160 



FARMERS' FiEGISTER— DISTEMPER AMONG CATTLE. 



ttrel_y exempt from it, until one of tlie oxen broke 

 the ience and grazed for a short time, amont^ the 

 exposed cattle. lie died in a few days of distem- 

 per. 



It may be said, that all admit cattle may take 

 the disease from g;razing with the infected, but that 

 this does not imply that they cannot take it in any 

 other way. Nature, though rich in means, is 

 economical in using; them, and we generally find 

 but one cause used in the production of an effect. 

 This cause, in the propagation of infectious disease, 

 is usually something generated in the sick, and 

 applied either by actual contact, or in the form of 

 effluvia, to some secreting surface of the well. 

 From what v.-as said above, it appears probable, 

 that the distemper of cattle is hardly produced by 

 effluvia, audi infer that a sufficient cause may be 

 sought, in tJie application of the saliva of one cow, 

 to the mouth of another, from her eating food pre- 

 viously besmeared with it. 



In confirmation of this opinion I will stale a few 

 facts, whose bearing on the subject, you will rea- 

 dily infer. I have been credibly informed of a 

 wealthy gentleman, who more than twenty years 

 ago, on finding that distemper had invaded liis 

 herd of cattle, ordered that every animal seized 

 with it, should be confined in a particular lot, ne- 

 ver to come out alive. Those that died of the dis- 

 ease Vifere deeply buried, and such as recovered 

 v;ere fattened and slaughtered lor beef. This 



Erompt measure, is said to have been succeeded 

 y a perfect exemption from the disease. 



Two other gentlemen, within my own knowl- 

 edge have enclosed extensive parcels of land, al- 

 most literally whitened with the bones of cattle 

 which died of distemper, and made pasture of the 

 very lands thus included. One of tljese has enjoy- 

 ed perfect exemption from the disease, for ten or 

 twelve years. The other had his cattle infected, 

 by getting on a common, after total exemption for 

 about the same term. 



In districts where this disease prevails, it is gene- 

 rally known, that there is no danger to oxen of 

 receiving it, in however exposed situations they 

 may be driven, provided they are kept well muz- 

 zled. This precaution was much observed in this 

 section some years ago, but the terrors of the dis- 

 ease wore av.'ay with its novelty, and we have be- 

 come more careless. 



It may be thought singular, that an animal, af- 

 ter an apparently perfect recovery from a mala- 

 dy, should be capable of communicating it to others. 

 There is no analogous case, in our own species, 

 but there is one in the horse, which, I think, is just 

 in point. The matter, I believe, is well settled 

 among farriers, that a horse may apparently re- 

 cover from the glanders, and still communicate it 

 to every other horse, that wears the same bridle, or 

 eats out of the same manger. 



I believe, however, that the cow which has once 

 suffered from distemper, is liable to slight annual 

 returns of it. And it may possibly be, tliat she is 

 only capable of communicating it during these re- 

 turns. I have known two cows that appeared to 

 have distemper slightly every summer. One of 

 these was my property. This cow though appar- 

 ently healthy, had a yellow liquid continually drib- 

 bling from her nose, and her hair had a dead ap- 

 pearance, even when she was fat. Suspicion of 

 keeping up the disease among the stock, fell so 

 heavily on her, that I caused her to be killed about 



four years ago; since which time I have known 

 l)ut one case of distemper among my cattle, and 

 that occurred a few days ago to a cow running on 

 the exposed commons. 



Sonic think this whole subject so deeply myste • 

 rious, that it is utterly useless to attempt its inves- 

 tigation ; and others, that the land on wluch cattle 

 have the disease, in some strange way, becomes 

 poisoned and remains so for an indefinite period, 

 and that there is no hope that it ever can be disin- 

 fected. We would remind the first of these, that 

 the small pox — v/hich has, perhaps, destroyed 

 more of our race than any other disease — existed 

 for two centuries in England, before any idea was 

 formed of its laws of infection, or any rational mode 

 of treatment discovered. The opinion of the latter 

 is so nru^h opposed by all the operations of nature, 

 that we could never adopt it, while any other mode 

 of accounting for the facts could possibly be found. 



On the treatment of this disease I have but little 

 to say. Some very active remedies have been re- 

 commended, and many very trivial nostrums 

 with the utmost confidence urged; but I have ne- 

 ver known one of the worst cases cured by any 

 thing When the disease appears in a mild form, 

 the animal is disposed to eat a little, and shews no 

 particular indisjjosition to motion. Eut the symp- 

 tom, on which I have chiefly placed my hopes of 

 recovery, is the character of the urine ; whenever 

 this assumes the appearance of a solution of coppe- 

 ras, although sometimes nearly black, I expect 

 recovery, whether the animal is physicked or not. 

 But when the urine is bloody, I forebode speedy 

 death, for, with this symptom, I have known no 

 cure effected. The same symptom occurs among 

 the cattle in Scotland, afl'ecled with the disease 

 there called the bloody murrain, and I have from 

 that circumstance suspected the identity of the 

 two diseases. It is said, that the distemper among 

 our cattle was brought here, by droves from North 

 Carolina. Some parts of that state were settled 

 almost entirely by a Scottish population. Is it not 

 possil)!e, that the disease was originally imported 

 from Scotland.'' If so let us call it the murrain — 

 for I have long disliked to hear it called the Caro- 

 lina distemper, as the use of that name seemed to 

 imply a reproach on our very respectable sister 

 state. In Scotland, for the murrain, they recom- 

 mend strong saline drenches, boiled milk, and 

 other articles calculated to produce great thirst, 

 hoping, by afterwards allowing copious draught of 

 water, so to attenuate the blood, as to change the 

 character of the urine. From such remedies, how- 

 ever, I would expect nothing in the distemper of 

 our cattle. Were I to recommend any thing 

 with this indication, it would be some cheap diu- 

 retic, in copious drenches, such as melon seed or 

 parsley root tea. But the disease seems to take 

 deeper hold than merely on the blood. There is 

 derangement in all the secreting organs, the stom- 

 ach — the liver — the kidneys, and indeed every im- 

 portant organ is frequently gangrenous, and in one 

 instance, I saw blood oozing through the skin, like 

 drops of sweat, before the death of the animal. If 

 any effectual remedies are ever discovered, they 

 must be such as will act upon the solids. 



The means for prevention, promise little more 

 than those for cure. I would judge, however, that 

 such treatment as would contribute to the health 

 and comfort of an animal, might enable it better 

 to resist the contagion of disease. To this purpose. 



