40 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



three times a day until the passages present a natural appearance. 

 Each powder should be mixed with a half pint of whisky and a pint 

 of water. When diarrhea is a symptom of a malady characterized by 

 the presence of a blood poison, the treatment appropriate to such dis- 

 ease must be applied. 



DYSENTERY. 



Dysentery begins with inflammation of the mucous membrane of the 

 colon, though the disease may extend to the caecum and sometimes to 

 the rectum. It is also popularly known in this country by the names 

 of bloody flux and red murrain. 



Causes, Feeding cattle on hay which has been made during a wet 

 season, musty oats, or any forage which is largely infested with para- 

 sitic growths. Hay or coarse grass containing a large proportion of 

 woody fiber, pastures which have been inundated, and the vegetation 

 growing on low, marshy localities may set up irritation of the mucous 

 membrane which terminates in dysentery. Water containing a large 

 proportion of organic matter may also occasion this disease. Tho pas- 

 sages or excreta of animals suffering from the disease are to be regarded 

 as containing an infective element, and should be disinfected, burned 

 or buried. 



Symptoms. The animal eats slowly, ruminates less frequently than 

 when in good health, and walks slowly. Sometimes there are indica- 

 tions of colicky pains. As the disease advances the animal ceases to 

 eat and ruminate, the muzzle is dry, the eyes sunken, the coat rough, 

 the skin dry and adherent or hidebound. The bowels act irregularly, 

 and the passages are thin, black colored or grayish; the passages then 

 become frequent, fetid, and are streaked with blood. This disease does 

 not run a rapid course, and when it proves fatal the mucous membrane 

 of the bowels will be found thickened and reddened at some parts, 

 showing ulceration at some other points, and on some portions of its 

 surface covered with a layer of mucus. 



Treatment. When symptoms of dysentery are first observed, a pound 

 of sulphate of magnesia should be mixed with 4 quarts of tepid water, 

 and then 2 drams of sulphuric acid should be gradually added to this 

 mixture. This should be given at one dose, and it is important that it 

 should be administered at an early stage of the disease, as it not only 

 serves to remove irritating materials from the bowels, but it has an 

 astringent and sedative effect on the mucous surfaces and lessens the 

 congestion. The food should be soft and easy of digestion, and may 

 consist of grass, boiled or pulped roots, and nutritive drinks, such as 

 linseed tea, hay tea, etc. When the purgative before mentioned has 

 unloaded the bowels and stomachs to some extent, the following powder 

 should be given three times a day, mixed in a quart of linseed tea: 

 Powdered ipecacuanha, one ounce and a half; powdered opium, half 

 an ounce; mix and divide into twelve powders. When the foregoing 



