THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 219 



serviceable, and a dose of chalk, mercury, and opium may be 

 given daily in the following proportions : Chalk, one ounce ; 

 opium, one drachm : calomel, half a drachm ; ginger, two 

 drachms. These may be mixed in thick gruel. Some re- 

 commend the addition of three or four drachms of catechu ; 

 but we fear that powerful astringents may rather produce 

 mischief than benefit. Indeed, if the above prescription acts 

 in restoring the healthy condition of the mucous membrane, 

 it may be necessary to give castor oil occasionally, in doses 

 of a pint, with ten grains of powdered opium. The diet 

 should consist of good sound hay, given in small quantities, 

 and a handful or two of wheat flour may be stirred up in the 

 water. After all, this kind of diarrhoea is not easily subdued, 

 and too often wears down the animal, which dies emaciated 

 and dropsical. 



In some diseases, as pneumonia, the occurrence of diarrhoea 

 may be regarded as favourable ; but in other diseases, as 

 consumption, it is one of the symptoms of approaching dis- 

 solution: it may be moderated perhaps by astringents, as 

 chalk, one ounce ; powdered catechu, two drachms ; pow- 

 dered allspice, two drachms ; powdered carraway- seeds, half 

 an ounce. Let all these ingredients, except the chalk, be 

 simmered in half a pint of water ; then add the finely pow- 

 dered chalk, mixed in half a pint of ale. To this a small 

 quantity of opium may be added if the purging be accom- 

 panied by griping pains. 



In simple but acute diarrhoea, before it assumes a dysen- 

 teric form, an oleaginous purgative, in order to remove the 

 cause of the irritation of the bowels, may precede the mixture 

 of chalk, opium, calomel, and ginger; this latter medicine 

 may then be repeated twice a day, or only once if the purging 

 be not violent. If given twice a day, half a drachm of the 

 opium will suffice with each dose. Should febrile symptoms 

 make their appearance, indicative of mischief in the mucous 

 lining of the alimentary canal, bleeding may be followed by 

 the chalk, calomel, and opium, as above directed. Injections 

 of starch with laudanum, or gruel, or linseed tea (infusion of 

 linseed) with laudanum (half an ounce) will be serviceable 

 in acting as emollients and sedatives, and should not be 

 neglected. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 



The kidneys in the ox are of large size, and, unlike those 



