164 



CATTLE— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



hastened and aggravated by absurd man- 

 agement. 



The mother requires little care after 

 calving, except that of protection from 

 too great severity of weather, and this 

 more especially if she had been much 

 nursed before parturition. A warm mash 

 may be given daily for a little while, but 

 otherwise she may return to her previous 

 and not too luxuriant feed. The state of 

 her udder, however, should be examined : 

 if it is at all hard, she should be milked 

 twice every day, and the calf should be 

 put with her several times in the day at 

 least, if not altogether. Perhaps she will 

 not let it suck, especially if it is the first 

 calf, on account of the soreness of her 

 teats, and her being unaccustomed to the 

 duties of nursing. She must then be care- 

 fully watched at sucking time, and the 

 bag, if it is very hard, and kernelly, and 

 sore, must be fomented with warm water, 

 or, if necessary, the Garget Ointment, 

 No. 24, or Ointment for Sore Teats, 

 No. 27 (Domestic Animals, Medicines 

 for) /nust be rubbed into the part princi- 

 pally affected. 



COW, Milk Fever, or the Drop.— This is 

 a disease almost peculiar to cows in high 

 condition at the time of calving : whether 

 young or old, all are liable to be attacked 

 by it ; they are, however, rarely attacked 

 until after they have had several calves : 

 and it is stated that the short-horned 

 breed is more liable to it than others. 

 Whenever it takes place, either at home or 

 in the field, it is distressing to the animal, 

 as well as troublesome to the owner, for 

 the beast is seldom able to rise during 

 several days. The puerperal or milk fever 

 is most frequent during the hot weather 

 of summer. The cows most liable to be 

 attacked by this fever have large udders, 

 that have been full of milk for several 

 days before calving. It is a very danger- 

 ous disease when severe, and often proves 

 fatal even under the most judicious treat- 

 ment. 



The milk fever most commonly appears 

 about the second or third day after calving, 

 but the cow is occasionally down within a 

 few hours of parturition. It is first recog- 

 nized by the animal refusing her food, 

 looking dull and heavy ; then follows pro- 

 trusion of the eye, heaving of the flank, 

 restlessness, and every symptom of fever. 

 In a few hours, or on the next day at the 



latest, the cow begins to stagger ; is weak 

 in the loins ; palsy steals over the whole 

 frame ; and she falls, unable to rise again. 

 It is in this advanced stage that the com- 

 plaint is too often first observed ; the pre- 

 vious symptoms are not taken notice of r 

 and the beast is almost past cure before 

 the owner is aware of her illness. From 

 this seeming palsy of the hinder limbs, 

 and sometimes of the whole frame, the 

 disease is very appropriately called drop- 

 ping after calving. 



There are evidently two varieties of 

 this disease, one being considerably more 

 dangerous than the other. In the severer 

 kind, the brain, as well as the spinal mar- 

 row, is affected, whilst the milder disease 

 is principally confined to the loins. 



In the former kind, we first notice a 

 staggering gait, the breathing then be- 

 comes irregular and disturbed, the eyes 

 full and glassy, and the pupil dilated. 

 The animal, after reeling about ior some 

 time, falls, and frequently never rises again. 

 She then becomes, in great measure, un- 

 conscious; the head is turned on one side; 

 sensation appears partially lost, so that, if 

 liquids are given with the horn, they often 

 enter the windpipe without occasioning, 

 coughing. The hind legs become entirely 

 paralyzed, and the fore ones are some- 

 times affected in a similar manner. The 

 pulse is generally very quick, but weak ; 

 the appetite is altogether lost ; rumination 

 ceases; and the bowels are obstinately 

 constipated. If the animal dies, it is gen- 

 erally within forty-eight hours from the 

 commencement of the symptoms, and in- 

 deed sometimes only a few hours after- 

 wards. In some cases, the animal will lie 

 in a state of insensibility ; in others, she 

 exhibits considerable pain and distress. 

 The cow is unable to discharge either her 

 urine or dung, the nerves influencing these 

 offices being paralyzed. On examining 

 the bodies of cows that have died from 

 this disease, the principal mischief has 

 been found in thebrainand spinal cord; in 

 the latter, chiefly at the region of the loins. 

 The womb, in the greater number of instan- 

 ces, has been found in the same state as it 

 usually is after parturition ; but, in some 

 cases, it presents the appearance of the 

 most intense inflammation. In such cases, 

 it appears that the inflammation of the 

 womb is superadded to the other disease. 



In the milder form of the complaint it 



