86 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



rate it into small portions, which can be carried downward for the 

 process of digestion. 



But if the treatment applied fails and the impacted or over- 

 loaded condition of the rumen continues, it may become necessary 

 to make an incision with a sharp, long-bladed knife in the left 

 flank, commencing at the point where it is usual to puncture the 

 stomach of an ox, and prolong the incision in a downward direc- 

 tion until it is long enough to admit the hand. When the point 

 of the knife is thrust into the flank and the blade cuts downward, 

 the wall of the stomach, the muscle, and the skin should all be cut 

 through at the same time. Two assistants should hold the edges of 

 the wound together so as to prevent any food slipping between the 

 flank and the wall of the stomach, and then the operator should 

 remove two-thirds of the contents of the rumen. This having been 

 done, the edges of the wound should be sponged with a little car- 

 bolized warm water, and, the lips of the wound in the rumen being 

 turned inward, they should be brought together with catgut stitches. 

 The wound penetrating the muscle and the skin may then be brought 

 together by silk stitches, which should pass through the entire thick- 

 ness of the muscle and should be about 1 inch apart. The wound 

 should afterwards be dressed once a day with a lotion and the ani- 

 mal covered with a tight linen sheet, to protect the wound from 

 insects and dirt. The lotion to be used in such a case is made up 

 as follows: Sulphate of zinc, 1 dram; carbolic acid, 2 drams; 

 glycerin, 2 ounces; water, 14 ounces; mix. It is clear that this 

 operation requires special skill and it should be attempted only by 

 those who are competent. 



Imaginary Diseases. It would appear quite in place here, in 

 connection with the diseases of the stomach and bowels of cattle, to 

 consider the three old fallacies or superstitions known as hollow 

 horn, loss of cud, and wolf in the tail. These names, whenever and 

 wherever used, seem to be invariably applied to some form of diges- 

 tive derangement or disease having its origin in the stomach and 

 bowels. 



Hollow Horn. In the first place it should be noted that the 

 horns of all animals of the ox tribe are hollow. The horn cores 

 are elongations of the frontal bones of the skull, and the frontal 

 sinuses, which are the larger of the air spaces of the head, are 

 prolonged into the horn cores. When a cow is sick, if the horns are 

 hot it is an evidence of fever; if they are cold it indicates impaired 

 circulation of the blood, but these manifestations of sickness are 

 to be regarded as symptoms of some constitutional disorder and do 

 not in themselves require treatment. 



The treatment should be applied to the disease which causes 

 the abnormal temperature of the horns. The usual treatment for 

 the supposed hollow horn, which consists of boring the horns with 

 a gimlet and pouring turpentine in the opening thus made, is not 

 only useless and cruel, but is liable to set up an acute inflammation 

 and result in an abscess of the sinus. 



