DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 27 



2 ounces; water, 14 ounces: mix. It is clear that this operation re- 

 quires special skill and it should be attempted only by those who are 

 competent. 



IMAGINARY DISEASES (HOLLOW HORN; LOSS OF CUD; WOLF IN THE TAIL). 



It would appear quite in place here, in connection with the diseases 

 of the stomach and bowels of cattle, to consider the three old fallacies 

 or superstitions known by the above names, since these names, when- 

 ever and wherever used, seem to be invariabl}^ applied to some form 

 of digestive derangement or disease having its origin in the stomach 

 and bowels. 



Hollow hokis^. — In the first place it should be noted that the horns 

 of all animals of the ox tribe are hollow. The horn cores are elonga- 

 tions of the frontal bones of the skull, and the frontal sinuses, which 

 are the larger of the air spaces of the head, are prolonged into the 

 horn cores. When a cow is sick, if the horns are hot it is an evi- 

 dence of fever; if they are cold it indicates impaired circulation of 

 the blood ; but these manifestations of sickness are to be regarded as 

 symptoms of some constitutional disorder and do not in themselves 

 require treatment. The treatment should be applied to the disease 

 which causes the abnormal temperature of the horns. The usual 

 treatment for the supposed hollow horn, which consists in boring 

 the horns with a gimlet and pouring turpentine into the openings 

 thus made, is not only useless and cruel, but is liable to set up an 

 acute inflammation and result in an abscess of the sinus. 



Loss OF CUD. — The so-called loss of cud is simply a cessation of 

 rumination, frequently one of the first indications of some form of 

 disease, since ruminants stop chewing the cud when they feel sick. 

 Loss of cud is a symptom of a great many diseases, and when it is 

 detected it should lead the observer to try to discover other symptoms 

 upon which to base a correct opinion as to the nature of the disease 

 from which the animal suffers. No local treatment is required. 



Wolf in the tail. — This term also seems to be vaguely applied to 

 various disturbances of the digestive function, or to some disease 

 which is in reality in the stomach or bowels. 



VOMITING. 



Vomiting is not to be confounded with rumination, though some 

 writers have advanced the opinion that it is merely a disordered 

 and irregidar rumination. It is not of common occurrence in cattle. 



Symptoms. — Animals which vomit are frequently in poor condition. 

 After having eaten tranquilly for some time the animal suddenly' be- 

 comes uneasy, arches the back, stretches the neck and head, and 

 then suddenly ejects 10 to 12 pounds of the contents of the rumen. 



