996 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



'J'he milk supply ceases suddenly, and the ndder becomes soft and 

 flabby. In latter stages tlie pulse becomes very rapid and imper- 

 ceptilDJe^ the stomach distended with gas^ and later the animal becomes 

 comatose. There are usually signs that the animal is suffering acute 

 abdominal pain. The animal rapidly becomes very weak, and death 

 follows from syncope. 



Post Mortem Appearances. 



On examination the cavity of the uterus will be found to be small 

 and to contain chocolate cohired fluid, and the uterine walls are 

 thickened. Blood extravasations are to be found beneath the peri- 

 toneum, which also exhibits various marks of inflammation. The 

 veins of the uterus contain dark coagulated blood. On many of the 

 serous membranes there will be found further evidence, as also on 

 the inner surface of the labiae. 



DlFFEREXTIAl, DtAGXOSIS. 



From the foregoing account it will be easy t(t determine the 

 ditterence between this disease and milk fever. The former follows 

 difficult parturition with possibly retention of the after-birth, the 

 latter, on the contrary, is but the sequel to an easy calving and 

 voidiince of after-birth. Metro-peritonitis is slower in its action and 

 unaccompanied by pnralysis. Drenches may be given to an animal 

 suffering from the former, but to drench a cow suffering from milk 

 fever would simply mean suffocation. Although the animal eventually 

 becomes comatose still this rarely happens before three or four days, 

 whereas witli milk fever it is almost immediate. 



Treat.mkxt, 



Isolate the animal from other cows, more especially those which 

 are in calf. Syringe out the nterns with a 1 per cent, solution of 

 creolin or lysgl, or a 1 in 1,000 of corrosive sublimate. Remove with 

 the hand all after-birth. Keep bowels open with half doses of laxative 

 medicines, and the condition being septic, creolin in drachm doses 

 with warm gruel frecjuently. Keep up the strength of the animal 

 with strengthening easily digested foods. Thoroughly disinfect with 

 quicklime all exci-eta or discharges from an animal thus affected. If 

 necessary, renutve the urine with a catheter. 



Debility. 



Under this heading will be embraced most of the trouble to which 

 cows in this State are subject at the time of calving. A broad and 

 clearly differentiating line has been shown to exist between milk 

 fever and metro-peritonitis, l)oth from different conditions during 

 the progress of these diseases, as also from the fact that milk 

 fever attacks only animals w^hich have borne calves previously, where- 

 as metro-peritonitis may supervene on parturition with the first calf. 

 For general purposes in treating with debility, reference will be made 

 only to the conditions under which cows are kept in this State. In 

 many parts, where sufficient care is not taken to prevent the bull 



