Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1891-05-05

lent for holding the animals, but
they arenot essential so long as the
head is kept quiet. Mr.. Haaff gives
the following simple directions:
/. Animal should be cast to de
horn it.
q The head should he perfectly
rigid 1t is essential that there be
30 movement of the head or neck
during the operation,
8. Do not dehorn any animal
while heated or excited from driving
or otherwise, and do not drive all
animal directly after the operation
is performed.
4. Always shape the head of
yearling or two-year-old-that is,
cut off enough bone at the top of the
horn, and the hide too, to give it II
good top-not appearance. Make the
head shapely.
s. IN case Of cattle older than
two years, place the saw on the mat
rix so as to cut at least one-half inch
below the base of the horn. This
prevents any stub horn-growing.
6. Never put thing on; let the
head alone. Nature docs the heal
ing better than you can.
7. Have all quiet around, and
having dehorned the animal, allow
it to pass out of the chute at once
An expert will be ten seconds in
operating on an ordinary pair of
horns, and if he is more than Is
seconds, something is wrong with
his chute or saw.
Avoid the new knives and shears
that some have been using. They
are all more or less skull crushers,
and in one case that / know of the
use of pair of shears, made on pur-
pose too, left so out Of 200 cattle in a
bad condition for months, and the
owner wrote me few weeks ago that
| JWO vi GuObO CbtJlC blill luh Nv Jlt
head after, now, nine months time,
and the so were ruined for the mar
ket of last year. No, let knives and
shears alone, A dehorningssaw costs
but trifie, and once the operator
gets his hand in, neither he nor the
animal cares for the operation. AT
! the great Denver test on imported
Holland cows two chutes were used
and two COWS side by side, tested as
to pulse and as to tempature. One
COW was dehorned and the other
handled so as to scare her, and the
fright ran both temperature andpulse
to the same point that the actual
operation did in'case of the cow that
was dehorned. If care is used by
not pounding or proddlng or anger
ing a bull, he will go along as meek
as can be. 1t is all in how you do it.
Dehorn any time but fly time.
Caustic potash, now 50 largely
used for dehorning calves, is not
very agreeable stuff to handle unless
certain precautions are observed.
1t has way of absorbing moisture
from the air and becomes deliques-
cent, and then, unless handled with
care, is quite apt to attack ones
hands as to destroy embryo horns.
1t comes in sticks about the size of
an ordinary lead pencil. These may
be separately wrapped In oiled
paper and kept IN tightly corked
bottle in which a few fragments of
quick lime have been placed to
absorb moisture. When used the
oiled paper may be torn of from the
end of the stick, the remainder pro-
tecting the hand from injury.
The parts to which 1t is applied
should be moistened little by the
finger, with care not to spread the
moisture beyond the part or apply
50 much that it will run. The end
of a stick Of potash is then rubbed
gently on the moistened part for
short time and the APPLICATION repeat
ed the next day until the cap of
horny matter is so decomposed that
1t will run of completely, leaving a
bare spot. This may be dressed
with a little calomel, when it will
soon heal. AS the part TO be re-
moved at the age of the calf is not
vascular, and is devoid Of nerves,
the operation will be completely
painless If properly performed
Western St0ckman.