THE OX—-MISCELLANEOUS DISORDERS AND INJURIES. 277 
dead, and thoroughly disinfect the stable or other quarters with carbolic 
acid. The attendant must exercise care about letting any of the discharges 
‘come in contact with breaks in his skin, or with the mucous membranes. 
MILK-FEVER. 
Milk-fever is a frequent and fatal disease which may occur within a day 
after calving, though there is danger of it until the fourth day has passed. 
It is caused by difficult labor in calving; high stall-feeding; excessive or 
too rich food after calving, insufficient exercise, cold and wet, summer heat, 
over-driving, and bad treatment. One attack predisposes to another. It is 
more likely to attack fat cows that give much milk. 
Sym ptorzs.—Listlessness; trembling; great thirst; loss of cud and im- 
paired or lost appetite; breathing and pulse quickened; heaving flanks; 
nose dry and hot, and the horns hot; urine scanty; dung hard and lumpy. 
Later the eyes are bright, staring, of a leaden color or streaked with red; 
eyeballs prominent; breathing difficult, and pulse not so rapid; the cow 
shifts the weight from one hind leg to the other; inclination to lie down 
checked by swollen belly; udder hard and swollen, furnishing no milk, the 
animal totters, falls, rises again and falls, finally with inability to rise; in 
some cases she lies quiet, resting the head on the ground, or turning it to- 
ward her side as if in great pain; eyes dim, wild and fixed; lost sight; in 
other cases she is restless, foams at the mouth, and the paunch is much 
swollen; death in a few hours, or possibly two days. 
TREATMENT.—At first, if fever is prominent, with quick pulse and 
breathing, and scanty urine and loss of inilk be noticed, give five drops of 
aconite every half-hour for four or five doses. After those doses, if there 
be a furious and anxious expression, protruding eyeballs, general restless- 
ness, hot horns, dry, hot nose, and painful swelling of the belly, give aconite 
and belladonna in alternation every two hours, or oftener if the case be very 
severe. If the disease advances after several doses of the first remedy, 
there being greatly swollen paunch and udder, cold extremities, difficult 
breathing, slow pulse, and intense pain, give twenty drops of ammonium 
causticum in a wineglassful of water every fifteen or twenty minutes until 
the swelling subsides. When the swelling has been reduced and the cow 
is sleepy, insensible to pain, unable to hold the head up from the ground 
when down, and has glassy eyes and open mouth, with loss of power of 
seeing and swallowing, give twenty drops of arsenicum, at intervals of from 
fifteen to sixty minutes according to the severity of the symptoms. Opium 
may be alternated with the arsenicum if the cow is utterly prostrated, with 
cold surface, glassy eyes, and weak pulse. Give nux vomica three times 
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