THE MORE COMMON AILMENTS OF CATTLE 455 



softer and lighter until they assume a cream color and a 

 consistency but little thicker than milk, and the odor 

 therefrom is offensive; (2) colicky pains may occur and 

 frequently there are indications of suffering from the 

 passing of the faces; (3) the calf, depressed in appear- 

 ance, frequently stands with the back arched and under- 

 line contracted. 



The indications of scour in diarrhcea include: (i) 

 Soft ejections at first mixed with mucus; the fasces at 

 first yellow, assume a grayish yellow or dirty white 

 color and increase continually in frequency and they 

 are accompanied by an increasingly repellent odor. (2) 

 Emaciation quickly follows, the hair stands erect and 

 the strength vanishes as shown in the staggering gait. 

 (3) Eventually the anus and rectum become inflamed 

 and may become ulcerated, fever increases, accompanied 

 by a rapid pulse, and the faeces become more watery and 

 may be mixed with blood. 



Chief among the indications of white scour are the 

 following: ( i ) Its quick occurrence, which may be soon 

 after birth, and generally appears within the first or 

 second day of the life of the animal. (2) The afflicted 

 animal shows great dullness, weakness, and prostration, 

 sunken eyes and short and hurried breathing. (3) The 

 discharges are profuse, yellowish white, and most oiTen- 

 sive. (4) The calf lies stretched and unconscious of 

 what may be transpiring around it. As a rule, death 

 occurs within 24 to 36 hours of the attack. 



In all instances scour retards development. When 

 chronic, it usually lessens the degree of possible subse- 

 quent development. In the contagious form, it is usually 

 so fatal as to become a menace to successful breeding in 

 the herd, it may be for successive years. This is even 

 more realized when it attacks newl_y born calves in the 

 form of infectious white scours. The loss of calves from 

 scours is enormous in the aggregate and increasingly so 

 with the introduction of pure blood and the changed 



