396 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



of the functions : tlie cow's appetite is gone, and her yield 

 of millv diminished to one-half of what she gave 12 hours 

 before. 



On applying the ear to the side of the animal, you dis- 

 tinctly hear the air rushing past, but, at the very early 

 stage, as far as the ear can detect, with little or no impedi- 

 ment. The inhalations become freqiient and laboured. 

 On opening the vein, if you place your finger in the stream 

 of blood, a hot sensation is imparted. If you again place 

 your finger in the stream, towards the close of bleeding, 

 the heat is sensibly diminished : the colour of the blood 

 also undergoes a perceptible change from a dark to a redder 

 or brighter colour. 



A consideration of these symptoms seems to denote a 

 greater consumption of carbon, for the combustion or 

 oxidation of which, it seems probable that the animal is 

 prompted to exert her organs of respiration for the supply 

 of the necessary air, whilst the blood, at the same time, is 

 in an impure state. At this stage, immediate relief seems 

 requisite, to prevent or arrest damage from over-exertion. 

 With this object, I resort to bleeding, as the speediest 

 means of subduing the fever and lowering the circulation. 

 Tartar emetic and digitalis are known also to have the 

 eifect of retarding the circulation and lowering the pulse. 

 It will be observed that I apply these, necessarily, in the 

 very early stages. Spirits of nitre and flour of sulphur, 

 which are continued much longer, stimulate the secretions, 

 and thus tend to purify the blood and the system. My ob- 

 servations lead me to think that the organs of respiration 

 are, on the first appearances, comparatively speaking, but 

 slightly injured. It is not until after a lapse of time that, 

 ■with the ear, we can perceive that dulness of sound which 

 betokens injury. In the two which died, we could dis- 

 tinctly trace the increase of this, until the flow of air on 

 the one side seemed entirely to have ceased, whilst on the 

 other we could plainly hear the air passing to and fro. On 

 a post mortem examination, we found the lung on one side 

 completely damaged, whilst on the other it was but little 

 afi«cted. Whilst the greater heat of blood, and the more 

 frequent respiration, denote an excessive demand on the 

 carbon, yet, at the same time, the animal is devoid of appe- 

 tite. The necessary consequence is, a consumption of the 

 components of the system. The" fats will first be laid hold 

 of; then, though probably not altogether singly and sepa- 

 rately, the carbonaceous components of the fibrine : but, as 

 these materials are in succession less easily available, their 

 consumption seems necessarily to imply a greater exertion 

 of the organs of respiration. 



These considerations have led me to resort to a supply 

 of food rich in elements of heat, carbon, and hydrogen, in 

 a form easily available for respiration. Indian meal is 

 particularly rich in starch : by the process of boiling, it 

 approximates more nearly to sugar. Together with this, I 

 give sugar and treacle in appreciable quantities, and also 

 oleine oi'. These ingredients are mixed, and given in 

 warm water. Starch, sugar, gmn, dextrin, &c., are ac- 

 counted the main supporters of the heat of animals, when 

 in health : they contain, with carbon and hydrogen, a con- 

 siderable proportion of ox3'gen. On this account, they re- 

 quire less of the oxygen of the air to effect their combus- 

 tion. Their components are : 



Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. 

 Starch .. .. 44-45 .. 6-17 .. 4938 

 Sugar .. ,. 40-00 .. 6-66 .. 53-54 



The composition of oils differs very considerably from 

 that of starch and sugar, oils being much richer in carbon 



and hydrogen, with less of oxygen, Tiioy contain, on an 

 average of analysis : 



Carbon. Hydrogen, Oxygen. 

 Oil or fat .. 78-13 .. 1174 .. 10-13 



The following are ultimate analyses, by Dr. Dugald 

 Campbell, given in Dr. Thompson's " Lectures" (p. 34) : 



Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. Nitrogen. 

 Cod-liver oil 80-18 .. 13-7-2 .. 5.854 .. -246 

 Olive oil .. 69-38 .. 13-47 .. 17-09-2 .. -058 



A proximate analysis, by M. Braconnot, of olive oil- 

 one of the vegetable oils richest in olein — gives : 



Of Olein. Margarine. 



72 28 



Vegetable oils or fats are observed to be much longer in 

 undergoing digestion, and in their passage through the 

 system, than the other elements of food. They contain, in 

 the same space, the greatest proportion of elements neces- 

 sary for the support of vitality, according to Lehmann, 

 whose works I have recently been able to obtain — the first 

 and second volumes in German, the third in English. I 

 find in vol. iii., p. 358, the following computation : " If, in 

 a given time, the organism absorbs 100 grammes of oxyger, 

 the following quantities would be necessary, in union with 

 100 grammes of oxygen, to satisfy the requirements of 

 vitality : Of f\it, 34-23 grammes ; starch, 8437 grammes ; 

 sugar, 93-75. Fi-om which it will be seen that a pound of 

 fat or oil, in combination with the oxygen supplied by the 

 air, is equal to nearly 31bs. of starch or sugar." 



Lehmann (vol. iii., pp. 33G to 339) gives a series of in- 

 teresting experiments by Vierordt, who found the mean, or 

 his average respirations whilst in a state of rest, to be 12 

 per minute, by which he expired 3G6 cubic inches of a'r, 

 containing 13'5 cubic inches of carbonic acid. By increas- 

 ing his respirations to 9G per minute, he expired 2,928 

 cubic inches, containing 79 cubic inches of carbonic acid. 

 From this we learn that the organs of respiration^ are en- 

 dowed with a capability far beyond the normal require- 

 ments ; the volume of air being increased eight-fold, that 

 of carbonic acid nearly six-fold. Had Vierordt been able 

 to continue these laboured respirations without damage to 

 his organs, he must necessarily have consumed more food, 

 for the increase of carbonic acid, or, otherwise, have ex- 

 pended his own substance. 



At page 381, vol. iii., Lehmann recites experiments, 

 carefully conducted by Hanover, on patients suffering from 

 pulmonary disease, which show that the absolute amount 

 of carbonic acid increases with the number of respirations, 

 whilst the relative amount (that which is contained in a 

 given volume of air) diminishes. These experiments tend 

 to confirm in a remarkable manner my suspicions as to a 

 greater consumption of carbon during this disease. They 

 show also that the organs of respiration, though weakened, 

 inhale a greater quantity of air, and exhale also an in- 

 creased quantity, though less in proportion, of carbonic 

 acid. From the diminished proportion of the carbonic acid 

 to the volume of air, in the increased respirations, it is 

 clear that the system could not afford an adequate supply 

 of carbon. 



When in London, I sought an interview with Dr. Theo- 

 philus Thompson, F.R.S., with the object of learning his 

 views on the efiicacy of oil as medicine, of which he has 

 had great experience, and which, I am infonned, he first 

 introduced into the London hospitals. In the course of 

 conversation, he drew my attention to several cases, in 

 whicn his patients had gained more by the use of cod-liver 

 oil than the weight of the oil supplied. I ventured to sug- 



