30 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



Symptoms. -Animals which vomit are frequently in poor condition. 

 After having eaten tranquilly for some time the animal suddenly 

 becomes uneasy, arches the back, stretches the neck and head, and 

 then suddenly ejects 10 or 12 pounds of the contents of the rumen. 

 After having done this the uneasiness subsides, and in a short time 

 the animal resumes eating as if nothing had happened. 



Cause.— The cause of this disordered state of the digestive system 

 in cattle is usually obscure, but has in some cases been traced to a 

 partial closure of the opening into the second stomach or to a disten- 

 tion of the esophagus. It has been found to occur when there was 

 cancerous disease of the fourth stomach, and experimentally it has 

 been shown that a suspension of digestion or great derangement of 

 the fourth stomach produces considerable nervous disorder of the 

 rumen and sometimes vomiting or attempt to vomit. 



Treatment.— Easily digested food and plenty of water should be 

 given. Fear and excitement, chasing, or hurrying animals after eat- 

 ing heartily are apt to bring on this result. In order to overcome 

 irritation which may produce vomiting, the following draft should be 

 given: Hydrate of chloral, half an ounce; whisky, 8 ounces; water, 

 1 pint. The dose must be repeated when the condition of the animal 

 seems to require it. As a rule, treatment is not successful. 



DEPRAVED APPETITE (PICA). 



Cattle suffering from this disease have a capricious and variable 

 appetite as regards their ordinary food, but evince a strong desire to 

 lick and eat substances for which healthy cattle show no inclination. 

 Alkaline and saline-tasting substances are especially attractive to 

 cattle having a depraved appetite, and they frequently lick lime, earth, 

 coal, gravel, and even the dung of other cattle. Cows in calf and 

 young cattle are especially liable to develop these symptoms. Ani- 

 mals affected in this way lose condition, their coat is staring, gait 

 slow, and, small vesicles containing yellow liquid form under the 

 tongue; the milk given by such cows is thin and watery. Such ani- 

 mals become restless and uneasy, as is indicated by frequent bellow- 

 ing. The disease may last for months, the animal ultimately dying 

 emaciated and exhausted. Depraved appetite frequently precedes the 

 condition in which the bones of cattle become brittle and fracture 

 easily, which is known as osteomalacia. 



Causes. — It is generally believed, from the fact that this disease is 

 largely one of regions, that some condition of the soil and water and 

 of the local vegetation is responsible for it. It is more prevalent some 

 years than others and is most common in old countries, where the soil 

 is more or less depleted. Cattle pastured on low, swampy land become 

 predisposed to it. It occasionally happens, however, that one indi- 



