250 THE OX AND THE DAIRY. 



becomes completely disorganized : the animal in the mean 

 time wears away, and becomes a miserable object ; the toes 

 are now thrown far apart, the bones become carious, sinuses 

 extend in all directions, and purulent matter is profusely dis- 

 charged. In this state the animal may linger for several 

 months, until it dies worn out by pain and exhaustion. 



A common but brutal remedy in these cases is to rub a 

 tarred rope or horse-hair line to and fro between the hoofs, in 

 order to remove the excrescences and stimulate the surface to 

 secrete healthy horn ; dressings of stimulant applications are 

 afterwards applied. 



If the inflammation be high, bleeding from the veins of the 

 coronet and aperients are necessary. A linseed-meal poultice 

 may then be used, and renewed twice a day until suppu- 

 ration has taken place, and the sloughing ulcers assume 

 a healthy appearance. A little turpentine may be added 

 to the poultices. Fungous granulations must be touched 

 with the caustic, or sprinkled over with verdigris or sugar 

 of lead. In cases where there is a foul foetid discharge, 

 a lotion of a solution of chloride of lime will prove service- 

 able. When the ulcers are healthy, they may be dressed 

 with tincture of myrrh, or Friar's balsam. Stall-fed cattle 

 should be turned to grass. 



Some practitioners recommend the application of the fol- 

 lowing ointment, as soon as the ulcers are cleared by the 

 poultice : viz. hog's-lard and turpentine, of each four ounces ; 

 melt together over the fire, and as soon as removed from the 

 fire, stir in one ounce of blue vitriol very finely powdered, 

 and continue stirring till the ointment is cold. 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 



Cattle kept in wretched hovels or cow-houses, or badly fed 

 on unwholesome food during the winter, are liable to mange. 

 It is said that too luxurious a diet will produce it, but we 

 have never known it result from such a cause : often, how- 

 ever, from neglect of cleanliness, and a scanty pittance of 

 innutritious food. It commences with a violent itching : the 

 tormented animal rubs itself against posts, palings, gates, or 

 the boles of trees ; the hair about the neck, shoulders, and 

 sides, is soon worn off, and the skin is red, thickened, and 

 rises in long ridges or creased folds. The cow becomes dull, 

 feeds little, loses flesh, and fails in her milk. In some 

 places a thick scurf appears, in others sores or scabs, from 



