THE DISEASES OP CATTLE. 341 



a less number worked. Thej were pastured and herded on 

 the prairies in summer, and in the winter fed on corn in the 

 "hock, and yarded along the skirts of the Sangamon timber. 



BLACK LEG 



Various are the names given to an affection of the above 

 kind. Some persons call it inflammatory fever, gangrene, etc. 

 Then again it gets its name from the region in which it first 

 appeared. So if it first appears in the region of the thigh, it is 

 called quarter ill, quarter evil, black quarter, joint murrain, etc. ; 

 hence it appears to have as many names as there are locations 

 for it. 



The Nature of Black Leg. — Youatt, and other orthodox vet- 

 erinary writers, contend that this affection is a pure inflamma- 

 tory fever, yet at l^e same time they admit that cattle of all 

 descriptions, ages, and conditions are subject to it. Now I think 

 it will be very difiicult to prove that inflammatory fever can 

 attain a very high grade in the system of an animal in poor 

 condition. The very reverse is the case ; for disease of a low 

 typhoid type, and those which are known to run a rapid course, 

 are apt to pounce upon animals having but little vital resist- 

 ance — being out of condition, as the saying is. 



In my opinion, this is an epizootic affection, and, like most 

 epizootics, its pathology must necessarily be obscure. In ap- 

 plying the term black-leg, black-quarter, etc., to this affection 

 — epizootic or enzootic — leads us into error in supposing that 

 it is merely a local affection, limited to a certain part^when, in 

 fact, it is a general affection, showing itself in various parts of 

 the economy at the same time. For example : in the early 

 stage, when a limb or part is swollen and distended with gas, the 

 various organs and functions of the body are more or less dis- 

 turbed ; even in the early stage, the respirations are short and 

 quick; pulse accelerated — a mere fluttering action scarcely 

 perceptible ; the coat stares ; rumination is suspended ; the 

 bowels are constipated, and the nervous system is affected ; for 

 the beast staggers, and soon becomes comatose ; death fre-? 

 29* 



