118 LIVE-STOCK 



animals that recover, internal tonics as tincture ferri per- 

 ehloride, 1 ounce in a pint of water may be given once daily, 

 and externally the diseased parts will have to be treated 

 surgically as wounds or abscesses. 



Choking. — Cattle are sometimes choked with pieces of oil 

 cake, palmyra nuts, stalks of cholam. The animal is uneasy 

 and restless and there is no rumination. It coughs and 

 salivates and, when it attempts to drink, water returns 

 through the nostrils. If the obstruction can be reached by 

 the hand, attempt must be made to remove it. If the impac- 

 tion be lower down in the gullet beyond the reach of the 

 hand, pour down the throat a little oil and then work the 

 obstacle up and down when it may be dislodged and will 

 descend into the stomach. Should this prove unsuccessful, 

 the probang ought to be used and, in the absence of one, a 

 rattan 6 feet long and half an inch in diameter covered at one 

 end with soft cloth or wash leather may be substituted. The 

 mouth must be kept open by the introduction across it of a 



Eiece of wood with a hole in the centre to allpw of the cane 

 eiug passed through. The obstruction must be gently 

 pushed down into the stomach. 



Tympanitis ; Hoven. — A common complaint among cattle 

 in India. It is due to the distension of the rumen with gas. 

 The cause is generally a too free use of succulent fodder or 

 grass. There is uneasiness and pain, and a swelling on the 

 left side of the belly, which, when struck, sounds like a drum. 

 The animal is unable to breath freely and grunts. In severe 

 cases, relief should be afforded at once or the animal may die 

 of suffocation. Give at once a pint of linseed oil with an 

 ounce of turpentine in it (see also Recipes) and administer 

 enemas of warm water. Should relief be not obtained in a 

 few hours, and should the symptoms become aggravated, 

 puncture the rumen with a trocar and canula on the left side 

 at a point equally distant from the point of the hip, the last 

 rib and the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebras. If 

 this instrument is not to be had, plunge the large blade of a 

 pocket knife into the stomach and turn it crossways, when 

 the gas will escape. 



Impaction of the rumen. — This is distension of the rumen 

 with food. Some particular foods are liable to cause this 

 disorder, but anything particularly palatable and eaten to 

 excess may produce the disease. The abdomen is distended 

 on the left side but percussion elicits a dull sound and the 

 swelling pits on pressure. If not relieved soon enough, 

 tympanitis may supervene and the animal may die of suffo- 

 cation. Give immediately an oil purgative with a strong 



