This month's mystery item is a tube dehorner, used to remove the nubby horn tips from calves. The owner of this one recounts his father using it in the 1940s and 50s. According to him, the tool is relatively simple to use: "You would place it over the horn nub, twist it back and forth while pressing down until you got to the skull, then snap it off. Not as messy as it sounds."

This one was made by the O.M. Franklin Serum Co., formed by a small handful of veterinarians in 1917. Today the company operates today as Franklin Laboratories. Click here to enlarge.