172 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



MILK FEVER. 

 The disease which we call milk fever is practically confined 

 to cows which are heavy milkers and occurs within five days 

 after calving. The udder may or may not be the primary seat 

 of the trouble. Nobody has been able to satisfactorily decide 

 this point, but certainly one of the first symptoms of milk fever 

 is the more or less complete suspension of the secretion of milk, 

 and this condition continues until the animal recovers. This 

 is one of the diseases that has lost most of its terrors. Form- 

 erly it was considered a very fatal disease but now recoveries 

 are the rule. The treatment consists in filling the udder with 

 sterile air, after which the cow may be expected to regain her 

 normal condition in from eight to ten hours, sometimes much 

 sooner. It is desirable to give the cow a comfortable bed and 

 warm clothing, but even this is not essential. The preventative 

 for this disease consists in leaving the udder partially filled with 

 milk until the calf is three or four days old. 



cow POX. 



Cow pox is fairly common in this part of the country but it 

 is not usually considered a very serious disorder. But we have 

 seen a few deaths resulting from it and it is certainly very 

 uncomfortable to have to milk the affected cows. It has to run 

 its full course and the treatment is altogether along the line of 

 preventing the spread of the disease to other animals, and mak- 

 ing some attempt to hasten the healing of the sores. Cow pox 

 is a contagious disease of cattle but is sometimes transmitted 

 to horses, sheep, and human beings. It is characterized by con- 

 siderable fever and sores on the udder and teat of the cow. 

 These sores begin as small, red, tender spots that later break 

 and discharge a pale, sticky fluid, then gradually scab over and 

 completely heal in about twenty days. Healing may be delayed 

 by the scabs getting torn off in milking, and can be somewhat 

 "hastened by the use of milking tube and antiseptic washes. The 

 man who milks the cow is liable to contract the disease if he 

 has cuts or scratches on his hands, but this is not a serious 

 matter for cow pox is the disease that is regularly used as a 

 protection against small pox. Vaccine matter which physicians 



