DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 231 



The economic value of the new treatment of milk fever is enormous. 

 The United States has over 16,000,000 milch cows. If we could 

 raise the quality of these by preserving and propagating the highest, 

 heaviest, and richest milkers, in place of losing the best by milk 

 fever, as in the past, and if we could thus secure an average increase 

 of 10 quarts a day, the proceeds at 1£ cents a quart would reach 

 $250,000,000 a year. 



PALSY AFTER CALVING (DROPPING AFTER CALVING). 



This consists in a more or less complete loss of control of the hind 

 limbs occurring after calving, and due either to low condition, weak- 

 ness, and exposure to cold or to injurious compression of the nerves 

 of the hind limbs by a large calf passing through the pelvis. Its 

 symptoms do not differ from those of palsy of the hind limbs, occur- 

 ring at other times, and it may be treated in the same way, excepting 

 so far as bruises of the vagina may demand special soothing treatment. 



CONGESTION OF THE UDDER (GARGET). 



In heavy milkers, before and just after calving, it is the rule that 

 the mammary gland is enlarged, hot, tense and tender, and that a 

 slight exudation or pasty swelling extends forward from the gland on 

 the lower surface of the abdomen. This physiological congestion is 

 looked upon as a matter of course, and disappears in two or three days 

 when the secretion of milk has been fully established. This breaking 

 up of the bag may be greatly hastened by the sucking of a hungry 

 calf and the kneading it gives the udder with its nose, by stripping 

 the glands clean thrice daily, and by active rubbing at each milking 

 with the palm of the hand, with or without lard or, better, with cam- 

 phorated ointment. 



The congestion may be at times aggravated 'by standing in a draft 

 of cold air or by neglect to milk for an entire day or more (overstock- 

 ing, hefting) with the view of making a great show of udder for pur- 

 poses of sale. In such cases the surface of the bag pits on pressure, 

 and the milk has a reddish tinge or even streaks of blood, or it is par- 

 tially or fully clotted and is drawn with difficulty, mixed, it may be, 

 with a yellowish serum (whey) which has separated from the casein. 

 This should be treated like the above, though it may sometimes 

 demand fomentations with warm water to ward off inflammation, and 

 it may be a week before the natural condition of the gland is restored. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE UDDER (SIMPLE MAMMITIS). 



Congestion may merge into active inflammation, or it may arise 

 direct, in connection with exposure to cold or wet, with standing in a 

 cold draft, with blows on the udder with clubs, stones, horns, or feet, 

 with injury from a sharp or cold stone, or the projecting edge of a 



