152 specific and Contagious Diseases. 



with dirty-looking mucus. Shortly the throat is inflamed 

 and sore, outward pressure causing pain and coughing, 

 the urine scanty and highly coloured, bowels constipated, 

 legs and ears cold, and appetite very capricious, any 

 attempt to swallow provoking vomition. In mild cases 

 these signs prevail some days, and the patient may 

 recover, or the change may be in the development of 

 severe complications, often ending in some incurable 

 form of disease, or death within a few days. 



There are also conditions which merge from the simple 

 catarrh at the outset, which we must now notice. The 

 disease may appear to be mainly located in the nose, 

 eyes, &c. The discharges grow exceedingly thick and 

 tenacious, accumulating around the eyelids, on the face 

 below, and about the nostrils and lips. The eyelids are 

 closed and even united by the hardened discharge, and 

 the breathing is impeded by similar accumulations in the 

 nostrils, relief in either case being gained only by care- 

 ful soaking with warm water, and removal of the en- 

 crustations. Blood circulation and supply are deficient, 

 the result of which is that the parts affected are not 

 nourished ; the discharges are offensive, and contain 

 blood, the resuH of ulceration, which appears in the form 

 of numerous sores on the nostrils, lips, and even the 

 gums, tongue, &c. The eyes are likewise involved, 

 opaque spots first appearing on the eyeballs, and by sub- 

 sequent ulceration or abscess, perforate the tissues and 

 the aqueous humour escapes. In those cases which 

 recover, the process of repair is wonderfully rapid and 

 effective, the eye being ultimately clear and sight unim- 

 paired. Similar results are not uncommon with respect 

 to the general state of disease. The animal is fearfully 

 prostrated, and each day is thought to be his last. A 

 few hours decides the issue of the case, and he suddenly 

 pulls himself together, enters on the path to recovery, 

 and in a few days is convalescent. In other cases, and 

 in the earlier stages, improvement is suddenly apparent 

 by the absence of all the severe symptoms ; shortly, how- 

 ever, he appears weak in the back, is unusually excitable, 

 and at length the worst that can befall him is seen in the 



