58 INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 



error in cattle management than the eagerness to pour in comfortable, 

 I would rather say, poisonous drinks. Even the treacle and the 

 sugar in the gruel must be prohibited, from their tendency to become 

 acid in the debilitated stomach of the animal recovering from such a 

 complaint. 



Every symptom of the disease having vanished, the beast may very 

 slow/ji/ return to his usual food ; but, when he is turned out to pasture, 

 it will be prudent to give him a very short bite of grass, and little or 

 no dry meat. Nature is the best restorer of health and strength in 

 these cases; and it is often surprising, not only how rapidly the ox 

 will regain all he has lost, if left to nature, and not foolishly forced 

 on, but how soon and to what a considerable degree his condition will 

 improve beyond the state in which he was before the complaint. 



The ox that has once had inflammation of the brain should ever 

 afterwards be watched, and should be bled and physicked whenever 

 there is the least appearance of staggers or fever. The safest way 

 will be to send him to the butcher as soon as he is in sufficient con- 

 dition. 



Sometimes the disease does not run its full course. There is but 

 a slight degree of inflammation, or there may be sudden determina- 

 tion or flow of blood to the head from some occasional cause, and 

 without inflammation. This is known by the name of 



STAGGERS, OR SWIMMING IN THE HEAD. 



The symptoms are heaviness and dulness ; a constant disposition 

 to sleep, which is manifested by the beast resting its head upon any 

 convenient place ; and he reels or staggers when he attempts to walk. 

 If this disease is not checked by bleeding, purging, and proper ma- 

 nagement, it will probably terminate in inflammation of the brain or 

 inflammatory fever. 



It mostly attacks those cattle that have been kept in a state of 

 poverty and starvation during the winter season, and in the spring 

 of the year have been admitted into too fertile a pasture: hence is 

 produced a redundancy of blood in the system, which, on the slight- 

 est disturbance, or even naturally, gives rise to the disease. 



The cure must be attempted by taking four, five, or six quarts of 

 blood from the animal, according to its size and strength; the purg- 

 ing drink (\o. 15, p. 57) must then be administered, and (No. 2, 

 p. 47) continued in half-doses every eight hours, until the full purga- 

 tive eflect is produced. If the animal is not relieved in the course of 

 two hours from the first bleeding, the operation must be repeated to 

 the same extent, unless the beast should become faint; and the bow- 

 els must be kept in a loose or rather purging state by No. 2. As 

 soon as the bowels are opened, the fever drink (No. 1, p. 46) should 

 be given morning, noon, and night, until the patient is well. Nothing 

 more than a very little mash should be allowed, and all cordials should 

 be avoided as absolutely destructive to the beast. 



