222 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



of both these and the stables should not be neglected. The most 

 important measure, however, is the disinfection of the navel. 



The cow should be furnished with abundance of dry, clean bed- 

 ding, sprinkled with a solution of carbolic acid. As soon as calving 

 sets in, the tail and hips, anus and vulva, should be sponged with a 

 carbolic-acid solution (one-half ounce to the quart), and the vagina 

 injected with a weaker solution (2 drams to the quart). Fresh car- 

 bolized bedding should be constantly supplied, so that the calf shall 

 be dropped on that and not on soaked litter nor manure. The navel 

 string should be at once tied with a cord that has been taken from 

 a strong solution of carbolic acid. The stump of the cord and the 

 adjacent skin should then be washed with the following solution: 

 lodin, one-half dram ; iodid of potassium, one-half dram ; water, 1 

 quart. When dry, it may be covered with a coating of collodion or 

 tar, each containing 1 per cent of iodin. 



Whenever a calf shows any signs of scouring, it should be in- 

 stantly removed to another pen and building, and the vacated one 

 should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Different attend- 

 ants should take care of the sound calves and the infected ones, 

 and all utensils, litter, etc., kept scrupulously apart. 



After one week the healthy calves may usually be safely herded 

 together or they may be safely placed in the cow stable. 



OTHER AILMENTS OP THE CALF. 



Among these may be named several congenital imperfections, 

 such as imperforate anus, vulva, or prepuce, which are to be rec- 

 ognized by the inability to pass dung or urine, in spite of straining, 

 and the formation of swellings in the anus, vulva, or sheath. Each 

 must be carefully incised with the knife, taking care not to injure 

 the muscles which circumscribe the respective openings. Also tongue- 

 tie, in which the thin flaccid mucous membrane passing from the 

 median line of the lower surface of the tongue binds the latter too 

 closely to the floor of the mouth and renders the tongue unfit for 

 gathering in the food in after life. This must be cut with knife or 

 scissors, so as to give the tongue a reasonable amount of liberty. 



Aphtha, or Thrush, is another trouble of the sucking calf, show- 

 ing itself as a white, curdy elevation on the tongue, lips, cheeks, 

 or gums, and when detached leaving a raw, red, angry surface. It 

 is due to the growth of a vegetable parasite long recognized as the 

 Oidium albicans (Saccharomyces albicans) . It is easily removed 

 by rubbing with powdered borax, but inasmuch as other colonies are 

 likely to start either in the mouth or lower down in the pharynx, 

 gullet, or stomach, it is well to give a dose of one-half dram of 

 hyposulphite of soda in water day by day for several days. 



Rickets is not a common disease in calves, and comes on, if at 

 all, later than those we have been considering. It consists in soften- 

 ing and friability of the bones from a deficiency of lime salts, and 

 appears to be mainly connected with an inherited weakness of con- 

 stitution, unsuitable feeding, cold, close, damp buildings, microbian 

 infection, and other conditions inimical to health. The prevention 

 and treatment of rickets consists essentially in the improvement of 



