290 BOVINE PATHOLOGY. 



selected^ dry, and nutritious. Calomel with opium has 

 been followed by the best results, but this treatment needs 

 constant supervision by the practitioner. Animals which 

 are affected with dysentery are known as '^ scanterers" in 

 some parts of the country, or are said to be ^' rotten.^' 



The disease known as Pantas, Moor-ill, or Wood-evil, 

 may here be mentioned. It is a form of gastro-enteritis 

 due to coarse or acrid food material ; it affects whole herds, 

 especially in long, dry summers, when there is a deficiency 

 of herbage, so that plants ordinarily avoided are con- 

 sumed. It is sometimes attributed to free consumption 

 of astringent buds, as of the oak tree, and of heath ; also 

 scarcity of food may be due to over-stocking of land, and 

 so an outbreak of this disease may occur. 



8ymf tolas.' — The attack lasts from six days to about a 

 fortnight, and is ushered in by dulness and constipation. 

 The latter sign is found throughout, except in the latest 

 stages, when profuse dysenteric discharge precedes death. 

 A small amount of faeces, in dry, hard, small lumps, coated 

 with mucus of a thick, stringy character, and sometimes 

 with blood, is expelled occasionally with some difficulty. 

 The urine is scanty, high coloured, and voided with diffi- 

 culty. Lactation early ceases, and the appetite, from the 

 first, is irregular and depraved. Acute febrile signs soon 

 are manifested, and there is tympany with acute abdominal 

 pain. Yellowness of the visible mucous membranes indi- 

 cates that the liver is also involved. Sometimes the brain 

 seems affected, or the animal becomes almost wild with 

 pain. Rapid emaciation takes place, and all the symptoms 

 of acute dysentery precede death. 



Autopsy shows the lesions of advanced dysentery. 



The treatment differs only from that of the last- 

 mentioned disease in that the necessity of clearing the 

 alimentary canal is even more urgent, and more powerful 

 cathartics than Epsom salts should be given, to be followed 

 by salines and oils, if necessary. Stimulants and tonics 

 are especially indicated. Mucilaginous drinks are valuable 

 as sheathing the diseased membranes. Thorough change 

 of diet to laxative but nutritious food and liberal supply 



