USA > Illinois > Ford County > Ford County, Illinois, county directory, 1917 > Part 3
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Colic Medicines.
Keep in stock one pound each of laudanum (dose, 1 to 2 ounces); es- sence of ginger root (dose, 1 to 2 drams); sulphuric acid (dose, 1/2 to 1 ounce); turpentine (dose, 1 to 2 ounces); granular hpyosulphite of soda (dose, 1 to 4 ounces). A dose of each of the first three medicines in a pint of water containing two ounces of hpyosulphite of soda will prove effective for most colics. Two ounces of turpentine in a pint of raw linseed oil may be given for "wind" (flatulent)
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PRAIRIE FARMER'S RELIABLE DIRECTORY
colic, or following the other medicine when the pain of "cramp" (spasmodic) colic has subsided.
Fever Medicines.
Powdered saltpeter is an important drug for animals. It is given in the fever of influenza, founder (laminitis) or lymphangitis (milk leg, also for stocking of the legs and other large swellings. A dram is the average dose. Give it every four or six hours in fever, twice daily for swellings, or with tonics as a condition powder, and in double doses for founder or milk leg. Do not give it in colt distemper, when abscesses are forming. It may often be administered in drinking water or a bran mash or damp feed. It also is given in tablespoonful doses once or twice daily for garget of the cow. Beware of aconite often given for fever. It is too dangerous a poison to be safely used by anyone other than a trained doctor.
Blister.
An effective blistering ointment is made by melting together three parts of lard and one-quarter part of finely shaved yellow beeswax, and then stirring in one part of powdered can- tharides (Spanish fly). Stir in a tin dish until cold, then store in a capped glass fruit jar. It improves with age. When using this blister clip off the hair, wash ahe skin clean, dry it per- fectly. Tie the horse up short in his stall, rub the blister in for fifteen minutes and then smear on some more blister. Wash the blister off in 48 hours and then apply a little lard daily. Do not cover a blistered part, or rub it on the loins, or on top of the hips, or use it after a poultice, or on irritated skin, or in very hot or cold weather.
Absorbents.
Never be without tincture of iodine to swab on swollen glands, tumors, forming abscesses, bony growths, capped or puffed joints, indolent sores or wounds, canker of the mouth in pigs and ringworm spots. It also is useful to inject into abscesses fistula and lump jaw cavities. Iodine oint- ment is made by mixing one dram each of iodine crystals and iodide of potash in one ounce of lard. This is used on swellings, sore necks and shoulders, puffs of all sorts, tumors,
forming abscesses, ringworm spots and enlargements of the udder. » As an absorbent blister rub up one dram of biniodide of mercury with two ounces of the fly blister already men- tioned and use on bony growths, such as splints and ringbone, callouses, indolent sores, tumors of the udder.
Worm Medicines.
Gasoline is kept on most farms and in tablespoonful doses in six ounces of milk is the best remedy for stomach worms in sheep. Lambs take less in proportion. Two ounces of turpen- tine in a pint of raw linseed oil is effective as a starting dose for a "wormy horse." Follow with worm powders composed of equal parts of salt, sulphur and dried sulphate of ron. Dose, one tablespoonful night and morning for a week, then skip ten days and repeat. Omit iron for preg- nant animals. For worms of swine give one teaspoonful of turpentine in slop for three consecutive days for each eighty pounds of body weight; or one dram of dried sulphate of iron in slop for five successive mornings for each hundred pounds of body weight. Where swine are known to be seriously infested with worms, give eight grains of santonin and five grains of calomel in a little slop for each hundred pounds of body weight. Divide the pigs into lots of five and give the medicine in a little slop after starving the animals for eighteen hours. Care must be taken to give only the doses here prescribed, else damage may be done.
Disinfectants.
In the paragraph on wound medi- cines it has been advised to keep car- bolic acid and coal tar disinfectant in stock. To these may be added for- maldehyde, bichloride of mercury tablets and permanganate of potash crystals. In disinfecting a stable a solution of four or five ounces of for- maldehyde to the gallon, or a 1-1,000 of bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate) or a 1-30 solution of car- bolic acid or coal tar disinfectant should be used after a thorough clean- sing of the premises. For wounds a 1-1,000 solution of corrosive sublimate also is the most effective disinfectant and a 1-500 solution should be used for disinfecting when a spore-form- ing germ, like that of anthrax, is pres-
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FARMERS AND BREEDERS, FORD COUNTY
ent. Permanganate of potash is a useful mild disinfectant (antiseptic and deodorizer) in a 1-5,000 to a 1-50 solution. The weaker solution is used lukewarm for vaginal injection pur- poses, while the 2 per cent solution is useful for injection into cavities from which come bad-smelling discharges and for swabbing sores (cankers) of the mouth. As a wound lotion it is usual to employ a 2 to 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid, or lysol, or coal tar disinfectant. Carbolic acid is also much used as an internal disin- fectant in contagious abortion. Two drams of the acid is well diluted with water and mixed in soft feed for each pregnant cow every other night throughout pregnancy. Peroxide of hydrogen one part and clean water two or three parts is a popular dis- infectant for cleansing foul wounds.
Scour Medicines.
The farm medicine chest would not be completely stocked without some remedies for diarrhoea or scours. A mixture of one part of salol and two parts of bismuth (first prescibed years ago by the writer) has become a standard remedy among farmers. The average dose is one teaspoonful given two or three times a day and washed down with milk or water. The dose may be doubled in bad cases and for larger calves and foals. Prepared chalk, powdered alum, sulphur, pow- dered , catechu, rhubarb and ginger root are also much used for diarrhoea.
Administering Medicines.
Small doses of liquid medicine, such as the average two-ounce dose of a fever medicine or tonic solution, are best given by means of a half-ounce hard rubber syringe. Expert veteri- narians sometimes give such medicines or bad-tasting drugs in gelatine cap- sules, or in form of a "ball." Worm, condition and tonic powders are mixed in damp grain feed. A large dose of liquid medicine is termed a "drench" and is given from a strong, long-necked bottle. A few inches of rubber hose may be fitted on the neck of such a bottle.
To drench a horse, back him into a stall, place a running noose of soft, small cotton rope .or "clothes line" upon the upper incisor teeth, under the upper lip, and draw the noose tight, with the knot of the rope- to
the front. Throw the loose end of the rope across an overhead beam, raise the horse's head, hold it there by means of the rope and pour the medicine into the mouth a little at a time until all is swallowed. Do not squeeze the throat of the horse when giving medicine and never pour the medicine into the nostril. If the horse will not swallow, pour a teaspoonful of cold water into a nostril and swal- lowing will instantly occur.
To drench a cow, place her in a stanchion or tie her in a stall. Walk up on her right side (milking side). Pass the left hand across her face and into her mouth. Hold her head in a straight line forward and slightly ele- vated, not turned to one side. Pour, the medicine very slowly into the right side of the mouth. Let the head down instantly if the medicine causes the cow (or horse) to cough. Fluid given too fast passes into the paunch and is practically wasted. Administered slowly, it largely goes to the third and fourth stomachs and absorption takes place in the latter.
Sheep have to be very carefully drenched from a bottle to avoid chok- ing. Swine take medicine through a hole cut in the toe of an old shoe thrust into the mouth or from a short, strong rubber hose fitted in the neck of a strong bottle. Dogs take medi- cine in capsules inserted in meat or from a bottle or spoon emptied into a pouch formed of the lip and cheek.
Avoid "doping" animals unneces- sarily. Medicine should only be given when the animal is sick, should be the right medicine, and is best pre- scribed by an expert.
VALUE OF LABOR
The United States Department of Agriculture found in 1855 that it re- quired four hours and 34 minutes of human labor to produce a bushel of corn. At the Minnesota experiment station it has been found recently that 45 minutes of human labor is about the average time required for the same work. In other words, human labor is worth six times as much as it was 60 years ago, due to the use of better machinery, better varieties of corn and better soil management.
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PRAIRIE FARMER'S RELIABLE DIRECTORY
SOME COMMON UNSOUNDNESSES
By Dr. A. S. Alexander, in Prairie Farmer
AKE nothing for granted when
buying a horse. One should make sure about doubtful things. If the eye cannot decide the mat- ter the hand may be employed to corroborate or disprove; but the eye should be the main dependence and the hand used only as a last resort. An Irishman does not like to buy a pig "in a poke." He wants to see and examine the "rint payer" and may even make the animal squeal to be sure that he is getting his money's worth. In just the same way one must make the most careful examination of every part of a horse, "size up" the entire combination of points and make sure that there is lack of vice, soundness of eyes, wind and limb, and perfect fitness for the special kind of work the animal will have to do.
A famous veterinary teacher once called upon his senior students to ex- amine a lame horse and state in writ- ing what they thought was the cause of lameness. The horse had a splint,
one sidebone and a small ringbone affecting the lame leg. To one or other of these three unsoundnesses each student in turn attributed the lameness. But one learns best by making mistakes and this truth was soon "rubbed in" by the teacher. Having collected the reports he told . the smith who was standing by, to remove the shoe from the lame foot. Then a majority of the students no- ticed for the first time that the sole of the foot was covered with a thick leather pad. When the leather came off pus spurted from a nail prick wound which had been purposely hid- den. Lameness was due to the nail prick, not to splint, ringbone or side- bone, and the laugh was on the "boys." Never again would one of them be similarly caught and so a never - to - be - forgotten lesson was learned. Every intending purchaser should learn this lesson, too, and be a "doubting Thomas" until his hands have felt where the eyes could not definitely decide a mooted point.
Splint
Curb
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FARMERS AND BREEDERS, FORD COUNTY
„Seek to deal with men of known integrity in business. If not expert, and the horse to be bought is a dear one, it will be good policy to employ a veterinarian to make a critical ex- amination. Better visit the stable when not expected and see the horse in the stall. There some things can be learned that will not be seen when the horse is warmed up. You should be able to enter and leave the stall on the left side of the horse, without being received with a bite or expelled with a kick. Note, too, if the horse digs a hole in the floor by pawing, or chews his manger and hay rack, which may indicate cribbing and wind suck- ing, or weaves from side to side, or pulls back on the halter. Make him "stand over" and note if he jerks up a hind leg, or hops over. The hopping may indicate spavin lameness, which quickly disappears when the horse is warmed up.
The jerking up of a hind leg may be accompanied by quivering of muscles and tail and such a horse is a "shiv- erer" or "crampy" and afflicted with incurable St. Vitus' dance. The symp- toms of the latter disease become more apparent as the horse backs out of the stall, but quickly subside with slight exercise. If the animal has "string halt" the jerking up of the hind legs is continued as long as the horse is in motion, he does not warm out of it. When a horse is brought out for inspection "on a run" or "dead jump" it is impossible to detect spavin lameness or chorea and even string halt may not be noticed. This will be more certainly the case if the horse is turned loose in deep snow, or plowed land, or in a straw bedded pad- dock. This commonly is done. Some- times an old plug that has scarcely animation enough to get out of its own way will kick up, strut and trot, proud as a peacock, when suddenly the halter shank, previously cut part way through, breaks and the old pil- grim imagines he has broken loose by his own great strength. This trick is often tried. Never allow the dealer to keep the horse "in the air.'
After making an examination in the stall watch the horse for a while as he stands at ease on a level floor. Maybe he cannot stand at ease. If a foot hurts, soon that foot will be thrust forward; if two hurt each will
be advanced turn about; if four hurt the horse will rest each foot in turn. And do not forget to walk around the horse that every part may meet the eye. Often one side is a pretty pic- ture, the other marred. See both sides, for often the animal is turned toward the wall if an eye is out, a big bare spot present or some unsound- ness there that had best be kept hid- den. A. "watch" or "wall" eye can see, but it is unsightly. The tour of inspection around the horse discloses all such blemishes.
Remember about not buying a pig in a poke, so remove the blanket from all fancy harness and see that the halter has no springs and trusses to press down upon the nostrils to pre- vent high blowing and "roaring." Many a man has neglected to remove a horse's hood before buying and af- terward has discovered that it hid a cropped, lopped, or split ear, fistula of the base of the ear, a "poll evil" or some unsightly blemish.
Don't get too close to the horse when making the preliminary exam- ination. Ex-Governor Hoard, of Wis- consin, once said that in farm business matters a man may hold a cent piece so close to his eye that it keeps him from seeing a big silver dollar a little further off. So if one rushes up and grabs a foot, before viewing what the French term the tout ensemble-the assemblage of all points-he misses the comprehensive estimate of the horse as a whole and that is of most importance. When one has looked the horse over from a little distance and from all points of view and has seen how the animal stands and be- haves it will be time enough to scru- tinize each component part of his an- atomy. First we shall see him move away and back, at a walk, then at a trot, and finally we shall gallop him. Be there when he stops and so decide as to the soundness of his "wind." It is not enough to test the "wind" by standing the horse close to a wall and suddenly threatening to strike him with a whip. The sudden fright may cause the animal to grunt loudly, but this does not necessarily prove that such a "bull" is unsound in wind.
Many sound horses grunt when so threatened, or even when one goes to mount. In the latter instances it is a nervous "expression" and nothing
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PRAIRIE FARMER'S RELIABLE DIRECTORY
Sidebone
Spavin
serious. When watching the horse at rest one should note that he does not heave at the flanks, cough or pass gas from the rectum. These are the symptoms of "heaves"; but the "heavey" horse may be "shut" or "doped" with drugs so that tempo- rarily the symptoms do not show. Usually they will quickly appear if the horse is given all the hay and water he wants and then is galloped. Roaring sometimes is temporarily re- lieved by plugging the nostrils with a sponge or squeezed half lemon. Discharge is also prevented by this means. It is best to locate these at once than have them sneezed into the feed box when the horse is yours.
At both walk and trot the horse should go straight, level and true, each joint perfectly fixed, the soles of the feet well turned up, as he goes away, and no "padding," "winging," in or out, "forging," stumbling or toe dragging noticeable. Lameness should be absent. If the horse passes muster when in motion and his style, action and conformation are suitable, he next may be critically examined as he stands at rest. He should stand square and firm on each foot. The profile of the front and back of each leg should show no abnormal bends, curves, puffs, swellings, or lumps. If any one of these things is seen its nature will have to be carefully deter- mined. The eyes should be sound and of the same color. The pupils should
dilate in the dark and contract when the horse is brought into the light. Angular, wrinkled eyebrows and sunken eyes denote previous attacks of "moon blindness"" (periodic oph- thalmia). "Smoky" or "opaque," or "pearl grey," or "curdy" appearance of the cornea (anterior chamber of the eye) denote more serious stages of the disease or blindness from cataract or glaucoma. A brilliant sparkling prominent eye (glassy eye") may be stone blind from paralysis of the ret- ina and optic nerve. The ears should neither be absolutely unused, nor ab- normally active. The former may in- dicate deafness; the latter, impaired vision, nervousness or vice.
See that a thread from ear to ear under the forelock, does not keep lop ears upright and that a leaden ball, suspended from a thread in the ear, is not preventing undue motion. The horse should let one handle his ears, his poll (back of ears), the top of the neck, where the color will bear, and the withers, where fistulous openings or their scars so commonly are found. Fighting against such handling indi- cates a reason for fear and the rea- son usually is that a twitch has been used on the ear and the horse may be hard to shoe, have sore neck from the collar, poll evil or fistulous with- ers, or have suffered a previous opera- tion for such disease.
Handle each part upon which har- ness will have to bear and see that
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FARMERS AND BREEDERS, FORD COUNTY
it is sound and free from sores, tu- mors or abcesses. The nostrils should be large, under command of the will, rosy pink inside, not slit and free from abnormal discharge. See that the breath does not smell foul and that the teeth are sound- and the jaws not under or over "short." Examine the back. It should be strong, broad, straight, free from sores and well muscled. Pinching the loins is un- necessary. A ticklish horse will squat when so handled but the test does not detect weak kidneys. Note that the ribs are well sprung, the underline fairly straight, the abdomen capacious, the flank not tucked up and the coupling short and strong. See that no wounds or abscesses are present high up on the right flank, as the re- sult of tapping for flatulant colic. With the left hand on the horse's loin, as a support, stoop and examine sheath, or udder as the case may be, and other parts high up in the groins.
Examine the tail, which should be strong, not artificial ("joined on") and not rubbed bare from itchiness. Lift it and see that the black skin below is free from tumors, the anus clean, well pursed up, free from scurvy sub- stances or streaks of mucous; or, in the mare, that the space between rec- tum and vulva is intact and that no discharge comes from the latter. Looking from the rear, compare one hip with the other. If one is "knocked down" that side will be steep. At each side of the tail is the tuberosity of the ischium. Like the point of the hip (ilium) this often is fractured, leaving one side depressed. All parts of the shoulders, neck, barrel and hindquar- ters should be smoothly and deeply covered with sound muscles.
Now examine each hoof. Cracks, rings, ridges and meatiness should be absent, frogs and bars prominent, soles slightly concave, heels wide, cor- onets (hoof heads) open and strong, hoofs waxy, smooth and ample in size. Object to a horse that has steep nar- row heels with a deep cleft in frog, also one that has chronic corns, chronic thrush, "dropped" (convex) soles, or hoof walls showing toe or quarter cracks.
Make sure that the elbows are free from hard or soft tumors or abcesses called "shoe boils" and that the knees
are free from hairless scars and are straight, wide, deep and strong. All joints should be large, clean, bony and strong. This is of the greatest importance. The joints cannot be too large so long as the size is made up of large, clean, sound bones, ligaments and tendons. Beware of puffs, meati- ness and bony growths which give the wrong sort of size. The knees should have perfect flexion, no matter what work the horse has to do. They should not be bent forward (buck knees) nor bent backward (calf knees). Splints close to the knee are serious; but low down, on an adult horse, they are practically harmless, unless struck by a shoe. Splints, ring- bones and spavins are bony excres- censes. Splints come on the cannon bones, along the course of the splint bones (small metacarpals and metatar- sals).
Ringbones are found high, medium or low, on the long pastern, and often involve the short pasterns. Bone spavins are found at the lower, front, inner aspect of the hock joints. Bog spavins are soft bursal distensions of the hock joints, above and in front of the seat of bone spavins. Thoro- pins are bursal distensions seen at the sides of the hocks, towards the rear and when pressed on one side bulge out on the opposite side. "Wind galls" are similar puffs in connection with the tendons at and just above the fetlock joints. A curb appears as a hard enlargement giving a rounded bulging contour to the profile of the back of the hock joint, looking from the side.
Splints are most easily seen by standing in front of the horse, then examining further by feeling the parts involved, first with the foot standing down firm, then with it off the ground. Ringbones are best seen from a side view of the profile of the long pas- tern. The hand may have to help in their detection. To examine for spav- ins look between the forelegs at the inner, lower profile of each hock. The hard "knob" on one hock probably will prove to be a bone spavin. A small spavin is called a "jack" and it is apt to prove serious and grow to be a large spavin. Spavin may also be detected from a quartering .view of the hock, or from the rear.
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PRAIRIE FARMER'S RELIABLE DIRECTORY
CARE OF HORSES From Prairie Farmer.
Here are a few rules prepared by the Boston Work Horse Relief Asso- ciation that may as well be observed on the farm as in the city:
Load lightly, and drive slowly.
Stop in the shade if possible.
Water your horse as often as pos- sible. So long as a horse is working, water in small quantities will not hurt him. But let him drink only a few swallows if he is going to stand still. Do not fail to water him at night after he has eaten his hay.
When he comes in after work, sponge off the harness marks and sweat, his eyes, his nose, and mouth, and the dock. Wash his feet, but not his legs.
If the thermometer is 75 degrees or higher, wipe him all over with a damp sponge. Use vinegar water if possible. Do not turn the hose on him.
Saturday night, give a bran mash, lukewarm; and add a tablespoonful of saltpeter.
If the horse is overcome by heat, get him into the shade, remove har- ness and bridle, wash out his mouth, sponge him all over, shower his legs, and give him two ounces of aromatic spirits of ammonia, or two ounces of sweet spirits of nitre, in a pint of water; or give him a pint of coffee, warm. Cool his head at once, using cold water, or, if necessary, chopped ice, wrapped in a cloth.
If the horse is off his feed, try him with two quarts of oats mixed with bran and a little water, and add a little salt or sugar. Or give him oatmeal gruel or barley water to drink.
Watch your horse. If he stops sweating suddenly, or if he breathes short and quick, or if his ears droop, or if he stands with his legs braced sideways, he is in danger of a heat or sun stroke and needs attention at once.
If it is so hot that the horse sweats in the stable at night, tie him outside, with bedding under him. Unless he cools off during the night, he cannot well stand the next day's heat.
SOLDERING
By P. O. Barnfield, in Prairie Farmer.
Soldering is so simple and is use- ful in so many different ways that one naturally supposes every farmer would have a soldering outfit if he thought he could use it to advantage. On this supposition I beg to offer some suggestions which have come from actual experience.
No special ability or experience is required. It is, of course, true that deftness and accurancy naturally fol- low experience, but good results will as surely follow if one will keep the following points in mind.
The soldering outfit consists of a soldering copper (good size, not un- der two pounds), a bar of half and half solder, a piece of salammoniac, and a small bottle of muriatic acid with a small brush for applying.
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