28 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



2 gallons of water, at a single dose. Immediately after this treat- 

 ment, the left side of the animal, extending below the median line of 

 the abdomen, should be powerfully kneaded with the fist, so that the 

 impacted food mass will be broken, allowing the water to separate it 

 into small portions, which can be carried downward for the process 

 of digestion. But if the treatment applied fails and the impacted or 

 overloaded condition of the rumen continues, it may become neces- 

 sary to make an incision with a sharp, long-bladed knife in the left 

 flank, commencing at the point where it is usual to puncture the 

 stomach of an ox, and prolong the incision in a downward direction 

 until it is long enough to admit the hand. When the point of the 

 knife is thrust into the flank and the blade cuts downward, the wall 

 of the stomach, the muscle, and the skin should all be cut through 

 at the same time. Two assistants should hold the edges of the wound 

 together so as to prevent any food slipping between the flank and 

 the wall of the stomach, and then the operator should remove two- 

 thirds of the contents of the rumen. This having been done, the 

 edges of the wound should be sponged with a little carbolized warm 

 water, and, the lips of the wound in the rumen being turned inward, 

 they should be brought together with catgut stitches. The wound 

 penetrating the muscle and the skin may then be brought together 

 by silk stitches, which should pass through the entire thickness of 

 the muscle and should be about 1 inch apart. The wound should 

 af.terwards be dressed once a day with a lotion and the animal cov- 

 ered with a tight linen sheet, to protect the wound from insects and 

 dirt. The lotion to be used in such a case is made up as follows : 

 Sulphate of zinc, 1 dram; carbolic acid, 2 drams; glycerin, 2 ounces; 

 water, 14 ounces; mix. It is clear that this operation requires special 

 skill and it should be attempted only by those who are competent. 



IMAGINARY DISEASES. 

 hollow horn; loss of cud; wolf in the tail. 



It would appear quite in place here, in connection with the diseases 

 of the stomach and bowels of cattle, to consider the three old fallacies 

 or superstitions known by the above names, since these names, when 

 and wherever used, seem to be invariably applied to some form of 

 digestive derangement or disease having its origin in the stomach 

 and bowels. 



Hollow horn. — In the first place it should be noted that the horns 

 of all animals of the ox tribe are hollow. The horn cores are elonga- 

 tions of the frontal bones of the skull, and the frontal sinuses, which 

 are the larger of the air spaces of the head, are prolonged into the 

 horn cores. "When a cow is sick, if the horns are hot it is an evi- 



