142 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



Chapped teats usually result from a want of cleanliness on the part of the milker. If 

 the teats are left clean and dry after each milking, there will generally be no difficulty in 

 this respect. Great patience and kindness should be exercised by the milker when cows 

 teats are sore, taking plenty of time to soften the teats well with the warm milk before 

 attempting to press upon them. 



Choking. This often results from feeding apples and uncut vegetables, particularly 

 such as are round, like the potato. The best remedy is found in prevention, by cutting such 

 food before feeding. Sometimes cattle will break out of the pasture and gain access to 

 unprepared food, and in this way become choked. There is necessity of removing the for 

 eign substance from the throat as soon as possible, or the animal will be liable to die of suffo 

 cation. Such cases are frequently attended with much pain; froth issues from the mouth, 

 the body commences to swell from the amount of gases in the stomach and intestines, the 

 creature groans and seems to be in great distress. &quot;We have known cattle to obtain instant 

 relief by being made to sneeze, the spasmodic effort throwing the obstacle from the throat. 

 An obstruction, if not too large, can sometimes be safely forced out of the oesophagus into 

 the stomach by inserting a flexible rod or tube (rubber being the best material), and pressing 

 it for a second or two at a time carefully upon the foreign substance. The tube should first 

 be well oiled, and it would aid very materially to turn a half -pint of olive or linseed oil down 

 the throat of the animal before the operation, to lubricate the parts. 



This operation should be attended with great care and patience, or the tender membrane 

 will be injured. The nose should be elevated before inserting the tube, in order to make the 

 line of passage down the throat as nearly straight as possible. If the gullet should be ruptured 

 or torn by the carelessness of the operator, or roughness of the instrument used, the conse 

 quences will prove serious. A hollow rubber tube is best for this purpose, and if the obstruc 

 tion is passed into the stomach, the tube should remain there a short time to permit the escape 

 of the accumulated gases. &quot;When the animal has become badly swollen, the gas may be 

 neutralized by giving ammonia, or either chloride of lime or chloride of soda after the object 

 has been removed. If ammonia be used, two ounces of the liquid in a quart of water should 

 be given every half hour until the animal is relieved. 



Three drachms of either the chloride of lime or the chloride of soda, dissolved in a pint 

 of water, will usually give almost instantaneous relief. Care should be taken, after the 

 obstruction has been removed, not to allow any solid food to be eaten for several days. 



Colic or Gripes. This disease in cattle is sometimes caused by constipation, but 

 more frequently by drinking too much cold water when overheated. The flatulent colic is 

 occasioned by the animal gorging itself on fresh, succulent grass. It is found also that cat 

 tle that are kept entirely on dry food, such as grain principally, are subject to it; also that 

 young cattle are more apt to have it than cattle well matured. Cattle, however, are not as 

 much subject to this disease as horses and some other of the domestic animals. 



The symptoms are restlessness, with groans and apparent suffering. The animal will lie 

 down and get up frequently, showing great uneasiness; the body becomes bloated, the 

 swelling being most apparent on the left side. &quot;When the cause is constipation, the treatment 

 should be mainly in the use of purgatives, clysters, and rubbing. For a purgative in such 

 cases we would advise the following: 



To one quart of warm water, add one pint of molasses, eight ounces of linseed oil, and 

 half an ounce of powdered ginger. Mix well, and give in one dose. &quot;With the above it 

 would be well to give an injection as follows: To two quarts of blood-warm water, add six 

 ounces of olive oil or melted lard. If the colic should be attended from the first with a 

 watery and unnatural discharge from the bowels, the following may be given as a regulator: 

 Tincture of opium, 6 drachms; spirit of nitrous ether, 2 ounces; oil of turpentine, I ounce; 

 water, 1 pint. Mix thoroughly and give in one dose. 



