392 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



If in solution and given on an empty stomach, as little as 3 ounces of 

 saltpeter (nitrate of potash) may be fatal to a cow. More of the Chile 

 saltpeter (nitrate of soda) is required to cause serious trouble. Symp- 

 toms are severe gastro-enteritis, colic, tympanites, diarrhea, excessive 

 urination, weakness, trembling, convulsions, collapse. The treat- 

 ment same as for poisoning by common salt. 



POISONING BY COMMON SALT. 



A few pounds (3 to 5) of common salt will produce well-marked 

 signs of poisoning in cattle. So much salt as this will not be taken 

 by cattle except under unusual conditions. If the food is poor in 

 salt, and if none has been given for a long time, an intense salt hunger 

 may occur that may lead an animal to eat a poisonous quantity if it 

 is not restricted ; or an overdose of salt may be given by error as a 

 drench. 



Herring and mackerel brine and pork pickle are also poisonous, 

 and are especially dangerous for hogs. In these substances there are, 

 in addition to salt, certain products extracted from the fish or meat 

 which undergo change and add to the toxicity of the solution. Some- 

 times saltpeter is present in such brines. 



The symptoms are great thirst, abdominal pain, diarrhea, poor 

 appetite, redness and dryness of the mouth, increased urination, pa- 

 ralysis of the hind legs, weak pulse, general paralysis, coma, and 

 death in from six to eight hours. 



Allow as much warm water as the animal will drink. Give pro- 

 tectives, such as linseed tea, etc. Linseed or olive oil may be given. 

 To keep up the heart action give ether, alcohol, camphor, digitalis, 

 or coffee. To allay pain, give opium. 



VEGETABLE POISONS. 



These may be divided into two classes those that are likely to be 

 administered to the animal as medicine and those that may be taken 

 in the food, either in the shape of poisonous plants, or as plants or 

 foods of vegetable origin that have been damaged by fungi or by 

 bacterial action, producing fermentation or putrefaction. 



VEGETABLE POISONS USED AS MEDICINE. 



Opium Poisoning. Opium and its alkaloid, morphia, are so 

 commonly used in the practice of medicine that the poisonous result 

 of an overdose is not uncommon. The common preparations are gum 

 opium, the inspissated juice of the poppy; powdered opium, made 

 from the gum ; tincture of opium, commonly called laudanum, and 

 the alkaloid or active principle, morphia. Laudanum has about one- 

 eighth the strength of the gum or powder. Morphia is present in good 

 opium to the extent of about 10 per cent. In medicine it is a most 

 useful agent in allaying pain. It has an effect of first producing a 

 stimulating action, which is followed by drowsiness, a disposition to 

 sleep or complete anesthesia, depending on the quantity of the drug 

 used. In poisonous doses a state of exhilaration is well marked at 

 first. This is particularly noticeable in cattle and in horses. The 

 animal becomes much excited, and this stage does not pass into insen- 

 sibility unless an enormous dose has been given. If me dose is large 

 enough, a second stage sometimes supervenes, in which the symptoms 



