Horses that are constantly kept trimmed out in the heels, often lose the hair from the part by the constant friction of the dirt in the roads; and, besides the deformity this occasions, they are still more liable to those painful cracks. I have lately found the following treatment successful. If the cracks are very painful, poultice for one day and night, then wash them three times a day with the following lotion, for one or two days; after this apply the astringent ointment, which generally heals them in a short time:—
| LOTION. | |
| Super-acetate of lead and sulphate of zinc, of each | 2 dr. |
| Water | 8 oz. |
| Mix. | |
ASTRINGENT OINTMENT.
Super-acetate of lead, sulphate of zinc, vinegar, of each two drachms, rub well together in a large mortar; then add melted hog’s lard, four ounces, and continue stirring briskly until perfectly incorporated and nearly cold.—White.
Craft, s. Manual art; cunning; small sailing vessels.
Crag, s. A rough steep rock; the rugged protuberances of rocks; the neck.
Cram, v. To stuff, to fill with more than can conveniently be held; to fill with food beyond satiety; to fatten fowls.
Barley and wheat meal are generally the basis or chief ingredient, in all fattening mixtures for chickens and fowls; but in Sussex, ground oats are used, and in that county, I think, oats are in higher repute for fattening than elsewhere, many large hogs being there fattened with them. The food given them is ground oats made into gruel, mixed with hogs’ grease, sugar, pot-liquor, and milk: or ground oats, treacle, and suet, sheep’s plucks, &c. The fowls are kept very warm, and crammed morning and night. The pot liquor is mixed with a few handfuls of oatmeal and boiled, with which the meal is kneaded into crams or rolls of a proper size. The fowls are put into the coop, two or three days before they are crammed, which is continued for a fortnight, and they are then sold to the higglers. Those fowls, full grown, weigh seven pounds each, the average weight five pounds, but there are instances of individuals double the weight.
The Workingham method of feeding is to confine the fowls in a dark place, and cram them with a paste made of barley-meal, mutton suet, treacle, or coarse sugar, and milk, and they are found completely ripe in a fortnight. If kept longer, the fever that is induced by this continued state of repletion renders them red and unsaleable, and frequently kills them.—Moubray.
Cramp, s. A spasm or contraction of the limbs; a piece of iron bent at each end, by which two bodies are held together; an implement for removing or replacing the main-spring of a gun lock.