308 CATTLE. 



powder should be mixed with a half pint of whiskey and a pint of 

 water When diarrhea is a symptom of a malad}' characterized by the 

 presence of a blood poison, the treatment appropriate to such disease 

 must be applied. 



Dysentery. This disease begins with inflammation of the mucous 

 membrane of the colon, though the disease may extend to the caecum 

 and sometimes to the rectum. It is also popularly known in this coun- 

 try by the names of bloody flux and red murrain. 



Causes. Feeding cattle on haj' which has been made during a wet 

 season, musty oats, or any forage which is largely infested with parasitic 

 growths. Hay or coarse grass containing a large proportion of woody 

 fiber, pastures which have been inundated, and the vegetation growing 

 on low, marshy, localities may set up irritation of the mucous membrane 

 which terminates in dysentery. Water containing a large proportion of 

 organic matter may also occasion this disease. The passages or excreta 

 of animals suffering from the disease are to be regarded as contain- 

 ing an infective element, and should immediately be disinfected, burned, 

 or buried. 



Symptoms. The animal eats slowly, ruminates less frequently than 

 when in good health, and walks slowly. Sometimes there are indica- 

 tions of colicky pains. As the disease advances, the animal ceases to 

 eat and ruminate, the muzzle is dry, the eyes sunken, the cough rough, 

 and the skin dry and adherent or hidebound. The bowels act regularly 

 and the passages are thin, black, colored or grayish; the passages then 

 become frequent, fetid, and are streaked with blood. This disease does 

 not run a rapid course, and when it proves fatal the mucous membrane 

 of the bowels will be found thickened and reddened at some parts, show- 

 ing ulceration at some other points, and on some portions of its surface 

 covered with a layer of mucus. 



Treatment. When symptoms of dysentery are first observed, a 

 pound of sulphate of magnesia i hould be mixed with four quarts of tepid 

 water, and then two drams of sulphuric acid should be gradually added 

 to this mixture. This should be given at one dose, and it is important 

 that it should be administered at an early stage of the disease, as it not 

 only serves to remove irritating materials from the bowels, but it has an 

 astringent and sedative effect on the mucous surfaces and lessens the 

 congestion. The food should be soft and easy of digestion, and may 

 consist of grass, boiled or pulped roots, and nutritive drinks, such as 

 linseed tea, hay tea, etc. When the purgative before mentioned has 



