214 DROPPING AFTER CALVING, &o. 



journey too soon ; giving too much or too rich food 

 soon after calving. 



SYMPTOMS. This fever begins shortly after calv- 

 ing, usually within twenty-four hours ; if three or 

 four days pass over, the cow may be considered safe 

 from an attack. The earlier symptoms are : the 

 cow refuses her food or only eats a little of it ; she 

 is depressed, hangs her head and looks dull; the 

 horns are hot ; the nose, instead of being damp with 

 healthy dew, becomes hot and dry ; the urine is 

 scanty ; the bowels are confined, or, if moved, the 

 dung is hard and lumpy ; the pulse is quicker and 

 fuller than in health ; the breathing is quickened 

 and attended with heaving at the flanks. 



To these warning symptoms are added with more 

 or less rapidity, the more formidable ones which are 

 often first to attract the attention of the owner. The 

 milk is reduced in quantity or entirely stopped ; the 

 eyes glisten and look bright and staring ; the white 

 of the eye is covered with numerous red streaks, or 

 is of a leaden color ; the eye balls are thrust forward 

 in their sockets, and give the cow a somewhat wild 

 and anxious expression ; the hind legs seem weak, 

 and are separated a little from each other ; she ap- 

 pears to stand uneasily upon them, resting for a time 

 on one foot and then changing to the other ; this 

 paddling and shifting from one leg to another con- 

 tinues as the difficulty of standing increases until the 

 animal supports herself by leaning against the stall ; 

 she does not chew the cud ; all discharge from 



