22 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



surfaces, which are exposed by the shedding of the white patches of 

 epithelium. 



Treatment. Wheii there is merely a reddened and inflamed condition 

 of the mucous membrane of the mouth, it will suffice to syringe it out 

 several times a day with 4 ounces of the following solution : Alum, 1 

 ounce; water, 2 pints. When the edges of the tongue and other parts 

 of the mouth are studded with ulcers these should be painted over once 

 a day with the following solution until the affected surface is healed : 

 lodoforin, 60 grains; ether, 1 ounce. When indigestion is associated 

 with an ulcerated condition of the mouth that disorder requires sepa- 

 rate treatment. 



GANGRENOUS STOMATITIS GANGRENE OF THE MOUTH IN YOUNG 



CALVES. 



This affection usually appears in young calves about the time when 

 they are cutting their molar teeth. 



Causes. Insufficient nourishment, the debility resulting from diarrhea 

 and from inflammation of the umbilicus (navel) predispose animals to 

 this disease, and, as already mentioned, its development is associated 

 with disorder of the digestive system resulting from the cutting of the 

 molar teeth. I may mention, however, that I have seen this disease 

 affect cows quite severely, though they afterwards made a complete 

 recovery. This malady then may affect mature animals and may arise 

 from conditions which at present are unknown. It is asserted by Hill, 

 in his work on diseases of the ox, that this is a tuberculous disease, but 

 the fact that animals may recover completely in three or four weeks 

 renders it surprising that he should have made such a statement. That 

 the calf of a tuberculous cow may / become affected with gangrenous 

 stomatitis, or that in a few instances traces of tuberculous disease have 

 been found in the bodies of animals that have died from it, are mere 

 coincidences, and lend no weight to the opinion that this malady is of 

 a tuberculous nature. The same writer says this disease may assume 

 a diphtheritic type, but diphtheria is contagious and is characterized by 

 the production of false membrane, while the most prominent feature of 

 this disease is the extent to which death of the affected tissues takes 

 place, which differentiates it from both tuberculosis and diphtheria. 



Symptoms. In the early stage there is redness of the mouth, from 

 which the saliva dribbles, but in two or three days a whitish point 

 appears on some part of the mucous membrane of the mouth. It grad- 

 ually extends in size and depth, and a red, inflamed zone surrounds the 

 affected part, which begins to present a yellowish, cheesy appearance, 

 and then, as it begins to break up and decompose, exhales a fetid, dis- 

 agreeable odor. Sometimes the entire thickness of a portion of the 

 tissues composing the cheek becomes gangrenous. If the decayed part 

 is uot removed by the knife it is gradually separated from the surround- 



