135 



tonics (see Appetidix). Cattle also occasionally suffer from the presence 

 of the dead bodies of the Liver Fluke which have undergone calcareous 

 degeneration, and fill the bile ducts of the liver with incrustations,- 

 accompanied by a thickening of the walls of the ducts, rendering the 

 liver hard and gritty, and thereby interfering with its function. 

 Symptoms : A general yellowness is seen all over the body, the skin 

 is tight and scruffy, with gradual wasting away of the flesh ; the 

 appetite and action of the bowels are both very irregular, and the 

 animal has all the appearances of a piner, or a tubercular patient. 

 Treatment is of little avail, and if not slaughtered early, the animal 

 dies from inanition. Alkaline tonics (see Appendix) can be tried, with 

 daily doses of one wineglassful of cod liver oil given m milk. 



320. Gall Stones. — These are extremely rare, either in horses or 

 cattle. Some years ago, I had a case at Mr. G. T. Carr's, then at 

 Silloth Farm, the subject being the hunting sire, " Best Returns.'' It 

 commenced with all the indications of sub-acute inflammation of the 

 bowels, with severe colicky pains. The acute symptoms were got over, 

 and the case settled down into a chronic form, and for fully five or six 

 weeks the bowels were very irregular : sometimes slightly purged, and 

 at others only costive, dry, hard, primrose-coloured pellets being excreted . 

 At length it was seized with all the symptoms of ura^mic poisoning — the 

 head being pendulous and oscillating ; fore-feet stiffly pushed forward, 

 and legs occasionally bended at the knees ; hind legs placed wide apart ; 

 pulse very full, with slight colicky pains — and if made to move, it tumbled 

 against the side of the box, which had to be padded with sacks of 

 straw. Bleeding had a wonderful effect, and was frequently resorted 

 to ; in fact, it was tlie only thmg which gave any relief. At last it 

 was found dead in the box, and ihe post-mortem showed a gall stone of a 

 beautiful chrome yellow colour, about the size of a pullet's e^g, 

 situated in the hepatic duct, close to its opening into the intestine. It 

 was made up of concentric layers of a very delicate nature, which 

 fleeced off on the slightest touch. 



321. Liver complications are more common in the dog than in any 

 other of the domestic animals, more particularly the over-fed petted dog. 



