346 DAIRYING COWS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT 



tension of the rumen by gases, which form there and cannot 

 now escape by the usual means of eructation. The distended 

 rumen, pressing on the diaphragm, presses on the lungs and 

 causes asphyxia. 



Where death is threatened from this cause the rumen 

 ought to be at once punctured, a knife being used if the 

 proper instrument, a trocar and cannula, is not at hand. 



Foul in the Foot is not unlike foot-rot in sheep, in 

 which abscesses form in the foot, and sloughing of the horn and 

 adjoining structures occurs. It is most seen in the hind feet, 

 and the animal grows feverish and loses condition, becomes 

 very lame, and stands with its claws apart. The causes are, 

 irritating bodies between the claws, an animal grazing on low 

 soft, marshy pastures, or standing in wet and filthy gateways. 

 The treatment is to poultice, in order to remove inflammation 

 and draw pus, and then follow by dressing the foot with an 

 astringent lotion, consisting of equal parts of butter of 

 antimony and tincture of myrrh, and binding it up with tow 

 and tar. Foul in the foot is not uncommonly tubercular in 

 its origin, and then is a progressive disease that can only be 

 treated by amputation at the coronet. 



Other lamenesses are produced by casual injuries, by 

 something hard, such as a small stone, picked up and fixed 

 between the digits, or by scalding in wet seasons. A hind- 

 leg can be held up for examination and treatment by a 

 man on each side standing close to the cow, and lifting by 

 means of a stick, about the length and strength of a one- 

 horse whipple-tree, which is placed across between them in 

 front of the animal's hock. A strip of strong canvas, 

 drawn backward and forward between the hoofs, should be 

 used to clear away all dung, earth, or other foreign matter 

 which may have lodged there, to admit of a thorough 

 examination of the part, and to prepare for a caustic 

 mixture, or some other stimulating dressing, which should 

 then be applied by means of a thin splinter of wood. Cows 

 or bulls which are not allowed much exercise, become lame 

 through the hoofs not being naturally worn by walking, so 

 that they grow long and turn up at the toes. The over- 

 growth of horn may be removed by sawing, followed by 

 using a pair of long-handled powerful shears for dressing 

 or finishing. 



