GENERAL PRINCIPLES. ^H 



Aloes, though so excellent a purgative for horses, is of no use with 

 cattle ; while epsom suits, that are so drastic and cold for horses, on 

 cattle work like a charm. Calomel and other forms of mercury act 

 violently on cattle, salivating them very soon, and is excreted through 

 the milk, often affecting sucking calves seriously. Oils, used as purga- 

 tives, act Avell on cattle, and especially melted lard. Mustard, as a blister, 

 acts with more vigor on cattle than on the horse, but turpentine less. 



IV. The Only Safe Principles for Most Cattle Owners. 



But few outside of the more common diseases of cattle will be treated 

 of in this work, the better to adapt it for its ready use, as a book for 

 reference, by the average stock owner ; and the recipes will ho as few and 

 simple as they can be made without detracting from their value. It is a 

 mistake to suppose that any great variety of A'iolent drugs can be used 

 with advantage l)y the public general l3^ The public would, no doubt, 

 learn by experience, but it would be at the cost of losing many valuable 

 animals. What we advocate and would like to instil into the minds of 

 our readers, in conjunction with the importance of thorough preventive 

 measures, is to treat the ordinary diseases as early and vigorously as pos- 

 sible, with the simplest efficient remedies, and when any extraordinary 

 case arises requiring more violent means, to employ an educated, well 

 qualiii e d ve t e r i n a ry s u rge o n . 



V. Familiarize Yourself with the Phenomena of Health. 

 As it is obvious that no person is fitted to treat disease who is unable 

 to distinguish at least its prominent symptoms, every stock owner 

 should familiarize himself with the ordinary phenomena of health, espe- 

 cially with the pulse, respiration and temperature. Scarcely less im- 

 portant than these, in many forms of disease, are the appearance of the 

 hair and skin, and that of the e^^e ; the jmsture and movements ; and the 

 character and frequency of the appetite, and also of the discharges. 



VI. The Pulse, Respiration and Temperature. 



The normal pulse in cattle ranges from lifty to fifty-five per minute ; 

 in old animals, but especially in calves, it is somewhat more. The pulse 

 is the most conveniently taken from the artery passing up along the lower 

 part of the neck on either side just under the cervical vertebra?, or else that 

 beneath the tail. In health it is softer and less tense than it is in the horse 



The breathing it requires no special skill to diagnose — only a moderate 

 amount of practice. The soft, rustling sound of the healthful " respira- 

 tory murmur," when the ear is placed to the chest, is altogether changed 

 when there is any ailment affecting the lungs or air passages. The num- 

 ber of respirations per minute (ordinarily ten to fifteen in cattle) can b? 



