1 94 THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 



of gentian (pulv. gentianse), and half- a- drachm of ginger, 

 mixed with gruel and half-a-pint of good ale, may be given 

 twice or thrice a day. The curative process of the ulcers will 

 be promoted by dressings of tincture of aloes. The seton, 

 however, should be continued for two or three weeks. 



It is easier to prevent the attack of this formidable disease 

 than to cure it. Cattle, and young cattle especially, should 

 not be suddenly put into rich pastures ; they should be pre- 

 viously purged, and introduced by degrees, being occasionally 

 removed into a bare pasture, where, without gorging to re- 

 pletion, they may digest at leisure what they have taken. 

 Too much water is dangerous, especially if taken when the 

 animal is from any cause overheated. Putrescent ponds, 

 turf-pits, and the like, are to be avoided, as the water is 

 noxious even if taken in moderation. Young growing cattle 

 should not be too highly fed. There is no occasion to starve 

 them ; but there is a medium which good sense will dictate. 

 The stock, moreover, should be daily inspected ; and should 

 any suspicious symptoms appear, any shivering, any heaving 

 of the flanks, any difficulty of respiration, any dulness or red- 

 ness of the eyes, a purgative, and the loss of a little blood, 

 may stop the approaching mischief. 



TYPHUS FEVER. 



Inflammatory fever in cattle of all ages, but more particu- 

 larly in adult beasts, sometimes assumes a low, lingering, 

 typhoid form. The gait is staggering, the appetite is gone ; 

 diarrhoea succeeds moderate doses of medicine, or comes on 

 spontaneously. Tumours appear on the limbs, back, udder, 

 &c., and ulcerate, and the breath is fetid. This disease is 

 most prevalent in the spring and autumn ; especially on 

 marshy lands, subject to miasmatous exhalations. It is some- 

 times epidemic, and fatal to a great extent, sweeping away 

 numbers of valuable cattle. Occasionally it is accompanied 

 by a catarrh, but mostly by diarrhoea or dysentery, the indi- 

 cation of inflammation or congestion of the mucous mem- 

 brane of the intestines. The same decided treatment which 

 we have described in inflammatory fever, must be adopted : 

 the lancet must be used boldly. The purgative of salts, &c., 

 should be given, and its action kept up by six or eight ounce 

 doses of sulphur. If the dysentery be violent, calomel and 

 opium will be found useful, in doses of thirty or forty grains 

 of the former, and a drachm of the latter, mixed in thick 



