The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-05

pense for postage. 1t will not cost
much, and may save you ten or twenty
/ times it's value in one season.
If you would grow dewberries for
| profit get the earliest and best variety
and You cannot possibly be disap-
| LOinted.
| DehOrning CattIe-Its Real Value.
! In reply to a recent inquiry as to the
benefits derived from dehorning cattle
are given herewith the directions fur
nished by bulletin No. 80 of the Florida
| Experiment Station. 1t says:
Cattle are dehorned for several rea-
sons; they are rendered more docile;
| they can be shipped in a smaller space;
| they are less dangerous to each other,
to attendants, and to other farm stock.
| Dehorning may be done at two peri
DDS of an animals life; either at the
| age of one to four weeks, or after the
| horns have reached mature size. When
| done early in life, it does not have
! the tanning effect that results when
the operation is performed upon adult
animals. A natural-born poker, when
| dehorned early, becomes butter when
| mature because it has not learned that
/ its weapons have been removed. Upon
the whole, it is better and much easier
| to dehorn the young calf than the ma
ture animal. No instruments are need
! ed; it can be done at any time of the
year, and one man can do the work.
| All that is necessary is to buy stick
of caustic potash, or caustic soda, dip
| the end in water and rub 1t gently over
| the little horn, taking care first to an
noint the skin around the base of the
| horn with vaseline to prevent the caus-
| tic from spreading Throw the calf,
apply the caustic to one horn, then to
/ lou
| first horn when dry, and then apply
a second time to the other horn.
In handling the caustic wrap the
| end in paper, or the fingers will be
burned; also be careful not to drop
any of the caustic in the calfs eye, as
blindness will result. Should such ac-
| cident occur, vinegar would be the
most easily obtained antidote.
Two methods of dehorning older cat
| tie are in vogue. One is to secure the
animal to a post, or in a brake, and
cut off horns with dehorning shears.
| The other is to saw them off with
an ordinary butchers saw. The shears
| do the work more quickly, and al
| though an animal dies occasionally as
a result of the operation, they are to
be recommended where large numbers
are to be dehorned. and when time is
| an item. Where only a few animals
| are to be dehorned, 1t is unnecessary
! to go to the expense of buying a de-
horner. as a common butchers saw, or
even an ordinary hand-saw will do
| the work Just as we'll and perhaps
better. Bleeding is sometimes profuse
| when shears are used, and inflamma-
| ton is sometimes set up owing to
| small pieces of horn being driven into
| the horn by the crushing of the shears.
l have known of a range steer to die
of Texas fever. induced by the inflam-
nation resulting from the use of a dull
| pair of dehorning shears. AS a means
| of restraining the animal while using
the saw, l prefer casting. This is very
| easily accomplished by taking three
| half-hitches around the animal by
means of a ga inch rope forty feet
long. Secure the head by means of
| a slip-knot, take a single half-hitch
around the root of the neck, another
| around the chest, and another around
the loins with the knots lying on the
back, and pull hard on the free end
of the rope The animal will make
| few lunges, and then lie down. The
| feet can then be secured, and the an
imal is ready for the operation. Turn
back the hair at the root of the horn
and saw off about Il inch of the skin
along with the horn. This will pre-
vent further growth of the stump.
| Have the saw slant inwards slightly,
and a better-looking head will result.
| AS soon as the horns are removed,
| sprinkle some powdered boracic acid
of pine tar on pieces of cotton batting,
apply to the stump and secure 1t by
! drawing the hair over the cotton and
tieing the ends with fine strong cord.
| Under no circumstances should the
! practice, which seems common here,
| of sprinkling sand on the stumps to
stop bleeding, be resorted to. The
bleeding will generally stop of itself
| in a little while. Should ii persist,
apply any of the following: Hot wa
| ter, ice, fannie acid, alum, or Mon
! sells solution of iron. DehornlnS
should always be done in cool wealth
! err. Cows far advanced in pregnancy
should not be dehorned. A temporary
| loss in the milk yield usually results.