THE FARMEIVS MAGAZINE. 



529 



small openings or scuttles in the floor for the pur- 

 pose of passing down the excretions. These scut- 

 tles, having no hinges, would frequently tilt up 

 and fall through upon the manure below, thus al- 

 lowing the gases to ascend into the cowhouse. 

 This, together with a badly ventilated place, with 

 the cattle, forty-two in number, of all ages, stand- 

 ing nose to nose, I think you will admit was a suf- 

 ficient cause for a disease of the character we have 

 been describing, particularly when I again say to 

 you that not a single head of cattle has died (ex- 

 cept three out of four, imported in May last) which 

 had not been kept the previous winter in that cow- 

 house. The mammoth cow was bred in the State 

 of Vermont, and was brought to market for beef, 

 but Mr. Chenery was unwilling that such an ex- 

 traordinary animal should be slaughtered, and he 

 therefore bought her for breeding purposes. She 

 was kept in the cowhouse from the middle of Feb- 

 ruary, 1859, until the 1st of April, when she was 

 removed a short distance into the shed, from 

 twenty-five to thirty feet square, high, dry, and 

 well- ventilated. Nor was she after leaving the 

 cowhouse ever in contact with any other animals 

 on the place, but was kept in the shed ; nor was 

 she ever out of it during her life, except once by 

 accident, and then she did not come in contact 

 with any other animal. 



However strongly disposed I might be to call 

 this disease infectious, I have equally strong rea- 

 sons for beheving the contrary. During the early 

 part of the summer Mr. Chenery had in pasture, 

 several miles distant from his farm, six young cat- 

 tle, which were born in the spring of 1858. He had 

 also three other young cattle, which were born in 

 the fall of 1858 ; these three were kept in a pasture 

 about eighty rods from the barn or cowhouse. He 

 had also two calves from imported stock, born 

 in this cowhouse in the spring of 1859. In July, 

 when old enough to put to grass, they were first 

 pastured with the three nearest home ; then the 

 five remained together about four weeks, when 

 they were all removed to the pasture, several miles 

 distant, with the six older abovenamed. The 

 eleven were here kept together several weeks, when 

 one of the two youngest which were taken from the 

 cowhouse, and which had been exposed to its con- 

 taminating influence, was discovered dead in the 

 pasture, and the other was very sick. The dead 

 one was immediately buried, and the sick one taken 

 home, where it died in two days afterwards. But 

 the nine which had not been exposed to the atmos- 

 phere of the cowhouse have continued well up to 

 this time. I should state that one of the youngest 

 of these nine animals was supposed to be sick in 

 December last, after their return from the pasture, 

 when the person in charge gave to it a single dose 

 of the Yankee remedy, thoroughwort tea, which 

 immediately restored it to its wonted health. And 

 notwithstanding they were exposed for weeks with 

 the two which died, they are now all well. 



I would now again observe, that although there 

 was slight diarrhoea in the large cow, upon the 

 whole she was constipated, requiring aperients even 

 up to the time of her death. 



Remarks.— Many persons in this vicinity have 

 heard of the loss of this most valuable stock of 



cattle, and doubtless they are interested to know 

 the cause. 



There arc various opinions in relation to it, both 

 among veterinarians and others. Although there 

 are some facts which would lead many to think 

 that the disease originated with the cows imported 

 in May last, still there are many circumstances 

 equally as strong which will lead to a diflferent con- 

 clusion. I believe they died of phthisis pulmona- 

 lis, a disease resembling " consumption" in the 

 human subject. We have given a brief description 

 of the building in which the cattle were housed, 

 and we think it probable that the last importation 

 might have contracted the disease of which they 

 died on shipboard. Although they came from 

 Holland, in many parts of which it is said there 

 are a great number of diseased cattle, and they might 

 have brought from thence the germ of that disease 

 with them, yet one of their number is still living 

 and is well. We think, further, that we have dis- 

 covered another cause of the death of so many va- 

 luable animals, viz., the building or cowhouse itself, 

 with the practice of securing the animals with their 

 heads towards each other; for thus each healthy 

 animal was forced to inhale the breath of the 

 diseased ; and it is a fact that the healthy were the 

 companions of the sick until the latter died and 

 were removed. 



Unhealthy air, expired by the sick and inhaled 

 by the healthy, will often generate a general malady; 

 and, admitting any constitutional predisposition to 

 exist in the animals, such contact must produce 

 disease. The breath from putrid lungs cannot be 

 inhaled with impunity. The cattle of which we are 

 writing breathed into each other's faces. Disease 

 in the respiratory organs of the healthy was thus 

 generated by the expirations, exhalations, and ex- 

 cretions of the sick. And if there was an insuffi- 

 ciency of pure air admitted into the building to 

 counteract the deleterious *' miasma," we have a 

 sufficient and reasonable cause for the loss which 

 has been sustained. 



I would further remark, that much of the ex- 

 ternal air admitted into the cowhouse came from 

 the cellar beneath it, by the frequent opening of the 

 scuttles for the removal of the execretions of the 

 animals; this coming in upon their rear, and not 

 in their front. Thus the foul air was near their 

 nostrils, and because it was foul it impeded the 

 admission of fresh air from the windows in the 

 cowhouse, which probably were kept too frequently- 

 closed. 



I suppose that a current of fresh air from above 

 will rest upon a stratum of foul air below, if the 

 specific gravity of the last be greater. And it must 

 be greater because it is charged with the moisture 

 of the fermentation of the manure below, and the 

 excretions of the animals within. I would here 

 observe, that in regard to ventilation, the owner 

 was extremely desirous to secure pure air in the 

 cowhouse, and in the building of it impressed as 

 much as possible on the minds of the mechanics 

 its necessity. He had from twelve to fourteen 

 windows on the east, south, and west sides, and 

 also an opening in the roof, and the bottoms of the 

 windows were about four feet from the floor. 

 Hence a difficulty, as I have before described, in 



