OCR Text |
Show BURN OUT THE BUDDING HORNS How One Can Pravent the Horna Growing on Younir Calves. When circumstances nro favorable, as In tho caao of farmers who build up their herds by raising tho progeny, the horns may bo provented from growing by a simple and practically painless mothod, and tho custom ot provontlng tno growth -of tho horns rather than deferring tho matter with tho'neccsslty of removing them from tho grown animal ts becoming moro popular and mora genornlly practiced undor all conditions oxcept In tho caso of calves dropped on the open rungo. To do this successfully It is noccssary that the calf should be treated not later than one week after 1 Its birth, preferably whon It Is from three to flvo days old. Tho ngont to ho uBed may bo either ciuibUc soda ot caustic potash, both of which may ho procured In tho drug stores In tho form of sticks about tho thickness of an ordinary lead pencil nnd flvo inches long. Thoso caustics must bo handled with care, as thoy dissolve the cutlclo and may mako tho hands or fingers soro. Tho preparation of the calf consists In first clipping tho I lialr from tho parts, washing clean T with soap nnd warm wat6r, nnd thoroughly drying with n cloth or towel. Tho stick of caustic should bo wrapped In n pleco of paper to protect pro-tect tho hands and ringers, leaving ono ond of tho stick uncovorcd. Molaton tho uncovcrod ond slightly and rub It on tho horn buttons or little lit-tle points which may ho felt on tho calf's head, first on ono nnd thon tho 1 other, alternately, two or throo tlmos on ouch, allowing tho cnustlo. to dry nftor each application, no very caro-ful caro-ful to apply thu cnustlo to tho horn button only. If It In brought In colt-tact colt-tact with tho surrounding skin It will causo pnlu. Ho vbry careful also not to liavo too much moisture on tho i stick of caustic, aa It will excoriate tho akin and mnko tho parts Bore It n lowed to run 4own over the fnr After trontmont keep tho animal it tectod from rain, a wnter on ti head attor tho nuplicntlou ot caustl J 1 will cause It to run down over the face. This must bo carefully avoided. All of tho preparations which have been used to prevent horns from growing on young animals havo been composed largely ot ono or the other of tho caustics above mentioned. In view of the fact that theso substances alone, without the admixture of others, oth-ers, answer tho purpose satisfactorily, it would hardly seejn to bo necessary to givo tho following formula, but as It was used with good results when much was being written In regard to dehorning compounds, It Iiob beon thought best to lnsort It hero, chiefly to pr.ovent tho necessity for nny further Inquiry on tho part of thoso who may have used It and aro no longer In possession of It. The formu-la formu-la was published In the eighth and ninth nnnunl reports of tho bureau of animal Industry for 1891 and 1832, and tho preparation wns at that tlmo quite largely used. It wos mndo by combining In nn emulsion CO por cont. of caustic soda, 2G per cont. of kerosene, kero-sene, and 25 por cont. of water. The caustic soda Is dissolved in tho wntor and heated to tho boiling point, then removed from tho fire, and tho koro-seno koro-seno ndded gradually, while vigorously vigorous-ly stirring tho mixture. This emulBlon Ib applied In very much tho same manner nB the stick catiBtlc, except that It Ib necessary to employ a short, stiff brush, or meat skower, UBlng the-large the-large ond, which hnB been previously mashed or contused to form n stubby brush. Two or throo applications should he made to each horn button, as In tho caso of tho stick caustic, with Intervnls to allow It to dry. When a calf la thrco or four wooka old tho caustics or cnustlo preparations prepara-tions aro of llttlo or no uso. Tho horna on young anlmnlB of this ago can ho romoved by ono cut of a good sharp pockot knife, but whon tho treatmont Is delayed to this ago thoro Is considerable humorrhngo as a result re-sult of cutting tho starting horna, which can bo eiNlrcly avoided It tho animals nio treated with ono of thd caustics nt tho earlier ago nbovo ln dlcnted. In tho very young calf tho horn but-I but-I (on, or point that will ultimately develop de-velop Into i horn, lias scurcoly any at luchmont to tho skull, and muy bo felt us a small button embedded In tho nkln. |