Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-05-13
I T :}MY PROVIDES FOR
fIlAYBURNER'S' VEAL
Horses and Mules Get Best
of Care and Hospital
Treatment.
BY JCNICS h. WOOD.
<Correspondence Of The Evening Star
and Chicago Daily News.)


Nth THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
RANCE. April 19.-With all the ad-
Nances of modern warfare, armies have
aver been able to dispense with the
: led and true "hayburner" as a means
- transportation. In army parlance. in
distinction from a Locomotive. which
Irns coal, or a motor truck. which laps
rD gasoline. a "hayburner" is horse.
90 his long-eared relative. mule. They
Re the standbys of armies today. just
they were of the Egyptians. Troop
trains and motor trucks help out in
| ansportation. but the four-footed
siodders are the backbone of the whole
transportation system.
They need repair shops, just as do
Eae hard used means of mechanical
ansportation. Technically these are
called horse hospitals and some of these
established by the expedition have al
.'eady reached an imposing size. A horse
or mule Is brought in and appears ready
sor the boneyard. In few weeks he Ia
!ull Of pep" again and after a new
coat Of hair has griwn-which nature
does not hurry-he is as spick and
span as last years automobile with
new coat of paint.
Guard Against Horse Illness.
Horses at the front are subject to
many ailments. Wounds and injured
from accidents are only a small part
of the wear and tear. Ills such as
mango. which are comparatively trivial
IL caught in time. are the chief dan
gers which must be combated. In
fact. this itch causes more loss than
all the shells. Once a horse is infect
ed. unless it is sent to hospital in
the rear. the animal loses appetite. be-
comes enfeebied and gradually the en-
tire stable is tainted.
In one of the cities in the American
training area, the "hayburners" hospi-
tai is located in substantial barracks
which were built by the Germans when
they occupied that portion OF France
during the Franco-Prussian war. The
former head Of a veterinary college in
Chicago Is in charge Of it. The old
mules in various stages of con-
valescence, long lines of them are
picketed outside sun bathing. and SOL
diers are exercising the sleek rehabflf-
tated mounts which a few weeks ago
were apparently ready for the junk
Dil&
Makes EN- as Good as New.
This hospital has restored more than
5000 horses and mules as good as new
for service. The saving on each one
has been at least $1,000. SO the estab-
lishment means at least 100000
saved. Considering the initial pur-
chase price, the cost of transportation,
the expense of training an animal for
Army work, $1,000 is considered a
conservative figure. 1t would cost more
than that to replace one from the
States.
Time is the chief factor in treatment
60 Law Of rna ant . a.
manning tufts of hair are clipped and
the animal is shampooed with soft soap
and carbonate of soda. Then it is
marched into a runaway and suddenly
. rs per cent solution Of sulphurated
arsenic. This Is rubbed in and the pro-
cess Is repeated i've or six times at
intervals of four days. Exercise and
nature do the rest.
Varying the bath is a sulphuration
chamber which Is Theoretically sealed.
with the horses head outside. The gas
10 turned on for an hour. The French
and British armies use this method. A
DR.. Clayton, British veterinarian, pro-
tested that he was the originator of the
method when the French started to use
1t. DR.. Lepinay. French veterinarian.
Immediately countered with long ar
ticle in a magazine Of general circula-
.tion among specialists showing that the
Romans in ancient times sealed up their
galley slaves in the same kind of gas
boxes to relieve them of various an
noying parasites. That ended the con-
troversy for the time being as to which
was the discovcrer.
American Veterinarians Help.
Some Of the best known veterinarians
In America are giving their services to
the expedition. Among the number are
DR.. H. E. Bemis, dean Of Ames College.
Iowa; DR.. L. A. Klein. dean of the Uni
vsrsity Of Pennsylvania College: DR.. D.
8. White. dean of Ohio State College;
DR.. Reed Blair Of the New York zee
and DR.. L. A. Merrilat of Chicago.
The French government goes even
farther in cooperation between the
army and the civilian population in
maintaining the standard Of stock in
the country. An animal with colt
which belongs to the army is returned
to the rear and loaned to a farmer. He
cares for both until the colt can be
,wsaned and the older animal is then
returned to the army for service while
h keeps the colt for his share.
The government also maintains a
large establishment of pedigreed stall
lions. In the spring these are distrib-
uted to different parts of the country
10 the peasants, insuring a continuous
high grade stock Of horses in the ma
tton.