nysExrj-JL'y of ynrxc ammals. 733 



litre is given in enema every half-hour until the diarrhoea is arrested. 

 In some cases this rapidly ensues. Milk diluted with one-fourth of the 

 tar water is to be given as food, and the treatment must be continued 

 for two days. 



CHAPTER X. 

 Dysentery of Young Animals (Dysenteria Neonatorum). 



The peculiar dysentery which attacks young creatures while at the teat 

 has for very many years attracted particular attention, because of its 

 specific nature, its almost incuraVjle character, and the great mortality 

 which attends it ; but as yet it is perhaps the infectious diseases of 

 animals of which least has been ascertained. Known by various names 

 in different animal-rearing countries (as " White Scour " in England — 

 the " \Veisse Kuhr" of the Germans, and the " Diarrhee des Jeunes 

 Animaux " of the French), it is generally acknowledged that Calves are 

 far more fi-equently attacked than other animals ; though it is also an 

 extremely fatal disease among Foals. Brugnone^ long ago asserted that 

 it is one of the maladies which cause most destruction among Foals 

 in breeding establishments ; and to my own knowledge, it is sometimes 

 a most serious scourge among the young thoroughbred stock in this 

 country. It is also a fatal malady among young Lambs ; and it is 

 observed in piggeries and kennels as a very destructive disorder. It 

 appears to be much more frequent among animals reared in dwellings 

 than among those at pasture, and seems to be related to the artificial 

 way in which they are kept. 



Like the pyiRmic polyarthritis of young animals, it is one of the most 

 fatal disorders to which tliey are liable. According to Roll it is very 

 prevalent in some parts of Austria, and in one region alone, of 3,318 

 Calves, 1,196 were attacked, of which l,lo2 — 97 percent. — perished; 

 in 1884, in the same districts the mortality was 55 per cent. 



In the order of frequency, the Calf stands first ; then the Lamb, the 

 Foal, the Dog, and the Cat. 



It sometimes haunts breeding-stables and cowsheds for years, and 

 among Calves is seen more frequently in some localities than others — 

 low-lying districts being perhaps \novQ often and severely visited than 

 elevated, dry situations. 



Epizo()tic abortion and this disease have been noted to co-exist, and 

 it has been supposed there is some relationship between the two 

 maladies. 



It generally appears within a few days after birth — from the first to 

 the third ; beyond the fourth day it is much less frequent. In some 

 instances tlie young creatures are atTected before they liavc sucked ; so 

 that the milk could not have had any influence in its production. 



Symptoms. 



The symptoms are described as somewhat similar in all the species 

 it attacks. In Foals it usually appears within the first three days 

 after birth. The animals are dull and restless, and the dejections are 

 mucous, or very fluid and extremely ftetid ; while the expired air and 

 cutaneous exhalations often have a foul odour. The eyes become sunk 



' La Moicalcia, Turin, 1S93. 



