304 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc, 



is any rule by which we can avoid milk fever in every case. Now a 

 few years ago we used to think that milk fever was one of the most 

 deadly diseases we had, and so it was at that time. A great many 

 different remedies were proposed; most everything was tried to stop 

 it. We gave them large doses of physic in some cases, and some 

 gave them large doses of aconite and we found that it was the same 

 with this disease as with other diseases. Once in a while a cow 

 would live in spite of what you gave her; I guess that is the way to 

 say it. If a man had a case of milk fever and the cow lived, he 

 ransacked his mind to know just what he gaA^e that cow; then he 

 thought he had a specific and was ready to swear by that in every 

 case. Then a method of treatment came into effect which saved a 

 great many cows. It was thought that the iodide of potash which 

 we injected into the udder, did the business. Now I think that Dr. 

 Conard will bear me out in the statement that it was the air that 

 we injected into the udder that did the work, instead of the medicine. 

 If you get this little instrument that we use for injecting air into 

 the udder and use it in time, and in decent shape, you won't lose 

 one out of fifty. 



I know this, I have had within the last two years something like 

 seventy-five cases of milk fever without losing a single case. That 

 is a pretty good record. I don't say it to boast, but I say it for the 

 benefit of the treatment. 



A man called me up on the 'phone a little while ago, and he said 

 he had a cow that was very sick with the milk fever, a cow worth 

 a hundred dollars, and he said, ''What shall I do?" Then I asked 

 him if he had a bicycle pump. He said he had, and said he, ''What 

 are you going to do?" I said, "I want you to give the cow air." He 

 took it as a joke. I told him to take the milking tube that I had 

 left with him a few days before, and instructed him how to pro- 

 ceed to get air into the udder. I don't recommend the bicycle pump 

 in the treatment of milk fever, but I simply say this, if you can't 

 do any better, sterilize your bicycle pump or any other pump and get 

 the air into that cow's udder, but a man who has a dairy is very 

 foolish not to have one of these instruments which are made on 

 purpose for treating milk fever. They can be bought for $2.50 and 

 any farmer can handle them. I do not wish to take up any more of 

 your time. 



DR. CONARD: Mr. Chairman, I agree with every word that Dr. 

 Tower has said, and I was exceedingly glad to hear him say it. 

 Every dairyman should own a pump or a little outfit for the treat- 

 ment of such cases. It is very important that the treatment be ad- 

 ministered quickly. There are some cases, if they continue too long, 

 the poison will become so thoroughly diffused throughout the sys- 

 tem that they may not recover; an early treatment is very much 

 the best. 



I just want to explain; I think that the Reverend Detrich spoke 

 of feed producing milk fever. I just want to go a little further into 

 that, if yon please. I don't quite agree with him without some 

 modification. The feed may produce the conditions which make 

 fever — milk fever — but the feed of itself will not produce the dis- 

 ease. A cow that is well fed with succulent food, bran, ensilage 

 and such food as would produce milk and before the time of par 



