47^ VETERINARY LECTURES 



twenty-four hours, and the teats drawn at the same time, after which 

 they should be well dried with a soft cloth, and a little carbolic oil 

 applied. Sometimes the udder gathers and bursts in several places ; 

 the case then becomes troublesome. When this happens the foal (if 

 there is one) should be taken from the mother and brought up by hand. 



810. Inflammation of the Udder in the cow is very common, 

 when one or more of the quarters may be involved. It is said by 

 many writers to be mostly seen after calving, and to be due to over- 

 stocking. This, however, has not been my experience, cases arising 

 from these causes being rare in my practice. There are many causes 

 of mammitis, such as derangement of the digestive system, sore 

 warty teats, vesicular eruptions — as from foot and mouth disease, etc. 

 — kicks and injuries to the udder, irregular milking, stricture and 

 obstruction of the teats, and the too frequent and injudicious intro- 

 duction of the teat syphon. The greatest number of cases are, 

 however, seen amongst grazing cattle in extremely hot, dry weather, 

 when the animals, irritated by the warble-fly depositing its eggs on 

 their backs, gallop about the fields and then plunge into a pond or 

 river, standing there for hours up to the belly in cold water ; or 

 when a few intensely hot days are followed by a heavy splash of rain. 

 The two last-named conditions seem to make the malady spread like 

 an epidemic, and I have seen them give rise to as many as twelve 

 to fifteen cases in one day. Cows that are supposed to be stripped 

 dry of milk, and put out to graze and fatten, suffer most from this form 

 of the malady. The affection is usually fully established before 

 being noticed, then, on examination and drawing of the teats, the 

 gland is found full of curdled matter. Treatment. — For this class of 

 cases splitting the teat with a bistoury, or cutting it off, half-way up, 

 gives the quickest relief, and forms the best exit for the pus. The 

 latter operation may seem cruel, but really it is more cruel to leave 

 the matter pent up in the gland, and to irritate the parts by squeezing 

 it out of the teat four or five times a day ; besides, the teat is of little 

 consequence when the animal is being prepared for the fat market. 

 The udder should be rubbed night and morning with carbolic oil, 

 and if there is a great deal of fever and general disturbance the 



