104 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



The aim must be to discover and remove the cause. The cause 

 must be treated according to its nature. Harms strongly recom- 

 mends borax in the treatment of peritonitis. He gives 6 ounces in 

 the first twenty-four hours, divided into three doses, and after- 

 wards he gives 6 drams three times daily. Opium in doses of 2 to 

 3 drams may be given. To bring on evacuations of the bowels it 

 is better to give rectal injections than to administer purges. The 

 strength may be sustained by coffee, whisky, or camphor. 



The body should be warmly clothed, and it is advisable, when 

 practicable, to have a blanket which has been wrung out of hot 

 water placed over the abdomen, then covered by several dry blan- 

 kets, which are maintained in position by straps or ropes passing 

 round the body. The wet blanket must be changed as it cools 

 the object of treatment being to warm the surface of the body and 

 to determine as much blood to the skin as possible. The diet should 

 consist of laxative food and drinks, such as linseed tea. If peri- 

 tonitis assumes chronic form the diet should be nutritious, such 

 as selected clover hay, linseed cake, grass, etc., and iodide of potas- 

 sium should be given in dram doses dissolved in a pint of water 

 three times a day. 



Dropsy of the Abdomen (Ascites). In this disease there is 

 a serous, or watery, effusion in the cavity of the abdomen. Causes. 

 When old animals are fed on innutritions food or when an ani- 

 mal is reduced by disease, they become anemic; or, in other words, 

 their blood becomes impoverished and dropsy may follow this con- 

 dition. An innutritions and insufficient diet will produce the same 

 effect in young animals. It is one of the results of peritonitis, and 

 may also arise from acute or chronic inflammation of the liver, 

 such as is of common occurrence when flukes are present in the 

 liver in large numbers. Heart disease and chronic lung disease 

 may be followed by ascites. It is sometimes, in calves, a symptom 

 of infestation with worms. 



Symptoms. A gradual increase in the size of the abdomen 

 at its lower part, while the flanks become hollow; pallor of the 

 mucous membrane of the mouth and eye; weak and sluggish gait; 

 want of appetite, and irregularity in ruminating. On percussion^ 

 or tapping the surface of the abdomen with the fingers, a dull 

 sound is produced. If the hand and arm are oiled and passed into 

 the rectum so far as possible, on moving the hand from one side 

 to the other the fluctuation caused by the presence of fluid in the 

 abdomen may be felt. 



Treatment. The cause must be discovered if possible and re- 

 moved. The diet should be nutritious, and in those cases where 

 we have merely to deal with anemia (the bloodless state) arising 

 from insufficient diet, the use of tonics and diuretics, at the same 

 time keeping the skin warm, may bring about a gradual absorp- 

 tion of the fluid contained in the abdomen. One of the following 

 powders may be mixed with the animal's food three times a day; 

 or, if there is any uncertainty as to its being taken in that way, it 

 should be mixed with sirup, so as to form a paste, and smeared veil 



