Hair Balls in the Rumen and Reticulum. 117 



the young and adult alike the habit of licking themselves and 

 others especially at the period of moulting is a common factor. 



Composition. Hair, wool, and the fine hairs of clover are the 

 common predominant constituents, but these are matted together 

 more or less firmly by mucus and phosphates, the ammonia- 

 magnesian phosphate uniting with the mucus and other matters 

 in forming a smooth external crust in the old standing balls of 

 adult animals. The centre of such balls is made up of the most 

 densely felted hair. In balls of more recent formation the ex- 

 ternal crust is lacking and the mass is manifestly hairy on the 

 surface, and the density uniform throughout. These have a 

 somewhat aromatic odor, contain very little moisture, and have 

 a specific gravity approximating .716 (sheep) to .725 (ox). 

 Ellagic, and lithofellic acids, derivatives of tannin, are usually 

 present, and are abundant in the egagropiles of antilopes. 



In the balls of recent formation, as seen especially in sucking 

 calves, the hair is only loosely matted together, and often inter- 

 mixed with straw and hay, and is saturated with liquid and 

 heavier than the old masses. These are usually the seat of active 

 putrefactive fermentation, and being occasionally lodged in the 

 third or even the fourth stomach, the septic products act as local 

 irritants, and general poisons. They are therefore far more in- 

 jurious than the consolidated hairballs of the adult animal, and 

 often lay the foundation or septic diarrhoeas and gastro-enteritis. 



The balls may be spherical, elliptical, ovoid, or, when flattened 

 by mutual compression, discoid. 



Symptoms. Generally these balls cause no appreciable disturb- 

 ance of the functions of the stomach. This is especially true of 

 the large, old and smoothly encrusted masses. The museum of 

 the N. Y. S. V. College contains specimens of 5^ inches in 

 diameter, found after death in a fat heifer, which had always had 

 good health and which was killed for beef. This is the usual 

 history of such formations, they are not suspected during life, 

 and are only found accidentally when the rumen is opened in the 

 abattoir. 



The smaller specimens, the size of a hen's or goose's egg, or a 

 billiard ball, have produced severe suffering, with gulping, eruc- 

 tation, vomiting and tympany from obstruction of the demicanal 

 or gullet, and such symptoms continued until the offending agents 



