28 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



assisted by pouring small quantities of oil and water clown the animal's 

 throat. It is not advisable to use the probang to push down any soft 

 material such as oats or chaff, as this generally condenses and renders 

 firmer the obstructing substance by pressing its particles or elements 

 together, so that it forms a solid, resisting mass which can not be moved. 



In some cases the foreign body can not be dislodged from the neck 

 by pressing and manipulating that part externally. In such an event 

 we must resort to the use of the probang, or if the foreign body is 

 lodged in that part of the gullet which passes through the thorax or 

 chest, there is no way of removing an obstruction so situated except 

 by using the probang. (Plate in, Figs. 2, 3.) The instrument usually 

 employed for this purpose is called the probang of Miinro, after its 

 inventor. Before passing the probang a gag is introduced into the 

 animal's mouth, and the gag should have an aperture at each end from 

 which a strap passes and is buckled at the back of the head below the 

 horns. (Plate in, Fig. 4.) The probang should then be oiled, and the 

 head and neck being held in a straight line by two assistants, the tongue 

 must be partly drawn out of the mouth, the probang cautiously passed 

 along the roof of the mouth into the pharynx and thence into the gullet, 

 through which it is passed down. If resistance is met, gentle and 

 continuous pressure must be employed, under the influence of which 

 the agent w r ill generally in a short time pass into the stomach. A pro- 

 bang is a flexible instrument, and adapts itself to the natural curva- 

 ture of the gullet, so that if it is used cautiously there is not much risk 

 of injury. 



Some writers have advised that when the obstruction is lodged in 

 the cervical (neck) portion of the gullet it should be struck with a mal- 

 let, so as to crush it and thus alter its shape so that it may easily slip 

 down into the stomach. If the obstructing substance is hard, this will 

 be a dangerous operation, but if soft, as in case of a ripe pear for exam- 

 ple, this proceeding might be safely adopted. 



In all cases where pressure applied on the neck fails to move the 

 obstruction and the probang also fails to move it, the gullet must 

 be opened and the obstructing substance removed through the wound. 

 In such cases the assistance of a veterinarian or a surgeon must be 

 obtained. 



WOUNDS AND INJURIES OF THE GULLET. 



Sometimes from the rash and too forcible use of the probang the walls 

 of the gullet may be more or less lacerated or abraded, and the animal 

 consequently swallows with pain and difficulty. In such cases dry feed 

 must be withheld for five or six days, so as to allow the injured parts 

 to heal, and the diet must be limited to linseed tea, hay tea, and thin 

 oatmeal gruel. The same kind of diet must be fed after the operation 

 of cutting into the gullet has been performed. 



Sometimes the gullet is ruptured and lacerated to such an extent 

 that treatment of any kind is hopeless. I have known this to occur 



