The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-06-11

aovA. BAKING powosa COL, .sw vo..

entity pestiferous insects. These little
bugs make life burden to a thin
skinned horse. The tail is intended to
switch them from the hide and afford
the noble animal relief But to let the
beast retain the tail is to mar the sty-
fish effect. The bone and muscle of
the appendage is very short, SO the long
hair is cut off until the thing is much
like an animated Whisk broom. But it
is not as useful as this article. for it
would not disturb fly a foot away
Then again. society has learned to
improve on the color of nature in horses
Mouse colored nags are very rare; in
fact, they are almost unknown. BUT this
is tint much to be desired, so the
good people go out after it, Nature has
deposited a pigment in the skin of the
horse which imparts that much desired
tint, provided the outer coating of hair
is taken off. Now it is no difference that
nature has provided that hair asa a pro-
lection to the animal, protection
against sudden colds and changes Of at
mosphere. Horses are as susceptible to
colds as human beings and suffer even
more. Yet fashion deliberately clips
away the coat and expose the animal
to all kinds of suffering merely for
Sooth that mouse color may be given
to the nag.
/ Goose hvers enormously increased in
weight and fat are regarded as great
daintieS by the epicure. Good eaters
are fond of such things, but if they
know how they are produced they give
no heed thereto. The maltreatment of
a helpless goose is food for testing in
stead Of commiseration. This is the
method of preparing the poor goose
for the huge liver stage: The bird
chosen to pass into pate de foie gras
is devoted to a brief life of gluttony
But that it may increase in fat it must
not move about. If tied in any one
spot, the cord cannot be sufficiently
shortened to prevent any movements.
Sosthe bird is nailed to the floor Cruel
spikes are driven through the webbing
of the feet, and it not infrequently hap
pens that in struggling for freedom they
are torn through the tender, nerve
packed webs.
Nailed thus to the floor the bird is
tempted with rich foods and lis fed con-
stantly until it is literally stuffed. The
only motions it can make are to sit
down and stand up, with some huIter-
/ ings of the wings. 1t is held captive
thus until the experts Inow the liver
has become the leading organ inside.
HypertrOphy Of the liver is g. serious
thing to man; why should 1t be less
to a goose. If the nails were not driv-
en- through the feet, the course Of treat
ment otherwise must produce much dis
tress to the bird. But the liver is
dainty which brings good money, so
the suffering is imposed in the name
of commerce, the ruler of all things
here below.
This is not the only kind of brutality
practiced upon the goose. If a man or
woman should be suddenly subjected to
the torture of having the hair pulled
out by the roots what a howl would
ascend. When the brutal savages lift
ed a scalp by the primitive and awk-
ward method of partly cutting away
the skin and tearing it loose their ac-
tons were regarded as the refinement of
cruelty. Words of burning eloquence
have been written denouncing this prac-
tice They have been so hot that they
burned the ink and Drowned tie page.
But woman, gentle woman, will coolly
and, despite the anguished squawks of
the awkward fowl, will deity rip off
the feathers.
That woman would never think Of
trimming her child's hair by the prim-
tive process of pulling it out by the
roots. She knows the youngster would
yell a sonorous objection. But the
feathers of the goose are needed to place
ha of no hol
ruthlessly, and one may say brutally.
strips the goose of it's feathers. The
skin Of the bird is extremely sensitive
and this plucking gives the fowl great
distress, to say nothing Of the necessity
of travelling around with no protection
against insects until a new growth
comes. Then, this having been ac-
complished, the bird is once more rob-
bed. Oh, humanity is extremely care
full not to hurt any living creature.
Cruelty is thing unknown to mankind
There is one other kind of cruelty
much loved by man. That is the act
of branding cattle. 1t has its reason
in providing for the identification of
the property of a certain ranch or firm
of grazers. But it is none the less
distinct cruelty. Branding, in itself
an essentially cruel practice, is not the
only thing done to meat cattle to mark
them as belonging to the marker Mutt
lation is added to soaring, so that few
range fed beasts are perfect as nature
made them
Branding is done when the animals
are calves. Mutilation accompanies
soaring provided the ranchero deems it
necessary to otherwise mark his cattle.
The helpless calves are caught. thrown
to the ground and a red hot iron
pressed against the skin until a raw.
ugly sore in the form Of the branding
iron is produced. In order to be per-
manent the iron must be pushed into
the flesh and the dermis burned SO thor
oughly that the hair will never cover
the mark. This hurts not only at the
time, but for weeks after.
Then the owner may find It advisable
to crop an ear. 1t may be a half or
quarter crop of one or both ears. He
may bite chunk out of it. 1t may be
underbit or overbit. A hole or several
of them, round, oval, diamond, square
or any other fantastic shape, may be
punched through the cartilage. OF
course blood drips from the wound, but
it heals in time and the beast IS
marked for all time. Horns when the
animal has them are sawed Off Some
are cutsso close to the head that in,
tense suffering must follow Horns
thus cut off bleed for days and are so
tender the animal shrinks from contact
with long grass and weeds Browsing
is thus interferred with, adding hunger
to the pain of mutilation.