164 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



the first symptoms of the disease may appear. There seems to be a great difference in 

 animals with respect to their susceptibility to this disease, while the temperature and time of 

 the year have much to do with its early progress. It has been found that it is most virulent 

 and fatal in warm, sultry weather, and most inactive in cold, wet seasons. 



Symptoms. The symptoms, etc., of this disease are given as follows, by an 

 authoritative writer having considerable experience with it: 



&quot; The manner in which this affection appears is quite variable, owing to the age and 

 general condition of the animal. In cows, the diminution of milk is one of the first 

 symptoms. The ears droop, the gait is sluggish and tottering, with a disinclination to move. 

 The animal will stand in one position, with head depressed, when more or less trembling will 

 be seen about the flanks. In a few days, the patient looks thin and hollow. The abdominal 

 walls will appear shrunken, and the back will be arched, as though suffering from distress or 

 internal pains. 



The skin is usually dry and hot, especially about the head, and rarely moistened on any 

 part of the body with perspiration. The bowels are costive, but not unfrequently a fetid 

 diarrhoea will supervene in the last stages. The urine is invariably scanty, high-colored, and 

 even bloody. In fatal cases, the bladder becomes distended, its wall paralyzed, and all power 

 of micturition lost before death. 



The diagnosis of this malady, therefore, is not difficult, especially with the aid of a 

 thermometer, to determine the degree of fever heat. The elevation of temperature indicates 

 the severity of an attack, and will be found to vary from 101 degrees, the normal standard in 

 cattle, to 107, in fatal cases. The &quot;ticks&quot; are an important aid in doubtful cases. Their 

 presence serves as a label, to tell us either from whence the animal came, or the exposure 

 it has encountered. Consequently, when we find a sick creature that is covered with ticks, 

 and shows a high fever heat on thermometer, we can be almost sure, even at an early 

 stage, that it is a case of the Texas plague. But this will soon be corroborated by a high- 

 colored urine, which, on account of the congested condition of the kidneys, is a characteristic 

 symptom; and, in fact, we have never seen an animal sick with this complaint that was not 

 affected with haematuria. 



Post-Mortem Appearances^ etc. The morbid aspect of the internal organs, after 

 death, is so marked, that we are enabled to decide a doubtful case at once. The spleen, or 

 milt, is always found much enlarged. It is often increased to five times its normal weight. 

 This organ is so completely engorged with blood, that chemical changes set in before death. 

 The tissues will, accordingly, appear soft, and not unfrequently the viscus is found ruptured. 

 We have examined several cases where the spleen was more than two feet long, eight inches 

 wide, and three in thickness, and weighed ten pounds. Such an organ cannot easily be 

 overlooked. 



The liver has a softened and waxy appearance. It is very yellow in color, but with an 

 occasional tinge of gr.eenish black. This organ is usually much congested and enlarged, 

 weighing from twenty to thirty pounds. The gall-bladder is surcharged with dark, viscid, 

 and flocculent bile, the granular nature of which is brilliantly shown by transmitted light. 



The kidneys, as before observed, are congested, swollen, and softened. They are often 

 so much enlarged as to appear disturbed in form, as though they were twisted. On section, 

 the tissues are dark, and unnatural in appearance. Hence the bloody urine, scanty though 

 it be, that must escape from such an impaired organ, and which at once becomes of vital 

 importance in the animal economy. 



In ordinary cases, the heart and lungs show no signs of disease. But there is more or 

 less inflammation of and erosion about the stomach, especially in the fourth apartment, 

 known as the abomasum. This, with the upper portion of the bowel, is congested and 



