owner over-dosing the animal with too many sickly purgatives instead 

 of administering warm stimulating tonics and cordials, which are 

 mostly required after the first purgative has been given. These cases 

 require time and patience, as they are very difficult to manage. After 

 all medicines have failed in this complaint, I have been very successful 

 with an old-fashioned remedy, namely, 3 to 3^ pounds of fat bacon, cut 

 up into small pieces, and boiled for two or three hours in water, along 

 with the addition of 6 ounces of salt, then mixed with a quart of milk, and 

 given as a drench. This must be put in with a horn — as indeed ought 

 all cattle drenches — -and a few gallons, or so, of bran or hay tea, or 

 cold water should be placed for the animal to drink. I have rarely 

 seen this mixture fail in having the desired effect, where no organic 

 lesion was present, and I find it answers much better than repeated 

 doses of raw linseed oil. 



298. When the rumen has become very much impacted by the 

 animal getting loose in the byre, and gorging itself with corn, or other 

 foods, medicine has little or no effect. Good results are sometimes 

 had by cutting into the stomach, on the left side, making an opening 

 about six or eight inches long, and emptying the rumen with the 

 hand. This operation is called Rimienotoviy , and should be performed 

 only by a fully qualified professional man, as there are several 

 important points to be observed, before, during, and after the 

 operation. When the rumen has been distended either with gas or 

 food, and, after relief has been given it will be some considerable time 

 before the stomach regains its normal tone, and the animal, therefore, 

 has to be fed with great care and judgment. In such cases of 

 distension, if the animal is a cow in calf, she is almost sure to abort. 



299. Vomition or Vomiting, while not of frequent occurrence in 

 either, is oftener found in cattle than the horse. It has been said 

 that the horse cannot vomit ; but I have seen this occur, at least, on 

 three occasions, when the animal dropped on its knees, pressed its 

 nose on the ground, with side movements of the head, and food came 

 out of both nostrils and mouth. There was no rupture of either the 

 gullet or stomach, as the animals in question lived and did well for 



