Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1888-03-02
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

not thrive; / regret that 1t can any
where in this supposed-to-be-enlight-
ened land. In "MichauX' Travels in
America" published in 1905, the
author mentions a breed of polled
cattle that he, i'm 1902, found in Geor-
gia and the Carolinas. That breed is
still there, and in spite of the lack OF
care for eighty-five years, is still fine
breed But let me say that for capac-
ity TO break through an enclosure, or
to punch the daylights" out Of their
associates, horned cattle are vastly
their interiors Horned cattle are
preferable in every way. f. ID. N,
Agent of the American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty
city to Animals
EUicOttriUe, n. y.
1t may be very easy thing, from
mere sentimental grounds, to charge
Mr.. Haaf with cruelty to animals, but
it is quite different thing 10 prove it
or make out legal case against him.
The Illinois Humane Society tried it
and failed About year ago Mr..
Haaf was invited to address the Farm
ers' Convention held at Madison, Wis
consin. The following account is
taken from the Breeders Gazette:
The attraction of the afternoon
session was an address by Mr.. H. H..
Haaf, of Atkinson, ILL.,, on 'Dishorn-
ing Cattle Mr. Haaf is man in
middle life, who practiced law in Chi
cago for number of years before the
great fire, and at that time moved to
farm of 4, 900 acres near Atkinson,
ILL.,. where he has since followed farm
ing and stock-raiSing. He has been
dishorning his cattle for number of
years, and so deeply convinced was
he of the advantages of the operation
that he gave wide publicity to his
method of diShOrning and and urged
farmers to follow his practice. He
was overwhelmed by the flood of let
tiers which poured upon him, asking
for more light on the subject, and
taking this as an evidence of a wide
spread desire on the part of farmers
for some method of Kidding their cat
tie of horns, he entered actively into
the work of pushing his peculiar ideas
byprecept and example, visiting many
places for the purpose of talking to
s., = ha in or
ing them in the use of the saw. The
Illinois Humane Society, through its
officers in Chicago, instituted proceed
ingS against Mr.. Haaf on the charge
of cruelty to animals On the fourth
day of the trial when the testimony
for the defendant was all in, the pros
ecution offered to dismiss the case,
but Mr.. Haaf insisted on his right to
verdict, and it was rendered by the
jury in his behalf. \ large number
of farmers gathered in a hall imme-
diately on the announcement of the
verdict and passed resolutions indoors
ing the practice of dishorning and
condemning the Humane Society
officers in bringing suit against Mr.
Haaf. In his address. which was lis
tened TO with close attention and in
tense interest. Mr.. Haaf laid down the
following propositions, and addressed
himself to the task of proving them:
'Dishorning will yearly save the lives
Of O00 haiDus in tho ITnitaI
States; it will save the lives of 100000
cattle and horses; it will save nearly
all loss of calves by abortion; it will
save one-fourth the hay and one-tenth
of the grain fed; on cattle that run
loose it will save one-half the manure;
it will save one-half the shed room; it
will save loss in shipping cattle; it is
not cruel, but humane; it does not COM
pare in point of severity with either
castration or branding He had with
him number of skulls and horns with
which he illustrated his talk on the
nature and formation of the horn and
showed the point at which to lay the
II
out the loss of more than few table
spoonfuls of blood, and prevent its
further growth. Specimens were pre-
sented showing that the healing had
taken place by the process of granu-
lation. The speaker asserted most
strenuously that little pain was in
= ha
erly performed, and that no animal
was ever known to miss a single feed
from the results of dishorning. He
fortified his position by many letters
of testimony, and he had the strong
support of w. a. Henry, Professor of
Agriculture in the Wisconsin State
University"
There is no doubt about the grow
ing popularity of hornless cattle. The
"doddies' are steadily winning their
way to public favor. Thousands of
dishorned cattle are coming into the
Chicago market. One cattle king is
said to be dishorning his cattle at the
rate of 2, 900 week. Dishorning does
thrive in your State, and is practiced,
approved and recommended by some
of your most progressive farmers. A
club of practical dairymen in Orange
county, not long ago, unanimously
adopted the report of its committee
appointed to thoroughly investigate
Mr.. Haafs plan of dishorning. This
adopted report after giving full and
satisfactory account of successful ex-
periments, asserts that "dishorning is
safe and humane; that horns must go,
particularly those on bulls and vicious
cows" There is abundant testimony
from practical cattle men to show