DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 159 



herd rapidl}' through narrow gateways, causing to jump ditches or 

 fences, subjecting to blows with the horns of pugnacious cattle, driv- 

 ing on icy or otherwise slippery ground, carrying in railroad cars, 

 kicking by vicious attendants, and fastening or throwing down for 

 operations. The diet should be good, not of a kind to fatten, but with 

 a generous quantity of nitrogenous constituents which will favor 

 both the yield of milk and the nourishment of the fetus. Aliments 

 like wheat bran, middlings, etc., which are rich in lime and phos- 

 phates, can be used to advantage, as there is a constant drain of 

 earthy salts for the building of the body of the calf, and thereby 

 the danger of undue concentration of the urine is lessened. Hard, 

 innutritions, and indigestible aliments, musty grain or hay, par- 

 tially ripened rye grass, millet, Hungarian grass, vetches, peas, 

 or maize are objectionable, as they are liable to cause indiges- 

 tion or even paralysis ; and corn or hay affected by smut or ergot, or 

 that have been spoiled by wet, overripened, and rendered fibrous and 

 innutritions, are equally objectionable. In the main the feed should 

 be laxative, as costiveness and straining are liable to cause abortion. 

 Eoots and green feed that have been frosted are objectionable, as 

 being liable to cause indigestion, though in their fresh condition most 

 wholesome and desirable. Ice-cold water should be avoided, as cal- 

 culated to check the flow of milk, to derange digestion, and to cause 

 abortion. A good temperature for the drink of the dairy cow is 

 55° F. 



In the case of plethoric and heavy-milking cows of mature age and 

 in the prime of life, the hitherto liberal diet must be changed at the 

 last week for the scantiest possible fare, and the bowels must be kept 

 open by laxatives, if need be, if the owner would avoid milk fever. 

 The pregnant cow should be kept away from the sight and odor of 

 dead carcasses, from the smell of decomposing animal matter, and 

 from stagnant and corrupting water. Her stall should not incline 

 downward from shoulder to croup, lest the pressure of the abdominal 

 organs should produce protrusion or abortion. She should be kept 

 aloof from all causes of acute diseases, and all existing diseases should 

 be remedied speedily and with as little excitement of the abdominal 

 organs as possible. Strong purgatives and diuretics are to be espe- 

 cially avoided, unless it is in the very last days of gestation in very 

 plethoric cows. 



Finally, in the case of pure breeds, close association with animals 

 of other breeds or crosses, or with animals of other colors, forms, or 

 with defects, is to be carefully guarded against. The effects shown 

 in the progeny may be exceptional, yet they are none the less sources 

 of preventable loss. 



