NEW ENGLAND FAliMER. 



Slished every Saturday, by THt).MAS \V. !>HErARl>, Ivogirs' Building, Coiigpress Street, Boston ; at §2, it) per aim. in advance, nr !j;;3,00 at ilii- close of the year- 



^L. I. 



BOSTON, SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 1823. 



No. 32. 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



[lECTEO AND COMPILED FROM THE BEST AFTHORS, 

 BV THE EDITOR. 



Grain Sick. 

 The first symptoms of this disease are a dull, 

 avy appearaoce of the eyes of the animal ; 

 B frequently shifts about from one side to the 

 ner, and when let loose, or driven about, 

 mplains verj' much. On examining; her, a ful- 

 3S may be perceived betwixt the hip and ribs, 



the opposite side to the milking one, if pres- 

 i with the hand ; this fulness will be felt to 

 nsist in the extension of the stomach. As the 

 iease advances a loss of milk ensues, and a 

 al dislike to any food. 



This disease is caused by a surfeit of grain, 

 d its remedies are bleeding and purging ; the 

 3t to relieve the urgent symptoms, the second 



remove the cause of the malady. The quan- 

 y of blood, according to Dr. Skellet, should 

 t be less than from two to three quarts ; but 

 he prescribes for large cows, in the vicinity 

 London, perhaps a smaller quantity w^ould be 

 sferable for animals of but middling size. — 

 le purging drink recommended by the same 

 Ihor is as follows : 

 Sulphur from 8 to 12 or 16 oz. proportioning 



it to the strength of the animal. 

 Nitre, 2 oz. 



rurmeric or Cummin seeds, of each 1 oz. 

 When this has operated in unloading the 

 mach, the weakness of that organ, the loss 

 appetite which ensues, and the deticiency of 

 ik connected with it, will be repaired by 



dicines of an aromatic and bracing nature, 

 ■.h as coriander, ginger, aniseed, &:c. Diluent 

 uors and mashes form the proper food for 



ne days. 



Strains and Bruises. 

 When these accidents occur in a considerable 

 gree, or if an important part has been injur- 

 , bleeding is highly proper. As inflammation 

 the common effect of these injuries, fomenta- 

 ins are at tirst the most proper applications ; 

 d, when the inflammation has subsided, the 

 dmcnt recommended for swollen udder*^ may 



rubbed on the part two or three times a day. 

 hen any part of the limbs has been strained, 



as to occasion lameness, if the lameness con- 

 lues after this plan has been tried, it will be 

 visable to have recourse to a blister, which 

 ill be found more etfectual than the most cele- 

 ated strain oils. 



In slight bruises from the pressure of the 

 ike, or other causes, the following lotion is 

 eful : Gourlard's extract i oz. 



Vinegar 4 oz. 



Water 1 pt. 



Mis. [TVhite'» Treatise. 



Warls, or Horny Excrescences. 

 These are aflections of the skin which in 

 )ws do not go deep ; they destroy the roots 

 I' the hair, wherever they form, and are of a 

 'rm and homy texture, and readily give way 

 ihen pulled or roughly bandied, which occa- 



^- See K. E. Farmer, No. 30, p. S33. 



sions them to bleed, and shows their connexion 

 with the vessels of the skin. They readily 

 yield to emollient ointments, particularly to 

 goose grease, which should be frequently rub- 

 bed on them till the excrescences fall oft". 



Sdi'cllings on the Joints and Bones. 



Swellings on the joints and bones are gener- 

 ally very painful to the touch, attended with 

 inflammation and fever. If the swelling comes 

 on suddenly, and its increase is rapid, it gener- 

 ally torniinaies in suppuration, if situated on 

 the joint, a discharge of the liquor of the joint, 

 or joint oil, is the consequence, which is dan- 

 gerous and troublesome to cure. On the con- 

 trary, if the swelling comes gradually, with 

 little pain, and a hard callous sub.»tance is felt, 

 and if early attempts are not made to stop its 

 progress, it will end in a stiff joint, and all at- 

 tempt? to cure it will be in vain. 



^riiis disease generally proceeds from kicks 

 or blows with stools. Sec. or violent strains. 



When the swelling comes on rapidly, with 

 much pain and inflammation, bleeding and purg- 

 ing should be immediately recurred to. The 

 purge should he as follows : 



Epsom salt 1 lb. — Nitre 2 oz. — Ging-or 2 oz. 



Fomentations should be applied twice or three 

 times a day. The following is recommended by 

 Dr. Skellet : 



Take of Wormwood and Southernwood, of 

 each, two handfuls, 



Poppy heads, four or five handfuls, 



Elder flowers, a handful, 



Commomile flowers, 4 oz. 



Bay and Juniper berries, of each, 1 oz. 



Crude Sal Ammoniac and Potash, each 2 oz.* 

 Boil these materials in f«ur quarts of spring 

 water, till reduced to three. Then foment the 

 swelling with flannels, as hot as possible, for a 

 quarter of an hour or more ; after which, the 

 flannels are to be bound over the part till the 

 time of fomenting again. This operation may 

 be repeated for two or three days, at which 

 period the inflammation will probably be on 

 the decline, when the following method must 

 be adopted. 



Take of Spanish flies in fine powder, 2 dr. 



Spirits of Ammonia 4 oz. 



Mix together, and rub a little of the mixture 

 into the part affected ; after which a flannel 

 roller is to be slightly put on, and kept on till 

 a profuse discharge or blistering takes place, 

 which will form into a crust, which should not 

 be rubbed off. 



If suppuration has already begun, or the dis- 

 ease so far advanced that it cannot be avoided, 

 it should be brought to a head as soon as poas. 

 ble ; after which the following balsam may be 

 applied once or twice a day. 



Take of compound tincture of myrrh 2 oz. 



Blue vitriol water ^ oz. 



The vitriol water may be made by dissolving 

 ten drachms of blue vitriol in powder, in a pint 

 of hot water ; the balsam to be well shaken to- 



* No doubt a part of these materials only, might 

 answer a good purpose, and should be applied when 

 all Q3wa.9i couTeoieatly be obtaiued. 



gether previous to using it. Should there be 

 any discharge of the joint oil it may be neces- 

 sary to proceed as hereafter will be directed 

 under the head Loss of Joint Oil. When the 

 scurf falls off, which the blistering has produc- 

 ed, and there remains any lameness, the follow- 

 ing plaster should be applied. 



Take of black and Burgundy pitch 1 lb. 

 Oxycroceum and Paracelsus .; oz. 



Bole .Armenian and Dragon's blood 2 oz. 

 When this swelling comes on gradually with 

 little pnin, and is of a hard, callous, or bony 

 nature, (bmentations will be of no use. But the 

 hair should be first cut ofl'tbe part affected, and 

 some of the under mentioned blister rubbed 

 well into the swelling with a knile or spatula; 

 and it may be repeated tor two or three succes- 

 sive mornings, or till a plentiful discharge i-' 

 produced. 



Take of quicksilver 1 oz. 



Goose grease 2 or 3 dr. 



To be rubbed together in a mortar till the 

 quicksilver is completely killed ; then add the 

 following in line powder. 



Take of Cantharides 2 dr. 



Sublimate i dr. 



Oil of Origanum 2 dr. 



IMarsh. mallow ointment 2 oz. 



Goose grease IJl oz. 



Tar 2 oz. 



Oil of vitriol i dr. 



Spirits of ammonia 1 oz. 



Mix all well together. 

 After this operation, and the scarf had fallen 

 off, if there should remain any hardness, .nnd 

 the animal is still lame, the blister may be re- 

 peated, which seldom fails to produce a perfect 

 cure. If the animal seems weak in that part, 

 after the above process, which is sometimes 

 the case, the plaister of burgundy pitch, &c. 

 before recommended, will be proper, in order 

 to strengthen it. 



Srft Sxt'etlings. 

 From bruises and other accidental injuries in 

 ■yetting up and l^'ing down, cows are subject to 

 soft or (Edematous swellings of the joints, which 

 are without any pain, heat or inflammation. 

 They enlarge often to a considerable size, and 

 yield readily to the pressure of the finger. — 

 Though this complaint is never attended with 

 danger, it is troublesome to the animal from its 

 size, and even ditlicult to remove, if it has been 

 of long continuance. Its management depends 

 on making an opening into the swelling in the 

 first instance, which may he done by running a 

 hot iron into the lowest or most depending part 

 of it, making two or three openings in this way 

 where the fewest blood vessels are situated; 

 and this operation requires particular caution, 

 that the discharge may gradually come away, 

 and that no vessels may be injured, iVom the 

 danger of producing an internal hemorrhage, 

 which would occasion a new increase of swel- 

 ling and inflammation, instead of lessening the 

 disease. When the openings into the swelling 

 are properly made, and a gradual evacuation 

 takes place, tlien the orifices are to be plugged 



