CATTLE— CARE AND. MANAGEMENT 



*93 



but it is possible, or rather it is too prob- 

 able, that every bite will not be discov- 

 ered, considering how thickly the skin is 

 covered by hair. It is, therefore, the 

 safest course, if the beast is in tolerable 

 condition, to sell it at once to the butch- 

 er, for it will not be fit for the shambles 

 after rabies has once appeared. Medi- 

 cine would be completely thrown away in 

 these cases. 



CALVES, Young, the Diseases Inci. 

 dent to. — When the calf is dropped, 

 proper care should be taken of the cow 

 by providing her with a comfortable place 

 to lie down ; she should also be suffered 

 freely to lick her calf, for this will not 

 only make her fond of it, but the young 

 animal will be thoroughly cleansed, and 

 raised much sooner than it otherwise 

 would, and the mother, in eating the 

 cleansing, will obtain that medicine 

 which nature designed for her. 



It is usual to take away a quart of the first 

 milk, called the beastings, before the calf 

 is allowed to suck. After this the young 

 animal may be allowed access to the cow, 

 but regulated by the plan of suckling or 

 bringing up on which the grazier may de- 

 termine. The calf should remain with 

 the mother during a few days at least, or 

 until the milk is proper for the purposes 

 of the dairy. 



The mother's first milk is of an ape- 

 rient quality, and sufficiently so to cleanse 

 the bowels of the calf from the black, 

 sticky substance which they contain when 

 first dropped. If this should not be ef- 

 fected, a little opening medicine, .such as 

 Aperient Drink for Calves, (See No. 61, 

 Domestic Animals, Medicines for,) 

 will be necessary. 



The Epsom salts are as efficacious as 

 any kind of oil for purging young cattle, 

 as well as far less expensive than most 

 oils. Custom, however, has sanctioned 

 the almost general use of castor oil in 

 these cases, and there is no objection 

 to it. 



After the first or second day, it will be 

 prudent to tie the calf in a corner of the 

 hovel, that it may not be always sucking 

 the mother, for it might overgorge itself 

 with milk, which would coagulate in the 

 fourth stomach, and choke it up, and pro- 

 duce disease, and even death. If it is 

 evident that the cow would yield more 

 milk than the calf should have, it is the 



*3 



custom, and very properly, to take away 

 a portion of it from her two or three 

 times in the day, before the young one is 

 unfastened. 



The time that the calf, after this, re- 

 mains with the mother is chiefly regulated 

 by the system which the breeder usually 

 pursues, but reference should always be 

 had to the state of the cow's udder, If 

 it is perfectly free from knobs, or kernels, 

 or hardness, the calf may be removed at 

 a comparatively early period ; but if any 

 induration of the teats appears, the young 

 animal should be permitted to suck a 

 while longer. The frequent sucking will 

 prevent the milk from curdling in the 

 udder; and also the friction and shaking 

 of the bag, by the jolting of the calfs 

 head in the act of sucking, will contrib- 

 ute not a little to the dispersion of the tu- 

 mors. We have already spoken of garget, 

 and shown that a very prevalent cause 

 of it is the weaning of the calf too soon. 



Few things are more injurious than the 

 exposure of the young calf to wet and cold. 

 It lays a foundation for rheumatism and 

 hoose, which no medical treatment can 

 afterwards remove. 



Bleeding from the navel string is not 

 an uncommon complaint among calves, 

 and it is a verv troublesome one. The 

 first 'thing to be done is to pass another 

 ligature round the string nearer to the 

 body ; for if the bleeding is not stopped 

 the life of the young animal will some- 

 times be endangered. It may happen r 

 however, that the first ligature may have 

 been nearer to the belly than it ought to 

 have been, so near indeed, that another 

 cannot be passed within it. A pledget of 

 lint that has been dipped in a decoction 

 of galls (half a dozen galls bruised, and 

 boiled in half a pint of water), should be 

 placed over the part, and confined with a 

 proper bandage. This will be far prefer- 

 able to the blue vitriol, and oil of vitriol, 

 which some cow-leeches are so fond of 

 applying. It will stop the blood, but not 

 eat into and destroy the part. 



From the application of the caustic, orj 

 even of the second ligature, a great deal 

 of swelling will sometimes take place. 

 This should be well fomented until in- 

 flammation is pretty nearly subdued. The 

 after-treatment will depend on circum- 

 stances. If there is a solid tumor, the 

 fomentation, or a poultice, must be con- 



