Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume], December 30, 1875, Page 4, Image 4

About Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
STOCK RABISING.
THE HORSE DISEASE.
It is claimed by the vetcrinary editor of
the Buffalo Live Stock Journal that the dis
ease which is now prevailing among the
horses in ail parts of the country is not the
same that scourged our horses a few years
ago. He says ;
The disease which prevails among our
horses at present seems to assume a more
serious character than was at first antice
pated, The first symptoms were of so mild
a nature as to cause little or no apprehension
of any danger from this disease in a later
stage, for a great mlany horses in this vicini
ty which have had the usual symptoms
(cough) are apparently in good health and
performing their daily work. There is,
however, a large number wholly unfit for
use, it having assumed a much more dan
gerous form. Horses which apparently had
recovered from the former symptoms are
now stricken down with pleurisy. It is the
belief of many horsemen that the present
disease is a mild type of the epizootic of
1872. In my diagnosis of the present disease
I find few symptoms which are similar to
the disease of 1872. In the first place, the
present disease is not wholly epidemic, as
there are many horses which have not yet
been affected. From the disease of 1872
none escaped. Secondly, mules are not
troubled with the present disease, but were
equally affected in 1872. In the third place,
the first symptoms of the present disease are
a hacking cough, with little or no discharge
from the nostrils. In 1875 the first symp
toms were a copious discharge of mucous, of
a greenish hue, from both nostrils, with in
flammation of the eyes,which also discharged
a watery mucous, general inflammation of
the head, more or less soreness of the throat
and in many eases a difficulty in swallowing,
with loss of appetite, etc. Fourth, in severe
attacks of the present disease its last symp
toms are swellings or deposits of lymph in
the extremities, commencing in the feet and
extending upward toward the belly; also
at the nose and extending back over the
face. In the former disease the swellings
were dropsical and the deposits serum, conm
mencing on the belly and extending down
ward toward the feet. Fifth, the present
disease has no peculiar time of its appear
ance 4mong our horses, nor has it shown
any symptoms of abating.' Horses have
boen brought to be treated for cough for
over a month. The former disease first
made Its appearance in this city at Dr. Ca
rey's stables on the 14th of October, and re
pained but three weeks.
In my opinion the present disease is epid
emlo influenza, affecting the larynx first,
and when the animal is not taker care of
and kept warm, the lungs and chest become
theprinolpal seats of the disease. The dis
ease is now assuming a very serious charac
ter. Too many horses that were con.
asdered well and cured are now at
taeked with pleuro-pnenumonia. Horses
which are compelled to do so much
daily, and in all kinds of weather, suffer
most. The street-car horses are suffering
severely frompleurisy, and so, many of them
are sick that the full number of cars cannot
be rnn,,
8TOOCK-GOWER8' MEETING.
The ftth annual meeting of the Colorado
Stock-Growers' Association will be held in
Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday, January 4,
1870.
It wilt be both a delegate and general co!.
veution, and will be attelded by the leading
stock-raisers from everyseetion of the Rocky
Mountains.
Reports will be made b't4he breeders
of the various breeds of stock ta*ls kinds in
trodusle up to this time, giving experlenoe
and reslits.
Several prominent breeders and datrymen
have engaged to be present fro~ the Iat
era and i0ddte States and Canada to pre
sent their wris, and gain information ri
specting our advantages and the extent of
our resources.
A revision of the plan-of orgmnizattion is
Oantemplated providing for a charter organ
tsation for the purpose e giving exhibitions
oflive stock.
ProvIs.on bas been made by which a
.pgrlum of twenty-five dollars will be
pa. r. ti ktQ8t tea, o, O tocji-raising
in Colorado, to occupy not less than five
octavo p)ages.
The various county associations are re
quested to hold meetings at an early date,
elect delegates and present their views
on this subject and all matters of interest to
the Executive Committee, as early as De
cember 15.
A suitable hall will be provided to accom
modate the convention, and a pamphlet re
port of the proceedings will be published
for general iuformation.-Colorado Farmev.
RYBDYK'S HAMBLETONIAN.
This celebrated sire of trotting horses was
sired by Abilallah, a grand-son of Messen
ger, and was out of a mare by imported
Bellfounder. This mare's great-grand-sire
was Messenger. She was sohl, with her
colt, and bought by Mr. Rysdyk for $125.
Hambletonian was foaled in 1849. He has
sired 1,3235 colts, and over $100,000 have been.
received as service fees. The fee has been
raised and he is limited to a small number of
mares. In 1864 and 1865 he served 410
mares which produced 276 foals.
He was never trained, except for a very
short time. His time is not extraordinary,
showing 2: 48 in a trial. lie is a line and
rich bay in color. lie stands about two
inches lower at the withers than at
the hips. His mane has entirely dis
appeared, and his tail is growing thin.
He is in good health, and apparently good
for service for several years to come. This
is another notable instance of a valuable
horse being procured at a small fraction of
his intrinsic value.
THE CATTLE DISEASE.
Prof. James Law's report on the cattle
disease on the farm of James W. Wads
worth, near Avon, N. Y., shows that the
herd, consisting of 277 cattle, was brought
from Canada, and all did well until sudden
ly five died, and other cases of death fol
lowed at the rate of from three to eight a
day.
The symtoms are described in detail, as
well as the condition of the bodies after
death. The manager of the farm and two
German workmen, who opened several of
the carcasses, suffered from malignant pos
tule. The first symtoms in all three were
the eruptions on the hand of small papule,
which increased to a vesicle, burst and dried
up, while a new crop appeared around the
point of desiccation. The two older men,
aged from thirty to forty, had considerable
crysipelatoid infiltration of the hand and
arm, with high fever, nausea, greatlanguor,
and muscular pains. They ultimately did
well, however. It was evident that the de
velopment of these malignant symptoms
was from inocculation from the diseased
cattle.
The Professor then goes on to show that
the cattle suffered from organic poison, hav
ing been brought in a wretched condition
to the luxuriant grass bottoms of the Gene
see Valley, under which was a subsoil of
impervious clay, and over which the river
flowed in the spring. There was no artlifi
cial drainage, and the water escaped' by
evaporation only. The contrast idiempera
ture between day and night also aggravated
the disease.
He says: The most universally heknowl
edged causes of the malady are: Plethora,
or a state of the blood highly charged with
organic elements; an impervious soil'or sub
soil; a very rich surface soil; inundations;
a period of heat and dryness calculated to
foster decomposition of organic matter to a
great depth in the ground, and a great con
trast betveeri the day and night tempera
ture, and in this case all combined to pro
duce one of the most malignant types of the
disease.
It may be added, that while this affection
Ia communicable to all animals by inocula
tion, it can scarcely be said to spread in any
other way, and it is therefore to be looked
upon.a. essentially an enzootic disease, We
must go to such places as the inundated
margins and deltas of large rivers, dried-up
lakesand marshes of the rich and pestilential
Rtdssian Steppes, to find any approximation
to the disastrous outbreaks ip man and
beast .which blacken the history of the past
ages.
One hundred of the best steers were
turned out on a higher pasture with
a gravelly subsoil, two died, and the' rest
made a very rapid and permaneat re
covery.-,1ur44 dew roorker.
HOLLOW-HORIN AND MURRAIN.
Thesenames are used to designate the
symptoms of a variety of diseases. They
represent no particular disease, and are as
indefinite as the term ' sickness." The
horn of an ox is filled with a highly sensi
tive and vascular core, which is a prolonga
tion of the frontal bone, and serves as a sup
port to the horn. The horn is composed of
the same materials as the skin and hair, and
is not sensitive. It may be removed, leav
ing the core in its place, and is then hollow,
as we are used to see it when separated from
the head. These horn cores are well sup
plied with arteries. veins and nerves, and
whenever from any cause the tissues of the
head are inflamed or congested, the in
creased temperature of the parts is then felt
in the horn more readily than elsewhere.
When the contrary occurs, and from pover
ty, or excitement elsewhere. the supply of
blood to the head is diminished, the loss of
heat is felt first in the horns, and they are
cold. This is generally the case when an ani
mal is said to be affected by "horn-alil," or
"hollow-horn." Then the quack recom
mends the horns to be.bored with a gimlet,
and pepper or turpentine to be injected, or
turpentine to be burned upon the poll. This
causes irritation and inflammation of the
parts, restoring the heat, but it only
makes the case and the suffering worse. The
remedy ought to be sought in restoring the
condition of the animal, by such medicine or
food as the case may call for. The diseases
generally known as murrain are splenic
fever and carbucular erysipelas.-American
Agriculturist.
PRECOCITY OF SHEEP.-The question of
the precocity of sheep has been for some
time under discussion, in respect to the
breed. M. Sauson, Professor of Zoology, at
the Agricultural College at Grignon, be
lieves it possible to develop in the pure mer
inos, the alleged precocity of the dishley
merino, or any variation of that type, name
ly, forty-six pounds of meat in fourteen
months. Precocity, M. Sauson defines to
be, the rapid unity of the bones, and the
quick development of the permanent teeth,
and that an animal is more or less preco
cious, in proportion as it possesses its adult
teeth; the consequence follows, that there
will be greater activity in the processes of
nutrition, in the sense that the animal
will be able to assimilate a larger quantity
of aliments, thereby acquiring weight, which
is the test of precocity. At Grignon the
"Shropshire Downs " display greater pre
cocity than the Southdowns, at whose side
they live, and consume a larger daily ration.
But weight for weight of food, there is no
perceptible difference in the '1pound of
flesh " produced, and that production is the
practical test of every animal machine.
lural New Yorker.
THE COW.
The cow, like the horse, was probably
brought to the shores of the Mediterranean
from Central Asia at the period of the Asy
rian emigration. In Egypt, as in India, the
ox was a sacred animal-an object of wor
ship, and the pictures in the monuments
and Egypt point clearly to the Brahmin
species, as that used in the early days of
Egypt.. As a work animal, the ox was the
principal dependence among the Oriental
nations, and even the Greeks an] Romans
appear to have used no other animal in the
cultivation of the soil. The plow and the ox
are always associated in sacred and classical
history. Milk and butter were articles of
diet that were indispensable, even in the
pastoral age, which preceded the agricultu
ral civilization of the human race. The flesh
of these animals was always in high repute
as an article of diet, and it will probably
maintain its reputation as long as animal
tood is used by man. There are some ten
species of the bovine family, nine of which
belong to the Eastern Continent and one to
the Western. Our cattle, both in Europe
and America, are. derived from a species
found native in Gaul and Germany. They
are both better and larger milkers than
those derived from the Brahmin species,
and though stronger as work animals, they
are not so active. The American species,
represented by the bufildo of the plains, has
not, to any great extent, been domesticated.
the attempts which have been made in this
direction have proved that tlh buffalo cow
is a poor milker as compared Nritl the Dev
on or Ayrshire, and while the beef is highlny
llavo tcd, and in young animals very tender,
yet the great disproportion between the fore
and hind quarters will always render the
buffalo unprofitable as a beef animal. The
activity and endurance of the species would
render them valuable as work animals.-Di
rigo Rural.
DONCASTER, THE NEW ENGLISH RACE.
HORSE.
Doncaster, the winner of the Derby of
last year, is reckoned the great horse of his
day. After Doncaster had won the Ascot
gold cup, he was, purchased from Mr. Merry
by his trainer, Robert Peck, for $50,000. lI,
is described as being a perfect specimen of
the thoroughbred, having grand symmetry.
great power, unimpaired soundness, a brave
heart and a gentle temper. It was a fine
sight to see the gallant animal striding away
from his opponents in the contest for one of
the most coveted trophies of the turf, with
the "Prince of Jockeys," Forham, sitting
on his back firm and motionless. An im
mense ovation greeted the victory, and
horse, owner, jockey and trainer were
cheered to the echo.
We think that in Doncaster Mr. Merry had
one of the best horses ever foaled, for, in ad
dition to his undoubted stamina, Doncaster
has so fine a turn of speed that he could
have won the Ascot cup at any portion of
the race. Opponents of two-year-old racing
have a rare backbone to their argument in
Doncaster, for this horse never ran until he
was three years old, and then, after. being
beaten in the Two Thousand Guineas, he
came out a much improved horse at Epsom,
and won the Derby in the most decisive
style. His defeat in the Grand Prix de Par
is was no disgrace to him, as lie was palpa
bly amiss from his journey, while of Boiard,
who won, it is as impossible to speak too
highly as also of Doncaster. His memora
ble struggle with his stable companion, Ma
rie Stuart, in the St. Leger, redounds almost
as much to his credit as victory, as there
was 5 lbs. in the mare's favor, and only a
head between them. Doubtless, the horse is
cheap at the price given for him by his ex
perienced and plucky trainer, as a great turf
career is still before him, while as a sire there
is no reason why he should not be worth as
much as Blair Athol fetched, viz., 12,500
guineas.
WooL.-At'all times the secret of the re
verse, and losses of the woolen interests of
this country has been the want of capital,
and the deep inroads made into the same by
the vast sum paid for interest on borrowecl
capital from dry goods commission houses,
wool men and- Wall street bankers. Mills
having sufficient capital to purchase raw
material for cash have always had a great
advantage over those which are less fortu
nate, and this accounts for the fact that
while some mills are always making money
others are always running at a loss,
or at least running on the princi
ple of all well enough while you can secure
a new dollar for an old one. It is time that
this " living on hope" were changed.-N.
Y. Economist.
LIVE-STOCK AT THE CENTENNIAL.-An
elaborate circular has been issued giving
particulars as to arrangements for the ex
hibition of live stock at the Exposition at
Philadelphia next year.
Horses will be shown from September 1
to September 15. Cattle, from September 20
to October 5. Sheep, swine, goats and dogs,
October 10 to October 25. Poultry, from
October 28 to November 10,
Parties intending to exhibit should apply
nt once to Burnet Landreth, Chief of Bureau
of Agriculture, at Philadelphia, for a copy
of this circular.
ANGORA GoATs.-The Santa Rosa (Cal.)
Democrat , in speaking of a flock of goats, says
that in the band were five hundred Angora
goats that will clip five pounds each, on an
average, in February, and the proprietors,
Messrs, J. W. & E. L. Reed, informed us
that they had the spring clip sold in Ne w
York for $1.30 per pound. Messrs. Reed
purchased the band from E. B. Marsh, of
San Francisco, and paid $22,9000.. Mr..
Marsh paid $27,400 for the same band..
There are tive thoroughbred Asiatic bucks
in the band.
EFFORTS are being made in England tA
forum a Fanciers' Defence Society,