The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-02-16
The Tails Of Farm Animals---A HUI
manItarlan View.

This is queer subject, but there is
as much "in it" as in some other tales
When boy, it was the fashion to dock
the tails of horses quite short, cut GER
tain cords on the under side of the
stump, and then put it in sling for
two or three weeks until it healed.
Ever afterwards the animal carried the
stump cooked up in the air like the
"white Gag" of deer or a rabbit. La
ter, a longer dock was made, but the
stump not cooked, only the hair cut
straight across at the end of the bone,
leaving what remained looking like
broom, Public sentiment and the law
against cruelty to animals soon began
TO curtail this tail eXcision, and finally
put stop to it altogether. There are,
however, few anglomaniacs left who
now clip the hair straight across at the
end of the bony part of the natural tail
because "it's English, you know"
Such team passes my door frequently
in summer. The animals are to be
pitied whose tails have been tempered
with in either manner. The Creator
ordained tails for horses to brush off
troublesome flies, and it is cruel 10 de-
prive them of this means of protection.
l did not lament when neigh boris
"bobtail boss" in fighting flies with
his feet, kicked a leg over holdback
strap, ran away and made kindling
wood of the buggy. ''Served him
right" Not one argument could ever
be adduced in favor of docking horse's
tail or of severing portion of the
hair. 1t was only the dictum OF fash
ion. Cutting the hair square across is
also an act of cruelty to animals of
which the courts would probably take
cognizance should complaint be pre-
ferree.
An English paper says of the tails of
cows: "They are sometimes shortened
by cutting off the hair straight across
at about the hooks, or as high as the
operator can go without removing a
joint" 1t is lazy method of lessen
ing the evils of uncleanliness in the
stable, and is common in badly con-
structed COW houses, where straw
or other bedding is scarce. A dairy
man having engaged a new cowboy to
attend his pedigreed ShorthOrns was
Mortified the next morning to miss all
the beautiful, sweeping ringlets, and to
find instead, in each stable, very uni
form row of plebian "bobtails." Bob.
bling the cows is not much practiced in
this country, but it is some. 1t is
wrong, for this switch was provided for
very useful purpose. A mixer met
with a serious occurrence in conse-
quence of clipping the hair from a
cows tail. He looking back, the COW
stepped aside, and, at the same time,
getting the right twist on her tail
punched one of his eyes out with the
bare end. Had the switch not been
removed, doubtless the eye would have
escaped destruction. 1t is quite CON-
mon TO see an occasional tailless COW
in dairy sections. On inquiry, it was
learned that the calves lost their caudal
appendages when very young, and al
ways within few inches of the upper
end. The tails get gummed up with
the glutinous eXcretions, this drying
on, has the effect of "cording" the
tails, which stops the circulation and
the tails rot off. Prudence would die
tate to keep such excretions washed
off. A stump.tail cow will not do 80
well in summer as though she had a
full switch, because she has less de-
Tense against flies. She is displeasing
to the eye of every one who sees her.
When calf loses it tail it would better
be vealed. With regard to sheep, their
tails have lost their usefulness under
present conditions, and it is right that
they should come under the rule of eX-
cision. In their earlier days undoubt-
eddy they were wild, mountain breeds,
feeding upon the heritage of declivities,
narrow and often over-hanging lodges
of rock on the mountain side. Under
such conditions their tails may have
acted, to certain extent, as balancing
poles. In the early days of sheep herd
ing they evidently grazed upon such
lands and had long tails, for the ancient
nursery rhyme reads:
Leave them alone
And they'll come home
Dragging their tails behind them.
If the tail could be bred off, il would
be an improvement, for it is not need
ed, either as a balancing pole, or as
with horses and cows to switch off flies,
nor does it furnish any mutton, or
wool enough to pay for the bother.
Wild sheep living on browse and scant
heritage probably did not scour and
ulTly UP tucll ldlle db eucep Ollcu 10
now in our fat fields. Under present
conditions long tails of sheep are filthy
nuisances, and should be prevented.
The tails of lambs should be docked
when they are two or three days of
age. There is not pain enough about
it then TO constitute cruelty, but it is
cruel to leave the dock much less than
two inches in length. A short dock
exposes it to annoyance of flies, and to
the weather.
But what sense can there be in am
putating the tails of pigs? The Eng
lish did this so long they came near
breeding them off entirely. A writer
says of it: sin some OF our highly-bred
pigs there is at an early age tendency
to drop the tail. If not helped to re-
tain them they are often tailless before
they are weaned, and during the rest
of their lives possess only stumps,
Il, .zI