CATTLE, DISEASES OF. 



Milch Cows for the Supply of Milk," by Mr. 

 Harley, (Quart. Juitrn. A^r. vol. i. p. 170) ; see 

 also "The Harleian Dairy System" by the 

 same gentleman, and " On a celebrated Yard- 

 fed Cow," the property of Mr. Cramp of 

 Lewes, (Com. Hoard of j$gr. vol. vii. p. 53). It 

 will, perhaps, surprise an English farmer to 

 learn to what coarse unnatural kind of food 

 use will accustota animals. The cows of 

 Shetland live upon the coarsest moss and sea- 

 weed ; those of still more northerly regions m 

 even animal food. In Lapland and Iceland, 

 according to Mr. De Broke, the cattle are uni- 

 formly fed on fish. "The English farmer's 

 surprise," says Mr. Broke, " will not be les- 

 sened when he learns that the animals not 

 only devour this kind of food with the greatest 

 eagerness, but thrive and do well upon it; it 

 seems that fish heads and bones are boiled to- 

 gether with some hay into a kind of soup, and 

 poured into the mangers of the poor beasts." 

 CATTLE PLAGUE. A general term useU 

 -'ructive infectious pes- 

 tilence, which has within a few y.irs d.-vas- 

 tated i .f most parts of Europe and 



sunn' poriious of the U. S. In France it is 

 called /'. v, and /.- '/'/ .ktbtte* 



_uo, and in (iermany, Kinderp. 



I an. I America it fcftl aeqiih 



i Pleuro-pneumonia. Aft. M- Mir 



iil'ul ravages in > veral parts of the 



Europ.-an continent, it reach. -d England in 



:i intro- 

 duced through the H::' of a lot of 

 a Russia, shipped from Kevel and 

 1 at Hull. 



With regard to the nature of \\\\* disease, 

 medir-il authorities are much divided in opin- 

 ion. l)iii generally agree that it is lx>:h conta- 

 .nd infectious, coinnuinicated by con- 

 thri.iugh the air. In experiments made 

 in the Albert Veterinary College, animals 

 took the disease at 'Jo : 100 or 



'Jito yards in son. nave se- 



cured immunity, whilst in other cases the lis- 

 .'v v d through tlie air at longer 

 distances. The infection may be drifted along 

 1 or valleys to considerable instances, 

 whereas in the open country it becomes so 

 quickly diluted as to be innocuous. 



. The first outward sign is a pe- 

 culiar eruption upon the lining membrane of 

 the mouth and of the vagina. Two days after 

 this appearance, marked signs of illness are 

 apparent, showing that the constitution has 

 become thoroughly invaded. Shivering, un- 

 ea-siness, and muscular twitchings are ob- 

 served. In some cases there is duln> 

 in others excitement, amounting even to .K liri- 

 um, associated with remarkable sensitiveness. 

 There is often a short, husky cough. The appe- 

 tite i< irregular, capricious, and then entirely 

 lost : rumination ceases. The animal grinds its 

 teeth, yawns, arches its back, and draws its 

 legs together under its body. The eyes, nose, 

 and mouth are dry, red, and hot. The ex- 

 tremities feel cold, though the internal heat 

 is high, rising above the natural temperature 

 of 102 to 104 and 107 Fahrenheit. This 



CATTLE SHEDS. 



rise of temperature is regarded as the most 

 sure indication of the existence of the disease. 

 Constipation, as a rule, exists, and secretion 

 is generally arrested as indicated by the dry- 

 ing up of milk in milch-cows. The breathing 

 is generally -increased in frequency, and ac- 

 companied with a low moan There is often 

 a staring coat, dry skin, and eruption. The 

 muscular twitchings of the face and neck, 

 though characteristic, are not so much so as 

 the dischqyge from eyes and nose, which ia 

 first glary an-1 watery, and afterwards turbid. 

 Animals sometimes exhibit a similar secretion 

 when suffering from catarrh, but it is always 

 an early symptom of rinderpest. Lying down 

 and rising, locking round to the thinks, draw- 

 ing the hind legs forward, as if suffering from 

 colic, are frequent signs. Severe diarrhova 

 sets in, and the animal becomes very thirsty. 

 The discharges are fu't id, the urine scanty and 

 albuminous. The symptoms increase in sever- 

 ity three days, and are aggravated at night- 

 time. "Weakness ensues, rendering standing 

 ami walking iliihcnlt. The pulse becomes fee- 

 M", thready, and rapid, beating from IK) to 

 130 per minute. Tin- . from the 



eyes, ii' increases; the cough 



- less audible: the angles of the mouth 

 and na-al orifices are ulcerated, mill have a 

 yellow and somewhat dense granular 

 deposit. Ti, !ir.-t dark and slimy, 



tiili-d with detached masses from the mncoin 

 surfaces, are very fu-tid, and more or Ies3 



tinged with bloud. 



In ti, ie mucous membranes 



acquire a leaden hue. the erosions are marked, 

 blood-si . and the di become 



involuntary. unfrequent 



after the third day, and <>v.-n later. 



Various account-; of this destructive cattle 

 plague have Keen given by committees of in- 

 :;on. appointed by governments and 

 agricultural associations in Europe and Amer- 

 ica. > of the U. S. Agricultural 

 Department for iSilo, for report made to that 

 Hureau by Drs. G. Emerson and A. L. Elwyn. 

 Also the IJeport ie8U< 1 l>y the same Depart- 

 ment ii'. -lining the valuable essay of 

 J R. Dodge, in which the medical and hygienio 

 treatments are referred to. See MIKK.UN. 



CATTLE SHEDS. The cow-house should 

 be a capacious, well-lighted, and well-venti- 

 lated building, in which the cows or oxen can 

 he kept dry, clean, and moderately warm ; a 

 temperature of about 60 is perhaps the best. 

 It is a mistaken idea that cattle suffer materi- 

 ally by dry cold. It is the wet and the damp 

 walls, yard, and driving rains, and fogs of 

 winter, that are so injurious to them. In this 

 respect the Dutch farmers are very pai.icular. 

 They have their cows regularly groomed, and 

 the walks behind them sprinkled with sand. 

 A clean and dry bed, a portion of a trough to 

 give them water, and another portion for their 

 oil cake, or mangel, or turnips, and a rack for 

 their dry food, will all be necessary comforts. 

 These, with regular feeding, a lump of rock- 

 salt in the manger, and occasional variations 

 if possible in the food, are the chief points to 

 be attended to in the stall management oi cat- 



30.'t 



