DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 31 



Treatment should be preceded by a moderate dose of purgative medi- 

 cine: one pound of sulphate of magnesia, half an ounce of powdered 

 Barbadoes aloes, 1 ounce of powdered ginger, 1 pint of molasses. The 

 powder should be stirred up for a few minutes with two quarts of luke- 

 warm water, then the molasses should be added, and after all the 

 ingredients have been stirred together for about ten minutes, the dose 

 should be administered. It will generally be necessary after the opera- 

 tion of the purgative to give some tonic and antacid preparation to pro- 

 mote digestion, which is imperfectly performed in such cases. We 

 recommend the following for this purpose : Powdered gentian, 3 ounces; 

 powdered bicarbonate of potash, 3 ounces; powdered ginger, 3 ounces; 

 powdered capsicum, 1 ounce. Mix and divide into twelve powders, one 

 of which should be given three times a day before feeding, shaken up 

 with half a pint of whisky and a pint of water. It is also advantageous 

 in such cases to give two heaped teaspooufuls of wood charcoal, mixed 

 with the animal's feed three times a day. The animal should also go 

 out during the day, as want of exercise favors the continuance of this 

 form of indigestion. 



Cases occasionally occur which resist medical treatment. Chronic 

 indigestion has sometimes been found to arise from enlarged lymphatic 

 glands pressing on the gullet and preventing the eructation or belch- 

 ing up of gas which occurs during digestion. Cruzel expresses the 

 opinion that this form of tympanitis occurs in animals affected with 

 tuberculosis, and remarks that the swelling of the flank disappears 

 when the animal stands, but reappears when it lies down. 



DISTENSION OF RUMEN OR PAUNCH WITH FOOD. 



This form of indigestion is caused by the animal gorging itself with 

 food, and arises more from the animal's voracious appetite than from 

 any defect in the quality of the food supplied to it. In cases of this 

 kind there is comparatively no great formation of gas, and the gas 

 which is formed is diffused through the stomach instead of accumu- 

 lating in a layer in its upper part. On pressing the flank with the 

 closed fist the indent of the hand remains for a short time in the 

 tlank, as if the rumen were filled with a soft doughy mass. This form 

 of indigestion should be treated by stimulants, such as have been 

 described in speaking of the two preceding diseases. But if the treat- 

 ment applied fails and the impacted or overloaded condition of the 

 rumen continues, an incision should l>e made with a sharp, long-bladed 

 knife in the left Hank, commencing at the point whore it is usual to 

 puncture an ox, and prolonging the incision in a downward direction 

 until it is long enough to admit the hand. When the point of the knife 

 is thrust into the flunk and the blade of the knife cuts downward, the 

 wall of the stomach, the muscle and the skin should all bo cut through 

 at the same time. Two assistants should hold the edges of the wound 

 together so as to prevent any food slipping between tho Hank and the 



