330 Diseases of Cattle, 



S3^pt0111S. — The symptoms first appear within from twen- 

 ty-four hours to three days after calving. One of the earliest 

 warnings is the suspension of the secretion of milk. This 

 is the more observable as the disease is peculiarly liable to 

 attack " deep milkers/' large uddered and well nourished 

 cows. 



Frequently the other symptoms appear with promptness 

 and severity, and run rapidly to a fatal termination^ The 

 cow hangs her head, ceases to feed, loses .her cud, and moves 

 restlessly her hind feet. By and by the breathing becomes 

 hard and rapid, the eyes are bloodshot and wild, the eyelids 

 twitch, and tears run over the face. She falls on her litter 

 in a stupor, or sways her head violently from side to side. 

 The head, horns, and forehead are intensely hot to the 

 touch. 



The power of sight and of swallowing is lost early in the 

 disease, and there is often partial or complete paralysis of the 

 hind quarters. The pulse, at first full, becomes small, quick 

 and scarcely perceptible. There may be delirium and death 

 in convulsions ; or the animal may quietly gasp to death in 

 a state of stupor. 



The bowels may be somewhat relaxed in the early stages, 

 but as a rule constipation is a marked sign. It is due to 

 paralysis of the bowels. The urine is generally pale in 

 color, scanty in quantity, and may be retained in the bladder, 

 from paralysis of that organ. 



If in the course of thirty or forty hours the animal comes 

 to herself and tries to rise, if the bowels begin to act and the 

 secretion of milk to return, there is a fair probability that 

 the case will recover ; although sometimes these favorable 

 symptoms are deceptive, indicating only a remission of the 

 disease, which returns with renewed violence. For this 

 reason it is well not to be too confident in one's predictioujs 

 about results. 



