THE DISEASES OF CaTTLE. 179 



Soon the animal grates her teeth, foams at the mouth, dashes 

 her head recklessly on the floor (for she is now on the floor) ; 

 examine the eye at this stage, and the pupil will be found in 

 an amaurotic state. The udder becomes swollen, hot and ten- 

 der, and the lacteal secretion is partly suspended. 



The disease generally appears within a fortnight after calv- 

 ing, and it may occur within a very few hours ; its duration is 

 very brief, both the curable and incurable cases terminate 

 either one way or the other, in a short time, and if violent 

 convulsions set in, we generally find that the patient has but 

 little time to live, especially is this the case when paraplegia 

 be present, or paralysis in any form. The principal symptoms 

 in which the diagnosis must be founded, are as follows We first 

 ascertain whether or no the animal has, within the period of a 

 fortnight, given birth to a calf, if so, and she manifests the 

 usual symptoms of convulsions, refuses to notice her calf, and 

 has lost the use, more or less, of her limbs ; the eyes present- 

 ing a wild stare, the pupils being dilated, and the udder swollen, 

 we may then safely conclude that we have a case of milk fever 

 to deal with. 



Treatment. — The professional man treats the disease ac- 

 cording to its indications, and the non-professional, if he attempt 

 to treat a case of this character, must endeavor to do likewise. 

 I cannot possibly commit to paper all the necessary information, 

 but shall merely lay down a few simple rules for the manage- 

 ment of such cases, at the same time I would advise the 

 owner of the sick cow to secure, if possible, the services of some 

 competent veterinarian. 



Some practitioners recommend the abstraction of blood from 

 the jugular vein, but my practice is to bleed from the bowels, 

 by administering purgative medicine ; in this way the animal 

 can be depleted with greater safety than by blood-letting. 



The cathartic is as follows : — 



Epsom or Glauber Salts, 1 pound 



Croton Farina, 10 grains. 



Powdered Ginger, 2 drachms. 



Warm Water, 1 quart. 



