DISEASES OF HORSES AND CATTLE. 357 



little prepared chalk on the cord. This will dry it 

 up, causing it to shrivel much faster than if it was 

 left alone. It has been said that colts born in the 

 barn yard, and dirt and bacteria getting on the 

 navel before it is dry, is the cause of a number of 

 deaths. They give the symptoms as a form of 

 blood poisoning, causing swelling of the joints; 

 but I have seen a great number of colts affected 

 with swelling of the joints which had no connec- 

 tion whatever with the navel cord. There are 

 thousands of colts born in the barn yard, and not 

 one in a thousand is affected with the derange- 

 ment above mentioned. The reason I recommend 

 the use of the chalk is it causes it to shrivel up 

 much quicker and there is less danger of a bunch 

 being left at the navel. By a non-closure of the 

 urachus (the tube leading from the base of the 

 bladder of the foetus) the urine will be partly or 

 wholly passed through the navel opening. It is 

 recommended to tie the cord, or if that is too short 

 to stitch up the opening. I think this is a bad 

 plan, as the majority that are so treated die. The 

 urine accumulates in the tube, and, as it cannot 

 escape, sets up inflammation, ending in death. I 

 find it is much better practice to apply prepared 

 chalk to it for a few days, or use tannic acid twen- 

 ty grains, water one ounce; apply a little twice 

 daily. In this form of treatment the urine that 

 finds its way into the tube will drop/Out, and from 

 the astringent and drying properties of the chalk 

 and tannic acid and time allowed, the tube closes 

 without anv bad result. 



