CATTIvB. 315 



from insufficient diet the nse of tonics and diuretics, at the same keeping 

 the skin warm, will bring about a gradual absorption of the fluid con- 

 tained in the abdomen. One of the following powders should be mixed 

 with the animal's food three times a day; or, if there is any uncertainty 

 as to its being taken in that wa}', it should be mixed with syrup, so as 

 to form a paste, and smeared well back on the animal's tongue with a 

 flat wooden spoon: carbonate of iron, three ounces; powdered gentian, 

 three ounces; powdered nitrate of potash, three ounces. Mix and divide 

 into twelve powders. The administration of purgatives which promote 

 a watery discharge from the mucous surface of the bowels, also tends, 

 by diininishing the serum of the blood, to bring about absorption and a 

 gradual removal of the fluid contained in the abdomen. Large doses 

 should not be given, but moderate doses should be administered morning 

 and night, so as to produce a laxative effect on the bowels for some days. 

 To attain this end the following may be used: sulphate of soda, eight 

 ounces; powdered ginger, half an ounce; mix in two quarts of tepid 

 water, and then give at one dose. 



DISEASES OF THE PERITONEUM. 



Peritonitis. Peritonitis may be divided into certain varieties, ac- 

 cording to its mode of causation: (i) Traumatic, when the disease arises 

 from wounds penetrating the abdomen; (2) Idiopathic, when the disease 

 arises from exposure to cold and wet. The second variety of peritonitis 

 occurs chiefly among working oxen, and it may here be mentioned that 

 in those animals the membrane which lines the abdomen and covers the 

 outer surface of the bowels is apt to become congested by sudden chill- 

 ing of the skin, which empties its rich network of small blood-vessels 

 to a large extent, so that the blood must accumulate in some part of the 

 interior of the body. 



Causes. When a working ox has been warmed up and is sweating 

 during hard work he may have to stand some time exposed to cold wind 

 or to a cold wind, which soon chills the surface of his body. When 

 cattle are driven through rivers or into ponds, so that their bodies become 

 wet, and they afterward lie on the ground when the air is cold, sucn 

 exposure may produce peritonitis. Wounds penetrating the abdomen 

 may also cause it. 



Symptoms. A continuous or occasional shivering; the animal lies 

 down, but appears uneasy; it frequently turns its head towards its bellv 



