CHOKING.
—Horses frequently choke from too rapid eating of oats, and cattle are very commonly troubled on attempting to swallow apples, turnips, or small pieces of ear corn. In either of these cases much distress is occasioned and serious danger. In treating the horse, the best treatment is to give it a little oil, after which rub the hand up and down the gullet to scatter the accumulated oats. Sometimes it is necessary to make an incision in the gullet through which the material is removed. Better have a veterinarian do this. When food lodges in the gullet of cattle, suffocation soon follows if it is serious and in the upper part of the gullet. When such objects have lodged near the stomach end there is less immediate danger. Of course the first treatment is to try to force the object down by using the hand, if at all possible. If this cannot be done a probang should be used. The probang should be very limber, so as to bend easily, and it should be used with great caution. Cattle often are killed by the accidental puncture of the gullet as the probang is pressed down toward the mouth of the stomach. Consequently no unyielding article like a broom handle or even a buggy whip should be used. If a regular probang is not available, a rope a little less than one inch in diameter can be inserted and gently worked down the gullet. Before using the rope, grease it well and make a knob at the end to be inserted. This knob can be made of cotton strings or muslin cloth.