MILK FEVER ITS SIMPLE AND SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT. 901 



age time of 6 2-3 hours. Of this number 25 cases required a second 

 injection, while in 3 of the latter number it was necessary to give a third 

 treatment before they were able to get upon their feet. The treatment 

 is also practically harmless, as the statistics of the above-mentioned 914 

 patients show that only 1 cow was affected with a severe attack of caked 

 bag after this treatment, while in 4 other cows a milder inflammation of 

 the udder was apparent. 



Previous to making the air injection, the hands of the operator should 

 be thoroughly cleansed and the udder should receive the same careful 

 antiseptic treatment as has been recommended in discussing the injec- 

 tion of potassium iodide. Soap and water should be applied to the teats 

 and udder, after which they should be carefully disinfected with a 5 

 per cent solution of carbolic acid (3 tablespoonfuls of pure carbolic -acid 

 to 1 quart of water). A clean towel should then be placed under the 

 udder to prevent the teats from coming in contact with dirt or filth of 

 any kind. The milking tube, before it is placed in the teat, should have 

 been perfectly sterilized by boiling for fifteen minutes, with the lower 

 hose and cap of the cylinder attached, and the apparatus should be 

 wrapped in a clean towel, without touching the milking tube, to prevent 

 contamination before use. If the apparatus has been subjected to this 

 treatment shortly before, and it is desired to disinfect only the milking 

 tube, the latter may be placed in a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid 

 for five minutes. It is then carefully inserted into the milk duct of the 

 teat without emptying the udder of milk. Air is now pumped into the ud- 

 der. Slight massage or kneading of the udder will cause the innermost re- 

 cesses of the milk tubules to become distended with the injected air. After 

 one-quarter of the udder is well distended the milking tube is removed, 

 care being taken to prevent the outflow of air by having an assistant tie a 

 broad piece of tape about the teat at the time the milking tube is with- 

 drawn. The same treatment is repeated with the other three teats until the 

 udder is' satisfactorily distended. In case the air becomes absorbed and no 

 improvement is noted within five hours, a repetition of this treatment 

 should be made under the same antiseptic precautions as at first. The tape 

 should be removed from the teats two or three hours after the cow gets on 

 her feet, the constricting muscles at the tip of the teats being now depended 

 on for retaining the air. In this manner the air may be left in the udder 

 for twenty-four hours, and when recovery is assured, it should be grad- 

 ually milked out. It is needless to say that the calf should not be per- 

 mitted to suck during this period. 



Inflammation of the udder (caked bag) is avoided if the milking tube 

 is thoroughly disinfected before each application, and if the cow's teats 

 and bag and the hands of the operator have been properly cleansed. 



While this method of treating milk fever is a comparatively easy one 

 for a farmer or dairyman to adopt, he can not expect to have the same 



