NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



PublisliL-d tvery Saturday, by THOMAS W. SHKPAIll), Ko-.r?' Ikiil.iiiig, Congriss Str. it, Uostrm ; at $'2,50 pi-r aim, in ai^ aiice, or i;:3,U0 at tlu' clnse of !hi y, ar. 



Vol. I. 



BOSTON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1822, 



No. 14. 



DISEASE OF CATTLE. 



Report on, a disease afflicting JVeat Cattle^ in Bur- 

 ton, {JV. H.) read before the jYczv Hampshire 

 Medical Society^ June, 18^22 ; by James F. 

 DAN.i, I\I. D. Prof. Chymistry, Mineralogy, ^-c. 

 Dartmouth College. 



At the last meeting of the Society, 1 had the 

 honour to be appointed to visit the town of Bur- 

 ton in this State, an<l inquire into the causes of a 

 disease to which neat cattle are there subject- 

 ed ; and 1 liave now the pleasure of snbmittinc; to 

 the Society the result of the observations which 

 have been made in consequence of this appuint- 

 moiit. 



That part of the town in which the disease is 

 ino^t prevalent, is surrounded by lofty hills and 

 mountains; the hio^hest part of which is a very 

 elevated point, called Corway-pcak mount, and 

 is visible from a great extent of country. The 

 predominant rock of which these hills are com- 

 posed is Granite — a soft decomposing variety in 

 which the crystals and grains of feldspar, are 

 very large and are suffering a rapid decompo- 

 sition, by which the whole is disintegrated and 

 broken down. The loose stones consist princi- 

 pally of rolled masses of granite, quartz, felds- 

 par, and some specimens of hornstone ; a bed of 

 bog ore of iron is also found here. The soil of 

 this place is fertile, and is such as we should ex- 

 pect to be produced by the decomposition and 

 disintegration of Granite rocks, viz. a sandy loam 

 mixed occasionally with coarse gravel. No pe- 

 culiar appearances were noticed in the vegeta- 

 tion ; the usual crops raised by the farmer, grow 

 in Burton as in other places under a similar cul- 

 ture and management : and probably the town 

 would be a flourishing agricultural place if 

 nciit cattle could be kept and raised there. The 

 I'act IS sulliciently established that young neal 

 cattle cannot be rai; 'J there, and that cows and 

 oxen cannot be kept there for a number of years 

 without being alll.cted with- a singular and fata, 

 disease ; and it is not a little remarkable, that 

 horses and swine have never been attacked h\ 

 Ihe complaint. Cattle are more liable to the 

 disease at some seasons of the year than at o!h 

 irs, and are usually attacked by if at the close 

 of winter. The symptom which marks its com- 

 mencement and progress, is a loss of appetite; 

 the au.m.ils refuse ha3', grain, and salt; they be 

 coinc feeble and much emaciated ; and obstinat.^ 

 1 nstiveness accompanies the disease, but the ab 

 dumen becomes smaller than in health; the alj- 

 domiiial muscles are contracted towards the 

 spiue, and the whole abdomen is diminished tc 

 one third of its original bulk. After these 

 symptoms have continued an indefinite lime, a 

 brisk scouring comes on, and the animals fall 

 away and die. For this complaint, which is 

 I very general among those cattle which have re- 

 I mained two or three years in the place, no rem- 

 edy has been used by the inhabitants with mark- 

 ed benefit and uniform success ; the cattle re- 

 ' cover only bj' driving them away to some othe;- 

 !• place. A satisfactory cause for the disease ba> 

 1 not yet been ascertained, and consequently a ra- 

 ' tional mode of cure has n'ner been adopted. 

 Neglecting the romantic and idle tale of the dy- 



ing curse pronounced on this place by a murder- 

 ed Indian, we are to search for the cause of the 

 disease in the food which the cattle eat, or in 

 the water which they drink. 



The fact that cattle are seized with the dis- 

 ease late in the winter seems to point to the 

 food as a source of the evil ; and it is well known 

 that certain plants have proved prejudicial and 

 fatal to cattle. The cicula virosa, or water 

 hemlock, was found by Linna;us to be the cause 

 of a disease afflicting the cattle in Norway ; and 

 here goats and sxvine were exempted from the 

 disease ; but this plant was not observed in Bur- 

 ton, nor was any other vegetable discovered 

 here which does not grow in other places in the 

 same latitude; and hence we do not believe 

 that the disease is caused by the food. In con- 

 firmation of this opinion, I may adduce the tact 

 that the hay produced in this place, causes no 

 disease in cattle which are kept on it in the 

 neighboring towns ; whereas hay which is 

 brought from other places into Burton, does not 

 appear to prevent the complaint. 



It has been sarcastically suggested, that cattle 

 died at Burton because there was not a suffi- 

 cient quantit)' of hay produced there to keep 

 them; but this suggestion appears to be as un- 

 just as it is ungenerous. Hay is produced in 

 such quantities as to be more than sufficient for 

 the cattle. The result of my inquiries on this 

 subject is, that there is a sutKcient quantity of 

 hay produced there for the use of all the stock, 

 but that it does not contain any vegetable sub- 

 stance which is prejudicial to the cattle, and 

 which may be considered as a source of the dis- 

 ease. 



The examination of the water from various 

 places in Burton otters a more satisfactory re- 

 sult ; but there are no external marks which in- 

 ilicate that the water is unhealthy — no sediment 

 is found, no incrustations appear on the sides of 

 the rivulets and springs ; but on the contrary 

 ihe water is clear,* transparent and colorless, 

 md of a pleasant taste. From such properties, 

 1 despaired of detecting any substances in it by 

 Ihe application ofchymical agents, but was hap- 

 pily disappointed on making the examination. A 

 portion of water from a brook, to which the 

 :attle have free access, was first examined. 

 Tincture (j/ioop produced cloudiness ; oxalate if 

 ammonia produced a slight cloudiness ; and hi- 

 irate of silver produced a similar effect. — Ne 

 change occurred on the addition of Barytic ■a.-ater, 

 solution of Frussiate of potash, or tincture of galls, 

 or of turmeric. It follows from the action ol" 

 ihese agents that the brook water, unlike the 

 water of most brooks, is an hard water and con- 

 tains some saline bod\'. — From the action of ox- 

 alate of ammonia, we infer the existence ol 

 lime; and nitrate of silver proves the existence 

 ot muriatic acid ; the water is then a weak solu- 

 tion of muriate of lime. Having ascertained 

 the existence of minute portions of muriate of 

 I. me in brook water, an e. -lamination was made 

 ot the water procured from other sources ; and 



I 



* It is a common remark that the waters of Burton 

 are remarltably cfear ; probabiy their refractive density 

 is increased by U\e ealiue matter they contaiu. 



water from eleven other places, remote from 

 each other and from the brook abovcmentiom.d, 

 was examined, and the same effect was jiroduc- 

 ed by the same agents. The etTcct was more 

 perceptible in some instances than in others, 

 and usually greater in water from u-elts than in 

 that from other sources. The water from two 

 wells in particular afToided alnimlaiit precipit- 

 ates with the oxalate of ammonia and nitrate of 

 silver. The only boast laboring under the dis- 

 ease while I was at Burton, drank daily from 

 one of these wells. 



The continued use of a weak and very di- 

 lute solution of muriate of lime, may from its 

 known properties, produce the eft'ect now as- 

 cribed to it, and be the cause of the disease. 

 .Muriate of lime, it is well known, is employed 

 as a medicine, and, like other saline medicine, 

 acts more powerfully on the general system in 

 small doses /az-n-c/i/ diluted, than in greater quan- 

 tities, and in a more concentrated state. In 

 some diseases of the glands, it is said to have 

 been employed with advantago, and when first 

 administered, improves the appetite and gener- 

 al strength. The latter effect is very evidently 

 produced on cattle when first pastured in this 

 town. If previously thin and emaciated, they 

 speedily become fat and appear better than cat- 

 tle ordinarily do, during the tirst season they 

 are pastured in Burton. 



It may with propriety be asked, why horses 

 and ho^s escape the disease, if it is produced by 

 the water ? A satisfactory answer is derived from 

 the fact that horses are not suffered to remain a 

 long time at home ; they are continually absent 

 on journics, and probably in most instances lake 

 as much water from other sources as they do 

 from the wells and springs on the farms to which 

 they belong'. Hogs take but small quantities of 

 water, and from the mixed and heterogeneous 

 kinds of food given to them, they must frequent- 

 ly take such saline substances as will counteract 

 the eflects produced by the minute portions ol 

 muriate of lime. 



If the disease arises, as is supposed, from the 

 saline contents cf the water, we can easily ex- 

 plain the fact that its attacks are most freijuent 

 in the winter. If is then that they usually re- 

 ceive water tiom wells, which are proved by 

 experiment to be most strongly impregnated ; 

 and then also springs are generally low and con- 

 sequently confa.n more saline matter: nor does 

 the food in winter tend to counteract the ettect 

 of the water, by keeping the bowels lax, which 

 .s a well known effect produced by summer and 

 spring food. 



The di.sease, to which the cattle in Burton 

 are thus subjected, has been a great obstacle to 

 ihe prosperity of the town; and it will proba- 

 bly continue to have this effect, although with- 

 out doubt it may be prevented by proper atten- 

 tion and management. Some persons, residing 

 in Burton, have for several years past given to 

 llieir cattle during the wmfer season, a certain 

 kind of mud, and, as they affirm, with some ben- 

 efit. This mud is found on a meadow, and dur- 

 ing the summer, it is collected for use ; it is 

 made into balls as large as an ordinary potatoe, 

 and forced down the ammal"s throat ; by it the 



