ld in position throughout the whole time, from 30
to 40 days may be regarded as reasonably safe. Under more unfavorable
conditions as to age, vitality, and restraint, the period would better be
extended to 60 days, if the general condition of the animal is such as to
permit of so long a continuance. After the appliance has been removed the
animal should be allowed to stand quiet for a few days, then be given very
gentle exercise, gradually increased for a week or 10 days, by which time
the patient will be so far recovered as to be placed in pasture. It should,
however, be alone for a time, so as not to take any chance of injury from
fighting or other accidents that association with other animals might
involve.

SPECIAL FRACTURES.

FRACTURE OF THE HORNS.--Of the special fractures liable to occur, that of
the horn is perhaps the most common. It is always the result of violent
mechanical means, such as blows, injury occurring while fighting, or from
the animal getting its head locked in some manner while feeding from a
rack. When it occurs there are two ways in which the injury may affect the
animal. First and most common, the horny crust is liable to be stripped
from the bony projection which it covers. Second, the crust and bone may
both be broken or bent down, the fracture occurring in that case at the
root of the horn and involving part of the bones of the head in the
immediate vicinity. In the first case, if the horny covering is knocked
off, little attention is necessary. The animal may be relieved from
suffering if the stump is smeared with pine tar and wrapped in cloth. If
the core is much lacerated, perhaps it would be better to amputate. The
necessity for such operation must be determined by the condition of the
injury, influenced to some extent by the owner's ideas on the subject. When
the operation is performed, it should be done with a sharp, fine-toothed
saw, and by sawing the horn off close enough to include a little of the
skin and hair around its base. The practice of dehorning has grown popular
in many parts of the country. It is a simple operation, and, although
attended with some immediate suffering, does not produce serious
constitutional disturbance. The advisability of performing the operation on
all cattle is a question of expediency and must be justified by the
expectation of benefit on the part of the feeder. If the horn should be
broken so that the core and crust are bent out of shape without t