CATTLE. 149 



be clean and dry, and supplied with a good bed of leaves or straw. For food give that 

 which can be readily eaten, such as warm mashes, gruel, fresh cut grass, fruit, etc. Prompt 

 attention and good nursing will soon relieve the difficulty. 



Grub. The gad-fly is very troublesome to stock towards the latter part of summer. 

 This fly alights on cattle usually along the back, pierces the skin, and deposits its eggs 

 underneath it. The egg hatches under the warm skin, a tumor or lump is thus formed, which 

 soon bursts and leaves a small hole for the larva or grub of the fly thus hatched to breathe 

 through. The larva here feeds on its surroundings, and grows to a considerable size. 

 These grubs are sometimes called warbles. The pain that the gad-fly inflicts in depositing 

 its eggs is so severe that cattle dread the insect instinctively; and when an animal is attacked 

 it will often show great fear and excitement, running from the rest of the herd, making a 

 direct course for the water, underbrush, or some other retreat, where it can escape. 



The presence of the larvae under the skin causes considerable pain and annoyance, and 

 the animal thus affected tries to lick or rub, if possible, the parts where they are located. 

 The remedy is to remove or destroy the larvae. They can be distinguished by little lumps or 

 tumors under the skin, each of which contains a grub or larva, and may be pressed out 

 with the thumb and finger. They can, however, better be removed by enlarging the orifice 

 with the point of a penknife or lancet, when they can be easily pressed out. They injure the 

 hide of the animal, besides being of great annoyance. Rubbing the parts affected with 

 turpentine or common kerosene oil will kill the larvae. Where cattle have been bitten by 

 this fly, an early application of a mixture of two parts of tar, with four parts of lard well 

 rubbed in over the bites, will usually end the difficulty at once. 



Haematuria. This disease is known by different names, such as &quot;red-water,&quot; 

 &quot; black- water,&quot; &quot;bloody urine,&quot; etc., the name being derived from the color of the urine, 

 which varies from a pale pink to a bloody tint, varying in all the shades to a dark brown, 

 the color being attributed to the presence of large quantities of albumen and iron, and the 

 coloring matter of the blood. As the quantity of albumen and iron increases, the color 

 darkens. When once fairly developed, this disease is apt to be very fatal among cattle. 

 The symptoms are a rapid decline in milk secretion, constipation, feverish excitement, loss of 

 appetite, rapid pulse, and irregular action of the heart. Sometimes it commences with a 

 diarrhoea, which is succeeded by constipation. 



Very soon after the attack the color of the urine will indicate the nature of the disease. 

 Animals affected with it are dejected and stupid in appearance, and show a reluctance to 

 move. It is sometimes attended, as the disease progresses, with a discharge from the eyes 

 and nose, while the urine assumes a darker color, being sometimes nearly black. 

 Examinations after death show the liver, kidneys, intestines, and in some cases, the 

 brain, to be affected. In fatal cases the animal usually dies in two or three days after the 

 attack. 



It is found that cattle are most subject to it in the late summer, and it is usually confined 

 to the animals that are out of doors, and are pastured on low, swampy lands. It is no doubt 

 frequently caused by drinking impure water, eating improper food, by a change of pasture, 

 climate, or food, particularly when such changes are from high to low lands. It is sometimes 

 produced by blows and harsh treatment, the external violence injuring the loins and kidneys. 

 When this is the cause, it may be distinguished by the blood passing in little clots distinct 

 from the urine. Eating acrid herbage will sometimes cause this disease, also the excessive 

 use of diuretics. 



It is frequently attended with fever, and is apt to run into inflammation of the kidneys. 

 When the difficulty is the result of external violence, which produces what is termed 

 Traumatic Haematuria, keep the parts as cool as possible by laying cloths wet in cold water 



