258 THE VETERINARY SCIENCE. 



{'eed, but no hay. In the course of a week or so after, if the 

 physic lias operated without carrying off the load of food out of 

 the rumen or paunch, then, as the last resort, perform the operation 

 of rumenotomy. 



HOW TO PERFORM THE OPERATION OF RUMENOTOMY. 



The animal, when sick, is generally very easy held ; shove it 



up against the side of the stall or partition, then fasten it there by 



means of a long rope, any way at all so you get it solid, and tie 



the animal so the left side will be out, then, with a sharp knife, 



make a cut four or five inches long, right through the skin and 



muscles to the stomach, commencing the cut two inches below the 



back bone, and half way between the last rib and the front of the 



hip bone, then pass your hand into the cut and take hold of the 



stomach, drawing it well out, then make a large enough cut 



in the stomach to pass your hand in and out free, then have some 



person to hold the stomach still out through the cut in the side so 



the food will not fall down between the wall of the stomach and 



the belly ; remove all the hard food in the paunch or rumen, then 



sew the cut you made in the stomach up with a needle used for 



sewing wounds ; use carriage trimmers' twine, and put the 



stitches half an inch apart, then wash off the cut which was made 



in the stomach with a quart of luke warm water and 10 drops of 



carbolic acid in it ; after it is washed off nice and clean shove it 



back to its natural place and sew up the outside cut, putting the 



stitches in half an inch apart. The treatment for the outside 



wound is to bathe the cut twice a day with luke warm water, and, 



after bathing, apply the white lotion until it is healed up. The 



after treatment is to give the animal a few drenches of stimulants, 



such as are mentioned in the treatment of impaction of the rumen, 



or paunch. Feed the animal on soft food made into the form of 



soft gruels for a few days and keep it quiet until the cut is 



healed up. 



VOMITING. 



This is sometimes met with in cattle, but never in the horse. 



Causes. — Generally from some irritation of the fourth, or true 

 digestive part of the stomach, or it may be caused from eating 

 some bones, old clothes, or a boot or something of that kind. 

 Sometimes it is caused from nails being taken into the rumen with 

 food. Often after an animal is slaughtered there are nails and rub- 

 bish found in the stomach. 



