454 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



first of healthy appearance, so that they are often overlooked, espe- 

 cially when covered with a good coat of hair, \\lien they are cut 

 open they are found to consist of a peculiar, jellylike mass of a yel- 

 lowish color and more or less stained with blood. The carbuncles are 

 firm, hot, tender swellings, which later become cool and painless and 

 undergo mortification. The edemas and carbuncles may also appear 

 in the mouth, pharynx, larynx, in the tongue, and in the rectum. 



The bodies of cattle which have died of anthrax soon lose their 

 rigidity and become bloated, because decomposition sets in very 

 rapidly. From the mouth, nose, and anus bloodstained fluid flows 

 in small quantities. Wlien such carcasses are opened and examined 

 it is found that nearly all organs are sprinkled with spots of blood 

 or extravasations of various sizes. The spleen is enlarged from two 

 to five times, the pulp blackish and soft and occasionally disinte- 

 grated. The blood is of tarry consistency, not firmly coagulated, and 

 blackish in color. In the abdomen, the thoracic cavity, and in the 

 pericardium, or bag surrounding the heart, more or less blood-stained 

 fluid is present. In addition to these characteristic signs, the car- 

 buncles and swellings under the skin, already described, will aid in 

 determining the true nature of the disease. The most reliable method 

 of diagnosis is the examination of the blood and tissues for anthrax 

 bacilli, which requires a trained bacteriologist. The cases of fatal 

 anthrax number from 70 to 90 per cent, and are usually more numer- 

 ous at the first outbreak of the disease. 



BifferentM diagnosis. — ^The diagnosis from blackleg may be made 

 by noting the subcutaneous swellings which appear upon the patient. 

 Those of blackleg are found to crackle under pressure with the finger, 

 owing to the presence of gas within the tissues, while the tumors of 

 anthrax, being caused by the pressure of serum, are entirely free from 

 this quality and have a somewhat doughy consistence. The tumors 

 of blackleg are usually on the shoulder or thigh and are not found 

 so frequently about the neck and side of the bodv as are the swellinas 

 of anthrax. The blood of animals dead of blackleg is normal, and 

 the spleen does not appear swollen or darkened, as in those affected 

 with anthrax. The chief differences between anthrax and Texas 

 fever are that the course of the former is more acute and the blood of 

 the animal is dark and of a tarlike consistence, while in the latter 

 it is thinner than normal. The presence of Texas- fever ticks on the 

 cattle would also lead one to suspect that disease in regions where 

 cattle are not immune from it. 



Treatment. — In cases which originate from external wounds, the 

 swellings should be opened freely by long incisions with a sharp knife 

 and washed several times daily with carbolic-acid solution ( 1 ounce to 

 a quart of water) . Care should be taken to disinfect thoroughly any 

 fluid discharge that may follow the incision. "When suppuration 



