The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-10-29
The Killing Of Domestic Animals.


cruel, and a process of butchery - in
the worst sense of that term. This cru
city arises partly from downright
thoughtlessness, and in q good measure
from an ignorance of the vital point to
be reached in such piece of work.
There are three common methods OF
taking life from domestic animals, and
as every farmer, from his connections
and surroundings, may be expected at
any moment to be called upon TO ter
inmate the life of an animal, he should
know how to do the work, and in the
most humane manner possible. The
first method is by cutting the throat
without first producing insensibility.
This is to be condemned, first, on the
ground of unnecessary cruelty, and
secondly, because it Injuries the flesh of
those animals that are slaughtered for
food. 1t is a well-known fact among
butchers that the flesh is influenced by
the manner in which the killing is done.
Anything that prolongs torture in
creases the secretions which act dele
teriously upon the flesh
The second method of destroying life
is by what is termed "pithing." or rem
dering the animal insensible by pierre
ing part of the brain by means of
sharp instrument, or by sharp blow
upon the head, after which the throat
is cut and the animal bled. When the
animal is to have its brain pierced by
a sharp iron. the man performing the
operation stands upon a platform above
the animal and thrusts the Spud--a
sharp iron on long handle--into that
portion of the brain known as the me-
dulla oblOngata, or the base of the
brain. The animal thus struck falls in
stantly and is insensible to any further
pain. The animal throat is next cut,
and death takes place without q srug-
gle. This method is now quite general
ly practiced in the larger beef-killing
establishments, as those at Chicago.
where the writer was much Interested
with the skill and thoughtfulness dis
played in all the operations of slaugh-
tering the animals. The cattle to be
killed are in small enclosure at one
side of the slaughter-house, and an ami
NAL is struck down as needed, by the
"spudsman,' who passes above the an
imalS upon cross timbers. The animal
as soon as it falls is caught up by rope
with a pulley and drawn into the slaugh-
ter-house, where its throat is cut and
the blood removed.
But it is not my purpose to describe
further than the matter of removing the
life of the animal in this paper. This
method requires so much skill upon the
part of the man who handles the sharp
instrument, that it is not practicable for
general use among the farming classes
who have only an occasional animal to
kill. The sharp blow upon the head
must be resorted to as the next best
method of stunning" or rendering an
animal insensible. To this end, much
depends upon the part of the head
which is struck by the AK or maui. l
have seen animals struck half dozen
times with a heavy AK, and then break
in some distant field. All such attempts
to avoid pain only increase it, and it
would have been more humane to have
"strung the animal up by its heels
and then cut its throat without any
previous torture. The end to be
reached by blow upon the head is the
arrangement of the brain, which causes
loss OF consciousness, and therefore in
sensibility to pain. Many persons
strike too high and fail in bringing the
animal to the ground-not from too
feeble blow, but a wrong application of
it to the head. The point to be aimed
at in horses is the point of intersection
of the lines joining the base of the ear
with the opposite eye. There is little
or no brain between the eyes," and
this is too frequently the point struck
by the Ak. With cattle, the brain is
nearest the surface, and most readily
reached by blow given on point
which is the intersection of lines drawn
from the base of each horn to the eve
on the opposite side of the face.
In all cases when blow is admins
tered, the head of the animal should he
securely fastened, and, as a precaution
against any Jerking of the head, it is
well to blindfold the animal. With
these precautions, and sharp blow
accurately aimed at the proper point,
the animal should invariably fall sense
less at single stroke, thus suffering
little or none from the operation of the
taking of its life.
If the blow is to be struck with a
rifle bullet, the same rules are to be
observed. No one but a steady-nerved
''sure shot, should practice this meth
! cd, as an ill-directed shot may make the
animal Infatuated, and in its suffering
cause others to suffer. The muzzle of
the rifle may almost touch the vulnera-
bic point, and thus but little chance Of
error need exist.
The hog killing day is one of the
noisiest upon the farm, and dying by
inches is experienced by many pig
that could have been put out of its mis-
cry by we'll directed blow VI on the
skull Only experts can cause instant
death with a single thrust of the knife.
Those "stickers' vino stand in the
wholesale slaughter pen and do moth