Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-01-07
Facts Concerning the HOrn.Ail In Neat
Cattle.

Most farmers recognize the "horn-ailp
in neat cattle as disease of common oc-
currence, while intelligent and scientific
veterinarians aver that there is no such
disease. At a meeting of stock breeders
and farmers recently held at Amherst,
Mass, the subject of horn-ail was
brought up and thoroughly ventilated.
A number of dealers in neat cattle, who
are advocates of the belief of the exis-
tence of the horn-ail, gave the prevailing
symptoms of the disease, which are loss
OF appetite, loss of cud, coldness of the
horns, dry nose, cough, fever and wasting
away. and in fact almost any unfavorable
symptom which the COW doctor cannot
account for is referred to horn-ail and
treated accordingly; but the sure indica-
ton is the finding of the horn hollow
when boring into it with gimlct, and if
it doesn't bleed upon boring into it that
is another sign of the disease, but If ii is
found full Of matter, which ruDs out of
this hole, this is still another symptom
The treatment usually consists of boring
the horn and stutling it with salt, vinegar,
cayenne pepper and spirits of turpentine
and the correctness of the diagnosis is
inferred from the fact that horns are hol-
ioW anu tiC iuuS Out 1T tuC uOS-
trils. Some get better and some die.
One gentleman stated rather hard story
to believe, but he said it was true never
theless. He said he knew Of case of
nail where the COW was taken by
shaking the head while being MIXED,
and shel shook it until she shook both
horns of close to the head. Mr. Dillon
described two cases which had come
under his notice in which most of the
symptoms described were present and
he had great difficulty in preventing
Jealous cow-doctors from boring their
horns. But upon examination after death
ii WAS found that one died from tubercu.
losis and the other from the effects of
hair-pin in the reticulum.
Prof. Noah Cressy, NJ d., took his
place at the desk, on which a student
had in the meantime placed several
scores of horns and skull of a steer
He said he was glad OF the opportunity
Of showing the farmers how prevalent
the disease, called horn-ail, is in this sec
ton of the country, and many of the old
believers in the disease sat in the most
breathless horror as the doctor took from
the basket horn after horn, and every
one of them hollow, " Imagine said
he, "the consequences of eating beef
from cattle diseased with the horn ail
and every creature that is killed in the
Connecticut Valley, according to your
symptoms, has this disease" Then
taking up the skull with one horn entire
and the other sawed down the middle,
he said: "This is skull Of a twoyear-
old steer. This animal was never sick in
his life, yet you see his horns are almost
entirely hollow" In stating that he
never met with horn-ail, he wanted it to
be understood that he never met with a
disease for which the name seemed def
mite and approx Iiate Had known so
called horn.ail ever since he was boy.
His father always doctors ior thai dis
ease; but instead Of stuffing the horns he
pours the medicine down the nostrils.
The doctor here exhibited the formation
of the skull of the OK, illustrating his re-
marks by his specimen, calling attention
to tie position and use OF the frontal
bone, sinuses, diploc, etc, and the inner
and outer horns. Re then proceeded in
detail to account for the symptoms of the
believed horn-ail, and TO demolish the
impression drawn by them. The hol-
low horn was natural, healthy condi-
ton; the presence of matter he attrib-
uted to catarrh; the failure to bleed