64 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



POISONING BY COMMON SALT. 



A few pounds (3 to 5) of common salt will produce well-marked 

 signs of poisoning in cattle. So much salt as this will not be taken 

 by cattle except under unusual conditions. If the food is poor in 

 salt, and if none has been given for a long time, an intense " salt hun- 

 ger " may occur that may lead an animal to eat a poisonous quantity 

 if it is not restricted ; or an overdose of salt may be given by error as 

 a drench. 



Herring and mackerel brine and pork pickle are also poisonous, and 

 are especially dangerous for hogs. In these substances there are, in 

 addition to salt, certain products extracted from the fish or meat 

 which undergo change and add to the toxicity of the solution. Some- 

 times saltpeter is present in such brines. 



Symptoms. — The symptoms are great thirst, abdominal pain, diar- 

 rhea, poor appetite, redness and dryness of the mouth, increased uri- 

 nation, paralysis of the hind legs, weak pulse, general paralysis, coma, 

 and death in from six to eight hours. 



Treatment. — Allow as much warm water as the animal will drink, 

 give protectives, such as linseed tea, etc. Linseed or olive oil may 

 be given. To keep up the heart action give ether, alcohol, camphor, 

 digitalis, or coffee. To allay pain, give opium. 



VEGETABLE POISONS. 



These may be divided into two classes — those that are likely to be 

 administered to the animal as medicine or such as may be taken in 

 the food, either in the shape of poisonous plants, or as plants or foods 

 of vegetable origin that have been damaged by fungi or by bacterial 

 action, producing fermentation or putrefaction. 



VEGETABLE POISONS USED AS MEDICINE. 

 OPIUM POISONING. 



Opium and its alkaloid, morphia, are so commonly used in the 

 practice of medicine that the poisonous result of an overdose is not 

 uncommon. The common preparations are gimi opium, the inspis- 

 sated juice of the poppy; powdered opium, made from the gum; 

 tincture of opium, commonly called laudanum ; and the alkaloid or 

 active principle, morphia. Laudanum has about one-eighth the 

 strength of the gum or powder. Morphia is present in good opium 

 to the extent of about 10 per cent. In medicine it is a most useful 

 agent in allaying pain. It has an effect of first producing a stimulat- 

 ing action, which is followed by drowsiness, a disposition to sleep or 

 complete anesthesia, depending on the quantity of the drug used. 

 In poisonous* doses a state of exhilaration is well marked at first. 

 This is particularly noticeable in cattle and in horses. The animal 

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



