself, and receiving serious injury, unless relief be immediate. Sometimes he is tied to a stake, which he can drag about the field. Hesoon finds that he can walk where he pleases, but he cannot run, and seldom attempts to leap. This, however, is also liable to throw the horse down, or to injure his*legs by getting them entangled in the rope. To prevent the horse from leaping, a board is some- times suspended round his neck, reaching to his knees, which it as apt to bruise. None of these clumsy and unsafe restraints should ever be employed, when it is possible to dispense with them. Few horses, mares in spring and stallions excepted, require them after the first two days. For horses that are turned out only an hour or two during the day, they are as much used to;enable him to be easily caught when wanted, as to prevent him from wandering. ATTENDANCE WHILE out. Horses at grass should be visited at least once every day. If neglected for weeks, as often happens, one may be stolen, and conveyed out of the country before he is missed; the fences may be broken; the water may fail; the horses may be lamed, or attacked with sickness: one may roll into a ditch, and die there for want of assistance ‘to extricate him ; the shoes may be cast; the heels may crack ; 164 PASTURING. thrushes may form; sores may run into sinuses, or become full of maggots; the feet and legs may be injured by stubs, thorns, broken glass, or kicks; or the horses may quarrel, fight, and wound each other. That these and similar evils and accidents may be obviated, or soon repaired, the horses should be visited every morning by a trustworthy person who knows what is re- quired of him. | The grain, hay—either or both—if any be given, should be furnished at regular intervals; when fed with grain, the horses ought to be watched till it is éaten, lest they rob each other, or some prowling thief appropriate the whole. Horses at grass require, and should have, no dressing, as it exposes the skin too much. The shoes may be removed, however, and the feet dressed every four or five weeks. * TREATMENT AFTER GRAZING. When taken from grass to warm stables, and put upon rich, constipating food, horses fre- quently become diseased. Some catch cold, some suffer in- flammation in the eyes, some take swelled legs, cracked heels, grease, thrushes, founders, surfeit, or a kind of mange. These are very common; and physic is often, and indeed generally, given to prevent them. ‘They are produced by a combination of circumstances ; by sudden transition from gentle exercise and indolence or exciting work; from a temperate to stimulating diet; from a pure, cool, and moving atmosphere, to an air comparatiyely corrupt, hot, and stagnant. These changes must be made, and are, to a certain extent, unavoid- able ;. but it is not in all cases necessary that they should be made suddenly. It is the rapid transition from one thing to another and a different thing, that does all the mischief. If it _were effected by slow degrees, the evils would be avoided, and PASTURING. 165 there would be less need, or none: at all, for those medicines which are given to prevent them. During the first week, the temperature of the stable ought to be little different from that of the external air, Sub- sequently it may be raised, by slow degrees, till it is as warm as the work or other circumstances demand. The horse should not at first be clothed, and his first clothing should be light. Grooming may commence on the first day; but it is not good to expose the skin very quickly by a thorough dressing. The food should be laxative, consisting of bran-mashes, oats, and hay; but no beans, or very few. Walking-exercise, twice a day, is absolutely necessary for keeping the legs clean, and it assists materially in preventing plethora. The time required for inuring a horse to stable treatment, depends upon several circumstances. If taken home in warm weather, the innovation, so far as the temperance and the purity of the air are concerned, may be completed in about two weeks. If the horse is not very lean, his skin may be well cleaned in the first week; and to clean it, he must have one or two gentle sweats, sufficient to detach and dissolve the dust, mud, and oily matter which adhere to the skin, and glue the hair together. All this, or as much of it as possible, must be _ scraped off while the horse is warm and perspiring. If it is allowed to get dry before scraping, he is just where he was. ‘If the weather be cold, there need be no great hurry about cleaning him completely. ‘ The propriety of giving physic after grazing has been often questioned. In the stable, its utility is generally acknow- ledged. In books it is sometimes condemned as pernicious, sometimes as useless. It may be safely said, however, that. 166 PASTURING. there are many cases in which physic is very useful; but that as a general thing, it is given too indiscriminately, and befora it is wanted. To a lusty horse, one or two doses may be given for the purpose of reducing him, for removing superfluous fat and flesh. The physic may be strong, sufficiently so to produce copious purgation. It empties the bowels, takes up the carcass, and gives freedom to respiration ; it promotes absorption, and expels the juices which embarrass exertion. Work, sweating. and a spare diet of condensed food, will produce effects with- out the aid of physic. But purgation shortens the time of training, and it saves the legs. If the horse must be rapidly prepared for work, with as little hazard as possible to his legs, he must have physic. The first dose may be given on the day when he comes from grass; the others, if more than one be necessary, at intervals of eight or ten clear days. A lean horse, fresh from grass, needs no physic till he has been stabled for several days, and perhaps not then. By the time he has acquired strength sufficient to stand training, his bowels are void of grass, and his belly small enough to allow freedom of respiration. At the end of a fortnight or three weeks, the Jean horse ought to be decidedly lustier. If too much so, and acquiring flesh too rapidly, one dose of physic - may be given, active enough to produce smart purgation, and prevent the evils which arise from plethora. If he is not taking on flesh so rapidly as he should, he may have two, perhaps three, mild doses of physic, just active enough to produce one or two watery or semi-fluid evacuations. If he eat a great deal without improving in condition, he is probably troubled with worms, and half a draehm of calomel may be PASTURING. 167 added to each dose of physic. If he does not feed well, there is probably a torpid state of the digestive apparatus, produced by a bad or deficient diet. Iu such a case, mild physic is still proper, and, in addition, the horse may have a few tonic balls between the setting of one dose and the administration of another. Four drachms of gentian, two of ginger, and one of tartar emetic, made into a ball with honey, forms a very useful tonic. One of these may be given every day, or every second day, fora fortnight. If the horse does not improve under these, he requires the aid of a veterinary surgeon. THE MODE OF GRAZING FARM-HORSES requires some notice. Other horses are sent to pasture, and with few exceptions, re- main at it for days and weeks without interruption. Those employed in agriculture are pastured in three different ways. By one, the horse is constantly at grass, except during his hours of work; he is put out at night, is brought in the next morning, goes to work for two or three hours, and is then returned to pasture for about two hours; in the afternoon ie again goes to work, which may be concluded at five or six o’clock, and from that time till he is wanted on the next morn- ing he is kept at grass. By another mode, the horse is turned out only at night. During the day he is soiled in his stable at his resting intervals. When work is over for the day, he is sent out till the next morning. By the third mode, which is generally allowed to be the best, the horse is turned to grass only once a week. He is pastured from the time his work is finished on Saturday night till it commences again on Monday morning. If the horses have any thing like work, the first two modes are decidedly objectionable. There is much expenditure of 168 SERVICE. labor in procuring the food, and there is great loss of time. It may cost the horse four or five hours good work to cut down the grass which he eats. A man supplied with a scythe will do the same work with far less labor in a few minutes. If there be nothing else for the horse to do, it is quite right to make him gather his own food. But, otherwise, it is absurd to make him exhaust his strength and time in doing that which a man can do so much more easily and quickly. Besides this expenditure of the horse’s time and strength, the loss of manure, and the damage done to pasture by the feet, ought to be taken into consideration. The third mode of grazing appears to be the least objection- able. The horses have no field labor on Sunday; if the pas- ture be good, the weather favorable, and the horses not fatigued, they are better at grass than in the house. In some places the road-horses are sometimes put to grass on Sunday. This practice has nothing apparently to recom- mend it. The weekly work of these horses in general de- mands the rest which Sunday brings; and if they travel at a fast pace, as all coach-horses do now, they are apt to eat so much grass, and carry such a load in their bellies, that on Monday they are easily over-worked. The breathing is im- peded, unless the horses purge, which few do. They often come from grass as haggard and dejected as if they had done twice their ordinary work the day before. SERVICE. A change of lodging, or of diet, is often a cause of disease. When a fresh horse is procured, it is well to know how he has been treated during the previous month; if he is a valuable SERVICE. 169 animal, he will certainly be worth this inquiry. Horses that come from a dealer have probably been standing in a warm stable, well-clothed, well-groomed, highly fed, and seldom exercised. They have fine glossy _ their flesh is 2 soft and flabby. 2 They are unfit for fast work ; they are easily heated by exer- tion, and when the least warm, Pl iratlaray are very apt to take cold. But, wherever the horse comes from, or whatever his condition may be, changes in reference to food, temperature, and work, must be effected by slow degrees. It is absurd and always pernicious to take a horse from the field, and put him in a warm stable, and on rich food all at once; it is no less erroneous to take him from a warm toacold stable, or to demand exertion to which he has not been trained. When the horse’s history cannot be traced, both his work and his diet should at first be moderate. More of either than he has been accustomed to, will do more harm than less of either. It may, however, soon be ascertained by trying him whether he has been doing much work; if fit for work, he may be fed in proportion. The temperature of the stable had better be warmer than colder. If too warm, the horse will perspire ; his coat will be wet in different places, especially in the morning 170 SERVICE. when the stables are first opened. If it be too cold, his coat will be roughened, and become dim, and the horse will catch cold, evidence of which will be given by a cough. The work of some horses exposes them much to the weather. Those employed in street-coaches, in the carriages of medical men, all those that have to stand in the weather, can never do so with safety until they have been seasoned. In the cold rainy season, many are destroyed, and many more endangered by in- judicious exposure. Wet weather is the most pernicious; yet it is not the rain alone that does the mischief. If the horse is kept in motion, and afterwards perfectly and quickly dried, or is kept in motion till he is dry, he suffers no injury. His coat may be bleached till it is like a dead fur; but the horse does not catch cold. If he is allowed to stand at rest with his coat drenched in the rain, the surface of the body rapidly loses its heat, there being no stimulus to the formation of it; the blood circulates slowly, accumulates internally, and oppresses vital organs, especially the lungs ; the legs become excessively cold and benumbed ; the horse can hardly use them, and, when put in motion, he strikes one against the other. Exposure, when it deprives the body of heat in this way, is a fruitful source of in- flamed lungs, of thoracic influenza, catarrh, and founder. When the skin is wet, or the air very cold, the horse should, if possible, be kept in motion, which will preserve him, however little he may have been accustomed to exposure. Horses that have been kept in warm stables, and never out but in fair weather, are in most danger. If they cannot be kept in constant motion, they must be prepared before they are ex- posed. If they commence work in summer, or early in the autumn, they will be fully inured to the weather hefore the worst SERVICE. 171 part of winter arrives. But if they commence in winter, they should be out for only one or two hours at a time; in good days they may be out longer, no one being able to give a precise rule as to the length of time appropriate, as it varies with the con- dition of the animal, the weather, and the work required. It should shorten with the wetness or coldness of the weather, and the tenderness of the animal. If he must run rapidly from one place to another, and wait perhaps half an hour at each, he is in more danger than if the pace were slower, and the time of waiting shorter; and if moved about constantly, or every ten minutes, he suffers less injury than if he was standing still. After a time he becomes inured to exposure, and may be safely trusted in the severest weather. Repeated and continued application of cold to the surface of the body stimulates the skin to produce an extra supply of heat. The exposure of two or three days is not sufficient to rouse the skin to this effort. It is always throwing off a large quantity of heat; but it is several days, and with many horses several weeks, before the skin can assume activity sufficient to meet the demands of a cold or wet atmosphere. Ultimately, it becomes so vigorous that the application of cold, whether wet or dry, is almost instantly followed by an increased production of heat. To this, however, there are limits. By exposure, gradually increasing in length and frequency, the system may be able to maintain the temperature at a comfortable warmth for three or four successive hours, even when the horse is standing at rest in wet or cold. But he cannot endure this beyond a certain point. Exhaustion and emaciation succeed, in spite of all the food the horse can eat. The formation of so much heat con- sumes the nutriment that ought to produce vigor for work. SERVICE. Hence, working horses kept very much in very cold stables are lean and dull. I: is chiefly the horses that have to stand in the weather, which require preparation for exposure. Bleeding, purging, and other means, which debilitate or emaciate, are never neces- sary in this process. Hunting, stage-coach, and cart-horses seldom require any preparation for exposure, as they are in motion from the time of leaving the stable till their return. They only require to be well and quickly dried when wet. New horses are very liable to have the skin injured by the harness. The friction of the saddle, collar, or traces, pro- duces excoriation. In some horses this is altogether unavoid: able, especially when they are in poor condition. Their skin is tender, and a little chafing exposes the quick. In all horses it is some time before the skin thickens, and becomes sufficiently callous to carry the harness without injury. The time required to undergo this change varies materially, and cannot be much shortened by any means. Attention to the fiarness, however, will frequently prevent excoriation. After every journey, the neck should be closely examined. If there be any spot, however little abraded, hot and tender when pinched, that part of the collar which produced it should be cut out before the next journey. The guard, or safe, is a useful article to prevent galls of this kind. It is merely a thin slip of soft leather, covering the seat of the collar. It obviates friction, and prevents injurious pressure from any little protube” ance or hardness in the stuffing of the collar. On the first or second journey a new horse often comes in with his neck somes what inflamed; it is hot, tender, and covered with pimples. tn the stables it is said to be fired. A solution of common SERVICE. 173 salt in water is commonly applied, and it serves to allay the inflammation ; it should be applied whenever the collar is re- moved. Tumors, containing bloody water, frequently rise on the neck. They should be opened immediately, emptied, and kept opened for a few days. The piece must be taken out of the collar, and a safe used. Ona hilly road the lower part of the collar often galls the neck seriously, in spite of any alteration in the stuffing. A broad strap attached to the collar, and passing over the windpipe, is a good remedy. The strap should be two inches broad, and drawn tightly enough to keep the collar steady, and make it stand nearly upright. It should be adjusted before the head is put on the bearing “reins, and should be worn till the neck is quite sound. A broad breast-band may also be substituted for the neck collar, till the neck and shoulders get well. A horse will pull nearly as well in this as in the collar and hames. When the traces, crupper, or pad, threaten or produce excoriation, they must be kept off by cushions placed behind, before, or at each side of the part injured. The back requires nearly as much care as the neck. A new. saddle is objectionable for a new horse, particularly when he has to travel far under a heavy rider. A tender back may be hardened by frequent use of the saddle and a light weight. The horse may stand saddled in the stable, and saddled when he goes to exercise. When the back is hot, and the skin dis posed to rise in tumors, the saddle should remain on till the back becomes cool. Slacken the girths, raise the saddle for a moment, and then replace it. Its weight prevents tumors; excoriation and firing must be treated as on the neck. Always let the pommel of the saddle be dry before it is again 174 SERVICE. used, and put it on half an hour before the horse is to be mounted. Horses, from whom extraordinary exertions are not de- manded, and those that are never expected or required to do all that a horse is capable of doing, stand in little need of inurement to work, and it is seldom that any is intentionally given. When a saddle or dravght-horse is purchased, he is often put to his work at once, without any preparation. He is treated as if he were as able for the work as it is possible to make him. So long as the work is slow and not very labori- ous, he may perform it well enough; but this system will not do for full work, whether fast or slow. If the horse has been idle for a month or two, he is weak. It matters little that he is plump and in good spirits. He may be able to draw a load of twenty or thirty hundred-weight with ease, and per- haps to draw it a considerable distance ; but on the next day fe is sore all over, stiff, feeble, dull, almost unable to carry his own weight. If the same work be exacted day after day, the horse loses flesh, and at last becomes unfit for any work. But if the werk be less severe at first, and graduaily increases from week to week, the horse at last acquires strength and endurance greater, perhaps, than he ever before possessed. He is then able to do with ease as much in a week as would have completely knocked him up at the beginning. For slow, moderate work, this is all the preparation which the horse needs. At first, let it be very gentle; and the weight he is to carry or draw, and the distance he is to travel, may be in- ereased as he is found able to bear it. In preparing the horse for hunting, racing, or coaching, the treatment must be some- what different. SHOEING. 175 . SHOEING. There is hardly any other class of mechanics who combine so much ignorance of the principles on which their art is founded, with so much conceit of their knowledge, as do or- dinary horse-shoers; and it should be one of the first duties of the horse-owner to inform himself of the nature and struc- ture of the horse’s foot, the reason why shoeing is necessary at all, what parts of the foot it protects, what is the best form of shoe to effect the purpose, how it may be best fastened to the foot, and how often it should be removed. To illustrate these important points, cuts are here intro- duced, showing the construction of the horse’s foot. Our first one shows the ground surface of the hoof prepared for receiving a shoe; and marks very distinctly the difference between the curvature of the outer and inner quarters. The hoof is.divided into horny crust or wall, sole, and frog. The horny crust is se- creted by the numerous blood- g Vessels of that soft protruding band which encircles the upper edge of the hoof, immediately (9, beneath the termination of the hair; and is divided into toe, quarters, heels, and bars. Its GROUND SURFACE OF THE HOOF. texture is insensible, but elas- a. The toe—rasped away to receive the turned-up shoe. a1. The inner toe. a 2. The outer toe. 61. The inner quarter. 62. Theowter quarter. ¢1, The inner heel. c 2. The outer heel. d.d.d. The sole. e. e. The crust or wall of the hoof. fifi The bars. g. g. The commissures. h. k.l. The frog. h. The part immediately under the navicular joint. %. The oval cleft of the frog. J. The elevated boundary of the cleft. 4%, The bulbs of the heels, 176 SHOEING. tic throughout its whole extent; and, yielding to the weight of the horse, allows the horny sole to descend, whereby much in- convenient concussion of the internal parts of the foot is avoided. But if a large portion of the circumference of the foot is fettered by iron and nails, it is plain that that portion, at least, cannot expand as before ; and the beautiful and efficient apparatus for effecting this necessary elasticity, being no longer allowed to act by reason of these restraints, becomes altered in structure ; and the continued operation of the same causes, in the end, circumscribes the elasticity to those parts alone where no nails have been driven; giving rise to a train of consequences de- structive to the soundness of the foot, and fatal to the usefulness of the horse. The toe of the fore foot is the thickest and strongest portion of the hoof, and is in consequence less expansive than any other part, and there- ge ee fore better calcu- Wa 7 \ated to resist the effects of the nails and the shoe. The thickness of the horn gradually diminishes to- ward the quarters THE HOOF OF THE HORSE. and heels, particu- Is a broad flat mass of horn, projecting upward into the middle of the elastic cush- jon, and called ‘‘the frog stay.”’ b, b. Are two horny projections rising into the cavity of the hoof formed by the commissures. c. ¢. Are portions of the same projec- tions, and are situated just under the two ends of the nayicular bone, and mark the point on either side where diminution in thenatural elasticity of the fatty frog would be felt with the greatest severity by the navicular joint ; for under the most favorable circumstances, the quantity of cushion between. these points and the navicular joint cannot be very large; and hence the importance of our doing all we can to preserve its elasticity as long as possible. SHOEING. FIT larly on the inner side of the foot, whereby the power of yield- ing and expanding to the weight of the horse is proportionably increased, clearly indicating that those parts cannot be nailed to an unyielding bar of iron, without a most mischievous inter- ference with the natural functions of the foot. In the hind foot, greater thickness of horn will be found at the quarters and heels, than in the fore foot. This difference in the thickness of horn is beautifully adapted to the inequality of the weight which each has to sustain, the force with which it is applied, and the portions of the hoof upon which it falls. The toe of the fore foot encounters the combined force and. weight of the fore hand and body, and consequently in a state of nature is exposed to considerable wear and tear, and calls for greater strength and substance of horn than is needed by any portion of the hind foot, where the duty of supporting the hinder parts alone is distributed on the quarters and heels of both sides of the foot. The bars are continuations of the wall, reflected _ at the heel towards wS\\ the centre of the , foot, where they meet ina point, leaving a triangu- lar space between them for the frog. A SECTION OF THE FOOT. 1. The coronet bone. 2. The coffin bone. 3. The navicular bone. a. The wall. 3. The sole. ce. The cleft of the frog. d. d. The frog. e. e. The fatty frog, or elastic cushion. jf. Thesensitive sole. g. The sensitive frog. h. h. h. Tendons of the mus- cles which bend the foot. 7. Part of the pastern bone. &. k. Tendons of the muscles which extend the foot. Z. The coffin joint. m. The navicular joint. », The coronary substance. o. The sensible laminz, or covering of the coffin bone. 12 178 SHOEING. The whole inner surface of the horny crust, from the centre of the toe to the point where the bars meet, is everywhere lined with innumerable narrow, thin, and projecting horny plates, which extend in a slanting direction from the upper edge of the wall to the line of junction between it and the sole, and possess great elasticity. These projecting plates are the means of greatly extending the surface of attachment of the hoof to the coffin bone, which is likewise covered by a similar arrangement of projecting plates, but of a highly vascular and sensitive cha- racter; and these, dovetailing with the horny projections above named, constitute a union combining strength and elas- ticity in a wonderful degree. The horny sole covers the whole interior surface of the foot excepting the frog. Ina well-formed foot it presents an arched appearance, and possesses considerable elasticity, by virtue of which it ascends and descends, as the weight above is either suddenly removed from it, or forcibly applied to it. This de- scending property of the sole calls for one especial consideration in directing the form of the shoe; for, if the shoe be so formed that the horny sole rests upon it, it cannot descend lower ; and the sensitive sole above, becoming squeezed between the edges of the coffin bone and the horn, produces inflammation, and perhaps abscess. The effect of this squeezing of the sensitive sole is most commonly witnessed at the angle of the inner heel, where the descending heel of the coffin bone, forcibly pressing the vascular sole upon the horny sole, contuses a small blood- vessel, and produces what is called a corn, but which is, in fact, a bruise. The horny frog occupies the greater part of the triangular space between the bars, and extends from the hindermost part SHOEING. 179 of the foot to the centre of the sole, just over the point where the bars meet, but is united to them only at their upper edge; the sides remain unattached and separate, and form the channel called the commissures. If we carefully observe the form and size in the frog in the foot of a colt of from four to five years old, at its first shoeing, and then note the changes which it undergoes as the shoeings are repeated, we shall soon be convinced that a visible departure from a state of health and nature is taking place. At first it will be found large and full, with considerable elasticity ; the cleft oval in form, open, and expanding, with a continuous, well-defined, and somewhat elevated boundary ; the bulbs at the heels fully developed, plump, and rounded ; and the whole mass occupying about one-sixth of the circumference of the foot. By degrees the fulness and elasticity will be observed to have diminished; the bulb at the heels will shrink, and lose their plumpness ; the cleft will become narrower, its oval form disap- pear, the back part of its boundary give way, and it will dwindle into a narrow crack, extended back between the wasted, or perhaps obliterated, bulbs, presenting only the miserable remains of a frog, such as may be seen in the feet of most horses long accustomed to be shod. The bones proper to the foot are three in number,—viz., the coffin bone, the navicular bone, and part of the coronet bone ; they are contained within the hoof, and combine to form the coffin joint ; but the smallest of them, the navicular bone, is of far more importance as connected with the subject of shoeing, than either of the others; for upon the healthy condition of this bone, and the joint formed between it and the tendon, which passes under it to the coffin bone, and is called the navicular joint, mainly depends the usefulness of the horse to man. 18U SHOEING. This small bone, which in a horse sixteen hands igh mea. sures only two and a quarter inches in its longest diameter, three-fourths of an inch at the widest part of its shorter diameter, and half an inch in thickness in the centre, its thickest part, has the upper and under surfaces and part of one of the sides over- laid with a thin coating of gristle, and covered by a delicate secreting membrane, very liable upon the slightest injury to become inflamed ; it is so placed in the foot as to be continually exposed to danger, being situated across the hoof, behind the coffin bone, and immediately under the coronet bone; whereby it is compelled to receive nearly the whole weight of the horse each time that the opposite foot is raised from the ground. ‘The coffin bone consists of a body and. wings; and is fitted into the hoof, which it closely resembles in form. Its texture is particularly light and spongy, arising from the quantity of canals or tubes that traverse its substance in every direction, affording to numerous blood-vessels and nerves a safe passage to the sensitive and vascular parts surrounding it; while the unyielding nature of the bone effectually protects them from compression or injury, under every variety of movement of the horse. In an unshod foot, the front and sides of the coffin bone are deeply furrowed and roughened, to secure the firmer attachment of the vascular membranous structure, by which the bone is clothed ; but in the bone of a foot that has been frequently shod, the appearance is greatly changed, the furrows and reughness giving place to a comparatively smooth surface. This change is probably produced by the shoe limiting, if not destroying, the expansive power of that part of the horn to which it is nailed; whereby a change of structure in the membrane itself, as ™ as SHOEING. 182 absorption of the attaching portions of the bone, is induced ; for it is an invariable law of the animal economy not to continue to unemployed structures the same measure of efficient repara- tion that is extended to parts constantly engaged in performing their allotted tasks. The shoe restricts or prevents expansion; while nature, as the secret influence is called, immediately sets to work to simplify the apparatus for producing the expansion, which art has thus rendered impracticable, and substitutes for it a new structure, less finely organized, but admirably suited to the altered condition of the parts. The wings extend from the body of the bone directly back- ward, and support the lateral cartilage of the foot. - The sensitive sole, or, as it is sometimes called, the fleshy sole, is about the eighth of an inch thick, and is almost entirely made up of blood-vessels and nerves; it is one of the most vascular and sensitive parts of the body, and is attached to the lower edge of the sensitive covering of the coffin bone, to the bars, and point of the frog, and also with great firmness to the whole of the arched under-surface of the coffin bone. The sensitive frog includes not only the part corresponding to the sensitive sole, but also the peculiar spongy elastic sub- stance which intervenes between it and the navicular joint, and fills the space between the cartilages. The proper sensitive frog is thicker, and less finely organized, than the sensitive sole, possessing fewer blood-vessels and nerves. It is a common, but very erroneous, opinion, that the shape of the perfect foot is circular, or very nearly so. This induces most smiths to endeavor to reduce the foot to that shape as soon as possible. There are very few things in nature so little varied as the form of the ground surface of horses’ feet ; for whether the 182 SHOEING. hoof be high-heeled and upright, or low-heeled and flat, large or small, broad or narrow, the identical form of ground-surface is maintained in each, so long as it is left entirely to nature’s guidance. The outer quarter, back to the heel, is curved con- siderably and abruptly outward, while the inner quarter is carried back in a gradual and easy curve. The advantage of this form is so obvious, that it is strange that any interference should ever be attempted with it. The enlarged outer quarter extends the base, and increases the hold of the foot upon the ground; while the straighter inner quarter lessens the risk of striking the foot against the opposite leg. The inclination of the front of the horny crust of the foot should be at an angle of about forty-five degrees. If the foot is much steeper than this, it is very liable to contract ; while, if it is much more slanting, it constitutes what is called the ‘‘ oyster shell” foot, in which there is an undue flatness of .the sole, and a tendency to pumiced feet. Before removing the old shoes, care should be taken to raise all the clinches of the nails to prevent injury to the crust, and to avoid giving ‘pain to the horse; even after » clinches are raised, if the shoes cannot be easily drawn off, those nails which seem to hold most firmly should be punched, or drawn out, that the shoe may be removed without injury to the hoof, and without weakening the nail-hold for the new shoeing. The shoe being removed, the edge of the crust should be well rasped to remove so much of the horn as would have been worn away by the contact with the ground, had it been un- shod. In no case should the rasp be used on the surface of the hoof, except to make the necessary depressions for the SHOEING. 183 ‘clinches, after the new shoe has been put on, and to shape the hoof below the line of the clinches of the nails. The hoof, above this line, will inevitably be injured by such treatment, which is one of the most fruitful sources of brittleness of the horn, which often results in ‘‘ sand-crack.” The operation of paring out the horse’s foot is a matter re- quiring both skill and judgment, and is, moreover, a work of some labor, when properly performed. It will be found that the operator errs much oftener by removing too little than too much; at least it is so with the parts which ought to be removed, which are almost as hard and unyielding as flint, and in their most favorable state, require considerable exertion to ; cut through. No general rule can be given applicable to the paring out of the feet of all horses, or even of the feet of the same horse at all times. It would be evidently unwise, for example, to pare the sole as thin in a hot, dry, season, when the roads are broken up, and strewed with loose stones, as would be proper in a moderately wet one, when the roads are well bound and even ; for, in the case first named, the sole is in constant danger of being bruised by violent contact with loose stones, and therefore, needs a thicker layer of horn for its protection; while the latter case offers the most favorable surface that the greater part of our horses ever have to travel upon, advantage of which should be taken for a thorough paring out of the sole, in order that the internal parts of the foot may derive the full benefit accruing from an elastic and descending sole; a condition of: things very essential to the due perrormance of their separate functions. To take another illustration: horn grows very freely, especially toward the toe in horses with 184 SHOEING. upright feet and high heels; and such are always benefited by having the toe shortened, the heels lowered, and the sole well pared out; whereas in horses with flat feet and low heels, horn grows sparingly, and the toe of such feet being always weak, admits of very little shortening. Such heels being already too low, they should scarcely be touched with the rasp; and the sole presents such a small quantity of dead horn, that the knife should be used with great discretion. The corners formed by the junction of the crust and bars should be well pared out, particularly on the inside; for this is the common seat of corn, and any accumulation of horn in this situation must increase the risk of bruising the sensitive sole between the inner part or heel of the coffin bone and the horny sole. Little, if anything, is gained by allowing the bars to project beyond the surface of the sole; the power of resisting contraction cannot possibly be increased by this arrangement, and the projecting rim is left exposed to the danger of being broken and bruised by contact with stones and other hard substances; and the method is further attended with the disadvantages of making the cleaning out of these corners a work of considerable ingenuity with so unwieldly an instrument as a common drawing-knife. It is much preferable to pare them down to a level with the sole, or very nearly so; avoidipg, however, every approach to what is styled ‘opening out the heels,” a most reprehensible practice, which means cutting away the sides of the bars, so as to show an apparent increase of width between the heels, which may for the time deceive the eye, but is in reality a mere deception, purchased at the expense of impaired powers of resistance in the bars and ultimate contraction of the feet. It is palpable that the SHOEING. 185 removal of any portion from the sides of the bars must diminish their substance, and render them weaker, and consequently less able to resist contraction. The frog should never be cut or pared, except in very rare cases of horses with unusually fast-growing frogs. The first stroke of the knife removes the thin horny covering altogether, and lays bare an under surface, totally unfitted, from its moist, soft texture, for exposure either to the hard ground or the action of the air; in consequence of which exposure it soon becomes dry and shrinks; then follow cracks, the edge of which turning outward forms rags; these rags are removed by the smith at the next shoeing, by which means another simitar surface is exposed, and another foundation laid for other rags; and this process continues until finally the pro- truding, plump, elastic cushion, interposed by nature between the ‘navicular joint and the ground, and so essential to its preservation from injury, is converted by this senseless inter- ference into the dry, shrunk, unyielding apology for a frog, to be seen in the foot of almost every horse that has been regu- larly shod for a few years. The frog is provided within itself with two very efficient modes of throwing off any superfluous hore with which it may be troubled, and it is very unwise in man to interfere with them. The first and most common of these modes is the separation from the surface of the freg of small, bran-like scales, which becoming dry, fall off in a kind of whitish scurf, not unlike the dust that adheres to Turkey figs; the other, which is upon a large scale, and of rarer oc- currence, is sometimes called “casting thé frog.” A thick layer of frog separates itself in a body, and shells off as deep as a common paring with a knife; but this very important 186 SHOEING. difference is to be noted between the two operations—that _ mature never removes the horny covering until she has pro- vided another horny covering beneath, so that although a large portion of the frog may have been removed, there still remains behind a perfect frog, smaller, it is true, but covered -with horn, and in every way fitted to sustain exposure; while the knife, on the contrary, removes the horny covering, but is unable to substitute any other in its stead. The frog should, therefore, be left to itself; nature will remove the superfluous horn, and the rags do no harn, since, if they are unmolested, they will soon wholly disappear. The shoe should possess these general features : first, it should be, for ordinary work, rather heavy, in order that it may not be bent by contact with hard, uneven roads; second, it should be wide in the web, and of equal thickness and width from the toe to the heel, that it may as much as possible protect’ the sole, without altering the natural position of the foot; third, it should be well drawn in at the heels, that it may rest on the bars, and extend to the outer edge of the crust on the outside, and reach beyond the bar nearly to the frog, so that there may be no danger of its pressing on tks “corn-place,” or angles between the bar and the crust; anc fourth, it should in no part extend beyond the outer edge of the crust, lest it strike against the opposite leg when the horse is travel- ing, or be stepped on by another horse, or be drawn off by a heavy soil. Such a shoe, and its position on the foot, is shown in the cut opposite. The shoe should be made as nearly of this form as the shape of the foot will allow; but it is always to be borne in SHOEING. 187 mind, that the shoe is intended for the foot, and not the foot for the shoe, and that it is therefore peculiarly proper to make the shoe to fit the natural form of the foot, in- stead, as is too often the case, of paring, burning, and rasp- ing the foot until it fits the shoe, which is made accord- |; ing to the smith’s notion of what the form of the horse’s foot should be. No amount of paring can bring the foot of a horse to an unnatural figure, and also leave it THE POSITION OF THE SHOE. sound and safe for work and use. This cut represents the foot with the shoe rendered transparent, showing what parts of the foot are protected and covered by bringing in the heels of the shoes. a, a, a, the crust, with the shoe closely fitted all around. 3, 0, the bars, protected by the shoe. c, ¢, the heels, supported by the shoe. d, the situation of corns protected from injury. The truth really is, that the shape of the shoe cannot by possibility influence the shape of the foot; for the foot being elastic, it expands to the weight of the horse in precisely the same degree, whether it is resting upon the most open or the most contracted shoe. It is the situation of the nails, and not the shape of the shoe, that determines the form of the» foot. If the nails be placed in the outside quarter and toe, leaving the heels and quarters on the inside, which are the most ex- pansive portions, free, no shape which we can give to the shoe can of itself change the form of the foot. It must not, however, be inferred from this, that the shape of the shoe is therefore of no importance; quite the contrary being the case, 188 SHOEING. as has been already shown. As the shape of the foot is in no degree changed by the form of shoe, that form should mani- festly be adopted which produces the greatest number of ad- vantages with the fewest disadvantages. A small clip at the point of the toe is very desirable, as preventing displacement of the shoe backwards; it need not be driven up hard, as it is simply required as a check or stay. The shoe should be sufficiently long to fully support the angles at the heels, and not so short, as is too often the case, that a little wear imbeds the edge of it in the horn at these parts. The foot surface of the shoe should always have a good flat even space left all around for the crust to bear upon; for it must be remembered, that the crust sustains the whole weight of the horse, and should therefore have a perfectly even bear: ing everywhere around the shoe. In this space the nail-holes should be punched; and not, as is too generally the case, partly in it, and partly in the seating. In what is technically called “‘back-holing the shoe,’ which means completing the openings of nail-holes on the foot surface, great care should be taken to give them an outward direction, so as to allow the points of the nails to be brought out low down in the crust. The remainder of the foot surface should be carefully seated out particularly around the elevated toe, where it might other- wise press inconveniently upon the sole, and the seating should be carried on fairly to the point where the crust and bars meet, in order that there may be no pressure in the seat of corns; the chance of pressure in this situation will be still fur- ther diminished by beveling off the inner edge of the heels with a rasp. The ground surface should be perfectly flat, with a groove SHOEING. 189 running round the outer edge, just under the plain surface, upon which the crust bears. The principal use of this groove is to receive the heads of the nails that secure the shoe, and prevent their bending or breaking off; it is further useful in increasing the hold of the shoe upon the ground, and should be carried back to the heels. In fitting the shoe on the foot, it should never while red-hot be burned into its place, as this would so heat the sensitive sole as to produce a serious derangement of its parts; but it may with safety be touched lightly to the foot, that by a slight burning it may indicate those parts where the foot needs paring; indeed, it is necessary to pursue this course in order to make the shoe so exactly fit the foot that there will be no danger of its moving sufficiently to loosen the hold of the nails. The shoe should be made with steel in front, this being sloped backwards to a line running at right angles with the upper slope of the hoof. Old shoes being always worn to about this form, new ones should be so made, and the steel will prevent their being unduly worn. The shoe having been so fitted that the foot exactly touches it in every part, the next step is to nail it fast to the hoof. Upon the number and situation of the nails which secure it depends the amount of disturbance that the natural functions of the foot are destined to sustain from the shoe. If the nails are numerous, and placed back in the quarters and heels, no form of shoe, however perfect, can save the foot from contrac- tion and navicular disease. If, on the contrary, they are few, and placed in the outside quarter and toe, leaving the inside quarter and heels free to expand, no form of shoe is so bad that it can, from defective form alone, produce contraction of the foot. 190 SHOEING. Various experiments, which have been made for the purpose of ascertaining how few nails are absolutely necessary under ordinary circumstances for retaining a shoe securely in its place, : have satisfactorily established that five nails are amply sufficient for the fore-shoes and seven for the hind. The nails should not be driven high up in the crust, but brought out as soon as pos- sible; they should also be very lightly driven up before the clinchers are turned down, and not, as is generally the case, forced up with all the power which the smith can bring to bear upon them with his hammer. The clinches should not be rasped away too fine, but turned down broad and firm. The practice of rasping the whole surface of the hoof after the clinches have been turned down, should never be allowed; it destroys the covering provided by nature as a protection against the too rapid evaporation of the moisture of the hoof, and causes the horn to become dry and brittle. The fear, very commonly entertained, that a shoe will be cast almost at every step, unless it is held to the foot by eight or nine nails driven high up into the crust, is utterly groundless, as both theory and practice concur in asserting. If the pre- sence of a nail in the crust were a matter of no moment, and two or three more than are necessary were merely useless, no great reason would exist for condemning the common practice of using too many nails; but it is far otherwise ;—the nails separate the fibres of the horn, which never by any chance be- come united again, but continue apart and unclosed, until by degrees they grow down with the rest of the hoof, and are finally, after repeated shoeings, removed by the knife. If the clinches chance to rise, they must be at once replaced, as such rising imparts to the nails a freedom of motion which SHOEING. 191 is certain to enlarge the size of the holes; and this mischief is often increased by the violent wrenching from side to side which the shoe undergoes in the process of removal by the smith. As these holes cannot possibly grow down and be removed under three shoeings, it will be found that even with seven nails the crust must always have twenty-one of these separations existing in it at the same time ; and as they are often from various causes extended into each other, they necessarily keep it in a brittle, unhealthy state, and materially interfere with the security of the future nail-hold. By the mode of fastening above advocated the struggle be- . tween the expansion of the foot and the resistance of the shoe is entirely overcome; the outer side of the foot, being the only part nailed to the shoe, carries the whole shoe with it at every expansion ; while the inner side, being unattached, expands in- dependently of it, whereby all strain upon the nails is avoided, and the foot is left, with respect to its power of expansion, as nearly as possible in a state of nature. The position of the hind foot and the nature of its office render it less liable to injury than the fore foot, and conse- quently it less frequently lames. As, however, disease of the navicular bone of this foot is by no means impossible, care should be taken to guard against its contraction by interfering as little as possible with the expansive power of the foot; and this is best done by keeping the nails on the inside as far re- moved from the heel as convenient, placing four nails in the outer and three in the inner side of the shoe. The holes in the inner side should be punched closer together, and kept more towards the toe than those on the outside, which should be more spread out, as affording greater security of hold to 192 SHOEING. the foot. The shoe should be carefully fitted to the hoof all round, particularly at the heels, which are too often left without any support whatever ; and the mischievous custom of turning down the outer heel only must be avoided, because it throws the weight entirely upon the inner quarter, which is the part least able to bear it, and causes much uncomfortable strain to the fetlock joint above. Calkins, even though they are turned down of perfectly even length on each side, (which, how- ever, is rarely done,) are objectionable appendages, and had better be dispensed with, except, perhaps, for very heavy draft, where their ends by entering the ground may prevent the foot from slipping backwards, and may thus enable the toe to obtain a firmer hold. The form of shoe: here referred to, and the position of the nail-holes are shown in the cut annexed. Before leaving this subject it should be remarked, that con- tracted feet—that is, feet that =%\ have shrunken and become nar- row at the heels, and of which the © j frog has become materially re- duced in size,—are often, and doubtless most frequently, caused by inflammation arising from im-, proper shoeing. It is the custom of many smiths to “set the shoes THE PROPER FORM OF isoe well off at the heels ;” and to a. The heels of an even thickness with the rest of the shoe. ». 6. Show the points ae which the heels of the hoof terminated. e.c. The seating carried back, so as to clear the angles at the heels, and leave the seat of corns free from pressure. d. The nail-holes placed in the flat surface which supports the crust, where they should always be. e. The hindermost nail of the inner side at the inner toe, whereby the whole of the quarter and heel are left free to expand. ADMINISTERING MEDICINE. 193 carry the seating or level of the upper side of the shoes so far back that the heels, instead of resting on a flat surface, as they would on a properly fitted shoe, rest on the slopes of the seat- ing, which are in this respect simply two inclined planes, so placed that, at each step taken by the horse, his heels must be pressed together, until a greater or less contraction is made manifest, but at too late a period to enable us to remedy the evil ; for there is no means by which this contraction of the foot can be cured—although, when it exists only to a slight extent, the internal portions of the foot will sometimes accommodate themselves to its new form. So far as disease is the result of bad shoeing, it can be obviated by so forming the shoe that it will afford a sufficient and perfectly secure and level support for the heels. . ADMINISTERING MEDICINE, The most common form in which medicine is given to the horse is by means of the BALL, which is an oblong mass of rather soft consistence, yet tough enough to retain its shape, and wrapped up in thin paper for that purpose. The usual weight of the ball is from half an ounce to an ounce, but they may be given of a larger size, if they are made longer but not wider. Every person in charge of horses should know how to give a ball, which is managed either with or without a balling-iron, an instrument seldom wanted, and which sometimes occasions con- siderable injury to the roof of the horse’s mouth. Occasionally, a, horse cannot be managed by any other means ; but, generally speaking, these instruments only furnish an excuse for bad management. In giving a ball in the ordinary way, the horse’s tongue is drawn out of his mouth on the off or right side, and 13 194 ADMINISTERING MEDICINE. held there firmly with the left hand grasping it as near the root as possible, but to a certain extent yielding to the movement of the horse’s head, so as not absolutely to tear it out. While the tongue is thus held, the ball is placed between the fingers and thumb of the right hand, extended in a wedge-like or conical form, so as to pass as far down the swallow as possible ; and the hand in this form, with the arm bared to the shoulder, is carried over the root of the tongue till it feels the impedi- ment caused by the contraction of the swallow, when the fingers leave the ball there, and the hand is withdrawn quickly yet smoothly, while at the same moment the tongue is released, and the head is held up till the ball is seen to pass down the eullet on the left side of the neck, after which the head may be released. When the balling-iron is used, the oval ring of which it is com- posed is passed into the mouth, so as to keep it open, being first well guarded with tow or cloths wrapped around it; the handle is then held in the left hand, together with the halter, so as to steady the head, and yet to keep the horse from biting ; and while thus held the hand can be freely carried over the tongue, and the ball be deposited in the pharynx. Whena horse is very determined, it is sometimes necessary to keep the iron in the mouth by means of the check-pieces of an ordinary bridle buckled to the sides of the oval ring; but this expedient is seldom required if the halter is firmly grasped with the handle of the iron. In the usual way the horse to be balled is turned around in his stall, which prevents his backing away from the person in charge; and if the latter is not tall enough, he may stand upon a sound stable-bucket, turned upside down. Balls should be recently made, as they soon spoil by keeping; not ADMINISTERING MEDICINE. . 195 only losing their strength, but also becoming so hard as to be almost insoluble in the stomach, and frequently passing through the bowels nearly as they went into the mouth. When hard they are also liable to stick in the horse’s gullet. If ammonia, or any other strong stimulant, is given in this way, the horse should not have his stomach quite empty, but should have a little gruel or water just previously; for if this is put off till afterward, the nauseous taste of the ball almost always prevents ~his drinking. When arsenic forms an ingre- dient of the ball, it should be given soon after a feed of corn; or a quart or two of gruel should be given instead, just before _ the ball. The administration of a DRENCH is a much more trouble- some affair than the giving of a ball; and in almost all cases more or less of the dose is wasted. Sometimes, however, a liquid medicine is to be preferred, as in colic or gripes, when the urgent nature of the symptoms demands a rapidly acting remedy, which a ball is not, as it requires time to dissolve ; and, besides this, a ball cannot contain any of the spirituous cordials. The best instrument for giving a drench is the horn of the ox, cut obliquely, so as to forma spout. Bottles are sometimes used in an emergency, but their fragile nature always renders them dangerous. In giving a drench, the tongue is held in the same way as for the delivery of a ball, but the head must be more elevated; the drench is then care- fully poured into the throat, after which the tongue is let go, but the head still kept up till it is all swallowed. Allowance should always be made for some waste in giving a drench. In managing horses while in Puysic, the horse should in all cases, if possible, be prepared by bran mashes, given for 196 ADMINISTERING MEDICINE. two or three nights, so as to make the bowels rather loose than otherwise, and thus allow the dose to act without undue forcing of the impacted faces backward. If physic is given without this softening process, the stomach and bowels pour out a large secretion of fluid, which is forced back upon the rectum, and met by a solid obstacle which it takes a long time to overcome, and during that interval the irritating purge is acting upon the lining membrane, and often produces excessive inflammation of it. Purging physic should generally be given in the middle of the day, after which the horse should remain in the stable, and have chilled water as often as he will drink it, with bran mashes. By the next morning he will be in a condition to be walked out for an hour, which will set the bowels acting, if they have not already begun. It is usual to tie up the tail with a tape or string, so as to keep it clean. The horse should be warmly clothed, and if the physic does not act after an hour’s walk, he may be gently trotted for a short distance, and then taken home; and if still obstinate, he may be exercised again in the afternoon. As soon as the physic operates pretty freely, the horse is to be taken into his stable, and not stirred out again, under any pretense what- ever, for forty-eight hours after it has “set,” or, in common language, stopped acting. When the purging has ceased, the mashes may be continued for twenty-four hours, with a little corn added to them, and a quantity of hay. The water, during the whole time, should be in small quantities, and chilled; and the clothing should be rather warmer than usual, taking great care to avoid draughts of cold air. Every horse requires at least a three-day’s rest for a dose of physic, in order to avoid risk of mischief. ADMINISTERING MEDICINE, 197 The mode of giving a cLysTER is now rendered simple enough, because a pump and tube are expressly made for the purpose ; and it is only necessary to pass the greased end of the tube carefully into the rectum, for about eight or nine inches, and then pump the liquid up until a sufficient quantity is given. From a gallon to six quarts is the average quantity, but in colic a much larger amount is required. Lorions are applied by means of cloth bandages, if used to the legs; or by a piece of cloth tied over the parts, if to any other surface. FoMENTATIONS are very serviceable to the horse in all recent external inflammations; and it is astonishing what may be done by a careful person, with warm water alone, and a good- sized sponge. Sometimes, by means of an elastic tube and stop-cock, warm water is conducted in a continuous stream over an inflamed part, as in severe wounds, etc., in which this plan is found wonderfully successful in allaying the irritation, which is so likely to occur in the nervous system of the horse. A vessel of warm water is placed above the level of the horse’s back, and a small india-rubber tube leads from it to a sponge ‘fixed above the parts, from which the water runs to the ground as fast as it is over-filled. This plan can be very easily carried out by any person of ordinary ingenuity. a) . \\eateeN SY ae oe ( al I) WS AO ay) Ne, = = THE many excellent qualities of the horse = are accompanied by some defects, which occasionally amount to vices. These may in gy part be attributed to natural temper; for man himself scarcely presents more peculiarities of temper and dis- position than does the horse. The majority of these disagree- able or dangerous habits in the animal now under consideration are without doubt attributable to a faulty education. The in- structor was ignorant and brutal, and the animal instructed becomes obstinate and vicious. It is proposed to mention some of the more glaring of these vices, suggesting in connec- tion with each whatever remedies or palliatives experience has suggested. (198) BAULKING OR JIBBING. RESTIVENESS. This stands in the front rank of all the vicious qualities of the horse, being at once the most annoying and the most dan- gerous of all. It is the direct and natural result of bad temper and worse education ; and, like all other habits based upon na- ture and engrained by education, it is inveterate. Whether it develop itself in the form of kicking, rearing, plunging, bolting, or in any way that threatens danger to the rider or horse, it rarely admits of a cure. The animal may, indeed, to a certain extent be subjugated by a determined rider; or he may have his favorites, or form his attachments, and with some par- ticular person be comparatively or perfectly manageable ; but others cannot long depend upon him, and even his master is not always sure of him. BAULKING OR JIBBING. This species of restiveness is one of the most provoking vices of the horse, and it can be successfully combated only by a man of the most imperturbable temper. The slightest sign of vexa- tion only increases the evil, and makes the animal more and more troublesome each time that he refuses his work. Many a thick- headed, quick-tempered driver flies into a passion, and beats or otherwise abuses his horse, on the least symptom of baulking, until the animal becomes utterly worthless from a confirmation of the habit. As a rule it may be stated, that horses baulk from nervous- ness, or unsteadiness of disposition; if not, indeed, from an over-anxiety to perform their work. Nervous, well-bred horses are more susceptible to the influences which induce baulking, 200 BAULKING OR JIBBING. than are colder blooded, more indolent ones. A high-mettled horse, when carelessly driven, will start suddenly against his collar, fail to start his load, draw back from the pain which the concussion causes, rush at it again, and again draw back, until it becomes impossible for his driver to steady him in his collar for a dead pull. If to all this be added a smart cut with the whip, and a fiercely spoken word,—with perhaps a blow over the nose, or a stone in the ear,—every fear or vicious feeling of the horse will be summoned into action, and the animal will become entirely unmanageable, requiring to be left for an hour or two in his position before he gets sufficiently calm to be in- duced to move. There may, occasionally, be a horse which cannot be made to draw steadily by the most careful treatment; but the cases are exceedingly rare in which gentle treatment and firmness—a patient persistence in mild, authoritative com- mand, and judicious coaxing—would not either prevent the formation of the habit, or cure it when formed. The prevention of baulky habits lies with the driver. If he jump upon his load, gather up his reins carelessly, flourish his whip, or call out wildly to his horse, he will be quite likely . to start him forward with a jerk which will be of no avail to move a heavily laden wagon. The horse thus commences to baulk at a heavy load, and after a certain amount of such treat- ment, will refuse to draw anything except under the most favor- able cireumstances. Let any person driving a strange horse, with a load that heis not perfectly sure he can start easily, proceed according to the following directions, and he may be certain that, if the animal be not already a “jibber,” he will not make him so, and that if he is one he will have the best chance for getting him along without trouble: He should slowly ex- BAULKING OR JIBBING. 201 amine the harness and wagon (partly to accustom the horse to his presence,) gather up the reins gently, speaking to the horse to prevent his starting, get quietly into his seat, and then, if possible, get control of the horse’s mouth before allowing him to move, so that when he does step off it may be only at a slow walk. If by a forward movement of the hands he can be made to press very gradually against the collar, and if the whole ope- ration is performed in a cool and unexcited manner, there will be little difficulty in bringing him to a dead pull, from which he will recoil only if the load is a serious tax upon his strength, If the first attempt fail, wait until your horse has become quiet, and until you have recovered from your own vexation, and then try again. It may be necessary to have the assis- tance of one or two persons, to start the wagon from behind; but they should not push it until the horse is fairly against the collar. To cure the habit of baulking is not an easy matter, and it is possible only by the kindest treatment. If the horse show fear by his excited manner, or, by looking about him wildly, that he is expecting a blow, you may be sure that he has received hard usage under similar circumstances, and that he must be con- vinced by caresses and kind words that you will treat him gently. You must recollect that the horse cannot understand your language; and that, while he is confused, he will misin- terpret every sign which you may make to him. He has an idea of your superior power; and, in his fear that you will exercise it, as bad drivers have done before, to his injury, he will not at once feel confidence in your kind intentions. He must feel this confidence, whether it take an hour or all day to convey it to him, before you ean do anything to cure him of 202 BAULKING OR JIBBING. his trick. If you have him harnessed to a light wagon on a smooth road where it will afford but little resistance, you mar by repeated trials convince him that it is a simple, easy matte: to draw it; and you should continue to exercise him from day < to day with the same light load, and afterward increase it gradually, until you have trained him to a quiet manner of starting, or of going up a hill or elsewhere where he has been accustomed to baulk. By the same gentle treatment you may start a horse or a team that have baulked under the driving of another person. Request the driver and all spectators to go to the side of the road, and then unfasten the check-reins, hang the reins where they will be easily accessible, but so that they may lie loosely upon the horses’ backs, caress them, and allow them to look about and convince themselves that no harm is doing. When they have come properly quiet, go to their heads and stand directly in front of the worst jibber of the team, so that his nose may come against your breast if he start. Turn them gently to the right, without allowing them to tighten their traces, and after caressing them a little, draw them in the same way to the left. Presently turn them to the right, and as you do so, bring them slowly against their collars, and let them go. Sometimes a horse not often accustomed to baulk, betrays a reluctance to move, or a determination not to move. In such cases, the cause, if practicable, should always be ascer- tained. He may be overtaxed, his withers may be wrung, or he may be insupportably galled or pained by the harness. Those accustomed to horses know what seemingly trivial cir- cumstances occasionally produce this vice. A horse, whose shoulders are raw, or have frequently been so, will not start BITING. 203 with a cold collar; but when the collar has acquired the warmth of the parts upon which it presses, he will go without reluc- tance. Some determined baulkers have been reformed by constantly wearing a false collar, or strip of cloth around the shoulders, so that the coldness of the usual collar should never be felt ; and others have been cured by keeping the collar on night and day, for the animal is not able to lie down completely at full length, which the-tired horse is always gladtodo. When a horse baulks, not at starting, but while doing his work, it has sometimes been found useful to line the collar with cloth in- stead of leather; the perspiration is readily absorbed, the sub- stance pressing upon the shoulder is softer, and it may be far more accurately eased off at a tender place. BITING. This is either the consequence of natural ferocity, or a habit acquired from the foolish and teasing play of grooms and stable-boys. When a horse is tickled and pinched by thought- less and mischievous youths, he will at first pretend to bite his tormentors; by degrees he will proceed further, and actually bite them, and very soon after that he will then be the first to challenge to the combat, and without provocation will seize the first opportunity to grip the careless teaser. At length, as the love of mischief is a propensity too easily acquired, this war, half playful and half in earnest, becomes habitual to hin, and degenerates into absolute viciousness. It is seldom that any thing can be done in the way of cure. Kindness will aggravate the evil, and no degree of severity will correct it. Biters have been punished until they have trembled in every joint, and were ready to drop, but this treatment 204 KICKING. scarcely ever cures them. The lash is forgotten in an hour, and the horse is as ready and determined to repeat the offense as before. He appears unable to resist the temptation, and in its worst form biting is a species of insanity. © Prevention, however, is in the power of every proprietor of horses. While he insists upon gentle and humane treatment, he should systematically forbid this horse-play. KICKING, This, as a vice, is another consequence of the culpable habit of teasing the horse. That which is at first simply an indica- tion of annoyance at the EAA . . . . =>, FAA pinching and tickling of ~ [= the groom, and without any design to injure, gradually | becomes the expression of anger, and the effort to do mischief. The horse, also, too soon recog- nizes the least appearance A > ° y, La = \ LS takes advantage of SSN PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS. of timidity, and — = -the discovery. Some horses acquire, from mere irritability and fidgetiness, a habit of kicking at the stall or the bail, and particularly at night. The neighboring horses are disturbed, and the kicker gets swelled hocks, or some more serious injury. This is a habit very difficult to correct, if it is allowed to become estab- lished. Mares are much more subject to it than horses. Before the habit is inveterately established, a thorn-bush or a@ piece of furze fastened against the partition or post will some- ————S KICKING. 205 ' times effect a cure. When the horse finds that he is pretty severely pricked, he will not long continue to punish himself In confirmed cases it may be necessary to have recourse to the log, but the legs are often not a little bruised by it. A rather long and heavy piece of wood attached to a chain has been buckled above the hock, so as to reach about half-way down the leg. When the horse attempts to kick violently, his leg will receive a severe blow; this, and the repetition of it, may after a time teach him to be quiet. Kicking in harness is a much more serious vice. From the least annoyance about the rump or quarters, some horses will kick at a most violent rate, and destroy the bottom of the chaise, and endanger the limbs of the driver. Those that are fidgety in the stable are most inclined to do this. If the reins chance to get under the tail, the violence of the kicker will often be most outrageous; and while the animal presses down his tail so tightly that it is almost impossible to extricate the reins, he continues to plunge until he has demolished every thing behind him. This is a vice standing foremost in point of danger, and one which no treatment will always conquer. It is altogether in vain to attempt coercion. If the shafts are very strong and without flaw, or.if they are plated with iron underneath, and a stout kicking-strap resorted to, which will barely allow the horse the proper use of his hind limbs in progression, but not permit him to raise them sufficiently for the purpose of kicking, he may be prevented from doing mischief, 206 REARING. REARING. This vice is not very common, at least in a dangerous form, and can generally be prevented by the use of the martingale. In the case of saddle-horses, another good prevention is, when ‘the horse is about to rise, to touch him with the spur on one side only ; this will cause him to stop to lift the hind leg on that side, and if he persists in his attempt the spurs may be used vigor- ously, first on one side, and then on the other, but not so fast as to prevent the horse from raising his hind legs alternately, as he is spurred. The least touch of the curb-bit will cause some vicious and badly trained horses to rear, while those which have been thoroughly trained will rear slightly, to a great height, or not at all, as their rider may desire; but it is obvious that horses so delicately trained should not be ridden by unskillful persons, lest the awkwardness of the rider should cause unex= pected curveting. The remedy of some breakers, that of pulling the horse back- ward on a soft piece of ground should be practiced by reckless and brutal fellows alone. Many horses have been injured in the spine, and others have broken their necks, by being thus sud- denly pulled over; while even the fellow who fears no danger, is not always able to extricate himself from the falling horse. If rearing proceeds from vice, and is unprovoked by. the bruis- ing and laceration of the mouth, it fully partakes of the invete- racy which attends the other divisions of restiveness. PULLING BACK ON THE HALTER. This is a vice which has probably arisen from the horse having, at some time, broken a weak halter in a fit of impa- VICIOUS TO CLEAN. 207 tience. The only safe cure for it,and this is not always suc- cessful, 1s to tie the horse with a very strong halter, which it will be impossible for him to break; finding that his efforts are futile, he will, after a time, generally desist from pulling— though some incorrigible brutes will try every new halter as soon as they are fastened, and will break it if possible. RUNNING AWAY. Some headstrong horses will occasionally endeavor to bolt with the best rider; others, with their wonted sagacity, en- deavor thus to dislodge only the timid or unskillful one. Some are hard to hold, or bolt only during the excitement of a trial of speed, or the like; others will run away, prompted by vicious propensity alone. There is no certain cure here. - The only method which affords any probability of success is, to ride such a horse with a strong curb and sharp bit; to have him always firmly in hand; and if he will run away, and the place will admit of it, to give him (sparing neither curb, whip, nor spur,) a great deal more running than he likes. VICIOUS TO CLEAN. It would scarcely be credited to what an extent this exists in some horses that are otherwise perfectly quiet; it is only at great hazard that they can be cleaned at all. The origin of this is probably some maltreatment. There is, however, a great difference in the sensitiveness of the skin in different horses. Some seem as if they could scarcely be made to feel the whip, while others cannot bear a fly to light upon them without an expression of annoyance. In young horses the skin is peculiarly delicate. If they have been curried with a 208 VICIOUS TO SHOE. broken comb, or hardly rubbed with an uneven brush, the recollection of the torture they have felt makes them impa- tient and even vicious during every succeeding operation of the kind. Many grooms, likewise, seem to delight in pro- ducing these exhibitions of uneasiness and vice, although, when they are carried a little too far, and at the hazard of the limbs of the groom, the animals that have been almost tortured into these manifestations of irritation, are brutally kicked and — punished. This, however is a vice that may be conquered. If the horse is dressed with a lighter hand, and wiped rather than brushed, and the places where the skin is most sensitive are avoided as much as thorough cleanliness will allow, he will gradually lose the recollection of former ill-treatment, and be- come tractable and quiet. In those instances where the skin is so irritable that the horse really endures a great deal of misery every time he is cleaned besides requiring needlessly the expenditure of a great amount of muscular exertion, the remedy is very simple ; instead of being curry-combed and wiped, the horse should be merely washed over with warm water on his coming in warm from a journey, then gently scraped and covered with a rug. The warmth of the body will very soon dry the skin. VICIOUS TO SHOE. The correction of this is more peculiarly the business of the smith; yet the master should diligently concern himself with it, for it is more often the consequence of injudicious or bad usage, than of natural vice. The vice is certainly a bad one, and it very materially diminishes the value of the horse ; for it VICIOUS TO SHOE. 209 is a habit which generally gets worse at each time of shoeing. It is not so much the kicking of the horse-that is to be feared, but the animal will bear his whole weight on the foot requiring to be shod, so that the smith is unable to lift it up, or after- ward to support it; beside which the animal will keep con- tinually kicking or endeavoring to get the foot away, to the imminent danger of the limbs of the unfortunate operative. This deplorable and vicious habit is greatly increased, if not altogether produced, by rough usage at the early shoeings, and it generally gets worse at each time of shoeing, so that the horse is often rendered at last completely worthless. It may be expected that there will be some difficulty in shoeing a horse for the first few times, as it is an operation that gives him a little uneasiness. ‘The man to whom he is most accustomed should go with him to the forge; and if another and steady horse is shod before him, he may be in- duced more readily to submit. It cannot be denied that, after the habit of resisting this necessary operation is formed, force may sometimes be required in order to reduce our rebellious servant to obedience; but there can be no manner of question that the large majority of horses vicious to shoe are rendered so by harsh usage, and by the pain of correction being added to the uneasiness of shoeing. It should be a rule in every forge, that no smith should be permitted to strike a horse, much less to twitch or gag him, without the master-farrier’s order; and that a young horse should never be twitched or struck. There are few horses that may not gradually be ren- dered manageable for this purpose by mildness and firmness on the part of the operator; they will soon understand that no harm is meant, and they will not forget their usual habit ot 14 910 CRIB-BITING. obedience; but if the remembrance of corporeal punishment is connected with shoeing, they will always be fidgety, and occasionally dangerous. s CRIB-BITING. This is a very unpleasant habit, and a considerable defect, although not so serious as it is often represented. The horse Jays hold of the manger with his teeth, Violently extends his neck, and then, after some convulsive action of the throat, a slight’ grunting is heard, accompanied by a sucking or drawing in of air. It is not an effort at simple eructation, arising from indigestion; it is the inhalation of air. It is that which takes place with all kinds of diet, and when the stomach is empty as well as when it is full. | The effects of crib-biting are plainly perceptible. The teeth are injured and worn away, and that, in an old horse, to a very serious degree. A considerable quantity of grain is often lost, for the horse will frequently crib with his mouth full of it, and the greater part will fall - over the edge of the manger. Much saliva escapes while the manger is thus forcibly ‘)) held, the loss of which must \ ‘ be of serious detriment in §) , MUZZLE FOR A CRIB-BITER: impairing digestion The crib-biting horse is notoriously more subject to colic than other horses, and that of a kind difficult of treatment and peculiarly dangerous. Although many a crib-biter is stout and strong, and capable of all ordinary work, these horses do CRIB-BITING. 911 not generally carry as much flesh as others, and have not their endurance; on these accounts, crib-biting has been, and very properly, decided by the highest authority to be unsound- ness. It is moreover one of those tricks which are exceedingly con- tagious. Every companion of a crib-biter in the same stable, is likely to acquire the habit, and it is the most inveterate of all habits. The edge of the manger will in vain be lined with iron, or with sheep-skin, or with sheep-skin covered with tar or aloes, or any other unpleasant substance. In spite of the annoyance which these may occasion, the horse will persist in his attack on the manger, A strap buckled tightly round the neck, by compressing the windpipe, is the best means of preventing the possibility of this trick ; but the strap must be constantly worn, and its pressure is apt to produce a worse affection, viz., an irritation of the windpipe, which terminates in roaring. Some have recommended turning out for five or six months; but this has never succeeded, except with a young horse, and then but rarely, The old crib-biter will employ the gate for the same purpose as the edge of his manger, and he will often gallop across a field for the mere purpose of having a bite at the rail. Medicine is altogether thrown away in such a case. The only remedy is a-muzzle, with bars across the bottom; sufficiently wide to enable the animal to pick up his corn and to pull his hay, but not to grasp the edge of his manger. If this is worn for a considerable period, the horse may be tired of attempting that which he cannot accomplish, and for a while forget the habit; but in a majority of cases the desire of erib-biting will return with the power of gratifying it. The causes of crib-biting are various, and some of them be- 212 OVERREACHING. yond the control of the owner of the horse. It is often the result of imitation; but it is more frequently the consequence of idleness. The high-fed and spirited horse must be in mis- chief, if he is not usefully employed. Sometimes, but not often, it is produced by partial starvation; and another occasional cause is the frequent custom of dressing the horse, even when the weather is not severe, in the stable,—thus enabling the animal to catch at the edge of the manger, or at that of the partition on each side, if he has been turned. WIND-SUCKING. This closely resembles crib-biting, and arises from the same causes ; the same purpose is accomplished, and the same results follow. The horse stands with his back bent, his head drawn inward, his lips alternately slightly opened and then closed, and a noise is heard as if he were sucking. It appears quite pro- bable, judging from the same comparative want of condition and the flatulence noted in connection with the last habit, that either some portion of wind enters the stomach, or there is an injurious loss of saliva. This vice diminishes the value of the animal nearly as much as crib-biting ; it is equally as contagious and inveterate. The only remedies—and they will seldom avail—are tying the head up, except when the horse is feeding, or putting on a muzzle with sharp spikes toward the neck, which will prick him when- ever he attempts to rein his head in for the purpose of wind- sucking. OVERREACHING. . This unpleasant noise known also by the name of “clicking,” is occasioned by the toe of the hind foot, or the inner edge of NOT LYING DOWN. 213 the inside of its shoe, striking upon the heel of the coronet of the fore foot. The preventive treatment is the beveling, or rounding off, of the inside rim or edge of the hind shoe. The cure is, the cutting away of the loose parts, the application of Friar’s balsam, and protection from the dirt. Some horses, particularly young ones, overreach so as to strike the toes of the hind shoes against the fore ones, which is termed ‘“‘clinking.” Keeping up the head of the horse does some- thing to prevent this ; but the smith may do more by shortening the toe of the hind shoes and having the web broad. When they are too long, they are apt to be torn off; when too narrow, the hind foot may bruise the sole of the fore one, or may be locked fast between the branches of the fore shoe. NOT LYING DOWN. It occasionally happens that a horse will seldom or never lie down in the stable. He sometimes continues in apparent good health, and feeds and works well; but generally his legs swell, and he becomes fatigued sooner than another horse. If it is impossible to let him loose in the stable, or to put him into a spare box, nothing can be done to obviate the difficulty. No means, gentle or cruel, will force him to lie down. The secret is, that he is tied up, and either has never dared to lie down through fear of the confinement of the halter, or he has been cast in the night and severely injured. If he can be suf- fered to range the stable, or have a comfortable box in which he may be loose, he will usually lie down the first night. Some few horses, however, will lie down in a stable,and not in a loose box. A fresh, well-made bed will generally tempt the tired horse to refresh himself with sleep. 914 ; SHYING. It may be observed in this connection, that the basis of sup- port afforded by the four extremities is so considerable in the horse, that he is able to sleep in a standing position, and some horses have even been known to preserve their health, strength, and condition, although they were never known to lie down At the same time, it is undeniable, that an animal that will quickly lie down and take his rest, as a general rule, preserves his condition, and is better fitted for exertion. SHYING. This most dangerous habit is sometimes the effect of fear, and sometimes is a downright vicious propensity; and there are many horses which commence the practice through fear and end by becoming viciously disposed to indulge in it, in consequence of sheer mismanage- < ment, The young colt is almost al- ways more or less shy, especially if he is brought at once from the re- DISAGREEABLE AND DANGEROUS. tired fields in which he was reared to the streets of a busy town. There are, however, numberless varieties of shyers, some being dreadfully alarmed by one kind of object, w ich to another is not at all formidable. When a horse finds that he gains his object by turning around, he will often repeat the turning with- out cause, pretending to be alarmed, and looking out for ex- SHYING. 215 euses for it. This is not at all uncommon, and with timid riders leads to a discontinuance of the ride, by which the horse gains his end for the time, and repeats the trick upon the first occasion. In genuine shying from fear, the eyes are generally more or less defective; but sometimes this is not the cause, which is founded upon a general irritability of the nervous system. Thus, there are many that never shy at meeting wagons, or other similar objects, but which almost drop with fear on a small bird flyingout of a hedge, or any other startling sound. These are also worse, because they give no notice, whereas the ordinary shyer almost always shows by his ears that he is pre- pared to turn. For shyers the only remedy is, to take as little notice as possible, to make light of the occurrence, speak encouragingly, yet rather severely, and to get them by the object in one way or another. If needful, the aid of the spur and whip may be called in, but not as a punishment. If the horse can be urged to go by the object at which he is shying without the whip or spur, so much the better; but if not, he must be compelled to do so by their use. Wherever fear is the cause of shying, punishment only adds to that fear; but where vice has supplanted fear, severity should be used to correct it. As a general rule, the whip need never be used, unless the horse turns absolutely round, and not then unless there is reason to suspect that he is pretending fear. If he will only go by the object, even with “a wide berth,” as the sailors say, he may be suffered to go on his way unpunished; and nothinggis so bad as the absurd severity which some horsemen exercise after the horse has conquered his reluctance, and passed the object. At this time he should be praised and petted, with all the en- 216 PAWING. couragement which can be given; and on no account should he be taught to make those rushes which are so commonly seen on the road, from the improper use of whip and spur. If pun- ishment is necessary at all, it must be used beforehand; but it often happens that the rider cannot spare his whip-hand until the shying is over; and then, in his passion, he does not reflect that the time has passed for its employment. Shying on coming out of the stable is a habit that can rarely or never be cured. It proceeds from the remembrance of some ill-usage or hurt which the animal has received in the act of proceeding from the stable, such as striking his head against a low door-way, or entangling the harness. ‘When the cure, however, is early attempted, it may be so far overcome that it will be unattended with danger or difficulty. The horse should be bridled when Jed outor in. He should be held short and tight by the head, that he may feel that he has not liberty to make a leap, and this of itself is often sufficient to restrain him. Punishment, or a threat of it, will be highly improper. It is only timid or high-spirited horses that acquire the habit, and rough usage invariably increases their agitation and terror. PAWING. . Some hot and irritable horses are restless even in the stable, and paw frequently and violently. Their litter is destroyed, the floor of the stable broken up, the shoes worn out, the feet bruised, and the legs sometimes sprained. If this habit does not exist to any great extent, yet the stable never looks well. Shackles are the only remedy, with a chain sufficiently long to enable the horse to shift his posture, or move in his stall; but SLIPPING THE COLLAR OR HALTER. 21% « these must be taken off at night, otherwise the animal will seldom lie down. Unless, however, the horse possesses pecu- liar value, it will be better to dispose of him at once, than to submit to the danger and inconvenience that he may occasion. ROLLING. This is a very pleasant and perfectly safe amusement for a horse at grass, but cannot be indulged in the stable without the chance of his being dangerously entangled with the collar, rein, or halter, and being cast. Yet, although the horse is cast, and bruised, and half strangled, he will roll again on the following night and continue to do so as long as he lives. The only _remedy is not a very pleasant one for the horse, aor always quite safe ; yet recourse must be had to it, if the habit of rolling is inveterate. The horse should be tied with length enough of halter to lie down, but not to allow of his head resting upon the ground; because, in order to roll aver, a horse is obliged to place his head quite down upon the ground. SLIPPING THE COLLAR OR HALTER. This is a trick in which many horses are so well accomplished, . that scarcely a night passes without their getting loose. It is a very serious habit, for it enables the horse sometimes to gorge himself with food to the imminent danger of producing stag- gers; or it exposes him, as he wanders about, to be kicked and injured by the other horses, while his restlessness will often keep the whole team awake. If the web of the halter, being first accurately fitted to his neck, is suffered to slip only one way. or a strap is attached to the halter and buckled round the neck, but not sufficiently tight to be of serious inconvenience, the power of slipping the collar will be taken away. STUMBLING. STUMBLING, j That person must either be a skillful practitioner, or a mere pretender, who engages to remedy this habit. If it arise from a heavy forehand, and the fore legs, being too much under the horse, no one can alter the natural frame of the animal; if it proceeds from tenderness of foot, grogginess, or old lameness, these ailments are seldom cured. Also, if it is to be traced to habitual carelessness and idleness, no whipping will rouse the drone. A known stumbler should never be ridden or driven by any one who values his safety or his life. A tight hand or a strong bracing-rein are precautions that should not be neg- lected, although they are generally of little avail; for the in- ’ veterate stumbler will rarely be able to save himself, and this tight rein may sooner and further precipitate the rider. If after stumbling the horse suddenly starts forward, and endea- vors to break into a short trot or canter, the rider may be assured that others before him have fruitlessly endeavored to remedy the nuisance. If the stumbler has the foot kept as short, and the toe pared as close as safety will permit,.and the shoe is rounded at the toe, or has that shape given to it which it naturally acquires in a fortnight from the peculiar action of such a horse, the animal may not stumble quite so much; or if the disease which pro- duced the habit can be alleviated, some trifling good may be done; but in almost every case the stumbler should be got rid of, or put to slow and heavy work. If the latter alternative is adopted, he may stumble as much as he pleases, for the weight of the load and the motion of the other horses will keep him upon his legs. UNSTEADINESS WHILE BEING MOUNTED. 219 UNSTEADINESS WHILE BEING MOUNTED. When this merely amounts to eagerness to start—very un- pleasant, indeed, at times, for many a rider has been thrown from his seat before he was fairly fixed in it—it may be reme- lied by an active and good horseman. It oftentimes happens that while the elderly, inactive, and fearful man is engaged in making more than one ineffectual attempt to vault into the saddle, the horse is-dancing about to his annoyance and danger; but no sooner is the animal transferred to the management of a younger and more agile rider, than he becomes perfectly sub- dued. Severity will here, more decidedly than in any other case, do harm. The rider should be fearless; he should care- lessly and confidentially approach the horse, mount at the first effort, and then restrain him for a while; patting him, and not allowing him to proceed until he becomes perfectly quiet. Horses of this kind should not be too highly fed, and should have sufficient daily exercise. When the difficulty of mounting arises, not from eagerness to start, but from unwillingness to be ridden, the sooner that horse is disposed of the better. He may be conquered by a skillful and determined horseman ; but even he will not succeed without frequent and dangerous contests that will mar all the pleasures of the ride. mm ¢ if WW i py ues K<< SS : ZZ Zz Lédddeeecee IN MM 5 Vy} }}W v; 7. LLLLL EEL Lecce ee KKK ( Cla ‘4 GILL Ls Ck LLL " (ils mn Ht Unnver this head it is proposed to treat of the various diseases which horse-flesh is heir SS ix» to, together with their symptoms, and to offer such remedies as personal experience, or the authority of others in whom implicit confidence may be placed, suggests as the most efficacious. For convenience of discussion, these diseases are arranged in the present work under the heads of diseases of the mouth; of the respiratory organs; of the stomach and intestines; of the limbs; of the urinary organs; of the feet and legs; of the heart; of the head; and (220) LAMPAS. 221 of the eye;—placing under the head of miscellaneous such as do not appropriately fall under either of the foregoing diseases. DISEASES OF THE MOUTH. f LAMPAS, This term is used to designate a fullness or swelling of the bars or roof of the mouth, caused by the cutting of the teeth. Lampas will be found in all colts, although in many the slight inconvenience occasioned by it attracts little or no attention. In others, however, the great tenderness of the parts affected causes the animal to refuse his food, in consequence of which he is by many compelled to submit to an operation equally cruel and unnecessary—that is, no less than burning out the bars of the mouth with a red-hot iron, thereby destroying the functions of the part, and leaving the mouth sore for some time afterward. This mode of treatment has been practised for years, and is even at the present day almost the only one in vogue, although it is of no practical benefit whatever, but, on the contrary, is often very injurious. In the case of the child similarly affected, the humane practitioner seldom does more than to lance the gums. This, certainly, is a more rational mode of operating, and the author’s experience con- vinces him that if the parts inflamed in the case of the horse be simply lanced, the swelling will soon subside, and the horse partake of his food as usual. A common pocket-knife will answer the purpose quite well; and after the lancing the 992 ULCERS IN THE MOUTH. mouth should be washed with a solution of the tincture of myrrh, two ounces to a pint of water, or a solution of alum in water. This should be repeated twice a day for three or four days, during which time give bran mashes or flax-seed gruel, and, if procurable, a small quantity of new grass. No hay, corn, or oats, should be given for a week; at the expira- tion of which period the teeth will be in a condition to masti- cate such food. INFLAMED GUMS. . Occasionally the gums of very young horses, when cutting - their teeth, become exceedingly tender, sore, and swollen. As this is principally confined to the yearling, it is generally overlooked by the owner. The treatment in such cases is to cut the gum through to the tooth immediately under it with a lancet or common pocket-knife. The gum being thus broken, the tooth comes through with little pain. BAGS OR WASHES. These are soft, puffy swellings of the membrane of the mouth, lining the lips, just within the corners of the mouth. This disease is generally caused by the bearing rein being too tight. They are cured by cutting off a portion of the swelling with a pair of scissors or a knife; after which the parts should be dressed with a little salt, or powdered alum. This gener- ally proves successful. ULCERS IN THE MOUTH. Horses, during the process of breaking, are frequently hurt by the pressure of the bit upon the under jaw alittle in front of SORE MOUTH. 993 the first molar tooth ; in consequence of which the periosteum, or thin fibrous membrane covering the bone, often becomes involved in the inflammation, the bone itself not always escap- ing injury, a neglect of which occasionally causes the bone of the jaw to become carious or decayed ; sinuses, or pipe-like openings, are sometimes formed, which becoming filled with masticated food, become fetid and often occasion troublesome sores. Grooms on discovering this sore, generally attribute it to what is commonly called squirrel grass, or wild barley. If the sore is confined to the gum alone, it should be washed fre- quently, and dressed with a little tincture of myrrh; but when the bone is affected, it must be examined carefully with.a probe, and if found rough, or presenting small openings, the bone must be exposed, and all the diseased parts removed, after which the tincture of myrrh should be used for a dressing. Such opera- tions should be performed by a qualified veterinary surgeon, if one is to be had; otherwise more injury may be done by the bungling operator than would be occasioned by the disease. If such services cannot be procured, caustic silver, or lunar caustic, should be applied to the diseased bone. If the caustic is not readily obtainable, the red-hot iron will answer the pur- pose as well, or even better. Butter of antimony, placed on a little cotton or tow, and packed in the sore, is an excellent application, as it hastens a separation or exfoliation of the diseased bone, thus enabling the parts soon to heal. SORE MOUTH. This is often caused by the bit’s cutting or bruising the lips at the angles of the mouth. In carelessly balling horses, also, the under part of the tongue sometimes becomes injured, which 224 UNEVEN TEETH. frequently escapes notice until the animal refuses his food, and the tongue becomes tender and swollen. In such cases, wash the mouth clean, and sprinkle a teaspoonful of table salt on the sore; the tincture of myrrh occasionally applied will hasten the cure. CUT TONGUE. The tongue sometimes becomes bruised from the sudden jerking of the lines in the hands of a careless or obstinate driver, or it may happen from tight reining; that portion of the tongue upon which the bit rests becoming bruised and ulcerated, and the frequent use of the bit keeping up the irritation, until the tongue, in some cases, becomes almost separated by ulceration before it is discovered. Alum water, saltpetre, and tincture of myrrh are the proper dressings. UNEVEN TEETH. The molar teeth frequently become very uneven upon their faces or grinding surfaces, in consequence of the crusta petrosa © wearing away too rapidly and often leaving deep cavities in the teeth, which become filled with food and soon prove a great source of annoyance by interfering with proper mastication. This occurs more particularly in old horses. The upper molar teeth being well protected on the outer surface with enamel, wear less rapidly than the lower ones which are protected upon the inner side. In consequence of this the upper teeth often become very sharp upon the outside, and when the reins are drawn up the cheeks are forced upon these sharp edges and become sore and often lacerated, while the lower ones becoming sharp on the inside edges, lacerate the tongue in a simila QUIDDING. 225 manner. The horse from this cause often refuses his food, since mastication causes him severe pain. He soon begins to lose flesh, the digestive organs become deranged, the skin becomes tight, and the animal is perhaps doctored for bots, worms, and the like. In all these cases the tooth-rasp becomes necessary, which is an instrument made concave, or hollow, upon one side, and convex, or rounding, on the other, with a long handle attached. The rasp is upon the hollow side, the round side and the edges being perfectly smooth so as not to wound the cheeks or tongue when used. With this instrument the sharp corners of the teeth are easily taken off, and the horse is enabled to feed again in the proper manner. If the teeth are in this condition, no medicine is of any avail; all the condition powders in the world will not benefit in the slightest degree; the tooth-rasp is the only remedy that will prove serviceable. QUIDDING. This disease, if disease it may be called, is generally caused by the irregular wear of the teeth already mentioned ; or it may arise from caries of the teeth, or from a diseased state of the muscles of deglutition. ‘I have seen,” says White, “at the kennel the jaw of a horse which died literally from starvation in consequence of a disease of the grinding teeth, which ap- peared to have been brought on by feeding on coarse woody hay, containing the stocks of thistles, docks, &c. This animal was what dealers term a quidder, for the muscles of deglutition were at least so affected that he was incapable of swallowing ; end after fruitless attempts to chew his food it was thrown out soto the manger in a ball or quid, and a great deal of imper- 15 WOLF TEETH. fectly chewed hay had been forced into the cavities formed at the roots of some of the grinding teeth.” The tooth-rasp . sometimes proves a perfect cure in such cases. WOLF TEETH. Very erroneous opinions are entertained by horsemen, and even by veterinary surgeons, in reference to these teeth, and various theories have from time to time been set afloat regard- ing them, arising, for the most part, from a want of proper in- vestigation. These teeth are natural to all horses, and make their appear- ance between the first and fifth year. They are not supernu- merary teeth, as has been stated by some writers, but are natural teeth found in all colts. The germs of these teeth will be found in the foal at birth, and developed in the jaw of the yearling ready to make their way through the gums. In an examination of at least one hundred heads of colts that have died under eighteen months of age, the author has found in every instance either natural wolf teeth, or the germs from which they are developed. It is a mistaken idea, that these teeth exert any influence over the eyes. Nature never placed them in their position for the purpose of injury. In cases where the eye is supposed to be affected by them, it is simply neces- sary to treat the eye for inflammation, and allow the teeth to remain. As a general rule they do not remain in the jaw long after being cut; having performed their function, whatever it may be, they fall out and are therefore seldom found. Their removal can do no harm but it is an entirely unnecessary operation. CARIES OF THE TEETH. } 22% CARIES OF THE TEETH The teeth of horses, as has already been stated, are made ups of three substances, the enamel, the bone, and the crusta petrosa; = and in consequence of their peculiar arrangement and the inability / lof the animal to i infornt us of his sufferings, this dis- = _ ease frequently be- comes much more serious than in =man. Its opera- tion, besides, is THE BLOODED MARE FASHION AND FOAL. quite different upon the teeth of horses from what it is upon the human teeth. Tn the human subject caries is found, in a large majority of cases, making its appearance as a dark spot between the teeth, on one side of the crown, gradually working inwards, destroy- ing the bone in its progress, and leaving the enamel a mere shell upon the outside of the tooth, while the roots generally remain in a comparatively sound condition during the progress of decay. In the horse, however, caries is a very different thing, as far as its effects are concerned. It makes its appearance upon some one or more of the indentations or depressions upon the face of the tooth, attacking the crusta petrosa, (a substance not found in the human tooth,) and extending from the face through the entire length of the tooth, splitting it wp into several thin plates, in consequence of which abscesses often form at the roots of such teeth, which, being prevented from dis 928 CARIES OF THE TEETH. charging into the mouth by the food that fills up the cavity, generally find an opening into the nose, discharging their fetid gatter through that channel. The animal while in this condi- tion is often treated for catarrh; commonly ‘called distemper. The discharge still continuing, and becoming more and more fetid, the animal is at last supposed to be in a glandered con- dition and killed. The first’ case of this kind which came under the author’s notice occurred in the year 1853. Having occasion to visit the yard where dead animals are boiled, the peculiar appearance of one horse lying upon the ground attracted his attention. Upon inquiry he learned that he had been killed as a glandered horse; but failing to recognize any such marks as might be expected in that disease, he made a very careful examination of the head and‘found the real cause of trouble to be, not glanders, but a, carious tooth, of which but three small ribbon-like fragments remained. This horse was but seven years old. An abscess had formed at the root of the tooth, discharging itself into the nostril, whence it was ejected. Another horse, with similar symptoms, pronounced glandered by two eminent veterinary sur- geons, was destroyed at the same place in the year 1859. The author’s examination disclosed the fact, that the first two molar teeth were almost entirely destroyed by caries, and that a large abscess had formed at their roots, which extended into and completely closed up one nostril, causing an immense tumor on the right side of the head. The difficulty of examining the molar teeth of the horse, to- gethér with the silence of veterinary authors on this important subject, are the only assignable reasons for the little informa- tion given us relative to a disease of such common occurrence. CARIES OF THE TEETH. 999 Indeed, the author has frequently been called upon to treat horses laboring under this disease, without a suspicion ever being entertained of its true nature. A case of this kind came under his notice in the winter of 1858, while on a visit to Jackson, Michigan. He was called to see a bay mare kept for livery purposes, having a discharge from the right side of the face some two inches below the eye, which had existed for about two years. The discharge was of so fetid a character that the animal was rendered unfit for use, and she was consequently turned upon the common to die or get well, as the chances might be, all known modes of treatment having been previously adopted without any beneficial results. He discovered, upon examination, a carious tooth, which was removed, and in a short time the animal became well. During the winter of 1859, a brown mare, belonging to a gentleman in Germantown, Pennsylvania, was sent to the Clinic of the Phi. ladelphia Veterinary College, having been pronounced glandered by a veterinary surgeon and ordered to be killed. Upon ex. amination a large abscess was discovered opening into the nose, together with two carious teeth—the first and second molars of the right side. The mare was cast, and ten pieces of carious teeth removed; the cavity was then well cleaned out, and tow saturated with tincture of myrrh filled in, removing and cleaning every day. Some four weeks subsequently, the animal was sold for one hundred and fifty dollars, sound as a bell; though pre- viously to this operation she could not have been sold at» any price. Many similar cases could be mentioned, but the fore- going will serve to show the necessity of making a thorough examination of an animal before pronouncing sentence of death upon it. P) 930 EXTRACTING TEETH. Acidity of the fluids of the mouth is generally—and, as the author believes, correctly—assigned as the cause of caries of the teeth. The symptoms are fetid discharges from the nose, ob- structed respiration, improper mastication of the food, passing the oats or corn whole, quidding, drowsiness, loss of flesh, staring coat, hide-bound, tossing to and fro of the head, stop- ping short on the road, starting suddenly, and at times becoming almost frantic. All these symptoms, however, must not be expected to be found in the same case, as different horses are differently affected by the disease. One is drowsy, feeds daintily ut times, and again ravenously ; another is at times wild, so as to be almost unmanageable. Many of these symptoms occur in other diseases besides those of the teeth; but their presence suggests the necessity for an examination of the mouth, and particularly of the molar teeth, which may be done by passing the hand along the upper molar teeth inside of the cheek, thus enabling the examiner to detect the presence of caries without difficulty. EXTRACTING TEETH. When a carious tooth, or one so unequally worn as to cause mischief, is discovered, its removal is necessary to the restora- tion of the animal’s health. In order to accomplish this, the horse must be cast, and the age of the animal considered, in order to make choice of proper instruments. If he is young, say from four to six years, an instrument made similar to the key used by surgeon dentists, is the best adapted; if he is old, a pair of forceps of large size, made in the same manner as the tooth-forceps of dentists, will answer, as the roots of the teeth in old horses are comparatively short, and therefore may be easily extracted. , INFLAMMATION, 231 DISEASES OF THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS INFLAMMATION, The diseases of the respiratory organs and air passages are generally of an inflammatory type. In order to fully under- stand the various diseases to which these important organs are subject, a few remarks regarding the nature of inflammation, its progress, &c., may not be out of place in a work like the present. Inflammation, then, is a state of altered nutrition, an increased vascularity and sensibility of the parts involved, together with a tendency to change of structure. The symptoms are swelling, pain, heat, and redness where the parts are not covered with hair. The redness is in consequence of a redundancy of blood in the inflamed part, which distends the small capillaries with _red particles of blood. When the inflammation is acute, the parts present a bright red or crimson hue; when it is chronic, they are of a dark or purplish red color. As the various terms employed by authors to indicate the various degrees are unin- teresting to the general reader, no attempt at detail is here made. The sensation of pain is mainly due to a stretching of the nerves by the distended blood-vessels. It differs in its char- acter and intensity according to the parts involved, varying from a burning, throbbing, sharp, and lacerating pain to a mere sense of heat, soreness, and a dull sensation of pain. The ‘heat in inflammation is supposed to arise from an increased quantity of blood in the inflamed part. The swelling in the early stage is due to the increased quantity of blood, and 982 SORE THROAT. afterward to the effusion which takes place in all loose tissues. By inflammation all the various structures of the animal economy may be so altered as to interfere with the perform- ance of their natural functions; in some cases by a permanent thickening of the parts, and in others by adhesion and the like. By the aid of auscultation, that is, the application of the ear to the parts to be examined, the slightest change in the normal and healthy condition of the respiratory organs may be detected, and the various parts involved in inflammatory action may be pointed out with a considerable degree of cer- tainty. With thus much of introduction we proceed to the consideration of the various diseases naturally falling under ouy present division. SORE THROAT. Sore throat is a common attendant upon catarrhal affec- tions. When it is confined to that portion of the throat at ley an the root of the SSS SS 2 ong, which is SS S_[{l[lcrF o¢ ===—— known to medical men as the larynx, it is called laryng. ~ itis; and this pari aa is the commor seat of this dis. == ease, from whic, zit extends down barman 2 the trachea, ov windpipe, to the lungs. As leng as the throst remains ver; sore, it is a pretty good evidence that the lungs aze not atfestet. SORE THROAT. This disease may exist either in an acute, sub-acute, or chronic form. When acute, its management is simple and usually suc- cessful; but if it is neglected in this early stage, it not unfre- quently proves troublesome, and in some cases leaves the animal permanently unsound, terminating in wheezing, whist- ling, roaring, or broken-windedness. The symptoms of sore throat are easily detected by the or- dinary observer. According to the intensity of the disease there is an accumulation of saliva in the mouth, clear, thick, and stringy, more particularly when the tongue is swollen; a stiffness of the head, the horse coughing upon the slightest pressure on the larynx; difficulty in swallowing, more par- ticularly hard grain or hay, and a consequent refusal of food altogether; a.short, hard eough; more or less copious dis- charges from the nose, as the disease advances; an accelerated pulse, frequently rising to ninety or one hundred pulsations in a minute; mouth hot, with considerable fever accompanying. For treatment, apply strong mustard, mixed with water to the thickness of cream, to the throat, rub it well in, and repeat as often as may be necessary ; or poultice the part with flaxseed meal for several days, and sprinkle on the tongue a teaspoonful of common table salt three or four times a day, which in ordinary cases is all the treatment which will be necessary for the acute type of the disease. The attention of the veterinary surgeon is more frequently called to chronic forms of this disease, in which, though no swelling of the parts is usually perceptible, a pressure upon the larynx at once excites a hard cough. In this stage of the disease much relief will be obtained by the application of a blister, prepared as follows: Pulverized cantharides (Spanish 934 : STRANGLES. flies) half an ounce ; of lard, one and a half ounces; mixed well, and as thin as may be desired with spirits of turpentine. This must be well rubbed in, and after it has acted thoroughly, dress with sweet oil or lard. STRANGLES. This is but another form or stage of laryngitis. The throat becomes enormously swollen, the swelling extending under the jaws and up to the very ears, threatening suffocation ; then respiration becomes much disturbed ; the flanks heave violently, and the breathing can be heard at a considerable distance; the animal begins to sweat from his frequently convulsive efforts to breathe, and, if not speedily relieved, dies a most violent death. Life may be saved by the veterinary surgeon at this crisis by the operation of bronchotomy, that is, by opening the windpipe, and inserting a tube through which the animal may breathe instead of through the nose. This operation affords instant relief, and gives an opportunity to apply remedies to the diseased throat, which in a few days usually effect a cure, when the tube may be removed. The author has never lost a case where he has resorted to this operation. The early treatment of this disease is to poultice the throat well with flaxseed meal, commonly called cake-meal or oil-cake, using salt upon the tongue as before. Mustard plasters are also very effective, and steaming the nostrils frequently affords relief. As soon as the swelling permits, it should be lanced ; and when it has once discharged freely, the animal may be considered out of danger, provided proper care be taken to guard against a relapse. A seton applied between the jaws CHRONIC COUGH. 935 often relieves ; but these cases are safer in the hands of a com- petent surgeon. Under no circumstances of this disease should the animal be bled. Malignant or putrid sore throat, is fortunately but little known in the United States, the author not being aware of its existence in any portion. Cases presenting somewhat similar symptoms have been found upon examination to differ in a marked degree from those which accompany this form of disease as they are laid down in the works of foreign authors. A detailed description of this type of the disease is therefore deemed unnecessary in the present treatise. CHRONIC COUGH. This arises from various causes, and is present in a number of diseases. It is often symptomatic of some affection of the lungs and air passages; and it sometimes exists apparently as an independent affection, the animal thriving well, and retain- ing unimpaired his appetite and spirits. If it arises from irritation of the larynx, or upper part of the throat, a few applications of mustard will be beneficial ; if from worms in the stomach or intestines, treat as directed under the head of ‘ Worms.” If it exists without any appar- ent connection, or as the termination of disease previously existing, give every night in a bran mash one of these pow. ders : of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), digitalis (fox-glove), pulverized squills, nitre; and camphor, each one ounce; to be made into ten powders. Green food, as carrots, potatoes, turnips, or parsnips, should be given when procurable. CATARRH. CATARRH. This disease, commonly called a cold, is confined in ordinary cases to the lining membrane of the nose and neighboring parts; but in severe cases the inflammation sometimes extends down the air passages to the lungs, frequently resulting fatally. In the spring of the year this disease frequently appears in an epi- zootic form, when the symptoms are more alarming and the termination more generally fatal. If the inflammation is confined to the nostrils, the membrane lining those cavities is reddened, a thin watery or mucous dis- charge from the nostrils takes place, accompanied with frequent sneezing ; if the larynx is involved, there are cough, swellings underneath the jaws, ete. Some authors recommend bleeding in this affection; but such an abuse of the lancet can do no good, and is often productive of much harm. If the symptoms are slight, one of the follow- ing powders given night and morning will be all that is re- quired: of saltpetre two ounces; of pulverized Jamaica ginger one ounce ; mixed, and divided into eight powders. If there is swelling under the jaws, poultice the throat with flaxseed meal ; if much discharge from the nostrils, steam them well with boil- ing water poured upon bran. If the inflammation exhibits any tendency to extend down the windpipe, apply a blister all along the neck over the windpipe from the throat to the breast, giving one of the following balls night and morning; of nitrate of petassa and pulverized gentian root, each one ounce; Jamaica ginger and caraway seeds, each half an ounce; mix with molasses and divide into six balls. If the discharge from the nose continues, the animal losing flesh, and the appetite being INFLUENZA. 227 - _ impaired, give one of the following powders in the feed night and morning : sulphate of copper one ounce ; pulverized gentian root one and a half ounces; pulverized ginger six drachms; mix and divide into eight powders. Good wholesome food only should be given. ’ DISTEMPER. All catarrhal affections are classed by horse-owners under the common head of distemper. Common catarrh, epizootic or epidemic catarrh, laryngitis, bronchitis, and all other diseases accompanied by nasal discharges, are regarded by horsemen generally as one and the same disease. INFLUENZA, For several years past a disease has been more or less preva- ave \ S\N veterinary profession as AAI ONT epizootic (eviaemi \\ N a | | epizootic (epidemic) ca- Mm. tarrh, or influ- enza. The \ symptoms of this disease yg ate SO various vate Al Sai NU Mult —= a: animals, no two NS Se pei en = Ebeing precisely areal —— SE =~ alike, that a vari- jin different — QUIET ENJOYMENT. concerning it and its nature, and, as a consequence, various ~~ @ty of opinions are current other diseases are often confounded with it. 238 INFLUENZA. In the year 1855, this disease made its appearance in the stables of one of the largest omnibus proprietors in Philadel- phi, and some nine horses died in about two weeks. These were supposed to have been foundered, and were treated for that disease. A careful examination, however, by a competent practitioner revealed the true nature of the disease, and under proper treatment the balance of the stock was saved. Shortly after the demand for veterinary surgeons was very great, and while they saved forty-eight out of every fifty cases, the farrier lost almost every case he attempted to treat, principally from his too common practice of bleeding and purging ; thus reducing the system so low that nature became exhausted. This disease is called by horsemen pink-eye distemper, and is by many regarded incurable, though the author knows of no disease that more readily yields to proper treatment, and in his own practice he has been eminently successful in accomplishing a cure. It commences with slight watery or thin mucous dis- charges from the nostrils; matter collecting in the inner corner of the eyes; eye-lid on the inner side of a very slight or yellow» ish red color; pulse feeble, with occasional paralysis of the hind extremities; sore throat; excessive debility; membrane of the nose much reddened ; hard cough; heart sometimes vio- lently agitated; flanks heaving; and feet sometimes hot; thus producing all the symptoms of founder. For treatment, never bleed, as in nine cases out of ten, the animal dies. If inflammation runs high, as it sometimes does, use for several days the following: of tartar emetic and nitrate of potash, each two drachms, made into a ball with molasses and given at night. Give also in a pail of water one ounce of spirits of nitre twice a day ; or, if more convenient, two drachms *. INFLUENZA. 239 of the extract of belladonna (nightshade) dissolved in the water. When the inflammation is reduced, give one of the following balls night and morning : of pulverized gentian root and nitrate of potassa, cach an ounce; pulverized Jamaica ginger, half an ounce; ground fenugreek seeds six drachms ; mix with molasses, and divide into eight balls. In pure cases of debility (this being one of the serious symptoms of the disease), or in the early stages, previous to extensive inflammation being established, one of the following should be given twice a day :—sulphate of iron (green vitriol) two ounces; pulverized ginger one ounce; pulverized gentian root two ounces; mix with molasses, and divide into eight balls. In cases where the lungs are. affected, give the following ball twice a day: of tartar emetic and pulver- ized digitalis (foxglove) each one scruple ; nitrate of potash three drachms; mix with molasses. Linseed tea, or oat-meal gruel should be given frequently. -No hay should be given, unless the bowels are in good condition. If the liver is affeeted— which may be known by the yellow tinge of the mucous mem- brane, dung small and hard, horse lying on his side, and occa- sionally looking at his side as if in pain, with occasional fits of uneasiness—the following may be given, but must not be re- peated ; of Barbadoes aloes three drachms, calomel and pulver- ized digitalis each half adrachm; make into a ball with molasses. In all these cases where there is soreness or swelling of the throat, the parts should be freely blistered ; and the sides also, if the lungs are involved. This mode of treatment has proved very successful in the author’s practice. 240 BRONCHITIS, . BRONCHITIS. The larynx (upper part of the windpipe), the trachea (wind- pipe), and the bronchial tubes (branches from the trachea inte the lungs for the passage of air), are lined by one continuous membrane, called the mucous membrane, which secretes a thin mucous substance that always keeps the parts soft and moist. When this membrane becomes inflamed, the disease is named according to its location. If it is confined to the larynx (as has been before observed), it is termed laryngitis; if to the windpipe, trachitis; and if to the bronchial tubes, bronchitis. The trachea and bronchia are rarely diseased separately, the inflammation generally extending from one to the other. We shall therefore treat of bronchitis as embracing trachitis like- wise. Even this disease rarely exists unmixed with others, in consequences of which it is often overlooked, or confounded with other diseases of a pulmonary character. Bronchitis is generally preceded by a shivering fit; mouth hot, with more or less saliva; discharge from the nose; cough; sore throat; fever; short breathing; loss of appetite; accele- rated pulse; and membrane of nose and eyelids reddened. In treating this disease it is much safer to call in the veteri- nary surgeon, in consequence of the difficulty which the ordi- nary observer will experience in distinguishing it from other pulmonary diseases, and from the fact that the treatment varies with the changes that take place in the progress of the disease. It is not necessarily fatal; yet the most trifling neg- lect or mistake in treatment may make it so. The average loss, if proper treatment is pursued, is not more than five per cent. Resort should never be had to bleeding in any form which the NASAL GLEET. 241 disease may assume, although such treatment has been recom- mended by the highest authorities. If much fever is present, give the following ball: of nitre two drachms; pulverized digitalis and tartar emetic each half a drachm ; solution of gum arabic sufficient to make the ball This may be repeated if the desired effect is not produced in twelve hours. Apply to the throat, sides, and along the spine, strong mustard mixed with water to the consistence of cream, which may be repeated as often as necessary. The fly blister is also recommended; but the author prefers mustard, as being so much quicker in its action. After the inflamma- tion has subsided, give one of the following powders twice a day: of pulverized gentian root and nitre, each one ounce ; pulverized Jamaica ginger, half an ounce; caraway seeds six drachms. This course of treatment is perfectly safe in the hands of any horseman, though it will not reach all stages of the disease; nor can any general directions be given better calculated to warrant a successful issue in these cases, NASAL GLEET. “Nasal gleet is the name here given to those discharges from the nose, which are commonly preceded by some inflammatory or catarrhal attack of the air passages, in particular those of the head; though there occur examples of their appearing without any such detectible precursors, originating, indeed, without any visible or apparent cause whatever; in most cases they are apt to continue long after all signs of inflammation have died away. Gleet is more likely to supervene after a chronic, than after an acute, attack of catarrh, and to show itself in an 16 242 NASAL GLEET. adult or aged horse rather than in the young subject. Some- times the discharge comes from one nostril alone ; more usually from both. Sometimes the submaxillary glands (glands under the jaws), remain tumefied, and-sometimes they are not. The Schneiderian membrane (membrane of the nose) discolored by inflammatory action, has become pallid and leaden-hued, but is free from all pustular or ulcerative indications. The dis- charged matter varies in quantity and quality in different in- dividuals, and even in the same horse at different stages of this disease. 'The ordinary gleet consists of a matter more mucous than purulent, remarkable for its whiteness, about the thickness of cream, and in some cases is smooth and uniform, in others clotty or lumpy; in other cases it is yellow, and appears to contain in its composition more pus than mucus. At one time it will collect about the nostrils, and become ejected in flakes or masses in pretty regular succession; at another time there is a good deal of irregularity in this re- spect, the running from the nose ceasing altogether for a while, as though the animal were cured, and then returning with double or treble force. Sometimes fetor is an offensive accompaniment of the discharge; at other times no fetor is perceptible. The health does not suffer in the least; on the contrary, it is one of the indications of this disease, that the horse eats and drinks, and has his spirits, as well as though he were quite free from complaint. Formerly, these cases were considered to be evidences of glanders, and were called chronic glanders; many a horse having been destroyed under this mistaken impression. That a case of the kind might not turn to glanders, is, perhaps, more than can be asserted with certainty ; but that, so long as PNEUMONIA. 243 it continues gleet, it is not glanders, I am fully persuaded ; and to show that it is not, I have been in more than one in- stance successful in bringing the case to a favorable issue.” [ Percival’s Hippopathology. ] ‘ The treatment recommended by veterinary writers has not been found successful in the author’s practice ; nor, indeed, do they themselves appear to have encountered any better for- tune. That which has proved efficacious has, in all cases, been strictly tonic. Give the following powder night and morning for a month: of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), half a drachm; pulverized gentian root, two drachms; pulverized ginger, one drachm; mix for one dose: or, give night and morning, mixed in the feed, half-drachm doses of powdered nux vomica (commonly called Quaker button). There vis no danger in giving this preparation to a horse, provided he does not have water for some time afterward, say half an hour; and it very rarely fails. PNEUMONTA. By pneumonia, or inflammation of the lungs, is meant either a highly congested or an inflammatory condition of the lungs, arising from various causes, as high feeding, blanketing, close or badly ventilated stables, violent or extraordinary exercise, or sudden changes from heat to cold. Cold applied to the external surface of a heated animal drives the blood from the skin to the internal organs, often causing congestion of the . lungs. Pulmonary diseases are more prevalent in the spring and fall, particularly if the weather be cold and damp. This disease is generally ushered in by a shivering fit; the horse is sometimes attacked very suddenly ; he refuses his food; 944 PNEUMONIA. the respiration becomes disturbed, sometimes suddenly, at other times more slowly; legs, ears, and muzzle cold; cough sometimes present ; staring coat; membrane of nose reddened or leadened-hued; the animal hangs his head in or under the manger, stands with his feet wide apart, remaining in one position with no inclination to move. The pulse varies very much; it is sometimes full and quick, at other times weak and scarcely perceptible. In these cases auscultation is found of the greatest advantage in enabling one to = tion of the part affected. If the attack is sudden, coming on after quick, weak, and scarce- — = ly perceptible ; by the THE RUNNING HORSE LEXINGTON. application of the ear to the animal’s side the case is decided, in the absence of all sounds, to be one of conges- tive pneumonia. In all these cases the less medicine which is used the better; they require the free use of the lancet, which must be promptly applied, or the animal dies. Blood must be taken until the animal begins to show symptoms of weakness; after which place him in a cool box with a pail of water, but nothing else, before him, the fresh air being all the medicine required. He will either speedily re- cover,,or inflammation of the lungs will ensue. A second bleeding, notwithstanding the inflammatory action, is positively PLEURISY. D4 injurious. As the disease assumes an inflammatory character, the breathing becomes more disturbed, the mouth hot, flanks heaving, and the nostrils expand and contract violently. Blisters must now be applied to the sides and breast, and those which will act quickly. ‘The author prefers the follow- ing: of pulverized cantharides half an ounce; lard one ounce ; croton oil twenty drops; linseed oil suffieient to make it liquid. Divide the following into five parts, and give one part internally every two hours: liquor ammonia acetatis twelve ounces ; extract of belladonna one ounce; water one pint. If there is no improvement in twelve hours, give one scruple of white hellebore with three drachms of nitre every four hours until its action is manifest. This remedy, however, is a dangerous one in the hands of any but the qualified prac- titioner. Instead of it, the tincture of aconite may be used— indeed, it is one of the very best remedies. Take of tincture of aconite half an ounce to an ounce of water; give twenty drops on the tongue every three hours. Active purgatives should not be given; injections, however, are very useful. The horse should be kept on a low diet for a few days, as bran mashes, carrots, or green food; but no hay should be allowed, and a pail of water should be kept before him. This is regarded by the author in all inflammatory diseases as one of our best medicines. PLEURISY. By pleurisy is meant an inflammation of the pleura, or mem- brane covering the lungs and internal walls of the chest, without the lungs being involved in the inflammation; when, however, they partake of its inflammatory action, it is styled pleuro- 246 PLEURISY. pneumonia. The former disease rarely exists in a pure form ; and as in a work like the present it is unnecessary to consider the delicately drawn distinctions between the two types, both will be treated as if they constituted in reality but one disease. Pleurisy may exist in an acuté or chronic form. The attack may be sudden, or gradual, the animal manifesting indisposi- tion several days previous. A hard drive, over-exertion, exposure to cold, washing in cold water when warm, a fall, fracture of a rib, a punctured wound, Xc., are all causes of pleurisy. The horse manifests uneasiness ; there is a violent heaving of the flanks, a looking round at his sides, with an anxious expres- sion of the face; pulse quick and wiry ; body, mouth, and breath hot; sweating in different parts of the body; a high state of nervous irritation, the animal pawing, lying down but rising immediately ; a pressure against the side causes pain. A pecu- liar symptom is observable in this disease; the right fore-leg differs in temperature from the left, and such is the case with the hind ones; if the right fore-leg is warm, the left hind one will also be warm, and the others cold. Experience proves that blood-letting in this disease is only opening the vein to let life escape ; for if by this means we suc- ceed in relieving the inflammatory action, the loss of blood so prostrates the system that the animal from pure debility becomes the victim of hydrothorax, or dropsy of the chest, living a mis- erable life for several weeks, perhaps months, to die at last from the accumulation of fluid in the chest. Bleeding, therefore, is uncalled for, and in fact is positively injurious. The early ap- plication of blisters to the sides is very important ; and for this purpose the same preparation will be found serviceable as has HYDROTHORAX. 247 been recommended in the case of inflammation of the lungs. The application of blankets saturated, with hot water and kept round. the body for several hours is very beneficial. Give one of the following powders on the tongue every hour :—of calomel one drachm; lactucarium (the juice of the common garden lettuce) two drachms; divide into three powders. In two hours after giving the last powder, give the following drench: liquor ammonia acetatis four ounces; sulphuric ether one ounce; tincture of aconite ten drops; water one pint. If no improve- ment takes place within six hours, give half a drachm of the extract of belladonna in a pail of water every three hours ; con- tinue this until the pupils of the eye dilate, or a favorable change otherwise takes place. If the pulse is weak, give twe ounces of nitrous ether; one ounce tincture of opium; and half a pint of tepid water; but do not repeat the dose. The ani- mal must be kept upon a low diet; no hay or corn should be given; carrots and green food may be used sparingly; give water frequently ; injections of soap and water are necessary from the first attack. After the animal becomes convalescent, strong tonics must be given, as the case may even then terminate in dropsy of the chest. Nux vomica should be given in half- drachm doses in the feed at night; or half-drachm doses of the iodide of potassa dissolved in a pail of water may be given three times a day, HYDROTHORAX. Dropsy of the chest, or hydrothorax, is usually the termina- tion of pleurisy in cases where bleeding or long-continued seda- | tive medication has been practised. The fluid contained within the chest, if following an acute attack of pleurisy, is a beauti- 248 THICK WIND. fully clear, bright yellow fluid. In sub-acute cases there is considerable lymph floating in it, thus rendering it turbid. The _ quantity varies in different cases, from a quart or two to several gallons. , In this disease the animal stands with legs straddling; the breathing is short and quick, and as the water accumulates the respiration becomes more labored ; pulse small and quick ; stag- gering gait; breast, belly, and sheath swelled, leaving after pressure the impression of the fingers; if the ear is applied to the side, no sounds are heard. No course of treatment can be suggested which would be likely to succeed in the hands of the amateur; this disease far too often proving fatal in the most skillful hands. THICK WIND. This disease differs in its action and effects from broken wind or heaves, though they are frequently confounded. It is cha- racterized by a quickened respiration, in consequence of the obstruction existing in the air passages as the termination of inflammatory action. The capacity of the lungs is often very considerably diminished ; the air-cells become filled up or obli- terated ; and the bronchial tubes become thickened ; so that the same amount of atmospheric air cannot be admitted, thus giving | rise to the quick, blowing action witnessed in this disease. “It is astonishing,” says Mr. Spooner, ‘what great alteration of the structure of the lungs may exist, and the horse be still able to perform his accustomed work. I remember a horse that for some months worked in a fast coach, doing a stage of twelve miles daily in about an hour and a quarter. He was seized with inflammation of the lungs, and died in about sixteen hours. en ne Ee BROKEN WIND. 249 On examining the body after death, it appeared that one half of the lungs for a long time past must have been perfectly useless, for the purposes of respiration, being so completely hepatized as to be heavier than water.” But little can be done in the way of treatment for a thick- winded horse. It is important to keep the bowels regular; and by feeding with good sweet provender some relief is usually afforded. ~ ROARING AND WHISTLING, There are different stages of the same disease, arising from 4 thickening of the windpipe, or of the membranes of the larynx, rendering the passages smaller at the diseased parts. Thesa diseases are generally the termination of neglected bronchitis, laryngitis, and all diseases of a pulmonary or catarrhal cha, racter ; ulceration of the glottis (a portion of the larynx) is alsa a cause of roaring. If these diseases are caused by tight reining, the bearing rein should be left off; if they arise from other causes, there is but little prospect of benefiting the animal, except in cases where the thickened parts are in an inflammatory condition, when relief will be afforded by the application of mustard plasters or fly blisters to the parts affected. BROKEN WIND. The cause of broken wind, or heaves, has never been satis- factorily ascertained ; some writers attributing it to functional derangement of the digestive organs, others to rupture of the air-cells of the lungs, while yet a third class to a spasmodic action of the diaphragm, a muscle dividing the chest from the 250 BROKEN WIND. abdomen. In this disease there is a short dry cough, which is characteristic, and familiar to all practised ears. It is a singular fact, well known to all Western horse-owners, that this disease has =no existence on the prairies of = Western States; and broken- <. winded horses that have Yy, been taken to those sec- tions soon get well, and re- SS main so. The symptoms of this dis- THE ATTACK AND DEFENSE. ease are, a peculiar, double- bellows motion of the flanks; respiration quicker than natural; a short peculiar cough ; and frequent passing of wind, In its treatment the digestive organs should be kept in as healthy a condition as possible. The throat should be ex- amined; and if by merely rubbing the sides of the throat a cough is excited, the chances for a cure are favorable; but if the windpipe requires a squeeze in order to produce the cough, there is little use in attempting a cure. Use upon the throat three times a week for five or six weeks the following salve well rubbed in: iodine ointment two ounces; blue (mercurial) oint- ment one ounce; mix well together, and make thin with oil. Give internally every night one of the following powders: of sulphate of copper and pulverized ginger, each one ounce; pul- verized gentian root two ounces; divide into sixteen powders. The benefits of this course of treatment have been very marked in the author’s practice. In all cases no hay should be allowed, but wheat or oat straw will be found of great advantage. INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 251 DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND INTESTINES. INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. Inflammation of the stomach, or gastritis, is usually the result; of swallowing poisons, or powerful stimulants, Mr., James Clark relates a case of death occurring from inflammation of the stomach in a horse in consequence of being drenched with a pint of vinegar} and another case where death was caused by giving a drench which contained half an ounce of spirits of hartshorn. A correspondent writing to the Furf Register in 1855, recommends the use of nux vomica, to destroy worms; to which the editor appends the following remarks :—‘‘ We must caution those not acquainted with the deleterious proper- ties of nux vomica against giving that drug in large doses. Three nuts or buttons weigh eighty grains, and we have re- corded evidence that sixty grains of the powder have killed a horse in a short time. Hoffman mentions that two doses, of fifteen grains each, proved fatal to the patient.” The cause of these fatal terminations was doubtless some morbid condition of the stomach at the time the medicine was given. “I have known,” says (White, ‘‘a horse quickly destroyed by being drenched with a quart of beer in which one or two ounces of tobaeeo had been infused, and have seen other horses take much larger doses without any ill effects.” The author has known cases where bots were supposed to have given rise to inflammation of the stomach. The symptoms from poisoning are extreme distress and rest- lessness, with a perfect loathing of all food; the animal breaks out in cold sweats, lies down but rises quickly, and becomes 252 INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. quickly prostrated in strength ; the pulse is quick and oppressed ; purging may, or may not, exist. The treatment will depend upon the cause of the attack, and should in all cases be intrusted to the hands of a competent practitioner, if one can be obtained. Where poison is sus- pected, it is better to give plenty of gruel, linseed tea, starch water, chalk water, with a couple of ounces of tincture of opium. The lancet should not be used, as the animal is already in a debilitated condition, which bleeding would only increase, thereby preventing the possibility of a speedy recovery. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. Enteritis, or inflammation of the bowels, called by farriers red colic, admits of three divisions: enteritis, or inflammation of the muscular coat of the intestines ; peritonitis, or inflamma- tion of the outer coat of the intestines and the membrane lining the cavity of the abdomen ; and dysentery, or inflammation of the inner or mucous coat of the intestines. The muscular and peritoneal coats are those usually involved in inflammation of the bowels; but the muscular is more fre- quently involved than the peritoneal coat. The causes of this disease are washing when warm, or swimming in a river, drink- ing cold water when in a heated condition, over exertion, cos- tiveness, dry food such as hay with little water, worms, calcareous concretions, and metastasis. The disease is sometimes preceded by a shivering fit ; there is loss of appetite; hot skin; continued restlessness ; mouth hot and dry ; membranes of nose and eyes very much reddened ; pawing ; the animal lies down and gets up frequently, kicks at his belly, looks frequently at his sides; no cessation of pain; pulse hard, INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 253 small, and wiry, often beating one hundred times or more a minute ; respiration quickened ; bowels constipated ; dung small, hard, and dry ; extremities cold; and the urine highly colored and passed with difficulty. As the disease progresses, the in- tensity of the symptoms very much increases. The animal is now covered with perspiration, which is succeeded by a chilly state; the pulse becomes quicker ; the belly begins to swell; the entire system becomes prostrated, and the animal dies, frequently in the most violent manner. These cases require prompt and active treatment, for the disease runs its course very rapidly, often terminating in the course of ten or twelve hours. If the costiveness yields early, the pulse becomes less frequent, soft, and full; the extremities regain a moderate temperature, attended with remission of pain, and the case will be likely to have a favorable termina- tion. It is important that this disease should be distinguished from an attack of colic, since the symptoms of one very much resemble those of the other; the pulse, however, is the surest guide in distinguishing these diseases. The ordinary mode of treating colic would be highly injurious in the treatment of inflammation of the bowels. In this disease copious bleedings are necessary. A large opening should be made in the jugular vein, and from six to eight quarts of blood taken, the quantity varying with the size and condition of the animal; the hardened dung should be removed by back-raking, after which tobacco-smoke injec- tions are of great service; where these are not convenient, injections of soap and water may be used, or, what is better, an injection of two gallons of water with six ounces of tincture of arnica. One pint of linseed oil may now be given ; and if the 954 INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. case be a very severe one, and likely to terminate in death unless relief be afforded, ten drops of croton oil may be added to the drench; but this last preparation should not be given except in very desperate cases, as of life or death. Aloes should not be given unless combined with opium; and even then this treatment is not advisable. Blankets well saturated with hot water should be applied to the abdomen, and kept up for two or three hours; the legs should be well rubbed with cayenne pepper or strong mus- tard, and bandaged with strips of flannel; if there is no im- provement in the course of four or five hours, give one drachm of chloroform in one pint of linseed oil, which may, if neces- sary, be followed in two hours by the following ball, mixed ‘with molasses: one drachm of pulverized opium ; half a drachm of calomel; and two drachms of linseed meal. The injections should be continued throughout; give linseed tea to drink, instead of water; soft mashes and new grass, if obtainable, may be given sparingly, but no hay, until the bowels are opened. The animal should not be worked for some days after recovery, as this disease is apt to return if he is put to work or exposed too soon. An attack of this character does not necessarily render the animal less useful or valuable after his restoration to health. Peritonitis differs but little from enteritis. The horse is more affected with pain; the pawing, rolling, and kicking at the belly are most violent; the eye is wild in appearance ; tenderness is evinced on pressing the abdomen; the pulse is full and throbbing; the dung is small and hard, and covered with a slimy substance. The same course of treatment should be pursued as is recommended for enteritis. DIARRH@A. 255 Dysentery (molten grease, or inflammation of the intestines), is often confounded with diarrhea. It is sometimes accom- panied with purging, but this is by no means an invariable symptom. ‘The most common causes are irritation, translation or obstructed perspiration, and the administration of improper purging medicines, causing undue irritation, which terminates in inflammation. The animal usually evinces but little pain; the pulse is quick and small; there is sometimes purging, with great prostration of strength. The belly should be well rubbed with the following wash : half a pound of strong mustard; four ounces of spirits of ammonia; and one pint of water. The following drink may be given every three hours until some improvement is ob- served, when it should be discontinued at once: of prepared chalk and tincture of ginger each one ounce; powdered opium one drachm ; tincture of catechu half an ounce; tincture of red pepper two drachms; and one pint of water. Throw up injections of two ounces of laudanum in half a pint of water, frequently, and give thin gruel to drink. No blood should be taken under any circumstances. DIARRHGA. This disease often arises in the absence of any inflammatory action upon the mucous surface of the intestines; and hence the distinction cannot be made by the ordinary observer be- tween it and dysentery, if purging should be present. In order to obviate this difficulty we recommend only such reme- dies as are calculated to answer either case, without the pos- sibility of doing injury by the administration of medicines 256 INORDINATE APPETITE. The causes of diarrhcea are over-exertion, exposure to cold, drinking freely of pump or spring water, and over doses of For treatment, give in one pint of thin gruel, one ounce of pre- pared ounce of tine- ~ ture of catechu, Et. Wo ounces and one ounce of tincture of ginger. Gruel, starch, or arrow- root should be freely given; good OMAR PASHA, THE TURKISH CHIEFTAIN. sweet hay is very advantageous, but no grass or bran mashes should be allowed. INORDINATE APPETITE. Loss of appetite is soon observed aud complained of by the, horse-owner, and in too many instances gives occasion for im- proper medication. Some horses are particularly choice in the selection of their food, refusing that which is poor, or daintily and languidly picking it over. Horses sometimes eat slowly and daintily in consequence of weakness of the diges- PALSY OF THE STOMACH. 257 tive organs; in such cases a handful of camomile flowers occa- sionally mixed in the food will be of great benefit. Boiled potatoes and the like will also be found beneficial in such cases. The disease (for it is no less) of a voracious or depraved appetite arises from a morbid condition of the digestive organs, and is generally regarded by horsemen as a very desir- able feature. The owner is greatly surprised, under such cir- cumstances, that his animal does not thrive. A distinction must be made between a healthy and a morbid appetite. The former is indicated by the animal being ready for his food as soon as he comes in from work, and eating his allowance, if good sweet prevender, with evident relish; but the latter is indicated by a constant craving for food and water, without regard to the quality of either, the animal oftentimes in addi- tion to his usual allowance eating up the litter from under him, which is frequently in a very filthy condition. He is almost constantly craving water, and will drink even from a stagnant pool. We find him tucked up in the flanks, or carry- ing a big belly; his dung is often soft, slimy, and fetid; he stales largely, and his urine is often very foul; he is dull, lazy, and stupid, performing his work languidly or unwillingly. Sucb horses are more than any others subject to the disease next mentioned. PALSY OF THE STOMACH. In this disease, arising from a voracious appetite, the stomach becomes overloaded with food, and distended beyond its natural capacity. This is seldom observed until the symp- toms are so plainly marked as not to be mistaken, developing ii 958 RUPTURE OF THE STOMACH. in many instances the disease known as stomach staggers, which has been already mentioned. There are rarely any symptoms of acute pain; the pulse remaining in nearly its natural condition ; respiration is but slightly disturbed; there is great heaviness of the head; the horse stands with . the fore feet well under him, and appears to be weak in the knees; the membranes of the mouth and eyes present a yellow or orange appearance, indicating the liver as involved in the disease; the urine is highly colored; and in some cases there is paralysis of the eye, and often of the extremities. The treatment required is much the same as in stomach staggers; in fact, this disease is the origin of the last named. Attention should be directed in the first place to opening the bowels, which requires a strong cathartic, made in the follow- ing manner: of Barbadoes aloes one ounce; of pulverized gentian root two drachms; pulverized ginger one drachm ; mix with molasses. Give no food for at least forty-eight hours; a little water may be occasionally given. In twelve hours after the ball, give one scruple of calomel on the tongue, which may be repeated at intervals of twelve hours for two or three days. RUPTURE OF THE STOMACH. Rupture of the stomach or diaphragm is caused by the stomach and bowels being distended with food far beyond their natural capacity, or by an accumulation of gas in the stomach, as in flatulent colic. The diaphragm, or midriff, is often ruptured in cases of flatulence, as is the case also with the intestines. As nothing in the way of treatment can be offered in these cases, all speculation upon them is superfluous. - CALCULUS, OR STONY CONCRETIONS. 259 CALCULUS, OR STONY CONCRETIONS. Calculous deposits are not unfrequently found in the stomach, intestines, bladder, kidneys, liver, brain, and in the glands, more particularly in the salivary glands; often giving rise to much difficulty, particularly when situated in the brain, salivary glands, or bladder. Stones in the stomach and intestines of the horse are quite common. ‘The author has seen several weighing from one to three or four pounds ; and Mr. Spooner mentions one in his possession weighing little less than six pounds. There were found by the author in the stomach of a horse which died of colic, one hundred and fifty-one barrel nails, two buttons, and three small calculi. This horse belonged to a baker, and had been fed with the scrapings of the shop. The nails presented a very smgular appearance, many of them being entirely covered with calculous deposits, and others covered with the same deposits on the heads and points, presenting a body with two heads. The presence of these foreign bodies in the stomach and intestines occasions frequent attacks of colic, and sometimes produces inflammation of the bowels. Miller’s horses are supposed to be most subject to these accumulations. These abdominal caleuli generally have a metallic nucleus, are com- posed of the triple phosphates, and are generally round and smooth. When first taken from the intestines, they are of a brown or greenish color, but they soon become white. When a horse is subject to frequent attacks of colic, not occasioned by feeding upon corn, these accumulations may reasonably be suspected to he the cause. 260 STRANGULATION OF THE INTESTINES. HAIR BALL. Hair balls are occasionally found in the stomach and intes- tines of a horse, generally accumulating around a metallic nu- cleus. There are several in the possession of the author where a piece of iron is the nucleus, and one where a piece of coal afforded the same basis. These balls occasion the same disor- ders, preceded by the same symptoms, and followed by the same results as thecaleulus. The animal may recover from a number of attacks of colic, and die at last from the same cause. STRANGULATION OF THE INTESTINES. On examining horses after death from an attack of colic, the small intestines are occasionally found tangled in a knot so as to cause a complete obstruction in the passages. This gives rise to colic pains, terminating in inflammation of theabowels and death. The small intestines being but loosely attached by the peritoneum, their outer covering, have free play in all direc- tions, whence the tendency arises to these accidents; for the author believes them to spring from accidental rather than natural causes. There may be a simple twisting, or the intes- tine may be firmly tied into a knot. There is another species, called intro-susception, or intra-sus- ception, which is a slipping of one portion of the intestines into, or inside of, another portion, thus completely blocking up the passage. There are no symptoms by which either of these conditions may be known; and such cases are therefore treated as cases of ordinary colic, or of inflammation of the bowels, as the case may be. Where, however, such a condition of the parts exists, all treatment will be useless. SPASMODIC COLIC. 261 SPASMODIC COLIC. This disease, called by farriers gripes, cramp, fret, &c., is a cramp or spasm of the muscular structure of the intestines, most generally of the small ones. The most common causes are the application Of cold water to the surface of the body, drinking cold water when in a heated condition, costiveness, stones in the intestines, hair ball, strictures of the intestines, unwholesome food, &c. ~ The premonitory symptoms are sudden in their nature. The animal is first observed pawing violently, showing evident symp- toms of great distress, shifting his position almost constantly, and manifesting a desire to lie down. In a few minutes these symptoms disappear, and the animal is again easy. But the same uneasiness again returns, increasing in severity until the animal cannot be kept upon his feet; the pulse is full, but scarcely altered from the normal standard. As the disease ad- vances, the symptoms become more severe, the animal at times throwing himself with great force upon the ground as though he were shot, looking anxiously at his sides, sometimes snap- ping at them with his teeth, and striking his belly with his hind feet. The symptoms vary but little from those of inflammation of the bowels, the condition of the pulse and the remission of pain being the distinguishing features. The extremities are of a natural temperature ; there are frequent but ineffectual efforts to stale, and a cold sweat bedews the body. In this disease itis necessary to back-rake, and throw up the fundament injections of castile soap and water. Give internally two ounces of nitrous ether, one ounce of tincture of opium, and half a pint of water mixed, which may be repeated in twenty 262 FLATULENT COLIC. minutes with the addition of one ounce of tincture of aloes. Rub the belly well with mustard and water; if in half an hour there is no improvement, and no symptoms of inflammation are present, give of lactucarium half an ounce, of Jamaica ginger half an ounce, and one pint of the best rum or gin ; ‘shake well together, and give one-third with twice the quantity of water every hour until relief is obtained. FLATULENT COLIC This is an accumulation of gas in the stomach and intestines, occurring more often in the spring and fall than at any other season. Horses fed on corn are most sub- 2 === —= ject. to these attacks, in consequence of this == kind of food ferment- eae ing readily in the ==j-em stomach, more par- ticularly when green. Jf the accumulation of gas thereby occa- sioned is not arrested, = it soon swells the stomach and intes- ~ SIR ARCHY, THE GODOLPHIN OF AMERICA. tines to such an extent as to cause the diaphragm, or walls of the stomach to give way, and the death of the animal ensues. The author has known cases to terminate in death in Jess than half an hour from the observation of the first symptoms, so rapid is the course of this disease. The symptoms are the same in spasmodic colic, with the exception of the swelling of the abdomen. The same medicines are to be used, with the addi- tion of from one to two drachms of chloride of lime in each dose, 4 WORMS. 263 according to the urgency of the symptoms. This, if given in time, will generally prove efficacious.. Tincture of hartshorn and spirits of turpentine are recommended by some veterinary authors, and are excellent remedies; but as much injury has been caused by their use by inexperienced persons, the author would not advise their use since the animal may be killed by an improper administration of them. WORMS. Four kinds of worms are found in the horse, viz: the lumbrici, which very much resemble the common earth-worm in form ; ascarides, so called from their supposed resemblance to a thread; tenia, or tape-worm, of which variety but little is known, as it is very rare; and, lastly, the persecuted bots, considered by farmers and horsemen the greatest of pests and the most dan- gerous of all the species. The lumbrici are most generally found in the small intestines, where they sometimes do much mischief by their irritating effects. The author was recently shown a very remarkable specimen of these worms by his friend, W. W. Fraley, V.S. This specimen was some two yards long, consisting of a portion of the small intestines so completely filled with these worms as apparently to render it almost impossible for anything to pass through it, | the worms having accumulated in thousands. These worms are from eight to ten inches in length, round and perfectly white. There appear to be two varieties of the lumbrici. The other variety is similar in form and length, but has numerous brown transverse lines, at about equal distances from each other, along its entire length. The ascarides are found in the large intestines, and are white 264 WORMS. * worms from one to three inches in length. It is a somewhat singular fact, that although these worms are usually found in the large intestines, their origin, apparently, is in the stomach of the horse. On opening horses after death, tumors are often found in the stomach, which upon being cut open will be found to contain either a thick whitish matter, or knots of small worms, from half an inch to an inch in length, of precisely the same appearance as that of the ascarides, and believed by the author to be identical with them. The symptoms of worms are a rough, harsh, staring coat ; irregular or depraved appetite; a whitish, or yellowish white, shining substance sometimes observable about the fundament, accompanied by a disposition on the part of the animal to rub the tail; breath occasionally hot and fetid; and in some cases a dry, short cough. ‘The animal becomes poor in flesh and spirits. Various modes of treatment have been adopted with but little benefit. The remedies which have become most popular are tartar emetic, calomel, turpentine, an infusion of Indian pink, arsenic, green vitriol, &c. That which has usually been found most successful in the author’s practice is to give one of the fol- lowing powders for three successive nights; of calomel three drachms; of tartar emetic one drachm; mix and divide into three powders. Twenty-four hours after, give the following purgative ball: of Barbadoes aloes six drachms; pulverized ginger two drachms ; and pulverized gentian root one drachm. Oil of turpentine in doses of two ounces has been very highly recommended by some‘authors; but this the author regards as a dangerous remedy, from its tepdency to produce inflammation Lp re | ~ BOTS. 265 of the stomach or bowels. Too many horses have been killed by its destructive agency to render its use advisable. BOTS. These are the larve of the gad-fly. During the summer months, when the horse is at grass, the parent fly is seen busily engaged in depositing its eggs upon the hairs of the animal in such places as are ___ easily reached by his mouth. This seems % 7 y to be an instinctive feature in this insect. The legs, shoulders, and body are the parts selected for this purpose. The gad-fly is seen hovering in an upright position when °™™% GAP-FEx of Bor. about to deposit her egg ; she then darts upon the horse, fixing the egg to the hairs by means of a glutinous substance; she again prepares another, which is deposited in like manner, until many hundreds are observed covering the hairs of the animal. The rapidity with which these eggs are prepared and deposited is astonishing. They are taken into the mouth by the animal biting or licking himself or his mate, and are hatched upon the tongue, or taken into the stomach and there hatched. If the eggs are recently produced, they pass into the stomach before they are hatched; but if they remain for a considerable time upon the hairs, they are hatched by the warmth of the tongue, and they pass into the stomach, where they are developed. This fact may be easily and satisfactorily proven by taking the newly deposited egg in the hand, and then applying a warm fluid; when it will be observed that the egg is softened or dis- solved, but does not produce the bot; whereas, if the egg be 266 BOTS. ‘old, it will hatch in the hand. The investigations of Mr. Bracy Clark, V. S., have thrown much additional light upon the natural history of these parasites. The dread entertained of this species of worms by farmers and horsemen arises from the fact that so many useless books have been published, purporting to he guides to the /farmer and horseman, many of which attribute the : \ death of a majority of horses to ravages of the bot, and give as symptoms of their presence those which /A \ characterize inflammation of the bowels, kidneys, blad- |'\\ ’ der, and the like. To this circumstance is to be \ attributed the vast distruction of life by drenching and : physicking the animal for bots. Now, a rational view of the subject leads us but to one conclusion, viz., that \ Eaes oN the stomach of the horse is the natural habita- —_,,,,, Nils tion of the bot, and that it cannot be, or is not, ““S*!*!=> developed anywhere else. This being the case, it is reasonable to suppose that inasmuch as the animal apparently suffers no inconvenience from their presence in his stomach, they were intended to serve some good purpose, rather than to do mischief. Indeed, without going to the extreme of asserting, as does Mr. Clarke, that bots are ‘always harmless,” it may be safely asserted as the unanimous opinion of veterinary sur- geons (farriers are not included), the world over, that they are comparatively harmless, and that when they do become injurious, it is almost always preceded by some morbid condition of the digestive organs. This may either arise from disease, or from enormous accumulations of bots, which are sometimes so great as to completely block up the pyloric orifice, or opening from the stomach into the intestines. BOTS. 267 There are no symptoms by which the existence of bots is in- dicated, except it be in the spring, when they pass from the horse by the fundament, assuming again the form of a chrysa- lis to re-produce the parent fly. As has already been stated, the symptoms of other diseases, as inflam 7) mation of the bowels, &c., are often assigned as indicat- ; ing the presence of bots, but although bots may some- times give rise to these conditions, it is worse than folly to jump at the probable cause in such cases and CATERPITLAE + say. that it is a case of bots because a horse looks at evi sides and the like. When such an instance is encountered, no matter whether it arise from bots or, not, the animal must be treated for the inflammation which is present. If we succeed in controlling it, and restoring the stomach to healthy action, the bots are no longer troublesome; but if, on the contrary, we commence drenching the animal for bots, the chances are that we shall kill him. Morbid conditions of the stomach will sometimes so incom- mode these little creatures as to \ cause them to escape from their un- ' pleasant situation, which is com- ley, “; monly effected by perforating the i Ba Wi the fluids to escape into the abdo- men, in which case no medical agent will save the animal’s life. Fortu- nately, however, these cases but CATERPILLAR OR LARV# ADHERING TO THE LINING OF THE STOMACH. rarely occur. The author has met with but a solitary case in an experience of ten years where death could be attributed to the action of bots. We know, moreover, from frequent experiments that the . 268 DISEASES OF THE LIVER. horse bot is more tenacious of life than even the cat, which is _ popularly endowed with nine lives. The live bot has been immersed in spirits of tur- . pentine, alcohol, nitric and muriatic acid, and 7H RED GAD-FLY. many other equally powerful fluids, and yet he still adhered to life with marvelous tenacity. If, then, it were possible to detect the presence of bots by any : mn c ir Pe the apr to remove ae would The Wy I for bots, when, upon opening the stomach after the death which inevitably ensued, not a solitary bot was CATERPILLAR OF to be found. It will be borne in mind that in THE RED GAD-FLY. large cities, where horses are not indulged in a run at grass it is no unusual occurrence to find their stomachs entirely free from bots. DISEASES OF THE LIVER. Diseases of the liver are of very common occurrence in the horse, although the singularity of the internal structure of that animal renders it less liable to jaundice than the human being. The horse possesses no gall-bladder ; instead of such a reservoir it has simply a gall-duct, called the hepatic duct, which enters that portion of the intestines called. the duodenum about six inches from the stomach, so that the gall is emptied into the bowels as fast as it is secreted. Various opinions have been ex- pressed touching this singular arrangement in the liver of the horse, any examination of which would be out of place in the present work. We proceed therefore to the mention of such diseases as come apparently under the above head. INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER. 269 INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER. Hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, does not generally exist as a primary affection, though it is frequently found as a sympathetic one, being not uncommonly connected with epi- demics, or epizootic diseases, particularly in that which is known to horsemen as pink-eye distemper. The most common cause of this disease is a fullness of blood, or a plethoric condition of the system, in consequence of which too much blood is sent to the liver; want of exercise, and too * high feeding, particularly with corn, are also causes of inflam- mation of this important organ. The symptoms of this disease are more obscure than those of any other part, and the difficulty is materially enhanced by the inability of the animal to assist us with his tongue. Still, by close observation we can trace the symptoms with such a degree of accuracy as to render our treatment almost a cer- tainty. The mouth and breath are hot; the extremities cold; the membrane lining the eyelids highly injected, presenting an orange-red appearance; the pulse rises from seventy to one hundred or more a minute, and is soft and full; the appetite lost; the animal looks wistfully and deploringly at his sides; lies down, but gets up again directly ; the respiration at times “is perfectly tranquil, at other times slightly disturbed, and at others again very much disturbed, and distressing to the ani- mal—so that, in fact, the amateur cannot be governed by this symptom,—there is usually much tenderness of the right side ; and the dung small, hard, and generally dark-colored. In the acute stage the animal is generally in a state of plethora, in consequence of which a small quantity of blood ' 270 JAUNDICE. may be taken to good advantage; but in the absence of plethora he must not be bled; a blister may be applied to the sides, or the application of creosote will be found serviceable. Injections of castile soap and water should be used occasion- ally until the bowels are opened. Glive every four hours one of the following balls: of Barbadoes aloes six drachms; calomel three drachms; mix with molasses, and divide into twelve parts. Keep the body warm, and bandage the legs with flannel; turn into a loose box stall, where the atmosphere is pure. When convalescent, give one of the following balls _ hight and morning: of sulphate of iron two ounces; pulver- ized gentian root one and a half ounces; pulverized Jamaica ginger one ounce; and pulverized anise seed one ounce: mix with molasses, and divide into sixteen parts. JAUNDICE. This disease depends upon an obstruction of the biliary ex- cretions, causing a yellow discoloration of the mucous mem- brane, fat, ligaments, and other tissues of the body; it will oftener be found in connection with other diseases than dis- tinct and independent of them, although it does occasionally exist in a pure or unmixed form, the symptoms of which are not at first observed by the horseman on account of their obscurity. The lining membranes of the eyelids and lips are of a yellow or orange color, extending even to the white of the eye; the dung pale, small, and bally; bowels generally constipated ; appetite lost or languid; the animal hangs his head, is dull and mopy, and becomes very poor in flesh. HEPATIRRHG@A. onl In the treatment of this disease the principal reliance is upon calomel; two drachms of which made into a bolus with flaxseed meal and molasses should be given, followed in twenty-four hours by a purging ball. The animal should have moderate exercise daily ; his body should be kept warm; and if there be pain in the right side, apply a blister; if necessary, the calomel may be repeated in scruple doses once a week. HEPATIRRHGA. This is a rupture of the peritoneal coat of the liver, and hemorrhage from it. It occurs most generally in aged horses, and is always preceded by structural derangement, or disorgani- zation which, from the obscurity of the symptoms escapes notice until it is too late for medical aid. The animal gener- ally does his work as usual until within a few hours of his death, keeping in full condition, and presenting to the eye of his owner no appearance of disease. The symptoms are so gradual in their development as to escape observation until the peritoneum, or covering of the liver, gives way, or becomes ruptured, from the great distension of the liver, when the blood flows freely into the abdominal cavity, giving rise to the most alarming symptoms, and the horse often dies within an hour after he is first discovered to be ill. The symptoms which are noticeable are suddenly developed, and generally appear immediately after eating or drinking. The animal will sometimes fall suddenly, and die in a few minutes, without having shown any previous indisposition ; at other times the respiration becomes hurried, the belly begins to swell, the pulse becomes gradually diminished and very feeble, partial or general sweating takes place, the animal 272 DECAYED STRUCTURE OF THE LIVER. walks with a tottering gait, the membranes lining the eyelids, lips, and nose, become blanched, indicating internal hemor- rhage, there is a vacant stare in the eye, with great prostra- tion of strength, which soon terminates in death. Upon opening the abdomen, it is found filled with dark venous blood in a fluid state, and the liver is several times its natural size, and exceedingly tender. Where it is possible to detect the existence of the disease in its incipient stages, calomel would be the appropriate remedy, as it is as justly entitled to rank as a specific for the diseases of the liver of, the horse, as it is for those of his master—man. DECAYED STRUCTURE OF THE LIVER. This also is a disease of common occurrence, though like the other diseases of this organ, the symptoms, from their obscurity, are not well understood by the veterinary practi- tioner, but little attention having as yet been paid to its in- vestigation. The first symptoms noticed are loss of appetite; surfeit ; the being hide-bound ; rough, staring coat; food passing un- digested; stools of a clay color; prostration of strength; readiness to sweat; pulse quick but feeble; respiration hur- ried; sometimes violent purging, after which the animal usually dies. Caution is necessary in the treatment of this variety of dis- eased liver. Bleeding must not be resorted to upon any con- sideration. In the absence of purging, give one of the fol- lowing balls every other day: of calomel half an ounce; Bar- badoes aloes one ounce ; resin three ounces ; mix with molasses, YNFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 273 — and divide into six balls. Upon the intermediate days give of sulphate of potash one and a half ounces ; carbonate of potash one ounce; pulverized Jamaica ginger half an ounce ; linseed meal two ounces: mix with molasses, and divide into six balls. DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. ~ INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. Inflammation of the bladder, or cystitis, is a disease of com- paratively rare occurrence in the horse, and generally is found in connection with other diseases. It is commonly supposed to occur more frequently in mares; although the author’s ex- perience has not confirmed this supposition. The symptoms are con- tinual emission of urine in small quantities ; the moment it enters the bladder it is“ again expelled, but voided 2 animal looks imploringly at aE his flanks; and upon passing NEES MER 70S ae the hand into the rectum, the bladder will be found contracted, and hard as a ball, being also hot and tender. For treatment, back-rake the animal in the first place, and then throw up injections of water, adding to every gallon three ounces of tincture of opium. Give internally one and a half 18 274 RETENTION OF URINE. pints of linseed oil, to which may be advantageously added one drachm of chloroform. Bathe the loins with the follow- ing mixture: of strong mustard, a quarter of a pound; water, half a pint; hartshorn, two ounces: mix thoroughly together, yand rub it well in. Give half a drachm of lactucarium three ‘times a day ; or, if more convenient, the extract of belladonna may be substituted. Give plenty of flaxseed tea; if the animal refuses to drink it, drench him with it. No hay must be given until twenty-four hours after he becomes convalescent. This is one of the most dangerous diseases to which the horse ts subject. RETENTION OF URINE. This disease, technically known as spasm of the neck of the bladder, is found more frequently as an attendant upon other diseases than as an independent affection. It frequently occurs in colics as an accompanying symptom, thus misleading the ordinary observer in his judgment of the disorder. The most common symptom is frequent but unsuccessful efforts to stale. This, however, must not be depended upon too strongly ; as it will sometimes be observed in horses that are comparatively sound in these organs, particularly in those that have been well cared for. In such cases this temporary retention of urine arises from a dislike on the part of the animal of splattering his legs in voiding his water; hence he will often retain it in the bladder, though painful to him, until the litter is placed under him, when he at once stretches him- self, and the urine flows freely and copiously. This fact has given rise to a superstitious notion among horsemen, that there is some peculiar virtue in the straw to cause this sudden + PROFUSE STALING. 275 cure; as a consequence, we frequently hear the remark, “ Put some straw under him—that will cure him,” ete. If, however, retention of urine arises from disease, the straw possesses no magic charm to afford relief. In such instances the animal manifests but little pain, and rarely lies down. On passing the hand up the rectum or fundament, the bladder, whigh is easily felt, will be found very much distended with urine. The services of a regular veterinary practitioner will be re- quired in the treatment of this disease, as the bladder must be ‘at once evacuated, which can in most cases be accomplished by means of an instrument called the catheter, which is not commonly found in the hands of any but the qualified sur- geon. This desired evacuation can in some instances be pro- duced by careful manipulation. Back-raking is very necessary in these cases, and injections of soap and water should be freely used. Unless the bladder is speedily emptied, it swells and bursts, causing a fatal termination. Fomentations of hot water to the abdomen, and pressure of the hand upon the bladder will be of assistance in enabling the animal to void the urine. PROFUSE STALING. This disorder, called also diabetes, is of frequent occurrence in the horse, and is attended with debility, impaired appetite, and sometimes loss of flesh. The causes are the improper use of nitre, saltpetre, and other powerful diuretics, as also un< wholesome food, and the like. The treatment is simple and effective; a great variety of medicinal substances being used in its abatement—as catechu, * 276 BLOODY URINE. oak bark, gum kino, opium, chalk, etc. Wither of these in moderate doses will.usually check the copious flow of urine. Bither of the following will be found sufficient : wa ursi (bear’s whortleberry), powdered, two ounces ; oak bark pulverized, four ounces; catechu pulverized, one ounce ; opium pulverized, two drachms: mix either with molasses or honey, and divide into six balls, giving one every day. Or, the following may be used with equal advantage : opium pulverized, half an ounce; sulphate of iron, one ounce; gentian root pulverized, one ounce: mix with molasses, and divide into six balls—one to be given every day. BLOODY URINE. This disease, known also as hematura, frequently arises from strains across the loins, violent exercise, unwholesome food, calculous concretions in the kidneys, ete. It is not attended by symptoms of general derangement; the appetite is not usually impaired, nor is any marked degree of fever present. The color of the urine first calls attention, in voiding which the animal appears to strain slightly. If the bowels are at all costive, injections should at once be thrown up the rectum; linseed tea should be given as a drink; mustard applications to the loins. Give internally one of the following once a day: of sugar of lead, one ounce; linseed meal, two ounces; mix with molasses or honey, and divide into eight pills; follow this for ten or twelve days, with one drachm of sulphuric acid in a pail of water to drink. Catechu, logwood, dragon’s blood, oak bark, ete., have been used with advantage. i STONES IN THE KIDNEYS. STONES IN THE KIDNEYS. These concretions, which are quite common in the horse, are of a pale, dirty yellow color, elongated or conical in form, and much softer than any of the other varieties heretofore mentioned. “ We have better evidence,” says Mr. Blain, “than mere supposition; for urinary calculi (or stones in the kid- neys), have been found in horses which have died with symp- toms which might have been mistaken for very acute enter. itis, or inflammation of the bowels. We may also suppose that the early accumulations would occasion irregular and di- minished secretion of urine, followed at length by a bloody purulent mixture with the water, until more active symptoms should arise, and carry off the horse. Concretions within the kidneys might be removed in their early state by remedies tending to decompose them in the urinary pelvis. For this purpose we have mineral acids, of which the hydrochloric, as holding the silicious matter in solution, is to be preferred. The mineral acids pass through the body unchanged, being emitted with the urine in a state of purity.” A better opportunity is afforded us of discovering calculus in the urinary organs, than in any other parts; for an examina- tion of the urine, when placed under the microscope, will enable us to detect its presence. When these deposits are ascer- tained, give in every pail of water which the animal drinks, two drachms of hydrochloric (muriatic) acid, which will in a short time be drunk with a relish by him. 278 TONES IN THE BLADDER. STONES IN THE BLADDER. These differ from stones in the kidneys in form and exter- nal appearance; presenting, in consequence of the constant washings of the calculus by the urine an uneven, or what is called a mulberry appearance; externally, it is of a reddish brown color. When these stones are quite large, very great inconvenience is occasioned to the animal. Stones in the bladder may exist a long time before any per- ceptible symptoms of their existence are manifested. The urine is generally thick and of a whitish color, with frequent desire to void the urine, accompanied with difficulty and pain ; the urine occasionally presents a bloody appearance; in some cases all the symptoms of colic are present, rendering it diffi- cult to distinguish between the two disorders. If the pain is severe, the animal paws violently, kicks at his sheath, lies down, rolls, and gets up again quickly, sweats in various parts of the body, giving off the odor of urine. For treatment, we should first attempt the dissolution of the stones, as recommended for stones in the kidneys, or we should remove them by the operation of lithotomy, which will be de- scribed under the head of surgical operations. If they are small, they may sometimes be extracted through the urethra, a process which is very easy in the case of mares. CONTRACTION OF THE HOOF. 279 DISEASES OF THE FEET AND LEGS. CONTRACTION OF THE HOOF. To horses that are kept in cities, or in stony sections of the! country, this disease is one of the most common occurrence. In the middle and southern portions of New Jersey, and Ohio, and in many other sections where the S31), hoeing of i A jy] SPE Of Me Rome Os S || not called for except in frosty weather, contrac- I tion of the hoof is com- /| paratively rare, in con- Ii, sequence of the feet 4), being unfettered by that iron band, the shoe. THE FAST-TROTTING STALLION, GEORCE M. PATCHEN. This trouble is gradual in its approach; the first indication being a dry, brittle, unyielding hoof; the heels gradually be- coming narrower, until they are painful. The hoof no longer accommodates itself to the soft structure within its limits, and, in consequence, the concussion is greater and the elasticity very much.less. The parts therefore become bruised, and fever ensues, which still further facilitates the contraction of the hoof by absorbing its moisture ; lameness follows as the natural and inevitable result. Upon an examination of the animal sweenie is decided upon by the horseman as the disease to which he is subject; a disease, by the way, which, we beg to say, the veterinary surgeon never yet has met. The primary cause of this trouble is, undoubtedly bad shoeing, the preventives of which have already been fully unfolded. 280 CORNS. Standing upon plank-floors has also a tendency to produce it, as it absorbs the moisture of the hoof, and renders it brittle and liable to crack. Traveling upon hard stony roads, with shoes that are beveled inwards, also predisposes the feet to this dis- order. The treatment must, necessarily, be slow in its operation ; yet by careful management it is sure. The shoes must, in the first place, be removed, and the feet well poulticed for several days unti] the hoof and frogs become perfectly soft. The animal should then be carefully shod, as heretofore directed; apply daily, until the heels are fully spread, the following ointment ; of rosin, four eunces ; beeswax, four ounces; lard, two pounds; tallow, one pound; melt together, and, when cool, stir in four ounces of oil of turpentine. CORNS. The first effect of contraction of the hoof is to bruise-the sen- sitive parts within their horny limits at that part of the foot formed by the crust and bar, causing lameness, which may be acute or chronic. These bruises are commonly called corns. The reason why this portion of the foot should be so severely bruised is obvious. The crust and bar forming a triangular space between which a considerable portion of the sensitive lamin lie, this bar by its resistance of the encroachments of the crust, causes a twofold pressure upon the sensitive parts, acting much as a vice, and thereby diminishing the triangular space. Upon examination of the foot the horn is found hard, dry, and brittle, with a strong tendency to crack on veryslight concussion. On removing a portion of the horn at the part of the foot indicated, the parts are found to be contused, sometimes slightly, and at CORNS. 281 Others severely. In the latter case the feet are in such a con- dition as to require prompt attention, or a sloughing, or dis- charge of matter, may take place, forming a sinus, or pipe-like opening, through the quarter, sometimes passing through the coronet, and producing a condition, or disease, known as Quitter, which often terminates in permanent lameness and deformity. When the lameness is of a chronic character, the poor beast, owing to his deprivation of speed, is compelled to suffer all kinds of barbarous treatment, such as roweling, setoning, etc., etc. As few believe corns to be of so serious a nature, the most are ready to attribute the lameness to a disease, or a sup- posed disease, which exists only in their disordered imagina- tions. As symptomatic indications, it may be remarked that the horse extends one foot in advance of the other, and rests upon the toe, which causes a bending of the knee, with a hard, dry, brittle, and contracted hoof. By way of treatment, the hoof, around the corn should be cut away so as to prevent pressure from the shoe; the corn should be well cut out, and burnt with a hot iron, butter of an- timony, muriatic acid, caustic silver, or the permanganate of potash. He should then be carefully shod, and, if the frog is elastic, a bar shoe nicely fitted, with a perfectly level bearing, would be best ; if, however, the frog is hard and unyielding, such a shoe may prove injurious. Flaxseed poultices frequently ap- plied to the feet, together with the use of hoof ointment, will be found effectual ; a run at grass without shoes will also prove heneficial. 282 THRUSH. QUITTER. This is an ulceration, or formation of pus, between the sen- sitive and insensible laming, or inner parts of the wall of the hoof, generally situated on the inside quarter, forming sinuses, or pipe-like openings. Neglected corns often produce this disease, as also caulking or bruises from any cause. The first appearance upon the foot on the approach of this disease is a hard conical tumor, hot, red, and smooth, which soon becomes soft, breaks, and discharges pus. A probe should first be introduced by way of treatment, pointing out the direc- tion of the sinuses; an injection of sulphate of zinc, one drachm dissolved in a pint of water, should be thrown into the opening in the foot by the means of a small syringe, once daily, and the foot should be occasionally washed with castile soap and water. The early treatment should consist in poulticing with flaxseed meal for several days. If the case is very slow, use two drachms of the chloride of zinc to a pint of water; inject in the same manner ; cut away all loose parts of the horn, which will facili- tate the cure. Glycerine has also been used by the author with marked benefit. THRUSH. This is a discharge of a matter from the cleft or division of the frog, which occasionally produces lameness. It originates from a filthy condition of the stable, the animal being allowed to stand in his dung, or upon foul litter. Horses that are well cared for are rarely troubled with it. The symptoms are a rot- tenness of the frog, accompanied by a discharge of fetid matter. Lameness may, or may not, be present. CANKER. 283 For treatment, wash the feet well with soap and water; fill the cleft with powdered sulphate of copper, and pack over it a little tow ; remove the filth from the-stall, and the animal soon recovers. An ointment may also be used, made of equal parts of pine-tar and lard, melted over a slow fire; when cool, add sulphuric acid until ebullition ceases, and it is then fit for use. CANKER. This arises from neglected thrush, often proving very difficult to manage. Itextends from the horny frog to the sensitive frog, aud sometimes to the navicular joint, involving the surrounding parts, and causing much alteration or destruction of the structures affected. It is by no means always a local disease, but is influ- enced by a morbid or unhealthy condition of the blood. The au- thor’s attention was once called to a case of four years’ standing, in which all the feet were involved, and the value of the animal thereby so depreciated that he was sold to a shoeing-smith of Philadelphia for the sum of twenty-five dollars, his cost being some two hundred and fifty dollars. All treatment had failed up to that time; yet, notwithstanding the long resistance of the disease, it gradually yielded to constitutional treatment. For treatment, all loose horn should be removed, that the parts may be properly dressed. If taken early, the following wash may be used with success; of nitrate of silver, half an ounce; water, one pint; shake well together, and use once a day. Or, the ointment of tar, lard, and sulphuric acid, recom- mended in cases of thrush, may be usefully applied. Should this fail, apply once a day the following : of castor oil, one part; collodion, two parts; mix well together. Give internally half a drachm of powdered nusx vomica mixed in the feed, which 284 GREASE HEELS. should consist of green food, mashes, and a little hay. Corro- sive sublimate in solution has been used with decided advantage; as also chloride of zinc, chloride of lime, butter of antimony, tincture of myrrh, sulphate of copper, glycerine, and many other preparations. SCRATCHES. This disease, called also cracked heels, generally arises from neglect, such as allowing the horse to stand in a filthy stall. It is generally confined to the hind feet, and consists in a swelling of the skin, causing in it one or more transverse eracks, which discharge a sanious (thin, serous, and reddish) matter at times; while in other cases the parts are almost dry but scurfy. For treatment, wash well with soap and water; take a shav- ing, or other soft, brush, and make a lather of soap and water, with which mix a small quantity of powdered charcoal ; rub this well in the fetlock, and let it dry, after which it can be rubbed off. Two or three applications are generally successful. The collodion and castor gil will also answer a good purpose; a physic ball should first be given. | GREASE HEELS. This is the result of weakness in the capillary vesseis or the feet and legs, and is often preceded by dropsical effusions, which frequently exist upon the leg as far as the hock or knee. Com- mon-bred horses are supposed to be more liable to this disease, while thorough-bred are comparatively free from its attacks. The principal causes are, doubtless, over-feeding and want of exercise; since we generally find the disease associated with GREASE HEELS. 285 a plethoric condition of the animal. As symptomatic, the skin at first is hot, red, swollen, and tender, and discharges a white == offensive matter of a greasy feeling. As the = hard, presenting a grapy appearance. Abscesses are sometimes formed about the heels, causing the sloughing away of a ~ large portion of them. This disease requires constitutional, as well ‘as ES CEE ENtEL EE, local, treatment. Give. internally for four days one of the following balls: of Barbadoes aloes, one ounce; pulverized gentian root, half an ounce; pul- verized ginger, two drachms ; mix with molasses, and divide into four balls. Follow this with half-drachm doses of nux vomica powdered; wash the parts well with soap and water, and apply flaxseed poultices, mixed with a solution of sulphate of zine, until the inflammation is considerably reduced ; then bathe care- fully either with glycerine, or a solution of sulphate of zinc, or the castor oil and collodion wash. If the discharge is very offensive, use powdered charcoal and soap suds, allowing it to dry upon the legs; a solution of the chloride of lime may also be used; or a weak solution of corrosive sublimate is bene- ficial. WATER FARCY. WATER FARCY. This disease, together with anasarca and edema may be classed under a common head, as they are but modifications of the same disease, which depends upon general debility for its existence. Two stages are, however, said to exist; one with inflammation, and the other without; one occurring in old horses, and the other in young ones. One important difference should be noted; the term anasarca is too extensive in its application to be properly associated with this disease, the term cedema being preferable to it, as having a local meaning and being more cir- cumscribed in its limits. ‘As symptoms, the legs, belly, sheath, and other parts become swollen, and leave the impression of the fingers behind after pressure. In old harses such pressure rarely causes pain, in- flammation being absent ; but in young horses the legs particu- larly are hot and painful to the touch. In this disease we must depend npon tonic and diuretic me- dicines; tonic, for the purpose of building up the system ; and diuretic, to increase the secretions. The two should be com- bined as follows: of sulphate of iron, two ounces; pulverized gentian root, one ounce; pulverized ginger, half an ounce; nitrate of potash, one ounce; mix, and divide into eight powders, giving one night and morning, with good nourishing food, and allowing nocorn. Or, the following will be found very useful : of sulphate of copper, one ounce; pulverized gentian root, one and a half ounces; pulverized ginger, half an ounce; nitre, one -ounce; ground anise seed, six drachms; mix, and divide into eight powders, giving one night and morning. Hand-rubbing and daily exercise will be necessary. CRACKED HOOF. WEED. This is a disease similar to edema, but makes its appearance above the hock, and extends downward. The skin is hot, and extremely sensitive to the touch; so much so that the animal throws the leg upward and outward as though to escape tor- ture. The veins of the leg.are full and corded. For treatment, apply warm fomentations to the parts affected, and give a purging ball, followed by the powders recommended in the last disease> CRACKED HOOF. This disease, also called sand-crack, occurs only in the hoof that is dry, hard, brittle, and contracted. The hoof in a natural, elastic condition can be bruised, but not split up if double the force that splits the dry, contracted hoof is applied. This crack occurs most generally at the quarters, and almost al- ways in the fore feet, they being almost alone subject to con- traction. Ifthe crack extends through the hoof it causes very painful lameness. P For treatment, the foot must first be carefully examined to see that no dirt has worked in under the hoof; the loose parts of the horn must be cut away ; a pledget of tow, saturated with _ sulphate or chloride of zine, or tincture of myrrh, should be ap- plied, and a bandage carefully put on to keep it in place and keep out the dirt. As soon as the new horn has grown down - a little, draw a line across the top of the crack with a draw- ing-knife or firing-iron, and apply a little tar or hoof ointment. If the crack is at the toe, a shoe with a band running across from the heels to a little below the coronet in front, and united 288 PRICKING. by two screws, will often be all that is required, and the horse may be kept at work; but in quarter-crack it is unsafe to use the animal, particularly if it extends through to the soft parts. If the frog is in a healthy condition, which is rarely the case, a bar shoe, eased at the quarter, will be found beneficial. SOLE BRUISE AND GRAVEL. Accidents frequently occur to the feet of horses from their striking them forcibly upon stones and other hard substances. Pressure of the shoe upon the sole is the occasional cause of bruises of that part of the foot; and tender heels more fre- quently arise from bruises than from any other cause. For treatment, if pus is secreted within the hoof—which may be discovered by the acute pain caused by a light tap of a hammer on that part of the hoof under which the matter is situated—the hoof must be cut throngh, that the matter may escape, as it will gradually work its way upward and make its appearance at the top of the hoof, thus rendering the treat- ment more difficult. After the matter escapes through tle Opening so made, throw in an injection of sulphate of zinc in solution, one drachm toa pint of water. For the treatment will be the same as recommended in quitter. Gravel some- times works into these wounds, which must always be removed, and the parts carefully washed. PRICKING. This is an accident of too frequent occurrence, and happens in various ways, as by treading upon sharp bodies, such as It occure more frequently, how- broken glass, nails, etc., ete. FALSE QUARTER. ; 289 ever, in shoeing, owing to the nail not being properly pointed, or, in some cases, from the iron not being good splits, one part turning inward and the other outward. These acci- dents are not always the fault of the smith, and he should not be unjustly censured for what he could not obviate. If such punctures are properly attended to, serious consequences rarely ensue. The practice of closing up the wound after removing the nail, glass, or other sharp substance cannot be too strongly condemned. It is doubtless in consequence of this senseless practice that so many horses are lost from lock-jaw, which does not generally make its appearance until the animal has apparently recovered from the wound ; though upon an exami- nation of the foot pus will often be found secreted within the hoof. When a horse picks up a nail, or is pricked by the smith, a poultice should at once be applied to the foot, and kept on for several days; a cathartic ball should also be given, that the bowels may be in good order; after the removal of the poul- tice, apply the tar ointment, and no further trouble may be anticipated. FALSE QUARTER. This is an imperfect formation of horn at the quarter, which is generally of a lighter color than the other part of the hoof, and is divided by a seam from the top to the bottom. It is the result of injury from quitter and other diseases, rendering the heels weak, and requires the protection of a bar shoe, which should never bear upon it, as it may occasion lameness. 1g 290 FOUNDEx. FOUNDER. Founder, or laminitis, is an inflammatory condition of the lamin of the feet, which are the most sensitive parts of these important appendages. Founder is said to be produced by various causes, such as hard driving, watering when warm, standing in a draught of air, or upon plank floors, and many others. The author, however, views it in a different light, attributing its existence principally to one general cause, namely, contrac- tion of the hoof, the causes before named being the immediate or exciting causes. This view is sustained by many facts. Founder does not occur in one case out of fifty in a healthy, open foot; nor are the hind feet often involved, as they are rarely in a contracted condition. The symptoms are a full, quick pulse, from sixty upwards; accelerated respiration ; the fore feet are hot and tender, the animal for relief throwing his body back upon the hind legs, extending the fore legs until he rests upon the heels, and sometimes lying down, particularly if the hind feet are involved; the animal also manifests much pain. If the animal is in full condition, two quarts of blood should be taken from each of the fore feet; an active purging ball should be given, followed by one-drachm doses of bella- donna made into pills every four hours ; poultices of flaxseed meal should be applied to the feet for several days; injections of soap and water, also ought not to be neglected. By this treatment the animal is usually well again in a week, or even less; but if the disease is neglected until it becomes chronic, the animal will ever after remain unsound, though he may be CORINITIS. 291 rendered useful. From the alteration or disorganization of structure that takes place, there can little be done in the chronic stage except careful shoeing, which the smith should understand. PUMICED FOOT. This is called by horsemen a falling of the sole. It is pre- ceded by founder, and is, in reality, one of the terminations of that disease, arising from the slow, continued inflammation of chronic founder, which causes absorption of the outer edge of the coffin bone, the latter thereby gradually losing its con- cave surface. and becoming convex. The sole, yielding to this gradual change, becomes flat, or, in some instances, con- vex. Very little can be done in such cases by way of treat- ment; yet by careful shoeing the animal may be rendered use- ful, although never sound. CORINITIS. . This is an inflammation of the coronary ligament, situated within the upper part of the hoof and between the hoof and the hair. This ligament secretes the horn forming the wall or crust of the hoof, and when diseased ceases to perform its function, or performs it very imperfectly; as a consequence, the coronet, or upper margin of the hoof, is contracted, which causes the soft parts to bulge out in such a manner that it has often been mistaken for ring-bone. This contraction often causes lameness. The most frequent causes are, standing upon plank floors, hard driving, and the neglect to apply softening applications to the hoof. For treatment, apply a flaxseed poultice for several days, and NAVICULARTHRITIS. 292 then a fly blister well rubbed in around the upper margin of the hoof; afterward use the hoof ointment once a day, until the coronet comes up full. NAVICULARTHRITIS. Coffin-joint lameness, as it is generally termed, is a dis- ease of very common occurrence, and often troublesome to manage. This joint is formed by the union of three bones: the os pedis, or coffin-bone, situated immediately within the hoof; the coronary, or small pastern bone, the lower half of which is situated within the upper part of the hoof, called the coronet, and uniting with the Os diel and the navicular, situated be- = tween and bi = = joint is protected THE FAMOUS TROTTING MARE, FLORA TEMPLE. ~ against injury from concussion by the fatty frog, the sensible frog, and the horny frog, situated beneath it, and forming a soft elastic cushion on which it may rest. So long as the foot remains in a healthy condition, there is little danger of the occurrence of this dis- ease. KHven though the foot be strained very considerably, and a high degree of inflammatory action be produced, this disease will hardly arise, unless the inflammation becomes chronic. The author regards its origin as mainly due to a contracted condition of the feet, which, in fact, is the predis- posing cause. OSSIFICATION OF THE LATERAL CARTILAGES. 293 Rarely, indeed, is navicular-joint lameness found existing in feet that have open heels and elastic frogs. If from any cause these frogs lose their moisture, they also lose their elasticity, and the foot therefore strikes the ground with a jar; inflamma- tion of a chronic character sets in; the syrovia (joint-oil) be- comes absorbed; and caries of the bones is established, which destroys their articular surfaces and causes excessive lameness. Occasionally, owing to some new injury, acute inflammation sets in, causing new depositions of bone to be thrown out, and uniting the three bones together ; which union is called anchy- losis. This condition may be known by stiffness, and the animal walking upon the toe. The symptoms of this disease have been confounded with those of another disease of the foot, which has been discovered by recent investigations. The horse is found to go lame upon coming out of the stable, which wears off after traveling some distance; one foot is observed in advance of the other when the animal is at rest; as the disease advances, the lameness becomes more frequent, until at last it is permanent. Various kinds of treatment have been resorted to, but with little success, such as blistering, firing, etc. Of late years, the frog seton has been introduced with very decided benefit. Should this, too, fail, there is no hope but in the operation of nerving, which should only be performed in certain cases mentioned under the head of neurotomy. OSSIFICATION OF THE LATERAL CARTILAGES. This is a transformation to bone of two projections of car- tilage, or gristle, springing from each side of the coffin bone posteriorly, and known as the lateral cartilages. This disease 294 SPRUNG OR BROKEN KNEES. was at one time called ring-bone, but the ring-bone of the present day is quite a different disease. It arises from con- cussion, and will rarely be found in any but contracted feet. The treatment in these cases is only palliative, as the dis- ease cannot be eradicated by any course of medical treatment. The first endeavor should be to expand the heels by applying poultices to the feet, together with the hoof ointment. WIND GALLS. Wind galls are puffy swellings about the joints, found above the fetlock on both the hind and fore legs. They are techni- cally known as bursal enlargements, that is, a distended con- dition of the burse or synovial sacs, which contain the synovia, or joint oil. The animal suffers no inconvenience, apparently, from their presence upon his limbs, they evidently’ causing no pain. It is seldom that any treatment is resorted to, except in the case of a very valuable animal. Blisters are commonly ap- plied, but they are not attended with any permanent. benefit. The application of cold water and compresses, secured by means of bandaging the legs, has proven the most efficacious. SPRUNG OR BROKEN KNEES. This trouble does not always result from an injury of the leg, or strain of the tendons; it is more often found in horses that have bad corns in the feet, or troubled with navicular disease, than in any others. The animal raising his heels ta prevent pressure upon the tender parts, bends the knee, which bending becomes finally, from the altered position of the limb, STRAINS OF THE KNEES. 295 a permanent deformity. Horses with sprung knees are unsafe for saddle purposes, owing to their consequent liability to stumble. Respecting the treatment, it may be said that six out of every ten sprung-kneed horses will be found to have corns. If these be of recent growth, there is a fair prospect of straightening the limbs by removing the corns as directed under the head of that disease; by the removal of these the heels are brought to the ground, and the limb becomes straight. Under any other circumstances all treatment proves useless. BREAKING DOWN. This accident occurs in running, jumping, racing, ete. It is sometimes called a strain of the back sinews, and lets the animal down upon the fetlock, in consequence of a rupture of the ligament of the pastern. Horses meeting with this acci- dent are of little value ever after, as they always remain weak in the fetlock. Unless the animal is quite young and valuable, the treatment would cost more than the animal’s value. The French treat these cases very successfully by the application of instruments which keep the limb in its proper position until, the parts have again healed and become strong. This is the only course to be pursued with any possible chance of a suc. cessful termination of the case. STRAINS OF THE KNEES. Strains of this joint occur in young horses while being broken into harness more often, probably, than at any other period of the animal’s life. This results from the tenderness 296 SHOULDER STRAIN. of the parts at that time, not one in twenty having them having arrived at maturity. These strains often prove troublesome to manage, and occasionally leave a stiff knee as the result. Treatment—Bleeding from the plantar, or plate vein; warm fomentations to the part; when the inflammation is reduced, apply once a day for several days the following ointment: iodine ointment, one ounce; blue, or mercurial ointment, half an ounce; mix well together. STRAIN OF THE HIP JOINT. This occurs in falling, slipping, getting up, etc. The symp- toms are a dragging motion of the limb; the lameness passing off after the animal gets warmed up, and returning upon his becoming again cool, the horse being then even more stiff and lame than before leaving the stable. For treatment, apply cold water; a purging ball and rest are all that are requisite to effect a cure. Careful usage for some time after will be very necessary. SHOULDER STRAIN, — This, which is of rare occurrence, arises from severe blows, or concussions ; slipping so as to throw the legs apart forcibly ; falling in the shafts of a heavily laden cart, ete. The symp- toms are usually well marked; the horse is quite lame, both when walking and trotting; the leg drags with the toe on the ground, having an outward or circular motion. Local bleeding is generally useful by way of treatment; three or four quarts may be taken from the plate vein, which runs down the inside of the leg. If, however, the animal is in a debilitated condition, bleeding should not be practised. SWEENIE. 297 Foment the shoulder well with hot water frequently ; a seton will often be found beneficial. After fomenting two or three days, use the following liniment : laudanum, one ounce ; spirits of camphor, one ounce; tincture of myrrh, one ounce ; castile soap, one ounce; alcohol, one pint. Or, sweet oil, one pint; spirits of hartshorn, three ounces ; shake well together. OPEN JOINTS. These are generaly the result of a punctured wound; the capsular ligament that surrounds the joint and confines the joint oil within its proper limits being thereby penetrated. These accidents are often attended with serious results, from the inflammation that is likely to arise from such an injury. For treatment, efforts should first be made to close the wound, that the escape of the oil which lubricates the joint may be prevented. If the wound is small, it may be closed by means of a hot iron; if large, shave off all the hair around the opening, apply a piece of linen cloth well saturated with collodion, and bandage the part. Care must be taken to have the skin around the wound perfectly dry, or the collodion will not adhere. Shoemaker’s wax, or common glue, applied in the same way, will frequently answer the purpose. The animal must be kept perfectly quiet, his bowels opened, and he be kept upon his feet for several days; if, however, the collo- dion adheres well, this is not of so much importance. SWEENTIE. This imaginary disease has been the occasion of the infliction of muck cruelty and unnecessary torture upon the horse. No 298 OSTITIS. respectable veterinary author recognizes any such disease. The symptoms which accompany its supposed existence are but sympathetic effects, or atrophy of the muscles of the shoulder. The attention of the horse-owner is directed to a wasting away or lessening of these muscles, which from want of action naturally become smaller or contracted; upon the animal’s regaining the natu ., ral use of the limb, the mus- cles are again developed, as | the muscles of the smith’s arm by the constant -use of the sledge ham- Ww ai) = the result of injury ») A, mer. Cases called sweenie are invariably in some remote parts, the foot, ete.— animal picks up as the knee, the foot’yZ7 A) \ y)) /Zclear from the ground, it® may be depend- ed upon that the injury is not in Pe Se Ee the shoulder; if however, the leg drags with the toe on the ground, the injury may be looked for in that locality. It is, however, more easy to decide a case of shoulder lameness than any other to which the limb is liable. OSTITIS. This is an inflammation of the bone, occasioning lameness of an obscure nature, and is one of the most difficult of al? cases of lameness to detect. Where it occurs in the cannon bone, it is often mistaken for a thickening of the integuments. Treatment — Cold bandages, lead water, rest, with daily half-drachm doses of iodide of potassa dissolved in a pail of CAPULET AND CAPPED HOCK. 299 water, will usually prove successful if the treatment be per- severingly adopted. CAPULET AND CAPPED HOCK. There are generally serous abscesses, produced by blows, bruises, strains, or injuries from any cause. Capulet is an en- largement at the point of the elbow, and is generally caused by lying on the heels of the shoe, which bruise the part. Capped hock is found at the point of the hock joint, and is usually caused by kicking against the sides of the stall. By way of treatment, first open the part; if it contains fluid, which will be known by the soft elastic feeling, throw in with a syringe an injection of the tincture of iodine diluted with alcohol ; a solution of the sulphate of zine may in incipient cases answer the purpose. If fluid is not formed, blisters will often succeed. In cases of capulet, have the heels of the shoes shortened, or bind the feet at night to prevent injury. CARIES OF THE BONES. This is, perhaps, the most common of all the diseases to which the horse is subject, and its frequency can only be ac- counted for, by the abuses to which he is subjected. It gene- rally arises from a low, inflammatory condition of the joints, these parts being principally affected ; an ulceration of the heads of the bones is established, generally in young horses, which is called, from the destruction which it occasions, caries, or decay. It will usually be found preceding spavin, ring-bone, stiff back, and other anchylosed conditions of the bones, and can best be illustrated under the heads of Spavin and Ring-bone. BONE SPAVIN. BONE SPAVIN. This is a disease of such common occurrence that almost all horsemen think they fully understand its nature, pathological condition, and treatment. It is generally regarded by veteri- nary authors as a very serious injury, destructive to the utility of the animal, and very frequently reducing his value essentially in consequence of the blemishes. Where, however, there are no outward blemishes, as is the case in four out of every five spavined horses, the price of the animal is not affected, unless he is lame, since the disease is not discovered. There are, at this day, thousands of spavined horses traveling our roads, in not one of whom would the most experienced horsemen the world ever produced be able to determine the fact so long as the animal lives. In all such cases no external enlargement is found, but, on the contrary, the limb is clean and smooth. In the absence of enlargement, or spavin-bunch, as it is sometimes ealled, on the inside of the hock-joint, horsemen are unwilling to believe that spavin exists. The books, indeed, teach us to look there, and there only, for it; but the author’s experience teaches him that the enlargement, where any exists, appears almost as often upon the front part of the hock as it does upon the inside. Spavin generally arises from a strain, jar, or blow upon the hock-joint, causing an inflammatory condition of. the cartilagi- nous cushions which cover the articular surfaces, or points of union, of each bone, or of the ligaments which surround the joints and bind the bones together; sometimes, indeed, both are involved. As this inflammatory condition is the exciting cause, spavin, or ulceration of the parts, speedily follows the BONE SPAVIN. 301 neglect to remove it. When the inflammation is acute, the synovial fluid, or joint-oil, is soon absorbed; the cartilages of the joint are turned to bone, and uniting, one with the other, _form one solid mass, destroying the elasticity as well as the mo- bility of the parts involved, and constituting what is called anchylosis of the hock-joint. This anchylosis, or union of bone, is not always general, there being in many cases but two, three, or four of the bones involved. When these changes are con- fined to the cartilage, external enlargement, or spavin-bunch, is never found. This the author calls spavin without any external indication. When, however, the ligaments surrounding the joint are con- verted into bony substance, external enlargement in all cases exists. When a low, inflammatory action is found going on within the joint, it is an evidence of ulceration, in which, in- stead of new bene being thrown out, as in the acute stage, the natural bone is gradually decaying or rotting away. Hence arises the difficulty often experienced in the treatment of this disease. As symptoms, the horse is very lame on leaving the stable, but when he is warmed up the lameness passes off; the leg is drawn up quickly with a kind of jerk; and there is a peculiar hard tread, which can only be distinguished by close observa- tion. Where the bones are all united together, whether there is external enlargement or not, there is a peculiar twist of the heel outwards, which is more readily observed in the walk, and which the author has always found an infallible symptom of complete anchylosis. Both spavin and ring-bone are incurable diseases. The lameness may be removed, but the disease, when once estab- 302 BONE SPAVIN. lished, cannot, because the elasticity, mobility, and function of the joint are all destroyed in proportion to the extent of the disease. The spavined animal, therefore, comes down with a hard, jarring tread. The removal of the lameness depends upon perfect union or solidifying of the diseased bones. In | the acute inflammatory cases, nature herself unaided works this change, and the animal re- covers from the a lameness with a stiff joint; but in “THE HIGH-BRED PACING MARE POCAHONTAS. the second, or ul- ! cerative stage, assistance is required. We, therefore, en- deavor to excite an active inflammation in the joint in order to overcome this ulcerative process, and induce new deposits of bone to be thrown out. Many modes have been adopted to secure the desired end, some of which are of a most barbarous character. Sharp instruments have been struck with con- siderable force into the joint, creating a tremendous fire, which soon checks the ulceration. This practice, although often successful, is unnecessarily severe, and cruel in the ex- treme. All kinds of caustic applications have been used, many of which have destroyed both the disease and the animal. Blistering the parts, the action being kept up for three or four weeks, often proves successful; firing is also practised; setons in the hock are frequently used with advantage. ‘The follow- ing ointment is recommended; bin-iodide of mercury, one drachm; lard, two ounces; mix well together. Shave off the * SPLINT. 393 hair, and rub the part once a day for six or eight days; then wash the parts well with proof spirits. If the desired effect is not produced, repeat it. RING-BONE. This is a disease of the same nature as spavin, its locality alone giving it a different name; the same alterations of struc- ' ture takes place; the same termination follows, and the same treatment is indicated. Contraction of the coronary ligaments is sometimes mistaken for ring-bone, and the poor beast is severely tortured in consequence. Contraction of this liga- ment produces a bulging of the soft parts around the coronet, causing the hair to turn downward and inward upon the hoof, giving it much the appearance of ring-bone. As in all such cases the heels are pressed close aud painfully together, there is great necessity of distinguishing between the two before — any application is made. SPLINT. This is an exostosis, or bony enlargement, arising from blows upon, or strains of, the splint bones, which are situated one on each side of the cannon bones and posterior to them. Splints are so common that few horses reach the age of eight years without having them, although they are not always visible to the eye at that period, having perhaps spread over a large surface of bone, or become flattened ; which circumstance has given rise to the opinion among horsemen that old horses are not affected with splints. This, however, is a mistake; since a splint once formed is never afterward removed during the life of the animal. The nature of a splint is very similar to 804 CURB. that of a spavin, but its course is somewhat different. When the injury is first received, the enlargement becomes quite prominent ; but, as time advances, it generally disappears from view, even without the aid of man, spreading itself between the cannon and splint bones, thus lessening its size externally, Splints are not regarded as unsoundness, unless they cause lameness, which rarely occurs, particularly if they are situated near the middle of the bone; but if they are situated either at the upper or lower portions, or heads, lameness is almost always the result. This is easily explained; the bone, it will be ob- served, curves from above downward and outward, so that the lower extremity sets off from the body of the cannon bone; the upper heads, where it unites with the bones of the knee and hock, slant or bevel inward, and as the weight of the animal is thrown upon them, the upper heads are forced out- ward, while the lower ones are thrown inward. By this simple arrangement a rocking motion of these bones takes place, so that at the centre there is very little mobility, and if the injury is above, it causes lameness in consequence of tension; if below, from pressure; but, if it is in the centre, it seldom causes lameness at all, though the injury is greater. When lameness occurs, the union of the bones should be hastened by increasing the inflammatory action; this is best done by active blistering, which soon removes the lameness. CURB. This is a swelling on the back part of the hock joint below the cap, generally arising from a strain, or breaking down of the hock. Some horses naturally have what are called curb- \ } BLOOD SPAVIN, ETC. 305 hocks, though they are not always attended with any serions disadvantages. There is a predisposition to weakness, which renders them suspicious. If the curb arises from recent injury, a little blood thay with advantage be taken from the sephena vein running up the inside of the thigh; cold water applications should be kept upon the parts ; cloths wet with tincture of arnica, half a pint to a gallon of water, are very useful; or, the following ointment will be found of service: dry iodine, one drachm; iodide of potassa, one drachm ; lard, one ounce; mix well together, and use once a day. STRING HALT. This disease has never been very satisfacturily accounted for by veterinary authors. It consists in a sudden, spasmodic raising of the hind limbs, though it is said to have occurred in the forelegs. The author has found, upon an examination after ° death of the hock-joint of several animals affected with this disease, that a little roughness from exostosis existed on the os calcis, or bone forming the cap of the hock, where the perforans tendon plays over ; in other cases the tendon has been found almost entirely surrounded with a bony case, which inter- fered very materially with its action. He is inclined, therefore, to regard these as the general causes of the disease. No treatment as yet practised has proved successful ; itech there are recorded isolated cases of spontaneous cure, BLOOD SPAVIN, BOG SPAVIN, AND THOROUGHPIN. These constitute one disease, occasioned by an over secretion ‘€ joint oil in the hock joint, which causes a distention of the 20 » 306 FRACTURES. | capsular ligament, or bursa, presenting soft puffy swellings about the joint. Blood and bog spavin appear on the front and inside of the joint; while thoroughpin extends through from one side of the joint to the other. These diseases are so common and so well marked as not to be easily mistaken. The causes are violent exercise, throwing the animal upon his haunches, run- ning, jumping, ete. As it seldom causes lameness, treatment is rarely needed; if requisite, blistering, bandaging with compresses, and rest are the most successful. FRACTURES. Experience has established the fallacy of destroying every horse that meets with a fractured limb. Fractures may occur in any bone of the body, and yet a perfect union of the parts may take place, provided the fracture is a simple one; com- pound fractures, even, are occasionally united. For treatment, the animal should first be placed in the most comfortable position, and the parts adjusted as nearly as pos- sible, retaining them by proper bandages, splints, ete. Should the fracture be in the small or lower part of the leg, sole leather, + softened in water and moulded to the limb, retaining it in place by bandages, forms a very good splint. Fractures of the skull sometimes require the operation of trephining, (explained under the head of SureicaL CAszs,) in order to replace the parts perfectly; after which the bowels should be opened, and the animal kept on moderate diet. Fractures of the pelvis, or haunch bones, will, in nine cases out of ten, become united by proper management, no matter how bad the crushing, and the animal may again be rendered DISEASES OF THE HEART. 307 a serviceable. The author never hesitates to treat fractures of these bones in horses that are of sufficient value to warrant it. Indeed, union of the parts in such fractures will often take place, even if the animal be turned into a field without any treatment; though, perhaps, more deformity will be left than if proper care had been exercised. The horse, if active and high-strung, should be kept upon his feet by tying up the head short for several days, and then the slings may be placed under him ; if this is done at first, the animal being full of fire throws himself off his feet, and all efforts to remedy the fracture will prove a failure. From six to eight weeks, according to the age of the animal, are necessary to complete the union of the parts. Some practical knowledge is requisite, in order to discrimi- nate cases of fracture of the limbs that are likely to be success- fully treated ; but fractures of the haunch bones rarely fail to unite, with proper management. The animal should be kept on bran mashes, gruel, and green food during the treatment. tir oe 2 DISEASES OF THE HEART. Diseases of the heart are less understood by the members of ‘the veterinary profession generally than any other class of dis- eases (with, perhaps, one or two exceptions,) to which horses are-subject. This want of information in this country, is attri- butable to the comparative infancy of veterinary science, the obscurity of the symptoms by which these diseases are charac- terized, the consequent confounding of them with other diseases, 308 PERICARDITIS. and to the comparative silence of veterinary authors upon this important subject. Diseases of the heart in this animal are not suspected by the farrier, (shoeing-smith) or horseman ; yet they are by no means of unfrequent occurrence. During the session of the Veterinary College of Philadelphia for 1859-60, the author had then op- portunities of presenting to the class well-marked cases of disease of this organ, as also one very interesting case of rupture of the heart, or rather of the aorta, or great artery leading from the heart, at the point where it leaves that important organ. The latter case was that of a bay mare which had been used in an oyster cart; she ate her feed at night as usual, in apparent good health, and was found dead in her stall the next morning. PHRICARDITIS. This disease, as its name implies, is an inflammation of the pericardium, the bag or sac which surrounds the heart, and known to butchers as the heart-bag. After death arising from pleuritic affections effusions are quite commonly found within this sac, which are attributed to the sympathy existing between the pericardium and the pleura. The fluid is sometimes of a bright yellow color, while at others it is of a turbid character with considerable lymph floating in it, which collects in a mass forming a thick layer upon the internal surface of the sac, causing considerable thickening of its walls, and extending over the heart in like manner ; adhesions between the two sometimes take place. Percival mentions an’ instance in which this col- lection was converted into a substance of the nature of gristle of considerable thickness. This disease rarely exists alone, but is of a secondary character, PERICARDITIS. 309 . The attendant symptoms are palpitation of the heart, quick- ened respiration, sometimes accompanied with a dry cough, with a pulse quick, rising to sixty or seventy a minute, full, hard, and strong. “Mr. Pritchard, V. S., Wolverton,” says Mr. Percival, ‘‘ with laudable zeal for the promotion of our art, so long ago as the year 1833, furnished the veterinarian with some practical communications on this subject, which we shall find it advantageous to revive upon the present occasion. His observations relate. particularly to the type termed Hydrops Pericardit, which implies the stage of pericarditis when effu- === ——_ sion is likely, or has taken place, —- = = and the membranous sac is sup- — =2=— posed to contain watery =} fluid, and probably lymph as well. The symptoms of this af- =fection, apart from pleurisy and pneu- THE END fs PERICARDITIS. monia, Mr. Prit- chard informs us, are well-marked. They are palpitation of the heart, the carotid arteries (passing up the neck) beating forcibly and being readily recognized in applying the finger to their course in the neck. There is a good flow of blood through the jugulars ; a copious return of blood through the neck, when the state of the pulse is considered; the surface of the body and the extremities are warm; and these latter symptoms con- tinue within one or two hours of the horse’s death. * * * In addition to the above symptoms, there is such an expression of alarm and anxiety in the countenance the, animal as no other malady produces.” 310 ENDOCARDITIS. There is no treatment as yet known by which this disease can be reached. CARDITIS. This is an inflammation of the muscular structure of the heart comparatively rare, or at least supposed to he so. In this affection the animal will be found lame, generally in the off fore-leg, but upon examination no cause will be found sufficient to account for it. This lameness may appear and disappear several times previous to the attack’s manifesting itself in a more positive form, leaving the impression that the lameness was rheumatic. We next find the animal refusing his feed; his heart palpitates violently ; he occasionally gasps, and gnashes his teeth; pulse full, hard, and quick; there is a wild expression of the eyes; respiration quickened ; mouth hot and dry; and the temperature of the legs varies from moderate to cold. For treatment cold water should be frequently given; take one drachm of white hellebore, and divide it into five powders ; give one of these on the tongue every three or four hours. Bleeding has been recommended ; but the author has not wit- nessed any advantages from it, and therefore would on no ac- count advise it. ENDOCARDITIS. This disease, ealled also palpitation of the heart, or, more commonly, thumps, is an inflammation of the lining membrane of the heart, and is generally associated with pericarditis ; the inflammation readily extending itself from one part to the other in consequence of their proximity. The symptoms are a violent palpitation of the heart, which OSTEO-SARCOMA. 811 can often be observed at the distance of several yards from the animal; pulse full and hard, but not quickened. Although this disease is regarded as incurable, we can still palliate the symptoms so as to allow of the animal’s return to work the next day. For treatment, give one of the following powders every three hours ; of nitrate of potassa one ounce; pulverized digitalis two drachms ; mix, and divide into five powders. Subsequent attacks may be warded off by keeping the bowels regular. DISEASES OF THE HEAD. OSTEO-SARCOMA. This disease, called commonly Big Head, is not mentioned by veterinary authors in Europe, and so far as the author can learn, seems to be peculiar to the Western and Southern States. It appears, from the rather unsatisfactory accounts at the author’s command, to originate in the osseous, or bony, struc- ture of the face. The bones become much swollen, and are represented as presenting a soft, spongy, or cellular appearance, the cells being filled with a substance like jelly. This appear- ance, however, does not correspond externally with several specimens in the author’s possession, in which the external sur- face of the bones appears to be perfect, but very thin, and very much enlarged. The symptoms are a swelling of the bones of the face from the eye to the nose; puffy swelling about the limbs; stiffness 312 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. about the joints; pulse slightly accelerated, and soft; coat rough and staring, with considerable debility. The treatment usually practised has been to make an incision through the skin and insert a small quantity of arsenic into the wound; or else to score the face with a red-hot iron ; which latter mode is said to have effected a perfect cure in many cases. Neither of these operations, however, strikes us as being very sci- entific. The author’s friend, G. W. Bowler, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has had some experience in the treatment of this disease, and has been very successful. The course pursued by him is to rub the swollen parts well once a day with the following ointment: of mercurial ointment one ounce, and of iodine ointment two ounces ; mix well together for use. Give internally at the same time one of the following powders night and morning : calomel one ounce; iodide of potassa two ounces; pulverized gentian root one and a half ounces; to be made into twenty powders. The animal must be kept in a dry, well ventilated stable, and the body kept warm so long as this medicine is given. INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. This disease, known also as phrenitis, or, more generally, mad staggers, arises from various causes, such as blows, over- feeding and little exercise, too tight a collar, ete., etc., A heaviness of the head is first noticed; an unwilling- ness to move about; the lining membrane of the eyelids much reddened ; appetite indifferent or lost; a peculiar dullness of the eyes; and finally, delirium or madness. The animal be. comes unmanageable ; beslavers all that comes within his reach, whether man, horse, or anything else; and plunges violently about the stall, or wherever he may chance to be. MEGRIMS. 313 As this disease is occasioned by a determination of blood to the head, it is necessary to use the lancet; this should be done freely, and that too before the delirious stage comes on, other- wise it cannot be done properly or beneficially. Cloths wet in cold water should be applied to the head; or, what is better, bags of broken ice. Open the bowels with the following, made . into a ball: Barbadoes aloes one ounce; pulverized ginger one drachm ; pulverized gentian root two drachms; mix with mo- lasses sufficient to form the ball. Give also injections of castile soap and water. Give no food for twenty-four hours; but small quantities of water may be frequently given. After the recovery of the animal he should be fed very sparingly, and not exposed to the hot noonday sun. If the occasion of the attack be a tight collar, the remedy is simple and easy; if from over-feeding, the quantity of food should be lessened; but little is to be expected by way of treatment. MEGRIMS. This is a sudden determination of blood to the head, generally attacking horses while at work, or in harness upon the road. Those of a plethoric character are most subject to these attacks. The horse suddenly stops in the road, shakes his head, and sometimes goes on again; at other times he falls in a state of unconsciousness, the whole system appears convulsed, with the eyes wild in appearance and constantly rolling. Bleeding upon the appearance of the first symptoms gives almost immediate relief; after which the bowels must beopened, , for which purpose give one and a half pints of linseed oil, or the aloes ball will answer; bran mashes should be given for a 314 EPILEPSY. few days. These attacks may be prevented in the case of horses subject to them by moderate feeding and driving, and in warm weather by keeping the forehead shaded by a canvas or cloth hood elevated on a wire framework about two inches from the forehead so as to protect the brain, and admit a free passage of air between the two. The author believes that he was the first to introduce this hood, which can be attached to the bridle, and made as ornamental as may be desired. The use of hoods of this kind in very hot weather would prevent the frequent falling of horses in our streets from over-heating ; as the heat of the sun principally affects the brain in all these cases. VERTIGO. This disease generally arises from water in the cranial case, causing pressure upon the brain. The animal is generally attacked in harness, as in the preceding disease ; this arises from the fact that the exercise causes the vessels of the brain to be- come more active, fuller, and more distended with blood, and consequently there is greater pressure upon this sensitive organ. The symptoms are similar to those of megrims, with, perhaps, the addition of rearing, dropping suddenly as though struck with death, and rising in a few moments as if nothing had hap- pened, ete. The treatment mainly consists in keeping the bowels in good order; working moderately ; giving no corn, and but little hay. EPILEPSY. This disease takes its name from the suddenness of its attack. The animal is apparently in a perfect state of health, when sud- denly he falls to the ground, generally (as in the two preceding STOMACH STAGGERS. 315 cases), while in harness, without any manifest cause. He re- mains in this condition for a short time, and then appears as well as ever; although occasionally a considerable degree of stupor is manifested for some time after. It may be occasioned by blows, wounds, and other injuries about the head; water in the brain; tumors; violent derange- ment of the nervous system ; worms; constipation of the bowels ; plethora, ete. The same course.of treatment should be pursued as in vertigo ; these diseases in their symptoms, causes, etc., being so intimately connected as scarcely to be distinguishable from each other. STOMACH STAGGERS. This disease arises principally from over-feeding. The animal appears dull and sleepy, with a disposition to pitch forward ; stands with his head resting against a wall, manger, or the like, or, if at pasture, against a tree ; if he is led out of the stable, this will be observed as an involuntary action, in consequence of which the head is often much cut and bruised by coming in contact with hard or rough substances; there is constipation of the bowels ; pulse scarcely changed from the usual standard ; as. the attack is severe, the breathing becomes more and more labored. Blaine regards these symptoms as the first stage of mad stag- gers; but this the author deems a mistake, as animals that aie from this disease, having presented the above symptoms, scarcely have any very marked change in the cerebral region, or the brain. From the mode of treatment recommended by European authors of high repute, the author infers that the attacks are 316 STOMACH STAGGERS, less severe in this country than in Europe, or else that the severe treatment there practised is more injurious than the disease itself. The whole cause of the disease being apparently in the distended condition of = the stomach from the presence _jof undigested food, all food should be removed from the manger, and none given for forty-eight hours. Give in- ternally the following ball: — Barbadoes aloes one ounce; 17) A ee pulverized ginger two | drachms ; croton oil six drops; ‘i NW) AN ee mix with molasses, and give = in the usual manner. Injec- HAYING SCENE. tions of soap and water should be given, until the bowels are opened; or, what is far preferable when convenient, tobacco-smoke injections. Two drachms of the extract of belladonna dissolved in a pail of water, given ta . drink once a day for a week, will prove beneficial. Bleeding in these cases is, as a general rule, unnecessary and uncalled for. Food should now be given very sparingly ; and no corn should be given at any time to the animal after such an attack, in consequence of its tendency to heat the blood, and produce a plethoric condition of the system. AMAUROSIS. DISEASES OF THE EYE. AMAUROSIS. In this disease, called also Gutta Serena, or, more generally* Glass Eye, we find the eyes bright and clear, with a peculiar glassy appearance about them not observed in an eye where vision is perfect ; although no alteration in the structure of the eye has taken place, yet the horse is partially or totally blind. A mere examination of such eyes would not enable us to pro- nounce upon the blindness of the animal; but if he be taken from a dark stable to a strong light, it will readily be detected, as the light causes no change to take place in the pupil. This disease is regarded as paralysis of the optic nerve; in some cases yielding readily to medical treatment, and in others proving incurable. Horses are often sold with this disease upon them as perfectly sound, and the first intimation which the purchaser receives of his horse’s being blind is his running against a wall-fence, post, or any thing that may chance to be in his way. It sometimes makes its appearance very suddenly; occasionally it exists in a temporary form as a sympathetic affection, as in apoplexy; it also at times occurs during the period of gestation, etc. Constitutional treatment only is likely to succeed in these cases. A physic ball should be given to open the bowels, composed of Barbadoes aloes six drachms; pulverized ginger one drachm ; pulverized gentian root two drachms ; mix with molasses. After the ball has operated (which should be in twenty-four hours, if ’ the aloes are good), give morning and evening half a drachm 318 MEMBRANA NICTITANS. of nux vomica mixed in the feed. The author has never wit- nessed any beneficial results from bleeding, although it is re- commended by some writers. INFLAMMATION OF THE MEMBRANA NICTITANS, This affection is commonly called the haw, or hooks. The membrane affected is somewhat triangular in form, concave on the inner side, and convex externally. It is mainly composed of cartilage, or gristle, and is situated between the eye ball and the side of the orbit, at the inner corner of the eye. In a per- fectly healthy condition but a very small portion of this mem- brane is visible; but when in a state of inflammation it bulges out very considerably. A portion of the membrane covering it becoming, as it were, folded upon itself presents a hook- like appearance, which has been regarded by farriers as a foreign substance, to which the name of “hooks” has been given, and its removal with the knife recommended by them. It so happens, however, that this membrane is placed in the eye, or attached thereto, to serve a useful purpose: that of cleansing the eye from dirt, or any foreign substance that may chance to get into it, which is accomplished by throwing it over the ball of the eye, and removing any obstruction. In- jury must result from cutting away any portion of this mem- brane, as its function is in part destroyed; since the animal can no longer throw it over the ball of the eye with the same facility as before the operation was performed. In point of fact, wherever the hooks, as they are called, are cut out, it will be observed that whenever any foreign substance gets into the eye, the animal makes a spasmodic effort to throw this mem- SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA. 319 brane over the eye ball, often failing to accomplish it; and thus the eye is rendered more liable to injury ever after. Whenever this membrane becomes tumefied, instead of cut- ting it out, open the bowels, and apply cold water to the eye several times a day. If much inflammation exists, bleed from the small vein just below the eye, the course of which vein in all thin-skinned animals is quite distinctly marked. SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA. This disease arises sometimes from a blow inflicted by a pas- sionate groom, or from some other external injury, or from a ~ foreign body entering the eye, causing such an irritation in that delicate organ as sometimes to terminate in blindness. The symptoms are considerable swelling and inflammation of the eye lids, their under surfaces being very much reddened, and the vessels highly injected with blood; there is also a cloudy appearance over the cornea, or transparent part of the eye. For treatment, if the animal is in a plethoric condition, take six or eight quarts of blood from the jugular vein, regulating the quantity by the action on the pulse; otherwise general bleeding should not be undertaken. The bowels should be freely opened with Barbadoes aloes, six drachms; pulverized ginger root, one drachm; and pulverized gentian root, one drachm, made into.a ball. Bathe the eye freely with cold water; after which apply with a syringe either of the following washes: laudanum, six drachms; rain, or distilled water, one pint; mix the two, and shake well before using :—or, take half an ounce of the extract of belladonna dissolved in one 320 SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA,. pint of rain water. Give internally one drachm of powdered colchicum morning and evening, in a bran mash; no grain should be given during the treatment ; corn should be especially avoided. SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA. Inflammation of the eye, or specific ophthalmia, is known to horsemen as moon-blindness, from the influence which the moon is supposed to exert uponit. This, however, is one of the many popular delusions which fill the pages of many use- less works on farriery. When a horse is once attacked with this disease, he is ever after liable to subsequent attacks, at intervals varying from one to six months, and generally ter- minating ,in blindness. This termination may, however, be warded off for a long time by proper management; each sub- sequent attack rendering such a termination more and more certain, from the increased alteration in the structures. of the eye. : The horse may appear perfectly well, and the eyes clear and bright one day, and the next morning usually one eye will be found closed, more particularly if it is exposed to a strong light; little or no swelling will be observed; the lining mem- brane of the eye lid is quite red, and the eye exceedingly watery and tender. The causes of this disease are mainly attributable to heredi- tary predisposition, or to confinement in dark stables, and sudden exposure to strong light. Badly ventilated stables, in consequence of which the eyes are continually exposed to the strong fumes of ammonia arising from the urine, as also hard work in a small collar, are supposed to be exciting causes. CATARACT, 82] These cases require prompt attention, in order to ward off the serious consequences which otherwise are in store for the un- fortunate animal. The bowels should first be opened with the purging ball recommended in simple ophthalmia. Give bran mashes only, and when the bowels are opened, give one of the. following powders night and morning on the tongue :— pulverized colchicum, one and a half ounces; saltpetre, two ounces; divide into twelve powders. These will last one week, and by that time the eye will usually become clear and bright. Use as an injection for the eye, tincture of opium, one ounce; rain, or distilled water, one pint :—or, if more con- venient, mix half an ounce of the extract of belladonna in -one pint of water, and use in the same manner. If the animal is in a plethoric condition, bleeding will be found advan- tageous; the quantity to be regulated by the condition of the pulse. Place the animal in a cool, well-ventilated location, free from any ammoniacal gases. CATARACT. This disease, which is one of the terminations of specific ophthalmia, is an opacity of the crystalline lens, situated directly behind the pupil, through which it is visible. The first indications of cataract noticed are one or more white spots making their appearance within the eye, gradually en- larging, and at last blending with each other until the animal becomes totally blind. Not much can be done in such cases by way of treatment. Its removal by the operation practised upon the human eye, and known as “ couching,” is hardly ad- visable, as the horse is forever after unsafe, being very apt to 21 .~ «waa. 322 POLL EVIL. shy at almost every object which he encounters, in consequence of his sight being but partially restored by the operation. WALL EYE. This peculiar appearance of the iris in some horses is not the result of disease, but is occasioned by the absence of what is called the pigment, which gives color to theeye. This pigment is secreted upon the inside of the iris, and where it does not exist, the iris, ore that part of the eye which surrounds the pupil (so called from its brilliancy) remains white. Percival says: “It isa remarkable fact that this variety of hue in the iris corresponds with the color of the hair; bay and chestnut horses have hazel eyes; brown horses have brownish eyes; and very dark brown or black horses, eyes of a still darker, dusky brown shade. ‘This curious relation is still more observable in human beings; the diversity of colors and hues in their irides being infinitely greater than any thing we behold among any one species of animals. Cream-colored and milk-white horses have wall eyes, and albinos have red eyes; in both which instances the iris is said to be destitute of any coloring matter whatever.” MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES. POLL EVIL. This disease arises from blows inflicted upon the poll, or back part of the head, of animals whose blood is impure, or in @ morbid condition. Horses going in or out of stables with POLL EVIn. 823 low doorways frequentiy strike their polls; pufling back upon the halter, and> blows iaflicted by passionate grooms, are among the exciting causes of this much dreaded complaint. The same injuries inflicted upon an animal in perfect health seldom cause any essential trouble; but when the blood is in a morbid condition, fistulous abscesses are formed, which are seldom curable by merely local treatment, even when the dis- ease is treated in its earliest stages. The author has no faith in the seton, so highly reeommended in such cases, but depends principally upon constitutional treatment, which consists in first changing the condition of the blood from an unhealthy standard to a healthy one. This may be done by the proper use of alterative medicines, given in either of the following forms: Socotrine aloes pulverized, four ounces; soft soap, four ounces; linseed meal, one and a half pounds; mix with molasses so as to form a mass; dose, one ounce twice a day:—or, Socotrine aloes, eight ounces; soft soap, eight ounces ; linseed meal, one and a half pounds; mix and dose as before :—or, the following powder may be used: sublimed sulphur, two j: pounds ; sesqui-sulphure | ' of antimony in powder, one pound : dose, a table- spoonful twice a day in'jf the feed. The sesqui- sulphuret of antimon should never be pur- = : THE RUNNING STALLION AMERICAN ECLIFPS2. chased in a powdered form, as it is cften adulterated with lead, arsenic, magnesia or iron; but should always be procured in conical masses. 824 MELANOTIC TUMORS. If the abscess is soft and pointing, it should be ovened, and a solution of zinc, two drachms to a quart of water, iniected into the opening once or twice a day. A saturated solution of corrosive sublimate is sometimes used advantageously ; though the zinc is much safer in the hands of inexperienced persons. The nux vomica, in half-drachm doses, is also used as an internal remedy with good effect. FISTULA OF THE WITHERS, This is precisely the same as poll evil, its location alone giving it a different name, and requires the same course of treatment. Its location is upon the raised part along the back, and over the shoulders, known as the withers, and it is caused by bruises from the forepart of the saddle, and other causes. MELANOTIC TUMORS. Swellings are generally termed tumors; but tumors proper are swellings in any part of the animal not attended by in- flammation, comprehending bony, fatty, fibrous, melanotic, etc. For their removal an operation is generally requisite, which should be left to the veterinary surgeon. Melanotic, or black tumors are, however, peculiar to gray horses, and operations upon this class would be of little use, as the entire system is usually filled with them; where one is seen, many more may be suspected. The author presented to the Boston Veterinary Institute, some years ago, a large cluster, fifty or sixty in number, taken from the abdominal cavity of a gray horse, ali united together by membranous atiachments; and GLANDERS. there could riot have been less than ten thousand of these tumors in the animal from which this specimen was taken. They will frequently be found about the tail of gray horses, not being found in horses of any other color. GLANDERS. This fatal and much dreaded disease has baffled the efforts of veterinary surgeons in all ages of the world, and still continues so to do. 1t is decidedly contagious; yet as dif-. ferent diseases are often confounded with it, which may be detected by the competent practitioner, no animal should be condemned until the symptoms peculiar to glanders, which cannot well be mistaken if the disease is fully developed, have manifested themselves. ‘The suspected animal should be re- moved and kept from all possible contact with any others, The author has deposited in the museum of the Veterinary College of Philadelphia the heads of a number of horses that were killed as glandered animals, and yet not one of them was so; the suspicious symptoms in each case arising from carious teeth. Animals afflicted with ozena have also fre- quently been killed as glandered; and in one case which re- cently came under the author’s notice, where the animal was killed as glandered, the cause of all the difficulty was the filling up of the frontal sinuses by bony deposits. It is necessary for the attendant to use the utmost caution when about a glandered horse, as the disease is freely com- municated from the animal to man by inoculation. Of some sixty-seven cases reported in the Veterinarian of London as occurring in man, but three recovered, notwithstanding the 326 GLANDERS. atmost exertions of the ablest physicians that could be pro cured. The most common cause of this disease is the impure air of close, ill-ventilated, and filthy stables, which acts injuriously upon the organs of respiration, destroys the constitution, de- bilitates the system, and renders it susceptible to the attacks . of disease. Neglected catarrh, also, sometimes terminates in glanders; hard work and bad provender, together with sudden changes from exposure to cold and wet weather to hot stables, are likewise reckoned among the causes. The symptoms are, discharges from one or both nostrils, of a glossy, thick, gluey nature, frequently sticking about the nostrils in considerable masses. This is a peculiarity which other discharges do not possess. ‘This discharge is not always copious, as is generally supposed. The Schneiderian membrane of the nose changes to a dusky, or dirty yellow, or leaden hue; ulcers appear upon the membrane; a peculiar raising of the nasal bones will be observed, which the author has never noticed in any other disease; the discharge is sometimes mixed with blood, and is often fetid; and one or both of the submaxillary glands are swollen and adhere to the jaw bone. Too much reliance, however, should not be placed upon this swelling, as it frequently accompanies other diseases; but the character of the discharge, and the raising of the nasal bones are peculiarities not easily mistaken when the disease is de. veloped. As all the other symptoms will be found accom- panyine other diseases, too much care cannot be exercised in deciding upon a case of this disease previous to a full develop- ment of the symptoms. All treatment thus far has proven a failure. FARCY, This is regarded by the author as an incipient stage of’ glanders, or as a type of the same disease, and with proper management is curable. Experiments prove that the virus from a farcied horse will produce glanders by inoculation in a sound one, and that the glandered matter will in like manner produce farecy. There are two distinct varieties or stages of farcy : one, which is called bution farcy, is altogether super- ficial, being confined to the lymphatic vessels of the skin, and readily yields to medical treatment; the other variety makes its appearance in the extremities, generally upon the inside of the hind legs, which become completely engorged but the swelling is very different from the ligamentary thickening, or from cedema, being very uneven or lumpy, excessively tender, and painful to the touch. Small abscesses are formed, which at first discharge a healthy pus, but soon ulcerate, and discharge a thin, sanious matter. These abscesses, or tumors, first make their appearance on the inside of the hind legs, and then on the fore ones in like manner; the neck and lips come next in turn, and they may afterward appear in all parts of the body, when glanders will begin to manifest itself. By way of treatment, good wholesome food is all important. Sulphate of copper in two-drachm doses, combined with one or two drachms of pulverized gentian root, will often prove successful; corrosive sublimate, also, in ten or fifteen grain doses, night and morning, has often been advantageously used; the doses may be increased to a scruple, or even half a drachm, if the animal bears the medicine well. If the animal is much debilitated, give calomel in half-drachm doses instead 328 SCARLET FEVER. of the sublimate, or the sulphuret of mercury may be sub- stituted. The use of arsenic has also been attended with good success, but the author has been more fortunate with the muriate of baryta in half-drachm doses, than with any other preparation in use. All the tumors should be opened, and caustic carefully applied to each; sulphate of copper, nitrate of silver, the per-manganate of potash, or the red-hot iron, are the best applications. The following ointment should be rubbed along the corded vessels once a day: blue ointment, two ounces; hydriodate of potash, two drachms; lard, two ounces ; mix well. Or, the red oxide of mercury, two drachms to the ounce of lard is very good. SCARLET FEVER. This disease, otherwise called scarlatina, has too frequently been confounded with farcy, notwithstanding the two diseases present very different symptoms. It is easily managed, yield-— ing readily to medical treatment. For several days previous to any very noticeable symptoms being manifest, the animal is off his feed, dull and mopy, with mouth hot and dry; slight or copious discharges from the nose, mixed with blood; the Schneiderian membrane highly colored, and presenting numerous scarlet blotches, irregular in form, and containing a thin, reddish fluid; these blotches sometimes present a pustular appearance, but upon passing the finger over them, nothing of that character can be dis- covered ; the whole body is covered with similar spots, which sometimes require close examination to discover them; in other cases, little pustules are formed, which break, and dis- MANGE. 329 charge a thin sanious fluid of a reddish color and gluey nature; swellings of the legs, sheath, and belly, are usually attending symptoms; the respiration is quick; the pulse is full and accelerated, and there is a disinclination to move. For treatment, the extract of belladonna alone appears to be a specific in this disease. It should be given in doses of from one half to two drachms, dissolved in a pail of water, and given to the animal to drink. No hay should be placed be- fore him; soft mashes only should be allowed, until he is convalescent. This treatment, so simple yet so effective, has been pursued by the author’s friend, Dr. Bowler, of Cincinnati, and himself, for the last ten years, with uniform success, not a single case having been lost. It is true that the disease is not of very common occurrence; yet during that period the author has had over thirty cases. MANGE, Diseases of the skin are less numerous in the horse than perhaps, most other animals; a circumstance doubtless arising from the great care taken of our better class of horses to keep the skin clean, thereby promoting its healthy action. Mange is identical with the itch in the human body, and is an infec- tious disease, the intolerable itching being caused by minute insects, called acarz. They are first observed with the aid of a powerful microscope along the mane and the root of the tail, causing a scurfy appearance of the skin. This appearance rapidly extends to the neck and body; spots denuded of hair will appear, which gradually run into continuous scabby patches. As the disease advances, it thickens and puckers 330 MANGE. the skin, particularly of the neck, withers and loins. This dis- ease is easily cured if properly managed. The natural history of these insects is not well known. They live only upon, or beneath, the skin of animals. There appears to be a distinct variety, peculiar to each species of animals. They live for a considerable time after being re- moved from the skin, but for how long a period is not pre- ' cisely known. According to experiments made it appears that they can live in pure water for three hours; in strong vinegar, alcohol, and in a solution of kali carbonicum, twenty minutes ; in a solution of sulphuric acid, twelve minutes; in turpentine, nine minutes; and in a so- Sees eee lution of arsenic, four min- utes. When they are not exposed to such violent and de- structive immersions, it has been said that they will retain life for six or eight days. From a comparison of the acari of mangy animals, it is supposed that the variety peculiar to the horse can live for a much longer period. Mangy horses have been removed from their stalls, washed with various pre- parations, put into another stable, and completely freed from the effects of the disease ; but upon returning to their former stalls, or using unwashed their accustomed harness, the disease soon showed symptoms of its return. This fact accounts for the trouble experienced in curing this disease. The insect is SURFEIT. 331 rubbed off upon the sides of the stall, or clings to the harness, again to come in contact with the animal. For treatment, the animal should be stripped of all harness, well washed with acetic acid, and turned into a loose box stall away from that in which he has been standing. If this course is adopted, one or two washings will generally suffice. The harness also should be well washed, and not used for two or three months; nor should the horse be replaced in his former stall for a less period, and not even then until it has been thoroughly cleaned and white washed. A wash of white hellebore and water has been much and beneficially used for . this disease; and in inveterate cases corrosive sublimate in solution is recommended, though there is some danger of its absorption ; if this should occur, the animal would quite likely be destroyed. A mixture of sulphur, oil, and turpentine is highly recommended; but the author has never witnessed the superior qualities of any of these preparations over the acetic acid. SURFHEIT. This disease appears all over the body in the form of pus- tules, which seem scaly, and then appear to get entirely well, while fresh ones make their appearance, and follow in the same course. The hair is rough, staring, and unhealthy in appearance; the legs sometimes become much swollen, and there is general debility. This disease is supposed to arise from bad grooming, bad management, and unwholesome food, together with a general plethoric state of the system. For treatment, bleed the animal if plethoric, taking from 332 STRAINS OF THE LOINS. the neck vein from four to six quarts; in the absence of plethora, the lancet must not be used. Give a strong purging ball, followed by one of these powders twice a day: saltpetre, one and a half ounces; flower of sulphur, two ounces; black antimony, one ounce ; mix and divide into eight powders. HIDE BOUND. This is a condition of the skin, caused by some morbid action in the system. Derangement of the digestive organs will in- duce it. The animal must be treated for the disease under which it is laboring. STRAINS OF THE LOINS. Strains are of very frequent occurrence in the horse, in con- sequence, doubtless, of the great amount of labor demanded of him, which often taxes his powers to the utmost. These strains frequently give rise to serious trouble, rendering the animal unfit for work. and often establishing an incurable lameness. Strains of the loins occur most frequently in draft horses, par- ticularly in those used in the shafts of drays or carts. Such animals on going down hill heavily loaded are very apt to be- come injured; at times the injury is so great that the spinal marrow becomes affected, causing paralysis of the hind extre- mities, and rendering the animal comparatively useless ever after. When the injury is very severe, bleeding should be re- sorted to, if the animal can bear it. The following liniment will be found an excellent application for strains of all kinds: laudanum, gum camphor, spirits of turpentine, tincture of myrrh, castile soap, oil origanum, nitrous ether. of each one ounce; LOCKED JAW. 3833 alcohol, one quart; mix all together, and shake well before using ; apply two or three times as occasion may require. ma f PALSY. This is a loss of power in the nervous system. General palsy is never found in the horse, it being always partial or limited in extent, and described under two heads, paraplegia and hemi- plegia. The first is a paralysis of the hind extrenrities, which is of very frequent occurrence; it sometimes occurs as a sym- pathetic affection, in which cases it disappears with the other symptoms of the disease. The second form is a palsy of one side of the body only, and is of very rare occurrence. When paralysis arises from strains whereby the spinal cord is injured, it causes the most acute suffering, and the animal usually dies in a few days. When the pressure upon the spinal cord is not great, the animal is sometimes rendered useful for ordinary purposes, but very rarely becomes sound. For treatment, first open the bowels if they are the least cos- tive, and give internally one of the following powders night and morning ; nux vomica, one ounce; pulverized gentian root, two ounces ; Jamaica ginger, one ounce ; mix, and divide into twelve powders. Apply warm sheep-skins to the loins, succeeded by the following application: linseed oil, one pint; spirits of harts- horn, four ounces; shake well before using. Perfect rest and moderate diet are necessary. LOCKED JAW. This distressing malady, otherwise known as tetanus or tris- mus, is one generally arising from neglected wounds, such as 334 LOCKED JAW. are occasioned by a horse’s picking up a nail; in which case the wound, instead of being kept open by the owner, or his attendant, is suffered to close up, in consequence of which, if there is the slightest disposition to ulceration, matter is formed under the horn or hoof, which develops the most alarming symptoms, usually in about two weeks after the wound has healed. When locked jaw is the result of wounds, it is called symptomatic, or traumatic; when existing without apparent cause, it is called idiopathic. The latter is said to be caused in some cases by the action of bots and of worms in the intestines. The first symptoms observable are a stiff, straggling gait | behind ; rigidity of the muscles of the jaw, completely locking the jaws together; the tongue is sometimes swollen, and con- | siderable saliva flows from the mouth. As the disease pro- gresses, the muscles throughout the body become rigid; the animal turns as though there was not a joint in the body; the nose is poked out, the nostrils dilated, and respiration disturbed ; the bowels are almost invariably constipated; on elevating the head, a spasmodic or flickering motion of the eye will be ob- served, exposing little more than the white parts. When the disease is confined to the head and neck, it is called trismus ; when extended to all parts of the body, it is termed ¢etanus. There can scarcely be any principle laid down to govern the treatment of this disease, as cases have recovered under all kinds of treatment. The great object is to get the bowels opened ; when this is accomplished, the cases usually have a favorable termination ; but when the jaws are firmly set, the prospects are very limited. Give, if possible, by the mouth one ounce of aloes, ten drops of croton oil, two drachms of pulverized gentian root, and one drachm of ginger; make into one ball with molasses. RHEUMATISM. 335 If this cannot be given, keep a ball of aloes in the mouth, the action of which may be increased by adding to the ball twe drachms of calo- mel, and omitting the croton oil. Give injections of belladonna, half an ounce dissolved (yy in a pail of water. Zamt===3 Opium has been much used, but is giving way to other prepara- BYRON’S MAZEPPA. P ‘ ‘‘They left me there to my despair, tions. Give upon Link’d to the dead and stiffening wretch,’’ the tongue every hour twenty drops of the following mixture: hydrocyanic acid and tincture of aconite, of each one ounce ; mix, and shake, well together. Blistering the back, from the head to the tail, has succeeded in some cases. Chloroform has been highly recommended, but appears to have only a tempo- rary effect; it is given in doses of from one to two drachms. RHEUMATISM. This disease is quite common in the Western States. The symptoms are stiffness, lameness, and shifting from one limb to another ; sometimes tumefaction is observable about the extre- mities. The lameness is sometimes absent, and appears to be influenced by changes in the weather. For treatment, poultice the feet with mustard and flaxseed meal. Give internally of nux vomica, one ounce; pulverized gentian root, one and a half ounces; pulverized ginger, one 336 HYDROCELE. ounce; mix, and divide into twelve powders; give one every night in the feed. The most successful treatment which the author has found, when the above has failed to effect a perfect cure, is that recommended by Dr. Bowler, of Cincinnati, whose experi- ence in baffling this disease has been quite considerable. It is as follows :—if the animal is plethoric, bleed freely and give a strong cathartic ; follow every morning with one of the following balls: pine tar, two ounces; pulverized gentian root, one ounce; mix all together, and divide into eight balls. Keep the body warm, and give no corn. CRAMP. This complaint occasions considerable alarm to the owner of a horse, from the peculiarity of the symptoms. A horse is found to go suddenly lame, lameness continuing, dragging one leg after him-as though it were dislocated or broken. Upon taking a whip and striking him, he will sometimes go two or three steps in a natural way, and then the leg drags again. Such tnstances have been pronounced fractures by the farrier, and even by the young veterinarian such a mistake has been made; indeed, there are instances of the horse’s having been killed by order of the medical attendant. Treatment. Friction by hand-rubbing, and application of the liniment recommended for strains. Usually the animal will be found all right upon the following day. HYDROCELE. This disease commonly known as dropsy of the testicles, sometimes affects the stallion. It consists of a collection of SIT-FASTS. aon serum in the tunica vaginalis, or bag containing the testes, fluctuating when pressed by the hand, but free from tenderness or pain. Its causes are obscure, but it is beans to result from injuries, such as strains, etc. For treatment, the scrotum should be punctured, and a weak solution of tincture of iodine injected into the tunica vaginalis ; or equal parts of port wine, and water of zinc lotion, or lime water, may be used with very good effect. The animal should be well secured before these preparations, particularly the first, are used, as the pain thereby caused may render him for the time unmanageable. WARTS. These fungous growths appear in the horse most frequently about the mouth, nose, and lips; but they are occasionally found upon other parts of the body. They are sometimes found in large numbers about the lips of colts, and are generally rubbed off, or drop off; if, however, they grow large and become deeply rooted, they may be cut off by passing a needle through the centre armed with double thread, and tied tightly around the neck on each side. This prevents the possibility of the ligatures being rubbed off. Or, they may be painted over with the per-manganate of potash, a few applications of which will entirely destroy warts of a large size; or they may be removed with a knife. SIT-FASTS. These are dark, hard, scabby spots upon the back, which are dead ‘skin and cannot be easily removed; but by poulticing for Several days they become soft and may be torn off. Tincture 22 338 MALLANDERS AND SELLENDERS. of myrrh applied two or three times a day will generally effect a cure after the dead skin is removed. WARBLES. These arise from bruises, which cause superficial swellings that sometimes suppurate. They should be freely opened and the matter well washed out. A solution of sulphate of zine, or alum-water, is all that is required to effect a cure. SADDLE OR HARNESS GALLS. These are bruises caused by friction and moisture, occurring most frequently in warm weather; the parts are rubbed raw, and sometimes bleed. The treatment is simple and effectual. Bathe the parts several times a day with one pint of water and half a pint of tincture of myrrh. MALLANDERS AND SELLENDHERS. These are scurfy eruptions of the back part of the knee joint and the front part of the hock joint, They sometimes — occasion much pain, and lameness in consequence. They con- stitute but one disease, the names having reference to the fore and hind extremities; mallenders being applied to eruptions upon the fore extremities, and sellenders to those upon the hind ones. For treatment, wash the parts well with castile soap and water, and apply the following : lard, four ounces, and Goulard’s extract, one ounce, well mixed. SURGICAL CASES. 339 ULCERATION OF THE UDDER. Mares are sometimes subject to this disease, which is caused by the milk’s coagulating in the bag, and causing inflamma- tion and suppuration. The udder becomes swollen, hot, — tender, hard, and knotty. A flaxseed poultice should at once be applied, when the abscess will soon be brought to a head, which will be known by its smooth, polished appearance and its soft feeling. It should then be lanced, and the udder bathed twice a day. with lard melted as hot as the animal can bear. Sometimes it becomes necessary to inject a solution of the sulphate of zinc into the opening; but in ordinary cases the hot lard is sufficient, if properly applied. INFLAMED VEINS, The jugular or neck vein sometimes becomes inflamed in consequence of being injured by a bungling bleeder. A swell- ing is first noticed, followed by a gaping in the incision in the neck, from which an acrid fluid oozes. For treatment, bathe the part well with cold water, into which a small portion of tincture of myrrh is thrown, and with a* purging ball a cure is soon effected. SURGICAL CASES. It frequently becomes necessary, in order to relieve the animal from some painful disease, to resort to operations in surgery; this, in fact, has of late years become an important 340 SURGICAL CASES. branch of veterinary practice. When it becomes necessary to use the knife, the animal should be spared all useless torture. In severe operations, humanity dictates the use of some anzs- thetic agent to render the animal insensible to pain. Chloro- form is the most powerful of this class, and may be adminis- tered with perfect safety, provided a moderate quantity of ‘atmospheric air is inhaled with or during its administration. Sulphurie ether acts very feebly upon the horse, and cannot therefore be successfully used. Chloric ether answers a very good purpose, but pure chloroform is preferable. In minor operations, the twitch, the side-hobble, or the foot-strap, is all- that is necessary. When a horse is to be cast for an operation, force must be used for its accomplishment. ‘The patent hob- bles have been preferred for that purpose by veterinary sur- geons generally, though the author prefers a modification of the cast-rope and the patent hobbles. This improvement con- sists in having a heavy, well-padded leathern collar, each layer burned in with rosin, after the style of the old-fashioned fire- buckets ; at the bottom of this collar a strong ring is attached, secured by an iron band; through this ring the rope is passed ; around the body a strong leathern band is buckled, which connects with the top of the collar by a cross strap, which keeps it in place; a hobble band is placed upon each hind fetlock, through the D of which the rope is passed; on each side of the collar a strong ring is firmly secured, through which the rope also passes, the ends of which are then pulled upon by one or two men on each side, and the animal let quietly down. The author is convinced by experience thatsthis ar- rangement is far preferable to any hobble arrangement yet seen. It isa mistaken idea that horses must be cast for every little operation; in truth, but few operations require it. ) - BLEEDING. 34] BLEEDING. Blood-letting in former times was regarded as the sheet anchor in veterinary practice; but that day has past. The practice of bleeding horses upon all occasions cannot be too strongly condemned; the cases where blood-letting proves beneficial being comparatively few. Before using the lancet the pulse must be examined, the condition of the animal con- sidered, and the effects upon that pulse must decide the quan- tity of blood to be taken. The pulse will be found following the front margin of the masseter muscle, which muscle forms the fleshy parts of the head upon each side, called the cheeks. By following the front part of this @& 7 muscle downward with the thumb, until near the base of the lower jaw, and then passing the <7 forefingers under, or ——/. =a y inside of the jaw, the pulse will be readily ee = felt; or, to point its Ta guerOnR, location oyt with more certainty, if an imaginary line is drawn perpendicularly from the front part of the ear downward, it will cross the point where the pulse is located and felt. In a healthy condition the pulse beats from thirty-six to forty times a minute; variation above or below this standard indicates a morbid condition of the system. This fact should be born in mind in the description of any disease. When bleeding is necessary, the neck never should be corded, as much injury has at times been caused by this practice. All that is requisite is to raise the jugular vein by pressing upon 342 NEUROTOMY OR NERVING. it with the fingers of the left hand, using the lance with the right. The old-fashioned mode of bleeding with the fleam and blood-stick is a bungling operation, frequently requiring several trials before bringing blood, the result of which is an inflamed vein. A more convenient, a more certain, and a more satisfactory method is by using a spring lance, made for the purpose, which never fails in bringing blood upon the first trial. It is so contrived as to straddle the vein of the neck, which keeps it firm, and prevents its rolling, so that it is ime possible to miss bringing the blood when it is once placed upon the vein and sprung. By this method of bleeding, the covering of the eye and the cording of the neck are unnecessary, and the operation can easily be accomplished by one person. After the vein has been opened, the blood-pail. pressed against the vein will cause the blood to flow freely. When the desired quantity has been drawn, the vein must be carefully closed by passing a pin through the centre of the opening, taking up the skin upon both sides, and tying with hair from the mane or tail. The pin may be removed in about twenty-four hours. NEUROTOMY OR NERVING. This is one of the most important operations in veterinary practice, and one that has been much abused, not only in Europe, but even more so in the United States. Its useful- ness was first demonstrated by Assistant Professor Sewell, of the Veterinary College of London. The operation consists in cutting out a portion of the metacarpal nerves on each side of the legs, thus destroying the sensibility of the foot. From the instantaneous relief experienced by the animal in all cases NEUROTOMY OR NERVING. 343 of foot lameness, no matter from what cause, an opportunity has been afforded to dishonest persons for imposing upon the public by availing themselves of this practice; an opportunity, it need not be said, which has been freely used, and thus a valuable operation has been brought into undeserved disrepute. The cases likely to be benefited by this operation are few, and should be selected with great care; otherwise the loss of the animal’s hoof may be, and often is, the termination of the case. ; This operation is. recommended by veterinary authors in incurable cases of lameness of the navicular joint; but suffi- cient caution is not impressed upon the mind of the reader, to enable him to guard against the fatal results which too often follow. In deciding upon a case for this operation, an animal should be selected with a foot as free from contraction as possible ; free from corns; comparatively free from inflammation; with a concave ground surface; open heels; hoof free from rings or roughness; and no bony deposits within the hoof. In sucha case, the operation may be performed with success. A horse that has been foundered should not, under any circumstances, be operated upon, as ossification of the laminz frequently fol- lows such an attack; nor a horse affected with ossification of the lateral cartilages, corns, or badly contracted hoof; for these are the cases where loss of the hoof is likely to follow, rendering the animal useless. After the operation has been performed, care should be taken in driving the animal ; for it should be remembered that no matter what accident may happen to the foot, the animal is unconscious of pain. The feet should be frequently exam- NEUROTOMY OR NERVING. 344 ined to see whether the horse has picked up a nail, or other wise injured the foot; for such injuries would otherwise re- main undiscovered until too late to save the animal’s life or usefulness. The smith should be informed of the opera- tion, in order to guard against pricking the animal’s foot in shoeing. It is necessary previous to the operation that the feet should be perfectly cool, which condition may be obtained by frequent bathings with cold water for several days previous. The horse is cast, the foot to be operated upon loosened, and brought for- ward by an assistant, it resting upon a bed of straw. A verti- cal incision is made about two inches above the fetlock, between the cannon bone and back sinew, raising up with the forceps the cellular membrane, and carefully dissecting out the nerve. The precaution should be taken of placing the finger upon it, as the artery has been taken up and cut off before the mistake was discovered. Having fairly exposed the nerve, pass a curved needle armed with strong thread under it, and by carefully drawing it up and down the nerve may be readily separated. A sheathed knife is then passed under the nerve, and by a quick motion the nerve is severed at the upper part. After the strug- eles of the animal cease, the cut nerve may be raised with the forceps, and from one-half of an inch to an inchremoved. ‘This second cut causes no pain. The wound is then closed by three single stitches. After operating upon both sides in like manner, the animal is allowed to rise. Bandages should then be placed upon the leg, and kept saturated for several days with cold water. TREPHINING, LITHOTOMY. Operations for stone in the bladder of the horse have been practised since 1774, and in many cases very successfully. In performing this operation, an ordinary scalpel, a probe-pointed _bistoury, a fluted whalebone staff, and a pair of curved forceps are necessary. The animal should be placed upon his back with the hind legs drawn well forward ; a whalebone staff is passed up the urethra, which may be felt a little below the anus ; an incision, one and a half or two inches in length is made directly upon it, obliquely to one side, cutting through the urethra and the neck of the bladder; the forceps are next introduced, and the stone removed; after which the parts are carefully closed by means of the quill suture, which in this operation is far su- perior to the interrupted one, as it more effectually prevents the dribbling of urine through the wound, which always occurs with the interrupted one, and therefore causes a more speedy union of the parts. TREPHINING. This operation consists in cutting out circular pieces of bone with a circular saw, called a trephine, and is most generally performed in cases of fracture of the skull, or face. The bone removed must be from the sound part contiguous to the frac- ture, so as to enable an elevator to be passed inside of the cra- nial case, for the purpose of pushing back the broken bone to its proper place, and removing all detached pieces. This ope- ration is also performed in cases of ozena, by removing a piece of bone over the frontal sinuses, situated immediately between the eyes, in order to expose the diseased parts at once, that they may be. washed with proper injections. TAPPING THE CHEST. TENOTOMY. This operation is practised for the purpose of strengthening crooked legs or sprung knees. It consists in dividing the flexor tendons, in order to bring the limb straight. There are but few cases, however, in which the operation would be of much service, ~ and therefore care must be exercised in selecting such cases as are proper. It would hardly be proper in a young horse, as other means less objectionable often succeed. In old horses it would not be prudent, as their limbs are generally stiff and permanently set ; nor would it be successful in cases where an- chylosis or stiff joint existed, as is often found in connection with crooked legs and sprung knées. COUCHING. This is an operation upon the eye for the purpose of remov- ing a cataract from the axis of vision. A couching needle is passed through the sclerotic coat of the eye a little behind the cornea, passing it upward behind the iris to where the cataract is located, pressing it downward into the vitreous humor behind the iris, where it remains. This operation has not been very successful in the horse, by reason of the imperfect restoration of the sight thereby afforded, which causes them in almost every instance to shy at every object which they encounter, thus ren- dering them dangerous upon the road. TAPPING THE CHEST. This operation consists in passing a round, pointed instru- ment, sheathed with a canula, into the chest, in order to draw AMPUTATION OF THE PENIS. 347 off any accumulation of fluid that may have taken place in the viscus. / The instrument is passed, after first making a small in- cision through the skin, between the eighth and ninth ribs, but not too low down. It is pushed gently forward until it pene- trates the pleura, or lining membrane of the chest. The stellet is then withdrawn, and the canula is kept in place until the fluid ceases to run. If, however, a large quantity exists, all of it should not be taken away at one time; for the pressure upon the lungs having been. so great, if such sudden relief is afforded, nature, unable to accommodate herself to so rapid an alteration gives way, and the animal consequently dies. It should there- fore be taken away at one, two, or three tappings, as occasion may require. Good wholesome food should be allowed. PERIOSTEOTOMY. This operation is most generally performed for painful splints. It consists in cutting though the periosteum, or membrane covering the surface of all bones, over the splint or node, which immediately gives relief. This operation requires the aid of an experienced man. AMPUTATION OF THE PENIS. This operation is occasionally called for in the horse, particu- larly in cases of paraphymosis, or protrusion of the penis, that have resisted all other modes of treatment. The operation, as performed in England, is unnecessarily tedious, and not as suc- cessful as it should be. It is only requisite in performing this operation to place a twitch upon the animal, and while he is standing to take the penis in the left hand, and with an ampu- 348 (ESEOPHAGOTOMY. tating knife in the right to sever it at one stroke. The he- morrhage, although considerable, need not occasion any alarm, A piece of cotton or soft sponge, saturated with spirits of tur pentine or any other styptic, and placed in the sheath, will soon cause the hemorrhage to cease. Fear of hemorrhage, may deter some persons from performing what may appear a bold operation; but the author has not known a single operation performed in this way to have a fatal termination ; whereas with the English mode of operating it frequently does so, beside, even if it is successful, rendering the animal useless for a muck greater period of time. GESOPHAGOTOMY. This operation is occasionally resorted to where any foreign substance, as an apple, potato, carrot, and the like, has lodged in the esophagus, or gullet. Where such obstructions exist, gentle manipulations with the hand should first be resorted to ; if these are not successful in removing them, the probang is called for, and in case of failure thus to dislodge them, this operation is the only remaining resort. It isnot necessary to cast the animal. Cut down directly upon the swollen part of the throat, and re- move the obstruction. The wound may then be closed by means ‘of the interrupted suture; that is, by single stitches, at proper distances apart, allowing the ends to hang out of the external wound, which may be closed in the same manner. The animal should be kept on gruel for several days. If the gruel is seen to ooze out of the wound when he is swallowing, it should be carefully washed away with cold water. The parts should be syringed with a weak solution of sulphate of zinc, chloride of zine, or tincture of myrrh. HERNIA, HERNIA. By the term hernia surgeons understand a rupture, or protru- sion of some of the viscera out of the abdomen, forming a soft tumor. In human practice there are hernias occurring in all the viscera of the body ; but in the equine race they are confined, with rare exceptions, to the abdominal viscera, the inguinal hernia being the most common. This appears in the groin, and is a protrusion of the intestine through the abdominal ring, which in the stallion frequently passes down into the scrotum, or bag, constituting scrotal hernia. These hernias sometimes occur during castration in consequence of the violent struggles of the animal. In such cases it is best to administer chloroform at once in order to quiet the animal and prevent violent strugglings. The animal should be put upon his back, and one hand passed up the rectum, and one or two fingers of the other placed upon the scrotum, when by careful manipulations the intestine can gene- rally be replaced. If, however, a reduc- _ Sen tion cannot be effected, an operation will - be necessary. == The hernia should be exposed by cutting through the integument a little upon one == é side, and coming down upon the hernia, the finger : is placed upon it GOOD FOR HEAVY DRAFTS. ? and a reduction effected by careful manipulation. Care should be taken that the nails upon the hand are trimmed close, in 350 _ ROWELING. order to prevent wounding the intestine. The wound should then be closed by means of the interrupted suture. A folded cloth should then be applied to the part, and retained by means of a continuous bandage crossed between the legs from side to side in the form of the figure 8. Sometimes the intestine becomes strangulated, constituting strangulated hernia, the reduction of which requires an operation as before mentioned. If, however, it is found impossible, then to reduce it, the finger should be passed through the opening, if possible, and a probe-pointed bistoury following upon it, enlarge the opening and replace the intestine. The same treatment as before indicated will be ne- cessary. The symptoms of strangulated hernia are very similar to those of acute enteritis, or inflammation of the bowels. These may be regarded as the only hernias to which the horse is liable. ROWELING. Rowels were formerly much used, but of late years the seton has superseded them. The rowel consists of a round piece of sole leather, cut out in the centre wound round with tow, which is saturated before using with digestive ointment. The skin is cut through, and dissected upon each side sufficiently to admit the rowel. This is used principally under the jaws and in the breast. The seton answers the same purpose, and is much more convenient. It consists in arming a needle made for the pur- pose with tape and passing it through the part desired, the seton being saturated with the same ointment as the rowel. FIRING. 351 FIRING, The object in firing a horse is to produce an external inflam- mation where counter-action is required, as in spavin, ringbone, curbs, etc. The operation may be performed upon the animal while standing, by placing a twitch and side line upon him; but if the surface to be fired is extensive, and the animal high strung, it is better to cast him, particularly where a number of oblique, vertical, or horizontal lines are to be drawn. Firing is not practised at the present day to the extent that it formerly was, and when it is practised every endeavor should be made to prevent, as far as possible, the blemishes which always. follow the operation. Various forms of irons have been adopted to accomplish this end. The author gives the preference to the feathered iron, which is brought down to a very fine edge, and, opinions are entertained by veterinary surgeons as to the ad- vantages resulting from deep firing as compared with those accruing from surface firing. In the author’s judgment, if firing is resorted to at all, it should be done effectually. His attention has recently been called to a firing iron devised by A. Maillard, Esq., of Bordentown, New Jersey, which is the best adapted in- strument that has ever passed under his notice. It consists of two pieces of iron, octagonal in form, about one and a half inches long by one and a quarter wide, one piece containing five round-pointed projections, placed one at each corner and one at the centre, and the other four points, so arranged as, when fitted together, to fill up the intermediate spaces of its opposite ; both irons being used alternately on the same parts without ex- tending the surface fired. This iron will probably supersede any iron in use, and thanks are due to the inventor for his ia- 852 TRACHEOTOMY. genuity in producing it. Pointed instraments have been before used, but far inferior in their arrangement. TRACHEOTOMY. This operatign is occasionally called for in cases of strangles, when the swelling threatens suffocation, as it is often the only means of saving the animal’s life. It consists in making a lon- gitudinal incision through the skin immediately over the wind- pipe and below the larynx, cutting through the cartilaginous rings (two or more, as occasion requires), and inserting in the opening a tube of silver made for the purpose, through which the animal breathes, instead of through thenostrils. A circular piece is sometimes cut out of the windpipe in order to admit the tube more freely, which is certainly the better mode of perform- ing the operation. In a case of emergency, a piece of elder with the pith pushed out will answer temporary purposes. It should be well secured from slipping into the windpipe by means of a piece of string. THE great celebrity which Mr. Rarey obtained in England and France, owing to his unparalleled = gnecess in rendering the most vicious and un- governable horses perfectly tractable and gentle, has excited no small degree of interest and curi- osity among us, to ascertain the method which he adopts to secure such noteworthy results. To gratify this interest, as laud- able as it is natura}, we propose in this place giving the leading 23 (353) 854 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. features of his method, as gleaned from the various English publications bearing upon the subject, especially from the little work, entitled “The Art of Taming Horses. By J. S. Rarey,” and edited by the Hunting Correspondent of “ The Illustrated London News.” It is needless to premise, that not every man can become a Rarey, by the perusal of this, or of any other treatise upon the art of breaking horses ; yet itis not claiming too much for this system to say, that by its use the large majority of horses may be broken more expeditiously, more effectually, and with far more satis- faction and pleasure to the breaker than by the adoption of any other now known. It is no slight gain, to be able to transfer the breaking .of horses from ignorant, impatient, and disagree- able persons to those who can in every respect appreciate the noble qualities of the animal and who will therefore deal with him as his high rank in the scale of creation demands. The three fundamental principles of the Rarey theory are: first, that the horse is so constituted by nature that he will not offer resistance to any demand made of him which he fully com- prehends, if such demand is made in a way consistent with the laws of his nature; second, that he has no consciousness of his strength beyond his experience, and can be handled according to our will without force; and third, that we can, in compliance with the laws of his nature, by which he examines all things new to him, take any object however frightful around, over, or on him, that does not inflict pain, without causing him to fear, As to the first proposition :—the horse, although possessed of some faculties superior to man’s yet being deficient. in reasoning powers, has no knowledge of right or wrong, of free will and independent government, and is not aware of any imposition RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 355 practised upon him, however unreasonable it may be. He can- not, consequently, decide as to what he should, or should not do, not having the requisite faculties to enable him to argue the justice of the thing demanded of him. Had he such faculties, taking into consideration his superior strength, he would be useless to man as a servant. If he had mind in proportion to his strength, he would roam through the fields at large, yield- ing service to no one. His nature has been wisely formed to be operated upon by the knowledge of man according to the dictates of his will, and he may properly be termed an uncon- scious submissive servant. This truth is verified in every day’s experience by the abuse to which he is subjected. Any one who chooses to be so cruel can mount the noble steed, and run him till he drops with fatigue, or, as is often the case with the more spirited, falls dead beneath his rider. If he had the power to reason, would he not rear and pitch his rider, rather than suffer him to run him to death? Happily for us, he has no thought of disobedience, except by impulse caused by the vio- lation of the law of his nature. If then, he is disobedient, it is the fault of man. . As to the second: the fact that the horse is unconscious of the amount of his strength, can be proven to the satisfaction of any one. Were it otherwise, the light vehicle in which he is placed, the slender reins and harness which guide and con- fine him, would be snapped asunder in an instant, at his own volition; no hitching-post could restrain him against his will, no saddle girth be placed around his body. These facts, made common by every-day occurrence, are not regarded as anything wonderful. Their continued existence serves to re- move us from all consideration of them. 356 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. As to the third: there being, as we know from a natural course of reasoning, some cause for every impulse or move- ment of either mind or action, and this law governing every action or movement of the animal kingdom, there must be some cause before fear can exist; and if fear exists from the effects of imagination, and not from the infliction of real pain, it can be removed by complying with those laws of nature, by which the horse examines an object, and deter- mines upon its innocence or harm. A log or stump by the roadside, for example, may be, in the imagination of the horse, some great beast about to pounce upon him; but after he is taken up to it, and allowed to stand by it for a little time, and to touch it with his nose, and to go through his process of examination, he will not care any- thing more about it. The same principke and process will liave the same effect with any other object, however frightful in appearance, in which there is no harm. These principles being taken as the basis, whatever obstacles oppose the proper breaking of horses are readily surmounted by the Rarey method, commencing with the first steps to be taken with the colt, and thence proceeding through the whole task of breaking. How to Carn A Coir From PasturE.—Go to the pasture and walk around the whole herd quietly, and at such a dis- tance as not to cause them to scare and run. Then approach them very slowly, and if they stick up their heads and seem to be frightened, stand still until they become quiet, so as not to make them run before you are close enough to drive them in the direction you want them to go. And when you begin to drive, do not flourish your arms or halloo, but gently fol- ——____ _. RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 357 low them, leaving the direction open that you wish them to take. Thus taking advantage of their ignorance, you will be able to get them into the pound as easily as the hunter drives the quails into his net. For, if they have always run in the pasture uncared for (as many horses do in prairie countries and on large plantations), there is no reason why they should not be as wild as the sportman’s birds, and require the same gentle treatment, if you want to get them without trouble; for the horse, in his natural state is as wild as a stag, or any of the undomesticated animals, though more easily tamed. How ro Staste A OoLT WITHOUT TROUBLE.—The next step will be, to get the horse into a stable or shed. This should be done as quietly as possible, so as not to excite any sus- picion in the horse of any danger befalling him. The best way to do this is to lead a broken horse into the stable first, and hitch him, then quietly walk around the colt and let him go in of his own accord. This should be undertaken slowly and considerately, as one wrong move may frighten your horse, and make him think it necessary to escape at all haz- ards for the safety of his life—and thus make two hours’ work of a ten minutes’ job; and this would be all your own fault, and entirely unnecessary—/for he will not run unless you run after him, and that would not be good policy unless you knew that you could outrun him, for you will have to let him stop of his own accord after all. But he will not try to break away unless you attempt to force him into measures. If he does not see the way at once, and is a little fretful about going in, do not undertake to drive him, but give him a little less room outside, by gently closing in around him. Do not raise your arms, but let them hang at your side, for you might as well raise a club: the horse has never studied anatomy, 358 RAREY’s METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. and does not know but that they will unhinge themselves and fly a him. If he attempts to turn back, walk before him, but do not run; if he gets past you, encircle him again in the same quiet manner, and he will soon find that you are not going to hurt him; and then you can walk so close around him that he will go into the stable for more room, and to get further from you. As soon as he is in, remove the quiet horse and shut the door. This will be his first notion of con- finement—not knowing how he got into such a place, nor how to get outofit. That he may take it as quietly as possible, see that the shed is entirely free from dogs, chickens, or anything that would annoy him. Then give him a few ears of corn, and let him remain alone fifteen or twenty minutes, until he has examined his apartment, and become reconciled to his confinement. While he is eating, see that your i termine for yourself the best mode of 'y] Operation. Always use a leather hal- \ ter, and be sure to have it made so ‘(| that it will not draw tight around his i) nose if he pulls on it. It should be of I | the right size to fit his head easily and 4 nicely, so that the nose-band will not “be too tight or too loose. Never put Sa rope halter on an unbroken colt, BRIDLE WITH A WOODEN cac- under any circumstances whatever. a eee wine Rope halters have caused more horses to hurt or kill themselves than would pay for twice the cost of all the leather halters that have ever been used for the RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 359 purpose of breaking colts. It is almost impossible to break a colt that is very wild with a rope halter, without having him pull, rear, and throw himself, and thus endanger his life; and this, because it is just as natural for a horse to try to get his head out of anything that hurts it, or feels unpleasant, as it would be for you to try to get your hand out of a fire. The cords of the rope are hard and cutting; this makes him raise his head and draw on it, and as soon as he pulls, the slip noose (the way rope halters are always made) tightens, and pinches his nose, and then he will struggle for life, until, perchance, he throws himself. But this is not the worst. A horse that has once pulled on his halter can never be as well broken as one that has never pulled at all. Before anything more is attempted with the colt, some of the characteristics of his nature must be noticed, that his motions may be better understood. Every one that has ever paid any attention to the horse, has noticed his natural in- clination to smell everything which to him looks new and frightful. This is their strange mode of examining everything. And when they are frightened at anything, though they look at it sharply, they seem to have no confidence in their eyesight alone, but must touch it with their nose before they are en- tirely satisfied ; and, as soon as they have done that, all seems right. . If you want to satisfy yourself of this characteristic of the horse, and to learn something of importance concerning the peculiarities of his nature, etc., turn him into the barn yard, or a large stable will do, and then gather up something that you know will frighten him—a red blanket, buffalo robe, or something of that kind. Hold it up so that he can see it, he 360 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. will stick up his head and snort. Then throw it down gome- where in the centre of the lot or barn, and walk off to. one side. Watch his motions, and study his nature. If he is frightened at the object, he will not rest until he has touched it with his nose. He will 366-870) he finally gets within reach of it. He will then very cautiously stretch out his neck as far as he can reach, merely touching it with his nose, as though he thought it was ready to fly at him. . But after he has repeated these touches for a few times, for the first time (though he has been looking at it all the while) he seems to have an idea of what it is. When he has found, by the sense of feeling, that it is nothing that will do him any harm, he is ready to play with it. If you watch him closely, you will see him take hold of it with his teeth, and raise it up, and pull at it; and in a few minutes you can see that he has not that same wild look about his eye, but that he stands like a horse biting at some familiar stump. Yet the horse is never so well satisfied wnen he is about any- thing that bas frightened him, as when he is standing with his nose to it; and in nine cases out of ten, you will see some of that same wild look about him again, as he turns to walk from it. You will, probably, see him looking back very suspiciously as he walks away, as though he thought it might come after him yet.~ In all probability he will have to go back and make another examination before he is satisfied ; but he will familiar- ize himself with it, and if he should run in that field for a few RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 361 days, the robe that frightened him so much at first wiJl be no more to him than a familiar stump. | It might very naturally be supposed from the fact of the horse’s applying his nose to everything new to him, that he always does so for the purpose of smelling these objects ; but it is as much or more for the purpose of feeling, and he makes use of his nose, or muzzle (as it is sometimes called), as we would of our hands; because it is the only organ by which he can touch or feel anything with much susceptibility. He invariably makes use of the four senses—SEEING, HEAR- ING, SMELLING, and FEELING—in all of his examinations, of which the sense of feeling is, perhaps, the most important. In the experiment with the robe, his gradual approach and final touch with his nose was as much for the purpose of feeling as anything else, his sense of smell being so keen that it would not be necessary for him to touch his nose against anything in order to get the proper scent; for it is said that a horse can smell a man at a distance of a mile. Besides, if the scent of the robe was all that was necessary, he could get that several rods off; whereas, we know from experience, that if a horse sees and smells a robe a short distance from him, he is very much frightened (unless he is used to it) until he touches or feels it with his nose; which is a positive proof that feeling is the controlling sense in this case. It is a prevalent opinion among horsemen generally that the sense of smell is the governing sense of the horse; and with that view many receipts of strong-smelling oils, etc., have been concocted in order to tame him. All of these as far as the scent goes, have no effect whatever in taming him, or though the acts that accom- conveying any idea to his mind; 362 RAREY’S METHOD OE TAMING HORSES. pany these efforts—handling him, touching’ him about the nose and head, and patting him, as you are directed to do, after administering the articles, may have a very great effect, which is mistaken for the effect of the ingredients used. AppRoACHING A CottT.—In order to take horses as we find them, of all kinds, and to train them to our liking, we should always take with us, when we go into a stable to train a colt, a long switch whip \ (whalebone buggy whips are ) the best) with a good silk cracker, so as to cut keenly " and make a sharp report. STRAP FOR THE OFF FORE LEG. reat 370.) This, if handled with dexter- ity, and rightly applied, accompanied with a sharp, fierce word, will be sufficient to enliven the spirits of any horse. With this whip in your right hand, with the lash pointing backward, enter the stable alone. It is a great disadvantage in training a horse to have any one in the stable with you; you should be entirely alone, so as to have nothing but yourself to attract his. attention. If he is wild, you will soon see him on the opposite side of the stable from you; and now is the time to use a little judgment. Accordingly, when you have entered the stable, stand still, and let your horse look at you a minute or two, and as soon as he is settled in one place, approach him slowly, with both arms stationary, your right hanging by your side, holding the whip as directed, and the left bent at the elbow, with your hand projecting. As you approach him, go not too much toward his head or croup, so as not to make him move either forward or backward, thus keeping your horse stationary ; if RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 363 he does move a little either forward or backward, step a little to the right or left very cautiously ; this will keep him in one place. As you get very near him, draw a little to his shoulder, and stop a few seconds. If you are in his reach he will turn his head and smell your hand, not that he has any preference for your hand, but because that is projecting, and is the nearest portion of your body to the horse. This all colts will do, and they will smell your naked hand just as quickly as they will of anything that_you can put in it. As soon as he touches your hand with his nose, caress him as before directed, always using a very light, soft hand, merely touching the horse, always rubbing the way the hair lies, so that your hand will pass along as smoothly as possible. As you stand by his side, you may find it more convenient to rub his neck or the side of his head, which will answer the same purpose as rubbing his forehead. Favor every inclination of the horse to smell or touch you with his nose. Always follow each touch or communication of this kind with the most tender and affectionate caresses, accompanied with a kind look, and pleasant word of some sort, such as, “ Ho! my little boy—ho! my little boy!” “ Pretty boy!” “Nice lady!” or something of that kind, constantly repeating the same words, with the same kind, steady tone of voice; for the horse soon learns to read the expression of the face and voice, and will know as well when fear, love, or anger prevails, as you know your own feelings; two of which, fear and anger, a good horseman should never feel. If your horse, instead of being wild, seems to be of a stub- born or mulish disposition ; if he lays back his ears as you ap- proach him, or turns his heels to kick you, he has not that regard 364 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. or fear of man that he should have, to enable you to hand). nim quickly and easily ; and it might be well to give him a few sharp cuts with the whip, about the legs, pretty close to the body. It will crack keenly as it plies around his legs, and the crack of the whip will affect him as much as the stroke; besides, one sharp cut about his legs will affect him more than two or three over his back, the skin on the inner part of his legs or about his flank being thinner, more tender, than on his back. Do not whip him much—just enough to frighten him ; it is not because we want to hurt the horse that we whip him—we only do it to frighten vice and stubbornness out of him. Whatever you do, do quickly, sharply, and with a good deal of fire, but always without anger. If you are going to frighten him at all, you must do it at once. Never go into a pitched battle with your horse, and whip him until he is mad and will fight you; it would be better not to touch him at all, for you will establish, instead of fear and respect, feelings of resentment, hatred, and ill-will. If you can succeed in frightening him, you can whip him with- out making him mad; for fear and anger never exist together in the horse, and as soon as one is visible, the other disappears. After you have frightened him, so that he will stand up straight and pay some attention to you, approach him again, and caress him a good deal more than you whipped him; then you will excite the two controlling passions of his nature, love and fear, and as soon as he learns what you require, he will obey quickly. How to Haurer AND LEAD A Cout.—As soon as you have tamed the colt a little, take the halter in your left hand, and approach him as before, and on the same side that you have tamed him. If he is very timid about your approaching closely to him, you can get up to him quicker by making the whip a RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 365 part of your arm, and reaching out very gently with the butt ot of it, rubbing him lightly on the neck, all the time getting a little closer, shortening the whip by taking it up in your hand, until you finally get close enough to put your hands on him. If he is inclined to hold his head from you, put the end of the halter-strap around his neck, drop your whip, and draw very gently ; he will let his neck give, and you can pull his head to you. Then take hold of that part of the halter which buckles over the top of his head, and pass the long side, or that part which goes into the buckle, under his neck, grasping it on the opposite side with your right hand, letting the first strap loose —the halter will be sufficient to hold his head to you. Lower the halter a little, just enough to get his nose into that part which goes around it; then raise it somewhat, and fasten the top buckle, and you will have it all right. The first time you halter a colt you should stand on the left side, pretty well back to his shoulder, only taking hold of that part of the halter that goes around his neck ; then with your two hands about his neck you can hold his head to you, and raise the halter on it without making him dodge by putting your hands about hisnose. You should have a long rope or strap ready, and as soon as you have the halter on, attach this to it, so that you can let him walk the length of the stable without letting go of the strap, or without making him pull on the halter, for if you only let him feel the weight of your hand on the halter, and give him rope when he runs from you, he will never rear, pull, or throw himself, yet you will be holding him all the time, and doing more toward gent- ling him than if you had the power to snub him right up, and hold him to one spot; because he does not know anything about his strength, and if you don’t do anything to make him pull, he 366 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. will never know that he can. In a few minutes you can begin to control him with the halter; then shorten the distance be- tween yourself and the horse by taking up the strap in your hand. As soon as he will allow you to hold him by a tolerably short strap, and to step up to him without flying back. You can begin to give him some idea about leading. But to do this, do not \ \ go before and attempt A dj Yi to pull him after you, but commence by pull- Whe ing him very quietly Vi to one side. He has nothing to brace either Se ~ side of his neck, and TAMING THE HORSE. (See page 368.) ol saan yiel Parte. steady, gradual pull of the halter ; and as soon as you have pulled him a step or two to one side, step up to him and caress him, and then pull him again, repeating this operation until you can pull him around in every direction, and walk about the stable with him, which you can do in a few minutes, for he will soon think when you have made him step to the right or left a few times, that he is compelled to follow the pull of the halter, not know- ing that he has the power to resist your pulling; besides, you have handled him so gently that he is not afraid of you, and you always caress him when he comes up to you, and he likes that, and would just as lief follow youas not. After he has had a few lessons of that kind, if you turn him out in a field, he will come up to you every opportunity he gets. RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 367 You should lead him about in the stall some time before you take him out, opening the door so that he can see out, leading him up to it and back again, and past it. See that there is nothing ont he outside to make him jump when you take him out, and as you go out with him, try to make him go very slowly, catching hold of the halter close to the jaw with your left hand, while the right is resting on the top of the neck, holding to his mane. After you are out with him a little while, you can lead him about as yon please. Don’t let any second person come up to you when you first take him out; a stranger taking hold of the halter would frighten him, and make him run. There should not even be any one standing near him, to attract his attention or scare him. If you are alone, and manage him rightly, it will not require any more force to lead or hold him than it would to manage a broken horse. How To Tir up A Cott.—If you want to tie up your colt, put him in a tolerably wide stall, which should not be too long, and should be connected by a bar or something of that kind to the partition behind it; so that, after the colt is in he cannot go far enough back to take a straight, backward pull on the halter; then by tying him in the centre of the stall, it would be impos- sible for him to pull on the halter, the partition behind prevent- ing him from going back, and the halter in the centre checking him every time he turns to the right or left. In a stall of this kind you can break any horse to stand tied with a light strap, anywhere, without his ever knowing anything about pulling. For if you have broken your horse to lead, and have taught him the use of the halter (which you should always do before you hitch him to anything), yeu can hitch him in any kind of 368 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. a stall, and if you give him something to eat to keep him up te his place for a few minutes at first, there is not one colt in fifty that will pull on his halter. ) How To TAME A Horse.—Take up one fore-foot and bend his knee till his hoof is bottom upward, and nearly touching his body; then slip a loop over his knee, and up until it comes above the pastern-joint, to keep it up, being careful to draw the loop together between the hoof and pastern-joint with a second strap of some kind to prevent the loop from slipping down and coming off. This will leave the horse standing on three legs; you can now handle him as you wish, for it is utterly impossible for him to kick in this position. There is something in this operation of taking up one foot, that conquers a horse quicker and better than anything else you can do to him. There is no process in the world equal to it to break a kicking horse, as there is a principle of this kind in his nature that by conquer- ing one member, you conquer, to a great extent, the whole horse. This will conquer him better than anything you could do, and without any possible danger of hurting himself or you either, for you can tie up bis foot and sit down and look at him until he gives up. When you find that he is conquered, go to him, let down his foot, rub his leg with your hand, caress him, and let him rest a little; then put it up again. Repeat this a few times, always putting up the same foot, and he will soon learn to travel on three legs, so that you can drive him some distance. As soon as he gets a little used to this way of tra- veling, put on your harness, and hitch him toa sulky. If he is the worst kicking horse that ever raised a foot, you need not be fearful of his doing any damage while he has one foot up, RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 369 for he cannot kick, neither can he run fast enough to do any harm. And if he is the wildest horse that ever had harness on, and has run away every time he has been hitched, you can now hitch him in a sulky, and drive him as you please. If he wants to run, you can let him have the lines, and the whip too, with perfect safety, for he can go but a slow gait on three legs, and will soon be tired, and willing to stop; only hold him enough to guide him in the right direction, and he will soon be tired and willing to stop at the word. Thus you will effectually cure him at once of any further notion of running off. Kicking horses have always been the dread of everybody; but by this new method you can harness them to a rattling sulky; plough, wagon, or anything else in its worst shape. They may be frightened at first, but cannot kick, or do anything to hurt them- selves, and will soon find that you do not intend to hurt.them, and then they will not care anything more about it. You can then let down the leg and drive along gently without any further trouble. By this new process a bad kicking horse can be taught to go gentle in harness in a few hours’ time. How To MAKE A HorsE Lig Down.—To make a horse lie down, bend his left fore-leg and slip a loop over it, so that he cannot get itdown. Then put a surcingle round his body, and fasten one end of a long strap around the other fore-leg, just above the hoof. Place the other end under the before-described surcingle, so as to keep the strap in the right direction; take a short hold of it with your right hand; stand on the left side of the horse, grasp the bit in your left hand, pull steadily on the strap with your right; bear against his shoulder till you cause him tomove. As soon as he lifts his weight, your pulling will raise the other foot, and he will have to come on his knees. 24 370 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. Keep the strap tight in your hand, so that he cannot straighten his leg if he rises up. Hold him in this position, and turn his te ds head toward you; bear against his side with your shoulder, not hard, but with a steady, equal pressure, and in \\\ about ten minutes he i) (4))\ will lie down. As soon i ji} as he lies down, he will Will be com pletely con- quered, and you can handle him as you ‘please. Take off the TEACHING THE HORSE TO LIE DOWN straps, and straighten out his legs; rub him lightly about the face and neck with your hand the way the hair lies ; handle all his legs, and after he has lain ten or twenty minutes, let him get up again. After rest- ing him a short time, make him lie down as before. Repeat the operation three or four times, which will be sufficient for one lesson. Give him two lessons a day, and when you have reached four lessons, he will lie down by taking hold of one foot. As soon as he is well broken to lie down in this way, tap him on the opposite leg with a stick when you take hold of his foot, and in a few days he will lie down from the mere motion of the stick. To Accustom A Horss To Strance Sounps AnD SicuTs.— It is an excellent practice to accustom all horses to strange sounds and sights, and of very great importance to young horses which are to be ridden or driven in large towns, or used as chargers. Although some horses are very much more timid and nervous than others, the very worst can be very RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. cy i | much improved by acting on the first principles laid down in the introduction to this article—that is, by proving that the strange sights and sounds will do them no harm. When a railway is first opened, the sheep, the cattle, and especially the horses, grazing in the neighboring fields, are terribly alarmed at the sight of the swift, dark, moving trains, and the terrible snorting and hissing of the steam engines. They start away—they gallop in circles—and when they stop, gaze with head and tail erect, until the monsters have dis- appeared. But from day to day the live stock become more accustomed to the sight and sound of the steam horse, and after a while they do not even cease grazing when the train passes. They have learned that it will do them no harm. The same result may be observed with respect to young horses when first they are brought to a large town, and have to meet great loads of hay, omnibuses crowded with passengers, and other strange or noisy objects; if judiciously treated, not flogged and ill-used, they lose their fears without losing their high courage. To accustom a Horse to a Drum.—Place it near him on the ground, and without forcing him, induce him to smell it again and again, until he is thoroughly accustomed to it. Then lift it up, and slowly place it on the side of his neck, where he can see it, and tap it gently with a stick or your finger. If he starts, pause, and let him carefully examine it. Then commence again, gradually moving it backward until it rests upon his withers, by degrees playing louder and louder, pausing always when he seems alarmed, to let him look at it and smell, if needful. In a very few minutes you may play with all your force, without his taking any notice. When this practice has been repeated a few times, your horse, how- ever spirited, will rest his nose nnmoved on the big drum, while the most thundering piece is played. To teach a Horse to bear an Umbrella.—Go through the same cautious forms, let him see it, and smell it, open it by degrees, gain your point inch by inch, passing it always from his eyes to his neck, and from his neck to his back and tail; and so with a riding-habit; in half an hour any horse may be taught that it will not hurt him, and then the difficulty is over. To fire off a Horse’s back.—Begin with caps, and, by de- grees, as with the drum. Instead of lengthening the reins, stretch the bridle hand to the front, and raise it for the car- bine to rest on, with the muzzle clear of the horse’s head, a little to one side. Lean the body forward without rising in the stirrups. Avoid interfering with the horse’s mouth, or» exciting his fears by suddenly closing your legs either be- fore or after firing—be quiet yourself, and your horse will be quiet. The colt can learn to bear a rider on his bare back during his first lessons, when prostrate and powerless, fast bound by straps: The surcingle has accustomed him to girths, he leads well, and has learned that when the right rein is pulled he must go to the right, and when the left rein to the left. You may now teach him to bear the Bir and the SADDLE, if you have not placed it upon his back while on the ground. How to Accustom A Horse To A Bit.—You should use a large, smooth, snaffle bit, so as not to hurt his mouth, with a bar to each side, to prevent the bit from pulling through either way. This you should attach to the head-stall of your RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. one bridle, and put it on your colt without any reins to it, and let him run loose in a large stable or shed some time, until he becomes a little used to the bit, and will bear it without trying to get it out \ of his mouth. It would be well, if con- venient, to repeat this several times, before you do anything more with the colt; as soon as he will bear the bit, attach a single rein to it. You = . should also S SIS have a halter PSS B =on your colt, or a bridle made after the fashion of a ————— : Ss=—— halter, with a strap to it, so STRUGGLES OF THE VICIOUS HORSE AGAINST LYING DOWN. that you can hold or lead him about without pulling at the bit much. He is now ready for the saddle. THE Proper WAY TO Bir a CoLtrt.—Farmers often put bit- ting harness on a colt the first thing they do to him, buckling up the bitting as tight as they can draw it, to make him carry his head high, and then turn him out in a field to rumhalf a day at a time. This is one of the worst punishments that could be inflicted on the colt, and is very injurious to a young borse that has been used to running in pasture with his head down. Colts have been so seriously injured in this way that they have never recovered. 374 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. A horse should be well accustomed to the bit before you put on the bitting harness, and when you first bit him you should only rein his head up to that point where he naturally holds it, let that be high or low; he will soon learn that he cannot lower his head, and that raising it a little will loosen the bit in his mouth. This will give him the idea of raising his head to loosen the bit, and then you can draw the bitting a little tighter every time you put it on, and he will still raise his head to loosen it; by this means you will gradually get his head and neck in the position you want him to carry them, and give him a nice and graceful carriage without hurting him, making him mad, or causing his mouth to get sore. If you put the bitting on very tight the first time, he cannot raise his head enough to loosen it, but will bear on it all the time, and paw, sweat, and throw himself. Many horses have been killed by falling backward with the bitting on; their heads being drawn np strike the ground with the whole weight of the body. Horses that have their heads drawn up tightly should not have the bitting on more than fifteen or twenty minutes at a time. How To SappxeE A Cott.—The first thing will be to tie each stirrup-strap into a loose knot to make them short, and pre- vent the stirrups from flying about and hitting him. Then double up the skirts and take the saddle under your right arm, so as not to frighten him with it as you approach. When you get to him rub him gently a few times with your hand, and then raise the saddle very slowly, until he can see it, and smell and feel it with his nose. Then let the skirt loose, and rub it very gently against his neck the way the hair lies, letting him hear the rattle of the skirts as he feels them RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 875 against him; each time getting a little further backward, and finally slipping it over his shoulders on his back. Shake it a little with your hand, and in less than five minutes you can rattle it about over his back as much as you please, and pull it off and throw it on again, without his paying much atten- tion to it. As soon as you have accustomed him to the saddle, fasten the girth. Be careful how you do this. It often frightens the colt when he feels the girth binding him, and making the - saddle fit tight on his back. You should bring up the girth very gently, and not draw it too tight at first, just enough to hold the saddle on. Move him a little, and then girth it as tight as you choose, and he will not mind it. You should see that the pad of your saddle is all right be- fore you put it on, and that there is nothing to make it hurt him, or feel unpleasant to his back. It should not have any loose straps on the back part of it, to flap about and scare him. After you have saddled him in this way, take a switch in your right hand to tap him up with, and walk about in the stable a few times with your right arm over your saddle, taking hold of the reins on each side of his neck with your right and left hands, thus marching him about in the stable until you - teach him the use of the bridle and can turn him about in any direction, and stop him by a gentle pull of the rein. Always caress him, and loose the reins a little every time you stop him. | You should always be alone, and have your colt in some light stable or shed, the first time you ride him; the loft should be high, so that you can sit on his back without endangering your head. You can teach him more in two hour’s time in a 276 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. stable of this kind, than you could in two weeks in the common way of breaking colts, out in an open place. If you follow my course of treatment, you need not run any risk, or have any trouble in riding the worst kind of horse. You take him a step at a time, until you get up a mutual confidence and trust between yourself and horse. First teach him to lead and stand hitched; next acquaint him with the saddle, and the use of the bit; and then all that remains is to get on him without scaring him, and you can ride him as well as any horse. How to Mount tHe Coit.—First gentle him well on both sides, about the saddle, and all over until he will stand still without holding, and is not afraid to see you anywhere about him. As soon as you have him thus gentled, get a small block, about one foot or eighteen inches in height, and set it down by the side of him, about where you want to stand to mount him; step up on this, raising yourself very gently ; horses notice every change of position very closely, and if you were to step up suddenly on the block, it would be very apt to scare him; but by raising yourself gradually on it, he will see you without being frightened, in a position very nearly the same as when you are on his back. As soon as he will bear this without alarm, untie the stirrup- strap next to you, and put your left foot into the stirrup, and stand square over it, holding your knee against the horse, and your toes out, so as not to touch him under the shoulder with the toe of your boot. Place your right hand on the front of the saddle, and on the opposite side of you, taking hold of a portion of the mane and the reins, as they hang loosely over his neck, with your left hand; then gradually bear your weight | aoe \ leila la, Sia R on the stirrup, and on your right hand, until the horse feels your whole weight on the saddle; repeat this several times, each time raising yourself a little higher from the block, until he will allow you to raise your leg over his croup, and place yourself in the saddle. There are three great advantages in having a block from which to mount. First, a sudden change of position is very apt to frighten a young horse who has never been handled; he will allow you to.walk up to him, and stand by his side without scaring at you, because you have As gentled him to that position; but gp a WZ | if you get down on your hands and knees and crawl to- ward him, he will be very much fright- ww ened; and upon the Sia principle, WG SUBMISSION OF THE HORSE. would be frightened at your new position if you had the power to hold yourself over his back without touching him. The first great advantage of the block, then, is to gradually gentle him to that new position in which he will see you when you tide him. ' Secondly, by the process of leaning your weight in the stirrup, and on your hand, you can gradually accustom him I to your weight, so as not to frighten him by having him feel it all at once. And, in the third place, the block elevates you so that you will not have to make a spring in order to get upon the horse’s back, but from it you can gradually raise yourself into the saddle. When you take these precautions, 378 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. there is no horse so wild but that you can mount him without making him jump. When mounting, your horse should always stand without being held. A horse is never well broken when he has to be held with a tight rein when mounting ; and a colt is never so safe to mount as when you see that assurance of confidence, and absence of fear, which cause him to stand with- out holding. An improved plan of mounting is to pass the palm of the right hand on the off-side of the saddle, and as you rise lean your weight on it ; by this means you can mount with the girth loose, or without any girth at all. How to Ripr A Cort.—When you want him to start do not touch him on the side with your heel, or do anything to frighten him and make him jump. But speak to him kindly, and if he does not start pull him a little to the left until he starts, and then let him walk off slowly with the reins loose. Walk him around in the stable a few times until he gets used to the bit, and you can turn him about in every direction and stop him as you please. It would be well to get on and off a good many times until he gets perfectly used to it before you take him out of the stable. After you have trained him in this way; which should not take you more than one or two hours, you can ride him any- where you choose without ever having him jump or make any effort to throw you. When yon first take him out of the stable be very gentle with him, as he will feel a little more at liberty to jump or run, and be a little easier frightened than he was while in the stable. But after handling him so much in the stable he will be pretty well broken, and you will be able to manage him without trouble or danger. RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. 379 When you first mount him take a little the shortest hold on the left rein, so that if anything frightens him you can prevent ‘him from jumping by pulling his head round to you. This operation of pulling a horse’s head round against his side will prevent any horse from jumping ahead, rearing up, or running away. If he is stubborn and will not go, you can make him move by pulling his head round to one side, when whipping would have no effect. And turning him round a few times will make him dizzy, and then by letting him have his head straight, and giving him a little touch with the whip, he will go along without any trouble. Never use martingales on a colt when you first ride him ; every movement of the hand should go right to the bits in the direction in which it is applied to the reins, without a martin- gale to change the direction of the force applied. You can guide the colt much better without it, and teach him the use of the bit in much less time. Besides, martingales would prevent you from pulling his head round if he should try to jump. After your colt has been ridden until he is gentle and well accustomed to the bit, you may find it an advantage, if he car- ries his head too high or his nose too far out, to put martingales on him. You should be careful not to ride your colt so far at first as to heat, worry, or tire him. Get off as soon as you see that he is a little fatigued; gentle him, and let him rest; this will make him kind to you, and prevent him from getting stubborn or mad. To Break A Horse To Harness.—Take him in a light stable, as you did to ride him; take the harness, and go through the same process that you did with the saddle, until you get him 3880 RAREY’S METHOD OF TAMING HORSES. familiar with it, so that you can put it on him, and rattle it about without his caring for it. As soon as he will bear this, put on the lines, caress him as you draw them over him, and drive him about in the stable till he will bear them over his hips. The lines are a great aggravation to some colts, and often frighten them as much as if you were to raise a whip over them. As soon as he is familiar with the harness and lines, take him out and put him by the side of a gentle horse. Always use a bridle without blinkers when you are breaking a horse to harness. Lead him to and around alight gig or phaeton; let him look at it, touch it with his nose, and stand by it till he does not care for it: then pull the shafts a little to the left, and stand your horse in front of the off-wheel. Let some one stand on the right side of the horse, and hold him by the bit, while you stand on the left side, facing the sulky. This will keep him straight. Run your left hand back, and let it rest on his hip, and lay eT hold of the ~ shafts with your right, bringing them up very gently to the left hand, which still remains sta- “BREAKING THE HORSE TO HARNESS. tionary. Do not let anything but your arm touch his back, and as soon as you have the shafts square over him, let the person on the op- posite side take hold of one of them, and lower them very gently NEUROTOMY OR NERVING. 381 ‘ to the shaft-bearers. Be very slow and deliberate about hitch- ing; the longer time you take the better, as a general thing. When you have the shafts placed, shake them slightly, so that he will feel them against each side. As soon as he will bear them without scaring, fasten your braces, etc., and start him along very slowly. Let one man lead the horse, to keep him gentle, while the other gradually works back with the lines till he can get behind and drive him. After you have driven him in this way a short distance, you can get into the sulky, and all will goright. It is very important to have your horse go gently when you first hitch him. After you have walked him awhile, there is not half so much danger of his scaring. Men do very wrong te jump up behind a horse to drive him as soon as they have him hitched. There are too many things for him to com- prehend all at once. The shafts, the lines, the harness, and the rattling of the sulky, all tend to scare him, and he must be made familiar with them by degrees. If your horse is very wild, one foot had better be put up the first time you drive him. With the leg strapped up, the lighter the gig the better, and four wheels are better than two. WARRANTY. In the purchase of a horse the buyer should take with the receip> what is termed in law a warranty. The best way of expressing it is in this form: Philadelphia, August 1, 18—. Received of William Ingalls three hundred dollars, for a black mare, warranted only five years old, sound, free from vice, and quiet to ride and drive. $300. EDWARD RIDDLE. A receipt, which includes simply the word ‘‘ warranted,’’ extends merely tcsoundness. ‘‘ Warranted sound,’’ has no greater extent; the age, freedom from vice, and quietness to ride and drive should all be especially named. This warranty embraces every cause of un- soundness that can be detected, or that is inherent in the constitution of the animal at the time of sale, as well as every vicious habit which he has previously shown. In order to establish a breach of the war- ranty, and then be enabled to return the horse or recover the price paid, the purchaser must prove that it was unsound or viciously disposed at the timeof sale. Incase of cough, the horse must have been heard to cough previously to the purchase, or as he was led home, or as soon as he had entered the stable of the purchaser. Coughing, even on the following morning, will not be sufficient ; for it is possible that he might have caught cold by a change of sta- dling. If he is lame, it must be proved to arise from a cause that could not have occurred after he was in the purchaser’s possession. No price will imply a warranty, or be deemed equivalent to one; the warranty must be expressly stated. A fraud in the seller must be proved, in order that the buyer may be enabled to return the horse or maintain an action for the price. The warranty should be given at the time of sale. A warranty or a promise to warrant the horse, given at any period previous to the sale, is of no effect; for the horse is a very perishable commodity, and his constitution and his usefulness may undergo a considerable change in afew days. A warranty after the sale is also of no effect, as it is given without any legal consideration. In order to complete the purchase, there must be a transfer of the animal, or a written memorandum of agreement, or the payment of some sum, however emall, as earnest-money. No verbal promise to buy or sell is bind- ing without one of these accompaniments ; and the moment either (382) “ WARRANTY. 383 of them is effected, the legal transfer of property, or its delivery, is made, and whatever may happen to the horse, the seller retains, or is entitled to, the money. If the purchaser exercises any act of ownership—as by using the animal without leave of the seller, or by having any operation performed upon him, or medicines given to him—he makes him his own. If the horse should afterward be discovered to have been un- sound at the time of warranty and sale, the buyer may return him. Although not legally compelled to give notice to the seller of the discovered unsoundness, it is best that such notice should be given. The animal should then be tendered at the house or stable of the seller. If he refuses to receive the animal, humanity dictates that he should be sent te a livery stable, in preference to tying him up . in the street ; an action can be maintained, after the horse has been tendered, for the necessary expenses of keeping him as well as for the price paid. The keep, however, can be recovered only for the time that necessarily intervened between the tender and the deter- mination of the action. It is not legally necessary to return the animal as soon as the unsoundness is discovered. The animal may be kept for a reasonable time afterward, and even proper medical means may be resorted to for the removal of the unsoundness ; but courtesy, and indeed justice, will require that the notice should be given as soon as possible. Although it is laid down, upon the au- thority of an eminent English judge, that ‘‘no length of time elapsed after the sale, will alter the nature of a contract originally false,’’ yet there are recorded cases in which the buyer was prevented from maintaining his action, because he did not give notice of the un- soundness within a reasonable time after its discovery. What will constitute this reasonable time, depends upon many circumstances. It was formerly supposed that the buyer had no right to have the . horse medically treated, and that he would vitiate the warranty by so doing. The question, however, in such a case would be, whether the animal was injured, or his value lessened, by such treatment. It may be remarked that it is generally most prudent to refrain from all medical treatment, since the means adopted, no matter how skillfully used, may have an unfortunate effect, or what is done may be misrepresented by ignorant or interested observers. When a horse is returned, and an action brought for the price, it is indispensable that in every respect, except the alleged un- soundness, the animal should be as perfect and valuable as when he was bought. 324 WARRANTY, The purchaser may, possibly, like the horse, notwithstanding his discove.<. aeiect; im which case se may retain Lim and bring au action f_. Uno derreciaticn in value on account cf the unsounaness. Few, however, will do this, because the retaining of the animal will give rise to a suspicion that the defect is of no great consequence, and consequently will occasion much cavil about the amount of damages; the suit terminating, probably, in the recovery of slight, if any, damages. Where there is no warranty, an action may be brought on the ground of fraud; but as this is very difficult to be maintained, few persons will hazard it. It will in such a case, be necessary to prove that the seller knew the defect, and that the buyer was imposed upon by his false representations; and that, too, under circum- stances in which a person of ordinary carefulness and circumspection might have been imposed upon. If the defect was palpably evident, the purchaser has ne remedy, for he should have exercised more caution ; but if a warranty was given, it covers every unsoundness, evident or concealed. Although a person should ignorantly or carelessly buy a blind horse, warranted sound, he may return it— the warranty is his protection, and prevents him from examining the horse as closely as he otherwise would have done; but if he buys a blind horse, supposing him to be sound, and without a war- ranty, he is without any remedy. The law supposes every one to exercise common circumspection and common sense. A person shonld have a more thorough knowledge of horses than most possess, together with perfect confidence in the seller, who ventures to buy a horse without a warranty. If a person buy a horse warranted sound, and discovering no defect in him, sells him again, relying upon his warranty, and the unsoundness is discov- ered by the second purchaser, and the horse returned to the first buyer, or an action commenced against him, the latter has his claim upon the first seller, and may demand of him not only the price of the horse, or the difference in value, but all expenses which may necessarily have been incurred. Exchanges, whether of one horse absolutely for another, or where a sum of money is paid in addition by one of the parties, stand upon precisely the same ground as simple sales. If there is a warranty upon either side, and that is broken, the exchange is vitiated; if there is no warranty, deceit must be proved. THE END. CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. ‘eal PREFACE. A MARKED interest has of late years been manifested in our country relative to the subject of breeding and rearing domestic cattle. This has not been confined to the dairyman alone. The greater portion of intelligent agriculturists have perceived the necessity of paying more attention than was formerly devoted to the improvement and perfection of breeds for the uses of the table as well. In this respect, European cattle-raisers have long taken the precedence of our own. The gratifying favor with which the author’s former publication, “The Horse and his Diseases,’ has been received by the public, has induced him to believe that a work, similar in spirit and general treatment, upon Cattle, would not be without interest for the agri- cultural community. In this belief, the present treatise has been prepared. The author has availed himself of the labors of others in this connec- tion ; never, however, adopting results and conclusions, no matter how strongly endorsed, which have been contradicted by his own observation and experience. In a field like the one in question, assuredly, if anywhere, some degree of independent judgment will not be censured by those who are familiar with the sad conse- quences resulting from the attempted application of theories now universally exploded, but which in the day and generation of their originators were sanctioned and advocated by those who claimed to be magnates in this department. 5 PREFACE. To the following works, especially, the author acknowledges him- self indebted : American Farmer’s Encyclopeedia ; Stephens’s Book of the Farm; Flint’s Milch-Cows and Dairy Farming; Laurence on Cattle; Allen’s Domestic Animals; Youatt and Martin on Cattle ; Thomson’s Food of Animals; Allen’s Rural Architecture ; Colman’s Practical Agriculture and Rural Economy; Goodale’s Breeding of Domestic Animals; and Prof. Gamgee’s valuable contributions to veterinary science. Particular attention is requested to the division of “ Diseases.” Under this head, as in his former work, the author has endeavored to detail the symptoms of the most common ailments of cattle in such a manner that every farmer and cattle-owner can at once understand them, and also to suggest such procurable remedies as a wide experience has proved to be most efficacious. A generous space has been devoted to the consideration of that fatal epidemic, now generally known as “ Pleuro-Pneumonia,” as it has manifested itself in Europe and this country, in the belief that a matter of such vital importance to the stock-raiser ought to re- ceive a complete exposition in a work like the present. As the author’s personal experience in connection with the treatment of this peculiar disease has been, perhaps, as large and varied as that of any American practitioner, he is not without the hope that his views upon the matter may prove productive of some benefit to others. Should the present volume prove as acceptable to those interested as did his former work, the author will be abundantly satisfied that he has not mistaken in this instance the wants of the public. pi fale v aan CONTENTS. HISTURY AND BREEDS OF CATTLE,. nk aE ee sancceccoseressnansa bet THE BRITISH OX,......cccsce00 SSeS tre AMERICAN: (CATIGE’ caccs snccaceesvasssves Pesasnaeemeseenens Pereareess sncusuedasensed Raeenevesenen choseccs The Ayrehire,...sesssees. Baan caueuses sieacdan padaunwecawvasr sean eeeewadscagnel duamaecasnas esis WHEN SGLROY ~.cesewantvucstecusadsterccssatvaeqeessseens Pevasisawatuscnesnasvecese abeskene he The Short-Horns,.........ssss0000 Pereneroeecenseeree Msissden chases cndawosisatcaunanessdaansbenncenn The Dutch,.......... Treo “cecnce reericorerreecerenncce ceechnecre The Hereford, The North-Devon,...........sesssesssecseeee Specencoea ee auiadvescqusssuasunapiauscuwasnaten dat Native Cattiostcancsccressstanccsts-cnscscuscnaccsane “ NATURAL History or CATTLE, Gestation 7 cusssspcsaclsassuassssesanunuanascanhannas Formation of Teeth, Points of a Good Cow,.. Tur MILK-MrIRRoR,....... 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Ap ob cuvvcuncceaussbvcoenwe scenes spunscenaconsesousess Na VOL-i1]y cc, ccsccnsesvnc -onvexvevvos ssbpusevenusvhunscsunsnahuvpnivsbaniececanuncuatsyesteennesRRenDien ace @ Obstructions in the Gsophagus,..... sesrsecsessesssveccnsreecvenseseeess seater tesseecees «. 247 Open Joints, RR eS eis hy ait cc Rtiteetateccses 5 245 CONTENTS. DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES—Continued. PAL IMTICLON) cc quesneansupuhconucavauqehvecnascansasunesecadaysrduescausasseseeteeresereemtesnen $9 97 102 107 112 117 123 129 139 150 152 153 159 168 177 185 190 195 197 205 218 230 244 256 268 285 299 313 Ni ee wl fy tin i eat P3867. OF eB Ir is quite certain that the ox has been domesticated and in the service of man from a very remote period. We are informed in the fourth chapter of Genesis, that cattle were kept by the early descendants of Adam ; Jubal, the son of Lamech—who was probably born during the lifetime of Adam—hbeing styled the father of such as have cattle. The ox having been preserved by Noah from the flood of waters, the original breed of our present cattle must have been in the neighborhood of Mount Ararat. From thence, dispersing over the face of the globe—altering by climate, by food, and 13 ce EE A Las ee Se RoE 14 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. by cultivation—originated the various breeds sf modern ages. That the value of the ox tribe has been in all ages and climates highly appreciated, we have ample evidence. The natives of Egypt, India, and Hindostan, seem alike to have placed the cow amongst their deities; and, judging by her usefulness to all classes, no animal could perhaps have been selected whose value to mankind is greater. The traditions, indeed, of every Celtic nation enroll the cow among the earliest productions, and represent it as a kind of divinity. In nearly all parts of the earth cattle are employed for their labor, for their milk, and for food. In southern Africa they are as much the associates of the Caffre as the horse is of the Arab. They share his toils, and assist him in tending his herds. They are even trained to battle, in which they become fierce and courageous. In central Africa the proudest ebony beauties are to be seen upon the backs of cattle. In all ages they have drawn the plough. In Spain they still trample out the corn; in India they raise the water from the deepest wells to irrigate the thirsty soil of Bengal. When Cxsar invaded Britain they constituted the chief riches of its inhabitants ; and they still form no inconsiderable item in the estimate of that country’s riches. The parent race of the ox is said to have been much larger than any of the present varieties. The Urus, in his wild state at least, was an enormous and fierce animal, and ancient legends have thrown around him an air of mystery. In almost every part of the continent of Europe and in every district of England, skulls, evidently belonging to cattle, have been found, far exceeding in bulk any now known. THE BRITISH OX. 15 As the various breeds of cattle among us were introduced into this country from Great Britain, we propose, before going into the details of the leading American breeds, to glance somewhat briefly at the history of THE BRITISH OX. In the earliest and most reliable accounts which we possess of the British Isles—the Commentaries of Casar—we learn that the ancient Britons possessed great numbers of cattle. No satisfactory déscription of these cattle occurs in any ancient author; but, with occasional exceptions, we know that they possessed no great bulk or beauty. Caesar tells us that the Britons neglected tillage and lived on milk and flesh; and this account of the early inhabitants of the British Isle is corroborated by other authors. It was such an occupation and mode of life as suited their state of society. The island was divided into many little sovereignties; no fixed property was secure; and that alone was valuable which could be hurried away at the threatened approach of the invader. Many centuries after this, when—although one sovereign seemed to reign paramount over the whole of the kingdom—there continued to be endless contests among the © feudal barons, and therefore that property alone continued to be valuable which could be secured within the walls of the castle, or driven beyond the assailant’s reach—an immense stock of provisions was always stored up in the various fortresses, both for the vassals and the cattle; or it was con- trived that the latter should be driven to the domains of some friendly baron, or concealed in some inland recess. When the government became more powerful and settled, 16 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. and property of every kind was assured a proportionate degree of protection, as well as more equally divided, the plough came into use; agricultural productions were oftener cultivated, the reaping of which was sure after the labor of sowing. Cattle were then comparatively neglected and for some centuries injuriously so. Their numbers diminished, and their size also seems to have diminished ; and it is only within the last century and a half that any serious and successful efforts have been made materially to improve them. In the comparatively roving and uncertain life which the earlier inhabitants led, their cattle would sometimes stray and be lost. The country was at that time overgrown with forests, and the beasts betook themselves to the recesses of these woods, and became wild and sometimes ferocious. They, by degrees, grew so numerous as to be dangerous to the inhabitants of the neighboring districts. One of the chronicles asserts that many of them harbored in the forests in the neighborhood of London. Strange stories are told of some of them, and, doubtless, when irritated, they were fierce and dangerous enough. As, however, civilization advanced, and the forests became thinned and contracted, these animals were seen more rarely, and at length almost disappeared. A few of them, however, are still to be found in the parks of some of the leading English noblemen, who keep them for ornament and as curiosities. The color of this wild breed is invariably white, the muzzle being black; the whole of the inside of the ear, and about one-third of the outside, from the tips downward, red ; horns white, with black tips, very fine, and bent upward; some of THE BRITISH OX. 17 the bulls have a thin, upright mane, about an inch and a half or two inches long. The beef is finely marbled and of ex- cellent flavor. At the first appearance of any person they set off in full gallop, and at the distance of about two hundred yards, make a wheel around and come boldly up again in a menacing manner; on a sudden they make a full stop at the distance of forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their surprise; but upon the least motion they all again turn round and fly off with equal speed, but not to the same distance, forming a shorter circle; and, again returning with a more threatening aspect than before, they approach probably within thirty yards, when they again make another stand, and then fly off; this they do several times, shortening their distance and advancing nearer and nearer, till they come within such short distance that most persons think it prudent to leave them. When the cows calve, they hide their calves for a week or - ten days in some retired situation, and go and suckle them two or three times a day. If any persons come near the calves they clap their heads close to the ground to hide themselves—a proof of their native wildness. The dams allow no one to touch their young without attacking with impetuous ferocity. When one of the herd happens to be wounded, or has grown weak and feeble through age or sickness, the rest set on it and gore it to death. The breeds of cattle which are now found in Great Britain, are almost as various as the soil of the different districts or the fancies of the breeders. They have, however, been very conveniently classed according to the comparative size of the 9 . 18 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. horns; the long-horns, originally from Lancashire, and estab- lished through most of the midland counties; the short-horns, generally cultivated in the northern counties and in Lincoln- shire, and many of them found in every part of the kingdom where the farmer pays much attention to his dairy, or where a large supply of milk is desired; and the mzddle-horns, a distinct and valuable breed, inhabiting, principally, the north of Devon, the east of Sussex, Herefordshire, and Gloucester- shire ; and of diminished bulk and with somewhat different character, the cattle of the Scottish and Welsh mountains. The Alderney, with its crumpled horn, is found on the southern coast; while the polled, or horniess, cattle prevail _in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Galloway, whence they were first derived. These leading breeds, however, have been intermingled in every possible way. They are found pure only in their native districts, or on the estate of some wealthy and spirited individuals. Each county has its own mongrel breed, often difficult to be described, and not always to be traced— neglected enough, yet suited to the soil and the climate ; and among small farmers, maintaining their station, in spite of attempts at improvements by the intermixture or the substi tution of foreign varieties. Much dispute has arisen as to the original breed of British cattle. The battle has been sharply fought between the advocates of the middle and of the long-horns. The short- horns and the polls are out of the lists; the latter, although it has existed in certain districts from time immemorial, being probably an accidental variety. The weight of argument THE BRITISH OX. 19 appears at present to rest with the middle horns; the long- horns being evidently of Irish extraction. Great Britain has shared tbe fate of other nations, and oftener than they been overrun and subjugated by invaders. As the natives retreated they carried with them some portion of their _ property, con- sisting, in the remote and early times, principally of cattle. They drove along THE WELL-FED BEASTS. with them as many as they could, when they retired to the fortresses of North Devon and Cornwall, or the mountainous region of Wales, or when they took refuge in the retirement of East Sussex; and there, retaining all their prejudices, manners, and customs, were jealous of the preservation of that which reminded them of their native country before it yielded to a foreign yoke. In this way was preserved the ancient breed of British cattle. Difference of climate produced some change, particu- larly in their bulk. The rich pasturage of Sussex fattened the ox into its superior size and weight. The plentiful, but not so luxuriant, herbage of the north of Devon produced a smaller and more active animal; while the privations of Wales lessened the bulk and thickened the hide of the Welsh 20 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. stock. As for Scotland, it set its invaders at defiance; or its inhabitants retreated for a while, and soon turned again on their pursuers. They were proud of their country, and of their cattle, their choicest possession ; and there, also, the cattle were preserved, unmixed and undegenerated. Thence it has resulted, that in Devon, in Sussex, in Wales, and in Scotland, the cattle have been the same from time immemorial; while in all the eastern coasts and through every district of England, the breed of cattle degenerated, or lost its original character; it consisted of animals brought from all the neighboring, and some remote districts, mingled in every possible variety, yet conforming to the soil and the climate. Careful observations will establish the fact, that the cattle in Devonshire, Sussex, Wales, and Scotland are essen- tially the same. They are middle horned ; not extraordinary milkers, and remarkable for the quality rather than the quantity of their milk; active at work, and with an unequalled aptitude to fatten. They have all the characters of the same breed, changed by soil, climate, and time, yet little changed by man. The color, even, may be almost traced, namely : the red of the Devon, the Sussex, and the Hereford; and where only the black are now found, the recollection of the red prevails. As this volume is intended especially for the farmers of our own country, it is deemed unnecessary in this connection to present any thing additional under the present head, except the names of the prominent species of British, cattle. These are, commencing with the middle horns, the North Devon, the Hereford, the Sussex, the Welsh (with the varieties of AMERICAN CATTLE. o1 the Pembrokeshire, the Glamorganshire, the Radnor black, the Anglesea and some others) ; and the Scotch with its chief varieties, the West Highlanders, the North Highlanders, the North Eastern, the Fife, the Ayrshire, and the Galloways. As to the long horns, which came originally from Craven, in Yorkshire, it may be remarked that this breed has been rapidly disappearing of late, and has everywhere given place to betterkinds. Of this species there are—or perhaps were— two leading classes, the Lancashire and the Leicestershire improved. , Of the short horns, the leading breeds are the Dutch, the Holderness, the Teeswater, the Yorkshire, the ee the Northumberland, and some others. AMERICAN CATTLE. The breeds of cattle which stock the farms of the United States are all derived from Europe, and, with few exceptions, from Great Britain. The highest breeds at the present, time are of comparatively recent origin, since the great improve- _ments in breeding were only commenced at about the period of the American Revolution. The old importations made by the early settlers, must consequently have been from com- paratively inferior grades. In some sections of the Union, and more particularly in New England, the primitive stock is thought to have under- gone considerable improvement; whilst in many parts of the Middle, and especially of the Southern States, a greater or less depreciation has ensued. The prevailing stock ir the Eastern States is believed to be derived from the North 22 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. ' Devons, most of the excellent marks and qualities of which they possess. For this reason they are very highly esteemed, and have been frequently called the American Devon. The most valuable working oxen are chiefly of this breed, which also contributes so largely to the best displays of beef found in the markets of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. By means of this domestic stock, and the importations still extensively made of selections from the short horns, and others of the finest European breeds, the cattle, not only of New England, but of other sections, are rapidly improving, especially in the Middle and Western States. A brief sketch of the principal breeds of American cattle, as well as of the grades or common stock of the country, will be of service to the farmer in making an intelligent selection with reference to the special object of pursuit—whether it be the dairy, the production of beef, or the raising of cattle for work. In selecting any breed, regard should be had to the circumstances of the individual farmer and the object to be pursued. The cow most profitable for the milk dairy, may be very unprofitable in the butter and cheese dairy, as well as for the production of beef; while, for either of the latter objects, the cow which gave the largest quantity of milk might be very undesirable. A union and harmony of all good qualities must be secured, so far as possible. The farmer wants a cow that will milk well for some years; and then, when dry, fatten readily and sell to the butcher for the highest price. These qualities, often supposed to be utterly incompatible, will be found united in some breeds to a greater extent than in others; while some peculiarities of THE AYRSHIRE. 23 form have been found, by observation, to be better adapted to the production of milk and beef than others. It is proposed, therefore, to sketch the pure breeds now found in America. THE AYRSHIRE. This breed is justly celebrated throughout Great Britain and this rome for its excellent dairy qualities. Though ee ay mn) all ii ie WA al enti: pei psa Simp - in their origin, _ the most recent ait they are pretty 4 i distinct from the ea Scotch and Eng- lish races. In color, the pure W Aryshires are aie generally red and AN AYRSHIRE BULL, white, spotted or mottled, not roan like many of the short horns, but often presenting a bright contrast of colors. They are sometimes, though rarely, nearly or quite all red, and sometimes black and white; but the favorite color is red and white brightly contrasted ; and, by some, strawberry-color is preferred. The head is small, fine and clean; the face long and narrow at the muzzle, with a sprightly, yet generally mild expression ; eye small, smart and lively; the horns short, fine, and slightly twisted upward, set wide apart at the roots; the neck thin; body enlarging from fore to hind quarters; the back straight and narrow, but broad across the loin; joints rather loose and open; ribs rather flat; hind quarters rather 24 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. thin; bone fine; tail long, fine, and bushy at the end; hair generally thin and soft; udder light color and capacious, extending well forward under the belly ; teats of the cow of medium size, generally set regularly and wide apart; milk- veins prominent and well developed. The carcass of the pure bred Ayrshire is light, particularly the fore quarters, which is considered by good judges as an index of great milking qualities; but the pelvis is capacious and wide over the hips. On the whole, the Ayrshire is good looking, but wants some of the symmetry and aptitude to fatten which charac- terize the short horn, which is supposed to have contributed to build up this valuable breed on the basis of the original stock of the county of Ayr, which extends along the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde, in the southwestern part of Scotland. The original stock of this country are described as of a diminutive size, ill fed, iil shaped, and yielding but a scanty return in‘milk. They were mostly of a black color, with large stripes of white along the chine and ridge of their backs, about the flanks, and on their faces. Their horns were high and crooked, having deep ringlets at the root—the surest proof that they were but scantily fed; the chine of their backs stood up high and narrow; their sides were lank, short, and thin; their hides thick and adhering to the bones; their pile was coarse and open; and few of them gave more than six or eight quarts of milk a day when in their best condition, or weighed, when fat, more than from a hundred to a hundred and sixty pounds avoirdupois, rejecting offal. A wonderful change has since been made in the condition, ' THE AYSRHIRE. 25 aspect, and qualities of the Ayrshire dairy stock. They are now almost double the size, and yield about four times the quantity of milk that the Ayrshire cows formerly yielded. A large part of this improvement is due to better feeding and care, but much, no doubt, to judicious crossing. Strange as it may seem, considering the modern origin of this breed, all that is certainly known touching it is, that about a century and a half ago there was no such breed as Ayrshire in Scotland. The question has therefore arisen, whether these cattle came entirely from a careful selection of the best native breed. If they did, it is a circumstance without a parallel in the history of agriculture. The native breed may indeed be ameliorated by careful selection; its value may be incalculably increased ; some good qualities, some of its best qualities, may be developed for the first time; but yet there will be some resemblance to the original stock, and the more the animal is examined, the more clearly can be traced the characteristic points of the ancestor, although every one of them is improved. Youatt estimates the daily yield of an Ayrshire cow, for the first two or three months after calving, at five gallons a day, on an average; for the next three months, at three gallons; and for the next four months, at one gallon and a half. This would give eight hundred and fifty gallons as the annual average; but, allowing for some unproductive cows, he estimates the average of a dairy at six hundred gallons a year for each cow. ‘Three gallons and a half of the Ayrshire cow’s milk will yield one and a half pounds of butter. Some have estimated the yield still higher. One of the four cows originally imported into this country 96 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. by John P. Cushing, Esq., of Massachusetts, gave in one year three thousand eight hundred and sixty-four quarts, beer measure, or about nine hundred and sixty-six gallons, at ten pounds the gallon; being an average of over ten and a half beer quarts a day for the entire year. The first cow of this breed, imported by the Massachusetts Society, for the Pro- motion of Agriculture, in 1837, yielded sixteen pounds of butter a week for several successive weeks, on grass feed only. It should be borne in mind, in this connection, that the climate of New England is less favorable to the produc- tion of milk than that of England and Scotland, and that no cow imported after arriving at maturity can be expected to yield as much, under the same circumstances, as one bred on the spot where the trial is made, and perfectly acclimated. On excellent authority, the most approved shape and marks of a good dairy cow are as follows: Head small, long, and narrow toward the muzzle; horns small, clear, bent, and placed at considerable distance from each other; eyes not large, but brisk and lively; neck slender and long, tapering toward the head, with a little loose skin below; shoulders and fore quarters light and thin; hind quarters large and broad ; back straight, and joints slack and open; carcass deep in the rib; tail small and long, reaching to the heels; legs small and short, with firm joints; udder square, but a little oblong, stretching forward, thin skinned and capacious, but not low hung; teats or paps small, pointing outward, and at a considerable distance from each other ; milk-veins capacious and prominent; skin loose, thin, and soft like a glove; hair short, soft, and woolly ; general figure, when in flesh, hand- some and well proportioned. THE AYRSHIRE. 27 If this description of the Ayrshire cow be correct, it will be seen that her head and neck are remarkably clean and fine, the latter swelling gradually toward the shoulders, both parts being unencumbered with superfluous flesh. The same - general form extends backward, the fore quarters being light, the shoulders thin, and the carcass swelling out toward the hind quarters, so that when standing in front of her it has the form of a blunted wedge. Such a structure indicates very fully developed digestive organs, which exert a powerful influence on all the functions of the body, and especially on the secretion of the milky glands, accompanied with milk- veins and udder partaking of the same character as the stomach and viscera, being large and capacious, while the external skin and interior walls of the milk-glands are thin and elastic, and all parts arranged in a manner especially adapted for the production of milk. A cow with these marks will generally be of a quiet and docile temper, which greatly increases her value. A cow that is of a quiet and contented disposition feeds at ease, is - milked with ease, and yields more than one of an opposite temperament; while, after she is past her usefulness as a milker, she will easily take on fat, and make fine beef and a good quantity of tallow, because she feeds freely, and when dry the food which went to make milk is converted into fat and flesh. But there is no breed of cows with which gentle ness of treatment is so indispensable as with the Ayrshire, on account of her naturally nervous temperament. If she receives other than kind and gentle treatment, she will often resent it with angry looks and gestures, and withhold her milk; and if such treatment is long continued, will dry up; 28 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. but she willingly and easily yields it to the hand that fondles her, and all her looks and movements toward her friends are quiet and. mild. The Ayrshires in their native country are generally bred ‘or the dairy, and for no other object; and the cows have justly obtained a world-wide reputation for this quality. The oxen are, however, very fair as working cattle, though they cannot be said to excel other breeds in this respect. The Ayrshire steer may be fed and turned at three years old; but for feeding purposes the Ayrshires are greatly improved by a cross’ with the short horns, provided regard is had to the size of the animal. It is the opinion of good breeders that a high-bred short horn bull and a large-sized Ayrshire cow will produce a calf which will come to maturity earlier, and attain greater weight, and sell for more money than a pure-bred Ayrshire. This cross, with feeding from the start, may be sold fat at two or three years old, the improvement being most noticeable in the earlier maturity and size. In the cross with the short horn, the form ordinarily becomes more symmetrical, while there is, perhaps, little risk of lessening the milking qualities of the offspring, if sufficient regard is paid to the selection of the individual animals to breed from. It is thought by some that in the breeding of animals it is the male which gives the external form, or the boay and muscular system of the young, while the female imparts the respiratory organs, the circulation of the blood, the organs of secretion, and the like. If this principle be true, it follows that the milking quali- ties come chiefly from the mother, and that the bull cannot THE AYRSHIRE. 29 materially alter the conditions which determine the transmis- sion of these qualities, especially when they are as strongly marked as they dre in this breed. Until, however, certain mooted questions connected with breeding are definitively settled, it is the safest plan, in breeding for the dairy, to adhere to the rule of selecting only animals whose progenitors on both sides have been dis- tinguished for their milking qualities. It may be stated, in conclusion, that for purely dairy purposes the Ayrshire cow deserves the first place. In consequence of her small, symmetrical, and compact body, combined with a well-formed chest and a capacious stomach, there is little waste, comparatively speaking, through the respiratory system; while at the same time there is very complete assimilation of the food, and thus she converts a very large proportion of her food into milk. So remarkable is this fact, that all dairy farmers who have any experience on the point, agree in stating that an Ayrshire cow generally gives a larger return of milk for the food consumed than a cow of any other breed. The absolute quality may not be so great, but it is obtained at a less cost; and this is the point upon which the question of profit depends. The best milkers which have been known in this country were grade Ayrshires, larger in size than the pure bloods, but still sufficiently high grades to give certain signs of their origin This grade would seem to possess the advantage of com- bining, to some extent, the two qualities of milking and adaptation to beef; and this is no small recommendation of the stock to farmers situated as American farmers are, who © 30 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. wish for milk for some years and then to turn over to the putcher. ——— THE JERSEY. These cattle are now widely known in this country. Many of them have been imported from an island of the same name in the British Channel, near the coast of France, and they may now be considered, for all practical purposes, as fully acclimated. They were first introduced, upward of thirty years ago, from the channel islands, Alderney, Guernsey, and Jersey. This race is supposed to have been originally derived from Normandy, in the northern part of France. The cows have been long celebrated for the production of very rich milk and cream, but till within the last twenty-five or thirty years they were comparatively coarse, ugly, and ill-shaped. Im- provements have been very marked, but the form of the animal is still far from satisfying the eye. The head of the pure Jersey is fine and tapering, the cheek small, the throat clean, the muzzle fine and encircled with a light stripe, the nostril high and open; the horns smooth, crumpled, but not very thick at the base, tapering and tipped with black ; ears small and thin, deep orange eolor inside; eyes full and placid; neck straight and fine; chest broad and deep; barrel hoofed, broad and deep, well ribbed up; back straight from the withers to the hip, and from the top of the hip to the setting of the tail; tail fine, at right angles with the back, and hanging down to the hocks; skin thin, light color, and mellow, covered with fine soft hair; fore legs short, straight and fine below the knee, urm swelling and full THE JERSEY. 31 above ; hind quarters long and well filled; hind legs short and straight below the hocks, with bones rather fine, squarely placed, and not too close together; hoofs small; udder full in size, in line with the belly, extending well up behind; teats of medium size, squarely placed and wide apart, and milk-veins very prominent. The color is generally cream, dun, or yellow, with more or less of white, and the fine head and neck give the cows and heifers a fawn-like appearance, and make them objects of attraction in the park ; but the hind quarters are often too narrow to work well, particularly to those, who judge animals by the amount of fat which they carry. ’ It should be borne in mind, however, that a good race of animals is not always the most beautiful, as that term is generally understood. Beauty in stock has no invariable standard. In the estimation of some, it results mainly from fine forms, small bones, and close, compact frames; while others consider that structure the most perfect, and therefore the most beautiful, which is best adapted to the use for which it is destined. With such, beauty is relative. It is not the same in an animal designed for beef and in one designed for the dairy or for work. The beauty of a milch cow is the result of her good qualities. Large milkers are very rarely cows that please the eye of any but a skillful judge. They _ are generally poor, since their food goes mainly to the production of milk, and because they are selected with less regard to form than to good milking qualities. The prevail- ing opinion as to the beauty of the Jersey, is based on the general appearance of the cow when in milk—no experiments in feeding exclusively for beef having been made public, and * 32 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. no opportunity to form a correct judgment from actual observation having been furnished ; and it must be confessed that the general appearance of the breed would amply justify the hasty conclusion. The bulls are usually very different in character and dispo- sition from the cows, and are much inclined to become restive and cross at the age of two or three years, unless their treatment is uniformly gentle and firm. The Jersey is to be regarded as a dairy breed, and that almost exclusively. It would not be sought for large dairies kept for the supply of milk to cities ; for, though the quality would gratify the customer, the quantity would not satisfy the owner. The place of the Jersey cow is rather in private establishments, where the supply of cream and butter is a sufficient object; or, in limited numbers, to add richness to the milk of large butter dairies. Even one or two good Jersey cows with a herd of fifteen or twenty, will make a great difference in the quality of the milk and butter of the whole establishment; and they would probably be profitable for this, if for no other object. THE SHORT HORNS. No breed of cattle has commanded more universal admira- tion during the last half century than the improved short horns, whose origin can be traced back for nearly a hundred years. According to the best authorities, the stock which formed the basis of improvement existed equally in York- shire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, and the adjoining counties; and the pre-eminence was accorded to Durham, THE SHORT HORNS. oo which gave its name to the race, from the more correct principles of breeding which seem to have obtained there. There is a dispute among the most eminent breeders as to how far it owes its origin to early importations from Holland, whence many superior animals were brought for the purpose of improving the old long horned breed. variegated colors. Among the earlier importations into this country were also several varieties of hornless cattle, which have been kept measurably distinct in some sections; or where they have been crossed with the common stock there has been a tendency to produce hornless grades. These are not unfre- quently known as “buffalo cattle.” They were, in many cases, supposed to belong to the Galloway breed; or, which is more likely, to the Suffolk dun, a variety of the Galloway, and a far better milking stock than the Galloways, from which it sprung. These polled, or hornless cattle vary in color and qualities, but they are usually very good milkers when well kept, and many of them fatten well, and attain good weight. The Hungarian cattle have also been imported, to some extent, into different parts of the country, and have been crossed upon the natives with some success. Many other strains of blood from different breeds have also contributed to build up the common stock of the country of the present day ; and there can be no question that its appearance and value have been largely improved during the last quarter of a century, nor that improvements are still in progress which will lead to satisfactory results in the future. NATIVE CATTLE. 49 But, though we already have an exceedingly valuable foundation for improvement, no one will pretend to deny that our cattle, as a whole, are susceptible of it in many respects. They possess neither the size, the symmetry, nor the early maturity of the short horns; they do not, as a general thing, possess the fineness of bone, the beauty of form and color, nor the activity of the Devons or the Here- fords ; they do not possess that uniform richness of milk, united with generous quality, of the Ayrshires, nor the surpassing richness of milk of the Jerseys: but, above all, they do not possess the power of transmitting the many good qualities which they often have to their offspring —which is the characteristic of all well established breeds. It is equally certain, in the opinion of many good judges, that the dairy stock of the country has not been materially improved in its intrinsic good qualities during the last thirty or forty years. This may not be true of certain sections, where the dairy has been made a special object of pursuit, and where the custom of raising the best male calves of the neighborhood, or those that came from the best dairy cows, and then of using only the best formed bulls, has long pre- vailed. Although in this way some progress has, doubtless, been made, there are still room and need for more. More attention must be paid to correct principles of breeding before the satisfactory results which every farmer should strive to reach can be attained. Having glanced generally at the leading breeds of cattle in Great Britain, and examined, more in detail, the various breeds in the United States, the next subject demanding attention is, 4 50 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CATTLE. i Sean OS NE yy S NG SKELETON OF THE OX AS COVERED BY THE MUSCLES, 1, The upper jaw-bone. 2. The nasal bone, or bone of the nose. 3. The lachrymal bone. 4, The malar, orcheek bone. 5. The frontal bone, or bone of the forehead. 6. The horns, being processes or continuations of the frontal. 7. The temporal bone. 8. The parietal bone, low in the temporal fossa. 9. The occipital bone, deeply depressed below the crest or ridge of the head. 10. The lower jaw. 11. The grinders. 12. The nippers, found on the lower jaw alone. 13. The ligament of the neck, and its attachments. 14. The atlas. 16. The dentata. 17. The orbits of the eye. 18. The vertebrx, or bones of the neck. 19, The bones of the back. 20. The bones of the loins. 21. The sacrum. 22. The bones of the tail. 23. The haunch and pelvis. 24. The eight true ribs. 25. The false ribs, with their cartilages. 26. The sternum. 27. The scapula, or shoulder-blade. 28. The humerus, or lower bone of the shoulder. 29. The radius, or principal bone of the arm. 40. The ulna, its upper part forming the elbow. 41. The small bones of the knee. 42. The large metacarpal or shank bone. 43. The smaller or splint bone. 44. The sessa- moid bones. 45. The bifurcation at the pasterns, and the two larger pasterns to each foot. 46. The two smaller pasterns to each foot. 47. The two coffin bones to each foot. 48. The navicular bones. 49. The thigh bone. 50. The patella, or bone of the knee. 51. The tibia, or proper leg bone. 52. The point of the hock. 53, The small hones of the hock. 54. The metatarsals, or larger bones of the hind leg. 55. The pasterns and feet. Diviston. Vertebrata—possessing a back-bone. CLass. Mammalia—such as give suck. » FORMATION OF TEETH. OrpvER. Ruminantia—chewing the cud. Famity. With horns. Genus. Bovide—the ox tribe. Of this tribe there are eight species: Bos urus, the ancient bison. Bos bison, the American buffalo. Bos moschatus, the musk ox. Bos frontalis, the gayal. Bos grunniens, the grunting ox. Bos caffer, the South African buffalo. Bos bubalus, the common buffalo. Bos taurus, the common domestic ox. GESTATION. The usual period of pregnancy in a cow is nine calendar months, and something over: at times as much as three weeks. With one thousand and thirty one cows, whose _gestations were carefully observed in France, the average . period was about two hundred and eighty-five days. FORMATION OF TEETH. It is of the utmost importance to be able to judge of the age of acow. Few farmers wish to purchase a cow for the dairy after she has passed her prime, which will ordinarily be at the age of nine or ten years, varying, of course, accord- ing to care, feeding, &c., in the earlier part of her life. The common method of forming an estimate of the age of. cattle is by an examination of the horn. At three years old, as a general rule, the horns are perfectly smooth; after this, a ring appears near the nob, and annually afterward a new 52 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. ” one is formed, so that, by adding two years to the first ring, the age is calculated. This is a very uncertain mode of T judging. The rings are distinct only in the cow; and it is well a \ known that if a heifer goes to bull y when she is two years old, or a ‘iJ Vittle before or after that time, a # change takes place in the horn and the first ring appears; so that a real three-year-old would carry the y SS » y So8 SS \ Mi cS NS hs 7} Boos . Wh aS \\ “i Ss : 2 WS y s 1 SS f mark of a four-year-old. The rings on the horns of a bull SS are either not seen until five, or TEETH AT BIRTH. they cannot be traced at all; while in the ox they do not appear till he is five years old, and then are often very indistinct. In addition to this, it is by no akg \ means an uncommon practice to file the horns, so as.to make them smooth, and to give the animal the appearance of being much younger than it really is. \\F \\S, This is, therefore, an exceedingly fallacious guide, and cannot be relied upon by any one with the degree of confidence desired. The surest indication of the age in cattle, as in the horse, is priced? given by the teeth. The calf, at birth, will usually have two incisor or front teeth—in some cases just appearing through the gums; in 1 ee , - FORMATION OF TEETH. 53 others, fully set, varying as the cow falls short of, or exceeds, her regular time of calving. If she overruns several days, THREE WEEKES. MONTH. the eeth will have set and attained considerable size, as appears in the cut representing teeth at birth. During the second week, a tooth will usually be added on each side, and Hist nee LS Po\\\\) Wg UWI OKT, FIVE TO EIGHT MONTHS, TEN MONTHS, the mouth will generally appear as in the next cut; and before the end of the third week, the animal will generally have six incisor teeth, as denoted in the cut representing 54 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. teeth at the third week; and in a week from that time the full number of incisors will have appeared, as seen in the next cut. These teeth are temporary, and are often called milk-teeth. Their edge is very sharp; and as the animal begins to live upon more solid food, this edge becomes worn, showing the bony part of the tooth beneath, and indicates with considerable precision the length of time they nwa eee ih have been used. The centre, or oldest teeth show the marks of age first, and often become somewhat worn before the corner teeth appear. At eight weeks, the four inner teeth are nearly as sharp as_ before. They appear worn not so much on the outer edge or line of the tooth, as inside this line; but, after this, the edge begins gradually to lose its sharpness, and to present a more flattened surface; while the next outer teeth wear down like the four “ PIPTEEN MONTHS. central ones; and at three months this wearing off is very apparent, till at four months all the incisor teeth appear worn, but the inner ones the most. Now the teeth begin slowly to diminish in size by a FORMATION OF TEETH. 55 kind of contraction, as well as "wearing down, and the distance apart becomes more and more apparent. From the fifth to the eighth usually appear as in the cut of the teeth at that time; and at ten months, this change shows st ab more clearly, as represented in the next cut, and the spaces between them begin to show very plainly, till at a year old they ordinarily present the ap- pearance of the following cut; EIGHTEEN MONTHS. and at the age of fifteen months, that shown in the next, where the corner teeth are not more than half the original size, and the centre ones still smaller. The permanent teeth are now rapidly growing, and preparing to take the place of the milk- teeth, which are gradually ab- sorbed till they disappear, or are pushed out to give place to the two permanent central inci- sors, which at a year and a half will generally present the ap- TWO YEARS PAST, pearance indicated in the cut, which shows the internal structure of the lower jaw at this time, with the cells of the teeth, the two central ones protruding into the mouth, the next two pushing up, but not quite grown to the surface, 56. CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. with the third pair just perceptible. These changes require time ; and at two years past the jaw will usually appear as THREE YEARS PAST. FOUR YEARS PAST. in the cut, where four of the permanent central incisors are seen. After this, the other milk-teeth decrease rapidly, but are slow to disappear; and at three years old, the third pair FIVE YEARS PAST. TEN YEARS PAST. of permanent teeth are but formed, as represented in the cut ; and at four years the last pair of incisors will be up, as in the cut of that age ; but the outside ones are not yet fully POINTS OF A GOOD COW. 57 grown, and the beast can hardly be said to be full-mouthed till the age of five years. But before this age, or at the age of four years, the two inner pairs of permanent teeth are beginning to wear at the edges, as shown in the cut; while at five years old the whole set becomes somewhat worn down at the top, and on the two centre ones a darker line appears in the middle, along a line of harder bone, as appears in the appropriate cut. Now will come a year or two, and sometimes three, when the teeth do not so clearly indicate the exact age, and the judgment must be guided by the extent to which the dark middle lines are worn. This will depend somewhat upon the exposure and feeding of the animal ; but at seven years these lines extend over all the teeth. At eight years, another change begins, which cannot be mistaken. A ‘kind of absorption begins with the two central incisors—slow at first, but perceptible—and these two teeth become smaller than theerest, while the dark lines are worn into one in all but the corner teeth, till, at ten years, four of the central incisors have become smaller in size, with a smaller and fainter mark, as indicated in the proper cut. At eleven, the six inner teeth are smaller than the corner ones; and at twelve, all become smaller than they were, while the dark lines are nearly gone, except in the corner teeth, and the inner edge is worn to the gum. POINTS OF A GOOD COW. After satisfaction is afforded touching the age of a cow, she should be examined with reference to her soundness of constitution. A good constitution is indicated by large 58 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. lungs, which are found in a deep, broad, and prominent chest, broad and well-spread ribs, a respiration somewhat slow and regular, a good appetite, and if in milk a strong inclination to drink, which a large secretion of milk almost invariably stimulates. In such a cow the digestive organs are active and energetic, and they make an abundance of good blood, which in turn stimulates the activity of the nervous system, and furnishes the milky glands with the means of abundant secretion. Such a cow, when dry, readily takes on fat. When activity of the milk-glands is found united with close ribs, small and feeble lungs, and a slow appetite, often attended by great thirst, the cow will generally possess only a - weak and ‘feeble constitu- ¢ tion ; and if thesmilk is plentiful, it will generally be of bad quality, while the animal, ele biccs com if she does not die of diseased lungs, will not readily take on fat, when dry and fed. In order to have no superfluous flesh, the cow should have a small, clean, and rather long head, tapering toward the muzzle. A cow with a large, coarse head will seldom fatten readily, or give a large quantity of milk. A coarse head increases the proportion of weight of the least valuable parts, while it is a sure indication that the whole bony structure is too heavy. The mouth should be large and broad ; the eye bright and sparkling, but of a peculiar placidness of expres- POINTS OF A GOOD COW. 59 sion, with no indication of wildness, but rather a mild and feminine look. These points will indicate gentleness of disposition. Such cows seem to like to be milked, are fond of being caressed, and often return caresses. The horns should be small, short, tapering, yellowish, and glistening. The neck should be small, thin, and tapering toward the head, but thickening when it approaches the shoulder; the dewlaps small. The fore quarters should be rather small when compared with the hind quarters. The form of the barrel will be large, and each rib should project further than the preceding one, up to the loins. She should be well formed across the hips and in the rump. The spine or backbone should be straight and long, rather loosely hung, or open along the middle part, the result of the distance between the dorsal vertebre, which sometimes causes a slight depression, or sway back. By some good judges, this mark is regarded as of great importance, especially when the bones of the hind quarters are also rather ’ loosely put together, leaving the rump of great width and the pelvis large, and the organs and milk-vessels lodged in the cavities largely developed. The skin over the rump should be loose and flexible. This point is of great impor- tance ; and as, when the cow is in low condition or very poor, it will appear somewhat harder and closer than it otherwise would, some practice and close observation are required to judge well of thismark. The skin, indeed, all over the body, should be soft and mellow to the touch, with soft and glossy hair. The tail, if thick at the setting on, should taper and be fine below. But the udder is of special importance. It should be large 60 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES, in proportion to the size of the animal, and the skin thin, with soft, loose folds extending well back, capable of great distension when filled, but shrinking to a small compass when entirely empty. It must be free from lumps in every part, and provided with four teats set well apart, and of medium size. Nor is it less important to observe the milk- veins carefully. The principal ones under the belly should be large and prominent, and extend forward to the navel, losing themselves, apparently, in the very best milkers, in a large cavity in the flesh, into which the end of the finger can be inserted ; but when the cow is not in full milk, the milk- vein, at other times very prominent, is not so distinctly traced ; and hence, to judge of its size when the cow is dry, or nearly so, this vein may be pressed near its end, or at its entrance into the body, when it will immediately fill up to its full size. This vein does not convey the milk to the udder, as some suppose, but is the channel by which the blood returns; and its contents consist of the refuse of the secretion, or of what has not been taken up in forming milk. There are also veins in the udder, and the perineum, or the space above the udder, and between that and the buttocks, which it is of special im- portance to observe. These veins should be largely de- veloped, and irregular or knotted, especially those of the udder. They are largest in great milkers. The knotted veins of the perineum, extending from above downwards in a winding line, are not readily seen in young heifers, and are very difficult to find in poor cows, or those of only a medium quality. They are easily found in very good milkers, and if not at first apparent, they are made so by pressing upon them at the base of the perineum, when POINTS OF A GOOD COW. 61 they swell up and send the blood back toward the vulva. They form a kind of thick network under the skin of the perineum, raising it up somewhat, in some cases near the vulva, in others nearer down and closer to the udder. It is important to look for these veins, as they often form a very important guide, and by some they would be considered as furnishing the surest indications of the milking qualities of the cow. Full development almost always shows an abun- dant secretion of milk; but they are far better developed after the cow has had two or three calves, when two or three years’ milking has given full activity to the milky glands, and attracted a large flow of blood. The larger and more prominent these veins the better. It is needless to say that in observing them some regard should be had to the condition of the cow, the thickness of skin and fat by which they may be surrounded, and the general activity and food of the animal. Food calculated to stimulate the greatest flow of milk will naturally increase these veins, and give them more than usual prominence. THE MILK-MIRROR. The discovery of M. Guenon, of Bordeaux, in France—a man of remarkable practical sagacity, and a close observer of stock—consisted in the connection between the milking qualities of the cow and certain external marks on the udder, and on the space above it, called the perineum, extending to the buttocks. To these marks he gave the name of milk- mirror, or escutcheon, which consists in certain perceptible spots rising up from the udder in different directions, forms and sizes, on which the hair grows upward, whilst the hair 62 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. on other parts of the body grows downward. The reduction of these marks into a system, explaining the value of particu- lar forms and sizes of the milk-mirror, belongs exclu- ea) sively to Guénon. He divided the milk-mirror into eight classes, and each class into eight orders, mak- Ming in all no less than i sixty-four divisions, which he afterward increased by subdivisions, thus rendering the whole system compli- cated in the extreme, espe- cially as he professed to be able to judge with accuracy, by means of the milk-mirror, not only of the exact quantity MILK-MIRROR [A. a cow would give, but also of the quality of the milk, and of the length of time it would continue. He endeavored to prove too much, and was, as a matter of consequence, frequently at fault himself. Despite the strictures which have been passed upon Guénon’s method of judging of cows, the best breeders and judges of stock concur in the opinion, as the result of their observations, that cows with the most perfectly developed milk-mirrors are, with rare exception, the best milkers of their breed ; and that cows with small and slightly developed milk-mirrors are, in the majority of cases, bad milkers. There are, undoubtedly, cows with very small mirrors, which THE MILK-MIRROR. / 63 are, nevertheless, very fair in the yield of milk; and among those with middling quality of mirrors, instances of rather more than ordinary milkers often occur, while at the same time it is true that cases now and then are found where the very best marked and developed mirrors are found on very poor milkers. These apparent exceptions, however, are to be ex- plained, in the large majority of cases, i] by causes outside of those which affect the appearance of the milk- mirror. It is, of course, impossible to estimate with mathematical accuracy seo La either the quantity, quality, or du- ration of the milk, since it is affected by so many chance circumstances, which cannot always be known or estimated by even the most skillful judges; such, for example, as the food, the treat- ment, the temperament, accidental diseases, inflammation of the udder, premature calving, the climate and season, the manner in which she has been milked, and a thousand other things which interrupt or influence the flow of milk, without materially changing the size or shape of the milk-mirror. It has, indeed, been MILE-MIRROR [C.] very justly observed that we often see cows equally well formed, with precisely the same milk- 64 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES, mirror, and kept in the same circumstances, yet giving neither equal quantities nor similar qualities of milk. Nor could it be otherwise; since the action of the organs depends, not merely on their size and form, but, to a great extent, on the general condition of each individual. ' The different forms of milk-mirrors are represented by the shaded parts of cuts, lettered A, B, C, D; but it is neces- sary to premise that upon the cows themselves they are always partly concealed by the thighs, the udder, and the folds of the skin, which are not shown, and therefore they are not always so uniform in nature as they appear in the cuts. Their size varies as the skin is more or less folded or stretched; while the cuts represent the skin as uniform or free from folds, but not stretched out. It is usually very easy to distinguish the milk-mirrors by the upward direction of the hair which forms them. They are sometimes marked by a line of bristly hair growing in the opposite direction, which sur- rounds them, forming a sort of outline by the upward and downward growing hair. Yet, when the hair is very fine and short, mixed with longer hairs, and the skin much folded, and the udder voluminous and pressed by the thighs, it is necessary, in order to distinguish the part enclosed between the udder and the legs, and examine the full size of the mirrors, to MILE-MIRROR [D.] observe them attentively, and to place the legs wide apart, and to smooth out the skin, in order to avoid the folds. THE MILK-MIRROR. 65 ‘The mirrors may also be observed by holding the back of the hand against the perineum, and drawing it from above downward, when the nails rubbing against the up-growing hair, make the parts covered by it very perceptible. As the hair of the milk-mirror has not the same direction as the hair which surrounds it, it may often be distinguished by a difference in the shade reflected by it. It is then sufficient to place it properly to the light in order to see the difference in shade, and to make out the part covered by the upward-growing hair. Most frequently, however, the hair of the milk-mirror is thin and fine, and the color of the skin can easily be seen. If the eye alone is trusted, we shall often he deceived. In some countries cattle- dealers shave the back part of the cow. Just after this mrx-sernBor, [B.] operation the mirrors can neither be seen nor felt; but this inconvenience ceases in a few days. It may be added that the shaving—designed, as the dealers say, to beautify the cow—is generally intended simply to destroy the milk-mirror, and to deprive buyers of one means of judging of the milking qualities of the cows. It is unnecessary to add that the cows most carefully shaven are those which are badly 5 66 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. marked, and that it is prudent to take it for granted that cows so shorn are bad milkers. - Milk-mirrors vary in position, extent, and the figure which they represent. They may be divided according to their position, into mirrors or escutcheons, properly so called, or into lower and upper tufts, or escutcheons. The latter are very small in comparison with the former, and are situated in close proximity to the vulva, as seen at 1, incut E. They are very common on cows of bad milking races, but are very rarely seen on the best milch cows. They consist of one or two ovals, or small bands of up-grow- ing hair, and serve to indicate the continuance of the flow of milk. The period is short, in proportion as the tufts are large. They must not be confounded with the escutcheon proper, wat) 1 which is often extended up to the vulva. They are separated from it by bands of hair, more or less large, as in cut marked F. Milk-mirrors are sometimes symme- Mie eee trical, and sometimes without symme- try. When there is a great difference in the extent of the two halves, it almost always happens that the teats on the side where the mirror is best developed give more milk than those of the opposite side. The left half of the mirror, it may be remarked, is almost always the largest ; and so, when the perinean part is folded into a square, it is on this side of the body that it unfolds. Of three thousand cows in THE MILK-MIRROR. 67 Denmark, but a ingle one was found, ‘whose escutcheon — varied even a little from this rule. The mirrors having a value in proportion to the space which they occupy, it is of great importance to attend to all’ | the rows of down-growing hairs, which diminish the extent of surface, whether these tufts are in the midst of the mirror, or form indentations on its edges. These indentations, concealed in part by the folds of the skin, are sometimes seen with difficulty ; but it is important to take them into account, since in a great many cows they materially lessen the size of the mirror. Cows are often found, whose milk-mirrors at first sight appear very large, but which are only medium milkers; and it will usually be found that lateral indentations greatly diminish the surface of up-growing hair. Many errors are committed in estima- ting the value of such cows, from a want of attention to the real extent of the mirror. All the interruptions in the surface of the mirror indicate a diminution in the quantity of the milk, with the exception, however, of small oval or elliptical plates which are found in the mirror, on the back part of the udders of the best cows, as represented in the cut already given, marked A. These ovals have a peculiar tint, which is occasioned by the down- ward direction of the hair which forms them. In the best cows these ovals exist with the lower mirrors very well developed, as represented in the cut just named. In short, it should be stated that, in order to determine the extent and significance of a mirror, it is necessary to consider the state of the perineum as to fat, and that of the fullness of the udder. In a fat cow, with an inflated udder, the mirror 68 | CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. would appear larger than tt really is; whilst in a lean cow, with a loose and wrinkled udder, it appears smaller, Fat will cover faults—a fact to be borne in mind when selecting & COW. In bulls, the mirrors present the same peculiarities as in cows; but they are less varied in their form, and especially much less in size. , In calves, the mirrors show the shapes which they are afterwards to have, only they are more contracted, because the parts which they cover are but slightly developed. They are easily seen after birth; but the hair which then covers them is long, coarse, and stiff; and when this hair falls off, the calf’s mirror will resemble that of the cow, but will be of less size. With calves, however, it should be stated, in addition, that the milk-mirrors are more distinctly recognized on those from cows that are well kept, and that they will generally be fully developed at two years old. Some changes take place in the course of years, but the outlines of the mirror appear prominent at the time of advanced pregnancy, or, in the case of cows giving milk, at the times when the udder is more distended with milk than at others. M. Mayne, who has explained and simplified the method of M. Guénon, divides cows, according to the quantity which they give, into four classes : first, the very good; second, the good ; third, the medium ; and fourth, the bad. In the First class he places cows, both parts of whose milk mirror, the mammary—the tuft situated on the udder, the legs and the thighs—and the perinean—that on the perineum, extending sometimes more or less out upon the THE MILK-MIRROR. 69 thighs—are large, continuous, and uniform, covering at. least a great part of the perineum, the udder, the inner surface of the thighs, and extending more or less out upon the legs, as in cut A, with no interruptions, or, if any, small ones, oval in form, and situated on the posterior face of the udder. Such mirrors are found on most very good cows, but may also be found on cows which can scarcely be called good, and which should be ranked in the next class. But cows, whether having very well developed mirrors or not, may be reckoned as very good, and as giving as much milk as is to be ex- pected from their size, food, and the hygienic circumstances in which they IN HEN are kept, if they present the following uly characteristics : veins of the perineum large, as if swollen, and visible on the exterior—as in cut A—or which can easily be made to appear by pressing mE MTEROH IS) upon the base of the perineum ; veins of the udder large and knotted; milk-veins large, often double, equal on both sides, and forming zig-zags, under the belly. To the signs furnished by the veins and by the mirror, may be added also the following marks: a uniform, very large, and yielding udder, shrinking much in milking, and covered with soft skin and fine hair; good constitution, full chest, regular appetite, and great propensity to drink. Such cows rather incline to be poor than to be fat. The skin is | 70 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. soft and yielding; shart, fine hair; small head; fine horns; bright, sparkling eye ; mild expression ; feminine look ; with a fine neck. Cows of this first class are very rare. They give, even when small in size, from ten to fourteen quarts of milk a. day; and the largest sized from eighteen to twenty-six quarts a day,and even more. Just after calving, if arrived at maturity and fed with good, wholesome, moist food in sufficient quantity and quality, adapted to promote the secre- tion of milk, they can give about a pint of milk for every ten ounces of hay, or its equivalent, which they eat. They continue in milk for a long period. The best never go dry, and may be milked even up to the time of calving, giving from eight to ten quarts of milk aday. But even the best cows often fall short of the quantity of milk which they are able to give, from being fed on food which is too dry, or not sufficiently varied, or not rich enough in nutritive qualities, or deficient in quantity. The sEconD class is that of good cows; and to this belong the best commonly found in the market and among the cow-feeders of cities. NY . } \ i : Wy a) d They have the mammary part of the milk-mirror well developed, but the perinean part contracted, or wholly wanting, as in cut G; or both parts of wix-mirRoR [H.] the mirror are moderately developed, or slightly indented, as in cut H. Cut E belongs also to this class, in the lower part; but it indicates a cow, which—as THE MILK-MIRROR. 71 the upper mirror, 1, indicates—dries up sooner when again in calf, These marks, though often seen in many good cows, should be considered as certain only when the veins of the perineum form, under the skin, a kind of network, which, without being very apparent, may be felt by a pressure on them; when the milk-veins on the belly are well-developed, though less knotty and less prominent than in cows of the first class; in short, when the udder is well developed, and presents veins which are sufficiently numerous, though not very large. It is necessary here, as in the preceding class, to distrust cows in which the mirror is not accompanied by large. veins. This remark applies especially to cows which have had several calves, and are in full milk. They are medium or bad, let the milk-mirror be what it may, if the veins of the belly are not large, and those of the udder apparent. The general characteristics which depend on form and constitution combine, less than in cows of the preceding class, ~ the marks of good health and excellent constitution with those of a gentle and feminine look. Small cows of this class give from seven to ten or eleven quarts of milk a day, and the largest from thirteen to seven- teen quarts. They can be made to give three-fourths of a pint of milk, just after calving, for every ten ounces of hay consumed, if well cared for, and fed in a manner favorable to the secretion of milk. They hold out long in milk, when they have no upper mirrors or tufts. At seven or eight months in calf, they may give from five to eight quarts of milk a day. The THiRD class consists of middling cows. When the 72 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. milk-mirror really presents only the mammary or lower part slightly indicated or developed, and the perinean part con- tracted, narrow, and irregu- lar—as in cut K—the cows are middling. The udder is slightly developed or hard, and shrinks very little after milking. The veins of the perineum are not apparent, and those which run along the lower side of the abdomen are small, " straight, and sometimes un- equal. In this ease the mirror is not symmetrical, and the cow gives more milk on the side where the mrix-winroR [K.] vein is the largest. These cows have large heads, and a thick, hard skin. Being ordinarily in good condition, they are beautiful to look at, and seem to be well formed. Many of them are nervous and restive, and not easily approached. Cows of this class give, according to size, from three or four to ten quarts of milk. They very rarely give, even in the most favorable circumstances, half a pint of milk for every ten ounces of hay which they consume. The milk diminishes rapidly, and dries up wholly the fourth or fifth month in calf. _ The rourtH class is composed of bad cows. As they are THE MILK-MIRROR. 73 commonly in good condition, these cows are often the most beautiful of the herd and in the markets. They have fleshy thighs, thick and hard skin, a large and coarse neck and head, and horns large at the base. The udder is hard, small and fleshy, with a skin covered with long, rough hair. No veins are to be seen either on the perineum or the udder, while those of the belly are slightly developed, and the mirrors are ordinarily small, as in cut L. : With these characteristics, cows give only a few quarts of milk a day, and dry up in a short time after calving. Some of them can scarcely nourish their calves, even when they are properly cared for and well fed. Sickly habits, chronic affections of the digestive organs, the chest, the womb, and the lacteal system, sometimes greatly affect the milk secretion, and cquse cows troubled with them to fail from the first or second to the third, and sometimes to the fourth class. Without pushing this method of judging of the good milking qualities of cows into the objectionable extreme to which it was carried by its originator, it may be safely asserted that the milk-mirror forms an important additional mark or point for distinguishing good milkers; and it may be laid down as a rule that, in the selection of milch cows, as well as in the choice of young animals for breeders, the milk-mirror should, by all means, be examined and considered ; but that we should not limit or confine ourselves exclusively to it, and that other and long-known marks should be equally regarded. There are cases, however, where a knowledge and careful 4 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. examination of the form and size of the mirror become of the highest importance. It is well known that certain signs or marks of great milkers are developed, only as the capaci- ties of the animal herself are fully and completely developed by age. The milk-veins, for instance, are never so large and prominent in heifers and young cows as in old ones, and the same may be said of the udder, and of the veins of the udder and perineum; all of which it is of great import- ance to observe in the selec- tion of milch cows. Those signs, then, which in cows arrived at maturity are almost sufficient in themselves to warrant a conclusion as to their merits as milkers, are, MILK-MIRROR [L.] to a great extent, wanting in younger animals, and altogether in calves, as to which there is often doubt whether they shall be raised; and here a knowledge of the form of the mirror is of immense advantage, since it gives, at the outset and before any expense is in- curred, a somewhat reliable means of judging of the future milking capacities of the animal; or, if a male, of the probability of his transmitting milking qualities to his off- spring. It will be seen, from an examination of the points of a good milch cow. that, though the same marks which indicate THE MILK-MIRROR. 15 _the greatest milking qualities may not always indicate the greatest aptitude to fatten, yet that the signs which denote good fattening qualities are included among the signs favora- ble to the production of milk ; such as soundness of constitu- tion, marked by good organs of digestion and respiration, fineness and mellowness of the skin and hair, quietness of disposition—which inclines the animal to rest and lie down while chewing the cud—and other marks which are relied on by graziers in selecting animals to fatten. In buying dairy stock the farmer generally finds it for his interest to select young heifers, as they give the promise of longer usefulness. But it is often the case that older cows are selected with the design of using them for the dairy for a limited period, and then feeding them for the butcher. In either case, it is advisable, as a rule, to choose animals in low or medium condition. The farmer cannot commonly afford to buy fat; it is more properly his business to make it, and to have it to sell. Good and well-marked cows in poor condition will rapidly gain in flesh and products when removed to better pastures and higher keeping, and they cost less in the original purchase. It is, perhaps, superfluous to add that regard should be had to the quality of the pasturage and keeping which a cow has previously had, as compared with that to which she is to be subjected. The size of the animal should also be considered with reference to the fertility of the pastures into which she is to be put. Small or medium-sized animals accommodate themselves to ordinary pastures far better than large ones. Where a very large cow will do well, two small ones will usually do better; while the large animal might fail "6 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. entirely where two small ones would do well. It is better to have the whole herd, so far as may be, uniform in size; for, if they vary greatly, some may get more than they nee 4, and others will not have enough. This, however, canp /t lways be brought about. WK Wi NY Li) ss (PRECEDING THE raising of cattle has now become a source of profit in many sections,—to a greater extent, at least, than formerly—and it becomes a matter of great practical importance to our farmers to take the proper steps to improve them. Indeed, the questions—what are the best breeds, and what are the best crosses, and how shall I improve my stock—are now asked almost daily ; and their practical solution would add many thousand dollars to the aggregate wealth of the farmers of the country, if they would all study their own interests. 17 78 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. The time is gradually passing away when the intelligent practical farmer will be willing to put his cows to any bull, simply because his services may be had for twenty-five cents ; for, even if the progeny is to go to the butcher, the calf sired by a pure-bred bull—particularly of a race distinguished for fineness of bone, symmetry of form, and early maturity—-will bring a much higher price at the same age than a calf sired by a scrub. Blood has a money value, which will, sooner or later, be generally appreciated. The first and most important object of the farmer is to get the greatest return in money for his labor and his produce; and it is for his interest to obtain an animal—a calf, for example—that will yield the largest profit on the outlay. If a calf, for which the original outlay was five dollars, will bring at the same age and on the same keep more real net profit than another, the original outlay for which was not twenty-five cents, it is certainly for the farmer’s interest to make the heavier original outlay and thus secure the superior animal. Setting all fancy aside, it is merely a question of dollars and cents; but one thing is certain—and that is, that no farmer can afford to keep poor stock. It eats as much, and requires nearly the same amount of care and attention, as stock of the best quality ; while it is equally certain that stock of ever so good a quality, whether grade, native, or thoroughbred, will be sure to deteriorate and sink to the level of poor stock by neglect and want of proper attention. How, then, is our stock to be improved? Not, certainly, by that indiscriminate crossing, with a total disregard of all well-established principles, which has thus far marked our efforts with foreign stock, and which is one prominent reason -CROSSING AND BREEDING. 79 why so little improvement has been made in our dairfes ; nor by leaving all the results to chance, when, by a careful and judicious selection, they may be within our own control. We want cattle for distinct purposes, as for milk, beef, or labor. In a large majority of cases—especially in the dairy districts, at least, comprising the Eastern and Middle States— the farmer cares more for the milking qualities of his cows, especially for the quantity they give, than for their fitness for grazing, or aptness to fatten. These latter points become more important in the Western and some of the Southern States, where much greater attention is paid to breeding and to feeding, and where comparatively slight attention is given to the productions of the dairy. A stock of cattle which would suit one farmer might be wholly unsuited to another; and in such particular case the breeder should have some special object in view, and select his animals with reference to it. There are, however, some well-defined general principles that apply to breeding everywhere, and which, in many cases, are not thoroughly understood. To these attention will now be directed. The first and most important of the laws to be considered in this connection is that of similarity. It is by virtue of this law that the peculiar characters, properties, and qualities of the parents—whether external or internal, good or bad, healthy or diseased—are transmitted to their offspring. This is one of the plainest and most certain of the laws of nature. The lesson which it teaches may be stated in five words :— Breed only from the best. Judicious selection is indispensable to success in breeding, 80 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. and this should have regard to every particular—general appearance, length of limb, shape of carcass, development of chest ; in cattle, to the size, shape, and position of the udder, thickness of skin, touch, length and texture of hair, docility, and all those points which go to make up the desirable animal. Not only should care be exercised to avoid structural defects, but especially to secure freedom trom hereditary diseases ; as both defects and diseases appear to be more easily transmissible than desirable qualities. There is, often- times, no obvious peculiarity of structure or appearance which suggests the possession of diseases or defects which are transmissible ; and for this reason, special care and con- tinued acquaintance are requisite in order to be assured of their absence in breeding animals; but such a tendency, although invisible or inappreciable to careless observers, must still, judging from its effects, have as real and certain an existence as any peculiarity of form or color. In neat cattle, hereditary diseases do not usually show themselves at birth; and sometimes the tendency remains latent for many years, perhaps through one or two genera- tions, and afterward breaks out with all its former severity. The diseases which are found hereditary in cattle are scrofula, consumption, dysentery, diarrhea, rheumatism, and malig- nant tumors. As these animals are less exposed to the exciting causes of disease, and less liable to be overtasked or subjected to violent changes of temperature, or otherwise put in jeopardy, their diseases are not so numerous as those of the horse, and what they have are less violent, and generally of a chronic character. CROSSING AND BREEDING. 81 With regard to hereditary diseases, it is eminently true that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound ofcure.” RABIES—RED WATER. , 305 ~the mouth and staggers as it walks; if water is offered, the muzzle is plunged into it, but the victim cannot drink; in making the effort, the most fearful consequences are produced. Thé animal now seeks to do mischief,—and the quicker it is then destroyed, the better. _Treatment.—This must be applied quickly, or not at all. The moment an animal is bitten, that moment the wound should be searched for, and when found, should be freely opened with a knife, and lunar caustic, caustic potash, or the per-manganate of potash at once applied to all parts of the wound, care being taken not to suffer a single scratch to escape. This, if attended to in time, will save the animal. RED WATER. This disease derives its name from the color of the urine voided in it. Itis one of the most common complaints of horned cattle, and one of the most troublesome to manage. Symptoms.—Respiration hurried; rumination ceases; a high degree of fever presented; the animal moans, arches the back, and strains in passing the urine, which is tinged with blood, or presents the appearance of pure blood. Prof. Gamgee, of the Edinburgh Veterinary College, says: ‘The cause is almost invariably feeding on turnips that have grown on damp, ill-drained land; and very often a change of diet stops the spread of this disease in the byre. Other succulent food, grown under similar circumstances, may pro- duce the same symptoms, tending to disturb the digestive organs and the blood-forming process. “Tn the course of my investigations as to the cause ot various cattle-diseases, and of red water in particular, I have 20 206 . CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. found that it is unknown on well-drained farms and in dairies where turnips are used only in a moderate degree. The lands of poor people furnish the roots most likely to induce this disorder; and I can confirm the statement of the late Mr. Cumming, of Elton, who, in his very interesting essay upon this subject, says, particularly in reference to Aberdeenshire, that it is ‘a disease essentially attacking the poor man’s cow; and to be seen and studied, requires a practice extending into the less favorably situated parts of the country. On large farms, where good stock is well kept, and in town dairies, where artificial food is used to supple- ment the supply of turnips, it is'seldom now seen.’ ‘« Symptoms.—General derangement attracts the dairyman’s attention, and, upon observing the urine which the animal has voided, it is seen to be of a red, or of a reddish brown, or claret color; sometimes transparent, at others clear. The color increases in depth; other secretions are checked; the animal becomes hide-bound, and the milk goes off. Appetite and rumination are suspended; the pulse becomes extremely feeble and frequent, though—as in all debilitating, or anemic, disorders—the heart’s action is loud and strong, with a decided venous pulse, or apparent regurgitation, in the large veins of the neck. “In some cases, if even a small quantity of blood be with- drawn, the animal drops in a fainting state. In red water, the visible mucous membranes are blanched, and the extremi- ties cold, indicating the languid state of the blood’s circula- tion and the poverty of the blood itself. Constipation is one of the most obstinate complications; and many veterinary surgeons—aware that, if the bowels can be acted on, the RHEUMATISM. 307 animal is cured—nave employed purgatives in quantities far too large, inducing at times even death. Occasionally, diarrhoea is one of the first, and not of the unfavorable, symptoms.” Treatment.—Give one pint of linseed-oil; clysters of soap and water should be freely used; and give plenty of linseed- tea to drink. When the urine is abundant, give one ounce of tincture of opium, with one drachm of powdered aloes, three times, at intervals of six or eight hours. RHEUMATISM. This is a constitutional inflammatory affection of the joints, affecting the fibrous tissue and serous, or synovial membrane. It is caused by exposure to cold and wet; being quite common in low, marshy sections. ' Symptoms.—Loss of appetite; upon forcing the animal to move, every joint seems stiffened; nose dry; coat staring; constipation is also an attendant symptom ; the joints, one or more, become swollen and painful. This may be regarded as a metastic, or shifting disease; first one part, and then another, seems to be affected. Treatment.—Mild purgatives should be used; one-half- ounce doses of colchicum-root pulverized will be found .useful; one-ounce balls of pine-tar may also be given with advantage. As a local application, the author has found nothing to equal kerosene oil, one pint, to two ounces of aqua ammonia, well rubbed in, two or three times a day. $08 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. STRANGULATION OF THE INTESTINES. This disease in cattle,—popularly styled Knot, or Gut-tie,— in consequence of the peculiar arrangement of the abdominal viscera, is of very rare occurrence. When, however, it does .occur, the symptoms accompanying are those of inflammation of the intestines. No kind of treatment will be successful, and the poor brute must suffer until death comes to its relief. THRUSH IN THE MOUTH. Aptha, or thrush in the mouth, is a vesicular disease of the mouth, sometimes occurring as an epizodétic. It is often mistaken for blain,—inflammation of the tongue, or black tongue,—and usually occurs in the winter, or early in the spring. It appears in the form of vesicles, or pustules all over the mouth, occasionally extending to the outside of the lips. These pustules break, discharging a thin, sanious fluid, leaving minute ulcers in their places. This disease yields readily to treatment, when it is properly applied. Three ounces of Epsom-salts, once a day for three or four days, should be given in drench; wash the mouth well with a solution of alum, tincture of myrrh, or vinegar and honey, and it will disappear in a few days. TUMORS, These enlargements so common in cattle, have been so admirably described, in the Veterinarian for 1843, by John R alph, V.S.,—who has been so successful in the treatment of these morbid growths, that the benefit of his experience is TUMORS. ; 809 here given. Hesays: “Of all the accidental productions met with among cattle, with the exception of wens, a certain kind of indurated tumor, chiefly situated about the head and throat, has abounded most in my practice. “The affection often commences in one of the thyroid glands, which slowly but gradually increases in size, feels firm when grasped, and evinces very little tenderness. Generally the attendant is alarmed by a snoring or wheezing noise emitted by the animal in respiration, before he is aware of the existence of any tumefaction. This continues to in- crease, embracing in its progress the adjacent cellular and muscular tissues, and frequently the submaxillary and parotid glands. It becomes firmly attached to the skin through which an opening is ultimately effected by the pressure of pus from the centre of the tumor. The swelling often presents an irregular surface, and various centres of maturation exist ; but the evacuations only effect a partial and temporary reduction of its bulk, in conse- quence of the continued extension of the morbid growth and ulcerative process which often proceed towards the pharynx, rendering respiration and deglutition still more difficult, until at length the animal sinks from atrophy or phthisis pulmo- nalis. “Tn the early part of my practice, having been frustrated in my attempts to establish healthy action in these ulcers, and referring to the works that I had on surgery for informa- tion, I concluded that they bore some resemblance to cancer in the human being, and determined to attempt extirpation. Subsequently, numerous cases have occurred in which I have successfully carried that determination into effect. I have 3810 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. had some instances of failure, which failure always arose from some portion of the morbid growth having been left. “Tn the first stage, I have reason to believe that the tumor may be dispersed by the general and topical use of the iodurets. After the suppuration, I have tried them in vain. “As soon as the nature of the tumor is clearly developed, I generally attempt its removal, and, when most prominent by the side of the larynx, I proceed in the following manner : —Having cast the beast, turned the occiput toward the ground, and bolstered it up with bundles of straw, I proceed to make an incision through it, if the skin is free, parallel with, and over, and between the trachea and sterno-mazil- laris, extending it sufficiently forward into the inter-maxillary spaces. If I find it firmly attached to the apex of the tumor, I then enclose it in a curvilinear incision and proceed to detach the healthy skin to beyond the verge of the tumor. “Its edges being held by an assistant, the knife is directed downwards through the subcutaneous parts, and all those that exhibit the slightest change from healthy structure are removed. “By tying any considerable blood-vessel before dividing it, and by using the handle of the scalpel and the fingers in detaching the portion of the parotid gland towards the ear the hemorrhage was always inconsiderable. “The wound is then treated in the ordinary way ; except that detergents and even antiseptics are often needed to arouse healthy action, and the addition of some preparation of iodine is often made to the digestive. In directing the constitutional treatment, our chief aim must be to support TUMORS. 311 the animal system with plenty of gruel until rumination is restored. “T need not note that the operation should be performed after the animal has fasted some hours. “As the success of the operation depends on an entire removal of the diseased parts, and as the submaxillary and parotid glands, with important branches of nerves and blood- vessels, are often enveloped therein, we must not hesitate to remove the former, nor to divide the latter. It has occa- sionally happened that a rupture has been made in the cesophagus, or pharynx, during the operation. In that case, * a portion of the gruel with which the animal is drenched escapes for a few days; but I always found that the wound healed by granulation, without any particular attention. “The weight of these tumors varies from a few ounces to some pounds. One that I removed from a two-year-old Galloway bullock, weighed six pounds and a quarter. A considerable portion of the skin that covered it was excised and included.in the above weight. It comprehened one of the parotid glands, and I had to divide the trunk of the earotid artery and jugular vein. “This affection may be distinguished from parotiditis and other phlegmasie by the action of constitutional disturbance, and heat, and tenderness, and by the lingering progress it makes. I was once called to a bull laboring under alarming dyspnea that had gradually increased. No external en largement was perceptible ; but on introducing my hand into the mouth, a large polypus was found hanging from the velum palati into the pharynx, greatly obstructing the elevation of the epiglottis and the passage of food. After * $12 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. performing tracheotomy, to prevent suffocation, I passed a ligature around its pedicle in the way suggested by the old anatomist, Cheselden. ) “A section of one of these tumors mostly displays several abscesses, with matter varying in consistency and often very fetid, enclosed in what seems to me to be fibro-cartilaginous cysts, the exterior of which sometimes gradually disappears in the surrounding more vascular abnormal growth. Osseous matter (I judge from the grating of the scalpel upon it) occa- sionally enters into the composition of the cysts. “T have treated this affection in cattle of the Long-horned, Short-horned, Galloway, and Highland breeds; and from the number of bulls in this class of patients, have reason to con- clude that they are more liable to it than the female. “ About twelve months ago, I examined the head of a cow, on the right facial region of which there existed an enormous tumor, extending from the eye to the lips, and which I mis- took during life for a periosteal enlargement. On cutting into it, my mistake was evident. There was scarcely a trace of the original bones beneath the mass ; even those forming the nasal sinuses on that side were replaced by a formation much resembling the cysts before alluded to, and full of abscesses. The progress of the disease was decisively marked in the inferior rim of the orbital cavity, where the osseous matter was being removed, and the morbid structure deposited.” ULCERS ABOUT THE JOINTS. Occasionally, the joints assume a tumefied appearance, generally ulcerating, and causing painful wounds. Treatment.—The application of one part of alum to two _ WARBLES. 513 parts of prepared chalk, powdered and sprinkled upon the parts, is usually all that is required. WARBLES. It has been a prevalent opinion among farmers, that war- bles are so many evidences of the good condition of their cattle. It must, how- - ever, be borne in - y ly mind that the warbles } iy) Wij are the larve of the My i estrus bovis, which ah is said to be the most beautiful variety of gad-fly. This fly, | judging from the |i) objects of its attack, must be particularly |i choice in its selection J of animals upon aim which to deposit its SSS = Vii, eggs, as it rarely chooses those poor HOME AGAIN. in flesh, or in an un- healthy condition. From this circumstance, probably, has arisen the opinion above-mentioned. These warbles—or larve of the estrus bovis—so nearly resemble bots in the horse—or larve estrus equi—that, were it not for their increased size, they might readily be mistaken the one for the other. There is, however, one other differ- ence, and that is in the rings which encircle the body ; those ane ee eee ale CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. of the former being perfectly smooth, while those of the latter are prickly, and from one third to one half smaller. The author was called, in the year 1856, to see the prize cow, Pet, belonging to James Kelly, of Cleveland, Ohio, whose extraordinary yield of butter and milk had been re- ported in the Ohio Farmer, a short time previous to his visit. This animal was found by him in rather poor condition; the causes of which he could only trace to the existence of these worms, comfortably located, as they were, beneath the animal’s hide, and forming small tumors all along the spinal column, each being surrounded by a considerable quantity of pus. A number of’ these were removed by means of a curved bistoury and a pair of forceps, since which time—as he has been informed—the animal has rapidly improved, regaining her former good condition. Some may urge that this is an isolated case; but an ex- amination of cattle for themselves, will convince them to the contrary. It may be added; that two other cows, belonging to the same gentleman, were also examined at the same time,— one of them being in good condition, and the other, out of condition. From the back of the latter several of these insects were removed, since which time she also has much improved. ‘The former was entirely free from them. These cows were all kept in the same pasture, received the same care, and were fed on the same food, and at the same time; and as the removal of these larvae has been productive of such beneficial results, have we not a right to infer that these insects are injurious ? If we go further and examine, in the spring of the year, all cattle which are subject to them, instead of finding them in WARBLES—WORMS. ~~ _ 315 the fine condition which one would naturally expect,—con- sidering the abundance of fresh young grass whose vigorous life they may incorporate into their own,—they are out of condition, and out of spirits, with a laggard eye, a rough coat, and, in some cases, a staggering gait, as though their strength had failed in consequence. How shall such attacks be prevented? During the months of August and September this gad-fly is busily engaged in depositing its eggs. Some are of the opinion that they are placed on the hairs of the animal; others, that the skin is perforated, and the egg deposited in the opening, which would account for the apparent pain manifested by cattle at and after the time of such deposit. Be this asit may, itis ° certain that the maggot works its way into the muscular fibre of the back, and depends upon the animal’s blood for the nourishment which it receives. _ The author has been informed, by persons in whom he ought to have confidence, that the free use of the card, during the above-named months, is a specific protection against the attacks of the ewstrus bovis. He repeats this information here, not without diffidenece; since so large a majority of stock-owners evince, by their lack of familiarity with the practical use of this convenient and portable instru- ment, an utter disbelief in its reliability and value. WORMS. Cattle are not so subject to worms proper as are the other domestic animals ; nor, when these parasites do exist, is any injurious effect apparent, except it be in the case of young calves of a weakly constitution. Worms are most commonly 316 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. 4 located in the small intestines, and cause there considerable irritation, and consequently, general emaciation, or at least a tendency to it. The cause, however, is easily removed by administering oses of sulphate of iron, one-half drachm each, in molasses nee or twice a day. WORMS IN THE BRONCHIAL TUBES. Inflammation of the bronchial tubes is often caused by worms of the strongylus species. Upon examination after death, the bronchial passages are completely blocked-up by these hangers-on. Symptoms.—A rough, staring coat; hide-bound; painful cough ; respiration hurried, etc. Treatment.—But little can be done by way of treatment in this disease. The administration of small doses of spirits of turpentine has, in some instances, proved successful. SURGICAL OPERATIONS. CASTRATION. The period most commonly selected for this operation is between the first and third months. The nearer it is to the expiration of the first month, the less danger attends the operation. Some persons prepare the animal by the administration of a dose of physic; but others proceed at once to the opera- tion when it best suits their convenience, or that of the farmer. Care, however, should be taken that the young CASTRATION. 317 animal is in perfect health. The mode formerly practised . was simple enough:—a piece of whip-cord was tied as tightly as possible around the scrotum. The supply of blood being thus completely cut off, the bag and its contents soon became livid and dead, and were suffered to hang, by som careless operators, until they dropped off, or they were cut off on the second or third day. It is now, however, the general practice to grasp the scrotum in the hand, between the testicles and the belly, and to make an incision in one side of it, near the bottom, of sufficient depth to penetrate through the inner covering of the testicle, and of sufficient length to admit of its escape. The testicle immediately bursts from its bag, and is.seen hanging by its cord. The careless or brutal operator now firmly ties a piece of small string around the cord, and having thus stopped_the circulation, cuts through the cord, half an inch below the ligature, and removes the testicle. He, however, who has any feeling for the poor animal on which he is operating, considers that the only use of the ligature is to compress the blood-vessels and prevent after-hemorrhage, and, therefore. saves a great deal of unnecessary torture by including them alone in the ligature, and afterwards dividing the rest of the cord. The other testicle is proceeded with in the same way and the operation is complete. The length of the cord shoul be so contrived that it will immediately retract, or be drawn back, into the scrotum, but not higher, while the ends of the string hang out through the wound. In the course of about a week, the strings will usually drop off, and the wounds will speedily heal. There will rarely be any occasion to make 318 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. any application to the scrotum, except fomentation of it, if much swelling should ensue. A few, whose practice cannot be justified, seize the testicle as soon as it escapes from the bag, and, pulling violently, reak the cord and tear it out. It is certain that when a blood-vessel is thus ruptured, it forcibly contracts, and very little bleeding follows; but if the cord breaks high up, and retracts into the belly, considerable inflammation has occa- sionally ensued, and the beast has been lost. ‘ The application of torston—or the twisting of the arteries by a pair of forceps which will firmly grasp them—has, in a great degree, superseded every other mode of castration, both in the larger and the smaller domesticated animals. The spermatic artery is exposed, and seized with the forceps, which are then closed by a very simple mechanical contri- vance ; the vessel is drawn a little out from its surrounding tissue, the forceps are turned around seven or eight times, and the vessel liberated. It will be found to be perfectly closed ; a small knot will have formed on its extremity ; it will retract into the surrounding surface, and not a drop more of blood will flow from it; the cord may then be divided, and the bleeding from any little vessel arrested in the same way. Neither the application of the hot iron, nor of the wooden clamps, whether with or without caustic, can be necessary in the castration of the calf. A new instrument was introduced in France, some few years since, for this purpose, called the acraseur,—so con- structed as to throw a chain over the cord, which is wound up by means of a screw working upon the chain, and at the CASTRATION—-TRACHEOTOMY. 319 same time the cord is twisted off. No bleeding follows this method of operating. This instrument is constructed upon the same principle as the acraseur for use in the human family, for the removal of hemorrhoids, ete., the dimensions of the two only varying. The advantages resulting from the use of this instrument over all other methods are, that the parts generally heal within a week,—the operation is not so painful to the animal,—it is less troublesome to the operator,—also to the owner of the animal,—and lastly, it is a safer and more scientific operation. Its success in France soon gave it a reputation in England, and recently it has been introduced by the author into this country, and with the best results. Contractors, hearing of the success attending this new mode of operating, have visited him from all parts of the country to witness its performance, and not one has returned without leaving an order for this instrument,—so well convinced have they been of its decided superiority over all other methods. TRACHEOTOMY. In consequence of the formation of tumors about the throat in cattle, from inflammation of the parotid gland, blain, etc., so characteristic of this species of animals, it sometimes becomes necessary to perform this operation in order to save their lives. It never fails to give instant relief. After the animal has been properly secured,—which is done by an assistant’s holding the nose with one hand, and one of the horns with the other,—the operator draws the skin tight over the windpipe with the thumb and fingers of his left hand ; then, with the scalpel in his right, cuts through the 820 CATTLE AND THEIR DISEASES. skin, making an incision about three inches long, dissecting up the skin on each side, which brings the trachea, or windpipe, in full view.. He then cuts out a piece of the cartilaginous rings, about two inches long and about half an inch wide. This simple operation has saved the lives of very many valu- able animals. The wound readily heals, and seldom leaves any perceptible blemish, if the work is properly performed. SPAYING. To secure a more uniform flow and a richer quality of milk, cows are sometimesspayed, or castrated. The milk of spayed cows is pretty uniform in quality; and this quality will be, on an average, a little more than before the operation was performed. In instances where the results of this operation have been carefully noted,—and the operation is rarely resorted to in this country, in comparison with the custom in France and other continental countries,—the quality of the milk has been greatly improved, the yield becoming regular for some years, and varying only in accordance with the difference in the succulence of the food. The proper time for spaying is about five or six weeks after calving, or at the time when the largest quantity of milk is given. There seems to be some advantages in spaying for milk and butter dairies, where attention is not paid to the raising of stock. The cows are more quiet, never being liable to returns of seasons of heat. which always more or less affect the milk, both in quantity and quality. They give milk nearly uniform in these respects, for several years, provided the food is uniformly succulent and nutritious. Their milk is influenced like that of other cows, though to a SPAYING. 3821 less extent, by the quality and quantity of food; so that in winter, unless the animal is properly attended to, the yield will decrease somewhat, but will rise again as good feed returns. This uniformity for the milk-dairy is of immense advantage. Besides, the cow, when old and inclined to dry up, takes on fat with greater rapidity, and produces a juicy and tender beef, superior, at the same age, to that of the ox. The following method of performing this operation is sanctioned by the practice of eminent veterinary surgeons in France :— Having covered the eyes of the cow to be operated upon, ‘she is placed against a wall, provided with five rings firmly fastened and placed as follows: the first corresponds to the top of the withers; the second, to the lower anterior part of the breast ; the third is placed a little distance from the angle of the shoulder; the fourth is opposite to the anterior and superior part of the lower region; and the fifth, which is behind, answers to the under-part of the buttocks. A SHED OF RAILS.......0006 eee BR eaprencneasonicera WASHING APPARATUS....ncesn onccncers necosssasnccatenne,socacencs aosees.asaepsiesienss MNoE-NIPPHRS a sceceusaivcccassaa tans saupenionsebiecsa as paniagveseinassanigeemaclassueeieaente fee se eces cooeceess eeeeee SHEPHERD’S, CROOK esiressecce nacnsanessasicsonsscosessjeonces Snesen otaene.ducivaihoewes THE SHEPHERD AND HIS FLOCK. css cocess cocvee coccee cocces sesvecees eeecee ouvees DROVER’S OR BUTCHER’S DOG. ose cccccs vocees coccce coccce coccee covees cocece soceee QUIET ENJOYMENT, ...cc0 ccscoscoesre cose scccdec 0 ccenen cnscrulanasccess|sroseuiucssrs AN ENGLISH RACK FOR FEEDING SHEEP. ...cccsee coccee seeses enceee coccee eosers A BARRACK FOR STORING SHEEP FODDER. «1.000 eevee cocece seenes cocsee veces THE BROAD-TAILED SHEEP. «cesses ssccce cosves cocces cosees ronose covers cacsse csonne 8 15 19 25 28 35 Al AT 52 54 57 64 81 100 117 129 130 147 148 150 151 152 155 162 166 167 176 179 185 195 203 228 236 ‘CONTENTS. SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. HISTORY AND BREEDG........:0:sceceesescnnsseseecenennanscneseesresenacassncrs AMERICAN SWINEsssse ces csecee neces seeene onsen The Byefield.........sseseeeeecsseneceecee see ene nee The Bedford..... cee csecee cee ere cee concen see eee The Leicester... ..cssecee serene scenes vee ces anes The Yorkshire...ccsssescecesceecescee cesses ene cee nne san enn caes The Chimese......cesccecsesseeeecee ce snscnnanncue ses ane nen cas cne eens The Suffolk.......ccseeeceeceeenecre cee cee The Berkshire .........+:seeeee creer ene NATURAL IDISTORY OF THE HOG... sseesseeeeseceeseeeescenseecnsacscneaeesuscns aon sucsen ses snenansas ens Formation of the Teeth.........cessescrses ene BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT .........cceceeseesescusseecee serene snecee concen ens cesasscscconenecen sens BREEDING ++ eevee cee eeecesceeeescencsessesensescensesceseeaassassusans ses cne sen ees Points of a Good Hog........+ +++ +s Treatment during PregMancy.........serceevseseneeseeeceeaee ens cnesneceessenesenes ADOTtION 2.22.00 000 cee eee cnecce covcorens cee onsen ane see cceens cesses senses ces census csesscseccsosevsceseccesessaee Paxrturition.......cscsesscesserceesssneesenenenecansscsssseeseacsnesascesaccesenseessencesssassseyeesens AI) | Treatment while Suckling......ssceessceeceecerseeeeseeseseeenses Treatment of Young Pigs PEPER E ius cay oduacencaees dneesnacasenapqsceesusnesencinesnaa™ 45 Castration......cccccssrssssescesceccenernssesensesscsenccsescsssssnsccsscasonsacaasnsccsensereecs ncewonendeeen PAYING ..cee ene vee ccescseceececesenecnecnecenenescensnsesasncssecsscenseasecenensnsccsraccecesceneecenses adoase 48 Weaning a 49 Ringing... .sceccseescereceseerscessnscenenscnsnssenenansnanscens . « 51 Slaughtering.....cscscesessssseesseeensssseesnssenesasseasennscsessennenaccenscasssunanazenss fecereteee «. 60 Pickling and Curing......sceeesessessesersenseeseeennnensnnensensesensassenenncnaes Fee vescrevcsscesccce 62 10 CONTENTS—ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIEG......sccssccccceeccoreeees cdaesusenvedguceunasPeu ence deen eseeneaareassee OD Catching the Pig.....ss..sccscescssceesscessescescseesees aauvaasWachiten reverse svensacieseaniteen ere) PleOGiN Givesenes acoinss cuctneneaiaah enelose(ouslansisvelnaniasnmnasscseaesacanohsoantevexsoeeucevssen sures caneeeeetenmn iL Drenching... Catarrh......ccccssaee baxeaencenete vereren Matty sseaeanes Renasisaneaceensren nasedaneeeecenusnancsaubiveann yep aatt 72 OGOT a rece scacswarvcceys-suaccuanhonnersntecbasNauuioselpraansisuseuersedrenstemensucessaeneersnunrrentencens boro. (3) Crackings........0 spsgusssupassecdeccesssnssvecvaseuMssustscasasassvendersrensaesesere pseaameepenenwere senses 76 IDiATT 02 Bare serensesnsenacebiceacteresasassstseusensiane Woureltua sadaawacneauncungacataevies acckdn has ttecaentanene 76 INCVED ccecavencaustrsres Inflammation of the Lungs.. Jaundice....... {coc aSSen c ce CEE RSE CELE SER CE ESLER eOMErOncOne auegsrenseenedgcusesacahessondaedcad aatekaeeaduenss 80 Leprosy Lethargy Staggers Swelling of the Spleen Surfeit ILLUSTRATIONS. Ture SVWITLDMDOAR secicac stvesccsslecvenvscelovcscathuideecvseselecscecseshesnoeeorenremticess THE Wail DyBOARPATUED AY. \ccclscesascscieeastsealcecntuces!neciesnciiccurelipssleaeaeanen HE "CHINESE HOGEeccccicecccosslcseceuaisiech scsleselcvestissdersesciseckpseccieecneerss Tis SURROUKeperocaninvacesseces sceceesccuscdncaces seaaaanes csenescusiaetencs aatmeeee nen AV BERKSHIRE) DO ADNeccssescssietecssestiasatenscelisscacesa\earssraseteacdnenssclseaents SKELETON OF THE HoG AS COVERED RY THE MUSCIES.. 000 .c.cee coves covece THE OLp COUNTRY AVWWEDIinccceceesiccesectss shasncttectseeesdlencresfascesemetqdarasnens WiIw Hoes sisivc nce coaetekereseltvecaslonascatuee toutiseses scecerateacniateecnlesescsnemete HE OLD ENGLISH, HOGestceccsstestscatcciene cosesvl-vevesoccicntanameccaiteees tremens AAW VWVICKED-LOOKING SPECIMEN: ssscclsovecvessitersaviosvers sredesteenessososescccsescasasssgaceeaseccnccccssconscccenaasansacnnecsasnesesencscscesecsesecsdousas 20 The Fawn-colored Dorking..........s.seceseeees secopnasacccccscsvarsanescssocee® susedesddvecaceusesanen . 23 The Black Dorking...........sssses00 is BEPC EAEO OECD ESCEEECEP REESE seeccesenecccecessesece Secedsuacses ww. 2d MhevDuni el HOW! eaeceacpaanusunseuaasesenpussdnasdnanscasvansivausuewedssecs' sees Seotiten soseeesmenare Tho Krizzled Woy le scacsswassatassuacancassacsscccquatensetecuasasaattanaanccshsaestesttaderencsyenseunam . 24 Tho! Game) HOw]... .cc- sacccnsesnasacecsdscnrasernussaceacuaaacnansosaauacatacdcesecaredsesasasiseaceenen pees 20 Mhe| Mexican, Hen-CocKsccspsassessepcesnecesseesacancdecdscecccsesscvescadcssscusss ee pee 2F/ The Wild Indian Game.... -. 28 The Spamish Game......0.....ccsccsscseccsvesesnecsscccnccsecgescanccneccsccccccnes soncrscescsassunscenens 28 The Guilderland.....10...sdscecccsscenccanscaccacccnesceceaccaceconcsssscevecscersconvsacdesconsnsessnensenns 29 The Spangled Hamburghi........c0-cccsecsnesccsnssscesescsecceccncsancusssseuas canedusaasusasssanreuane 30 The Golden Spangled......c.csccscsccccscvccarscccvnsccnsescenvescsscsssasssccesens steseeseaseesasnceeees - 30 The Silver Spangled... .:1sscccsc.cescscnssscccoesencusesecovsscoborensecencuasesnsousssneasensesana Dace 31 The Java 12 CONTENTS. HISTORY AND VARIETIES—Continued. The Malay.....cccccccsseseees veccacedccnsscencccccccncees cosses The Pheasant-Malay... The Plymouth Rock The Poland............ eccussuan vss seneiecbast elie sited assennad sss seuncocessreseestsaseeten saencoasenes cone The Black Polish....... audantusseNescunans cundvavuueusdduseestecesenerevactenats spcseasaactasesuaeeenaee ; The Golden Polands............00+ seenecsesesaeves secevedecneceeod’ Fonsvderssecnavsbanssacssbussoccessanea The Silver Polands........... eeoeseree Seeeeesesesesceccan¢enescousessacvasccndcouseacocsaccensceressacnors The Black-topped White..........cececccsseeseseees remeecosa sch sa assavercads Pacoecencudeaneracueen tend a The Shanghae...........00++ The White Shanghae The Silver Pheasant. WHOS PABIGy ke. Was sep avs were carried is unknown; but as Spain was at that time highly civilized, and as agriculture was the favorite pursuit of the greater part of the colonists that spread over the vast territory, which then acknowledged the Roman power, it is highly probable that Columella’s experiments laid the foundation for a general improvement in the Spanish sheep—an improvement, moreover, which was not lost, nor even materially impaired, during the darker ages that succeeded. THE SPANISH MERINO. 27 The Merino race possess inbred qualities to an extent sur- passed by no others. They have been improved in the general weight and evenness of their fleece, as in the celebrated flock of Rambouillet; in the uniformity and excessive fineness of the fibre, as in the Saxons; and in their form and feeding qualities, in various countries ; put there has never yet been deterioration, either in quantity or quality of fleece or carcass, wherever they have been transported, if supplied with suitable food and attention. Most sheep annually shed their wool if unclipped; while the Merino retains its fleece, sometimes for . five years, when allowed to remain unshorn. Conclusive evidence is thus afforded of continued breeding among themselves, by which the very constitution of the wool- producing organs beneath the skin have become permanently established ; and this property is transmitted to a great extent, even among the crosses, thus marking the Merino as an ancient and peculiar race. The remains of the ancient varieties of color, also, as noticed by Pliny, Solinus, and Columella, may still be discovered in the modern Merino. The plain and indeed the only reason. that can be assigned for the union of black and gray faces with white bodies, in the same breed, is the frequent intermixture of black and white sheep, until the white prevails in the fleece, and the black is confined to the face and legs. It is still apt to break out occasionally in the individual, unless it is fixed and concentrated in the face and legs, by repeated crosses and a careful selection ; and, on the contrary, in the Merino South- Down the black may be reduced by a few crosses to small spots about the legs, while the Merino hue overspreads the countenance. This hue—variously described as a velvet, a 98 SHEEP AND TIIEIR DISEASES. buff, a fawn, or a satin-colored countenance, but in which a red tinge not infrequently predominates, still indicates the original colors of the indigenous breeds of Spain; and the black wool, for which Spain was formerly so much distinguished, is still inclined to break out occasionally in the legs and ears of the Merino. In some flocks half the ear is invariably brown, and a coarse black hair is often discernible in the finest pile. The conquest, in the eighth century, by the Moors of those fine provinces in the south of Spain, so far from checking, served rather to encourage the pro- duction of fine wool. The con- querors were not only enterprising, but highly skilled in the useful arts, and carried on ex- Y \ on YEH tGy Seles Mad (leans. > tensi Ls lA COCOA tensive manufac- tories of fine A SPANISH SHEEP DOG. woollen goods, which they exported to different countries. The luxury of the Moorish sovereigns has been the theme of many writers; and in the thirteenth century, when the woollen manufacture flourished in but few places, there were found in Seville no less than sixteen thousand looms. A century later, Barcelona, Perpignan, and Tortosa were celebrated for the fineness of their cloths, which became staple articles of trade throughout the greater part of Europe, as well as on the coast of Africa. After the expulsion of the Moors, in the fifteenth century, THE SPANISH MERINO. 99 by Ferdinand and Isabella, the woollen manufacture languished, and was, ina great degree, lost to Spain, owing to the rigor- ous banishment of nearly one million industrious Moors, most of whom were weavers. As a consequence, the sixteen thou- sand looms of Seville dwindled down to sixty. The Spanish government perceived its fatal mistake too late, and subsequent efforts to gain its lost vantage-ground in respect to this manu- facture proved fruitless. During all that time, however, the Spanish sheep appear to have withstood the baneful influence of almost total neglect; and although the Merino flocks and Merino wool have improved under the more careful manage- ment of other countries, the world is originally indebted to Spain for the most valuable material in the manufacture of cloth. The perpetuation of the Merino sheep in all its purity, amid the convulsions which changed the entire political framework of Spain and destroyed every other national improvement, strikingly illustrates the primary determining power of blood or breeding, as well as the agency of soil and climate—possibly too much underrated in modern times. These Spanish sheep are divided into two classes: the stationary, or those that remain during the whole of the year on a certain farm, or in a certain district, there being a suffi- cient provision for them in winter and in summer; and the migratory, or those which wander some hundreds of miles twice in the year, in quest of pasturage. The principal breed of stationary sheep consists of true Merinos; but the breeds most sought for, and with which so many countries have been enriched, are the Merinos of the migratory description, which pass the summer in the mountains of the north, and the winter on the plains toward the south of Spain. 380 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. The first impression made by the Merino sheep on one un- acquainted with its value would be unfavorable. The wool lying closer and thicker over the body than in most other breeds, and being abundant in yolk—or a peculiar secretion from the glands of the skin, which nourishes the wool and causes it to mat closely together—is covered with a dirty crust, often full of cracks. The legs are long, yet small in the bone; the breast and the back are narrow, and the sides some- what flat; the fore-shoulders and bosoms are heavy, and too much of their weight is carried on the coarser parts. The horns of the male are comparatively large, curved, and with more or less of a spiral form; the head is large, but the fore- head rather low. A few of the females are horned; but, generally speaking, they are without horns. Both male and female have a peculiar coarse and unsightly growth of hair on the forehead and cheeks, which the careful shepherd cuts away before the shearing-time; the other part of the face has a pleasing and characteristic velvet. appearance. Under the throat there is a singular looseness of skin, which gives them a remarkable appearance of throatiness, or hollowness in the neck. ‘The pile or hair, when pressed upon, is hard and un- yielding, owing to the thickness into which it grows on the pelf, and the abundance of the yolk, retaining all the dirt and gravel which falls upon it; but, upon examination, the fibre exceeds, in fineness and in the number of serrations and curves, that which any other sheep in the world produces. The average weight of the fleece in Spain is eight pounds from the ram, and five from the ewe. The staple differs in length in different provinces. When fatted, these sheep will weigh from twelve to sixteen pounds per quarter. THE SPANISH MERINO. 31 The excellence of the Merinos consist in the unexampled fineness and felting property of their wool, and in the weight of it yielded by each individual sheep; the closeness of that wool, and the luxuriance of the yolk, which enable them to support extremes of cold and wet quite as well as any other breed; the readiness with which they adapt themselves to every change of climate, retaining, with common care, all their fineness of wool, and thriving under a burning tropical sun, and inthe frozen regions of the north; an appetite which renders them apparently satisfied with the coarsest food; a quietness and patience into whatever pasture they are turned ; and a gentleness and tractableness not excelled in any other breed. Their defects—partly attributable to the breed, but more to the improper mode of treatment to which they are occasionally subjected—are, their unthrifty and unprofitable form; a tendency to abortion, or barrenness ; a difficulty of yeaning, or giving birth to their young; a paucity of milk; and a too frequent neglect of their lambs. They are likewise said, not- withstanding the fineness of their wool, and the beautiful red color of the skin when the fleece is parted, to be more subject to cutaneous affections than most other breeds. . Man, however, is far more responsible for this than Nature. Every thing was sacrificed in Spain to fineness and quantity of wool. These were supposed to be connected with equality of temperature, or, at least, with freedom from exposure to cold ; and, therefore, twice in the year, a journey of four hundred miles was under- taken, at the rate of eighty or a hundred miles per week—the spring journey commencing when the lambs were scarcely four months old. It is difficult to say in what way the wool of the 32 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. migratory sheep was, or could be, benefited by these periodical journeys. Although among them is found the finest and most valuable wool in Spain, yet the stationary sheep, in certain provinces—Segovia, Leon, and Estremadura—are more valua- ble than the migratory flocks of others. Moreover, the fleece of some of the German Merinos—which do not travel at all, and are housed all the winter—greatly exceeds that obtained from the best migratory breed—the Leonese—in fineness and felting property; and the wool of the migratory sheep has been, comparatively speaking, driven out of the market by that from sheep which never travel. With respect to the carcass, these harassing journeys, occupying one-quarter of the year, tend to destroy all possibility of fattening, or any tendency toward it, and the form and the constitution of the flock are deteriorated, and the lives of many sacrificed. The first importation of Merinos into the United States took place in 1801; a banker of Paris, Mr. Delessert, having shipped four, of which but one arrived in safety at his farm near Kingston, in New York; the others perished on the passage. The same year, Mr. Seth Adams, of Massachusetts, imported a pair from France. In 1802, Chancellor Livingston, then ' American Minister at the court of Versailles, sent two choice pairs from the Rambouillet flock—which was started, in 1786, by placing four hundred ewes and rams, selected from the choicest Spanish flocks, on the royal farm of that name, in France—to Claremont, his country-seat, on the Hudson river. In the latter part of the same year, Colonel Humphreys, American Minister to Spain, shipped two hundred, on his departure from that country. The largest importations, how- ever, were made through Hon. William Jarvis, of Vermont, THE SPANISH MERINO. 33 then American Consul at Lisbon, Portugal, in 1809, 1810, and 1811, who succeeded in obtaining the choicest sheep of that country. Various subsequent importations took place, which need not be particularized. The cessation of all commercial intercourse with England, in 1808 and 1809, growing out of difficulties with that country, directed attention, in an especial manner, toward manufactur- ing and wool-growing. The Merino, consequently, rose into importance, and so great was the interest aroused, that from a thousand to fourteen hundred dollars a head was paid for them. Some of the later importations, unfortunately, arrived in the worst condition, bringing with them those scourges of the. sheep family, the scab and the foot-rot ; whick evils, together with increased supply, soon brought them down to less than a twentieth part of their former price. When, however, it was established, by actual experiment, that their wool did not deteriorate in this country, as had been feared by many, and that they became readily acclimated, they again rose into favor. The prostration of the manufacturing interests of the country, which ensued soon afterwards, rendered the Merino | of comparatively little value, and ruined many who had purchased them at their previous high prices. *Since that period, the valuation of the sheep which bear the particular wool has, as a matter of course, kept pace with the fluctuations in the price of the wool. The term Merino, it must be remembered, is but the general appellation of a breed, comprising several varieties, presenting essential points of difference in size, form, quality and quantity of wool. These families have generally been merged, by inter- breeding, in the United States and other countries which have 3 84 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. received the race from Spain. Purity of Merino blood, and actual excellence in the individual and its ancestors, form the only standard in selecting sheep of this breed. Families have, indeed, sprung up in this country, exhibiting wider points of difference than did those of Spain. This is owing, in some cases, doubtless, to particular causes of breeding; but more often, probably, to concealed or forgotten infusions of other blood. The question, which has been at times raised, whether there are any Merinos in the United States, descendants of the early importations, of unquestionable purity of blood, has been conclusively settled in the affirmative. The minor distinctions among the various families into which, as has already been intimated, the American Merino has diverged, are numerous, but may all, perhaps, be classed under three general heads. The first is a large, short-legged, strong, exceedingly hardy sheep, carrying a heavy fleece, ranging from medium to fine, free from hair m properly bred flocks; somewhat inclined to throatiness, but not so much so as the Rambouillets; bred to . exhibit external concrete gum in some flocks, but not commonly so; their wool rather long on back and belly, and exceedingly dense; wool whiter within than the Rambouillets; skin the same rich rose-color. Sheep of this class are larger and stronger than those originally imported, carry much heavier fleeces, and in well-selected flocks, or individuals, the fleece is of a decidedly better quality. The second class embraces smaller animals than the preced- ing; less hardy; wool, as a general thing, finer, and covered with a black, pitchy gum on its extremities ; fleece about one- fourth lighter than in the former class. THE SPANISH MERINO. 85 The third class, bred at the South, mostly, includes animals still smaller and Jess hardy, and carrying still finer and lighter fleeces. The fleece is destitute of external gum. The sheep and wool have a close resemblance to the Saxon; and, if not actually mixed with that blood, they have been formed into a similar variety, by a similar course of breeding. The mutton of the Merino, not- withstanding the prejudices exist- =) ing on the sub- By, ; ject, is short- grained, and of = or good flavor, when killed at a proper age, and weighs from ten to four- teen pounds to = the quarter. It - is remarkable for , its longevity, re- taining its teeth, NUE OUT AT PASTURE. and continuing to breed two or three years longer than the common sheep, and at least half a dozen years longer than the improved English breeds. It should, however, be remarked, in this connection, that it is correspondingly slow in arriving at maturity, as it does not attain its full growth before three years of age; and the ewes, in the best managed flocks, are rarely permitted to breed before they reach that age. 86 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. He The Merino is a far better breeder than any other fine-woolled sheep, and its lambs, when newly dropped, are claimed to be hardier than the Bakewell, and equaliy so with the high-bred South-Down. The ewe, as has been intimated, is not so good a nurse, and will not usually do full justice to more than one lamb. Eighty or ninety per cent. is about the ordinary number of lambs reared, though it often reaches one hundred per cent., in carefully managed or small flocks. Allusion has heretofore been made to the cross between the Merino and the native sheep. On the introduction of the Saxon family of the Merinos, they were universally engrafted on the parent stock, and the cross was continued until the Spanish blood was nearly bred out. When the admixture took place with judiciously selected Saxons, the results were not: unfavorable for certain purposes. These instances of judicious crossing were, unfortunately, rare. Fineness of wool was made the only tests of excellence, no matter how scanty its quantity, or how diminutive or miserable the carcass. The consequence was, as might be supposed, the ruin of most of the Merino flocks. THE SAXON MERINO. The indigenous breed of sheep in Saxony resembled that of the neighboring states, and consisted of two distinct varieties—one bearing a wool of some value, and the other yielding a fleece applicable only to the coarsest manufactures. At the close of the seven years war, Augustus Frederic, the Elector of Saxony, imported one hundred rams and two hundred ewes from the most improved Spanish flocks, and placed a part of them on one of his own farms, in the neighbor- THE SAXON MERINO. 37 hood of Dresden, which he kept unmixed, as he desired to ascertain how far the pure Spanish breed could be naturalized in that country. The other part of the flock was distributed on other farms, and devoted to the improvement of the Saxon sheep. It was soon sufficiently apparent that the Merinos did not degenerate in Saxony. Many parcels of their wool were not inferior to the choicest Leonese fleeces. The best breed of the native Saxons was also materially improved. The majority of the shepherds were, however, obstinately prejudiced against the innovation ; but the elector, resolutely bent upon accom- plishing his object, imported an additional number, and com- pelled the crown-tenants, then occupying lands under him, to purchase a certain number of the sheep. Compulsion was not long necessary ; the true interest of the shepherds was discovered; pure Merinos rapidly increased in Saxony, and became perfectly naturalized. Indeed, after a considerable lapse of years, the fleece of the Saxon sheep began, not only to equal the Spanish, but to exceed it in fine- ness and manufacturing value. To this result the government very materially contributed, by the establishment of an agri- cultural school, and other minor schools for shepherds, and by distributing various publications, which plainly and intelligibly showed the value and proper management of the Merino. The breeders were selected with almost exclusive reference to the quality of the fleece. Great care was taken. to prevent ex- posure throughout the year, and they were housed on every slight emergency. By this course of breeding and treatment the size and weight of the fleece were reduced, and that hardi- ness and vigor of constitution, which had universally charac- 88 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. terized the migratory Spanish breed, were partially impaired. In numerous instances, this management resulted in permanent injury to the character of the flocks. The first importation of Saxons into this country was made in 1823, by Samuel Heustan, a merchant of Boston, Massa- chusetts, and consisted of four good rams, of which two went to Boston, and the others to Philadelphia. The following year, seventy-seven—about two-thirds of which number only were pure-blooded—were brought to Boston, sold at public auction at Brooklyn, N.Y., as “ pure-blooded electoral Saxons,” and thus scattered over the country. Another lot, composed of grade sheep and pure-bloods, was disposed of, not long afterwards, by public sale, at Brighton, near Boston, and brought increased prices, some of them realizing from four hundred to five hundred and fifty dollars. These prices gave rise to speculation, and many animals, of a decidedly inferior grade, were imported, which were thrown upon the market for the most they could command. ‘The sales in many instances not half covering the cost of importation, the speculation was soon abandoned. In 1827, Henry D. Grove, of Hoosic, N. Y., a native of Germany, and a highly intelligent and thoroughly bred shepherd, who had accom- panied some of the early importations, imported one hundred and fifteen choice animals for his own breeding, and, in the following year, eighty more. These formed the flock from which Mr. Grove bred, to the time of his decease, in 1844. The average weight of fleece from his entire flock, nearly all of which were ewes and lambs, was ten pounds and fourteen ounces, thoroughly washed on the sheep’s back. This was realized after a short summer and winter’s keep, when the THE SAXON MERINO. 39 quantity of hay or its equivalent fed to the sheep did not exceed one and a half pounds, by actual weight, per day, except to the ewes, which received an additional quantity just before and after lambing. This treatment was attended with no disease or loss by death, and with an increase of lambs, equalling one for every ewe. The Saxon Merino differs materially in frame from the Spanish; there is more roundness of carcass and fineness of bone, together with a general form and appearance indicative of a disposition to fatten. Two distinct breeds are noticed. One variety has stouter legs, stouter bodies, head and neck comparatively short and broad, and body round; the wool grows most on the face and legs; the grease in the wool is almost pitchy. The other breed, called Escurial, has longer legs, with a long, spare neck. and head ; very little wool on the latter ; and a finer, shorter, and softer character in its fleece, but less in quantity. From what has just been stated it will be seen that there are few Saxon flocks in the United States that have not been reduced to the quality of grade sheep, by the promiscuous admixture of the pure and the impure which were imported together; all of them being sold to our breeders as pure stock. Besides, there are very few flocks which have not been again crossed with the Native or the Merino sheep of our country, or with both. Those who early purchased the Merino crossed them with the Native; and when the Saxons arrived those mongrels were bred to Saxon rams. This is the history of three-quarters, probably, of the Saxon flocks of the United States. ‘ As these sheep have now so long been bred toward the 40 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. Saxon that their wool equals that of the pure-bloods, it may well be questioned whether they are any worse for the admix- ture; when crossed only with the Merino, it is, undoubtedly, to their advantage. The American Saxon, with these early crosses in its pedigree, is, by general admission, a hardier and more easily kept animal than the pure Escurial or Electoral Saxon. Climate, feed, and other causes have, doubtless, con- spired, as in the case of the Merino, to add to their size and vigor ;° but, after every necessary allowance has been made, they generally owe these qualities to those early crosses. The fleeces of the American Saxons weigh, on the average, from two or two and a quarter to three pounds. They are, comparatively speaking, a tender sheep, requiring regular supplies of good food, good shelter in winter, and protection in cool weather from storms of all kinds; but they are evidently hardier than the parent German stock. In docility and _patience under confinement, in late maturity and longevity, they resemble the Merinos, from which they are descended ; though they do not mature so early as the Merino, nor do they ordinarily live so long. They are poorer nurses; their lambs are smaller, fatter, and far more likely to perish, unless sheltered and carefully watched; they do not fatten so well, and, being considerably lighter, they consume an amount of food considerably less. Taken together, the American Saxons bear a much finer wool than the American Merinos; though this is not always the case, and many breeders of Saxons cross with the Merino, for the purpose of increasing the weight of their fleeces with- out deteriorating its quality. Our Saxon wool, as a whole, falls considerably’ below that of Germany; though individual THE NEW LEICESTER. 41 specimens from Saxons in Connecticut and Ohio compare well with the highest German grades. This inferiority is not attributable to climate or other natural causes, or to a waut of skillon the part of our breeders ; but to the fact that but a very few of our manufacturers have ever felt willing to make that dis- crimination in prices which would render it protitable to breed ‘those small and delicate animals which produce this exquisite quality of wool. THE NEW LEICESTER. The unimproved Leicester was a large, heavy, coarse-woolled breed of sheep, inhabiting the midland counties of England. It. was a slow feeder, 2 Re its flesh Sis 2. = = coarse- grained, and with little PK, Vili. flavor. ie“ Toh e atts aweedens A COUNTRY SCENE, oO f th a t period regarded only size and weight of fleece. About the middle of the last century, Robert Bakewell, of Dishley, in Leicestershire, first applied himself to the improve- ment of the sheep in that country. Before his improvements, aptitude to fatten and symmetry of shape—that is, such shape as should increase as much as possible the mést valuable parts 42 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. of the animal, and diminish the offal in the same proportion— were entirely disregarded. Perceiving that smaller animals increased in weight more rapidly than the very large ones, that they consumed less food, that the same quantity of herbage, applied to feeding a large number of small sheep, would pro- duce more meat than when applied to feeding the smaller number of large sheep, which alone it would support, and that sheep carrying a heavy fleece of wool possessed less propensity to fatten than those which carried one of a more moderate weight, he selected from the different flocks in his neighbor- hood, without regard to size, the sheep which appeared to him to have the greatest propensity to fatten, and whose shape possessed the peculiarities which, in his judgment, would produce the largest proportion of valuable meat, and the smallest quantity of bone and offal. He was also of opinion that the first object to be attended to in breeding sheep is the value of the carcass, and that the fleece ought always to be a secondary consideration ; and this for the obvious reason that, while the addition of two or three pounds of wool to the weight of a sheep’s fleece is a difference of great amount, yet if this increase is obtained at the ex- pense of the animal’s propensity to fatten, the farmer may lose by it ten or twelve pounds of mutton. The sort of sheep, therefore, which he selected were those possessed of the most perfect symmetry, with the greatest aptitude to fatten, and rather smaller in size than the sheep generally bred at that time. Having formed his stock from sheep so selected, he carefully attended to the peculiarities of the individuals from which he bred, and, so far as can be ascer- tained—for all of Mr. Bakewell’s measures were kept secret, THE NEW LEICESTER. 43 even from his most intimate friends, and he died without throwing, voluntarily, the least light on the subject—did not object to breeding from near relations, when, by so doing, he brought together animals likely to produce a progeny possess- ing the characteristics which he wished to obtain. Having thus established his flock, he adopted the practice— which has since been constantly followed by the most eminent breeders of sheep—of letting rams for the season, instead of selling them to those who wished for their use. By this means the ram-breeder is enabled to keep a much larger number of rams in his possession; and, consequently, his power of selecting those most suitable to his flock, or which may be required to correct any faults in shape or quality. which may occur in it, is greatly increased. By cautiously using a ram for one season, or by observing the produce of a ram let to some other breeder, he can ascertain the probable qualities of the lambs which such ram will get, and thus avoid the danger of making mistakes which would deteriorate the value of his stock. The farmers, likewise, who hire the rams, have an opportunity of varying the rams from which they breed much more than they otherwise could do; and they are also enabled to select from sheep, of the best quality, and from those best calculated to effect the greatest improvement in their flocks. The idea, when first introduced by him, was so novel that he had great difficulty in inducing the farmers to act upon it; and his first ram was let for sixteen shillings. So eminent, however, was his success, that, in 1787, he let three rams, for a single season, for twelve hundred and fifty pounds (about six thousand two hundred dollars), and was offered ten hundred 44 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, and fifty pounds (about five thousand two hundred dollars) for twenty ewes. Soon afterwards he received the enormous price of eight hundred guineas (or four thousand dollars) for two-thirds of the services of a ram for a single season, reserving the other third for himself. The improved Leicester is of large size, but somewhat smaller than the original stock, and in this respect falls con- siderably below the coarser varieties of Cotswold, Lincoln, ete. Where there is a sufficiency of feed, the New Leicester is un- rivalled for its fattening propensities ; but it will not bear hard stocking, nor must it be compelled to travel far in search of its food. It is, in fact, properly and exclusively a lowland sheep. In its appropriate situation—on the luxuriant herbage of the highly cultivated lands of England—it possesses unequalled earliness of maturity ; and its mutton, when not too fat, is of a good quality, but is usually coarse, and comparatively deficient in flavor, owing to that unnatural state of fatness which it so readily assumes, and which the breeder, to gain weight, so generally feeds for. The wethers, having reached their second year, are turned off in the succeeding February or March, and weigh at that age from thirty to thirty-five pounds to the quarter. The wool of the New: Leicester is long, averaging, after the first shearing, about six inches ; and the fleece of the American animal weighs about six pounds. It is of coarse quality, and little used in the manufacture of cloth, on account of its length, and that deficiency of felting properties common, in a greater or less extent, to all English breeds. As a combing wool, however, it stands first, and is used in the manufacture of the finest worsteds, and the like textures. The high-bred Leicesters of Mr. Bakewell’s stock became THE NEW LEICESTER. 45 shy breeders and poor nurses; but crosses subsequently adopted have, to some extent, obviated these defects. The lambs are not, however, generally regarded as very hardy, and they require considerable attention at the time of yeaning, particularly if the weather i is even moderately cold or stormy. The grown sheep, too, are muth affected by sudden changes in the weather; an abrupt change to cold being pretty certain to be registered on their noses by unmistakable indications of catarrh or “ snuffles.” In England, where mutton is generally eaten by the laboring classes, the meat of this variety is in very great demand; and the consequent return which a sheep possessing such fine feeding qualities is enabled to make renders it a general favorite with the breeder. Instances are recorded of the most extraordinary prices having been paid for these animals. They have spread into all parts of the British dominions, and been imported into the other countries of Europe and into the United States. They were first introduced into our own country, some forty years since, by Christopher Dunn, of Albany, N. Y. Subsequent importations have been made by Mr. Powel, of Philadelphia, and various other gentlemen. The breed, how- ever, has never proved a favorite with any large class of American farmers. Our long, cold winters—but, more especi- ally, our dry, scorching summers, when it is often difficult to obtain the rich, green, tender feed in which the Leicester delights—together with the general deprivation of green feed in the winter, rob it of its early maturity, and even of the ultimate size which it attains in England. Its mutton is too fat, and the fat and lean are too little intermixed to suit 46 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. American taste. Its wool is not very salable, owing to the dearth of. worsted manufactures in our country. Its early decay and loss of wool constitute an objection to it, in a country where it is often so difficult to advantageously turn off sheep, particularly ewes. But, notwithstanding all these -disad- vantages, on rich lowland farms, in the vicinity of considerable markets, it will always in all probability make a profitable return. The head of the New Leicester should be horniless, long, small, tapering towards the muzzle, and projecting horizontally forward ; the eyes prominent, but with a quiet expression; the ears thin, rather long, and directed backward; the neck full and broad at its base, where it proceeds from the chest, so that there is, with the slightest possible deviation, one con- tinued horizontal line from the rump to the poll; the breast broad and full; the shoulders also broad and round, and no uneven or angular formation where the shoulders join either the neck or the back—particularly no rising of the withers, or hollow behind the situation of these bones; the arm fleshy throughout its whole extent, and even down to the knee; the bones of the leg small, standing wide apart; no looseness of skin about them, and comparatively void of wool; the chest and barrel at once deep and round; the ribs forming a con- siderable arch from the spine, so as, in some cases—and espe- cially when the animal is in good condition—io make the apparent width of the chest even greater than the depth; the barrel ribbed well home; no irregularity of line on the back or belly, but on the sides ; the carcass very gradually diminishing in width towards the rump; the quarters long and full, and, as with the fore-legs, the muscles extending down to the hock; THE SOUTH-DOWN. 47 the thighs also wide and full; the legs of a moderate length; and the pelt also moderately thin, but soft and elastic, and covered with a good quantity of white wool, not so long as in some breeds, but considerably finer. THE SOUTH-DOWN. A long range of chalky hills, diverging from the chalky stratum which intersects England from Norfolk to Dorchester, is termed the South- Downs. They enter the county of Sussex on the west side, and are continued almost in a direct line, as far as East Bourne, where they reach the sea. They may be regarded as occupy- BS AL if - = AA IN ing a space of more A SOUTH-DOWN RAM. = ~-¥ J than sixty miles in length, and about five or = six in breadth, consisting of a succession of open downs, with few enclosures, and distinguished by their situation and name from a more northern tract of similar elevation and soil, passing through Surrey and Kent, and terminating in the cliffs of Dover, and of the Forelands. On these downs a certain breed of sheep has been produced for many centuries, in greater perfection than elsewhere; and hence have sprung those successive colonies which have found their way abroad and materially benefited the breed of short- woolled sheep wherever they have gone. 48 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. It is only, however, within a comparatively recent period that they have been brought to their present perfection. As ‘recently as 1776 they tere small in size, and of a form not superior to the common woolled sheep of the United States ; they were far from possessing a good shape, being long and thin in the neck, high on the shoulders, low behind, high on the loins, down on the rump, the tail set on very low, perpen- dicular from the hip-bones, sharp on the back; the ribs flat, not bowing, narrow in the fore-quarters, but good in the leg, although having big bones. Since that period a course of judicious breeding, pursued by Mr. John Ellman, of Glynde, in Sussex, has mainly contributed to raise this variety to its present value; and that, too, without the admixture of the slightest degree of foreign blood. This pure, improved family, it will be borne in mind, is spoken of in the present connection ; inasmuch as the original stock, presenting, with trifling modifications, the same charac- teristics which they exhibited seventy-five years ago, are yet to be found in England; and the intermediate space between these two classes is occupied by a variety of grades, rising or falling in value, as they approximate to or recede from the improved blood. The South-Down sheep are polled, but it is probable that the original breed was horned, as it is not unusual to find among the male South-Down lambs some with small horns. The dusky, or at times, black hue of the head and legs fully establishes the original color of the sheep, and, perhaps of all sheep ; while the later period at which it was seriously attempted to get rid of this dingy hue proving unsuccessful, only confirms this view. Many of the lambs have been dropped entirely black. THE SOUTH-DOWN. 49 It is an upland sheep, of medium size, and its wool—which in point of length belongs to the middle class, and differs essentially from Merino wool of any grade, though the fibre in some of the finest fleeces may be of the same apparent fineness with half or one-quarter blood Merino—is deficient in felting properties, making a fuzzy, hairy cloth, and is no longer used in England, unless largely mixed with foreign wool, even for the lowest class of cloths. As it has deteriorated, however, it has increased in length of staple, in that country, to such an extent that improved machinery enables it to be used as a combing-wool, for the manufacture of worsteds. Where this has taken place it is quite as profitable as when it was finer and shorter. In the United States, where the demand for combing-wool is so small that it is easily met by a better article, the same result would not probably follow. Indeed, it may well be doubted whether the proper combing length will be easily reached, or at least maintained in this country, in the absence of that high feeding system which has undoubtedly given the wool its increased length in England. The average weight of fleece in the hill-fed sheep is three pounds; on rich lowlands, a little more. The South-Down, however, is cultivated more particularly for its mutton, which for quality takes precedence of all other— from sheep of good size—in the English markets. Its early maturity ‘and extreme aptitude to lay on flesh, render it peculiarly valuable for this purpose. It is turned off at the age of two years, and its weight at that age is, in England, from eighty to one hundred pounds. High-fed wethers have reached from thirty-two to even forty pounds a quarter. Not- withstanding its weight, it has a patience of occasional short 4 50 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. keep, and an endurance of hard stocking, equal to any other sheep. This gives it a decided advantage over the bulkier Leicesters and Lincolns, as a mutton sheep, in hilly districts and those producing short and scanty herbage. It is hardy and healthy, though, in common with the other English varie- ties, much subject to catarrh, and no sheep better withstands our American winters. The ewes are prolific breeders and good nurses. The Down is quiet and docile in its habits, and, though an industrious feeder, exhibits but little disposition to rove. Like the Leicester, it is comparatively a short-lived animal, and the fleece continues to decrease in weight after it reaches maturity. It crosses better with short and middle-woolled breeds than the Leicester. A sheep possessing such qualities, must, of necessity, be valuable in upland districts in the vicinity of markets. The Emperor of Russia paid Mr. Ellman three hundred guineas (fifteen hundred dollars) for two rams; and, in 1800, a ram belonging to the Duke of Bedford was let for one season at eighty guineas (four hundred dollars), two others at forty guineas (two hundred dollars) each, and four more at twenty-eight guineas (one hundred and forty dollars) each. The first importation into the United States was made by Col. J. H. Powell, of Philadelphia. A subsequent im- portation, in 1834, cost sixty dollars a head. The desirable characteristics of the South-Down may be thus summed up: The head small and hornless ; the face speckled or gray, and neither too long nor too short; the lips thin, and the space between the nose and the eyes narrow; the under- jaw or chap fine and thin; the ears tolerably wide and well- covered with wool, and the forehead also, and the whole space THE SOUTH-DOWN. nf between the ears well protected by it, as a defence against the fly ; the eye full and bright, but not prominent; the orbits of the eye, the eye-cap or bone not too projecting, that it may not form a fatal obstacle in lambing; the neck of a medium length, thin toward the head, but enlarging toward the shoulders, where it should be broad and high and straight in its whole course above and below. The breast should be wide, deep, and projecting forward between the fore-legs, indicating a good constitution and a disposition to thrive; corresponding with this, the shoulders should be on a level with the back, and not too wide above; they should bow outward from the top to the breast, indicating a springing rib beneath, and leaving room for it; the ribs coming out horizontally from the spine, and extending far backward, and the last rib projecting more than others; the back flat from the shoulders to the setting on of the tail; the loin broad and flat; the rump broad, and the tail set on high, and nearly on a level with the spine. The hips should be wide; the space between them and the last rib on each side as narrow as possible, and the ribs generally presenting a circular form like a barrel; the belly as straight as the back; the legs neither too long nor too short; the fore-legs straight from the breast to the foot, not bending inward at the knee, and standing far apart, both before and ‘behind; the hock having a direction rather outward, and the twist, or the meeting of the thighs behind, being particularly full; the bones fine, yet having no appearance of weakness, and of a speckled or dark color; the belly well defended with wool, and the wool coming down before and behind to the 52 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. knee and to the hock; the wool short, close, curled and fine, and free from spiry projecting fibres. THE COTSWOLD. The Cotswolds, until improved by modern crosses, were a very large, coarse, long-legged, flat-ribbed variety, light in the SSS fore-quarter, and shearing a long, heavy, coarse fleece of wool. They were for- merly bred only on the hills, and fatted in the val- leys, of the Severn RZ, and the Thames; but with the en- BE eee OLN closures of the Cotswold hills, and the improvement of their cultivation, they have been reared and fatted in the same district. They were hardy, prolific breeders, and capital nurses; deficient in early maturity, and not possessing feeding properties equalling those of the South-Down or New Leicester. They have been extensively crossed with the Leicester sheep—producing thus the modern or improved Cotswold—by which their size and fleece have been somewhat diminished, but their carcasses have been materially improved, and their maturity rendered earlier. The wethers are sometimes fat- tened at fourteen months old, when they weigh from fifteen to THE COTSWOLD. 53 twenty-four pounds to a quarter; and at two vears old, in- crease to twenty or thirty pounds. The wool is strong, mellow, and of good color, though rather coarse. six to eight inches in length, and from seven to eight pounds per fleece. The superior hardihood of the improved Cotswold over the Leicester, and their adaptation to common treatment, together with the prolific nature of the ewes, and their abundance of milk, have rendered them in many places rivals of the New Leicester, and have obtained for them, of late years, more attention to their selection and general treat- ment, under which management still farther improvement has been made. They have also been used in crossing other breeds, and have been mixed with the Hampshire Downs. Indeed, the improved Cotswold, under the name of new, or improved Oxfordshire sheep, have frequently been the success- ful candidates for prizes offered for the best long-woolled sheep at some of the principal agricultural meetings or shows in England. The quality of their mutton is considered superior to that of the Leicester; the tallow being less abundant, with a larger development of muscle or flesh. ; The degree to which the cross between the Cotswold and Leicester mays be carried, must depend upon the nature of the old stock, and on the situation and character of the farm. In exposed situations, and somewhat scanty pasture, the old blood should decidedly prevail. On amore sheltered soil, and on land that will bear closer stocking, a greater use may be made of the Leicester. Another circumstance that should guide the farmer is the object which he has principally in view. If he expects to derive his chief profits from the wool, he will look 54 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. to the primitive Cotswolds; if he expects to gain more as a grazier, he will use the Leicester ram more freely. Sheep of this breed, now of established reputation, have been imported into the United States by Messrs. Corning and Gotham, of Albany, and bred by the latter. THE CHEVIOT. On the steep, storm-lashed Cheviot hills, in the extreme north of England, this breed first attracted notice for their great hardiness in resisting cold, AC == ery herbage. A cross with the Leicester, pretty generally resorted ey SA pati ALAN ; SY to, constitutes the improved variety. The Cheviot = readily amalga- A CHEVIOT EWE. mates with the Leicester—the rams employed in the system of breeding, which has been extensively introduced for producing the first cross of this descent, being of the pure Leicester breed—and the progeny is superior in size, weight of wool, and tendency to fatten, to the native Cheviot. The benefit, however, may be said to end with the first cross; and the progeny of this mixed descent is greatly inferior to the pure Leicester in form THE CHEVIOT. 5S and fattening properties, and to the pure Cheviot in hardiness of constitution. The improved Cheviot has greatly extended itself through- out the mountains of Scotland, and in many instances sup- planted the black-faced breed; but the change, though often advantageous, has in some cases been otherwise—the latter being somewhat hardier, and more capable of subsisting on heathy pasturage. They are a hardy race, however; well suited for their native pastures, bearing, with comparative im- punity, the storms of winter, and thriving well on poor keep. The purest specimens are to be found on the Scotch side of the Cheviot hills, and on the high and stony mountain farms which lie between that range and the sources of the Teviot. These sheep are a capital mountain stock, provided the pasture re- sembles those hills, in containing a good proportion of rick herbage. Though less hardy than the black-faced sheep of Scotland, they are more profitable as respects their feeding, making more flesh on an equal quantity of food, and making it more quickly. « They have white faces and legs, open countenances, lively eyes, and are without horns; the ears are large, and somewhat singular, and there is much space between the ears and eyes ; the carcass is long; the back straight; the shoulders rather light ; the ribs circular; and the quarters good. The legs are small in the bone, and covered with wool, as well as the body, with the exception of the face. The wether is fit for the butcher at three years old, and averages from twelve to eighteen pounds a quarter ; the mutton being of a good quality, though inferior to the South-Down, and of less flavor than the 56 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. black-faced. The Cheviot, though a mountain breed, is quiet and docile, and easily managed. The wool is about the quality of, Leicester, coarse and long, suitable only for the manufacture of low coatings and flushings, It closely covers the body, assisting much in preserving it from the effects of wet and cold. The fleece averages about three and a half pounds. Formerly, the wool was extensively em- ployed in making cloths; but having given place to the finer Saxony wools, it has sunk in price, and been confined to comb- ing purposes. It has thus become altogether a secondary consideration. . The Cheviots have become an American sheep by their repeated importations into this country. The wool on several choice sheep, imported by Mr. Carmichael], of New York, was from five to seven inches long, coarse, but well suited to combing. THE LINCOLN. The old breed of Lincolnshire sheep was hornless, had white faces, and long, thin, and weak carcasses; the ewes weighed from fourteen to twenty pounds a quarter; the three-year old wethers from twenty to thirty pounds; legs thick, rough and white ; pelts thick ; wool long—from ten to eighteen inches— and covering a slow-feeding, coarse-grained carcass of mutton. A judicious system of breeding, which avoided Bakewell’s errors, has wrought a decided improvement in this breed. The improved Lincolns possess a rather more desirable robu&tness, approaching, in some few specimens, almost to coarseness, as compared with the finest Leicesters ; but they are more hardy, and less liable to diséase. They attain as large a size, and THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SHEEP. 57 yield as great an amount of wool, of about the same value. This breed, indeed, scarcely differs more from the Cotswold than do flocks of a similar variety, which have been separately bred for several generations, from each other. They are pro- lific, and when well-fed, the ewes will frequently produce two lambs at a birth, for which they provide liberally from their udders till the time for weaning. The weight of the fleece. varies from four to eight pounds per head. Having alluded to the principal points of interest connected with the various breeds of sheep in the United States, our next business is with THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SHEEP. SKELETON OF THE SHEEP AS COVERED BY THE MUSCLES, 1. The intermaxillary bone. 2. The nasal bones, 3. The upperjaw. 4 The union of the nasal and upper jaw-bones, 5. The union of the molar and lachrymal bones. 6. The orbits of the eye. 7. The frontal bone. 8. The lower jaw. 9 The incisor teeth, or nippers. 10. The molars or grinders. 11. The ligament of the neck support- ing the head. 12. The seven vertebra, or the bones of the neck. 13 The thirteen vertebrae, or bones of the back, 14. Thesix vertebre# of theloins. 15. The sacral bone. “58 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. 16. The bones of the tail, varying in different breeds from twelve to twenty-one. 17, The haunch and pelvis. 18. The eight true ribs, with their cartilages. 19. The five false ribs, or those that are not attached to the breast-bone. 20. The breast-bone. 21. The scapula, or shoulder-blade. 22. The humerus, bone of the arm, or lower part of the shoulder. 23. The radius, or bone of the fore-arm. 24. The ulna or elbow. 25. The knee with its different bones. 26. The metacarpal or shank-bones—the larger bones of theleg. 27. A rudiment of thesmaller metacarpal. 28. One of the sessamoid bones. 29. The first two bones of the foot—the pasterns, 30. The proper bones of the foot. 31. The thigh-bone. 32. The stifle-joint and its bone—the patella. 33. The tibia, or bone of the upper part of the leg, 34. The point of the hock. 35. The other bones of the hock. 36. The metatarsal bones, or bone of the hind-leg. 37. Rudiment of the small metatarsal. 38. Asessamvid bone, 39. The first two bones of the foot— the pasterns. 40. The proper bones of the foot. Division. Vertebrata—possessing a back-bone. Crass. Mammalia—such as give suck. Orpver. Luminantia—chewing the cud. Famity. Capride—the goat kind. Genus. Oris—the sheep family. Of this Genus there are three varieties : Oris, AMMON, or ARGALI. Oris Musmon. Oris Aries, or Domestic Sheep. Of the latter—with which alone this treatise is concerned— there are about forty well known varieties. -Between the oris, or sheep, and the capra, or goat, another genus of the same family, the distinctions are well marked, although considerable resemblance exists between them. The horns of the sheep have a spiral direction, while those of the goat have a direction upward and backward; the sheep, except in a single wild variety, has no beard, while the goat is bearded; the goat, in his highest state of improvement, when he is made to produce wool of a fineness unequalled by the sheep—as in the Cash- mere breed—is mainly, and always, externally covered with hair, while the hair on the sheep may, by domestication, be reduced to a few coarse hairs, or got rid of altogether; and, FORMATION OF THE TEETH. 59 finally, the pelt or skin of the goat has thickness very far ex- ceeding that of the sheep. f The age of sheep is usually reckoned, not from the time that they are dropped, but from the first shearing; although the first year may thus include fifteen or sixteen months, and sometimes more. When doubt exists relative to the age, re- course is had to the teeth, since there is more uncertainty about the horn in this animal than in cattle; ewes that have been early bred, appearing always, according to the rings on the horn, a year older than others that have been longer kept from the ram. FORMATION OF THE TEETH. Sheep have no teeth in the upper jaw, but the bars or ridges of the palate thicken as they approach the forepart of the mouth; there also the dense, fibrous, elastic matter, of which they are constituted, becomes condensed, and forms a cushion or bed, which covers the converse extremity of the upper jaw, and occupies the place of the upper incisor, or cutting teeth, and partially discharge their functions. The herbage is firmly held between the front teeth in the lower jaw and this pad, and thus partly bitten and partly torn _asunder. Of this, the rolling motion of the head is sufficient proof, i The teeth are the same in number as in the mouth of the ox. There are eight incisors or cutting-teeth in the forepart of the lower jaw, and six molars in each jaw above and below, and on either side. The incisors are more admirably formed for grazing than inthe ox. The sheep lives closer, and is destined to follow the ox, and gather nourishment where that animal 60 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. would be unable to crop a single blade. This close life not only loosens the roots of the grass, and disposes them to spread, but by cutting off the short suckers and sproutings—a wise provision of nature—causes the plants to throw out fresh, and “more numerous, and stronger ones, and thus is instrumental in improving and increasing the value of the crop. Nothing will more expeditiously and more effectually make a thick, permanent pasture than its being occasionally and closely eaten down by sheep. In order to enable the sheep to bite this close, the upper lip is deeply divided, and free from hair about the centre of it. The part of the tooth above the gum is not only, as in other animals, covered with enamel, to enable it to bear and to pre- serve a sharpened edge, but the enamel on the upper part rises from the bone of the tooth nearly a quarter of an inch, and presenting a convex surface outward, and a concave within, forms a little scoop or gorge of wonderfulsexecution. The mouth of the lamb newly dropped is either without in- cisor teeth or it has two. The teeth rapidly succeed to each other, and before the animal is a month old he has the whole ot the eight. They continue to grow with his growth until he is about fourteen or sixteen months old. Then, with the same previous process of diminution as in cattle, or carried to a still — greater degree, the two central teeth are shed, and attain their full growth when the sheep is two years old. In examining a flock of sheep, however, there will often be very considerable difference in the teeth of those that have not been sheared, or those that have been once sheared; in some measure to be accounted for by a difference in the time of lambing, and likewise by the general health and vigor of the “ FORMATION OF THE TEETH. 61 animal. There will also be a material difference in different animals, attributable to the good or bad keep which they have had. Those fed on good land, or otherwise well kept, will generally take the start of others that have been half starved, and renew their teeth some months sooner than these. There are also irregularities in the times of renewing the teeth, not to be accounted for by either of these circumstances; in fact, not to be explained by any known circumstance relating to the breed or the keep of the sheep. The want of improvement in sheep, which is occasionally observed, and which cannot be accounted for by any deficiency or change of food, may some- times be justly attributed to the tenderness of the mouth when the permanent teeth are protruding through the gums. Between two and three years old the next two incisors are shed ; and when the sheep is actually three years old, the four central teeth are fully grown; at four yearsold, he has six teeth fully grown; and at five years old—one year before the horse or the ox can be said to be full-mouthed—all the teeth are perfectly developed. The sheep is a much shorter-lived animal than the horse, and does not often attain the usual age of the ox. Their natural age is about ten years, to which age they will breed and thrive well; though there are recorded instances of their breeding at the age of fifteen, and of living twenty years. The careless examiner may be sometimes deceived with re- gard to the four-year-old mouth. He will see the teeth per- fectly developed, no diminutive ones at the sides, and the mouth apparently full; and then, without giving himself the trouble of counting the teeth, he will conclude that the animal is five years old. A process of displacement, as well as of 62 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. diminution, has taken place here; the remaining outside milk- teeth have not only shrunk to less than a fourth part of their original size, but the four-year-old teeth have grown before them and perfectly conceal them, unless the mouth is com- pletely opened. After the permanent teeth have all appeared and are fully grown, there is no criterion as to the age of the sheep In most cases, the teeth remain sound for one or two years, and then, at uncertain intervals—either on account of the hard work in which they have been employed, or from the natural effect of age—they begin to loosen and fall out; or, by reason of their natural slenderness, they are broken off. When favorite ewes, that have been kept for breeding, begin to lose condition, at six or seven years old, their mouths should be carefully examined. If any of the teeth are loose, they should be extracted, and a chance given to the animal to show how far, by browsing early and late, she may be able to make up for the diminished number of her incisors. It frequently happens that ewes with broken teeth, and some with all the incisors gone, will keep pace in condition with the best in the flock ; but they must be well taken care of in the winter, and, indeed, nursed to an extent that. would scarcely answer the farmer’s purpose to adopt as a general rule, in order to prevent them from declining to such a degree as would make it very difficult afterward to fatten them for the butcher. It may cer- tainly be taken as a general rule, that when sheep become broken-mouthed they begin to decline. Causes of which the farmer is utterly ignorant, or over which he has no control, will sometimes hasten the loss of the teeth. One thing, however, is certain—that close feeding, STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN. 63 causing additional exercise, does wear them down; and that the sheep of farmers who stock unusually and unseasonably hard, lose their teeth much sooner than others do. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN. The skin of the sheep, in common with that of most animals, is composed of three textures. Externally is the cuticle, or scarf-skin, which is thin, tough, devoid of feeling, and pierced by innumerable minute holes, through which pass the fibres of the wool and the insensible perspiration. It seems to be of a scaly texture ; although is not so evident as in many other animals, on account of a peculiar substance—the yolk—which is placed on it, to protect and nourish the roots of the wool. It is, however, sufficiently evident in the scab and other cuta- neous eruptions to which this animal is liable. Below this cuticle is the rete mucosum, a soft structure ; its fibres having scarcely more consistence than mucilage, and being with great difficulty separated from the skin beneath. This appears to be placed as a defence to the terminations of the blood-vessels and nerves of the skin, which latter are, in a manner, enveloped and covered by it. The color of the skin, and probably that of the hair or wool also, is determined by the rele mucosum; or, at least, the hair and wool are of the same color as this substance. Beneath the rete mucosum is the cutis, or true skin, com- posed of numberless minute fibres crossing each other in every direction; highly elastic, in order to fit closely to the parts beneath, and to yield to the various motions of the body; and dense and firm in its structure, that it may resist external injury. Blood-vessels and nerves innumerable pierce it, and 64 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. appear on its surface in the form of papille, or minute eminences ; while, through thousands of little orifices, the ex- helant absorbents pour out the superfluous or redundant fluid. The true skin is composed, principally or almost entirely, of gelatine ; so that, although it may be dissolved by long-con- tinued boiling, it is insoluble in water at the common tempera- ture. This organization seems to have been given to it, not only for the sake of its preservation while on the living animal, but that it may afterwards become useful to man. The sub- stance of the hide readily combining with the tanning principle, is converted into leather. i THE ANATOMY OF THE WOOL. On the skin of most animals is placed a covering of feathers, fur, hair, or wool. These are all essentially the same in com- position, being composed of an animal substance resembling coagu- lated albumen, to- gether with sul- phur, silica, carbon- ate and phosphate of lime, and oxides of iron and manga- nese. THE WALLACHIAN SHEEP. Wiosliis aobien. fined to the sheep. The under-hair of some goats is not only finer than the fleece of any sheep, but it oc- easionally has the crisped appearance of wool; being, in fact, ANATOMY OF THE WOOL. 65 wool of different qualities in different breeds—in some, rival- ling or excelling that of the sheep, but in others very coarse. A portion of wool is also found on many other animals; as the deer, elk, the oxen of Tartary and Hudson’s Bay, the enu, the camel, many of the fur-clad animals, the sable, the hole and several species of the dog. Judging from the mixture of wool and hair in the coat of most animals, and the relative situation of these materials, it is not improbable that such was the character of the fleece of the primitive sheep. It has, indeed, been asserted that the primi- tive sheep was entirely covered with hair; but this is, doubt- less, incorrect. There exists, at the present day, varieties of the sheep occupying extensive districts, that are clothed out- wardly with hair of different degrees of fineness and sleekness; ~ and underneath the external coat is a softer, shorter, and closer one, that answers to the description of fur—according to most travellers—but which really possesses all the characteristics of wool. It is, therefore, highly improbable that the sheep— which has now become, by cultivation, the wool-bearing animal in a pre-eminent degree—should, in any country, at any time, have ever been entirely destitute of wool. Sheep of almost every variety have at times been in the gardens of the London (Eng.) Zodlogical Society; but there has not been one on which a portion of crisped wool, although exceed- ingly small, has not been discovered beneath the hair. In all the regions over which the patriarchs wandered, and extending northward through the greater part of Europe and Asia, the sheep is externally covered with hair; but underneath is a fine, short, downy wool, from which the hair is easily separated. 5 66 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. This is the case with the sheep at the Cape of Good Hope, and also in South America. The change from hair to wool, though much influenced by temperature, has been chiefly effected by cultivation. Wherever hairy sheep are now found the management of the animal is in a most disgraceful state; and among the cultivated sheep the remains of this ancient hairy covering only exists, to any great extent, among those that are comparatively neglected or abandoned. The filament of the wool has scarcely pushed itself through the pore of the skin, when it has to penetrate through another and singular substance, which, from its adhesiveness and color, is called the yolk. This is found in greatest quantity about the breast and shoulders—the very parts that produce the best, and healthiest, and most abundant wool—and in propor- tion as it extends, in any considerable degree, over other parts, the wool is then improved. It differs in quantity in different breeds. It is very abundant on the Merinos; it is sufficiently plentiful on most of the southern breeds, either to assist in the production of the wool, or to defend the sheep from the inelemency of the weather; but in the northern districts, where the cold is more intense and the yolk of wool is deficient, a substitute for it is sometimes sought by smearing the sheep with a mixture of tar, oil, or butter. Where there is a deficiency of yolk, the fibre of the wool is dry, harsh, and weak, and the whole fleece becomes thin and hairy ; where the natural quantity of it is found, the wool is soft, oily, plentiful and strong. This yolk is not the inspissated or thickened perspiration of the animal it is not composed of matter which has been acci- ANATOMY OF THE WOOL. 67 . dentally picked up, and which has lodged in the wool; but it is a peculiar secretion from the glands of the skin, destined to be one of the agents in the nourishment of the wool, and at the same time, by its adhesiveness, to mat the wool together, and form a secure defence from the wet and cold. Chemical experiments have established its composition, as © follows: first, of a soapy matter with a basis of potash, which forms the greater part of it; second, a small quantity of car- bonate of potash; third, a perceptible quantity of acetate of potash ; fourth, lime, in a peculiar and unknown state of com- bination ; fifth, an atom of muriate of potash; sixth, an animal oil, to which its peculiar odor is attributable. All these materials are believed to be essential to the yolk, and not found in it by mere accident, since the yolk of a great number of samples—Spanish, French, English, and American—has been subjected to repeated analyses, with the same result. The yolk being a true soap, soluble in water, it is not diffi- cult to account for the comparaiive ease with which sheep that have the natural proportion of it are washed in a running stream. ‘There is, however, a small quantity of fatty matter in the fleece, which is not in combination with the alkali, and which, remaining attached to the wool, keeps it a little glutin- ous, notwithstanding the most careful washing. The fibre of the wool having penetrated the skin and escaped from the yolk, is of a circular form, generally larger toward the extremity, and also toward the root, and in some instances very considerably so. The filaments of white wool, when cleansed from grease, are semi-transparent; their surface in some places is beautifully polished, in others curiously in- crusted, and they reflect the rays of light in a very pleasing 68 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. manner. When viewed by the aid of a powerful achromatic microscope, the central part of the fibre has a singularly glit- tering appearance. Minute filaments, placed very regularly, are sometimes seen branching from the main trunk, like boughs from the principal stem. This exterior polish varies much in different wools, and in wools from the same breed of sheep at different times. When the animal is in good con- dition, and the fleece healthy, the appearance of the fibre is really brilliant ; but when the state of the constitution is bad, the fibre has a dull appearance, and either a wan, pale light, or sometimes scarcely any, is reflected. As a general rule, the filament is most transparent in the best and most useful wools, whether long or short. It increases with the improvement of the breed, and the fineness and healthiness of the fleece ; yet it must be admitted that some wools have different degrees of the transparency and opacity, which do not appear to affect their value and utility. It is, however, the difference of trans- parency in the same fleece, or in the same filament, that is chiefly to be noticed as improving the value of the wool. As to the size of the fibre, the terms “fine” and “ coarse,” as commonly used, are but vague and general descriptions of wool. All fine fleeces have some coarse wool, and all comes fleeces some fine. The most accurate classification is to dis- tinguish the various qualities of wool in the order in which they are esteemed and preferred by the manufacturer—as the following: first, fineness with close ground, that is, thick- matted ground ; second, pureness ; third, straight-haired, when broken by drawing ; fourth, elasticity, rising after compression in the hand; fifth, staple not too long; sixth, color; seventh, what coarse exists to be very coarse; eighth, tenacity; and ANATOMY OF THE WOOL. 69 ninth, not much pitch-mark, though this is no disadvantage, except the loss of weight in scouring. The bad or disagree- able properties are—thin, grounded, tossy, curly-haired, and, if in a sorted state, little in it that is very fine; a tender staple, as elasticity, many dead white hairs, very yolky. Those who buy wool for combing and other light goods that. do not need milling, wish to find length of staple, fineness of hair, whiteness, tenacity, pureness, elasticity, and not too many pitch-marks. The property first attracting attention, and being of greater importance than any other, is the fineness of the pile—the quantity of fine wool which a fleece yields, and the degree of that fineness. Of the absolute fineness, little can be said, varying, as it does, in different parts of the same fleece to a very considerable degree, and the diameter of the same fibre often being exceedingly different at the extremity and the centre. The micrometer has sometimes indicated that the diameter of the former is five times as much as that of the latter; and, consequently, that a given length of yield taken from the extremity would weigh twenty-five times as much as the same length taken from the centre and cleansed from all yolk and grease. That fibre may be considered as coarse whose diameter is more than the five-hundredth part of an inch ; in some of the most valuable samples of Saxony wool it has not exceeded the nine-hundredth part; yet in some animals, whose wool has not been used for manufacturing purposes, it is less than one twelve-hundredth part. The extremities of the wool, and frequently those portions which are near to the root, are larger than the intermediate parts. The extremity of the fibre has, generally, the greatest SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. bulk of all. It is the product of summer, soon after shearing- time, when ‘the secretion of the matter of the wool is in- creased, and when the pores of the skin are relaxed and open, and permit a larger fibre to protrude. The portion near the root is the growth of spring, when the weather is getting warm; and the intermediate part is the offspring of winter, when under the influence of the cold the pores of the skin contract, and permit only a finer hair to escape. If, however, the animal is well fed, the diminution of the bulk of the fibre will not be followed by weakness or decay, but, in proportion as the pile becomes fine, the value of the fleece will be in- creased ; whereas, if cold and starvation should go hand-in- hand, the woolly fibre will not only diminish in bulk, but in health, strength, and worth. The variations in the diameter of the wool in different parts of the fibre will also curiously correspond with the degree of heat at the time the respective portions were produced. The fibre of the wool and the record of the meteorologist will singularly agree, if the variations in temperature are suffi- ciently distinct from each other for any appreciable part of the fibre to form. It follows from this, that—the natural tendency to produce wool of a certain fibre being the same— sheep in a hot climate will yield a comparatively coarse wool, and those in a cold climate will carry a finer, but at the same time a closer and a warmer fleece. In proportion to the coarseness of a fleece will generally be its openness, and its inability to resist either cold or wet; while the coat of softer, smaller, more pliable wool will admit of no interstices between its fibres, and will bid defiance to frost and storms. The natural instinct of the sheep would seem to teach the ANATOMY OF THE WOOL. 71 wool-grower the advantage of attending to the influence of temperature upon the animal. He is evidently impatient of heat. In the open districts, and where no shelter is near, he climbs to the highest parts of his walk, that, if the rays of the sun must still fall on him, he may nevertheless be cooled by the breeze; but, if shelter is near, of whatever kind, every shaded spot is crowded with sheep. The wool of the Meri- nos after shearing-time is hard and coarse to such a degree as to render it very difficult to suppose that the same animal could bear wool so opposite in quality, compared with that which had been clipped from it in the course of the same season. As the cold weather advances, the fleeces recover their soft quality. Pasture has a far greater influence on the fineness of the fleece. The staple of the wool, like every other part of the sheep, must increase in length or in bulk when the animal has a superabundance of nutriment ; and, on the other hand, the secretion which forms the wool must decrease like every other, when sufficient nourishment. is not afforded. When little cold has been experienced in the winter, and vegetation has searcely been checked, the sheep yields an abundant crop of wool, but the fleece is perceptibly coarser as well as heavier. When the frost has been severe, and the ground long covered with snow, if the flock has been fairly supplied with nutriment, although the fleece may have lost a little in weight, it will have acquired a superior degree of fineness, and a proportional increase of value. Should, however, the sheep have been neglected and starved during this continued cold weather, the fleece as well as the carcass is thinner, and 72 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. although it may have preserved its smallness of filament, it has lost in weight, and strength, and usefulness. Connected with fineness is trueness of staple—as equal in growth as possible over the animals—a freedom from those shaggy portions, here and there, which are occasionally observed on poor and neglected sheep. These portions -are always coarse and comparatively worthless, and they indicate an irregular and unhealthy action of the secretion of -wool, which will also probably weaken or render the fibre diseased in other parts. Included in trueness of fibre is another circumstance to which allusion has already been made—a freedom from coarse hairs which project above the general level of the wool in various parts, or; if they are not exter- nally seen, mingle with the wool and debase its qualities. Soundness is closely associated with trueness. It means, generally speaking, strength of the fibre, and also a freedom from those breaches or withered portions of which something has previously been said. The eye will readily detect the breaches ; but the hair generally may not possess a degree of strength proportioned to its bulk. This is ascertained by drawing a few hairs out of the staple, and grasping each of them singly by both ends, and pulling them until they break. The wool often becomes injured by felting while it is on the sheep’s back. This is principally seen in the heavy breeds, especially those that are neglected and half-starved, and generally begins in the winter season, when the coat has been completely saturated with water, and it increases until shear- ing-time, unless the cob separates from the wool beneath, and drops off. Wool is generally injured by keeping. It will probably in- ANATOMY OF THE WOOL. 73 crease a little in weight for a few months, especially if kept in a damp place; but after that it will somewhat rapidly become lighter, until a very considerable loss will often be sustained. This, however, is not the moral of the case; for, except very great care is taken, the moth will get into the bundles and injure and destroy the staple; and that which remains un- touched by them will become considerably harsh and less pliable. If to this the loss of the interest of money is added, it will be seen that he seldom acts wisely who hoards his wool, when he can obtain what approaches to a fair remunerating price for it. Softness of the wool is evidently connected with the pres- ence and quality of the yolk. This substance is undoubtedly designed not only to nourish the hair, but to give it richness and pliability. The growth of the yolk ought to be promoted, and agriculturists ought to pay more attention to the quantity and quality of yolk possessed by the animals selected for the purpose of breeding. Bad management impairs the pliability of the wool, by - arresting the secretion of the yolk. The softness of the wool is also much influenced by the chemical elements of: the soil. A chalky soil notoriously deteriorates it; minute particles of the chalk being necessarily brought into contact with the fleece and mixing with it, have a corrosive effect on the fibre, and harden it and render it less pliable. The particles of chalk come in contact with the yolk—there being a chemical affinity between the alkali and the oily matter of the yolk—immedi- ately unite, and a true soap is formed. The first storm washes a portion of it; and the wool, deprived of its natural pabulum and unguent, loses some of its vital properties—its pliability 74 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. among the rest. The slight degree of harshness which has been attributed to the English South-Down has been explained in this way. The felting property of wool is a tendency of the fibres to entangle themselves together, and to form a mass more or less dificult to unravel. By moisture and pressure, the fibres of the wool may become matted or felted together into a species of cloth. The manufacture of felt was the first mode in which wool was applied to clothing, and felt has long been in uni- versal use for hats. The fulling of flannels and broadcloths is effected by the felting principle. By the joint influence of the moisture and the pressure, certain of the fibres are brought into more intimate contact with each other; they adhere—not only the fibres, but, in a manner, the threads—and the cloth is taken from the mill shortened in all its dimensions; it has become a kind of felt, for the threads have disappeared, and it can be cut in every direction with very little or no unravelling ; it is altogether a thicker, warmer, softer fibre. This felting property is one of the most valuable qualities possessed by wool, and on this property are the finer kinds of wool especially valued by the manufacturer for the finest broadcloths. This naturally suggests a consideration of the various forms in the structure on which it depends. The most evident distinction between the qualities of hair and wool is the comparative straightness of the former, and the crisped or spirally-curling form which the latter assumes. If a little lock of wool is held up to the light, every fibre of it is twisted into numerous minute corkscrew-like ringlets. This is especially seen in the fleece of the short-woolled sheeps ; but, ANATOMY OF THE WOOL. 15 although less striking, it is obvious even in wool of the largest staple. _. The spirally-curving form of wool used, erroneously, to be considered as the chief distinction between the covering of the goat and the sheep; but the under-coat of some of the former is finer than that of any sheep, and it is now acknowledged frequently to have the crisped and curled appearance of wool. In some breeds of cattle, particularly in one variety of the Devons, the hair assumes a curled and wavy appearance, and a few of the minute spiral ringlets have been occasionally seen. It is the same with many of the Highlands; but there is no determination to take on the true crisped character, and throughout its whole extent, and it is still nothing but hair. On some foreign breeds, however, as the yak of Tartary, and the ox of Hudson’s Bay, some fine and valuable wool is pro- duced. There is an intimate connection between the fineness of the wool and the number of the curves, at least in sheep yielding wool of nearly the same length; so that, whether the wool of different sheep is examined, or that from different parts of the same sheep, it is enough for the observer to take advice of the number of curves in a given space, in order to ascertain with sufficient accuracy the fineness of the fibre. To this curled form of the wool not enough attention is, as a general thing, paid by the breeder. It is, however, that on which its most valuable uses depend. It is that which is essential to it in the manufactory of cloths. The object of the carder is to break the wool in pieces at the curves—the prin- ciple of the thread is the adhesion of the particles together by their curves ; and the fineness of the thread, and consequent "6 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. fineness of the cloth, will depend on the minuteness of these curves, or the number of them found in a given length of fibre. It will readily be seen that this curling form has much to do — with the felting property of wool; it materially contributes to that disposition in the fibres which enables them to attach and intwine themselves together; it multiplies the opportunities for this interlacing, and it increases the difficulty of unravelling the felt. The felting property of wool is the most important, as well as the distinguishing one; but it varies essentially in different breeds, and the usefulness and the consequent value of the fleece, for clothing purposes, at least, depend on the degree to which it is pursued. The serrated—notched, like the teeth of a saw—edge of wool, which has been discovered by means of the microscope, is also, as well as the spiral curl, deemed an important quality in the felting property. Repeated microscopic observations have removed all doubts as to the general outline of the woolly fibre. It consists of a central stem or stalk, probably hollow, or, at least, porous, possessing a semi-transparency, not found in the fibre of hair. From this central stalk there springs, at different distances, on different breeds of sheep, a circlet of leaf- shaped projections. LONG WOOL. The most valuable of the long-woolled fleeces are of British origin. A considerable quantity is produced in France and Belgium; but the manufacturers in those countries acknowl- edge the superiority of the British wool. Long wool is dis- tinguished, as its name would import, by the length of its LONG WOOL. TT staple, the average of which is about eight inches. It was much improved, of late years, both in England and in other countries. Its staple has, without detriment to its manufac- ‘ turing qualities, become shorter; but it has also become finer, truer, and sounder. The long-woolled sheep has been im- proved more than any other breed; and the principal error which Bakewell committed having been repaired since his death, the long wool has progressively risen in value, at least for curling purposes. Some of the breeds have staples of double the length that has been mentioned as the average one. Pasture and breeding are the powerful agents here. Probably because the Leicester blood prevails in, or, at least, mingles with, every other long-woolled breed, a great simi- larity in the appearance and quality of this fleece has become apparent, of late years, in every district of England. The short-woolled fleeces are, to a very considerable degree, unlike in fineness, elasticity, and felting property ; the sheep them- selves are still more unlike; but the long-wools have, in a great degree, lost their distinctive points—the Lincoln, for ex- ample, has not all of his former gaunt carcass, and coarse, en- tangled wool—the Cotswold has become a variety of the Leicester—in fact, all the long-woolled sheep, both in appear- ance and fleece, have almost become of one variety; and rarely, except from culpable neglect in the breeder, has the fleece been injuriously weakened, or too much shortened, for the most valuable purposes to which it is devoted. In addition to its length, this wool is characterized by its strength, its transparency, its comparative stoutness, and the slight degree in which it possesses the felting property. Since the extension of the process of combing to wools of a shorter 78 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. staple, the application of this wool to manufacturing purposes has undergone considerable change. In some respects, the range of its use has been limited; but its demand has, on the whole, increased, and its value is more highly appreciated. Indeed, there are certain important branches of the woollen manufacture, such as worsted stuffs, bombazines, muslin-de- laines, etc., in which it can never be superseded ; and its rapid extension in the United States, within the past few years, clearly shows that a large and increasing demand dor this kind of wool will continue at remunerating prices. This long wool is classed under two divisions, distinguished both by length and the fineness of the fibre, The first—the long-combing wool—is used for the manufacture of hard yarn, and the worsted goods for which that thread is adapted, and requires the staple to be long, firm, and little disposed to felt. The short-combing wool has, as its name implies, a shorter staple, and is finer and more felty; the felt is also closer and softer, and is chiefly used for hosiery goods. MIDDLE WOOL. This article is of more recent origin than the former, but has rapidly increased in quantity and value. It can never super- sede, but will only stand next in estimation to, the native English long fleece. Jt is yielded by the half-bred sheep— a race that becomes more numerous every year—being a cross of the Leicester ram with the South-Down, or some other short-woolled ewe; retaining the fattening property and the early maturity of the Leicester, or of both; and the wool deriving length and straightness of fibre from the one, and fineness and feltiness from the other. The average length of MIDDLE WOOL. 79 staple is about five inches. There is no description of the finer - stuff-goods in which this wool is not most extensively and advantageously employed; and the nails, or portions which are broken off by the comb, and left in, whether belonging to this description of wool or to the long wool, are used in the manufacture of several species of cloth of no inferior quality or value. Under the breed of middle wools must be classed those which, whea there were but two divisions, were known by the name of short wools; and if English productions were alone treated of, would still retain the same distinctive appellation, To this class belong the South-Down and Cheviot ; together with the fleece of several other breeds, not so numerous, nor occupying so great an extent of country. From the change, however, which insensibly took place in them all—the length-: ening, and the increased thickness of the fibre, and, more especially, from the gradual introduction of other wools possessing delicacy of fibre, pliability, and felting qualities beyond what these could claim, and at the same time, being’ cheaper in the market—they lost ground in the manufacture of the finer cloths, and have for some time ceased to be used in the production of them. On the other hand, the changes which have taken place in the construction of machinery have multiplied the purposes to which they may be devoted, and very considerably enhanced their value. These wools, of late, rank among the combing wools; they are prepared as much by the comb as by the card, and in some places more. On this account they meet with a readier sale, at fair, remunerating prices, considering the increased weight of each individual fleece, and the increased weight and earlier 80 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, maturity of the.carcass. The South-Downs yield about seven- tenths of the pure short wools grown in the British kingdoms; but the half-bred sheep has, as has been remarked, encroached on the pure short-woolled one. The average staple of middle- woolled sheep is three and a half inches. These wools are employed in the manufacture of flannels, army and navy cloths, coatings, heavy cloths for calico printers ‘and paper manufacturers, woollen cords, coarse woollens, and blankets; besides being partially used in cassinettes, baizes, - bockings, carpets, druggets, ete. SHORT WOOL. From this division every wool of English production is ex- cluded. These wools, yielded by the Merinos, are employed, unmixed, in the manufacture of the finer cloths, and, combined with a small proportion of wool from the English breeds, in others of an inferior value. The average length of staple is about two and a half inches. . These wools even may be submitted to the action of the comb. There may be fibres only one inch in length; but if there are others from two and a half to three inches, so that the average of the staple shall be two inches, a thread suffi- ciently tenacious may, from the improved state of machinery, be spun, and many delicate and beautiful fabrics readily woven, which were unknown not many years ago. No one breed of sheep combines the highest perfection in all those points which give value to this race of animals. One is remarkable for the weight, or early maturity, or excellent quality of its carcass, while it is deficient in quality or quantity of wool; and another, which is valuable for wool, is comparatively deficient in carcass. Some varieties will flourish only under certain conditions of food and climate ; while others are much less affected by those con- ditions, and will subsist under the greatest variations of tem- perature, and on the most opposite qualities of verdure. In selecting a breed for any given locality, reference should 6 ‘ 81 82 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. be had, first, to.the feed and climate, or the surrounding natural circumstances; and, second, to the market facilities and demand. Choice should then be made of that breed which, with the advantages possessed, and under all the circum- stances, will yield the greatest net value of the marketable product. Rich lowland herbage, in a climate which allows it to re- main green during a Jarge portion of the year, is favorable to the production of large carcasses. If convenient to a market where mutton finds a prompt sale and good prices, then all the conditions are realized which calls for a mutton-producing, as contradistinguished from a wool-yielding, sheep. Under such circumstances, the choice should undoubtedly be made from the improved English varieties—the South-Down, the New Leicester, and the improved Cotswolds or New Oxfordshire sheep. In deciding between these, minor and more specific circumstances must be taken into account. If large numbers are to be kept, the Downs will herd—remain thriving and healthy when kept together in large numbers—much better than the two larger breeds; if the feed, though generally plentiful, is liable to be somewhat short during the droughts of summer, and there is not a certain supply of the most nutritious winter feed, the Downs will better endure occasional short keep; if the market demands a choice and high-flavored mutton, the Downs possess a decided superiority. If, on the other hand, but few are to be kept in the same enclosure, the large breeds will be as healthy as the Downs; if the pastures are somewhat wet or marshy, the former will better subsist on the rank herbage which usually grows in such situations; if they do not afford so fine a quality of mutton, they—particu- | CROSSING AND BREEDING. . 83 larly the Leicester—possess an earlier maturity, and give more meat for the amount of food consumed, as well as yield more tallow. The next point of comparison between the long and the middle woolled families, is the value of their wool. Though not the first or principal object aimed at in the cultivation of | any of these breeds, it is, in this country, an important item or incident in determining their relative . profitableness. The American Leicester yields about six pounds of long, coarse, combing wool; the Cotswold, somewhat more; but this per- haps counterbalanced by these considerations ; the Downs grow three to four pounds of a low quality of carding wool. None of these wools are very salable, at remunerating prices, in the American markets. Both, however, will appreciate in propor- tion to the increase of manufactures of worsted, flannels, baizes, and the like. The difference in the weight of the fleeces between the breeds is, of itself, a less important consideration than it would at first appear, for reasons which will be given *when the connection between the amount of wool produced and the food consumed by the sheep is noticed. The Cheviots are unquestionably inferior to the breeds above named, except in a capacity to endure a vigorous winter. and to subsist on healthy herbage. Used in the natural and artificial circumstances which surround sheep- husbandry in many parts of England—where the fattest and finest quality of mutton is consumed, as almost the only animal food of the laboring classes—the heavy, early-maturing New Leicester, and the still heavier New Oxfordshire sheep seem exactly adapted to the wants of producers and con- sumers, and are of unrivalled value. To depasture poorer 84 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. soils, sustain a folding system, and furnish the mutton which supplies the tables of the wealthy, the South-Down meets an equal requirement. Sufficient attention is by no means paid in many portions of the country to the profit which could be made to result from the cultivation of the sheep. One of the most serious defects in the prevalent husbandry of New England, for example, is the neglect of sheep. Ten times the present number might be easily fed, and they would give in meat, wool, and progeny, more direct profit than any other domestic animal, while the food which they consume would do more towards fertilizing the farms than an equal amount consumed by any other animal. It is notorious that the pastures of that section of the country have seriously dete- riorated in fertility and become overrun with worthless weeds and bushes to the exclusion of nutritious grasses. With sheep—as well as with all other animals—much or prolonged exercise in pursuit of food, or otherwise, is unfavor- able to taking on fat. Some seem to forget, in their earnest’ advocacy of the merits of the different breeds, that the general physical laws which control the development of all the animal tissues as well as functions, are uniform. Better organs will, _ doubtless, make a better appropriation of animal food; and they may be taught, so to speak, to appropriate it in par- ticular directions: in one breed, more especially to the pro- duction of fat; in another, of muck, or lean meat; in yet another, of wool. But, these things being equal, large animals will always require more food than small ones. Animals which are to be carried to a high state of fatness must have plentiful and nutritious food, and they must exer- CROSSING AND BREEDING. 85 cise but little, in order to prevent the unnecessary combustion in the lungs of that carbon which forms nearly four-fifths of their fat. No art of breeding can counteract these established laws of Nature. In instituting a comparison between breeds of sheep for wool-growing purposes, it is undeniable that the question is not, what variety will shear the heaviest or even the most valuable fleece, irrespective of the cost of production. Cost of feed and care, and every other expense, must be deducted, in order to fairly test the profits of an animal. If a large sheep consume twice as much food as a small one, and give but once and a-half as much wool, it is obviously more profit- able—other things being equal—to keep two of ‘the smaller sheep. The next question, then, is,—from what breed—with the same expense in other particulars—will the verdure of an acre of land produce the greatest value of wool? And, first, as to the comparative amount of food consumed by the several breeds. There are no satisfactory experiments which show that breed, in itself considered, has any particular influence on the quantity of food consumed. It is found, with all varieties, that the consumption is in proportion to the live weight of the grown animal. Of course, this rule is not in- variable in its individual application ; but its general soundness has been satisfactorily established. Grown sheep take up between two and a half and three and a third per cent. of their weight, in what is equivalent to dry hay, to keep themselves in store condition. The consumption of food, then, being proportioned to the weight, it follows that, if one acre is capable of sustaining three Merinos, weighing one hundred pounds each, it will sus- “ 86 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. tain two Leicesters, weighing one hundred and fifty each, and two and two-fifth South-Downs, weighing one hundred and twenty-five each. Merinos of this weight often shear five pounds per fleece, taking flocks through. The herbage of an acre, then, would: give fifteen pounds of Merino wool, twelve . of Leicester, and .but nine and three-fifths of South-Down— estimating the latter as high as four pounds to the fleece. Even the finest and lightest-fleeced sheep known as Merinos average about four pounds to the fleece ; so that the feed of an acre would produce as much of the highest quality of wool sold under the name of Merino as it would.of New Leicester, and more than it would of South-Down, while the former would be worth from fifty to one hundred per cent. more per pound than either of the latter. Nor does this indicate all the actual difference, as in the foregoing estimate the live weight of the English breeds is placed low, and that of the Merinos high. The live weight. of the five-pound fine-fleeced Merino does not exceed ninety pounds ; it ranges, in fact, from eighty to ninety ; so that three hundred pounds of live weight—it being understood that all of these live weights refer to ewes in fair ordinary, or what is called store, condition—would give a still greater product of wool to the acre. It is perfectly safe, therefore, to say that the herbage of an acre will uniformly give nearly double the value of Merino that it will of any of the English long or middle wools. What are the other relative expenses of these breeds? The full-blooded Leicester is in no respect a hardier sheep than the Merino, though some of its crosses are much hardier than the pure-bred sheep: indeed, it is less hardy, under the most bul CROSSING AND BREEDING. 87 favorable circumstances. It is more subject to colds; its con- stitution more readily gives way under disease ; the lambs are more lable to perish from exposure to cold, when newly dropped. Under unfavorable circumstances—herded in large flocks, famished for feed, or subjected to long journeys—its capacity to endure, and its ability to rally from sad draw- backs, do not compare with those of the Merino. The high- bred South-Down, though considerably less hardy than the unimproved parent stock, is still fairly entitled to the appella- tion of a hardy animal; it is, in fact, about on a pace with the Merino, though it will not bear as hard stocking, without a rapid diminution in size and quality. If the peculiar merits of the animal are to be considered in determining the expenses, as they surely should be, the superior fecundity of the South- Down is a point in its favor, as well for a wool-producing as a mutton sheep. The ewe not only frequently produces twin lambs—as do both the Merino and Leicester—but, unlike the latter, she possesses nursing properties to do justice to them. This advantage, however, is fully counterbalanced by the superior longevity of the Merino. All the English mutton breeds begin to rapidly deteriorate in amount of wool, capacity to fatten, and general vigor, at about five years old; and their early maturity is no offset to this, in an animal kept for wool-growing purposes. This early decay requires earlier and more rapid slaughter than is always economically con- venient, or even possible. It is well, on properly stocked farms, to slaughter or turn off the Merino wether at four or five years old, to make room for the breeding stock ; but he will not particularly deteriorate, and he will richly pay the way with his fleece for several years 88 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, longer. Breeding ewes are rarely turned off before eight, and are frequently kept until ten years old, at which period they exhibit no greater marks of age than do the Downs and Leicester at five or six. Instances are known of Merino ewes breeding uniformly until fifteen years old. The improved Cotswold is said to be hardier than the Leicester; but this variety, from their great size, and the consequent amount of food consumed by them, together with the other necessary incidents connected with the breeding of such large animals, is incapacitated from being generally introduced as a wool-grow- ing sheep. All the coarse races have one advantage over the Merino: they are less subject to the visitation of the hoof-ail, and when untreated, this disease spreads with less violence and malignity among them. This has been explained by the fact that their hoofs do not grow long and turn under from the sides, as do those of the Merino, and thus retain dirt and filth in constant contact with the foot. Taking into account all the circumstances connected with the peculiar management of each race, together with all the inci- dents, exigencies, and risks of the husbandry of each, it may be confidently asserted that the expenses, other than those of feed, are not smaller per head, or even in the number required to stock an acre, in either of the English breeds above referred to, than in the Merino. Indeed, it may well be doubted whether any of those English breeds, except the South- Down, is on an equality, even, with the Merino, in these respects. For wool-growing purposes, the Merino, then, possesses a marked and decided superiority over the best breeds and families of coarse-woolled sheep. As a mutton sheep, it is inferior to some of those breeds; although not so CROSSING AND BREEDING. 89 much as is popularly supposed. Many persons, who have never tasted Merino mutton, and who have, consequently, an unfavorable impression of it, would, if required to consume the fat and lean together, find it more palatable than the luscious and over-fat New Leicester. The mutton of the cross between the Merino and the Native would certainly be preferred to the Leicester, by anybody but an English laborer, accustomed to the latter, since it is short-grained, tender, and of good flavor. The same is true of the crosses with the English varieties, which will hereafter be treated of more particularly. Grade Merino wethers, half-bloods, for example, are favorites with the drover and butcher, being of good size, extraordinarily heavy for their apparent bulk, by reason of the shortness of their wool, compared with the coarse breeds, making good mutton, tallowing well, and their pelts, from the greater weight of wool on them, commanding an extra price. In speaking of the Merino in this connection, no reference is made to the Saxons, though they are, as is well known, pure- blooded descendants of the former. Assuming it, then, as settled, that it is to the Merino race that the wool-grower must look for the most. profitable sheep, a few considerations are subjoined as to the adaptability of the widely diverse sub-varieties of the race to the wants and circumstances of different portions of the country. Upon the first introduction of the Saxons, they were sought with avidity by the holders of the fine-woolled flocks of the country, consisting at that time of pure or grade Merinos. Under the decisive encouragement offered both to the wool- grower and the manufacturer by the tariff of 1828, a great impetus was given to the production of the finest wools, and 90 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. the Saxon everywhere superseded, or bred out by crossing, the Spanish Merinos. In New York and New England, the latter almost entirely disappeared. In the fine-wool mania which ensued, weight of fleece, constitution, and every thing else, were sacrificed to the quality of the wool. Then came the tariff of 1832, which, as well as that of 1828, gave too much protection to both wool-grower and manufacturer, into whose pursuits agricultural and mercantile speculators madly rushed. Skill without capital, capital without skill, and in some cases, probably, thirst for gain without either, laid hold of these favored avocations. The natural and inevitable result ‘followed. In the financial crisis of 1837, manufacturing, and all other monetary enterprises which had not been conducted with skill and providence, and which were not based on an adequate and vast capital, were involved in a common des- truction ; and even the most solid and best conducted institu- tions of the country were shaken by the fury of the explosion. Wool suddenly fell almost fifty per cent. The grower began to be discouraged. The breeder of the delicate Saxons—and they comprised the flocks of nearly all the large wool-growers in the country, at that time—could not obtain for his wool its actual first cost per pound. When the Saxon growers found that the tariff of 1842 brought them no relief, they began to give up their costly and carefully nursed flocks. The example once set, it became contagious; and then was a period when it seemed as if all the Saxon sheep of the country would be sacrificed to this re- action. Many abandoned wool-growing altogether, at a heavy sacrifice of their fixtures for rearing sheep ; others crossed with coarse-woolled breeds ; and, rushing from one extreme to the CROSSING AND BREEDING. — 91 other, some even crossed with the English mutton breeds ; or some, with more judgment, went back to the parent Merino stock, but usually selected the heaviest and coarsest-woolled Merinos, and thus materially deteriorated the character of their wool. This period became distinguished by a mania for heavy fleeces. The English crosses were, however, speedily aban- doned. The Merino regained his supremacy, lost for nearly a quarter of a century, and again became the popular favorite. It was generally adopted by those who were commencing flocks in the new Western States, and gives its type to the sheep of those regions. | The supply of fine wool, then, proportionably decreased, and that of medium and coarse increased. Wools, for convenience, may be classified as follows: superfine, the choicest quality grown in the United States, and never grown here excepting in comparatively small quantities ; fine, good ordinary Saxon ; good medium, the highest quality of wool usually known in the market as Merino; medium, ordinary Merino; ordinary, grade Merino and selected South-Down fleeces; and, coarse, the English long-wools, ete. This subdivision is, perhaps, minute enough for all practical purposes here. It soon became apparent that, to sustain our manufacturing interest—that engaged in the manufacture of fine cloths—the diminution of fine wools should not only be at once arrested, but that the growth of them should be immediately and largely increased. An increased attention was accordingly bestowed upon this branch of industry, and sections of the country which had previously held aloof from wool-growing, embarked in that calling with commendable enterprise. The climate north of forty-one degrees, or, beyond all dis- 92 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. pute, north of forty-two degrees, is too severe for any variety of sheep commonly known, which bear either superfine or fine wools. In fact, the only such variety in any thing like general use is the Saxon ; and this, as has been remarked, is a delicate sheep, entirely incapable of safely withstanding our northern winters, without good shelter, good and regularly-administered food, and careful and skilful management in all other par- ticulars. When the season is a little more than usually back- hand, so that grass does not start prior to the lambing season, it is difficult to raise the lambs of the mature ewes; the young ewes will, in many instances, disown their lambs, or, if they own them, not have a drop of milk for them; and if, under such circumstances, as often happens, a northeast or a north- west storm comes driving down, bearing snow or sleet in its wings, or there is a sudden depression of the temperature from any cause, no care will save multitudes of lambs from perishing. If the time of having the lambs dropped is deferred, for the purpose of escaping these evils, they will not attain size and strength sufficient to enable them to pass safely through their first winter. North of the latitude last named, it is necessary, as a general rule, that they be dropped in the first half of May, to give them this requisite size and strength ; and occasional cold storms come, nearly every season, up to that period, and, not unfrequently, up to the first of June. ‘These considerations have had their weight even with the few large sheepholders in that section, whose farms and build- ings have been arranged with exclusive reference to the rear- ing of these sheep; many of whom have adopted a Merino cross. With the ordinary farmers—the small sheep-owners, who, in the aggregate, grow by far the largest portion of the POINTS OF THE MERINO. 93 northern wools—the Saxon sheep is, for these reasons, in marked disrepute. They have not the necessary fixtures for their winter protection, and are unwilling to bestow the neces- sary amount of care on them. Besides, mutton and wool being about an equal consideration with this class, they want larger and earlier maturing breeds. Above all, they want a_ strong, hardy sheep, which demands no more care than their cattle. The strong, compact, medium-woolled Merino, or, more generally, its crosses with coarse varieties, producing the wool classed as ordinary, is the common favorite. In the North- west, this«is especially the case, where the climate is still worse for delicate sheep. At the South, on the contrary—where these disadvantages do not exist to so great an extent, certainly—wool varying from good medium upward are more profitable staples for cultivation than the lower classes; and in that section a high degree of fineness in fleece has been sought in breeding the Merino—the four-pound fine-fleeced Merino having received marked attention. This is a far more profitable animal than the Saxon, other things being equal—which is not the case, since the former is every way a hardier animal and a better nurse; and, although about twenty pounds heavier, and therefore consuming more feed, this additional expense is more than counterbalanced by the additional care and risk attending the husbandry of the Saxon. POINTS OF THE MERINO, For breeding purposes, the shape and general appearance of the Merino should be as follows:—The head should be well carried up, and in the ewe hornless. It would be better, 94 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. on many accounts, to have the ram also hornless, but, as horns are usually characteristic of the Merino ram, many prefer to see them. ‘The face should be rather short, broad between the eyes, the nose pointed, and, in the ewe, fine and free from wrinkles. The eye should be bright, moderately prominent, and gentle in its expression. The neck should be straight—not curving downward—short, round, and stout— particularly so at its junction with the shoulder, forward of the upper point of which it should not sink below the level of the back. The points of the shoulder should not rise to any perceptible extent above the level of the back. The back, to the hips, should be straight; the crops—that portion of the body immediately back of the shoulder-blades—full ; the ribs well arched; the body large and capacious; the flank well let down; the hind-quarters full and round—the flesh meeting well down between the thighs, or in the “twists.” The bosom should be broad and full; the legs short, well apart, and perpendicular—that is, not drawn under the body toward each other when the sheep is standing. Viewed as a whole, the Merino should present the appearance of a low, stout, plump, and—though differing essentially from the English mutton-sheep model—a highly symmetrical sheep. The skin is an important point. It should be loose, singu- larly mellow, and of a rich, delicate pink color. A colorless skin, or one of a tawny, approaching to a butternut, hue, indicates bad breeding. On the subject of wrinkles, there is a difference of opinion. As they are rather characteristic of the Merino—like the black color in a Berkshire hog, or the absence of all color in Durham cattle—these wrinkles have been more regarded, by novices, than those points which give POINTS OF THE MERINO. ~ 95 : actual value to the animal; and shrewd breeders have not been slow to act upon this hint. Many have contended that more wool can be obtained from a wrinkled skin; and this view of the case has led both the Spanish and French breeders to cultivate them largely—the latter, to a mon- strosity. An exceedingly wrinkled neck, however, adds but little to the weight of the fleece—not enough, in fact, to com- pensate for the deformity, and the great impediment thus placed in the way of the shearer. A smoothly drawn skin, and the absence of all dead lap, would not, on the other hand, ,perhaps be desirable. The wool should densely cover the whole body, where it can possibly grow—from a point between and a little below the eyes, and well up on the cheeks, to the knees and hocks. Short wool may show, particularly in young animals, on the legs, even below the knees and hocks ; but long wool cover- ing the legs, and on the nose, below the eyes, is unsightly, without value; while on the face it frequently impedes the sight of the animal, causing it to be in a state of perpetual alarm, and disqualifying it to escape real danger. Neither is this useless wool the slightest indication of a heavy fleece— contrary to what seems to be thought by‘some. It is very often seen in Saxons shearing scarcely two pounds of wool, and on the very lightest fleeced Merinos. The amount of gum which the wool should exhibit is another mooted point. Merino wool should be yolky, or oily, prior to washing—though not to the extreme extent, occa- sionally witnessed, of giving it the appearance of being saturated with grease. The extreme tips may exhibit a . sufficient trace of gum to give the fleece a darkish cast, 96 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. particularly in the ram ; but a black, pitchy gum, resembling half-hardened tar, extending an eighth or a quarter of an inch into the fleece, and which cannot be removed by ordinary washing, is decidedly objectionable. There is a white or yellowish concrete gum, not removable by common washing, which appears in the interior of some fleeces, and is equally objectionable. ) The weight of fleece remaining the same, medium length of staple, with compactness, is preferable to long, open wool, since it constitutes a better safeguard from inclemencies of weather, and better protects the animal from the bad effects of cold and drenching rains in spring and fall. The wool should be, as nearly as possible, of even length and thickness over the entire body. Shortness on the flank, and shortness or thickness on the belly, are serious defects. Evenness of fleece is a point of the first importance. Many sheep exhibit good wool on the shoulder and side, while it is far coarser and even hairy on the thighs, dew-lap, ete. Rams of this stamp should not be bred from by any one aiming to ° establish a superior fine-woolled flock; and all such ewes should gradually be excluded from those selected for breeding. The style of the wool is a point of as much importance as mere fineness. Some very fine -wool is stiff, and the fibres almost straight, like hair. It has a dry, cottony look; and is a poor, unsalable article, however fine the fibre. Softness of wool—a delicate, silky, highly elastic feel between the fingers or on the lips, is the first thing to be regarded. This is usually an index, or inseparable attendant, of the other good qualities ; so much so, indeed, that an experienced judge can decide, with little difficulty, between the quality of two fleeces, BREEDING MERINOS. 97 in the dark. Wool should be finely serrated, or crimped from one extremity to the other: that is, it should present a regular series of minute curves; and, generally, the greater the number of these curves in a given length, the higher the quality of the wool in all other particulars. The wool should open on the back of the sheep in connected masses, instead of breaking up into little round spiral ringlets of the size of a pipe-stem, which indicate thinness of fleece; and when the wool is pressed open each way with the hands, it should? be close enough to conceal all but a delicate rose-colored line of skin. The interior of the wool should be a pure, glittering white, with a lustre and liveliness of appearance not surpassed in the best silk. The points in the form of the Merino which the breeder is called upon particularly to avoid are, a long, thin head, narrow between the eyes; a thin, long neck, arching down- ward before the shoulders; narrow loins; flat ribs; steep, narrow hind-quarters; long legs; thighs scarcely meeting at all; and legs drawn far under the body at the least approach of cold. All these points were, separately or conjointly, illustrated in many of the Saxon flocks which have been swept from the country. Sufficient attention has already been paid to the points to be avoided in the fleece. BREEDING MERINOS. The first great starting-point, among pure-blood animals, is, that “like will beget like.” If the sire and ewe are perfect in any given points, the offspring will generally be; if either is defective, the offspring—subject to a law which will possibly be noticed—will be half-way between the two; if both are T 98 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. defective in the same points, the progeny will be more so than either of its parents—it will inherit the amount of defect in both parents added together. There are exceedingly few perfect animals. Breeding, therefore, is a system of counter- balancing—breeding out—in the offspring, the defects of one parent, by the marked excellence of the other parent, in the same points. The highest blood confers on the parent possessing it the greatest power of stamping its own charac- teristics on its progeny ; but, blood being the same, the male sheep possesses this power in a greater degree than the female. We may, therefore, in the beginning, breed from ewes possessing any defects short of cardinal ones, without impropriety, provided we possess the proper ram for that purpose; but, where a high standard of quality is aimed at, all ewes possessing even considerable defects should gradually be thrown out from breeding. Every year should add to the vigor of the selection. But, from the beginning—and at the beginning, more than at any other time—the greatest care should be evinced in the selection of the ram. If he has a defect, that defect is to be inherited by the whole future flock; if it is a material one— as, for example, a hollow back, bad cross, or thin fleece, or a highly uneven fleece—the flock will be one of low quality and little value. If, on the other hand, he is perfect, the defects in the female will be lessened, and gradually bred out. It being, however, difficult to find perfect rams, those should be taken which have the fewest and lightest defects, and none of these material, like those just enumerated. These defects are to be met and counterbalanced by the decided excellence— sometimes, indeed, running into a fault—of the ewe, in the BREEDING MERINOS. 99 same points. If the ram, then, is a little too long-legged, the shortest-legged ewes should be selected for him; if gummy, the dryest-woolled ; if his fleece is a trifle below the proper , standard of fineness—but he has been retained, as often happens, for weight of fleece and general excellence—he is to be put to the finest and lightest-fleeced ewes, and so on. With a selection of rams, this system of counterbalancing would require but little skill, if each parent possessed only a single fault. If the ewe be a trifle too thin-fleeced, and good in all other particulars, it would require no nice judgment to decide that she should be bred to an uncommonly thick- fleeced ram. But most animals possess, to a greater or less degree, several defects. To select so that every one of these in the dam shall meet its opposite in the male, and the con- trary, requires not only plentiful materials from which to select, but the keenest discrimination. After the breeder has successfully established his flock, and given them an excellent character, he soon encounters a serious evil. He must ‘breed in-and-in,” as it is called— that is, interbreed between animals more or less nearly related in blood—or he must seek rams from other flocks, at the risk of losing or changing the distinctive character of his flock, hitherto so carefully sought, and built up with so much painstaking. The opponents of in-and-in breeding contend that it renders diseases and all other defects hereditary, and that it tends to decrease of size, debility, aud a general break- ing up of the constitution. Its defenders, on the other hand, insist that, if the parents are perfectly healthy, this mode does not, of itself, tend to any diminution of healthfulness in the offspring ; and they likewise claim—which must be conceded 100 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. —that it enables the skilful breeder much more rapidly to bring his flock to a particular standard or model, and to keep it there much more easily—unless it be true that, in course of time, they will dwindle and grow feeble. So far as the effect on the constitution is concerned, both positions may be, to a certain extent, true. But it is, perhaps, difficult always to decide with certainty - when an animal is not only free from disease, But > from all tendency or predisposition towards it. A brother or sister may be appar- ‘ap ui\\ | ; ently healthy— THE SCOTCH SHEEP-DOG, i aieaniacria may be actually so—but may still possess a peculiarity of individual conformation which, under cer- tain circumstances, will manifest itself. If these circum- stances do not chance to occur, they may live until old age, apparently possessing a robust constitution. If tried together, their offspring—by a rule already laid down—will possess this individual tendency in a double degree. If the ram be inter- bred with sisters, half-sisters, daughters, granddaughters, etc., for several generations, the predisposition toward a particular disease—in the first place slight, now strong, and constantly growing stronger—will pervade, and become radi. BREEDING ‘-MERINOS. 101 cally incorporated into, the constitution of the whole flock. The first time the requisite exciting causes are brought to bear, the disease breaks out, and, under such circumstances, with peculiar severity and malignancy. If it be of a fatal character, the flock is rapidly swept away; if not, it becomes chronic, or periodical at frequently recurring intervals. The same remarks apply, in part, to those defects of the outward form which do not at first, from their slightness, attract the notice of the ordinary breeder. They are rapidly increased until, almost before thought of by the owner, they destroy the value of the sheep. That such are the common effects of in-and-in breeding, with such skill as it is commonly con- ducted, all know who have given attention to the subject; and for these reasons the system is regarded with decided disapprobation and repugnance by nine out of ten of the best practical farmers. The sheep-breeder can, however, avoid the effects of in-and- in breeding, and at the same time preserve the character of his flock, by seeking rams of the same breed, possessing, as nearly as possible, the characteristics which he wishes to preserve in his own flock. If this rule is neglected—if he draws indiscriminately from all the different varieties or families of a breed—some large, and some small—some long- woolled, and some short-woolled—some medium, and some superfine in quality—some tall, and some squatty—some crusted over with black gum, and some entirely free from it— breeding will become a mere matter of hap-hazard, and no certain or uniform results can be expected. So many varieties cannot be fused into one for a number of generations—as is evidenced by the want of uniformity in the Rambouillet flock, 102 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, which was commenced by a promiscuous admixture of all the Spanish families; and it not merely happens, as between certain classes of Saxons, that particular families can never be successfully amalgamated. If, however, the breeder has reached no satisfactory stan- dard—if his sheep are deficient in the requisites which he desires—he is still to adhere to the breed—provided the desired requisites are characteristic of the breed he possesses —and select better animals to improve his own inferior ones. If he has, for instance, an inferior flock of South-Downs, and wishes to obtain the qualities of the best Down dams, he should seek for the best rams of that breed. But if he wishes to obtain qualities not characteristic of the breed he possesses, he must cross with a breed which does possess them. If the possessor of South-Downs wishes to convert them into a fine- woolled sheep similar to the Merino, he should cross his flock steadily with Merino rams—constantly increasing the amount of Merino, and diminishing the amount of South-Down blood. To effect the same result, he would take the same course with the common sheep of the country, or with any other coarse race. | There are those, who, forgetting that some of the finest varieties now in existence, of several kinds of domestic animals, are the result of crosses—bitterly inveigh against the practice of crossing, under any and all circumstances. It is, it must be admitted, an unqualified absurdity, as frequently conducted—as, for example, an attempt to unite the fleece of a Merino and the carcass of a Leicester, by crosses between those breeds; but, under the limitations already laid down, and with the objects specified as legitimate ones, this objec- BREEDING MERINOS. 103 tion to crossing savors of the most profound prejudice, or the most unblushing quackery. It is neither convenient, nor within the means of every man wishing ‘to start a flock of sheep, to commence exclusively with full-bloods. With a few to breed rams from, and to begin a full-blood stock, the breeder will find it his best policy to purchase the best common sheep of his country, and gradually grade them up with Merino rams. Im selecting the ewes, good shape, fair size, and a robust constitution, are the main points—the little difference in the quality of the common sheep’s wool being of no consequence. For their wool, they are to look to the Merino; but good form and constitution they can and ought to possess, so as not to entail deep-rooted and entirely unnecessary evils on their progeny. Satisfactory results have followed crossing a Down ram— small, compact, exceedingly beautiful, fine and even fleeced— with large-sized Merino ewes. The half-blood ewes: were then bred to a Merino ram, and also their female progeny, and soon. The South-Downs, from a disposition to take on fat, manifested themselves, to a perceptible extent, in every generation, and the wool of many of the sheep in the third ‘ generation—seven-eighths blood Merino, and one-eighth blood Down—was very even, and equal to medium, and some of them to good medium Merino. Their fleeces were lighter than the full-blood Merinos, but increased in weight with each succeeding cross back toward the latter. The mutton of the first, and even of the second cross was of a beautiful flavor, and retained, to the last, some of the superiority of South- Down mutton. Results are also noted of breeding Leicester ewes—taking ' 104 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. one cross of the blood, as in the preceding case—toward the Merino. The mongrels, to the second generation—beyond which they were not bred—were about midway between the parent stock in size—with wool shorter, but far more fine and compact than the: Leicester—their fleeces about the same “weight, five pounds—and, altogether, they were a showy and profitable sheep, and well calculated to please the mass of farmers. Their fleeces, however, lacked evenness, their thighs remaining disproportionately coarser and heavy. A difference of opinion exists in relation to the number of crosses necessary before it is proper to breed from a mongrel ram. Some high authorities assert that it does not admit of the slightest doubt that a Merino, in the fourth generation, from even the worst-woolled ones, is in every respect equal to the stock of the sire—that no difference need to be made in the choice of a ram, whether he is a full-blood, or a fifteen- sixteenths—and that, however coarse the fleece of the parent ewe may have been, the progeny in the fourth generation will not show it. Others, however—while admitting that the only value of blood or pedigree, in breeding, is to insure the hereditary transmission of the properties of the parent to the offspring, and that, as soon as a mongrel reaches the point where he stamps his characteristics on the progeny, with the same certainty that a full-blood does, he is equally valuable, provided he is, individually, as perfect an animal—contend that this cannot be depended upon, with any certainty, in rams of the fourth Merino cross. They assert that the offspring of such crosses invariably lack the style and perfection of thorough-bred flocks. The sixth, seventh, or eighth cross might be generally, BREEDING MERINOS. 105 and the last, perhaps, almost invariably, as good as pure-blood rams; yet pure blood is a fixed standard, and were every breeder to think himself at liberty to depart from it in his rams, each one more or less, according to his judgment or caprice, the whole blood of the country would become adulterated. No man, assuredly, can be authorized to sell a ram of any cross, whether the tenth, or even the twentieth, as a full blood. . It is of the utmost importance for those commencing flocks, either of full-bloods, or by crossing, to select the choicest rams. A grown ram may, by methods which will hereafter be described, be made to serve from one hundred to one hundred and fifty ewes ina season. A good Merino ram will, moder- ately speaking, add more than a pound of wool to the fleece of the dam, or every lamb got by it, from a common-woolled ewe—that is, if the ewe at three years old sheared three pounds of wool, the lamb at the same age will shear four. This would give one hundred or one hundred and fifty pounds of wool for the use of aram for a single season; and every lamb subsequently got by him adds a pound to this amount. Many a ram gets, during his life, eight hundred or one thousand lambs. Nor is the extra amount of wool all. He gets from eight hundred to one thousand half-blooded sheep, worth double their dams, and ready to be made the basis of another and higher stride in improvement. A good ram, then, is as important and, it may be, quite as valuable an animal as a good farm-horse stallion. When the number of a ram’s progeny are taken into consideration, and when it is seen over what an immense extent, even in his own direct offspring, his good or bad qualities are to be perpetuated, the folly of that 106 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. economy which would select an inferior animal is sufficiently obvious. It will be found the best economy in starting a flock, where the proper flocks from which to draw rams are not convenient, to purchase several of the same breed, of course, but of different strains of blood. Thus ram No. 2 can be put on the offspring of No. 1, and the reverse; No. 3 can be put on the offspring of both, and both upon the offspring of No. 3. The changes which can be rung on three distinct strains of blood, without in-and-in breeding close enough to be attended with any considerable danger, are innumerable. The brother and sister, it will be born in mind, are of the same blood; the father and daughter, half; the father and granddaughter, one-fourth ; the father and great-granddaughter, one-eighth ; and soon. Breeding between animals possessing one-eighth of the same blood, would not be considered very close breeding; and it is not unusual, in rugged, well-formed families, to breed between those possessing one-fourth of the same blood. If, however, these rams of different strains are brought promiscuously, without reference to similarity of characteristics, there may, and probably will, be difference between them ; and it might require time and skill to give a flock descended from them a proper uniformity of character. Those who breed rams for sale should be prepared to furnish different strains of blood, with the necessary individual and family uniformity. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. Some few suggestions upon the general principles to be observed in breeding may not be superfluous here, referring GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 107 the reader, who is disposed to investigate this subject in detail, to its full discussion in the author’s treatise upon “Cattle and their Diseases.” As illustrative of the importance of breeding only from the best, taking care to avoid structural defects, and especially to secure freedom from hereditary diseases, since both defects and diseases appear to be more easily transmissible than desirable qualities, it may be remarked that scrofula is not un- common among sheep, and presents itself in various forms. Sometimes it is connected with consumption; sometimes it affects the viscera of the abdomen, and particularly the mesen- teric glands, in a manner similar to consumption in the lungs. The scrofulous taint has been known to be so strong as to affect the foetus, and lambs have occasionally been dropped with it; but much oftener they show it at an early age, and any affected in this way are liable to fall an easy prey to any ordinary or prevalent disease, which develops in such with unusual severity. Sheep are also liable to several diseases of the brain, and ‘of the respiratory and digestive organs. Epilepsy, or “ fits,” and rheumatism sometimes occur. The breeder’s aim should be to grasp and render permanent, and increase so far as practicable, every variation for the better, and to reject for breeding purposes such as show a downward tendency. A remarkable instance of the success which has often attended the well-directed efforts of intelligent breeders, is furnished in the new Mauchamp-Merino sheep, which origi- nated in a single animal—a product of the law of variation— and which, by skilful breeding and selection, has become an established breed of a peculiar type, and possessing valuable properties. Samples of the wool of these sheep were shown 108 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. at the great exhibition in London, in 1851, as well as at the subsequent great agricultural exhibition at Paris, and attracted much attention. This breed was originated by Mons. J. L. Graux. In 1828, a Merino ewe produced a peculiar ram lamb, having a different shape from the ordinary Merino, and possessing wool singu- larly long, straight, and silky. Two years afterward, Mr. Graux obtained by this ram one ram and one ewe, having the silky character of wool. Among the produce of the ensuing year were four rams and one ewe with similar fleeces; and in 1833, there were rams enough of the new sort to serve the whole flock of ewes. In each subsequent year, the lambs were of two kinds; one possessing the curled, elastic wool of the old Merinos, only a little longer and finer, and the other like the new breed. At last, the skilful breeder obtained a flock containing the fine, silky fleece with a smaller breed, broader flanks, and more capacious chest; and several flocks being crossed with the Mauchamp variety, the Mauchamp- Merino breed is the result. : The pure Mauchamp wool is remarkable for its qualities as a combing-wool, owing to the strength, as well as the length and fineness of the fibre. It is found of great value by the manufacturers of Cashmere shawls, and similar goods, being second only to. the true Cashmere fleece, in the fine, flexible delicacy of the fibre; and when in combination with Cashmere wool, imparting strength and consistency. The quantity of this wool has since become as great as that from ordinary Merinos, or greater, while its quality commands twenty-five per cent. higher price in the French market. Breeders, GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 109 certainly, cannot watch too closely any accidental peculiarity of conformation or characteristic in their flocks. The apparent influence of the male first having fruitful intercourse with a female, upon her subsequent offspring by other males, has been noticed by various writers. The follow- ing well-authenticated instances are in point: A small flock of ewes, belonging to Dr. W. Wells, in the island of Granada, was served by a ram procured for the purpose. The ewes were all white and woolly ; the ram was quite different, being of a chocolate color, and hairy like a goat. The progeny were, of course, crosses, but bore a strong resemblance to the male parent. The next season, Dr. Wells obtained a ram of precisely the same breed as the ewes; but the progeny showed distinct marks of resemblance to the former ram, in color and covéring. The same thing occurred on neighboring estates, under like circumstances. Six very superior pure-bred black-faced horned ewes, belonging to Mr. H. Shaw, of Leochel, Cushnie, were served by a white-faced hornless Leicester ram. The lambs were crosses. The next year they were served by a ram of exactly the same breed as the ewes themselves, and their lambs were, without an exception, hornless and brownish in the face, instead of being black and horned. The third year they were again served by a superior ram of their own breed; and again the lambs were mongrels, but showed less of the Leicester characteristics than before; and Mr. Shaw at last parted from - these fine ewes without obtaining a single pure-bred lamb. To account for this result—seemingly regarded by most physiologists as inexplicable—Mr. James McGillivray, V. S., of Huntley, has offered an explanation, which has received the 110 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. sanction of a number of competent writers. His theory is, that when a pure animal of any breed has been pregnant by an animal of a different breed, such pregnant animal 7s @ cross ever after, the purity of her blood being lost, in consequence of her connection with the foreign animal, and herself becoming a cross forever, incapable of producing a pure calf of any breed. To cross, merely for the sake of crossing, to do so without that care and vigilance which are highly essential, is a practice which cannot be too much condemned, being, in fact, a national evil, if pushed to such an extent as to do away with a useful breed of animals, and establish a generation of mongrels in their place—a result which has followed in numerous instances amongst every breed of animals. The principal use of crossing is to raise animals for the butcher. The male, being generally an animal of a superior breed, and of a vigorous nature, almost invariably stamps his external form, size, and muscular development on the offspring, which thus bear a strong resemblance to him; while their internal nature, derived from the dam, well adapts them to the locality, as well as to the treatment to which their dams have been accustomed. With sheep, where the peculiarities of the soil, as regards the goodness of feed, and exposure to the severities of the weather, often prevent the introduction of an improved breed, the value of using a new and superior ram is often very con- siderable; and the weight of mutton is thereby materially increased, without its quality being impaired, while earlier maturity is at the same time obtained. It involves, however, more systematic attention than most farmers usually like to bestow, for it is necessary to employ a different ram for each GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 111 purpose; that is, a native ram, for a portion of the ewes to keep up the purity of the breed, and a foreign ram, to raise the improved cross-bred animals for felting, either as lambs or sheep. This plan is adopted by many breeders of Leicester sheep, who thus employ South-Down rams to improve the quality of the mutton. One inconvenience attending this plan is the necessity of fattening the maiden ewes as well as the wethers. They may, however, be disposed of as fat lambs, or the practice of spay- ° ing (fully explained in “‘ Cattle and their Diseases”) might be adopted, so as to increase the felting disposition of the animal. Crossing, therefore, should be adopted with the greatest caution and skill, where the object is to improve the breed of animals. It should never be practised carelessly or capriciously, but it may be advantageously pursued, with a view to raising superior and profitable animals for the butcher. For the latter purpose, it is generally advisable to use males of a larger breed, provided they possess a disposition to fatten; yet, in such cases, it is of importance that the pelvis of the female should be wide and capacious, so that no injury may arise in lambing, in consequence of the increased size of the heads of the lambs. The shape of the ram’s head should be studied, for the same reason. In crossing, however, for the purpose of establishing a new breed, the size of the male must give way to other more im- portant considerations ; although it will still be desirable to use a large female of the breed which is sought to be improved. Thus, the South-Downs have vastly improved the larger Hampshires, and the Leicester, the huge Lincolns and the Cotswolds. SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, USE OF RAMS. Merino rams are frequently used from the first to the tenth year, and even longer. The lambs of very old rams are commonly supposed not to be as those of middle-aged ones; though where rams have not been overtasked, and have been properly fed, little if any difference is discoverable in their progeny by reason of their sire’s age. A ram lamb should not ‘be used, as it retards his growth, injures his form, and, in many instances, permanently impairs his vigor and courage A yearling may run with thirty ewes, a two-year-old with from forty to fifty, and a three-year-old with from fifty to sixty ; while some very powerful, mature rams will serve seventy or ‘eighty. Fifty, however, is enough, where they run with the ewes. Itis well settled that an impoverished and overtasked animal does not transmit his individual properties so decidedly to his offspring as does one in full vigor. Rams, of course, are not to be selected for ewes by mere chance, but according as their qualities may improve those of the ewes. It may not be superfluous, though seemingly a repetition, to state that a good ewe flock should exhibit these characteristics : strong bone, supporting a roomy frame, affording space for a large development of flesh; abundance of wool of a good quality, keeping the ewes warm in inclement weather, and insuring profit to the breeder ; a disposition to fatten early, enabling the breeder readily to get rid of his sheep selected for the butcher; and a prolific tendency, increasing the flock rapidly, and being also a source of profit. Every one of these properties is advantageous in itself; but when all are combined in the same individuals of a flock, that flock is in a high state USE OF RAMS. 113 of perfection. In selecting rams, it should be observed whether or not they possess one or more of those qualities in which the ewes may be deficient, in which case their union with the ewes will produce in the progeny a higher degree of perfection than is to be found in the ewes themselves, and such a result will improve the state of the future ewe-flock ; but, on the contrary, if the ewes are superior in all points to the rams, then, of course, the use of such will only serve to deteriorate the future ewe-flock. Several rams running in the same flock excite each other to an unnatural and unnecessary activity, besides injuring each other by constant blows. It is, in every point of view, bad husbandry, where it can be avoided, and, as customarily managed, is destructive to every thing like careful and judicious breeding. The nice adaptation which the male should possess to the female is out of the question where half a dozen or more rams are running promiscuously with two or three hundred ewes. Before the rams are let out, the breeding ewes should all be brought together in one yard ; the form of each noted, together with the length, thickness, quality and style of her wool— ascertained by opening the wool on the shoulder, thigh, and belly. When every point is thus determined, that ram should be selected which, on the whole, is best calculated to perpetuate the excellencies of each, both of fleece and carcass, and to best counterbalance defects in the mutual offspring. Every ewe, when turned in with the ram, should be given a distinct mark, which will continue visible until the next shearing. For this purpose, nothing is better than Venetian red and hog’s lard, well incorporated, and marked on with a cob. The ewes for 8 114 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. | each ram require a differently shaped mark, and the mark should also be made on the ram, as noted in the sheep-book. Thus it can be determined at a glance by what ram the ewe was tapped, any time before the next shearing. The ewes selected for each ram are placed in different enclosures, and the chosen ram placed with them. Rams require but little preparation on being put among ewes. If their skin is red in the flanks when the sheep are turned up, they are ready for the ewes, for the natural desire is then upon them. Most of _the ewes will be served during the second week the ram is among them, and in the third, all. It is better, however, not to withdraw the rams until the expiration of four weeks, when the flocks can be doubled, or otherwise re-arranged for winter, as may be necessary. The trouble thus taken is, in reality, slight—nothing, indeed, when the beneficial results are con- sidered. With two assistants, several hundred ewes may be properly classified and divided in a single day. Where choice rams are scarce, so that it is desirable to make the services of one go a great way, or where it is impossible to have separate enclosures—as on farms where there are a great number of breeding ewes, or where the shepherd system is adopted, to the exclusion of fences—resort may be had to another method. A hut should be built, containing as many apartments as the ram is desired to be used, with an alley between them, each apartment to be furnished with a feeding- box and trough in one corner, and gates or bars opening from each into the alley, and at each end of the alley. Adjoining these apartments, a yard should be inclosed, of size just suffi- cient to hold the flock of breeding ewes. A couple of strong rams, of any quality, for about every USE OF RAMS. — 115 hundred ewes, are then aproned, their briskets rubbed with Venetian red and hog’s lard, and let loose among the ewes. Aproning is performed by sewing a belt of coarse sacking, broad enough to extend from tie fore to the hind legs, loosely but strongly around the body. To prevent its slipping forward or back, straps are carried round the breast and back of the breech. It should be made perfectly secure, or all the labor of this method of coupling will be far worse than thrown away. The pigment on the brisket should be renewed every two or three days; and it will be necessary to change the | “teasers”—as these aproned rams are called—about once a week, as they do not long retain their courage under such un- natural circumstances. Twice a day the ewes ‘are brought into the yard in front of the hut. Those marked on their rumps by the teasers are taken into the alley. Each is admitted once to the ram for which she is marked, and then goes out at the opposite end of the alley from which they entered, into a field separate from that containing the flock from which she was taken. A powerful and vigorous ram, from three to seven years old, and properly fed, can thus be made to serve from one hundred and fifty to even two hundred . ewes, with no greater injury than from running loose with fifty or sixty. The labor here required is likewise more apparent than real, when the operation is conducted in a systematic manner. Rams will do better, accomplish more, and last two or three years longer, if daily fed with grain, when on service, and it is better to continue it. In all cases, they should, after serving, be put on good pasture, as they will have lost a good deal of condition, heing indisposed to settle during the tapping season. 116 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. A ram should receive the equivalent of from half a pint to a pint of oats daily, when worked hard. They are much more conveniently fed when kept in huts. If suffered to run at large, they should be so thoroughly tamed that they will eat from a measure held by the shepherd. Careful breeders thus train their stock-rams, from the time they are lambs. It is very convenient, also, to have them halter-broke, so that they can be led about without dragging or lifting them. An iron ring attached to one of the horns, near the point, to which a cord can be fastened for leading, confining, etc., is very useful and convenient. If rams are wild, it is a matter of consider- able difficulty to feed them separately, and it can only bes effected by yarding the flock and catching them out. Some breeders, in addition to extra feeding, take the rams out of the flocks each night, shutting them up in a barn or stable by themselves. To this practice there is no objection, and it greatly saves their strength. Rams should not be suffered to run with the ewes over a month, at least in the Northern States. It is much better that a ewe go dry than that she have a lamb later than the first of June. Besides, after the rutting season is over, the rams grow cross, frequently striking the pregnant ewes dangerous blows with their heavy horns, at the racks and troughs. It is reasonably enough conjectured, that if procreation and the first period of gestation take place in cold weather, the foetus will be fitted for the climate which rules during the early stages of its existence. If this be so—and it is certainly in accordance with the laws of Nature—fine-woolled sheep are most likely to maintain their excellence by deferring the con- nection of the male till the commencement of cold weather ; LAMBING. 117 and, in the Northern States, this is done about the first of December, thus bringing the yeaning time in the last of April, or the first of May, when the early grass affords a large supply and good quality of food. LAMBING. The ewe goes with young about five months, varying from one hundred and forty-five to one hundred and sixty-two days.’ pg Se Pregnant ewes require the same food as at ‘ all other times. Until two or three NA aha Bie G Ne Wa, A weeks pre- cedinglamb- ing, itis only — necessary that they, like other store -sheep, EWE AND LAMBS. be kept in good, plump, ordinary condition; nor are any separate arrangements necessary for them after that period, in a climate where they obtain sufficient succulent food to provide for a proper secretion of milk. In backward seasons in the North, where the grass does not start prior to the lambing-time, careful farmers feed their ewes on chopped roots, or roots mixed with oat and pea-meal, which is excellent economy. Caution is, however, necessary to 118 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. prevent injury or abortion, which is often the result of excessive fat, feebleness, or disease. The first may be remedied by blood- letting and spare diet; and both the last by restored health and generous food. Sudden frights, as from dogs or strange objects ; long or severe journeys, great exertions, unwholesome food, blows in the region of the foetus, and some other causes, produce abortion. Lambs are usually dropped, in the North, from the first to the fifteenth of May; in the South, they can safely come earlier. It is not expedient to have them dropped when the weather is cold or boisterous, as they require too much eare ; but the sooner the better, after the weather has become mild, and the herbage has started sufficiently to give the ewes that green food which is required to produce a plentiful secretion of milk. It is customary, in the North, to have fields of clover, or the earliest grasses, reserved for the early spring- feed of the breeding-ewes; and, if these can be contiguous to their stables, it is a great convenience—for the ewes should be confined in the latter, on cold and stormy nights, during the lambing season. If the weather be warm and pleasant, and the nights moder- ately warm, it is better to have the lambing take place in the pasture; since sheep are then more disposed to own their lambs, and take kindly to them, than in the confusion of a small inclosure. In the latter, sheep, unless particularly docile, crowd from one side to another when any one enters, running over young lambs, pressing them severely, etc. ; ewes become separated from their lambs, and then run violently round from one to another, jostling and knocking them about ; young aud timid ewes, when so separated, will frequently LAMBING. 119 neglect their lambs for an hour or more before they will again approach them, while, if the weather is severely cold, the lamb, it it has never sucked, is in danger of perishing. Lambs, too, when first dropped in a dirty inclosure, tumble about, in their first efforts to rise, and the membrane which adheres to them becomes’ smeared with dirt and dung; and the ewe’s refusing to lick them dry much increases the hazard of freezing In cold storms, however, and in sudden and severe weather, all this must be encountered ; and, therefore, every shepherd should teach his sheep docility. It requires but a very moderately cold night to destroy the new-born Saxon lamb, which—the pure blood—is dropped nearly as naked as a child. During a severely cold period, of several days continuance, it is almost impossible to rear them, even in the best shelter. The Merino, South-Down, and some other breeds, will endure a greater degree of cold with impunity. Where inclosures are used for yeaning, they should be kept clean by frequent litterings of straw—not enough, however, to be thrown on at any one time, to embarrass the lamb about rising. The predisposing symptoms of lambing are, enlargement and reddening of the parts under the tail, and drooping of the flanks. The more immediate are, when the ewe stretches herself frequently ; separating herself from her companions; exhibiting restlessness by not remaining in one place for any length of time; lying down and rising up again, as if dis- satisfied with the place; pawing the ground with a forefoot ; bleating, as if in quest of a lamb; and appearing fond of the lambs of other ewes. Ina very few hours, or even shorter time, after the exhibition of these symptoms, the immediate 120 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. symptom of lambing is the expulsion of the bag of water from the vagina. When this is observed, the ewe should be narrowly watched, for the pains of labor may be expected to come on immediately. When these are felt by her, the ewe presses or forces with earnestness, changing one place or position for another, as if desirous of relief. The ewe does not often require mechanical assistance in parturition. Her labors will sometimes be prolonged for three or four hours, and her loud moanings will evince the extent of her pain. Sometimes she will go about several hours, and even resume her grazing, with the fore-feet and nose of the lamb protruding at the mouth of the vagina. If let alone, however, Nature will generally relieve her. In case of a false parturition of the foetus—which is compara- tively rare—the shepherd may apply his thumb and finger, after oiling, to push back the lamb, and assist in gently turn- ing it till the nose and forefeet appear. Where feebleness in expelling the foetus exists, only the slightest aid should be rendered, and that to help the throes of the dam. The objection to interfering—except as a last resort—is, that the ewe is frightened when caught, and her efforts to expel the lamb cease. When aided, in any case, the gentlest force should be applied, and only in conjunction with the efforts of the ewe. The clearing, or placenta, generally drops from the ewe in the course of a very short time—in many cases, within a few minutes—after lambing. It should be carried away, and not allowed to lie upon the lambing-pound. Common kale, or curly-greens, is excellent food for ewes that have lambed, as its nutritive matter, being mucilaginous, is wholly soluble in water, and beneficial in encouraging the MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS. 121 | necessary discharges of the ewe at the time of lambing. In these respects, it is a better food than Swedish turnips—upon which sheep are sometimes fed—which become rather too fibrous and astringent, in spring, for the secretion of milk. In the absence of kale or cabbage, a little oil-cake will aid the discharges and purify the body. New grass also operates medicinally upon the system. MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS. While the lamb is tumbling about and attempting to rise— the ewe, meanwhile, licking it dry—it is well to be in no haste to interfere. A lamb that gets at the teat without help, and procures even a small quantity of milk, knows how to help itself afterward, and rarely perishes. If helped, it some- , times continues to expect it, and will do little for itself for two or three days. The same is true where lambs are fed from a spoon or bottle. But if the lamb ceases to make efforts to rise—especially if the ewe has left off licking it while it is wet and chilly— it is time to render assistance. It is not advisable to throw the ewe down—as is frequently practised—in order to suckle the lamb; because instinct teaches the latter to point its nose upward in search of the teats. It is, therefore, doubly difficult to teach it to suck from the bag of the prostrate ewe; and when it is taught to do this, by being so suckled several times, it is awkward about finding the teat in the natural position, when it begins to stand and help itself. Carefully disen- gaging the ewe from her companions, with his crook—which useful article will be hereafter described—the assistant should place one hand before the neck and the other behind the 122 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. buttocks of the ewe, and then, pressing her against his knees, he should hold her firmly and still, so that she will not be constantly crowding away from the shepherd, who should set the lamb on its feet, inducing it to stand, if possible; if not, supporting it on ds feet by placing one hand under its body; put its mouth to the teat, and encourage it to suck by tickling it about the roots of the tail, flanks, ete., with a finger. The lamb, mistaking this last for the caresses of its dam, will re- double its efforts to suck. Sometimes it will manifest great dullness, and even apparent obstinacy, in refusing for a long time to attempt to assist itself, crowding backward, ete. ; but the kind and gentle shepherd, who will not sink himself to the level of a brute, by resenting the stupidity of a brute, will , generally carry the point by perseverance. Sometimes milk- ing a little into the lamb’s mouth, holding the latter close to - the teat, will induce it to take hold. If the ewe has no milk, the lamb should be fed, until the natural supply commences, with small quantities of the milk of a new-milch cow. This should be mixed, say half and half, with water, with enough molasses to give it the purgative effect of the first milk, gently warmed to the natural heat—not scalded and suffered to cool—and then fed through a bottle with a sponge in the opening of it, which the lamb should suck, if it can be induced so to do. If the milk is poured in its mouth from a spoon or bottle, it is frequently difficult, as before stated, to induce it to suck. Moreover, unless milk is poured into the mouth slowly and with care—no faster than the lamb can swallow—a speedy wheezing, the infallible precursor of death, will show that a portion of the fluid has MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS. 123 been forced into the lungs. Lambs have been frequently killed in this way. If a lamb becomes chilled, it should be wrapped in a woollen blanket, placed in a warm room, and given a little milk as soon as it will swallow. A trifle of pepper is sometimes placed in the milk, and with good effect, for the purpose of rousing the eold and torpid stomach into action. In New England, under such circumstances, the lamb is sometimes ‘‘baked,” as it is called—that is, put in a blanket in a moder- ately-heated oven, until warmth and animation are restored ; others immerse it in tepid water, and subsequently rub it dry, which is said to be an excellent method where the lamb is nearly frozen. A good blanket however, a warm room, and sometimes, perhaps, a little gentle friction will generally suffice. If a strong ewe, with a good bag of milk, chance to lose her lamb, she should be required to bring up one of some other ewe’s twins, or the lamb of some feeble or young ewe, having an inadequate supply of milk. Her own lamb should be skinned as soon as possible after death, and the skin sewed over the lamb which she is to foster. She will sometimes be a little suspicious for a day or two; and if so, she should be kept in a small pen with the lamb, and occasionally looked to. After she has taken well to it, the false skin may be removed in three or four days. If no lamb is placed on a ewe which lost her lamb, and which has a full bag of milk, the milk should be drawn from the bag once or twice, or garget may ensue; even if this is not the result, permanent indura- tions, or other results of inflammatory action, will take place, injuring the subsequent nursing properties of the animal. 124 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. When milked, it is well to wash the bag for some time in cold water, since it checks the subsequent secretions of milk, as well as allays inflammation. | Sometimes a young ewe, though exhibiting sufficient fond- ness for her lamb, will not stand for it to suck; and in this case, if the lamb is not very strong and persevering, and particularly if the weather is cold, it soon grows weak, and perishes. The conduct of the dam, in such instances, is occasioned by inflammatory action about the bag or teats, and perhaps somewhat by the novelty of her position. In this case, the sheep should be caught and held until the lamb has exhausted her bag, and there will not often be any trouble afterward; though it may be well enough to keep them in a pen together until the fact is determined. Such pens—necessary in a variety of cases other than those mentioned—need not exceed eight or ten feet square, and should be built of light materials, and fastened together at the corners, so that they can be readily moved by one man, or, at the most, two, from place to place, where they are wanted. Their position should be daily shifted, when sheep are in them, for cleanliness and fresh feed. Light pine poles, laid up like a fence, and each nailed and pegged to the lower ones at the corners, or laid on, are quite serviceable. Two or three sides of a few of them should be wattled with twigs, and the tops partly covered, in order to shield feeble lambs from cold rains, piercing winds, and the like. Young lambs are subject to what is commonly known as ‘‘pinning”—that is, their first excrements are so adhesive and tenacious that the orifice of the anus is closed, and subsequent evacuations prevented. The adhering matter, in such cases, a MANAGEMENT OF LAMBS. 125 should be entirely removed, and the part rubbed with a little dry clay, to prevent subsequent adhesion. Lambs will fre- quently perish from this cause, if not looked to for the first few days. The ewes and their young ought to be divided into small flocks, and have a frequent change of pasture. Some careful shepherds adopt the plan of confining their lambs, allowing them to suck two or three times a day. By this method they suffer no fatigue, and thrive much faster. It is, however, troublesome as well as injurious, since the exercise is essential to the health and constitution of the lamb intended for rearing. It is admissible only when they are wanted for an early market ; and with those who rear them for this purpose it is a common practice. Where there are orphans or supernumeraries in the flock, the deserted lambs must be brought up by hand. Such animals, called pet lambs, are supported on cow’s milk, which they receive warm from the cows each time they are milked, and as much as they can drink. In the intervals of meals, in bad weather, they are kept under cover; in good weather they are put into a grass enclosure during the day, and sheltered at night until the nights become warm. They are fed by hand out of a small vessel, which should contain as much milk as it is known each can drink. They are first taught to drink out of the vessel with the fingers, like a calf, and as soon as they can hold a finger steady in the mouth, a small tin tube, about three inches in length, and of the thickness of a goose-quill, should be covered with several folds of linen, sewed tightly on, to use as a substitute for a teat, by means of which they will drink their allowance of milk with great ease and quick- SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, ness. A goose-quill would answer the sate purpose, were it not easily squeezed together by the mouth. When the same person feeds the lambs—and this should be the dairy-maid— they soon become attached to her, and desire to follow her everywhere; but to prevent their bleating, and to make them contented, an apron or a piece of cloth, hung on a stake or bush in the inclosure, will keep them together. It is much better for the lambs and for their dams that they be weaned from three and a half to four months old. When taken away, they should be put for several days in a field distant from the ewes, that they may not hear each other’s bleatings, as the lambs, when in hearing of their dams, continue restless much longer, and make constant and, frequently, suc- cessful efforts to crawl through the fences which separate them. One or two tame old ewes are turned into the field with them, to teach them to come at the call, find salt when thrown to them, and eat out. of troughs when winter approaches. When weaned, the lambs should be put on the freshest and tenderest grass—rich, sweet food, but not too luxuriant. The grass and clover, sown the preceding spring, on grain-fields seeded down, is often reserved for them. The dams, on the contrary, should be put for a fortnight on short, dry feed, to stop the flow of milk. They should be looked to after a day or two, and if the bags of any are found much distended, the milk should be drawn away, and the bags washed for a little time in cold water. On short feed, they rarely give much trouble: in this respect. When thoroughly dried off, they should have the best fare, to enable them to recover condition for subsequent breeding and wintering. The fall is a critical period in which to lose flesh, either for sheep or lambs; and CASTRATION AND DOCKING. 197 if any are found deficient, they should at once be provided with _ extra feed and attention. If cold weather overtake them, poor or in ill health, they will scarcely outlive it; or if by chance they survive, their emaciated carcass, impaired constitution, and scant fleece will ill repay the food and attention they will have cost. CASTRATION AND DOCKING. Some breeders advocate castration in a day or two after birth, while others will not allow the operation to be performed until the lamb is a month old. The weight of authority, however, is in favor of any time between two and six weeks after birth, when the creature has attained some strength, and the parts have not become too rigid. In such circumstances, the best English breeders recommend from ten to fifteen days old as the proper time. A lamb of a day old cannot be con- firmed in all the functions of its body, and, indeed, in many instances, the testicles can then scarcely be found. At amonth old, on the other hand, the lamb may be so fat, and the weather so warm, that the operation may be attended with febrile action. Dry, pleasant weather should be selected for this: a cool day, if possible; if warm, it should be done early in the morning. Castration is a simple and safe process. Let a man hold a lamb with its back pressed firmly against his breast and stomach, and all four legs gathered in front in his hands. Cut off the bottom of the pouch, free the testicle from the inclosing membrane, and then draw it steadily out, or clip the cord with - a knife if it does not snap off at a proper distance from the testicle. Some shepherds draw both testicles at once with 128 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. their teeth. It is usual to drop a little salt into the pouch. Where the weather is very warm, some touch the end of the pouch with an ointment, consisting of tar, lard, and turpentine. As a general thing, however, the animal will do as well with- out any application. The object of docking is to keep the sheep behind clean from filth and vermin; since the tail, if left on, is apt to col- lect filth, and, if the animal purges, becomes an intolerable nuisance. The tail, however, should not be docked too short, since it is a protection against’cold in winter. This operation is by many deferred till a late period, from apprehension of too much loss of blood; but, if the weather be favorable and the lamb in good condition, it may be performed at the same time as castration with the least trouble and without injury. The tail should be laid upon a plank, the animal being held in the same position as before. With one hand the skin is drawn toward the body, while another person, with a two- inch chisel and mallet, strikes it off at a blow, between the bone-joints, leaving it from one and a half to two inches long. The skin immediately slips back over the wound, which is soon healed. Should bleeding continue—as, however, rarely happens—so long as to sicken the lamb, a small cord should be tied firmly round the end of the tail; but this must not be allowed to remain on above twenty-four hours, as the points of the tail would slough off. Ewe lambs should be docked closer than rams. ‘To prevent flies and maggots, and assist in healing, it is well to apply an ointment composed of lard and tar, in the proportion of four pounds of the former to one quart of the latter. The lambs should he carefully protected from cold and wet till they are perfectly well. FEEDING. As soon as the warm weather approaches and the grass appears, sheep become restive and impatient for the pasture. This instinct should be repressed till the ground has become thoroughly dry, and the grass has acquired substance. They ought, more- over, to be provided for the change of food by the daily use of roots for a few days before turning out. The tendency to excessive purging which is induced by the first spring-feed, 9 129 130 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. may be checked by housing them at night and feeding them for the first few days with a little sound, sweet hay. They must be provided with pure water and salt; for, though they may do tolérably well without either, yet thrift and freedom from disease are cheaply secured by this slight attention. As to water, it may be said that it is not indispensable in the summer pastures, since the dews and the succulence of the feed answer as a substitute; but a wide experience having demonstrated that free access to it is advantageous, particularly to those having lambs, it should be considered a matter of importance on a sheep-farm so to arrange the pastures, if possible, as to bring water into each of them. Satr is indispensable to the health, especially in the summer. It is common to give it once a week, while they are at grass. Itisstill better to give them free access to it, at all times, by keeping it in a covered A COVERED SALTING BOX. box, open on one side, as in the engraving annexed. A large hollow log, with holes cut along the side for the insertion of the heads of the animals, answers very well. A sheep having free access to salt at all times will never eat too much of it; and it will take its supply at such times and in such quantities as Nature demands, instead of eating of it voraciously at stated periods, as intermediate abstinence will stimulate it todo When salt is fed but once a week, it is better to have a stated day, so FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 131 that it will not be forgotten; and it is well to lay the salt on flat stones—though if laid in little handfuls on the grass, very little of it will be lost. Tar. This is supposed by many to form a very healthful condiment for sheep, and they smear the nose with it, which is licked and swallowed as the natural heat of the flesh, or that of the weather, causes it to trickle down over the nostrils and lips. Others, suffering the flock to get unusually salt- hungry, place tar upon flat stones, or in troughs, and then scatter salt upon it so that both may be consumed together. Applied to the nose, in the nature of a cataplasm, it may be advantageous in catarrhs; and in the same place, at the proper periods, its odor may, perhaps, repel the fly, the eggs of which produce the ‘‘ gout in the head,” as it is termed. However valuable it may be as a medicine, and even as a debergent in the case specified, there is but slight ground for confidence in it merely as a condiment. Dry, sweet pastures, and such as abound in aromatic and bitter plants, are best suited for sheep-walks. No animal, with the exception of the goat, crops so great a variety of plants. They eat many which are rejected by the horse and the ox, which are even essential to their own wants. In this respect they are valuable assistants to the husbandman, as they feed greedily on wild mustard, burdock, thistles, marsh- mallows, milk-weed, and various other offending plants; and the Merino exceeds the more recent breeds in the range of his selections. In pastures, however, where the dry stalks of the burdock, or the hound’s-tongue, or tory-weed have remained standing over the winter, the burs are caught in the now long wool, 132 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. and, if they are numerous, the wool is rendered entirely un- marketable and almost valueless. Even the dry prickles of the common and Canada thistles, where they are very numer- ous, get into the neck-wool of sheep, as they thrust their heads under and among them to crop the first scarce feed of the northern spring; and, independently of injuring the wool, they make it difficult to wash and otherwise handle the sheep. Indeed, it is a matter of the soundest policy to keep sheep on the cleanest pastures, those free from these and similar plants ; and in a region where they are pastured the year round, they should be kept from contact with them for some months prior to shearing. . ‘Many prepare artificial pastures for their flocks, which may be done with a number of plants. Winter rye, or wheat sown early in the season, may be fed off in the fall, without injury to the crop; and, in the following spring, the rye may be pastured till the stalks shoot up and begin to form a head. This affords an early and nutritious food. Corn may be sown broadcast, or thickly in drills, and either fed off in the fields or cut and carried to the sheep in their folds. White mustard is also a valuable crop for this purpose. To give sheep sufficient variety, it is better to divide their range into several smaller ones, and change them as often, at least, as once a week. They seek a favorite resting-place, on a dry, elevated part of the field, which soon becomes soiled. By removing them from this for a few days, rain will cleanse or the sun dry it, so as to make it again suitable for them. More sheep may be kept, and in better condition, where this practice is adopted, than where they are confined to the same pasture. FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 133 SuHapE. No one who has observed with what eagerness sheep seek shade in hot weather, and how they pant and apparently suffer when a hot sun is pouring down upon their nearly naked bodies, will doubt that, both as a matter of humanity and utility, they should be provided, during the hot summer-months, with a better shelter than that afforded by a common rail-fence. Forest trees are the most natural and the best shades, and it is as contrary to utility as it is to good taste to strip them entirely from the sheep-walks, A strip of stone-wall or close hoard fence on the south and west sides of the pasture, forms a tolerable substitute for trees, But in the absence of all these and of buildings of any kind, a shade can be. cheaply constructed of poles and brush, in the same manner as the sheds of the same materials for winter shelter, which will be hereafter described. : Fences. Poor fences will teach ewes and wethers, as well as rams, to jump; and for a jumping flock there is no remedy but immoderately high fences, or extirpation. One jumper will soon teach the trick to a whole flock ; and if one by chance is brought in, it should be immediately hoppled or killed. The last is by far the surest and safest remedy. Hopprine is done by sewing the ends of a leather strap, broad at the extremities, so that it will not cut into the flesh, to a fore and hind leg, just above the pastern joints, leaving the legs at about the natural distance apart. Clogging is fastening a billet of wood to the fore leg by a leather strap. Yoking is fastening two rams two or three feet apart, by bows around their necks, inserted in a light piece of timber, some two or three inches in size. Poking is done by inserting a bow in a short bit of light timber, into which bit—worn on the 134 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, under side of the neck—a rod is inserted, which projects a couple of feet in front of the sheep. These and similar devices, to prevent rams from scaling fences, may be employed as a last resort by those improvident farmers who prefer, by such troublesome, injurious, and, at best, insecure means, to guard against that viciousness which they might so much more easily have prevented from being acquired. DANGEROUS RAMS. From being teased and annoyed by boys, or petted and played with when young, and sometimes without any other stimulant than a naturally vicious temper, rams occasionally become very troublesome by their propensity to attack men or cattle. Some will allow no man to enter the field where they are without making an immediate onset upon him; while others will knock down the ox or horse which presumes to dispute a lock of hay with them. A ram which is known to have acquired this propensity should at once be hooded, and, if not valuable, at the proper season converted into a wether. But the courage thus manifested is usually the concomitant of great strength and vigor of constitution, and of a powerfully developed frame. If good in other par- ticulars, it is a pity to lose the services of so valuable an animal. In such cases, they may be hooded, by covering their faces with leather in such a manner that they can only see a little backward and forward. They must then, however, be kept apart from the flock of rams, or they will soon be killed or injured by blows, which they cannot see to escape. It sometimes happens that a usually quiet-tempered ram will suddenly exhibit some pugnacity when one is salting or feeding the flock. If such a person turns to run, he is imme- FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 135 diately knocked down, and the ram learns, from that single lesson, the secret of his mastery, and the propensity to exercise it. As the ram gives his blow from the summit of the parietal and the posterior portion of the frontal bones on the top of his head, and not from the forehead, he is obliged to crouch his head so low when he makes his onset that he does not see forward well enough to swerve suddenly from his right line, and a few quick motions to the right and left enable one to escape him. Run in upon him, as he dashes by, with pitch- fork, club, or boot-heel, and punish him severely by blows about the head, if the club is used, giving him no time to rally . until he is thoroughly cowed. This may be deemed harsh treatment, and likely to increase the viciousness of the animal. Repeated instances have, however, proved the contrary; and if the animal once is forced to acknowledge that he is overcome, he never forgets the lesson. PRAIRIE FEEDING. Sheep, when destined for the prairies, ought to commence their journey as early after the shearing as possible, since they are then disencumbered of their fleece, and do not catch and retain as much dust as when driven later; feed is also generally: better, and the roads are dry and hard. Young and healthy sheep should be selected, with early lambs; or, if the latter are too young, and the distance great, they should be left, and the ewes dried off. A large wagon ought to accompany the flock, to carry such as occasionally give out; or they may be disposed of whenever they become enfeebled. With good care, a hardy flock may be driven at the rate of twelve or fourteen miles a day. Constant watch- fulness is requisite, in order to keep them healthy and in good 136 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. plight. One-half the expense of driving may be saved by the use of well-trained shepherd-dogs. When arrived at their destination, they must be thoroughly washed, to free them from all dirt, and closely examined as to any diseases which they may have contracted, that these may be promptly removed. A variety of suitable food and good shelter must be provided for the autumn, winter, and spring ensuing, and every necessary attention given to them. This would be necessary if they were indigenous to the country ; but it is much more so when they have just undergone a campaign to which neither they nor their race have been accustomed. Sheep cannot be kept on the prairies without much care, artificial food, and proper attention; and losses have often occurred, by reason of a false system of economy attempted by many, from disease and mortality in the flocks, amply sufficient to have made a generous provision for the comfort and security of twice the number lost. More especially do they require proper food and attention after the first severe frosts set in, which wither and kill the natural grasses. By nibbling at the bog—the frostbitten, dead grass—they are inevitably subject to constipation, which a bountiful supply of roots, sulphur, etc., is alone sufficient to remove. | Roots, grain, good hay, straw, corn-stalks, and pea or bean- vines are essential to the preservation of their health and thrift during the winter, everywhere north of thirty-nine degrees. In summer, the natural herbage is sufficient to sustain them in fine condition, till they shall have acquired a denser population of animals, when it will be found necessary FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 137 to stock their meadows with the best varieties of artificial grasses. The prairies seem adapted to the usual varieties of sheep introduced into the United States; and of such are the flocks ~ made up, according to the taste or judgment of the owners. Shepherd dogs are invaluable to the owners of flocks, in these unfenced, illimitable ranges, both as a defence against the small prairie wolves, which prowl around the sheep, but have been rapidly thinned off by the settlers, and also as assistants to the shepherds in driving and herding their flocks on the open ground. FALL FEEDING. In the North, the grass often gets very short by the tenth or fifteenth of November, and it has lost most of its nutritiousness from repeated freezing and thawing. At this time, although no snow may have fallen, it is best to: give the sheep a light, daily foddering of bright hay, and a few oats in the bundle. Given thus for the ten or twelve days which precede the covering of the ground by snow, fodder pays for itself as well as at any other time during the year. It is well to feed oats in the bundle, or threshed oats, about a gill to the head, in the feeding-troughs, carried to the field for that purpose. WINTER FEEDING. The time for taking sheep from the pastures must depend on the state of the weather and food. Severe frosts destroy much of the nutriment in the grasses, and they soon after cease to afford adequate nourishment. Long exposure to cold storms, with such food to sustain them, will rapidly reduce the condition of these animals. The only safe rule is to transfer them to their winter-quarters the first day they cease to thrive abroad. 138 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. There is no better food for sheep than well-ripened, sound Timothy hay ; though the clovers and nearly all the cultivated grasses may be advantageously fed. Hundreds and thousands of northern flocks receive, during the entire winter, nothing but ordinary hay, consisting mainly of Timothy, some red and white clover, and frequently a sprinkling of gum, or spear grass. Bean and pea straw are valuable, especially the former, which, if properly cured, they prefer to the best hay ; and it is well adapted to the production of wool. Where hay is the principal feed, it may be well, where it is convenient, to give corn-stalks every fifth or sixth feed, or even once a day; or the daily feed, not of hay, might alternate between stalks, pea-straw, straws of the cereal grains, etc. It is mainly a question of convenience with the farmer, provided a proper supply of palatable nutriment within a proper compass is given. It would not, however, be entirely safe to confine any kind of sheep to the straw of the cereal grains, unless it were some of those little hardy varieties of animals which would be of no use in this country. The expediency of feeding grain to store-sheep in winter depends much on circumstances. If in a climate where they can obtain a proper supply of grass or other green esculents, it would, of course, be unnecessary; nor is it a matter of necessity where the ground is frozen or covered with snow for weeks or months, provided the sheep be plentifully supplied with good dry fodder. Near markets where the coarser grains find a quick sale at fair prices, it is not usual, in the North, to feed grain. Remote from markets it is generally fed by the holders of large flocks. Oats are commonly preferred, and they are fed at the rate of a gilla head per day. Some feed FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 139 half the same amount of yellow corn. Fewer sheep, particu- larly lambs and yearlings, get thin and perish where they receive a daily feed of grain; they consume less hay, and their fleeces are increased in weight. On the whole, therefore, it is considered good economy. Where no grain is fed, three daily feeds of hay are given. The smaller sizes of the Saxon may be well sustained on two pounds of hay ; but larger sheep will consume from three and a half to four or even five pounds per day. Sheep, in common with all other animals, when ex- posed to cold, will consume much more than if well protected, or during a warmer season. It is a common and very good practice to feed greenish cut oats in the bundle, at noon, and give but two feeds of hay, one at morning and one at night. Some feed greenish cut peas in the same way. In warm, thawing weather, when sheep get to the ground and refuse dry hay, a little grain assists ma- terially in keeping up their strength and condition. When the feed is shortest in winter, in the South, there are many localities where sheep can get enough grass to take off their appetite for dry hay, but not quite enough to keep them in prime order. A moderate daily feed of oats or pease, placed in the depository racks, would keep them strong and in good plight for the lambing season, and increase their weight of ° wool. Few Northern farmers feed Indian corn to store-sheep, as it is considered too hot and stimulating, and sheep are thought to become more Jiable to become “ cloyed” on it than on oats, pease, ete. Yellow corn is not generally judged a very safe feed for lambs and yearlings. Store-sheep should be kept in good, fair, plump condition. Lambs and yearlings may 140 SHEEP AND TIJEIR DISEASES. be as fat as they will become on proper feeding. Tt is stated that sheep will eat cotton-seed, and thrive on it. It must be remembered that sheep are not to be allowed to get thin during the winter, with the idea that their condition can at any time be readily raised by better feed, as with the horse or ox. It is always difficult, and, unless properly managed, expensive and hazardous, to attempt to raise the condition of a poor flock in the winter, especially if they have reached that point where they manifest weakness. If the feeding of a liberal allowance of grain be suddenly commenced, fatal diarrhoea will often supervene. All extra feeding, there- fore, must be begun very gradually ; and it does not appear, in any case, to produce proportionable results. Roots, such as ruta-bagas, Irish potatoes, and the like, make a good substitute for grain, or as extra feed for grown sheep. The ruta-baga is preferable to the potatoe in its equiva- lents of nutriment. No root, however, is as good for lambs and yearlings as an equivalent of grain. Sheep may be taught to eat nearly all the cultivated roots. This is done by withholding salt from them, and then feeding the chopped roots a few times, rubbed with just sufficient salt to induce them to eat the root to obtain it; but not enough to satisfy their appetite for salt before they have acquired a taste for the roots. It is customary with some farmers to cut down, from time to time in the winter, and draw into the sheep-yards, young trees of the hemlock, whose foliage is greedily eaten by the sheep, after being confined for some time to dry feed. This browse is commonly used, like tar, for some supposed medicinal virtues. It is pronounced “healthy” for sheep. Much the FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 141 same remarks might be made about this as have been already made concerning tar. No tonics and stimulants are needed for a healthy animal. If the foliage of the hemlock were con- stantly accessible to them, there would be no possible objection to their eating it, since their instincts, in that case, would ‘teach them whether, and in what quantities, to devour it; but when entirely confined to dry feed for a protracted period, sheep will consume injurious and even poisonous succulents, and of the most wholesome ones, hurtful quantities. As a mere laxative, an occasional feed of hemlock may be beneficial ; though, in this point of view, a day’s run at grass, in a thaw, or a feed of roots, would produce the same result. In a climate where grass is procurable most of the time, browse for medicinal purposes is entirely unnecessary. Sheep undoubtedly require salt in winter. Some salt their hay when it is stored in the barn or stack. This is objection- able, since the appetite of the sheep is much the safest guide in the premises. It may be left accessible to them in the salt- box, as in summer; or an occasional feed of grined hay or straw may be given them in warm, thawing weather, when their appetite is poor. This last is an excellent plan, and serves a double purpose. With a wisp of straw, sprinkle a thin layer of straw with brine, then another layer of straw, and another sprinkling, and so on. Let this lie until the next day, for the brine to be absorbed by the straw, and then feed it to all the grazing animals on the farm which need salting. Water is indispensable, unless sheep have access to succu- lent food, or clean snow. Constant access to a brook or spring is best; but, in default of this, they should be watered at least once a day in some other way. 142 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. FrEDING WITH OTHER stock. Sheep should not run, or be fed, in yards, with any other stock. Cattle hook them, often mortally ; and colts tease and frequently injure them. It is often said that “colts will pick up what sheep leave.” But well-managed sheep rarely leave any thing; and, if they chance so to do, it is better to rake it up and throw it into the colts’ yard, than to feed them together. If sheep are not re- quired to eat their food pretty clean, they will soon learn to waste large quantities. If, however, they are overfed with either hay or grain, it is not proper to compel them, by starva- tion, to come back and eat it. This they will not do, unless sorely pinched. Clean out the troughs, or rake up the hay, and the next time feed less. Division oF FLocks. If flocks are shut up in small in- closures during winter, according to the northern custom, it is necessary to divide them into flocks of about one hundred each, consisting of sheep of about the same size and strength; otherwise, the stronger rob the weaker, and the latter rapidly decline. This is not so important where the sheep roam at large; but, even in that case, some division and classification are best. It is best, indeed, even in summer. The poorer and feebler can by this means receive better pasture, or a little more grain and better shelter in winter. By those who grow wool to any extent, breeding ewes, lambs, and wethers, are invariably kept in separate flocks in winter; and it is best to keep yearling sheep by themselves with a few of the smallest two-year-olds, and any old crones which are kept for their excellence as breeders, but which cannot maintain themselves in the flock of breeding ewes. Old and feeble or wounded sheep, late-born lambs, etc., FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 143 should be placed by themselves, even if the number be small, as they require better feed, warmer shelter, and more attention. Unless the sheep are of a peculiarly valuable variety, however, it is better to seil them off in the fall at any price, or to give them to some poor neighbor whe has time to nurse them, and who may thus commence a flock. . REGULARITY IN FEEDING If any one principle in sheep husbandry deserves careful attention more than others, it is, that the utmost regularity must be preserved in feeding. First, there should be regularity as to the times of feeding. However abundantly provided for, when a flock are foddered sometimes at one hour and sometimes at another—sometimes three times a day, and sometimes twice—some days grain, and some days none—they cannot be made to thrive. They will do far better on inferior keep, if fed with strict regularity. Ina climate where they require hay three times a day, the best times for feeding are about sunrise in the morning, at noon, and an hour before dark at night. Unlike cattle and horses, sheep do not feed well in the dark ; and, therefore, they should have time to consume their food before night sets in. Noon is the common time for feeding grain or roots, and is the best time, if but two fodderings of hay are given. If the sheep _ receive hay three times, it is not a matter of much conse- quence with which feeding grain is given, only that the practice be uniform. Secondly, it is highly essential that there should be regu- larity in the amount fed. The consumption of hay will, it is true, depend much upon the weather ; the keener the cold, the more the sheep will eat. In the South, much depends upon the amount of grass obtained. In many places, a light, daily 144 SHEEP AND THEIR’ DISEASES. foddering supplies; in others, a light foddering placed in the depository racks once in two days, answers the purpose. In the steady cold weather of the North, the shepherd readily learns to determine about how much hay will be consumed before the next foddering time. And this amount should, as near as may be, be regularly fed. In feeding grain or roots, there is no difficulty in preserving entire regularity ; and it is vastly more important than in feeding hay. Of the latter, a sheep will not over-eat and surfeit itself; of the former, it will. Even if it be not fed grain to the point of surfeiting, it will expect a like amount, however over-plenteous, at the next feeding; failing to receive which, it will pine for it, and manifest uneasiness. The effect of such irregularity on the stomach and system of any animal is bad; and the sheep suffers more from it than any other animal. It is much better that the flock receive no grain at all, than that they receive it without regard to regu- larity in the amount. The shepherd should measure out the grain to the sheep in all instances, instead of guessing it out, and measure it to each separate flock. Errect oF roop. Well-fed sheep, as has been previously remarked, produce more wool than poorly fed ones. No doctrine is more clearly recognized in agricultural chemistry than that animal tissues derive their chemical components from the same components existing in their food. Various analyses show that the chemical composition of wool, hair, hoofs, nails, horns, feathers, lean meat, blood, cellular tissue, nerves, ete., are nearly identical. The organic part of wool, according to standard authorities, consists of carbon, 50.65; hydrogen, 7.03; nitrogen, 17.71; oxygen and sulphur, 24.61. The inorganic constituents are small. When burned, it leaves but a trifling per cent? of ash. FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 145 The large quantity of nitrogen contained in wool shows that its production is increased by highly azotized food; and from ‘various experiments made, a striking correspondence has been found to exist between the amount of wool and the amount of nitrogen in food. Pease rank first in increasing the wool, and very high in the average comparative increase which they produce in all the tissues. The increase of fat and muscle, as of wool, depends upon the nature of the food. I1t is not very common, in the North, for wool-growers to fatten their wethers for market by extra winter feeding. Some give them a little‘more generous keep the winter before they are to be turned off, and then salt them when they have obtained their maximum fatness the succeding fall. Stall-feeding is lost on an ill-shaped, unthrifty animal. The perfection of form and health, and the uniform good condition which characterizes the thrifty one, indicate, too plainly to be misunderstood, those which will best repay the care of their owner. The selection of any indifferent animal for stall-fatten- ing will inevitably be attended with loss. Such ought to be got rid of, when first brought from the pasture, for the wool they will bring. When winter fattening is attempted, sheep require warm, dry shelters, and should receive, in addition to all the hay they will‘eat, meal twice a day in troughs—or meal once and chopped roots once. The equivalent of from half a pint to a pint of yellow.corn meal per head each day is about as much as ordinary stocks of Merino wethers will profitably consume ; though in selected flocks, consisting of large animals, this amount is frequently exceeded. 1 146 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. YARDS. Experience has amply demonstrated that—in the climate of the Northern and Eastern States, where no grass grows from four to four and a half months in the winter, and where, there- fore, all that can be obtained from the ground is the repeat- edly frozen, unnutritious herbage left in the fall—it is better to keep sheep confined in yards, excepting where the ground is covered with snow. If suffered to roam over the fields at other times, they get enough grass to take away their appetite for dry hay, but not enough to sustain them; they fall away, and toward spring they become weak, and a large proportion of them frequently perish. Flocks of some size are here, of course, alluded to, and on properly stocked farms. ate AS SS. ~~ the head of which is A BARRACK FOR STORING SHEEP-FODDER. guarded by a knot, or a little bag of flax-seed. The latter having been dipped in hot water for a minute or two, is partly converted into mucilage, which constantly exudes through the cloth, and protects the cesophagus, or gullet, from laceration. But little force must be used, and the whole operation conducted with the utmost care and gentleness ; or the esophagus will be so far lacerated as to produce death, although the obstruction is removed. OPTHALMIA—PALSY. OPHTHALMIA. Ophthalmia, or inflammation of the eyes, is not uncommon in this country; but it is little noticed, as, in most cases, it disappears in a few days, or, at worst, is only followed by cataract, which, being usually confined to one eye, does not appreciably effect the value of the animal, and therefore has no influence on its market price. Treatment. Some recommend blowing pulverized red chalk in the inflamed eye; others squirt into it tobacco juice. Asa matter of humanity, blood may be drawn from under the eye, and the eye bathed in tepid water, and occasionally with a weak solution of the sulphate of zinc combined with tincture of opium. These latter applications diminish the pain, and hasten the cure. PALSY. Paralysis, or palsy, is a diminution or entire loss of the powers of motion in some parts of the body. In the winter, poor lambs, or poor pregnant ewes, or poor feeble ewes im- mediately after yeaning in the spring, occasionally lose the power of walking or standing rather too suddenly to have it referable to increasing debility. The animal seems to have lost all strength in its loins, and the hind-quarters are power- less; it makes ineffectual attempts to rise, and cannot stand if placed upon its feet. Treatment. Warmth, gentle stimulants, and good nursing may raise the patient; but, in the vast majority of cases, it is more economical and equally humane, to deprive it of life at once. 230 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. | PELT-ROT. This is often mistaken for the scab, but it is, in -fact, a dif- ferent and less dangerous disease. The wool falls off, and leaves the sheep nearly naked; but it is attended with no soreness, though a redish crust will cover the skin, from the wool which has dropped. It generally arises from hard keep- ing and much exposure to cold and wet; and, in fact, the animal often dies in severe weather from the cold it suffers on account of the loss of its coat. The remedy is full feeding, a warm stall, and anointing the hard part of the skin with tar, oil, and butter. Some, however, do nothing for it, scarcely considering it a disease. Such say that if the condition of a poor sheep is raised as suddenly as practicable, by generous keep in the winter, the wool is very apt to drop off; and, if yet cold, the sheep will require warm shelter. PNEUMONIA. Pneumonia—or inflammation of the lungs—is not a common disease in the Northern States; but undoubted cases of it sometimes occur, after sheep have been exposed to sudden cold, particularly when recently shorn. The adhesions occa- sionally witnessed between the lungs and pleura of slaughtered sheep, betray the former existence of this disease in the animal—though, in many instances, it was so slight as to be mistaken, at the time, for a hard cold. Symptoms. The animal is dull, ceases to ruminate, neglects its food, drinks frequently and largely, and its breathing is rapid and laborious; the eye is clouded; the nose discharges PNEUMONIA. 931 a tenacious, fetid matter; the teeth are ground frequently, so that the sound is audible at some distance; the pulse is at first hard and rapid, sometimes intermits, but before death it becomes weak. During the height of the fever, the flanks heave violently ; there is a hard, painful cough during the first stages, which becomes weaker, and seems to be accompanied with more pain as death approaches. After death, the lungs are found more or less hepatized— that is, permanently condensed and engorged with blood, so that their structure resembles that of the hepar, or liver—and they have so far lost their integrity that they are torn asunder by the slightest force. It may here be remarked that when sheep die from any cause, with their blood in them, the lungs have a dark, hepatized appearance. Whether they are actually hepatized or not, can readily be decided by compressing the wind-pipe, so that air cannot escape through it, and then be- tween such compression and the body of the lungs, in a closely fitting orifice, inserting a goose-quill, or other tube, and con- tinuing to blow until the lungs are inflated as far as they can be. As they inflate, they will become of a lighter color, and plainly manifest their cellular structure. If any portions of them cannot be inflated, and retain their dark, liver-like consis- tence, and color, they exhibit hepatization—the result of high inflammatory action—and a state utterly incompatible, in the living animal, with the discharge of the natural functions of the viscus. Treatment. In the first, or inflammatory stages, bleeding and aperients are clearly called for. Some recommend early and copious bleeding, repeated, if necessary, in a few hours; this followed by aperient medicines, such as two ounces of 232 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. Epsom salts, which may be repeated in smaller doses, if the bowels are not sufficiently relaxed. The following sedative may also be given with gruel, twice a day: nitrate of potash, one drachm; powdered digitalis, one scruple; and tartarized antimony, one scruple. While depletion may be of inestimable value during the continuance—the short continuance—of the febrile state, yet excitation like this will soon be followed by corresponding exhaustion, when the bleeding and purging would be murder- ous expedients ; and gentian, ginger, and the spirits of nitrous ether will afford the only hope of cure. POISON. Sheep will often, in the winter or spring, eat greedily of the low laurel. The animal appears afterward to be dull and stupid, swells a little, and is constantly gulping up a feverish fluid, which it swallows again; a part of it will trickle out of its mouth, and discolor its lips. The plant probably, brings on a fermentation in the stomach, and nature endeavors to throw off the poisonous herb by retching or vomiting. Treatment. In the early stages, if the greenish fluid be allowed to escape from the stomach, the animal generally re- covers. To effect this, gag the sheep, which may be done in this manner: Take a stick of the size of the wrist, six inches long—place it in the animal’s mouth—tie a string to one end of it, pass it over the head and down to the other end, and there make it fast. The fluid will then run from the mouth as fast as thrown up from the stomach. In addition to this, give roasted onions and sweetened milk freely. A better plan, how- ever, is to force a gill of melted lard down the throat; or, boil ROT. 233 for an hour the twigs of the white ash, and give one-half to one gill of the strong liquor immediately ; to be repeated, if not successful. Drenchers of milk and castor-oil are also recommended. ROT. This disease, which sometimes causes the death of a million of sheep, in England, in a single year, is comparatively un- known in this country. It prevails somewhat in the Western States, from allowing sheep to pasture on land that is over- flowed with water. Even acrop of green oats, early in the fall, before a frost comes, has been known to rot young sheep. Symptoms. ‘The first are by no means strongly marked ; there is no loss of condition, but rather the contrary, to all appearance. A paleness and want of liveliness of the mem- branes, generally, may be considered as the first symptoms, to which may be added a yellowness of the caruncle at the corner of the eye. When in warm, sultry, or rainy weather, sheep that are grazing on low and moist lands, feed rapidly, and some of them die suddenly, there is ground for fearing that they have contracted the rot. This suspicion will be farther increased if, a few days afterward, the sheep begin to shrink and grow flaccid about the loins. By pressure about the hips at this time, a crackling is perceptible now or soon afterward, the countenance looks pale, and upon parting the fleece, the skin is found to have changed its vermilion tint for a pale red, and the wool is easily separated from the felt; and as the disorder advances, the skin becomes dappled with yellow or black spots. To these symptoms succeed increased dullness, loss of condition, and greater paleness of the mucous mem- ‘ 934 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. branes, the eyelids becoming almost white, and afterward yellow. This yellowness extends to other parts of the body, and a watery fluid appears under the skin, the latter becom- ing loose and flabby, and the wool coming off readily. The symptoms of dropsy often extend over the body, and some- times the sheep becomes chockered, as it is termed; a large swelling forms under the jaw, which, from the appearance of the fluid which it éontains, is sometimes called the watery poke. The duration ot the disease is uncertain : the animal occasionally dies shortly after becoming affected, but more frequently it extends. to from three to six months, the sheep gradually losing flesh and pining away, particularly if, as is frequently the case, an obstinate purging supervenes. Post-mortem. The whole cellular tissue is found to be infiltrated, and a yellow serous fluid everywhere follows the knife. The muscles are soft and flabby, having the appearance of being macerated. The kidneys are pale, flaccid, and in- filtrated. The mesenteric glands are enlarged, and engorged with yellow serous fluid. The belly is frequently filled with water, or purulent matter; the peritoneum is everywhere thickened, and the bowels adhere together by means of an unnatural growth. The heart is enlarged and softened, and the lungs are filled with tubercles. The principal alterations of structure are in the liver, which is pale, livid, and broken down with the slightest pressure ; and on being boiled, it will almost dissolve away. When the liver is not pale, it is often curiously spotted ; in some cases it is speckled, like the back of a toad; some parts of it, however, are hard and schirrous ; others are ulcerated, and the biliary ducts are filled with flukes. The malady is, unquestionably, inflammation of the liver. ¥ ROT. 235 This fluke is from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a quarter in length, and from one-third to one-half an inch in its greatest breadth. These fluke-worms undoubtedly aggravate the disease, and perpetuate a state of irritability and dis- organization, which must necessarily undermine the strength of any animal, Treatment. This must, to a considerable extent, be very unsatisfactory. After the use of dry food and dry bedding, one of the best preventives is the abundant use of pure salt. In violent attacks, take eight, ten, or twelve ounces of blood, according to the circumstances of the case ; to this, let a dose of physic succeed—two or three ounces of Epsom salts; and to these means add a change of diet, good hay in the field, and hay, straw, or chaff in the yard. After the operation of the physic—an additional dose having been administered, often- times, in order to quicken the action of the first—two or three grains of calomel may be given daily, mixed with half the quantity of opium, in order to secure its beneficial, and ward off its injurious effects on the ruminant. To this should be added common salt, which acts as a purgative and a tonic A mild tonic, as well as an aperient, is plainly indicated soon. after the commencement of rot. The doses should be from two to three drachms, repeated morning and night. When the inflammatory stage is clearly passed, stronger tonics may be added to the salt, and there are none superior to the gentian and ginger roots; from one to two drachms of each, finely pounded, may be added to each dose of the salt. The sheep having a little recovered from the disease, should still continue on the best and driest pasture on the farm, and 236 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES, should always have salt within their reach. The rot is not infectious. . SCAB. This is a cutaneous disease, analogous to the mange in horses and the itch in man, and is caused and propagated by a -minute insect, the acarus. If one or more female acari are placed on the wool of a sound sheep, they quickly travel to the root of it, and bury themselves in the skin, the place at which they pene- trate being scarcely visible, or only dis- tinguishable by a minute red point. On the tenth or twelfth day, a little THE BROAD-TAILED SHEEP, swelling may be detected with the finger, and the skin changes its color, and has a greenish blue tint. The pustule is now rapidly formed, and about the sixteenth day breaks, when the mothers again appear, with their little ones attached to their feet, and covered by a portion of the shell of the egg from which they have just escaped. These little ones immediately set to work, penetrate the neighboring skin, bury themselves beneath it, find their proper nourishment, and grow and propa- gate, until the poor creature has myriads of them preying upon him. It is not wonderful that, under such circumstances, he should speedily sink. The male acari, when placed on the sound skin of a sheep, will likewise burrow their way and SCAB. 237 disappear for a while, the pustule rising in due time; but the itching and the scab soon disappear without the employment of any remedy. The female brings forth from eight to fifteen young at a time. In the United States, this disease is comparatively little known, and never originates spontaneously. The fact, that short-woolled sheep—like the, Merino—are much less subject to its attacks, is probably one reason for this slight comparative prevalence. The disease spreads from individual to individual, and from flock to flock, not only by means of direct contact, but by the acari left on posts, stones, and other substances against which diseased sheep have rubbed themselves. Healthy sheep are, therefore, liable to contract the malady, if turned on pastures previously occupied by scabby sheep, although some considerable time may have elapsed since the departure of the latter. The sheep laboring under the scab is exceedingly restless. It rubs itself with violence against trees, stones, fences, ete. ; scratches itself with its feet, bites its sores, and tears off its wool with its teeth; as the pustules are broken, their matter escapes, and forms scabs, causing red, inflamed sores, which constantly extend, increasing the misery of the tortured animal ; if unrelieved, he pines away, and soon perishes. The post-mortem appearances are very uncertain and incon- clusive. There is generally chronic inflammation of the intestines, with the presence of a great number of worms. The liver is occasionally schirrous, and the spleen enlarged ; and there are frequently serous effusions in the belly, and sometimes in the chest. There has been evident sympathy between the digestive and the cutaneous systems. 238 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. Treatment. First, separate the sheep; then cut off the wool as far as the skin feels hard to the finger; the scab is then washed with soap-suds, and rubbed hard with a shoe-brush, so that it may be cleansed and broken. For this use take a decoc- tion of tobacco, to which add one-third, by measure, of the lye of wood-ashes, as much hog’s lard as will be dissolved by the lye, a small quantity of tar from a tar-bucket, which con- tains grease, and about one-eighth of the whole, by measure, of spirits of turpentine. his liquor is rubbed upon the part infected, and spread to a little distance around it, in three washings, with an interval of three days each. This will invariably effect a cure, when the disorder is only partial. Or, the following: Dip the sheep in an infusion of arsenic, in the proportion of half a pound of arsenic to twelve gallons of water. The sheep should be previously washed in soap and water. The infusion must not be permitted to enter the mouth or nostrils. j Or, take common mercurial ointment; for bad cases, rub it down with three times its weight of lard—for ordinary cases, five times its weight. Rub a little of this ointment into the head of the sheep. Part the wool so as to expose the skin in a line from the head to the tail, and then apply a little of the ointment with the finger the whole way. Make a similar furrow and application on each side, four inches from the first ; and so on, over the whole body. The quantity of ointment after composition with the lard, should not exceed two ounces ; and, generally, less will suffice. A lamb requires but one-third as much as a grown sheep. This will generally cure ; but, if the animal should continue to rub itself, a lighter application of the same should be made in ten days. SMALL-POX. 239 Or, take two pounds of lard or palm oil; half a pound of oil of tar; and one pound of sulphur; gradually mix the last two, then rub down the compound with the first. Apply as before. Or, take of corrosive sublimate, one half a pound; white hellabore, powdered, three-fourths of a pound; whale or other oil, six gallons; rosin, two pounds; and tallow, two pounds. The first two to be mixed with a little of the oil, and the rest being melted together, the whole to be gradually mixed. This is a powerful preparation, and must not be applied too freely. An erysipelatous scab, or erysipelas, attended with consider- able itching, sometimes troubles sheep. This is a febrile ‘disease, and is treated with a cooling purgative, bleeding, and oil or lard applied to the sores. SMALL-POX. The author,acknowledges himself indebted for what follows under this head to R. McClure, V.S., of Philadelphia, author of a Prize Essay on Diseases of Sheep, read before the U. 8. Agricultural Society, in 1860, for which a medal and diploma were awarded. Although the small-pox in domestic animals has, fortunately, been as yet confined to the European Continent—where it has been chiefly limited to England—no good reason can ever be assigned why it should not at some future time make its appearance among us, especially when we remember how long a period elapsed, during which we eseaped the cattle plague, although the Continent had long been suffering from it. The small-pox in sheep—variola overia—is, at times, epizodtic in the flocks of France and Italy, but was unknown 240 SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. ‘in England until 1847, when it was communicated to a flock at Datchett and another at Pinnier by some Merinos from Spain. It soon found its way into Hampshire and Norfolk, but was shortly afterward supposed to be eradicated. In 1862, how- ever, it suddenly reappeared in a severe form among the flocks of Wiltshire; for which reappearance neither any traceable infection nor contagion could be assigned. With the present light upon the subject, it would seem to be an instance of the origination anew of a malignant type of varioloid disease. Such an origin is, in fact, assigned to this disease in Africa, it being well established that certain devi- talizing atmospheric influences produce skin diseases, and facilitate. the appearance of pustular eruptions. The disease once rooted soon becomes epizootic, and causes a greater mortality than any other malady affecting this animal. Out of a flock numbering 1720, 920 were attacked in a natural way, of which 50 per cent. died. Of 800 inoculated cases, but 36 per cent. died. Numerous experiments have proved beyond all doubt that this disease in sheep is both infectious and contagious; its period of incubation varies from seven to fourteen days. The mortality is never less than 25 per cent., and not unfrequently whole flocks have been swept away, death taking place in the early stages of the eruption, or in the stages of suppuration and ulceration. The symptoms may be mapped out as follows: The animal is seized with a shivering fit, succeeded by a dull stupidity, which remains until death or recovery results; on the second or third day, pimples are seen on the thighs and arm-pits, accompanied with extreme redness of the eyes, complete SMALL-POX. 941 joss of appetite, ete., ete. It is needless to enumerate other symptoms which exist in common with those of other dis- orders. Prevention. At present, but two modes are resorted to, for the purpose of preventing the spread of the disease, which promise any degree of certainty of success. The first is by inoculation, which was recommended by Professor Simonds, of London. ‘This distinguished pathologist appears to have overlooked the fact that he was thereby only enlarging the sphere of mischief, by imparting the disease to animals that, in all probability, would otherwise have escaped it. By inocu- lation, moreover, a form of the disease is given, not of a modi- fied character, but with all the virulence of the original affec- tion which is to be arrested, and equally as potent for further destruction of others. By such teaching, inoculation and vaccination would be made one and the same thing, notwith- standing theif dissimilarity. Even vaccination will not pro- tect the animal, as has been already shown by the experiments of Hurbrel D’ Arboval. The second and best plan of prevention is zsolation and destruction, as recommended by Professor Gamgee, of the Edinburgh Veterinary College. This proved a great protec- tion to the sheep-farmers of Wiltshire, in 1862. In all epizootic diseases, individual cases occur, which, when pointed out and recognized as soon as the fever sets in and the early eruptions appear, should be slaughtered at once and buried, and the rest of the flock isolated. By this means the disease has been confined to but two or three in a large flock. Treatment. In treating this disease, resort has of late been had to a plant, known as Sarracenia purpura—Indian cup, 16 942, SHEEP AND THEIR DISEASES. or pitcher plant—used for this purpose by the Micmacs, a tribe of Indians in British North America. This plant is indigenous, perennial, and is found from the coast of Labrador to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, growing in great abun- dance on wet, marshy ground. The use of this plant is becoming quite general, and good results have almost uniformly attended it. Take from one to two ounces of the dried root, and slice in thin pieces ; place in an earthen pot ; add a quart of cold water, and allow the liquid to simmer gently over a steady fire for two or three hours, so.as to lose one-fourth of the quantity. Give of this decoction three wine-glassfuls at once, and the same quantity from four to six hours afterwards, when a cure will generally be affected. Weaker and smaller doses are certain preventives of the disease. The public are indebted to Dr. Morris, physician to the Halifax (Nova Scotia) Dis- pensary, for the manner of preparing this eminently useful article. SORE FACE. Sheep feeding on pastures infested with John’s wort, fre- quently exhibit an irritation of skin about the nose and face, which causes the hair to drop off from the parts. The irrita- tion sometimes extends over the entire body. If this plant is eaten in too large quantities, it produces violent inflammation of the bowels, and is frequently fatal to lambs, and sometimes to adults. Treatment. Rub a little sulphur and lard on the irritated surface. If there are symptoms of inflammation of the bowels, SORE MOUTH—TICKS. 243 this should be put into the mouth of the sheep with a flattened stick. Abundance of salt is deemed a preventive. SORE MOUTH. The lips of sheep sometimes become suddenly sore in the winter, and swell to the thickness of a man’s hand. The malady occasionally attacks whole flocks, and becomes quite fatal. It is usually attributed to noxious weeds cut with the hay. Treatment. Daub the lips and mouth plentifully with tar. TICKS. The treatment necessary as a preventive against these insects, and a remedy for them, has already been indicated under the head of “ FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT,” to which the reader is referred. eS Ws hestpe iidap alin j TuE hog is a cosmopolite, adapting itself to almost every climate; though its natural haunts—like those of the hippo- potamus, the elephant, the rhinoceros, and most of the thick- skinned animals—are in warm countries. They are most abundant in China, the East Indies, and the immense range of islands extending throughout the whole Southern and Pacific oceans; but they are also numerous throughout (7) 245 8 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. Europe, from its Southern coast to the Russian dominions within the Arctic. As far back as the records of history extend, this animal appears to have been known, and his flesh made use of as food. Nearly fifteen hundred years before Christ, Moses gave those laws to the Israelites which have given rise to so much discussion ; and it is evident that, had not pork been the prevailing food of that nation at the time, such stringent commandments and prohibitions would not have been neces- sary. The various allusions to this kind of meat, which repeatedly occur in the writings of the old Greek authors, show the esteem in which it was held among that nation ; and it appears that the Romans made the art of breeding, rearing, and fattening pigs a study. In fact, the hog was very highly prized among the early nations of Europe; and some of the ancients even paid it divine honors. The Jews, the Egyptians, and the Mohammedans alone appear to have abstained from the flesh of swine. “The former were expressly denied its use by the laws of Moses. “And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean unto you.” Lev. xi. 7. Upon this prohibition, Mohammed, probably, founded his own. For the Mosaic prohibition, various reasons have been assigned : the alleged extreme filthiness of the animal ; it being afflicted with a leprosy; the great indigestibility of its flesh in hot climates; the intent to make the Jews “a peculiar people ;” a preventive of gluttony; and an admonition of abstinence from sensual and disgusting habits. At what period the animal was reclaimed from his wild state, and by what nation, cannot be stated. From the 246 HISTORY AND BREEDS, 9 earliest times, in England, the hog has been regarded as a very important animal, and vast herds were tended by swineherds, who watched over their safety in the woods, and collected them under shelter at night. Its flesh was the staple article of consumption in every household, and much of the wealth of the rich and free portion of the community consisted in these animals. Hence bequests of swine, with land for their support, were often made; rights and privileges connected with their feeding, and the extent of woodland to be occupied by a given number, were granted according to established rules. - Long after the end of the Saxon dynasty, the practice of feeding swine upon the mast and acorns of the forest was continued till the forests were cut down, and the land laid open for the plough. Nature designed the hog to fulfil many important functions in a forest country. By his burrowing after roots and the like, he turns up and destroys the larve of innumerable insects, which would otherwise injure the trees as well as their fruit. He destroys the slug-snail and adder, and thus not only rids the forests of these injurious and unpleasant inhahitants, but also makes them subservient to his own nourishment, and therefore to the benefit of mankind. The fruits which he eats are such as would otherwise rot on the ground and be wasted, or yield nutriment to vermin; and his diggings for earth-nuts and the like, loosens the soil, and benefits the roots of the trees. Hogs in forest land may, therefore, be regarded as eminently beneficial; and it is only the abuse which is to be feared. The hog is popularly regarded as a stupid, brutal, rapacious,, and filthy animal, grovelling and disgusting in all his habits, 247 1) SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. intractable and obstinate in temper. The most offensive epithets among men are borrowed from him, or his peculiarities. In their native state, however, swine seem by no means desti- tute of natural affections; they are gregarious, assemble together in defence of each other, herd together for warmth, and appear to have feelings in common; no mother is more tender to her young than the sow, or more resolute in their defence. Neglected as this animal has ever been by authors, recorded instances are not wanting of their sagacity, tracta- bility, and susceptibility of affection. Among the European peasantry, where the hog is, so to speak, one of the family, he may often be seen following his master from place to place, and grunting his recognition of his protectors. The hog, in point of actual fact, is also a much more cleanly animal than he has the credit of being. He is fond of a good, cleanly bed; and when this is not provided for him, it is oftentimes interesting to note the degree of sagacity with which he will forage for himself. It is, however, so much the vogue to believe that he may be kept in any state of neglect, that the terms “pig,” and “ pig-sty” are usually regarded as synonymous with all that is dirty and disgusting. His rolling in the mud is cited as a proof of his filthy habits. This practice, which he shares in common with all the pachyder- matous animals, is undoubtedly the teaching of instinct, and for the purpose of cooling himself and keeping off flies. Pigs are exceedingly fond of comfort and warmth, and will nestle together in order to obtain the latter, and often struggle vehemently to secure the warmest berth. They are likewise peculiarly sensitive of approaching changes in the weather, and may often be observed suddenly leaving the places in 248 HISTORY AND BREEDS. iu) which they had been quietly feeding, and running off to their styes at full speed, making loud outcries. When storms are overhanging, they collect straw in their mouths, and run about as if inviting their companions to do the same; and if there is a shed or shelter near at hand, they will carry it there and deposit it, as if for the purpose of preparing a bed. { In their domesticated state, they are, undeniably, very greedy animals; eating is the business of their lives; nor do they appear to be very delicate as to the kind or quality of food which is placed before them. Although naturally herb- ivorous animals, they have been known to devour carrion with all the voracity of beasts of prey, to eat and mangle infants, and even gorge their appetites with their own young. It is not, however, unreasonable to believe that the last revolting act—rarely if ever happening in a state of nature—arises more from the pain and irritation produced by the state of confine- ment, and often filth, in which the animal is kept, and the dis- turbances to which it is subjected, than from any actual ferocity ; for it is well known that a sow is always unusually irritable at this period, snapping at all animals that approach her. If she is gently treated, properly supplied with susten- ance, and sequestered from all annoyance, there is little danger of this practice ever happening. All the offences which swine commit are attributed to a disposition innately bad; whereas they too often arise from bad management, or total neglect. They are legitimate objects for the sport of idle boys, hunted with curs, pelted with stones, often neglected and obliged to find a meal for them- selves, or wander about half-starved. Made thus the Ishmael- ites of our domestic animals, is it a matter of wonder that 249 12 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. they should, under such circumstances, incline to display Ishmaelitish traits.? In any well-regulated farm-yard, the swine are as tractable and as little disposed to wander or trespass as any of the animals that it contains. The WILD BOAR is generally admitted to be the parent of the stock from which all our domesticated breeds and varieties have sprung. This animal is generally of a dusky brown or iron-gray color, inclining to black, and diversified with black spots or streaks. The body is covered with coarse hairs, intermixed with a downy wool; these hairs become bristles as they approach the neck and shoulders, and are in those places so long as to form a mane, which the animal erects when irritated. The head is short, the forehead broad and flat, the ears short, rounded at the tips, and inclined toward the neck, the jaw armed with sharp, crooked tusks, which curve slightly upward, and are capable of inflicting fearful wounds, the eye full, neck thick and muscular, the shoulders high, the loins broad, the tail stiff, and finished off with a tuft of bristles at the tip, the haunch well turned, and the leg strong. A full-grown wild boar in India averages from thirty to forty inches in height at the shoulder; the African wild boar is about twenty-eight or thirty inches high. The wild boar is a very active and powerful animal, and becomes fiercer as he grows older. When existing in a state of nature, he is generally found in moist, shady, and well- wooded situations, not far remote from streams or water. In India, they are found in the thick jungles, in plantations of Sugar-cane or rice, or in the thick patches of high, long grass. In England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, their resorts have been in the woods and forests. This animal is naturally 250 HISTORY AND BREEDS. , 13 herbivorous, and appears to feed by choice upon plants, fruits, and roots. He will, however, eat the worms and larve which he finds in the ground, also snakes and other such reptiles, and the eggs of birds. They seldom quit their coverts during the day, but prowl about in search of food during twilight and the night. Their acute sense of smell enables them to detect the presence of roots or fruits deeply imbedded in the soil, and they often do considerable mischief by ploughing up the ground in search of them, particularly as they do not, like the common hog, root up a little spot here and there, but plough long, continuous, furrows. . The wild boar, properly so called, is neither a solitary nor a gregarious animal. For the first two or three years, the whole herd follows the sow, and all unite in defence against any enemies, calling upon each other with loud cries in case of emergency, and forming in regular line of battle, the weakest occupying the rear. When arrived at maturity, the animals wander alone, as if in perfect consciousness of their strength, and appear as if they neither sought nor avoided any living creature. They are reputed to live about thirty years; as they grow old, the hair becomes gray, and the tusks begin to show symptoms of decay. Old boars rarely associate with a herd, but seem to keep apart from the rest, and from each other. The female produces but one litter in the year, much smaller in number than those of the domestic pig; she carries her young sixteen or twenty weeks, and generally is only seen ‘with the male during the rutting season. She suckles her young for several months, and continues to protect them for some time afterward; if attacked at that time, she will defend 251 14 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. herself and them with exceeding courage and fierceness. Many sows will often be found herding together, each followed by her litter of young; and in such parties they are exceed- ingly formidable to man and beast. Neither they nor the boar, however, seem desirous of attacking any thing; and only when roused by aggression, or disturbed in their retreat, do they turn upon their enemies and manifest tHe mighty strength with which Nature has endowed them. When attacked by dogs, the wild boar at first sullenly retreats, turn- ing upon them from time to time and menacing them with his tusks; but gradually his anger rises, and at length he stands at bay, fights furiously for his life, and tears and rends his persecu- tors. “He has even been obsery- ed to single out the most tormenting of them, and rush savage- ly upon him. THE WILD BOAR AT BAY. Hunting this animal has been a favorite sport, in almost all countries in which it has been found, from the earliest ages. Wild boars lingered in the forests of England and Scotland for several centuries after the Norman conquest, and many tracts of land in those countries derived their name from this circumstance ; while instances of valor in their destruction are recorded in the heraldic devices of many of their noble 252 HISTORY AND BREEDS. 15 families. The precise period at which the animal became exterminated there cannot be precisely ascertained. They had, however, evidently been long extinct in the time of Charles I., since he endeavored to re-introduce them, and was at considerable expense to procure a wild boar and his mate from Germany. They still exist in Upper Austria, on the Syrian Alps, in many parts of Hungary, and in the forests of Poland, Spain, Russia, and Sweden; and the inhabitants of those countries hunt them with hounds, or attack them with fire-arms, or with the proper boar-spear. All. the varieties of the domestic hog will breed with the wild boar; the period of gestation is the same in the wild and the tame sow; their anatomical structure is identical; their general form bears the same characters; and their habits, so far as they are not changed by domestication, remain the same. Where individuals of the pure wild race have been caught young and subjected to the same treatment as: a domestic pig, their fierceness has disappeared, they have become more social and less nocturnal in their habits, lost their activity, and lived more to eat. In the course of one or two generations, even the form undergoes certain modifica- tions; the body becomes larger and heavier; the legs shorter, and less adapted for exercise ; the formidable tusks of the boar, being no longer needed as weapons of defence, disappear; the shape of the head and neck alters; and in character as well as in form, the animal adapts itself to its situation. Nor does it appear that a return to their native wilds restores to them their original appearance ; for, in whatever country pigs have escaped from the control of man, and bred in the wilderness and woods, not a single instance is on record in which they 253 16 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. have resumed the habits and form of the wild boar. They, indeed, become fierce, wild, gaunt, and grisly, and live upon roots and fruits; but they are, notwithstanding, merely degenerated swine, and they still associate together in herds, and do not walk solitary and alone, like their grim ancestors. AMERICAN SWINE. In the United States, swine have been an object of attention since its earliest settlement, and whenever a profitable market has been found for pork abroad, it has been exported to the full extent of the demand. Swine are not, however, indigenous to this country, but were doubtless originally brought hither by the early English settlers; and the breed thus introduced may still be distinguished by the traces they retain of their parent stock. France, also, as well as Spain, and, during the existence of the slave-trade, Africa, have also combined to furnish varieties of this animal, so much esteemed throughout the whole of the country, as furnishing a valuable article of food. For nearly twenty years following the commencement of the general European wars, soon after the organization of our national government, pork was a comparatively large article of commerce; but exports for a time diminished, and it was not until within a more recent period that this staple has been brought up to its former standard as an article of expor- tation to that country. The recent use which has been made of its carcass in converting it into lard oil, has tended to still further increase its consumption. By the census of 1860, there were upward of thirty-two and a half millions of these animals in the United States. They are reared in every part of the Union, and, when 254 A AMERICAN SWINE. 17 properly managed, always at a fair profit. At the extreme North, in the neighborhood of large markets, and on such of the Southern plantations as are particularly suited to sugar or rice, they should not be raised beyond the number required for the consumption of the coarse or refuse food produced. Swine are advantageously kept in connection with a dairy or orchard ; since, with little additional food besides what is thus afforded, they can be put in good condition for the butcher. On the rich bottoms and other lands of the West, however, where Indian corn is raised in profusion and at small expense, they can be reared in the greatest numbers and yield the largest profit. The Scioto, Miami, Wabash, Illinois, and other valleys, and extensive tracts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mis- souri, and some adjoining States, have for many years taken the lead in the production of Swine; and it is probable that the climate and soil, which are peculiarly suited to their rapid growth, as well as that of their appropriate food, will enable them to hold their position as the leading pork-producers of the North American Continent. The breeds cultivated in this country are numerous; and, like our native cattle, they embrace many of the best, and a few of the worst, to be found among the species. Great attention has been paid, for many years, to their improvement in the Eastern States ; and nowhere are there better specimens than in many of their yards. This spirit has rapidly extended West and South; and among most of the intelligent farmers, who make them a leading object of attention, on their rich corn-grounds, swine have attained a high degree of excellence. This does not consist in the introduction and perpetuity of any distinct races, so much as in the breeding up to a desir- 255 18 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. a able size and aptitude for fattening, from such meritorious individuals of any breed, or their crosses, as come within their reach. THE BYEFIELD. This breed was formerly in high repute in the Eastern States, and did much good among the species generally. They are white, with fine curly hair, well made and compact, moderate in size and length, with broad backs, and at fifteen months attaining some three hundred to three hundred and fifty pounds net. THE BEDFORD. The Bedford or Woburn is a breed originating with the Duke of Bedford, on his estate at Woburn, and brought to their perfection, probably, by judicious crosses of the Chinese hog on some of the best English swine. A pair was sent by the duke to this country, as a present to General Washington ; but they were dishonestly sold by the messenger, in Maryland, in which State, and in Pennsylvania, they were productive of much good at an early day, by their extensive distribution through different States. Several “other importations of this breed have been made.at various times, and especially by the enterprising masters of the Liverpool packets, in the neighbor- hood of New York. ‘They are a large, spotted animal, well made, and inclining to early maturity and fattening. This is an exceedingly valuable hog, but nearly extinct, bos in England and in this country, as a breed. 256 THE LEICESTER—THE YORKSHIRE. THE LEICESTER. The old Leicestershire breed, in England, was a perfect type of the original hogs of the midland counties; large, un- gainly, slab-sided animals, of a light color, and spotted with brown or black. The only good parts about them were their heads and ears, which showed greater traces of breeding than any other portions. These have been materially improved by various crosses, and the original breed has nearly lost all its peculiarities and defects. They may now be characterized as a large, white hog, generally coarse in the bone and hair, great eaters, and slow in maturing. Some varieties differ essentially in these particulars, and mature early on a moderate amount: of food. The crosses with small compact breeds are generally thrifty, desirable animals. THE YORKSHIRE. The old Yorkshire breed was one of the very large varieties, and one of the most unprofitable for a farmer, being greedy feeders, difficult to fatten; and unsound in constitution. They were of a dirty white or yellow color, spotted with black, had ‘long legs, flat sides, narrow backs, weak loins, and large bones. Their hair was short and wirey, and intermingled with numerous bristles about the head and neck, and their ears long. When full grown and fat, they seldom weighed more than from three hundred and fifty to four hundred pounds. These have been crossed with pigs of the improved Leicester breed ; and where the crossings have been judiciously managed, and not carried too far, a fine race of deep-sided. short-legged, 17 5 20 ; SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. thin-haired animals has been obtained, fattening kindly, and rising to a weight of from two hundred and fifty to four hundred pounds, when killed between one and two years old; and when kept over two years, reaching even from five hundred to seven hundred pounds. They have also been crossed with the Chinese, Neapolitan, and Berkshire breeds, and hardy, profitable, well-proportioned animals thereby obtained. The original breed, in its purity, size, and defectiveness, is now hardly to be met with, having shared the fate of the other large old breeds, and given place to smaller and more symmetrical animals. . The Yorkshire white is among the large breeds deserving commendation among us. To the same class belong also the large Miami white, and the Kenilworth; each frequently attaining, when dressed, a weight of from six hundred to eight hundred pounds. THE CHINESE. This hog is to be found in the southeastern countries of Asia, as Siam, Cochin China, the Burman Empire, Cambodia, Malacca, Sumatra, and in Batavia, and other Eastern islands ; and is, without doubt, the parent stock of the best European | and American swine. There are two distinct varieties, the white and the black ; both fatten readily, but from their diminutive size attain no great weight. They are small in limb, round in body, short in the head, wide in the cheek, and high in the chime; covered with very fine bristles growing from an exceedingly thin skin ; and not peculiarly symmetrical, since, when fat, the head is so buried in the neck that little more than the tip of 258 THE CHINESE. D1 the snout is visible. The pure Chinese is too delicate and susceptible to cold ever to become a really profitable animal in this country ; it is difficult to rear, and the sows are not good nurses; but one or two 2 judicious cros- SN AZZ dass =‘ ses have, in a Ny — RAY NT Wi — manner, natu- * ralized it. This THE CHINESE HOG. breed will fatten readily, and on a comparatively small quantity of food; the flesh is exceedingly delicate, but does not make good bacon, and is often too fat and oily to be generally esteemed as pork. They are chiefly kept by those who rear sucking-pigs for the market, as they make excellent roasters at three weeks ora month old. Five, and even seven, varieties of this breed are distinguished, but these are doubtless the results of different crosses with our native kinds; among these are black, white, black and white, spotted, blue and ‘white, and’sandy. Many valuable crosses have been made with these animals ; for the prevalent fault of the old English breeds having been coarseness of flesh, unwieldiness of form, and want of aptitude to fatten, an admixture of the Chinese breed has materially corrected these defects. Most of our smaller breeds are more or less indebted to the Asiatic swine for their present com- pactness of form, the readiness with which they fatten on a small quantity of food, and their early maturity; but these 259 92 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. advantages are not considered, in the judgment of some, as sufficiently great to compensate for the diminution in size, the increased delicacy of the animals, and the decrease of number in the litters. The best cross is between the Berkshire and Chinese. * THE SUFFOLK. The old Suffolks are white in color, long-legged, long- bodied, with narrow backs, broad foreheads, short hams, and an abun- dance of bristles. They are by no means profitable animals. «A. o WES WF (Z cross be- EBS Ze wo WARS, tween the THE SUFFOLK PIG. Suffolk and Lincoln has produced a hardy animal, which fattens kindly, and attains the weight of from four hundred to five hundred and fifty, and even seven hundred pounds. Another cross, much approved by farmers, is that of the Suffolk and Berk- shire. There are few better breeds, perhaps, than the improved Suffolk—that is, the Suffolk crossed with the Chinese. The greater part of the pigs on the late Prince Albert’s farm, near Windsor, were of this breed. They are well-formed, compact, of medium size, with round, bulky bodies, short legs, small heads, and fat cheeks. Many, at a year or fifteen months old, 260 THE BERKSHIRE. 23 weigh from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds ; at which age they make fine bacon hogs. The sucking-pigs are also very delicate and delicious. Those arising from Berkshire and Suffolk are not so well shaped as the latter, being coarser, longer-legged, and more prominent about the hips. They are mostly white, with thin, fine hair; some few are spotted, and are easily kept in fine condition-; they have a decided aptitude to fatten early, and are likewise valuable as store-pigs. : THE BERKSHIRE. The Berkshire pigs belong to the large class, and are dis- tinguished by their color, which is a sandy or whitish brown, spotted regu- Bi larly with ——————————— ————— dark brown or black spots, and by their having no bristles. The hair is long, thin, some- what curly, N and looks rough; the A BERKSHIRE BOAR. ears are fringed with long hair round the outer edge, which gives them a ragged or feathery appearance; the body is thick, compact, and well formed ; the legs short, the sides broad, the head well set on, the snout short, the jowl thick, the ears erect, 261 24 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. skin exceedingly thin in texture, the flesh firm and well flavored, and the bacon very superior. This breed has generally been considered one of the best in England, on account of its smallness of bone, early maturity, aptitude to fatten on little food, hardihood, and the females being good breeders. Hogs of the pure original breed have been known to weigh from eight hundred to nine hundred and fifty pounds. Numerous crosses have been made from: this breed; the principal foreign ones are those with the Chinese and Nea- politan swine, made with the view of decreasing the size of the animal, improving the flavor of the flesh, and rendering it more delicate; and the animals thus attained are superior to almost any others in their aptitude to fatten; but are very susceptible to cold, from being almost entirely without hair. A cross with the Suffolk and Norfolk also is much improved, which produces a hardy kind, yielding well when sent to the butcher; although, under most circumstances, the pure Berk- shire is the best. No other breeds have been so extensively diffused in the United States, within comparatively so brief a period, as the Berkshires, and they have produced a marked improvement in many of our former races. They weigh variously, from two hundred and fifty to four hundred’ pounds net, at sixteen months, according to their food and style of breeding; and some full-grown have dressed to more than eight hundred pounds. ‘They particularly excel in their hams, which are round, full, and heavy, and contain a large proportion of lean, tender, and juicy meat, of the best flavor. None of our improved breeds afford long, coarse hair or bristles; and it is a gratifying evidence of our decided im- 262 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HOG. 25 provement in this department of domestic animals, that our brush-makers are obliged to import most of what they use . from Russia and northern Europe. This improvement is manifest not only in the hair, but in the skin, which is soft and mellow to the touch; in the finer bones, shorter head, upright ears, dishing face, delicate muzzle, and wild eye; and in the short legs, low flanks, deep and wide chest, broad back, and early maturity. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HOG. 26 SS x 27-] Bee 29 30.._ 5 i SEELETON OF THE HOG AS COVERED BY THE MUSCLES. 1, The lower jaw. 2. The teeth. 3. The nasal bones. 4. The upper jaw. 5. The frontal bone. 6. The orbit or socket of tne eye. 7. The occipital bone. 8, The first vertebra of the neck. 9. The vertebrz of the neck. 10. The vertebra of the back. ll. The vertebrz of the loins. 12. The boner 2f the tail. 13,14 The true and false ribs. 15. The shoulder-blade. 16. The round shoulder-bone 17. The breast-bone. 18. The elbow. 19. The bone of the fore-arm. 20. The navicular bone. 21. The first and second bones of the foot. 22. The bones of the hoof. 23. The haunch bones. 24, The thigh bone. 25. The stifle bone. 26. The upper bone of the leg. 27. The hock bones. 28, The nayicular bone, 29. The first digits of the foot. 30. The second digits of the foot. Division. Vertebrata—possessing a back-bone. Crass. Mammalia—such as give suck. 263 26 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. Orprr Pachydermata—thick-skinned. Famity. Suide—the swine kind. Genus. Sus—the hog. Of this genus there are five varieties. Sus Scropa, or Domestic Hog. Sus Papuensis, or Bene. Sus Guineensis, or Guinea Hog. Sus Africanus, or Masked Boar. Sus Babirussa, or Babirussa. A very slight comparison of the face of this animal with that of any other will prove that strength is the object in view—strength toward the inferior part of the bone. In point of fact, the snout of the hog is his spade, with which, in his natural state, he digs and ruts in the ground for roots, earth- nuts, worms, etc. To render this implement more nearly perfect, an extra bone is added to the nasal bone, being con- nected with it by strong ligaments, cartilages, and muscles, and termed the snout-bone, or spade-bone, or ploughshare. By it and its cartilaginous attachment, the snout is rendered strong as well as flexible, and far more efficient than it other- wise could be; and the hog often continues to give both ‘farmers and gardeners very unpleasant proofs of its efficiency, by ploughing up deep furrows in newly-sown fields, and grubbing up the soil in all directions in quest of living and dead food. As roots and fruits buried in the earth form the natural food of the hog, his face terminates in this strong, muscular snout, insensible at the extremity, and perfectly adapted for turning up the soil. There is a large. plexus or fold of nerves proceeding down each side of the nose; and in these, doubtless, resides 264 FORMATION OF THE TEETH. Q7 that peculiar power which enables the hog to select his food, though buried some inches below the surface of the ground. - The olfactory nerve is likewise large, and occupies a middle rank between that of the herbivorous and carnivorous animals; it is comparatively larger than that of the ox; indeed, few animals—with the exception of the dog, none—are gifted with a more acute sense of smell than the hog. To it epicures are indebted for the truffles which form such a delicious sauge, for they are the actual finders. A pig is turned into a field, allowed to pursue his own course, and watched. He stops, and begins to grub up-the earth; the man hurries up, drives him away, and secures the truffle, which is invariably growing under ‘that spot; and the poor pig goes off to sniff out another, and another, only now and then being permitted, by way of encouragement, to reap the fruits of his research. FORMATION OF THE TEETH. The hog has fourteen molar teeth in each jaw, six incisors, and two canines; these latter are curved upward, and com- monly denominated ¢ushes. The molar teeth are all slightly _ different in structure, and increase in size from first to last; they bear no slight resemblance to those of the human being. ~ The incisors are so fantastic in form that they cannot well be described, and their destined functions are by no means clear. Those in the lower jaw are long, round, and nearly straight ; of those in the upper jaw, four closely resemble the corres- ponding teeth in the horse ; while the two corner incisors bear something of the shape of those of the dog. These latter are placed so near the tushes as often to obstruct their growth, and it is sometimes necessary to draw them, in order to relieve the animal and enable him to feed. 265 28 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. The hog is born with two molars on each side of the jaw ; by the time he is three or four months old, he is provided with his incisive milk-teeth and the tushes ; the supernumerary molars protrude between the fifth and seventh month, as does the first back molar; the second back molar is cut at about the age of ten months; and the third, generally, not until the animal is three years old. The upper corner teeth are shed at abqut the age of six or eight months; and the lower ones at about seven, nine, or ten months old, and replaced by the permanent ones. The milk tushes are also shed and re- placed between six and ten months old. The age of twenty months, and from that to two years, is denoted by the shedding and replacement of the middle incisors, or pincers, in both jaws, and the formation of a black circle at the base of each of the tushes. At about two years and a half or three years of age, the adult middle teeth in both jaws protrude, and the pincers are becoming black and rounded at the ends. After three years, the age may be computed by the growth of the tushes; at about four years, or rather before, the upper tushes begin to raise the lip; at five, they protrude through the lips; and at six years, the tushes of the lower jaw begin to show themselves out of the mouth, and assume a spiral form. These acquire a prodigious length in old animals, and particularly in uncastrated boars; and as they in- crease in size, they become curved backward and outward, and at length are so crooked as to interfere with the motion of the jaws to such a degree that it*is necessary to cut off those projecting teeth, which is done with the file, or with nippers. 266 wu) ee In the selection of a boar and sow for breeding, much more attention and consideration are requisite than is generally imagined. It is as easy, with a very little judgment and management, to procure a good as an inferior breed; and the former is much more remunerative, in proportion to the outlay, than the latter can possibly ever be. The object of the farmer or breeder is to produce and retain such an animal as will be best adapted to the purpose he has (29) 267 30 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. in view, whether that is the consumption of certain things which could not otherwise be so well disposed of, the convert- ing into hams, bacon, and pork, or the raising of sucking-pigs and porkers for the market. Almost all farmers keep one or more pigs to devour the offal and refuse, which would other- wise be wasted. This is, however, a matter totally distinct from breeding swine. In the former case, the animal or animals are purchased young for a small price, each person buying as many as he considers he shall have food enough for, and then sold to the butcher, or killed, when in proper con- dition; and thus a certain degree of profit is realized. In the fatter, many contingencies must be taken into account: the available means of feeding them ; whether or not the food may be more profitably disposed of; the facilities afforded by railroads, the vicinity of towns, or large markets, etc., for dis- posing of them. In the breeding of swine, as much as that of any other live- stock, it is important to pay great attention, not only to the breed, but also to the choice of individuals. The sow should produce a great number of young ones, and she must be well fed to enable her to support them. Some sows bring forth ten, twelve, or even fifteen pigs ata birth; but eight or nine is the usual number; and sows which produce fewer than this must be rejected. It is, however, probable that fecundity depends also on the boar; he should, therefore, be chosen from a race which multiplies quickly. If a bacon and a late market be objects, the large and heavy varieties should be selected, care being taken that the breed has the character of possessing those qualities most likely to insure a heavy return—growth, and facility of taking 268 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 31 fat. Good one-year bacon-hogs being in great demand, they . may be known by their long bodies, low bellies, and short legs. With these qualities are usually coupled long, pendu- lous ears, which attract purchasers. If, however, hogs are to be sold at all seasons to the butchers, the animals must attain their full growth and be ready for killing before they are a year old. This quality is particularly prominent in the Chinese breed; but among our ordinary varieties, hogs are often met with better adapted for this purpose than for pro- ducing large quantities of bacon and lard. The Berkshire crossed with Chinese is an excellent porker. The sow should be chosen from a breed of proper size and shape, sound and free from blemishes and defects. In every case—whether the object be pork or bacon—the points to be looked for in the sow are a small, lively head; a broad and deep chest; round ribs; capacious barrel; a haunch falling almost to the hough; deep and broad loin; ample hips; and considerable length of body, in proportion to its height. One qualification should ever be kept in view, and, perhaps, should be the first point to which the attention should be directed— that is, smallness of bone. She should have at least twelve teats ; for it is observed that each pig selects a teat for himself and keeps to it, so that a pig not having one belonging to him would be starved. A good sow should produce a great number of pigs, all of equal vigor. She must be very careful of them, and not crush them by her weight; above all, she must not be addicted to eating the after-birth, and, what may often follow, her own young. If a sow is tainted with those bad habits, or if she has difficult labors, or brings forth dead pigs, she must be spayed forthwith. It is, therefore, well to 269 32 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES, bring up several young sows at once, so as to keep those only which are free from defects. Breeding sows and boars should never be raised from defective animals. Sows that have very low bellies, almost touching the ground, seldom produce large or fine litters. A good-sized sow is generally considered more likely to prove a good breeder and nurse, and to farrow more easily and safely than a small, delicate animal. The ancients considered the distinguishing marks of a good boar to be a small head, short legs, a long body, large thighs and neck, and this latter part thickly covered with strong, erect bristles. The most experienced modern breeders prefer an animal with a long, cylindrical body; small bones; well- developed muscles; a wide chest, which denotes strength of constitution: a broad, straight back; short head and fine snout; brilliant eyes; a short, thick neck; broad, well-de- veloped shoulders; a loose, mellow skin; fine, bright, long hair, and few bristles; and small legs and hips. Some give the preference to long, flapping ears; but experience seems to demonstrate that those animals are best which have short, erect, fine ears The boar should always be vigorous and masculine in appearance. Few domesticated animals suffer so much from in-and-in breeding as swine. Where this system is pursued, the number of young ones is decreased at every litter, until the sows become, in a manner, barren. This practice also un- doubtedly contributes to their liability to hereditary diseases, such as scrofula, epilepsy, and rheumatism; and when those possessing any such diseases are coupled, the ruin of the flock is easily and speedily effected, since they are propagated by 270 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. 33 either parent, and always most certainly and in most aggra- vated form, when occurring in both. As soon as the slightest degeneracy is observed, the breed should be crossed from time to time, keeping sight, however, while so doing, of the end in view. The Chinese will generally be found the best which can be used for this purpose; since a single cross, and even two, with one of these animals, will seldom do harm, but often effect considerable improvements. The best formed of the progeny resulting from this cross must be selected as breeders, and with them the old original stock crossed back again. Selection, with judicious and cautious admixture, is the true secret of forming and improving the breed. Re- peated and indiscriminate crosses are as injurious as an obstinate adherence to one particular breed, and as much to be avoided. The following rules for the selection of the best stock of hogs will apply to all breeds : Fertility. In a breeding sow, this quality is essential, and it is one which is inherited. Besides this, she should: be a careful mother. A young, untried sow will generally display in her tendencies those which have predominated in the race from which she has descended. Both boar and sow should be sound, healthy, and in fair, but not over fat, condition. Form Where a farmer has an excellent breed, but with certain defects, or too long in the limb, or too heavy in the bone, the sire to be chosen, whether of a pure or of a cross breed, should exhibit the opposite qualities, even to an extreme ; and be, moreover, one of a strain noted for early and rapid fattening. If in perfect health, young stock selected 271 34 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES, for breeding will be lively, animated, hold up the head, and move freely and nimbly, Bristles. These should be fine and scanty, so as to show the skin smooth and glossy; coarse, wirey, rough bristles usually accompany heavy bones, large, spreading hoofs, and flapping ears, and thus become one of the indications of a thick-skinned and low breed. Color. Different breeds of high excellence have their own colors; white, black, parti-colored, black and white, sandy, mottled with large marks of black, are the most prevalent. A black skin, with short, scanty bristles, and small stature, demonstrate the prevalence of the Neapolitan strain, or the black Chinese, or, perhaps, an admixture of both. Many prefer white; and in sucking-pigs, destined for the table, and for porkers, this color has its advantages, and the skin looks more attractive; it is, however, generally thought that the skin of black hogs is thinner than that of white, and less subject to eruptive diseases. The influence of a first impregnation upon subsequent pro- geny by other males is at times curiously illustrated. This has been noticed in respect of the sow. A sow of the black and white breed, in one instance, became pregnant by a boar of the wild breed of a deep chestnut color. The pigs produced were duly mixed, the color of the boar being very predomi- nant insome. The sow being afterwards put to a boar of the same breed as herself, some of the produce were still stained or marked with the chestnut color which prevailed in the first litter; and the same occurred after a third impregnation, the boar being then of the same kind as herself. What adds to the force of this case is, that in the course of many years’ 272 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT. ° 35 observation, the breed in question was never known to produce progeny having the slightest tinge of chestnut color. - A sow is capable of conceiving at the age of six or seven months ; but it is always better not to let her commence breed- ing too early, as it tends to weaken her. From ten to twelve months—and the latter is preferable—is about the best age. The boar should be, at least, a twelvemonth old—some even recommend eighteen months, at least—before he is employed for the purpose of propagating his species. If, however, the - sow has attained her second year, and the boar his third, a vigorous and numerous offspring is more likely to result. The boar and sow retain their ability to breed for almost five years; that is, until the former is upward of eight years old, and the latter seven. It is not advisable, however, to use a boar after he has passed his fifth year, nor a sow after her fourth, unless she has proved a peculiarly valuable breeder— in which case she might produce two or three more litters. A boar left on the pasture, at liberty with the sows, might suffice for thirty or forty of them; but as he is commonly shut _ up, and allowed access at stated times only, so that the young ones may be born at nearly the same time, it is usual to allow him to serve from six to ten—on no account should he serve more. The best plan is, to shut up the boar and sow in a sty together ; for, when turned in among several females, he is apt to ride them so often that he exhausts himself without effect. The breeding boar should be fed well and kept in high condi- tion, but not fat. Full grown boars being often savage and difficult to tame, and prone to attack men and animals, should be deprived of their tusks. Whenever it is practicable, it should always be so arranged 18 273 86 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. that the animals shall farrow early in the spring, and at the latter end of summer, or quite the beginning of autumn. In the former case, the young pigs will have the run of the early pastures, which will be a benefit to them, and a saving to their owners; and there will also be more whey, milk, and other dairy produce which can be spared for them by the time they are ready to be weaned. In the second case, there will be sufficient time for the young to have grown and acquired strength before the cold weather comes on, which is always very injurious to sucking-pigs. POINTS OF A GOOD HOG. It may be not amiss to group together what is deemed desirable under this head. No one should be led away by mere name in his selection of a hog. It may be called a Berkshire, or a Suffolk, or any other breed most in estimation, and yet, in reality, may possess none of this valuable blood. The only sure way to avoid imposition is, to make name always secondary to points. If a hog is found possessing such points of form as are calculated to insure early maturity and faculty of taking on flesh, one needs to care but little by what name he is called; since no mere name can bestow value upon an animal deficient in the qualities already indicated. The true Berkshire—that possessing a dash of the Chinese and Neapolitan varieties—comes, perhaps, nearer to the desired standard than any other. 1 The chief points which characterize such a hog are the fol- lowing :—In the first place, sufficient depth of carcass, and such an elongation of body as will insure a sufficient lateral expan. sion. The loin and breast should be broad. The breadth of 274 POINTS OF A GOOD HOG. 37 the former denotes good room for the play of the lungs, and, as a consequence, a free and healthy circulation, essential to the thriving or fattening of any animal. The bone should be small, and the joints fine—nothing is more indicative of high breeding than this; and the legs should be no longer than, when fully fat, would just prevent the animal’s belly from trailing upon the ground. The leg is the least profitable portion of the hog, and no more of it is required than is absolutely necessary for the support of the rest. The feet should be firm and sound; the toes should lie well together, and press straightly upon the ground; the claws, also, should be even, upright and healthy. . The form of the head is sometimes deemed of little or ne consequence, it being generally, perhaps, supposed that a good hog may have an ugly head; but the head of all animals is one of the very principal points in which pure or impure breeding will be most obviously indicated. A high-bred animal will invariably be found to arrive more speedily at maturity, to take flesh more easily, and at an earlier period, and, altogether, to turn out more profitably than one of questionable or impure stock. Such being the case, the head of the hog is a point by no means to be overlooked. The description of head most likely to promise—or, rather to be the accompaniment of—high breeding, is one not carrying heavy bones, not too flat on the forehead, or possessing a snout too elongated; the snout should be short, and the fore- head rather convex, curving upward; and the ear, while pen- dulous, should incline somewhat forward, and at the same time be light and thin. The carriage of the pig should also be noticed. If this be dull, heavy, and dejected, one may reason- 275 38 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES.’ ably suspect ill health, if not some concealed disorder actually existing, or just about to break forth ; and there cannot be a more unfayorable symptom than a hung-down, slouching head. Of course, a fat hog for slaughter and a sow heavy with young, have not much sprightliness of deportment. Color is, likewise, not to be disregarded. Those colors are preferable which are characteristic of the most esteemed breeds. If the hair is scant, black is desirable, as denoting connection with the Neapolitan ; if too bare of hair, a too intimate alliance with that variety may be apprehended, and a consequent want of hardihood, which—however unimportant, if pork be the object—renders such animals a hazardous speculation for store purposes, on account of their extreme susceptibility of cold, and consequent liability to disease. If white, and not too small, they are valuable as -exhibiting connection with the Chinese. If light, or sandy, or red with black marks, the favorite Berkshire is detected; and so on, with reference to every possible variety of hue. TREATMENT DURING PREGNANCY. Sows with pigs should be well and judiciously fed; that is to say, they should have a sufficiency of wholesome, nutritious food to maintain their strength and keep them in good con- dition, but should by no means be allowed to get fat; as when they are in high condition, the dangers of parturition are enhanced, the animal is more awkward and liable to smother and crush her young, and, moreover, never has as much or as good milk as a leaner sow. She should also have a separate sty; for swine are prone to lie so close together that, if she is even among others, her young would be in 276 ABORTION. 39 great danger; and this sty should be perfectly clean and comfortably littered, but not so thickly as to admit of the young being able to bury themselves in the straw. As the time of her farrowing approaches, she should be well supplied with food, especially if she be a young sow, and this her first litter, and also carefully watched, in order to prevent her devouring the after-birth, and thus engendering a morbid appetite which will next induce her to fall upon her own young. A sow that has once done this can never afterward be depended upon. Hunger, thirst, or irritation of any kind, will often induce this unnatural conduct, which is another reason why a sow about to farrow should have a sty to herself, and be carefully attended to, and have all her wants supplied. ABORTION. This is by no means of so common occurrence in the case of the sow as in many other of the domesticated animals. Various causes tend to produce it: insufficiency of food, eating too much succulent vegetable food, or unwholesome, unsubstantial diet; blows and falls; and the animal’s habit of rubbing itself against hard bodies, for the purpose of allay- ing the irritation produced by the vermin or cutaneous erup- tions to which it is subject. Reiterated copulation does not appear to produce abortion in the sow; at least to the extent it does in other animals. The symptoms indicative of approaching abortion are similar to those of parturition, but more intense. There are, generally, restlessness, irritation, and shivering; and the cries of the animal evince the presence of severe labor-pains. 277 40 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. Sometimes the rectum, vagina, or uterus, becomes relaxed, and one or the other protrudes, and often becomes inverted at the moment of the expulsion of the fetus, preceded by the placenta, which presents itself foremost. Nothing can be done, at the last hour, to prevent abortion ; but, from the first, every predisposing cause should be re- moved. ‘The treatment will depend upon circumstances. Where the animal is young, vigorous, and in high condition, bleeding will be beneficial—not a copious blood-letting, but small quantities taken at different times; purgatives may also be administered. If, when abortion has taken place, ‘the whole of the litter was not born, emollient injections may be resorted to with considerable benefit; otherwise, the after treatment should be made the same as in parturition, and the animal should be kept warm, quiet, and clean, and allowed a certain degree of liberty. Whenever one sow has aborted, the causes likely to have produced this accident should be sought, and an endeavor made, by removing them, to secure the rest of the inmates of the piggery from a similar mishap. In cases of abortion, the foetus is seldom born alive, and often has been dead for some days; where this is the case— which may be readily detected by a peculiarly unpleasant putrid exhalation, and the discharge of a fetid liquid from the vagina—the parts should be washed with a diluted solution of chloride of lime, in the proportion of one part of chloride to three parts of water, and a portion of this lotion gently injected into the uterus, if the animal will submit to it. Mild doses of Epsom salts, tincture of gentian, and Jamaica ginger, will also act beneficially in such eases, and, with atten- tion to diet, soon restores the animal. 278 PARTURITION. PARTURITION, The period of gestation varies according to age, constitu- tion, food, and the peculiarities of the individual breed. The most usual period dur- ing which the sow carries her = young is, . according © to some, three months, : three weeks, and three days, or one hundred and eight days; according to others, four lunar months, or sixteen weeks, or about one hundred and thirteen days. It may safely be said to range from one hundred and nine to one hundred and forty-three days. The sow produces from eight to thirteen young at a litter, and sometimes even more. Young and weakly sows not only produce fewer pigs, but farrow earlier than those of maturer age and sounder condition; and besides, as might be expected, their offspring are deficient in vigor, oftentimes, indeed, puny and feeble. Extraordinary fecundity is not however, desirable, for nourishment cannot be afforded to more than twelve, the sow’s number of teats. The super- numerary pigs must therefore suffer ; if but one, it is, of course, 279 42, SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. the smallest and weakest ; a too numerous litter are all, indeed, generally undersized and weakly, and seldom or never prove profitable ; a litter not exceeding ten will usually be found to turn out most advantageously. On account of the discrepancy between the number farrowed by different sows, it is a good plan, if it can be managed, to have more than one breeding at the same time, in order that the number to be suckled by each may be equalized. The sow seldom recognizes the presence of a strange little one, if it has been introduced among the others during her absence, and has Jain for half an hour or so among her own offspring in their sty. The approach of the period of farrowing is marked by the immense size of the belly, by a depression of the back, and by the distention of the teats. The animal manifests symptoms of acute suffering, and wanders restlessly about, collecting straw, and carrying it to her sty, grunting piteously mean- while. As soon as this is observed, she should be persuaded into a separate sty, and carefully watched. On no account should several sows be permitted to farrow in the same place at the same time, as they will inevitably irritate each other, -or devour their own or one another’s young. The young ones should be taken away as soon as they are born, and deposited in a warm spot; for the sow being a clumsy animal, is not unlikely in her struggles to overlie them; nor should they be returned to her, until all is over, and the after-birth has been removed, which should always be done the moment it passes from her; for young sows, especially, will invariably devour it, if permitted, and then, as the young are wet with a similar fluid, and smell the same, they will eat them also, one after another. Some advise 280 PARTURITION. 43 washing the backs of young pigs with a decoction of aloes, colocynth, or some other nauseous substance, as a remedy for this; but the simplest and easiest one is to remove the little ones until all is over, and the mother begins to recover herself and seek about for them, when they should be put near her. Some also recommend strapping up the sow’s mouth for the first three or four days, only releasing it to admit of her taking her meals. Some sows are apt to lie upon and crush their young. This may best be avoided by not keeping her too fat or heavy, and by not leaving too many young upon her. The straw forming the bed should likewise be short, and not in too great quantity, lest the pigs get huddled up under it, and the sow unconsciously over-lie them in that condition. It does not always happen that the parturition is effected with ease. Cases of false presentation, of enlarged foetus, and of debility in the mother, often render it difficult and dangerous. The womb will occasionally become protruded and inverted, in consequence of the forcing pains of difficult parturition, and even the bladder has been known to come away. These parts must be returned as soon as may be; and if the womb has’ come in contact with the dung or litter, and acquired any dirt, it must first be washed in lukewarm water, and then returned, and confined in its place by means of a suture passed through the lips of the orifice. The easiest and perhaps the best way, however, is not to return the protruded parts at all, but merely tie a ligature round them and leave them to slough off, which they will do in the course of a few days, without effusion of blood, or farther injury to the animal. No sow 281 44 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. that has once suffered from protrusion of the womb should be allowed to breed again. TREATMENT WHILE SUCKLING. Much depends upon this; as many a fine sow and promising litter have been ruined for want of proper and judicious care at this period. Immediately after farrowing, many sows in- cline to be feverish ; where this is the case, a light and sparing diet only should be given them for the first day or two, as gruel, oatmeal porridge, whey, and the like. Others, again, are very much debilitated, and require strengthening; for them, strong soup, bread steeped in wine, or in a mixture of brandy and sweet spirits of nitre, administered in small quantities, will often prove highly beneficial. The rations must gradually be increased and given more frequently ; and they must be composed of wholesome, nutri- tious, and succulent substances. All kinds of roots—carrots, turnips, potatoes, and beet-roots—well steamed or boiled, but never raw, may be given; bran, barley, and oatmeal, bran- flour, Indian corn, whey, sour, skim, and butter-milk, are all well adapted for this period ; and, should the animal appear to require it, grain well bruised and macerated may be added. Whenever it is possible, the sow should be turned out for an hour each day, to graze in a meadow or clover-field, as the fresh air, exercise, and herbage, will do her immense good. The young pigs must be shut up for the first ten days or fortnight, after which they will be able to follow her, and take their share of the benefit. The food should be given regularly at certain hours; small and often-repeated meals are far preferable to large ones, since 282 TREATMENT OF YOUNG PIGS. 45 indigestion, or any disarrangement of the functions of the stomach vitiates the milk, and produces diarrhea and other similar affections in the young. The mother should always be well fed, but not over-fed; the better and more carefully she is fed, the more abundant and nutritious will her milk be, the better will the sucking-pigs thrive, and the less will she be reduced by suckling them. When a sow is weakly, and has not a sufficiency of milk, the young pigs must be taught to feed as early as possible. A kind of gruel, made of skim-milk and bran, or oatmeal, is a good thing for this purpose, or potatoes, boiled and then mashed in milk or whey, with or without the addition of a little bran or oatmeal. Toward the period when the pigs are to be weaned, the sow must be less plentifully fed, otherwise the secretion of milk will be as great as ever; it will, besides, accumulate, and there will be hardness, and perhaps inflamma- tion of the teats. If necessary, a dose of physic may be given to assist in carrying off the milk; but, in general, a little judicious management in the feeding and weaning will be all that is required. TREATMENT OF YOUNG PIGS. For the first ten days, or a fortnight, the mother will generally be able to support her litter without assistance, unless, as has been already observed, she is weakly, or her young are too numerous; in either of which cases they must be fed from the first. When the young pigs are about a fort- night old, warm milk should be given to them. In another week, this may be thickened with some species of farina; and afterward, as they gain strength and increase in size, boiled 283 46 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. roots and vegetables may be added. As soon as they begin to eat, an open frame or railing should be placed in the sty, under which the little pigs can run, and on the otherofe d so this should be the small troughs containing their food ; for it never answers to let them eat out of the same trough with their mother, because the food set before her is generally too strong and stimulating for them, even if they should secure any of it, which is, to say the least, extremely doubtful. Those intended to be killed for sucking-pigs should not be above four weeks old; most kill them for this purpose on the twenty-first or twenty-second day. The others, excepting those kept for breeding, should be castrated at the same time. CASTRATION AND SPAYING. Pigs are chiefly castrated with a view to fattening them; and, doubtless, this operation has the desired effect—for at the same time that it increases the quiescent qualities of the animal, it diminishes also his courage, spirits, and nobler attributes, and even affects his form. The tusks of a castrated boar never grow like those of the natural animal, but always have a dwarfed, stunted appearance. The operation, if possi- ble, should be performed in the spring or autumn, as the temperature is the more uniform, and care should be taken that the animal is in perfect health. Those which are fat and plethoric should be prepared by bleeding, cooling diet and quiet. Pigs are castrated at all ages, from a fortnight to three, six and eight weeks, and even four months old. There are various modes of performing this operation. If the pig is not more than six weeks old, an incision is made at 284 CASTRATION AND SPAYING. 47 the bottom of the scrotum, the testicle pushed out, and the cord cut, without any precautionary means whatever. When the animal is older, there is reason to fear that hemorrhage, to a greater or less extent, will supervene ; consequently, it will be advisable to pass a ligature round the cord a little above the spot where the division is to take place. By another mode—to be practised only on very young animals—a portion of the base of the scrotum is cut off, the testicles forced out, and,the cord sawn through with a some- what serrated but blunt instrument. If there is any hem- orrhage, it is arrested by putting ashes in the wound. The animal is then dismissed and nothing further done with him. On animals two and three years old, the operation is some times performed in the following manner: An assistant holds the pig, pressing the back of the animal against his chest and belly, keeping the head elevated, and grasping all the four legs together; or, which is the preferable way, one assistant holds the animal against his chest, while another kneels down and secures the four legs. The operator then grasps the scrotum with his left hand, makes one horizontal incision across its base, opening both divisions of the pag at the same time. The testicles are then pressed out with his finger and thumb, and removed with a blunt knife, which lacerates the part without bruising it and rendering it painful. Laceration only is requisite in order to prevent the subsequent hemorrhage which would occur, if the cord were simply severed by a sharp instrument. The wound is then closed by pushing the edges gently together with the fingers, and it speedily heals. Some break the spermatic cord without tearing it; they twist it, and then pull it gently and finally until it gives way. 285 48 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. In other cases, a waxed cord is passed as tightly as possible round the scrotum, above the epididymus, which completely stops the circulation, and in a few days the scrotum and testicles will drop off. This operation should never be per- formed on’ pigs of more than six weeks of age, and the spermatic should always, first of all, be measured. It, more- over requires great nicety and skill; otherwise, accidents will occur, and considerable pain and inflammation be caused. Too thick a cord, a knot not tied sufficiently tight, or a portion of the testicle included in the ligature, will prevent its success. The most fatal consequence of castration is tetanus, or lock- jaw, induced by the shock communicated to the nervous system by the torture of the operation. SPAYING. This operation consists in removing the ovaries, and some- times a portion of the uterus, more or less considerable, of the female. The animal is laid upon its left side, and firmly held by one or two assistants; an incision is then made into the flank, the forefinger of the right hand introduced into it, and gently moved about until it encounters and hooks hold of the right ovary, which it draws through the opening ; a ligature is then passed round this one, and the left ovary felt for in like manner. The operator then severs these two ovaries, either by cutting or tearing, and returns the womb and its appurte- nances to their proper position. This being done, he closes the wound with two or three stitches, sometimes rubs a little oil over it, and releases the animal. All goes on well, for the healing power of the pig is very great. The after-treatment is very simple. The animals should be 286 WEANING. 49 well littered with clean straw, in styes weather-tight and thoroughly ventilated; their diet should be cared for; some milk or whey, with barley-meal is an excellent article; it is well to confine them for a few days, as they should be pre- vented from getting into cold water or mud until the wound is perfectly healed, and also from creeping through fences. The best age for spaying a sow is about six weeks; indeed, as a general rule, the younger the animal is when either operation is performed the quicker it recovers. Some persons, however, have two or three litters from their sows before they operate upen them; where this is the case, the result is more to be feared, as the parts have become more susceptible, and are, consequently, more liable to take on inflammation. ‘ WEANING. Some farmers wean the pigs a few hours after birth, and turn the sow at once to the boar. The best mode, however, is to turn the boar into the hog-yard about a week after par- turition, at which time the sow should be removed a few hours daily from her young. It does not injure either the sow or her pigs if she takes the boar while suckling; but some sows will not do so until the drying of their milk. The age at which pigs may be weaned to the greatest advantage is when they are about eight or ten weeks old; many, however, wean them as early as six weeks, but they seldom turn out as well. They should not be taken from the sow at once, but gradually weaned. At first they should be removed from her for a certain number of hours each day, and accustomed to be impelled by hunger to eat from the trough ; then they may be turned out for an hour without her,.and 287 50 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES, afterwards shut up while she also is turned out by herself. Subsequently, they must only be allowed to suck a certain number of times in twenty-four hours; perhaps six times at first, then four, then three, and, at last, only once; and mean- while they must be proportionably better and more plentifully fed, and the mother’s diet in a like manner diminished. Some advise that the whole litter should be weaned at once; this is not best, unless one or two of the pigs are much weaker and smaller than the others; in such case, if the sow remain in tolerable condition, they might be suffered to suck for a week longer; but this should be the exception, and not a general tule. Pigs are more easily weaned than almost any other animals, because they learn to feed sooner; but attention must, never- theless, be paid to them, if they are to grow up strong, healthy animals. Their styes must be warm, dry, clean, well-venti- lated, and weather-tight. They should have the run of a grass meadow or enclosure for an hour or two every fine day, in spring and summer, or be turned into the farm-yard among the cattle in the winter, as fresh air and exercise tend to prevent them from becoming rickety or crooked in the legs. The most nutritious and succulent food that circumstances will permit should be furnished them. Newly-weaned pigs require five or six meals in the twenty-four hours. In about ten days, one may be omitted ; in another week, a second ; and then they should do with three regular meals each day. A little sulphur mingled with the food, or a small quantity of Epsom or Glauber salts dissolved in the water, will frequently prove beneficial. A plentiful supply of clear, cold water should always be within their reach; the food left in the 288 RINGING. 51 trough after the animals have finished eating should be removed, and the trough thoroughly rinsed out before any more is put into it. Strict attention should also be paid to cleanliness. The boars and sows should be kept apart from the period of weaning. The question, which is more profitable, to breed swine, or to buy young pigs and fatten them, can best be determined by those interested; since they know best what resources they can eommand, and what chance of profits each of these separate branches offers. RINGING. This operation is performed to counteract the propensity which swine have of digging and furrowing up the earth. The ring is passed through what appears to be a prolongation of the septum, between the supplemental, or snout-bone, and the nasal. The animal is thus unable to obtain sufficient purchase to use his snout with any effect, without causing the ring to press so painfully upon the part that he is forced to desist. The ring, however, is apt to break, or it wears out in process of time, and has to be replaced. The snout should be perforated at weaning-time, after the animal has recovered from castration or spaying; and it will be necessary to renew the operation as it becomes of large growth. It is too generally neglected at first; but no pigs, young or old, should be suffered to run at large without this precaution. The sow’s ring should be ascertained to be of sufficient strength previously to her taking the boar, on account of the risk of abortion, if the operation is renewed while she is with pig. Care must be taken by the operator 19 289 Sw nl ee 52 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. not to go too close to the bone, and that the ring turn easily. A far better mode of proceeding is, when the pig is young, to cut through the cartilaginous and ligamentous prolongations, by which the supplementary bone is united to the proper nasals, The divided edges of the cartilage will never re-unite, and the snout always remains powerless. FEEDING AND FATTENING. Roots and fruits are the natural food of the hog, in a wild as well as in a domesticated state ; and it is evident that, however omnivorous it may occasionally appear, its palate is by no means insensible to the difference in eatables, since, whenever it finds variety, it will select the best with as much cleverness as other quadrupeds. Indeed, the hog is more nice in the selection of his vegetable diet than any of the other domesti- cated herbivorous animals. To a certain extent he is oiv-nm orous, and may be reared on the refuse of slaughter-houses ; but such food is not wholesome, nor is it natural; for, though he is omnivorous, he is not essentially carnivorous. The refuse of the dairy-farm is more congenial to his health, to say nothing of the quality of its flesh. Swine are generally fattened for pork at from six to nine months old; and for bacon, at from a year to two years. Eighteen months is generally considered the proper age for a good bacon hog. The feeding will always, in a great measure, depend upon the circumstances of the owner—upon the kind of food which he has at his disposal, and can best spare—and the purpose for which the animal is intended. It will also, in some degree, be regulated by the season; it being possible to 290 ‘FEEDING AND FATTENING. 53 feed pigs very differently in the summer from what they*are fed in the winter. The refuse wash and grains, and other residue of breweries and distilleries, may be given to swine with advantage, and seem to induce a tendency to lay on flesh. They should not, however, be given in too large quantities, nor unmixed with other and more substantial food; since, although they give flesh rapidly when fed on it, the meat is not firm, and never makes good bacon. Hogs eat acorns and beech-mast greedily, and so far thrive on this food that it is an easy matter to fatten them afterwards. Apples and pumpkins are likewise valuable for this purpose. There is nothing so nutritious, so eminently and in every way adapted for the purpose of fattening, as are the various kinds of grain—nothing that tends more to create firmness as well as delicacy in the flesh. Indian corn is equal, if not superior, to any kind of grain for fattening purposes, and can be given in its natural state, as pigs are so fond of it that they will eat up every kernel. The pork and bacon of animals that have been thus fed are peculiarly firm and solid. Animal food tends to make swine savage and feverish, and often lays the foundation of serious inflammation of the intestines. Weekly washing with soap and a brush adds wonderfully te the thriving condition of a hog. In the rich corn regions of our States, upon that grain beginning to ripen, as it does in August, the fields are fenced off into suitable lots, and large herds are successively turned into them, to consume the grain at their leisure. They waste nothing except the stalks, which in that land of plenty are considered of little value, and they are still useful as manure 291 ' 54 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. for eneeseding crops; and whatever grain is left by them, leaner droves which follow will readily glean. Peas, early buckwheat, and apples, may be fed on the ground in the same way. There is an improvement in the character of the grain from a few months’ keeping, which is fully equivalent to the interest of the money and the cost of storage. If fattened early in the season, hogs will consume less food to make an equal amount of flesh than in colder weather ; they will require less attention ; and, generally, early pork will command the highest price in market. It is most economical to provide swine with a fine clover pasture, to run in during the spring and summer; and they ought also to have access to the orchard, to pick up all the unripe and superfluous fruit that falls. They should also have the wash of the house and the dairy, to which add meal, and let it sour in large tubs or barrels. Not less than one- third, and perhaps more, of the whole grain fed to hogs, is saved by grinding and cooking, or souring. Care must, how- ever, be taken that the souring be not carried so far as to injure the food by putrefaction. A mixture of meal and water, with the addition of yeast or such remains of a former fermentation as adhere to the sides or bottom of the vessel, and exposure to a temperature between sixty-eight and seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit, will produce immediate. fermentation. In this process there are five stages: the saccharine, by which the starch and gum of the vegetables, in their natural condition, are converted into sugar ; the vinous, which changes the sugar into alcohol; the mucilaginous, sometimes taking 292 FEEDING AND FATTENING. 55 the place of the vinous, and occurring where the sugar solution, or fermenting principle, is weak, producing a slimy, glutinous product; the acetic, forming vinegar, from the vinous of alcoholic stage; and the putrefactive, which destroys all the nutritive principles and converts them into a poison. The precise points in fermentation, when the food becomes most profitable for feeding, has not as yet been satisfactorily deter- mined; but that it should stop short of the putrefactive, and probably the full maturity of the acetic, is certain. The roots for fattening ought to be washed, and steamed or boiled ; and when not intended to be fermented, the meal may be scalded with the roots. A small quantity of salt.should be added. Potatoes are the best roots for swine; then parsnips ; orange or red carrots, white or Belgian ; sugar-beets ; mangel- wurizels ; ruta-bagas; and then white turnips, in the order mentioned. The nutritive properties of turnips are diffused through so large a bulk that it is doubtful if they can ever be fed to fattening swine with advantage; and they will barely sustain life when fed to them uncooked. There is a great loss in feeding roots to fattening swine, without cooking. When unprepared grain is fed, it should be on a full stomach, to prevent imperfect mastication, and con- sequent loss of the food. It is better, indeed, to have it always before them. The animal machine is an expensive one to keep in motion; and it should be the object of the farmer to put his food in the most available condition for its imme- diate conversion into fat and muscle. The following injunctions should be rigidly observed, if one would seenre the greatest results : 1. Avoid foul feeding. 56 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. 2. Do not omit adding salé in moderate quantities to the mess given. 8. Feed at regular intervals. 4. Cleanse the troughs previous to feeding. 5. Do not over-feed; give only as much as will be con- sumed at the meal. 6. Vary the food. Variety will create, or, at all events, increase appetite, and it is most conducive to health. Let the variations be governed by the condition of the dung cast, which should be of a medium consistence, and of a grayish- brown color; if hard, increase the quantity of bran and suc- culent roots; if too déquid, diminish, or dispense with bran, and make the mess firmer; add a portion of corn. 7. Feed the stock separately, in classes, according to their relative conditions. Keep sows with young by themselves ; store-hogs by themselves ; and bacon-hogs and porkers by themselves. It is not advisable to keep the store-hogs too high in flesh, since high feeding is calculated to retard develop- ment of form and bulk. It is better to feed pigs intended to be put up for bacon loosely and not too abundantly, until they have attained their full stature; they can then be brought into the highest possible condition in a surprisingly short space of time. 8. Keep the swine clean, dry, and warm. Cleanliness, dryness, and warmth are essential, and as imperative as feed- ing ; for an inferior description of food will, by their aid, succeed far better than the highest feeding will without them. 294 PIGGERIES: 5Y PIGGERIES, Few items conduce more to the thriving and well-being of swine than airy, spacious, well-constructed styes, and above all, cleanliness. They were formerly too often housed in damp, dirty, close, and imperfectly-built sheds, which was a fruitful source of disease and of unthrifty animals. Any place was once thought good enough to keep a pig in. In large establishments, where numerous pigs are kept, there should be divisions appropriated to all the different kinds; the boars, the breeding sows, the newly weaned, and the fattening pigs should all be kept separate ; and in the divisions assigned to the second and last of these classes, it is best to have a distinct apartment for each animal, all opening into a yard or inclosure of limited extent. As pigs require warmth, these buildings should face the south, and be kept weather- tight and well drained. Good ventilation is also important ; for it is idle to expect animals to make good flesh and retain their health, unless they have a sufficiency of purevair. The blood requires this to give it vitality and free it from im- purities, as much as the stomach requires wholesome and strengthening food; and when it does not have it, it becomes vitiated, and impairs all the animal functions. Bad smells and exhalations, moreover, injure the flavor-of the meat. Damp and cold floors should be guarded against, as they tend to induce cramp and diarrhea; and the roof should be so contrived as to carry off the wet from the pigs. The walls of a well-constructed sty should be of solid masonry; the roof sloping, and furnished with spouts to carry off the rain; the floors either slightly inclined toward a gutter made to carry 295 58 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. off the rain, or else raised from the ground on beams or joists, and perforated so that all urine and moisture shall drain off. Bricks and tiles, sometimes used for flooring, are objectionable, because, however well covered with straw, they still strike cold. Wood is far superior in this respect, as well as because it admits of those clefts or perforations being made, which serve not only to drain off all moisture, but also to admit fresh air. The manure proceeding from the pig-sty has often been much undervalued, and for this reason, that the litter is sup- posed to form the principal portion of it; whereas it consti- tutes the least valuable part, and, indeed, it can scarcely be regarded as manure at all—at least by itself—where the requisite attention is paid to the cleanliness of the animals and of their dwellings. The urine and the dung are valuable, being, from the very nature of the food of the animals, ex- ceedingly rich and oleaginous, and materially beneficial to cold soils and grass-lands. The manure from the sty should always be collected as carefully as that from the stable or cow-house, and husbanded in the same way. The door of each sty ought to be so hung that it will open inward or outward, so as to give the animals free ingress and egress. For this purpose, it should be hung across from side to side, and the animal can push it up to effect its entry or exit; for, if it were hung in the ordinary way, it would derange the litter every time it opened inward, and be very liable to hitch. If it is not intended that the pigs shall leave their sty, there should be an upper and lower door; the former | of which should always be left open when the weather is warm and dry, while the latter will serve to confine the animal. -296 PIGGERIES. 59 There should esanoa be windows or slides, which can be opened or closed at will, to give admission to the fresh air, or exclude rain or cold. Wherever it can be managed, the troughs—which should be of stone or cast metal, since wooden ones will soon be gnawed to pieces—should be so situated that they can be filled and cleaned from the outside, without interfering with or disturbing the animals at all; and for this purpose it is well to have a flap, or door, with swinging hinges, made to hang horizontally on the trough, so that it can be moved to and fro, and alternately be fastened by a bolt to the inside or outside of the manger. When the hogs have fed sufficiently, the door is swung inward and fastened, and so remains until feeding-time, when the trough is cleansed and refilled without any trouble, and then the flap drawn back, and the animals admitted to their food. Some cover the trough with a lid having as many holes in it as there are pigs to eat from it, which gives each pig an opportunity of selecting his own hole, and eating away without interfering with or incommoding his neighbor. A hog ought to have three apartments, one each for sleep- ing, eating, and evacuations; of which the last may occupy the lowest, and the first the highest level, so that nothing shall be drained, and as little carried into the first two as possible. The piggery should always be built as near as possible to that portion of the establishment from which the chief part of the provision is to come, since much labor will thus be saved. Washings, and combings, and brushings, as has been previ- ously suggested, are valuable adjuncts in the treatment of swine; the energies of the skin are thus roused, the pores 297 60 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. opened, the healthful functions aided, and that inertness, so likely to be engendered by the lazy life of a fattening pig, counteracted. A supply of fresh water is essential to the well-being of swine, and should be freely furnished. If a stream can be brought through the piggery, it answers better than any thing else. Swine are dirty feeders and dirty drinkers, usually plunging their forefeet into the trough or pail, and thus polluting with mud or dirt whatever may be given to them. One of the advantages, therefore, to be derived from the stream of running water is, its being kept constantly clean and wholesome by its running. If this advantage cannot be pro- cured, it is desirable to present water in vessels of a size to receive but one head at atime, and of such height as to render it impossible, or difficult, for the drinker to get his feet into it. The water should be renewed twice daily. If swine are closely confined in pens, they should have as much charcoal twice a week as they will eat, for the purpose of correcting any tendency to disorders of the stomach. Rotten wood is an imperfect substitute for charcoal. SLAUGHTERING. A pig that is to be killed should be kept without food for from twelve to sixteen hours previous to slaughtering ; a little water must, however, be within his reach. He should, in the first place, be stunned by a blow on the head. Some advise that the knife should be thrust into the neck so as to sever the artery leading from the heart; while others prefer that the animal should be stuck through the brisket in the direction of the heart—care being exercised not to toucht he first rib. The 298 SLAUGHTERING. 61 blood should then be allowed to drain from the carcass into vessels placed for the purpose; and the more completely it does so, the better will be the meat. A large tub, or other vessel, has been previously got ready, which is now filled with boiling water. The carcass of the hog is plunged into this, and the hair is then removed with the edge of a knife. The hair is more easily re- moved if THE OLD ENGLISH HOG. the hog is scalded before he stiffens, or becomes quite cold. It is not, however, necessary, but simply brutal and barbarous, to scald him while there is yet some life in him. Bacon-hogs may be singed, by enveloping the body in straw, and setting the straw on fire, and then scraping it all over. When this is done, care must be observed not to burn or parch the cuticle. The entrails should then be removed, and the interior of the body well washed with lukewarm water, so as to remove all blood and impurities, and afterward wiped dry with a clean cloth; the carcass should then be hung up in a cool place for eighteen or twenty hours, to become set and firm. | For cutting up, the carcass should be laid on the back, upon 299 62 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. a strong table. The head should then be cut off close by the ears, and the hinder feet so far below the houghs as not to dis- figure the hams, and leave room sufficient for hanging them _ up; after which the tarcass is divided into equal halves, up the middle of the back bone, with a cleaving-knife, and, if necessary, a hand-mallet. Then cut the ham from the side by the second joint of the back-bone, which will appear on divid- ing the carcass, and dress the ham by paring a little off the ‘flank, or skinny part, so as to shape it with a half round point, clearing off any top fat which may appear. Next cut off the sharp edge along the back bone with a knife and mallet, and slice off the first rib next the shoulder, where there is a bloody vein, which must be taken out, since, if it is left in, that part is apt to spoil. The corners should be squared off when the ham is cut. The ordinary practice is to cut out the spine, or back bone. Some take out the chine and upper parts of the ribs in the first place ; indeed, almost every locality has its peculiar mode of proceeding. PICKLING AND CURING. The usual method of curing is to pack the pork in clean salt, adding brine to the barrel when filled. But it may be dry-salted, by rubbing it in thoroughly on every side of each piece, with a strong leather rubber firmly secured to the palm of the right hand. The pieces are then thrown into heaps and sprinkled with salt, and occasionally turned till cured; or it may at once be packed in dry casks, which are rolled at times to bring the salt into contact with every part. Hams and shoulders may be cured in the same manner either dry or in pickle, but with differently arranged materials. 300 PICKLING AND CURING. 63 The following is a good pickle for two hundred pounds: Take fourteen pounds of Turk’s Island salt; one-half pound of saltpetre ; two quarts of molasses, or four pounds of brown ‘sugar; with water enough to dissolve them. Bring the liquor to the scalding-point, and skim off all the impurities which rise to the top. When cold, pour it upon the ham, which should be perfectly cool; but not frozen, and closely packed; if not sufficient to cover it, add pure water for this purpose. Some extensive packers of choice hams add pepper, allspice, cinnamon, nutmegs, or mace and cloves. The hams may remain six or eight weeks in this pickle, then should be hung up in the smoke-house, with the small end down, and smoked from ten to twenty days, according to the quantity of smoke. The fire should not be near enough to heat the hams. In Holland and Westphalia, the fire“is made in the cellar, and the smoke carried by a flue into a cool, dry chamber. This is, undoubtedly, the best mode of smoking. The hams should at all times be dry and cool, or their flavor will suffer. Green sugar-maple chips are best for smoke; next to them are hickory, sweet birch, corn-cobs, white ash, or beech. The smoke-house is the best place in which to keep hams until they are wanted. If removed, they should be kept cool, dry, and free from flies. A canvas cover for each, saturated with lime, which may be put on with a whitewash brush, is a perfect protection*against flies. When not to be kept long, they may be packed in dry salt, or even in sweet brine, without injury. A common method is to pack in dry oats, baked saw-dust, ete. The following is the method in most general use in several 301 64 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. of the Western States. The chine is taken out, as also the spare-ribs from the shoulders, and the mouse-pieces and short-ribs, or griskins, from the middlings. No acute angles should be left to shoulders or hams. In salting up, all the meat, except the heads, joints, and chines, and smaller pieces, is put into powdering-tubs—water-tight half-hogsheads—or into large troughs, ten feet long and three or four feet wide at the top, made of the poplar tree. The latter are much more convenient for packing the meat in, and are easily ° caulked, if they should crack so as to leak. The salting- tray—or box in which the meat is to be salted, piece by piece, and from which each piece, as it is salted, is to be transferred to the powdering-tub, or trough—must be placed just so near the trough that the man standing between can transfer the pieces from one to the other easily, and without wasting the salt as they are lifted from the salting-box into the: trough. The salter stands on the off-side of the salting-box. The hams should be salted first, the shoulders next, and the middlings last, which may be piled up two feet above the top of the trough or tub. ‘The joints will thus in a short time be im- mersed in brine. Measure into the salting-tray four measures of salt—a peck measure will be found most convenient—and one measure of clean, dry, sifted ashes ; mix, and incorporate them well. The salter takes a ham into the tray, rubs the skin and the raw end with his composition, turns it over, and packs the com- position of salt and ashes on the fleshy side till it is at least three-quarters of an inch deep all over it; and on the interior lower part of the ham, which is covered with the skin, as much as will lie on it. The man standing ready to transfer 302 PICKLING AND CURING. 65 the pieces, deposits it carefully, without disturbing the com- position, with the skin-side down, in the bottom of the trough. Each succeeding ham is then deposited, side by side, so as to leave the least possible space unoccupied. When the bottom is wholly covered, see that every visible part of this layer of meat is covered with the composition of salt and ashes. Then begin another layer, every piece being covered on the upper or fleshy side three-quarters of an inch thick with the composition. When the trough is filled, even full, in this way, with the joints, salt the middlings with salt only, without the ashes, and pile them up on the joints so that the liquified salt may pass from them into the trough. Heads, joints, back bones, etc., receive salt only, and should not be put in the trough with the large pieces. Much slighter salting will preserve them, if they are salted upon loose boards, so that the bloody brine from them can pass off. The joints and middlings are to remain in and above the trough without being re-handled, re-salted, or dis- turbed in any way, till they are to be hung up to be smoked. If the hogs do not weigh more than one hundred and fifty pounds, the joints need not remain longer than five weeks in the pickle; if they weigh two hundred, or upward, six or seven weeks are not too long. It is better that they should stay in too long, rather than too short a time. In three weeks, the joints, etc., may be hung up. Taking out of pickle, and preparing for hanging up to smoke, are thus performed : Scrape off the undissolved salt; if the directions have been followed, there will be a considerable quantity on all the pieces not immersed in the brine; this salt and the brine are all saved; the brine is boiled down, and the dry 303 66 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. composition given to stock, especially to hogs. Wash every piece in lukewarm water, and with a rough towel clean off the salt and ashes. Next, put the strings in to hangup. Set the pieces up edgewise, that they may drain and dry. Every piece is then to be dipped into the meat-paint, as it is termed, composed of warm—not hot—water and very fine ashes, stirred together until they are of the consistence of thick paint, and hang up to smoke. By being thus dipped, they receive a coating which protects them from the fly, prevents dripping, and tends to lessen all external injurious influences. Hang up the pieces while yet moist with the paint, and smoke them well. VALUE OF THE CARCASS, No part of the hog is valueless, excepting, perhaps, the bristles of the fine-bred races. The very intestines are cleansed, and knotted into chittarlings, very much relished by some; the blood, mixed with fat and rice, is made into black puddings; and the tender muscle under the lumbar vertebra is worked up into sausages, sweet, high-flavored, and delicious ; the skin, roasted, is a rare and toothsome morsel; and a roast sucking-pig is a general delight; salt pork and bacon are in incessant demand, and form important articles of commerce. One great value arises from the peculiarity of its fat, which, in contradistinction to that of the ox or of the sheep, is termed lard, and differs from either in the proportion of its constituent principles, which are essentially oleine and stearine. It is rendered, or fried out, in the same manner as mutton-suet. It melts completely at ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit, and then has the appearance of a transparent and nearly colorless fixed 304 VALUE OF THE CARCASS. 67 oil. Eighty degrees is the melting-point. it consists of sixty- two parts oleine, and thirty-eight of stearine, out of one hun- dred. When subjected to pressure between folds of blotting- paper, the oleine is absorbed, while the stearine remains. For domestic purposes, lard is much used; it is much better than butter for frying fish ; and is much used in pastry, on the score of economy. ; The stearine contains the stearic and margaric acids, which, when separated, are solid, and used as inferior substitutes for wax or spermaceti candles. The other, oleine, is fluid at a low temperature, and in American commerce is known as lard-oil, which is very pure, and extensively used for ma- chinery, lamps, and most of the purposes for which olive or spermaceti oils are valued. It has given to pork a new and profitable use, by which the value of the carcass is greatly increased. A large amount of pork has thus been withdrawn from the market, and the depression, which must otherwise have occurred, has been thereby prevented. Where the oil is required, the whole carcass, after taking out the hams and shoulders, is placed in a tub having two bottoms, the upper one perforated with holes. The pork is laid on the latter, and then tightly covered. Steam, at a high temperature, is then admitted into the tub, and in a short time all the fat is extracted, and falls upon the lower bottom. The remaining mass is bones and scraps. The last is fed to pigs, poultry, or dogs, or affords the best kind of manure. The bones are either used for manure, or are converted into animal charcoal, valuable for various purposes in the arts. When the object is to obtain lard of a fine quality, the animal 20 305 ’ 68 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES, is first skinned, and the adhering fat then carefully scraped off; thus avoiding the oily, viscid matter of the skin. The bristles of the coarse breeds are long, strong, firm, and elastic. These are formed into brushes for painters and artists, as well as for numerous domestic uses. The skin, when tanned, is of a peculiar texture, and very tough. It is used for making pocket-books, and for some ornamental purposes; but chiefly for the seats of riding-saddles. The numerous little variegations on it, which constitute its beauty, are the orifices whence the bristles have been removed. 306 ——= Sent wets ecw RDN) Sie REMEDIES By reason of being generally considered a subordinate species of stock, swine do not, in many cases, share in the benefits which an improved system of agriculture and the present advanced state of veteri- nary science, have conferred upon.other domesticated animals. Since they are by no means the most tractable.of patients, it is any thing but an-easy matter to compel them to swallow any thing to which their appetite does not incite them ; and, (69) 307 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. hence, prevention will be found better than cure. Cleanliness is the great point to be insisted upon in the management of these animals If this, and warmth, be only attended to, ail- ments among them are comparatively rare. As, however, disappointment may occasionally occur, even under the best system of management, a brief view of the principal complaints with which they are liable to be attacked is presented, together with the best mode of treatment to be adopted in such cases. CATCHING THE PIG. Swine are very difficult animals to obtain any mastery over, or to operate on, or examine. Seldom tame, or easily handled, they are at such periods most unmanageable—kicking, scream- ing, and even biting fiercely. The following method of getting hold of them has been recommended: Fasten a double cord * to the end of a stick, and beneath the stick let there be a running noose in the cord; tie a piece of bread to the cord, and present it to the animal; and when he opens his mouth to seize the bait, catch the upper jaw in the noose, run it tight, and the animal is fast. Another method is, to catch one foot in a running noose. suspended from some place, so as to draw the imprisoned foot off the ground; or, to envelop the head of the animal in a cloth or sack. All coercive measures, however, should, as far as possible, be avoided ; for the pig is naturally so averse to being handled that in his struggles he will often do himself far more mischief than the disease which is to be investigated or remedied would effect. 308 BLEEDING. 71 BLEEDING, The common mode of drawing blood from the pig is by cutting off portions of the ears or tail; this should only be resorted to when local and instant blood-letting is requisite. The jugular veins of swine lie too deep, and are too much imbedded in fat to admit of their being raised by any ligature about the neck; it is, therefore, useless to attempt to puncture them, as it would only be striking at random. Those veins, however, which run over the interior surface of the ear, and especially toward its outer edge, may be . opened without much difficulty ; if the ear is turned back on the poll, one or more of them may easily be made sufficiently prominent to admit of its being punctured by pressing the fingers on the base of the ear, near to the conch. When the necessary quantity of blood has been obtained, the finger may be raised, and it will cease to flow. The palate veins, running on either side of the roof of the mouth, are also easily opened by making two incisions, one on each side of the palate, about half way between the centre of the roof of the mouth and the teeth. The flow of blood may be readily stopped by means of a pledget of tow and a string, as in bleeding the horse. The brachial vein of the fore-leg—commonly called the plate-vein—running along the inner side under the skin affords a good opportunity. The best place for puncturing it is’ about an inch above the knee, and scarcely half an inch back- ward from the radius, or the bone of the fore-arm. No danger need to be apprehended from cutting two or three times, if sufficient blood cannot be obtained at once. This vein will ; 309 "2 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. become easily discernible if a ligature is tied firmly around the leg, just below the shoulder. This operation should always be performed with the lancet, if possible. In cases of urgent haste, where no lancet is at hand, a small penknife may be used; but the fleam is a dangerous and objectionable instrument. DRENCHING. Whenever it is possible, the medicine to be administered should be mingled with a portion of food, and the animal thus cheated or coaxed into taking it; since many instances are on record, in which the pig has ruptured some vessel in his struggles, and died on the spot, or so injured himself as to bring on inflammation and subsequent death. Where this cannot be done, the following is the best method: Leta man get the head of the animal firmly between his knees—without, however, pinching it—while another secures the hinder parts. Then let the first take hold of the head from below, raise it a little, and incline it slightly toward the right, at the same time separating the lips on the left side so as to form a hole into which the fluid may be gradually poured—no more being introduced into the mouth at a time than can be swallowed at once. Should the animal snort or choke, the head must be released for a few moments, or he will be in danger of being strangled. CATARRH. This ailment—an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose, ete.—is, if taken in time, easily cured by opening medicines, followed up by warm bran-wash—a warm, dry sty— 310 CHOLERA. 13 and abstinence from rich grains, or stimulating, farinaceous diet. The cause, in most cases, is exposure to drafts of air, which should be guarded against. CHOLERA. For what is presented concerning this disease, the author is indebted to his friend, G. W. Bowler, V.8., of Cincinnati, Ohio, whose familiarity with the various diseases of our domestic animals and the best modes of treating them, entitles his opinions to great weight. The term “cholera” is employed to designate a disease which has been very fatal among swine in different parts of the United States; and for the reason, that its symptoms, as well as the indications accompanying its termination, are very nearly allied to what is manifested in the disease of that name which visits man. Epidemic cholera has, for several years past, committed fearful ravages among the swine of, particularly, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Indeed, many “farmers who, until recently, have been accustomed to raise large numbers of these animals, are, in a great measure, disinclined to invest again in such stock, on account of the severe losses—in some instances to the extent of the entire drove upon particular places. Various remedies have, of course, been prescribed ; but the most have failed in nearly every case where the disease has secured a firm foothold. Preventives are, therefore, the most that can at present be expected; and in this direction some- thing may be done. Although some peculiar change in the atmosphere is, probably, an impelling cause of cholera, its 311 "4 SWINE AND TITEIR DISEASES. ravages may be somewhat stayed by removing other predis- posing associate causes. Granting that the hog is a filthy animal and fond of rooting among filth, it is by no means necessary to persist, for that reason, in surrounding him with all the nastiness possible ; for even a hog, when penned up in a filthy place, in company with a large number of other .hogs—particularly when that place is improperly ventilated—is not as healthy as when the animals are kept together in smaller numbers in a clean and well ventilated barn or pen. ‘Look, for a moment, at a drove of hogs coming along the street, the animals all fat and ready for the knife. They have been driven several miles, and are scarcely able to crawl along, many of them having to be carried on drays, while others have died on the road. At last they are driven into a pen, perhaps, several inches deep with the manure and filth deposited there by hundreds of predeces- sors ; every hole in the ground has become a puddle; and in such a place some one hundred or two hundred animals are piled together, exhausted from the drive which they have had. They lie down in the mud; and in a short time one can see the steam beginning to rise from their bodies in volumes, increasing their already prostrate condition by the consequent inhalation of the noxious gas thus thrown off from the system; the blood becomes impregnated with poison ; the various functions of the body are thereby impaired ; and disease will inevitably be developed in one form or another. Should the disease, known as the hog cholera, prevail in the neighborhood, the chances are very greatly in favor of their being attacked by it, and consequently perishing. The symptoms of cholera are as follows: The animal 312 CHOLERA. %5 appears to be instantaneously deprived of energy; loss of appetite; lying down by himself; occasionally moving about slowly, as though experiencing some slight uneasiness inter- nally; the eyes have a very dull and sunken appearance, which increases with the disease; the evacuations are almost continuous, of a dark color, having a fetid odor, and containing a large quantity of bile; the extremities are cold, and soreness is evinced when the abdomen is pressed; the pulse is quick- ened, and sometimes hardly perceptible, while the ‘buccal membrane—that belonging to the cheek—presents a slight purple hue; the tongue has a furred appearance. The evacuations continue fluid until the animal expires, which may be in twelve hours from the first attack, or the disease may run on for several days. In a very short time after death, the abdomen becomes of a dark purple color, and upon examination, the stomach is found to contain but a little fluid; the intestines are almost entirely empty, retaining a slight quantity of the dark colored matter before mentioned; the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal exhibits considerable inflammation, which sometimes appears only in patches, while the other parts are filled with dark venous blood—indicating a breaking up of the capillary vessels in such places. Treatment. As a preventive, the following will be found valuable: Flour of sulphur, six pounds; animal charcoal, one pound ; sulphate of iron, six ounces ; cinchona pulverized, one pound. Mix well together in a large mortar; afterwards give a tablespoonful to each animal, mixed with a few potato- peelings and corn meal, three times a day. Continue this for 313 6 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. one week, keeping the animal at the same time in a clean, dry place, and not allowing too many together. CRACKINGS, These will Sometimes appear on the skin of a hog, especially about the root of the ears and of the tail, and at the flanks. They are not at all to be confounded with mange, as they never result from any thing but exposure to extremes of temperature, while the animal is unable to avail himself of such protection as, in a state of nature, instinct would have induced him to adopt. They are peculiarly troublesome in the heat of summer, if he does not have access to water, in which to lave his parched limbs and half-scorched carcass. Anoint the cracked parts twice or three times a day with tar and lard, well melted up together. DIARRHGA. Before attempting to stop the discharge in this disease— which, if permitted to continue unchecked, will rapidly pros- trate the animal, and probably terminate fatally—ascertain the quality ot food which the animal has recently had. In a majority ot instances, this will be found to be the cause. If taken in its incipient stage, a mere change to amore binding diet, as corn, flour, ete., will suffice fora cure. If acidity is present—produced, probably, by the hog’s having fed upon coarse, rank grasses in swampy places—give some chalk in the food, or powdered egg-shells, with about half a drachm of powdered rhubarb; the dose, of course, should vary with the ‘size of the animal. In the acorn -season, they alone will be 314 FEVER. TT found sufficiently curative, where facilities for obtaining them exist. Dry lodging is indispensable ; and diligence is requisite to keep it dry and clean. FEVER. The symptoms of this disease are, redness. of the eyes, dry- ness and heat of the nostrils, the lips, and the skin generally ; appetite gone, or very defective ; and, generally, a very violent thirst. Bleed as soon as possible; after which house the animal well, taking care, at the same time, to have the sty well and HUNTING THE WILD BOAR. thoroughly ventilated. The bleeding will usually be followed, in an hour or two, by such a return of appetite as to induce the animal to eat a sufficient quantity of food to be made the vehicle for administering external remedies. The best is bread, steeped in broth. The hog, however, sinks so rapidly when his appetite is near gone, that no depletive medicines are, in general, necessary or proper; the fever will ordinarily yield to the bleeding, and the only object needs to be the sup- 315 78 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. port of his strength, by small portions of nourishing food, administered frequently. Do not let the animal eat as much as his inclination might prompt; when he appears to be no longer ravenous, remove the mess, and do not offer it again until after a lapse of three or four hours. If the bowels are confined, castor and linseed oil, in equal quantities, should be added to the bread and broth, in the proportion of two to six ounces. A species of fever frequently occurs as an epizootic, often- times attacking the male pigs, and generally the most vigorous and best looking, without any distinction of age, and with a force and rapidity absolutely astonishing. At other times, its progress is much slower; the symptoms are less intense and alarming ; and the veterinary surgeon, employed at the outset, may meet with some suce The causes are, in the majority of instances, the bad styes in which the pigs are lodged, and the noisome food which they often contain. In addition to these is the constant lying on the dung-heap, whence is exhaled a vast quantity of dele- terious gas; also, the remaining far too long on the muddy or parched ground, or too protracted exposure to the rigor of the season. When an animal is attacked with this disease, he should be separated from the others, placed in a warm situation, some stimulating ointment applied to the chest, and a decoction of sorrel administered. Frictions of vinegar should also be ap- plied to the dorsal and lumbar region. The drinks should be emolient, slightly imbued with nitre and vinegar, and with aromatic fumigation about the belly. If the fever then appears to be losing, ground, which may be 316 FOUL SKIN—INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 79 ascertained by the regularity of the pulse, by the absence of the plaintive cries before heard, by a less laborious respiration, by the absence of convulsions, and by the non-appearance of blotches on the skin, there is a fair chance of recovery. Then administer, every second hour, as before directed, and give a proper allowance of white water, with ground barley and rye. When the symptoms redouble in intensity, it is best to destroy the animal; for it is rare that, after a certain period, much chance of recovery exists. Bleeding is seldom of much avail, but produces, occasionally, considerable loss of vital power, and augments the putrid diathesis. FOUL SKIN. A simple irritability or foulness of skin will usually yield to cleanliness, and a washing with a solution of chloride of lime ; but, if it is neglected for any length of time, it assumes a malignant character—scabs and blotches, or red and fiery eruptions appear—and the disease rapidly passes into mange, which will be hereafter noticed. INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. This disease, popularly known as heavings, is scarcely to be regarded as curable. Were it observed in its first stage, when indicated by loss of appetite and a short, hard cough, it might, possibly, be got under by copious bleeding, and friction with stimulating ointment on the region of the lungs; minute and frequent doses of tartar emetic should also be given in butter—all food of a stimulating nature carefully avoided— and the animal kept dry and warm. If once the heavings set in, it may be calculated with confidence that the formation of 317 80 SWINE AND THETR DISEASES. tubercles in the substance of the lungs has begun; and when these are formed, they are very rarely absorbed. The causes of the disease are damp lodging, foul air, want of ventilation, and unwholesome food. When tubercular for- mation becomes established, the disease may be communicated through the medium of the atmosphere, the infectious influ- ence depending upon the noxious particles respired from the lungs of the diseased animal. The following may be tried, though the knife is probably the best resort, if for no other reason, at least to provide against the danger of infection: Shave the hair away from the chest, and beneath each fore-leg ; wet the part with spirits of turpentine, and set fire to it, having previously had the animal well secured, with his head well raised, and a flannel cloth at hand with which to extinguish the flame after it has burned a sufficient time to produce slight blisters ; if carried too far, a sore is formed, productive of no good effects, and causing un- necessary suffering. Calomel may also be used, with a view to promote the absorption of the tubercles; but the success is questionable. JAUNDICE, The symptoms of this disease are, yellowness of the white of the eye; a similar hue extending to the lips; and some- times, but not invariably, swelling of the under part of the jaw. Treatment. Bleed freely; diminish the quantity of food ; and give an active aperient every second day. Aloes are, perhaps, the best, combined with colocynth; the dose will vary with the size of the animal. 318 LEPROSY——LETHARGY. 81 LEPROSY. This complaint commonly commences with the formation of a small tumor in the eye, followed by a general prostration of spirits; the head is held down; the whole frame inclines toward the ground; universal languor succeeds; the animal ‘refuses food, languishes, and rapidly falls away in flesh; blisters soon make their appearance beneath the tongue, then upon the throat, the jaws, the head, and the entire body. The Causes of this disease are want of cleanliness, absence of fresh air, want of due attention to ventilation. and foul feeding. The obvious treatment, therefore, is, first, bleed; clean out the sty daily; wash the affected animal thoroughly with soap and water, to which soda or potash has been added; supply him with a clean bed; keep him dry and comfortable ; let him have gentle exercise, and plenty of fresh air; limit the quantity of his food, and diminish its rankness; give bran with wash, in which add, for an average-sized hog—say one of one hundred and sixty pounds weight—a tablespoonful of the flour of sulphur, with as much nitre as will cover a dime, daily. A few grains of powdered antimony may also be given with effect. LETHARGY. Symptoms: torpor; desire to sleep; hanging of the head; and, frequently, redness of the eyes. The origin of this disease is, apparently, the same as that of indigestion, or surfeit, except that, in this instance, it acts upon a hog having a natural tendency to a redundancy of blood. 319 82 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. Treatment. Bleed copiously; then administer an emetic. A decoction of camomile flowers will be safest; though a sufficient dose of tartar emetic will be far more certain. After this, reduce for a few days the amount of the animal’s food, and administer a small portion of nitre and sulphur in each morning’s meal. MANGE. This cutaneous affection owes its existence to the presence of a minute insect, called acarus scabiei, or mange-fly, which burrows beneath the cuticle, and occasions much irritation and annoyance in its progress through the skin. Its symptoms are sufficiently well known, consisting of scabs, blotches, and sometimes multitudes of minute pustules on different parts of the body. If neglected, these symptoms become aggravated; the disease spreads rapidly over the entire surface of the skin, and if allowed to proceed on its course unchecked, will before long produce deep-seated ulcers and malignant sores, until the whole carcass of the affected animal becomes a mass of corruption. The cause is to be looked for in dirt, accompanied by hot- feeding. Hogs, however well and properly kept, will occa- sionally become affected with this disease from contagion. Few diseases are more easily propagated by contact than mange. The introduction of a single affected pig into an establishment may, in one night, cause the seizure of scores of others. No foul-skinned pigs, therefore, should be in- troduced into the piggery; indeed, it would be an excellent precaution to wash every animal newly purchased with a strong solution of chloride of lime. 320 MANGE. 83 Treatment. If the mange is but of moderate violence, and not of very long standing, the best mode is to wash the animal, from snout to tail, leaving no portion of the body uncleansed, with soft soap and water. Place him in a dry and clean sty, which is so situated as to command a constant supply of fresh air, without, at the same time, an exposure to cold or draught + furnish a bed of clean, fresh straw. Reduce his food, both in quality and quantity ; let boiled or steamed roots, with butter- milk, or dairy-wash take the place of any food of a heating or inflammatory character. Keep him without food for five or six hours, and then give to a hog of average size two ounces of Epsom salts in a warm bran mash—to be increased or diminished, of course, as the animal’s size may require. This . should be previously mixed with a pint of warm water, and added to about half a gallon of warm bran mash, and it will act as a gentle purgative. Give in every meal afterward one tablespoonful of flour of sulphur, and as much nitre as will cover a dime, for from three days to a week, according to the state of the disease. When the scabs begin to heal, the pustules to retreat, and’ the fiery sores to fade, a cure may be anticipated. When the above treatment has been practised for fourteen days, without effecting a cure, prepare the following : train oil, one pint; oil of tar, two drachms; spirits of turpentine, two drachms; naphtha, one drachm; with as much flour of sulphur as will form the foregoing into a thick paste. Rub the animal previously washed with this mixture; let no portion of the hide escape. Keep the hog dry and warm after this application, and allow it to remain on his skin for three days. On the fourth day wash him again with soft soap, 21 321 84 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES. adding a small quantity of soda to the water. Dry him well afterward, and let him remain as he is, having again changed his bedding, for a day or so; continue the sulphur and nitre as before. Almost all-cases of mange, however obstinate, will, sooner or later, yield to this treatment. After he is convales- cent, whitewash the sty, and fumigate it by placing a little chloride of lime in a cup, or other vessel, and pouring a little vitriol upon it. In the absence of vitriol, boiling water will answer nearly as well. MEASLES, This is one of the most common diseases to which hogs are liable. The symptoms are, redness of the eyes, foulness of the skin, and depression of spirits; decline, or total departure of the appetite ; small pustules about the throat, and red and purple eruptions on the skin. The last are more plainly visible after death, when they impart a peculiar appearance to the grain of the meat, with fading of its color, and distention of the fibre, giving an appearance similar to that which might be produced by puncturing the flesh. Treatment, Allow the animal to fast, in the first instance, for twenty-four hours, and then administer a warm drink, containing a drachm of carbonate of soda, and an ounce of bole armenian; wash the animal, cleanse the sty, and change the bedding; give at every feeding, or thrice a day, thirty grains of flour of sulphur, and ten of nitre. This malady is attributable to dirt, combined with the giving of steamed food or wash to hogs at too high a tempera- ture. It is troublesome to eradicate, but usually yields to treatment, and is rarely fatal. 3822 MURRAIN—QUINSY—STAGGERS—S WELLING OF THE SPLEEN. 85 MURRAIN, This resembles leprosy in its symptoms, with the addition of staggering, shortness of breath, and discharge of viscid matter from the eyes and mouth. The treatment should consist of cleanliness, coolness, bleed-’ ing, purging, and limitation of food. Cloves of garlic are recommended; and as in all febrile diseases there exists a greater or less disposition to putrefaction, it is probable that garlic, from its antiseptic properties, may be useful. QUINSY. This is an inflammatory affection of the glands of the throat. Freatment. Shave away the hair, and rub with tartar-emetie ointment. Fomenting with very warm water is also useful. When external suppuration takes place, it is to be regarded as a favorable symptom. In this case, wait until the swellings are thoroughly ripe; then with a sharp knife make an incision through the entire length, press out the matter, wash with warm water, and afterward dress the wound with any resinous ointment, or yellow soap with coarse brown sugar. STAGGERS. This disease is caused by an excessive determination of blood to the head. Treatment. Bleed freely and purge. SWELLING OF THE SPLEEN, The symptom most positively indicative of this disease is the circumstance of the affected animal leaning toward one 323 86 SWINE AND THEIR DISEASES side, cringing, as it were, from internal pain, an bending toward the ground. The cause of the obstruction on which the disease depends, is over-feeding—permitting the animal to indulge its appetite to the utmost extent that gluttony may prompt, and the capacity of its stomach admits. A very short perseverance in this mode of management—or, rather, mismanagement— will produce this, as well as other maladies, deriving their origin from a depraved condition of the secretions and the obstruction of the excretory ducts. Treatment. Clean out the alimentary canal by means of a powerful aperient. Allow the animal to fast for four or five hours, when he will take a little sweet wash or broth, in which may be mingled a dose of Epsom salts proportioned to his size. This will generally effect the desired end—a copious evacuation—and the action of the medicine on the watery secretions will also relieve the existing diseased condition of the spleen. If the affection has continued for any length, the animal should be bled. A decoction of the leaves and tops of worm- wood and liverwort, produced by boiling them in soft water for six hours, may be given in doses of from half a pint to a pint and a half, according to the size, age, ete., of the animal. Scammony and rhubarb, mixed in a bran wash, or with Indian meal, may be given with advantage on the following day ; or, equal portions of blue-pill mass and compound colocynth pill, formed into a bolus with butter. The animal having been kept fasting the previous night, will probably swallow it; if not, let his fast continue a couple of hours longer. Lower his diet, and keep him on reduced fare, with exercise, and, if it 324 SURFEIT—TUMORS. 87 can be managed, grazing, until the malady has passed away. Tf he is then to be fattened, it should be done gradually; be cautious of at once restoring him to full diet. SURFEIT. This is another name for indigestion. The symptoms are, panting; loss of appetite; swelling of the region about the stomach, ete. ; and frequently throwing up the contents of the stomach. Treatment. In general, this affection will pass away, provided only it is allowed to cure itself, and all food carefully kept from the animal for a few hours; a small quantity of sweet grains, with a little bran mash, may then be given, but not nearly as much as the animal would wish to take. For afew days, the food should be limited in quantity, and of a washy, liquid nature. The ordinary food may then be resumed, only observing to feed regularly, and remove the fragments remaining after each meal. TUMORS. These are hard swellings, which make their appearance on different parts of the body. They are not formidable, and require only to be suffered to progress until they soften; then make a free incision, and press out the matter. Sulphur and nitre should be given in the food, as the appearance of these swellings, whatever be their cause. indicates the necessity of alterative medicines. 325 ees Aa Bi meme 9 Neti A tm 2 —— — —! ~, VE SS ——SS— = = Sea _ a eS TS TORY sip VARIETIES SSS = OEE OESAD THE DOMESTIC FowL. The cock tribe is used as a generic term, to include the whole family of domestic fowls; the name of the male, in this instance, furnishing an appellation suffi- rf Ss, ciently comprehensive and well recognized. The domestic cock appears to have been known to man from a very early period. Of his real origin there is little definitely known; and even the time and manner of his intro- duction into Greece, or Southern Europe, are enveloped in obscurity. In the palmiest days of Greece and Rome, how- ever, he occupied a conspicuous place in those public shows (7) 327 8 POULTRY AND THEIR DISEASES. which amused the masses of the people. He was dedicated to the service of the pagan deities, and was connected with the worship of Apollo, Mercury, Mars, and particularly Esculapius. The flesh of this bird was highly esteemed as a delicacy, ‘and occupied a prominent place at the Roman banquets. Great pains were taken in the rearing and fatten- ing of poultry for this purpose. The practice of cock-fighting, barbarous as it is, originated in classic times, and among the most polished and civilized people of antiquity. To its introduction into Britain by the Ceesars we owe our acquaintance with the domestic fowl. It is impossible to state positively to what species of the wild cock, known at present, we are to look for the primitive type, so remote is the date of the original domestication of the fowl. Many writers have endeavored to show that all the varieties of the domestic fowl, of which we now have knowl- edge, are derived from a single primitive stock. It has, also, been confidently asserted that the domestic cock owes his origin to the jungle fowl of India. The most probable sup- position, however, is, that the varieties known to us may be referred to a few of the more remarkable fowls, as the progenitors of the several species. The great fowl of St. Jago and Sumatra may, perhaps, safely be recognized as the type of some of the larger varieties, such as the Spanish and the Padua fowls, and those resembling them; while to the Bankiva cock, probably, the smaller varieties belong, such as Bantams, the Turkish fowl, and the like. The reasons assigned for supposing these kinds to be the true originals of our domestic poultry, are, first, the close resemblance subsisting between their females and our do- 328 HISTORY AND VARIETIES. 9 mestic hens; second, the size of our domestic cock being intermediate between the two, and alternating in degree, sometimes inclining toward the one, and sometimes toward the other; third, from the nature of their feathers and their general aspect—the form and distribution of their tails being the same as our domestic fowls; and, fourth, in these two birds alone are the females provided with a crest and small wattles, characteristics not to be met with in any other wild species. The wild cock, or the St. Jago fowl, is frequently so tall as to be able to peck crunibs without difficulty from an ordinary dinner-table. The weight is usually from ten to thirteen or fourteen pounds. The comb of both cock and hen is large, crown-shaped, often double, and sometimes, but not invariably, with a tufted crest of feathers, which occurs with the greatest frequency, and grows to the largest size, in the hen. The voice is strong and very harsh; and the yoyng do not arrive to full plumage until more than half grown. The Bankiva fowl is a native of Java, and is characterized by a red indented comb, red wattles, and ashy-gray legs and feet. The comb of the cock is scolloped, and the tail elevated a little above the rump, the feathers being disposed in the form of tiles or slates; the neck-feathers are of a gold color, long, dependent, and rounded at the tips; the head and’ neck are of a fawn color; the wing coverts a dusky brown and black ; the tail and belly, black. The color of the hen is a dusky ash-gray and yellow; her comb and wattles much smaller than those of the cock, and—with the exception of the long hackles—she has no feathers on her neck. These fowl are exceedingly wild, and inhabit the skirts of woods, forests, 329 10 POULTRY AND THEIR DISEASES. and other savage and unfrequented places These Bankivas resemble our Bantams very much; and, like them, are also occasionally to be seen feathered to the feet and toes. Independent of all considerations of profitableness, domestic fowls are gifted with two qualifications, which—whether in man, beast, or bird—are sure to be popular: a courageous temper and an affectionate disposition. When we add to these beauty of appearance and hardiness of constitution, it is no wonder that they are held in such universal esteem. The courage of the cock is emblematic, his gallantry admira- ble, and his sense of discipline and subordination most exem- plary. The hen is deservedly the acknowledged pattern of maternal love. When her passion of philoprogenitiveness is disappointed by the failure or subtraction of her own. brood, she will either continue incubating till her natural powers fail, or will violently kidnap the young of other fowls, and insist upon adopting them. It would be idle to attempt an enumeration here of the numerous breeds and varieties of the domestic fowl. Those only, therefore, will be described which are generally accepted as the best varieties; and these arranged, not in the order of their merits necessarily, but alphabetically, for convenience of reference, THE BANTAM. The original of the Bantam is, as has been already remarked, the Bankiva fowl. The small white, and also the colored Bantams, whose legs are heavily feathered, are sufficiently well-known to render a particular description unnecessary. Bantam-fanciers generally prefer those which have clean, 330 THE BANTAM. mL bright legs, without any vestige of feathers. A thorough- bred cock, in their judgment, should have a rose comb; a well- ' feathered tail, but without the sickle feathers; full hackles ; a proud, lively car- riage; and ought not to exceed a pound in weight. The wankeen-colored, and the black are the general favorites. : These little creatures ex- Swe hibit some peculiar habits and traits of disposition. Amongst others, the cocks THE BANTAM, are so fond of sucking the eggs laid by the hen that they will often drive her from the nest in order to obtain them; they have even been known to attack her, tear open the ovarium, and devour its shell-less contents. To prevent this, first a hard-boiled, and then a marble egg may be given them to fight with, taking care, at the same time, to prevent their access either to the hen or to any real eggs. Another strange pro- pensity is a passion for sucking each other’s blood, which is chiefly exhibited when they are moulting, when they have been known to peck each other naked, by pulling out the new feathers as they appear, and squeezing with their beaks the blood from the bulbs at the base. These fowls being subject. to a great heat of the skin, its surface occasionally becomes hard and tightened ; in which cases the hard roots of the feathers are drawn into a position more nearly at right angles with the body than at ordinary times, and the skin and super- 331 POULTRY AND THEIR DISEASES. & ficial muscles are thus subjected to an unusual degree of painful irritation. The disagreeable habit is, therefore, simply a provision of Nature for their relief, which may be success- fully accomplished by washing with warm water, and the subsequent application of poma- tum to the skin. = Sa . as 3 aay) Bantams, in general, are greedy CC devourers of some of the most SJ Rate destructive of our insects; the c grub of the cock-chafer and the ~-= crane-fly being especial favorites === with them. Their chickens can hardly be raised so well, as by Sree allowing them free access to minute insect dainties; hence, the suitableness of a worn-out hotbed for them during the first month or six weeks. They are thus positively serviceable creatures to the farmer, as far as their limited range extends; and still more so to the gardener and the nurseryman, as they will save various garden crops from injuries to which they would otherwise be exposed. The fowl commonly known as the Bantam is a small, elegantly-formed, and handsomely tinted variety, evidently but remotely allied to the game breed, and furnished with feathers to the toes. Tue AFricAN BAntTAM. The cock of this variety is red upon the neck, back, and hackles; tail, black and erect, studded with glossy green feathers upon the sides; breast, black ground spotted with yellow, like the Golden Pheasant ; comb, single; cheeks, white or silvery; the pullet is entirely black, except the inside of the wing-tips, which is perfectly 332 13 THE BOLTON GRAY. white. In size, they compare with the common pigeon, being very small; their wings are about two inches longer than their bodies ; and their legs dark and destitute of feathers. They are very quiet, and of decided benefit in gardens, in destroying bugs. These symmetrically-formed birds are highly prized, both by the fancier and the practical man, and the pure-bloods are very rare. They weigh from eight to twelve ounces each for the hens ; and the cocks, from sixteen to twenty ounces. THE BOLTON GRAY. These fowls—called, also, Dutch Every-day Layers, Pen- cilled Dutch Fowl, Chittaprats, and, in Pennsylvania, Creole SN BOLTON GRAYS OR CREOLE FOWL. Fowl—were originally imported from Holland to Bolton, a town in Lancashire, England, whence they were named. 333 14 POULTRY AND THEIR DISEASES. They are small sized, short in the leg, and plump in the make; color of the genuine kind, invariably pure white in the whole cappel of the neck the body white, thickly spotted with black, sometimes running into a grizzle, with one or more black bars at the extremity of the tail. A good cock of this breed may weigh from four to four and a half pounds; and a hen from three to three and a half pounds. The superiority of a hen of this breed does not consist so much in rapid as in continued laying. She may not produce as many eggs in a month as some other kinds, but she will, it is claimed, lay more months in the year than probably any other variety. They are said to be very hardy; but their eggs, in the judgment of some, are rather watery and in- hutritious. THE BLUE DUN. The variety known under this name originated in Dorset- shire, England. They are under the average size, rather slenderly made, of a soft and pleasing bluish-dun color, the neck being darker, with high, single combs, deeply serrated. The cock is of the same color as the hen, but has, in addition, some handsome dark stripes in the long feathers of the tail, and sometimes a few golden, or even scarlet marks, on the wings. They are exceedingly impudent, familiar, and pug- nacious. : . The hens are good layers, wanting to sit after laying a moderate number of eggs, and proving attentive and careful rearers of their own chickens, but rather savage to those of other hens. The eggs are small and short, tapering slightly at one end, and perfectly white. The chickens, on first 334 THE CHITTAGONG. 15 coming from the egg, sometimes bear a resemblance to the gray and yellow catkin of -the willow, being of a soft bluish gray, mixed with a little yellow here and there. Some class these birds among the game fowls, not recog- nizing them as a distinct race, upon the ground that, as there are Blue Dun families belonging to several breeds—the Spanish, the Polish, the Game, and the Hamburghs, for example —it is more correct to refer each Blue Dun to its own proper ancestry. THE CHITTAGONG. The Chittagong is a very superior bird, showy in plumage, exceedingly hardy, and of various colors. In some, the gray predominates, interspersed with lightish yellow and white feathers upon the pullets. The legs are of a reddish flesh- color; the meat is delicately white, the comb large and single, wattles very full, wings good size. The legs are more or less feathered; the model is graceful, carriage proud and easy, and action prompt and determined. This breed is the largest in the world; the pullets usually weighing from eight to nine pounds when they begin to lay, and the cocks from nine to ten pounds at the same age. They do not lay as many eggs in a year as smaller hens; but they lay as many pounds of eggs as the best breeds. This breed has been, by some, confounded with the great Malay ; but the points of difference are very noticeable. There is less offal; the flesh is finer, although the size is greatly increased ; their fecundity is greater; and the offspring arrive earlier at ma- turity than in the common Malay variety. There is also a red variety of the Chittagong, which is 335 16 POULTRY AND THEIR DISEASES. rather smaller than the gray. These have legs sometimes yellow and sometimes blue; the latter color, perhaps, from some mixture with the dark variety; the wings and tail are short. Sometimes there is a rose-colored comb, and a top- knot, through crossing. This variety may weigh sixteen or eighteen pounds a pair, as ordinarily bred. The eggs are large and rich, but not very abundant, and they do not hatch remarkably well. There is, besides, a dark-red variety; the hens yellow or brown, with single serrated comb, and no top-knot; legs heavily feathered, the feathers black and the legs os The cock is black on the breast and thighs. The Chittagongs are generally quite leggy, standing some twenty-six inches high; and the hens twenty-two inches.