70 iM I L K F E V E R . 



several calve;; and it is stated that the short-horned breed i .nore 

 liable to it than others. Whenever it takes place, either at h me or 

 in the field, it is distressinjr to the animal, as well as troublesome to 

 the owner; tor the beast is seldmn able to rise diirinfr several days; 

 The })uerj)eral or milk fever is most frec|ucnt during the hot weather 

 of summer. The cows "most liable to be attacked by this fever have 

 large udders, that have been full of milk for several days before 

 calving. It is a very dangerous disease when severe, and often proves 

 fatal even under the most judicious treatment. 



The milk fever most commonly appears about the second or third 

 day after calving; but the cow is occasionally down within a few 

 hours after parturition. It is first recognized by the animal refusinor 

 her food, looking dull and heavy; then follows protrusion of the eye, 

 heaving of the Hanks, restlessness, and every symptom of fever. In 

 a few hours, or on the next day at the latest, the cow begins to stag- 

 ger; is weak in the loins; palsy steals over the whole frame; and 

 she falls, unable to rise again. It is in this advanced stage that the 

 complaint is too often first observed ; the previous symptonis are not 

 taken notice of, and the beast is almost past cure before the owner is 

 aware of her illness. From this seeming palsy of the hinder limbs, 

 and sometimes of the whole frame, the disease is very appropriately 

 called dropping:; rifler calving. 



There are evidently two varieties of this disease, one being consi- 

 derably more dangerous than the other. In the severer kind, the 

 brain, as well as the spinal marrow, is afl'ected, whilst the milder 

 disease is principally confined to the loins. 



In the former kind, we first notice a staggering gait, the breathing 

 then becomes irregular and disturbed, the eyes full and glassy, and 

 the pupil dilated. The animal, after reeling about for some time, 

 falls, and frequently never rises again. She then becomes, in great 

 measure, unconscious; the head is turned on one side; sensation 

 appears partially lost, so that, if liquids are given with the horn, tliey 

 often enter the windj)ij)e without occasioning coucrhing. The hind 

 legs become entirely paralyzed, and the fore ones are sometimes 

 affected in a similar manner. 'i"he pulse is generally very quick, but 

 weak; the appetite is altogether hst; rumination ceases; and the 

 bowels are obstinately constipated. If the animal dies, it is generally 

 "within forty-eight hours from the commencement of the symptoms, 

 and indeed sometimes only a few hours afterwards. In some cases 

 the animal will lie in a stale of insensibility ; in others, siie exhibits 

 considerable pain and distress. The cow is unable to discharge either 

 her urine or dvmg, the nerves influencing these offices being paralyzed. 

 On examiniiig the bodies of cows that have died from this disease, 

 the principal mischief h?is been found in the brain and spinal cord : 

 in the latter, chiefly at the region of the loins. The womb, in the 

 greater number of instances, lias been found in the same state as it 

 usually is after parturition ; but, in some cases, it presents the ap- 

 pearance of the most intense inflammation. In such cases, it appears 



