192 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



subject. Tlio puerperal fever in woman isn't nn apoplexy nccessaril}', 

 but a disease which follows parturition. Miliv fever indicates a con- 

 gestion at the hase of tlie brain with the results that follow. Poor 

 cows have no excess of blood, and therefore there is no occasion for 

 the vessels to be surcharged, when the blood ceases to How to the calf. 

 You are aware of the shock and change that takes place in the par- 

 turient female when the large amount of blood which has been flowing 

 to the offspring is suddenly turne<l back into the mother's circulation 

 at the time when parturition takes place. In the case of a plethoric, 

 thoroughbred cow, in fine condition, this large amount of blood when 

 thrown back upon her system produces a sort of stagnation for a 

 time, and the vessels must be very strong to withstand the pressure. 

 If they give wa\' then we have parturient apoplex}'. We get all 

 phases, from a mere congestion which soon passes awa}' with no very 

 serious trouble up to the critical stage where we get an absolute rup- 

 ture of a vessel. We have a disease in the human female like that 

 of the fine fat cow, when she dies suddenly within six hours after child- 

 birth. The family physician reports the case as one of puerperal fever 

 or eclampsia. It is essentiall}' like a fatal case of milk fever in a 

 cow. There is an apoplexy in woman, a blood vessel has given way ; 

 she lies powerless, looking at a certain fixed point about the room 

 until death occurs. A case of eclampsy is an awful scene to behold, 

 and yet the cow dies in the same way in milk fever. Now we come 

 to the physiology, the pathology, and the true principle involved, so 

 that we can give the reason why, etc. You can see, therefore, why an 

 ox cannot have this disease, or a cow at any other time than the coming- 

 in period. Onh' fat cows or those plethoric in habit, are the nsual 

 victims, because when the quantity of blood is small and they are 

 naturalh' poor milkers, they are not subject to such change in ques- 

 tion, therefore the blood vessels accommodate themselves more 

 readilv to this condition and thus our ordinar}' native cows usually 

 go through without any trouble. Consequently, don't keep your cow 

 too fat just before coming-in. One of the worst features we have 

 to contend w^ith in milk fever is constipation, and the familj' physi- 

 cian will admonish your wife to keep the bowels open for several 

 daj's before the critical period. Do the same thing bj' your cow ; 

 keep the bowels loose, for a bowel full of fecal matter is a mechani- 

 cal obstacle that is often very troublesome. Under such circum- 

 stances, watch the bowels ; feed moderatel}', give occasional doses of 

 physic, if necessary, for a week or ten days before the coming-in 



