38 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



aftrr feeding, so that they do not have time to ruminate; sudden 

 changes of diet. In enumerating the causes of this disease we think it 

 well at the same time to indicate how the operation of those causes may 

 be prevented. In working oxen, for example, they may be allowed to 

 rest after feeding so that rumination is not interfered with. Grass 

 which has lain so long after cutting that it is wilted, musty hay, and 

 any kind of forage which contains a large amount of hard, fibrous 

 material, so that it resists the macerating and solvent action of the 

 stomachs may set up inflammation of the digestive mucous membrane. 

 Exposure of the body to the action of damp and cold winds is also dan- 

 gerous> 



Symptoms. Dullness; drooping of the ears; dryness of the muzzle; 

 dry skin; staring coat; loins morbidly sensitive to pressure; fullness of 

 the left flank, which is owing to the distension of the fourth stomach 

 by gas. The pulse is small, the gait is feeble and staggering, each 

 step the animal makes is accompanied by a grunt, and this symptom is 

 espeeialty marked if the animal happens to walk in a downward direc- 

 tion; there is loss of appetite, and rumination is suspended. On the 

 second day of sickness the passages are few in number, hard, and are 

 sometimes coated with mucus. If treatment does not bring relief the 

 symptoms become aggravated, the pulse weaker, complications may set 

 in, such as inflammation of the lungs, or there may be symptoms of 

 brain disorder. The bowels may act very irregularly, sometimes being 

 constipated, and at other times the passages are soft, tarry looking, and 

 streaked with blood. The passages at the last stage of the disease 

 exhale a putrid odor which may even occasion sickness in other ani- 

 mals, and this suggests the idea that in treating this disease it is 

 advisable to keep sick animals apart from healthy ones. When the sick 

 animal assumes a recumbent position there is a continual grunt or 

 moan which appears to accompany each expiration; the animal usually 

 dies in convulsions, and in some cases at this time a bloody liquid issues 

 from the mouth and anus. 



Post-mortem appearances. The contents of the rumen are dry, those 

 of the manyplies or third stomach have a similar appearance and are 

 also dark in color, and on removing some portions of the mucous mem- 

 brane of the third stomach the subjacent tissue is reddened. The 

 mucous membrane of the fourth stomach has a well-marked red color 

 and sometimes presents ulcerations. The inflammation generally ex- 

 tends to the mucous surface of the small intestine, which shows large 

 brownish spots on its surface and also ulcerated surfaces. 



Treatment. Owing to the fact that this malady frequently is caused 

 by some imperfectly digested food setting up infl animation of the mu- 

 cous surface of the stomach and bowels, it is advisable when disease is 

 supposed to originate from such cause to give a pint of castor oil, and 

 then ta give three or four times a day a quart of linseed tea in which 

 an ounce of carbonate of magnesia has been dissolved, and along with 



