DISEASES OF COWS. 427 



will always be the favorite family cow and the " butter- 

 machine" of the dairyman. It is therefore necessary 

 that precautions should be used both to avoid accidental 

 disturbances with common cows and to avert threatened 

 dangers from those which are more subject to disorder. 

 The owner of a cow should know when his animal is 

 doing well and be able to recognize at once the iSrst 

 approach of trouble. A healthy animal exhibits certain 

 unmistakable signs of its condition: the appetite is regu- 

 lar and yigorous, the muzzle is .moist and covered with 

 drops of perspiration, the eye is bright and active, the 

 coat is smooth, the horns are moderately warm, the milk 

 is given in full quantity, .the respiration is easy, the 

 pulse is regular, and the process of rumination is con- 

 stant soon after eating. AVhen an animal is ailing, the 

 first effect of the disturbance is more or less of fever, and 

 this is indicated by the dryness and heat of the muzzle, 

 uneasy or rapid breathing, coldness or excessive heat of 

 the horns, falling-off of the appetite, rise of temperature 

 and increase of the pulse. The frequency of the respira- 

 tion and of the pulse varies in different animals, but in 

 health the respiration is always easy and the pulse never 

 more than fifty in a minute in adult cows. The pulse 

 may be felt most conveniently on the cheek, near the large, 

 flat muscle Avhich closes the jaws. Here the sub-maxil- 

 lary artery comes from the inside and passes over the 

 edge of the bone and up the side of the face in front of 

 this large muscle. The artery may be felt by placing 

 the first and second fingers of the right hand on the left 

 jaw towards the inner side of the bone, and the thumb 

 on the outside to keep a steady pressure. The brachial 

 artery may be felt on the inner side of the fore-arm, 

 below the shoulder, level with the elbow joint, and in 

 advance of it. A little practice with moderate pressure 

 of the fingers will soon fix the places where these arteries 

 can be found and the pulse examined. 



