620 



FARMERS' RKGISTER, 



[No. 10 



one-eighth ol" all inch in diameter, and of equal 



Jenirtli wilh ihe tube is placed uiihin it, and with- 

 drawn when such lube lias entered the stomach. 



Dr. JMonro h;l^^ loiind, that the distance from the 

 fore-leeth to the hottDm of the first stomach 

 of a large ox is about six feet; the tube 

 ought, therefore, to be six (eet, or tivo yards 

 in length, in order that it may operate effectually 

 with the largest uxen. When ihe tube has entered 

 the stomach, it may continue there lor any length 

 ol'lime, as it does not impede the respiration of the 

 animal. The greater part of the confined air will be 

 discharged through the instrument; and, in case 

 it should be thought necessary, the remaining 

 condensed air, or the superfluous moisture in the 

 stomacli, may be absorlsed thence, by fixing a 

 bellows to the upper >nd of the tube, with two 

 valves, one at the muzzle, the other at the side oi 

 it, and so disposed, as to allow the air to pass in 

 the direction i'rom the stomach upwards. At the 

 same time, should it be deemed advisable to inject 

 any ardent spirits, or other liquor calculated to 

 check the lermeiitaiion, that operation may be per- 

 formed with the utmost snfety ihrough this tube.* 



Equally usetlil with the flexible instrument 

 of Prolessor Monro, is the instrument invented by 

 JVlr. Eager, lor relieving hoven cattle and sheep ; 

 tor which tht> Society for the Encouragement 

 of Arts, &c., in 1796, voted to him a premium of 

 fifty guineas. ******** 

 When any beast is swollfen, or hoven, Mr. Eager 

 directs a person to lay hold of it by the nostril and 

 one horn, while an assistant steadily holds the 

 tongue with one hand, and wiih the other pushes 

 Ihe cane down the animal's throat. Attention 

 must, however, be paid, that the animal does not 

 get the knob of the cane heuveen his grinders, and 

 that it be thrust to a sufficient depth, because its 

 whole length will do no injury, and likewise that 

 It be passed into the cullet, and not into the wind- 

 pipe. As an obstncle will occur at the entrance of 

 the paunch, the cane should be gradually pushed 

 with additional force , and, as soon as a fetid smell 

 is observed to issue from that place, and the body 

 of the beast sinks, the cure is performed, and 

 nature will complete the rest. 



Mr. Eager, in his communication to the respect- 

 able society above-mpntioned, adverting to the 

 cause of this disorder, attributes it to the super- 

 abundance of air introduced into the stomach 

 by eating too large quantities of succulent food at 

 one time, which occasions a more than usual por- 

 tion of air to ascend from the paunch of the beast. 

 This forces the broad leaves before the passage at 

 the end of the stomach, and these leaves prevent 

 the wind from passing upwards in its regular 

 course; consequently the paunch begins immedi- 

 ately to swell ; the air becomes rarefied by the 

 heat of (he body, so rapidly as to impede the circu- 

 lation of the blood ; and "the beast, whether ox, 

 cow, bullock, or sheep, inevitably expires, unless 

 speedy relief be procured. It only remains to 

 add, that Mr. Eager's plan and instruments have 

 been sanctioned by the Earl of Egremont, as well 

 as by several eminent farmers, who have at- 

 tested their efficacy in relieving blown or hoven 

 cattle. 



* Much further information on tliis subject may be 

 found in Marshall's Works, and the Transactions of the 

 Society of Arts. 



Cheap and economical, however, as both these 

 iiselul contrivances confessedly are, yet as two per- 

 sons may not always be on the spot, to give relief 

 to the animal, it becomes important to have re- 

 course to other more portable and prompt mecha- 

 nical assistance that may be given by one indivi- 

 dual. For this purpose, Mr. Mason Cof Good- 

 res; Lodge, near Warwick,) in a communication 

 to the Society for the Encouragement of Arts,* 

 advices ll;e use of the trocar and canuia commonly 

 employed by surgeons, for the relicl'of hoven cat- 

 tle ; and to penetrate with the trocar and ca- 

 nuia through the beast's hide, to the (launch, on 

 the near side, about six inches from the back- 

 bone, at an equal distance li-om the last rib. and from 

 the hip-bone. The trocar is then to be withdrawn, 

 and the canuia left in the wound, until the air has 

 escaped from the paunch, when the canuia may 

 be taken out, and the wound covered with a plas- 

 ter of common |)itch, spread on leather, about the 

 size of a crown-piece. Mr. Mason states, that this 

 operation is neither injurious to ieedinir oxen, nor 

 even dangerous to cows in call'; and that it 

 has been found particularly efficacious in preserv- 

 ing young calves when afBicted with this disorder, 

 which proves fatal to numbers of them. 



The very fi'equent occurrence of the disease 

 now under notice, will justify the length at which 

 we have treated its proposed remedies ; on the ef- 

 ficacy of that suggested by Mr. Mason, no doubt, 

 we think, can be eniertained. Its superiority over 

 other modes of treatment is very great, as it may 

 be at all times applied with less risk than stabbing 

 with a pen-knife ; and, certainly, with less delay 

 than waiting for assistance to apply the flexible 

 tube. The size of the trocar also renders it a con- 

 venient instrument, to carry in the pocket at all 

 times, when cattle are feeding upon clover ; and 

 the operation can scarcely be performed in such a 

 manner even by the most ignorant servant, as to 

 be attended with danger to the life of the animal. 



Looseness or scouring, equally aflects oxen and 

 cows, though its causes in both are different. In 

 general, it arises either from want of sufficient 

 food, both in quality and proportion ; from being 

 over-heated or over-worked ; by feeding on wet, 

 unwholesome fog, or after-grass ; or on bad bay 

 and straw ; and by not being lodged in dry situa- 

 tions ; though it is sometimes an hereditary taint, 

 and in cows is caused by their taking cold while 

 calving. But whatever be the cause, as soon as 

 the scour or lax begins to appear, (and it may be 

 easily known by their general debility and loss of 

 flesh, and the increasing paleness of their eyes, and 

 irregular beating of the pulse, weakness of" appe- 

 tite, and frequent discharge of slimy excrement,) it 

 will be necessary to house the beast, and put it to 

 dry food ; which, in early stages of the disease, 

 will mostly effect a cure. Should the looseness 

 increase, a pound of mutton suet, boiled in three 

 quarts of milk, till the former is completely dis- 

 solved, may be given in a lukewarm state, which 

 will contribute to allay the soreness necessarily oc- 

 casioned by the continual irritation of the abdomi- 

 nal vessels. Or, in cases of obstinate scouring, 

 the following drink may be beneficially adminis- 

 tered : — 



* Transactions of the Society of Arts, &c., Vol. 

 XXVI, pp. 128 — 131. For this communication, the 

 Society presented Mr. Mason with their silver medal. 



