The clearing-up process of treating a blue-eyed or moon-blind horse also is effected by skilful use of such drugs as atropia, belladonna, eserine, nitrate of mercury ointment, bloodroot, alum, calomel, etc. Their effect is transitory, and the horse soon has an unmistakable attack of ophthalmia. Examine the Ears. It will be well to “put a flea in the ear” of the man who contemplates buying a horse and who may not know that the ear will bear investigation. If the animal will not submit to inspection, look out! The horse that will not allow one to handle his ears, or fights when the attempt is made, may be a terror to shoe, and therefore has had the “twitch” put on his ear many a time in the blacksmith’s shop; or he may have had poll-evil, some injury to the ear, or head, or have a disease present which makes the ear sore or sensitive. A horse so affected is difficult to handle, as he fights when the halter or bridle is put on. Sometimes a fine silken thread may be found running under the forelock from ear to ear to prevent them from lopping over. Or there may be a leaden bullet suspended by a silk thread in the hollow of the ear to prevent its constant motion. Sometimes the motion indicates impaired sight or nervousness, whereas the lack of it may indicate deafness. Then, too, we sometimes find at the base of the ear a chronic, almost incurable fistulous opening and tract connecting with the bursa mucosa, constantly discharging a substance like liquid vaseline, which daubs and mats the hair, giving the part an untidy, filthy appearance. Besides this, temporarily stitched and glued split ears, chronic eczema and warts may be looked for and avoided. It is more difficult to find ear ticks, such as are met with in southwestern states, but when present they cause great irritation, and may make a horse fractious. Bishoping, an Old Trick. John C. Knowlson,[1] an old farrier, writing in 1850, says: “Horse dealers have a trick of knocking out the nook teeth at three years and a half, to make a horse appear five years old when only four; but they cannot raise the tusks. At six years old the nook teeth are a little hollow, and at seven there is a black mark, like the end of a ripe bean. Afterwards you will observe the flesh shrink from the teeth, which grow long and yellow. Horse dealers have also a method which they call _Bishoping a horse’s mouth_; that is, filing the tusks shorter, rounding them at the ends, taking a little out of the nook teeth, so as to make them rather hollow, and then burning them with a hot iron. I was hired by Anthony Johnson, of Wincolmlee, Hull, as farrier to a number of horses that were going to the city of Moscow, in Russia, for sale, and we had a little gray horse, called Peatum, that was seventeen years old, the mouth of which I bishoped, and he passed for six years old, and was the first horse sold, and for £500 English money! I only mention this as a caution to horse buyers.”