744 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



of the spine, with tenderness on pressure 

 over the loins ; the animal is hide-hound, 

 has a staring coat, and seems unwilling 

 to move ; there is a hardness of the 

 pulse, and redness of the mucous mem- 

 branes. Within a day or two, one or 

 more joints begin to swell, the animal 

 lying down to favor the affected limb. 

 The bowels are usually constipated, and 

 the urine highly colored. Danger is to 

 be feared from change of the inflamma- 

 tion to the membranes of the heart, 

 brain, or lungs, causing, in many in* 

 stances, a fatal termination. 

 i •'■«■!'«,«**!.» When rheumatism is chronic, it be- 



comes almost stationary in one joint or 

 limb, producing grave changes in the 

 cartilages and ligaments, and increase 

 of bony or chalky deposits around the 

 joint. The lameness does not yield 

 readily to treatment, and the disease is 



„, „»„ „ . . i . „ „ liable to return on slight exposure. 

 Fie. 968— Knee-joint of an Ox alter & r 



Chronic Rheumatism. ?%• 968 represents the knee joint of 



an ox affected with chronic rheumatism. 

 The soft tissues are removed, to show the extensive, change of 

 structure, and the calcareous deposits. 



Fever is generally absent in chronic rheumatism, and the gen- 

 eral condition of the animal remains good. 



Treatment. — In the acute form, give laxatives, Epsom or 

 Glauber's salts, followed with alkaline treatment, as follows, two or 

 three times daily :* — 



Bicarbonate of potash 3 oz. 



Water : . , : 1 pt 



Or— 



Nitrate of potash (saltpeter) J to 1 oz. 



Water 1 pt. 



If fever is high, tincture of aconite, in .5 to 15 drop doses, may 

 be added to either of the above, with care to guard against its pros- 

 trating effects. 



Salicylic acid has been, used within a few years past, with the 

 indorsement of many, as a safe and reliable remedy to reduce the 



