DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 17 



for the action of the stomachs. Circumstances, of course, must sug- 

 gest what ought to be done to prevent the injurious action of this 

 cause. 



Water should always be supplied to cattle in sufficient quantity. 

 Excess here may prove very injurious, and may occasion cramp in the 

 fourth stomach. If animals have access to water at all times, or at 

 least frequently, there is no danger of their suffering from drinking to 

 excess. In this connection we may state that it is better for cattle to 

 have rock salt placed within their reach, so that they may lick as much 

 as they feel inclined to do, rather than to mix salt in their food, as in 

 the latter case there is a danger of their getting too much, thus engen- 

 dering excessive thirst. It has been customary lately to recommend 

 hot water as the usual drink for cattle during cold weather, and it is 

 claimed that they are kept in better condition by supplying them with 

 hot water instead of cold water. The argument is put forward that a 

 large quantity of heat is lost in raising the cold water drank to the 

 temperature of the animal's body, and that this large consumption of 

 heat must increase the waste of the tissues. This is an exclusively 

 chemical way of looking at the matter, and we think it should rather 

 be regarded from the standpoint of what effect such a practice would 

 have on the future health, endurance, and vitality of cattle. While we 

 are aware from experience that cramp of the stomach is sometimes pro- 

 duced by cattle drinking ice-cold water, we think that the other extreme 

 of supplying them with hot water is not to be recommended, as it must 

 render them extremely sensitive to any occasional or accidental change 

 which might take place in this sort of regimen. The question has also 

 to be decided as to what would be the ultimate effect of such a practice 

 on the digestive systems. A short experience of this method of water- 

 ing cattle can not be held to settle the question of its advantages and 

 disadvantages. 



Hard water or water containing a large proportion of inorganic con- 

 stituents is not to be regarded as good drinking water. We have seen 

 water which had been rendered hard artificially, by adding a little lime 

 to it, produce colic to such an extent when it was used for drinking 

 water that its use had to be abandoned. 



A large proportion of organic matter is also a source of danger, and 

 should be guarded against. It usually is contaminated by a well or 

 stream being so situated as to receive the drainage of some accumula- 

 tion of filth, though water in marshy localities frequently contains a 

 high proportion of organic constituents, and is consequently objection- 

 able. We need hardly say that water contaminated by tlie dead bodies 

 of animals i to be regarded as dangerous, as here we have the further 

 danger that it may become the vehicle of communicating specific dis- 

 M68. 



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