338 » Diseases of Cattle. 



EPIDEMIC COLIC— THE SHOOTE. 



This is a form of colic very fatal among calves in some 

 localities, usually attacking them a few days after birth. It 

 is believed at times to be epidemic, as it is found to attack 

 rapidly a number of calves in a herd. Its cause has not 

 been ascertained. 



;oms. — The calf refuses its food, is listless and weak. 

 Soon it is attacked by severe gripings, of an intermittent 

 character. These are followed after a time by a violent dis- 

 charge from the bowels. These attacks of colic and excessive 

 watery evacuations continue to recur until the animal dies of 

 exhaustion ; or else, after the first few discharges, the pain 

 abates and the symptoms disappear. 



Treatment. — The usual treatment with breeders is to ad- 

 minister, as early in the disease as practicable, a mixture of 

 eggs, wheat flour and linseed oil ; or of milk mulled with 

 eggs and whiskey. 



Should this fail, a dose of a drachm of essence of ginger, 

 with two drachms of laudanum, in gruel, should be repeated 

 until the colicky symptoms are overcome by the narcotic. 



CEOUP. 



Definition. — An Inflammation of the upper throat and 

 windpipe, characterized by a whitish deposit or exudation 

 upon it, called a false membrane. 



Causes. — The occurrence of croup in calves is not frequent, 

 and is confined to low lying districts on the banks of rivers, 

 where they are exposed to damp chills and heavy dews. It 

 is a disease of early life, appearing in calves from a few weeks 

 to three months old, and rarely occm^s except iu the fall of 

 the year. 



