18 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



DISEASES OF THE MOUTH. 

 WOUNDS AND CONTUSIONS OF THE LIPS. 



The lips may become inflamed from contusions, which are some- 

 times produced by a blow from the horns of another animal, or in the 

 case of working oxen it may be produced by a blow from the driver. 

 While cattle are grazing they are sometimes bitten in the lips by ser- 

 pents, more especially when they are pastured in woods. - 



Symptoms. As a result of a contusion the lips become thick and. 

 swollen, and if treatment is neglected the swelling becomes hard aud 

 indurated. This condition renders it difficult for the animal to get food 

 into its mouth, on account of the lips having lost their natural flexibil- 

 ity. In such cases an ox will protrude his tongue and endeavor to 

 bring the food into his mouth with that organ. In cases of snake-bite 

 the limits of the swelling are not well defined ; it is soft and compara- 

 tively painless. 



Treatment. When we have to deal with a bruise, which is easily dis- 

 tinguished from a snake-bite by the different train of symptoms which 

 are produced, the affected part should be bathed steadily for three or 

 four hours with the following solution: Muriate of ammonia, 1 ounce; 

 water, 2 pints. In recent cases no other treatment will be required, 

 but if the swelling is not recent and has become hard or indurated, then 

 the swollen part should be gently rubbed every second day with oil of 

 turpentine until the swelling has subsided. In snake-bite a straight 

 incision penetrating into the flesh or muscle should be made across the 

 center of the wound, and then a similar incision, but passing crosswise 

 of the first, should be made. This is what surgeons term a " crucial " 

 incision. After this has been done a small wad of cotton batting should 

 be pressed against the wounds until the bleeding has almost stopped. 

 Afterwards the following lotion may be applied to the wounds several 

 times a day: Permanganate of potash, half a dram; distilled water, 1 

 pint. As snake-bites are usually attended with considerable depression, 

 which may terminate in stupor, it is advisable to give doses of whisky 

 at intervals. Half a pint of whisky mixed with a pint of water should 

 be given, and the dose should be repeated in half an hour if the animal 

 is sinking into a stupefied and unconscious condition. The repetition of 

 the dose must depend on the symptoms which the animal shows. It 

 must be borne in mind that the object of treatment is to ward off the 

 stupor, which is one of the results of snake-bite, and that in adminis- 

 tering whisky the object is to produce a stimulating and not an intoxi- 

 cating or stupefying effect. 



SALIVATION. 



Salivation is a symptom of some general or local disorder. It may, 

 therefore, be a symptom of a general disease, such as rabies or the foot- 

 and-mouth disease (epizootic aphtha), or it may be a purely local trou- 



