62 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



which is followed by drowsiness, a disposition to sleep or complete 

 anesthesia, depending on the quantitj'^ of the drug used. In poi- 

 sonous doses a state of exhilaration is well marked at first. This 

 is particularly noticeable in cattle and in horses. The animal be- 

 comes much excited, and this stage does not pass into insensibility 

 unless an enormous dose has been given. If the dose is large enough, 

 a second stage sometimes supervenes, in which the sjmiptoms are 

 those of congestion of the brain. The visible membranes have a 

 bluish tint (cyanotic) from interference with the air supply. The 

 breathing is slow, labored, and later stertorous; the pupils of the 

 eyes are very much contracted ; the skin dry and warm. Gas accu- 

 mulates in the stomach, so that tympanites is a prominent symptom. 

 The patient may be aroused by great noise or the infliction of sharp 

 pain, when the breathing becomes more natural. A lapse into the 

 comatose condition takes place when the excitement ceases. Later, 

 there is perfect coma and the patient can no longer be aroused from 

 the insensible condition. The contraction of the pupil becomes more 

 marked, the breathing intermittent and slower, there is perspiration, 

 the pulse more feeble and rapid, till death takes place. Poisoning of 

 cattle with opium or its products rarely goes beyond the stage of 

 excitement, because the quantity of the drug required for the later 

 effects is so great. Seventy-five grains of morphia administered sub- 

 cutaneously has sufficed merely to excite for 12 hours. 



Treatment. — Give strong coffee, 1 to 4 quarts, aromatic spirits of 

 ammonia or carbonate of ammonia. Atropia is the physiological 

 antidote. 



STRYCHNIN POISONING. 



Strychnin is a very concentrated poison and produces its effect 

 very quickly, usually only a few minutes being necessary if given in 

 sufficient dose and in such a way that it will be at once absorbed. 

 When employed as a medicine, as a rule, minimum doses should be 

 used, as cattle are quite susceptible to its effects and may be killed 

 by the maximum doses given in the common manuals of veterinary 

 medicine. The first noticeable symptom is evidence of unrest or 

 mental excitement; at the same time the muscles over the shoulder 

 and croup may be seen to quiver or twitch, and later there occurs a 

 more or less well-marked convulsion; the head is jerked back, the 

 back arched and leg extended, the eyes drawn. The spasm continues 

 for only a few minutes, when it relaxes and another occurs in a short 

 time. The return is hastened by excitement and in a short time 

 again disappears, continuing to disappear and reappear until death 

 results. As the poisonous effect advances the intervals between the 

 spasms become shorter and less marked and the spasms more severe 

 until the animal dies in violent struggles. 



