DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 23 



they eat so greedily of it that tympanites frequently results. Tur- 

 nips, potatoes, cabbage, or the discarded pulp from sugar-beet fac- 

 tories may also cause it. Middlings and corn meal also frequently 

 give rise to it. 



Care is necessary in turning animals into fields of clover or stub- 

 ble fields in which there is a strong growth of volunteer grain. It 

 is always better to keep them from such pasturage while it is wet 

 with dew, and they should be taken out when they have eaten a 

 moderate quantity. Wlien cattle are fed upon pulp from sugar 

 beets, germinated malt, etc., they should be fed in moderate amounts 

 until they have become accustomed to it, as any of these feeds may 

 give rise to severe bloating. 



An excessive quantity of any of the before-mentioned feeds may 

 bring on this disorder, or it may not be caused by excess, but to 

 eating too hastily. Sometimes the quality of the feed is at fault. 

 Grass or clover when wet by dew or rain frequently disorders di- 

 gestion and brings on tympanites; frozen roots or pastures covered 

 with hoar frost should also be regarded as dangerous. When feed 

 has been eaten too hastily, or when it is cold and wet, the digestive 

 l^rocess is imjoerfectly performed, and the feed contained in the 

 paunch ferments, during which process large quantities of gas are 

 formed. The same result may follow when a cow is choked, as the 

 obstruction in the gullet prevents the eructation or passing up of 

 gas from the stomach, so that the gas continues to accumulate until 

 tympanites results. 



Symptoms. — The swelling of the left flank is very characteristic, 

 as in well-marked cases the flank at its upper part rises above the 

 level of the backbone, and when struck with the tips of the fingers 

 emits a drum-like sound. The animal has an anxious expression, 

 moves uneasily, and is evidently distressed. If relief is not obtained 

 in time, it breathes with difficulty, reels in walking or in standing, 

 and in a short time falls and dies from suffocation. The distention 

 of the stomach may become so great as to prevent the animal from 

 breathing, and in some instances the case may be complicated by 

 rupture of the stomach. 



Treatment. — If the case is not extreme, it may be sufficient to 

 drive the animal at a walk for a quarter or half an hour; or cold 

 water b}' the bucketful may be thrown against the cow's sides. In 

 some cases the following simple treatment is successful : A rope or 

 a twisted straw band is coated with pine tar, wagon grease, or other 

 unsavory substance and is placed in the cow's mouth as a bit, being 

 secured by tying behind the horns. The efforts of the animal to dis- 

 lodge this object result in movements of the tongue, jaws, and throat 

 that stimulate the secretion of saliva and swallowing, thus opening 



