Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1901-02-27
WHAT KILLED TIE HORSES.
EDITOR OF TEE GAZETTE:


awakened q deep and widespread sym.
pathy for me, and g-nsral anxiety as
to the probable cause Of such mis-
fortune. I do not think ! have met
one single person since the occurrence
who did not manifest considerable
anxiety about it. It has been the talk
OF the whole county; and no wonder.
It was an anheard-of thing, at least
amongst ~. Hence, I ask space in
your paper for tails article, and shall
ask the same Of your nsighbor. the
County News.
Mr.. Ed. Ruff, the first man who saw
the first sick horse, pronounced it o
case Of poison and DR.. Lee pronounced
it . case Of indigestion. From these
two opinions, backed BY q sort Of gen.
sral prejudice against the silo, my
neighbors, who kindly esAs to do
whatever they could for tho relief Of
the horses. were almost unanimous in
the belief that they died from eating
silags, as 1 had been givingIthsm small
feeds OF it along with hay, corn meal
and bran, fer four months.
The first horse that died was opened
in the expectation OF finding the
stomach and bowels all disordsrsd il
not almost destroyed from eating
silsge. But those were found to be
all right 70 far As the parties could
judge The idea Of poison from eat
ing silage was then given up, and it
Was concluded that they died OF in.
Aammation Of the lungs caused by in
haling the oder Of the silags; and the
general belief, oil over the country, has
settled down to this. So fully are
many persons persuaded Of this, that
having occa,ion to pass my place after
the Occurrences, they would begin to
whip up their horses whom they got
within q hundred yards Of my barn,
and 60 by as fast IS possible, for fear
their horses would gel sniff Of the
poisoned air from my silo and drop
dead before they got home. A few,
ike Mr.. Ed. Ruff, believed from the
irst, that it was The effect of drug
poison, either accidentally or mali
,iously gotten into thar food.
Believing, AS 1 Lave from shs first
hat the silo had nothing more to do
With the death Of my horses THAI it had
o do with The death Of Queen Victoria,
which occurred about the same time, / |
vrote o letter to DR.. o. D. hnead, Of
logan, N. Y, editor Of the veterinary /
department. OF the National Stockman
nd Farmer, giving him . drawing Of
be ground plan OF my barn, showing
he location of the iilo and al the IN.
erior arrangement Of the barn, the
ymptoms Of the disorder, the rome
les used, and oil the circumstances
onnected With it, and closed by asking
be following questions:
1. Isit probable that nay three horses,
no OF which were eight years old, and
,e other 26, having been fed regu.
'rly for tour months small rslions OF
lsge along with thor other food.
Mould, Go q result OF eating silage,
j take sick the Same day, and oil be
tad within SO hours Of the time the
rst symptoms Of disease appeared II
vt, then Ii
2 Considering the barn. all the in
de space being open, 10 il probable
lat they died of Inflammation of the
Ings Or any other diaease brought
'eut by reason Of their inhsling the
Tor Of the silage either from the silo
: fiom throwing it down inside the
.rnf |,
3. With proper ventilation. il there
" necessity for running o close par
lion between the horse and COW sta. :
esq n
The following is the answer Of DR.. 4
mead. ~ published in the National ,
sckman and Farmer Of February Il: 7
The questions you send to me to q
lswer are by NO means easy ones.
pecially 70 from there being no post
ortem held by qualified NAB, But =
'dr questions include more than the
80 Of your horses, namely, the value
ensilags a. food for animals and also
effect by inhalation. To convince
ur neighbors that silags was ia no
~ responsible in killing your horses
~ be an impossible thing to do. To
nvincs an, one Of fact against his
II cannot well be done; yet % Q fact