PRECAUTIONS AGAINST ABORTION. 109 



cows are treated with the utmost care; so much so, perhaps, as to 

 unduly expose them to. sudden changes, by making them more sus- 

 ceptible. 



(Mr. C.) I know it is a common belief among the Scotch shepherds 

 that feeding frozen turnips to ewes causes the loss of the lambs, and 

 great care is taken to avoid it. In my dairy my plan of pulping the 

 roots and mixing them with cut hay or fodder, and letting the heap 

 ferment and heat a little, avoids this danger. It is quite certain that 

 if greater precautions were taken, with a constant view of the always 

 impending danger of this disease, its frequency would be very much 

 lessened. 



(Mr. H.) The danger of ergot in the grasses is one that is wholly 

 overlooked, and yet it is extremely common. Bye is very much sub- 

 ject to this parasite (of which, on this account, it will be useful to 

 give an illustration, that it may be recognized). This fungus is a. 

 sure provocative of this disease, as is well known. When the grain 

 is threshed the spears of ergot are broken up, and either go out in 

 the chaff, or remain to be ground up with the grain in the mill. In 

 bolting the flour the ergot is separated with the bran, and rye bran 

 is largely used as food for dairy cows. Then the grasses are very 

 subject to ergot, especially the common quack grass, timothy, fox- 

 tail, and especially the rye grasses (see illustrations), and precau- 

 tions in this respect are indispensable. 



Then the prevalence of smut in the small grains, and especially in 

 corn, of which not only the ear, but the tassel stalk and leaves, are 

 infested, is a constant danger, because the effect of this fungus is 

 precisely similar to that of ergot. I notice that Prof. Fleming, in his 

 work above quoted, gives an instance in which eleven abortions in 

 one herd were' directly traced to the use of smut in corn. 



In regard to its contagious character, jour suggestion to com- 

 pletely destroy the discharged foetus and membranes, and to 

 thoroughly disinfect the stable by burning sulphur freely in it, I con- 

 sider very valuable; and I would add, that the liberal use of lime to 

 destroy the waste matter that should be safely buried, or the burning 

 of it, would remove a constant danger. Further, the cow should be 

 removed to a safe place by itself, and its manure destroyed or decom- 

 posed by lime until all danger of infection had passed away. And I 

 think every owner of a valuable herd would be wise to carefully in- 

 struct his herdsmen upon these points and especially upon those 

 which relate to the prevention of the trouble, for in this case pre- 

 vention is the only remedy. 



