REMEDIES IN DISEASE. 493 



CHAPTER XIII. 



WATER REMEDIES. 



WE may be expected to have something upon the treat- 

 ment of diseases of stock. But we must confess at the be- 

 ginning that our confidence is very slight in the ordinary 

 veterinary remedies, aside from surgical remedies, which 

 should be based upon true science. The attempt to make 

 a specific prescription for a particular disease was long ago 

 called, by a medical man, "a blow in the dark." Young 

 practitioners believe in a large number of specifics those 

 of long experience are not certain of any. The stock-feeder 

 should place his faith in prevention. " An ounce of pre- 

 vention is worth a pound of cure." 



The author wrote the following observations some fifteen 

 years ago upon the 



USES OF WATER IN THE DISEASES OP CATTLE, 



and he regards them as yet practically sound : 



As bleeding, blistering, and all violent remedies for the 

 human subject goes gradually out of date, so the milder 

 treatment and greater trust in nature ought to be applied 

 even to our animals. But still, all treatises yet extant for 

 the guidance of the herdsman, after describing the disease, 

 turn only to the medical vocabulary for relief; and the poor 

 animal must be bled, purged, cauterized and irritated, in- 

 stead of being soothed, quieted, assisted. 



In garget, or swollen udder, for instance, bleeding or a 

 purgative is first recommended. Let us examine the case. 



