324 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



calf in sucking. Some cows are peculiarly subject to sore teats. The 

 fissures when neglected in the early stage of formation become deep, 

 very painful, often bleeding at the slightest touch, and cause the 

 animal to become a kicker when milked in that condition. Occasion- 

 ally the lower portions of the legs become irritated and chapped when 

 cattle are fed in a muddy or wet yard in winter, or if they are com- 

 pelled to wade through water in frosty weather. Another form of 

 erythema occurs in young cattle highly fed and closely stabled for a 

 long winter. The erythema appears in patches, and as it is most 

 common near the end of the winter it is known as the "spring erup- 

 tion" or "spring itch." 



Treatment. — In ordinary cases of erythema the removal of the cause 

 and the application of benzoated oxide of zinc ointment, carbolized 

 cosmollne, or a mixture of creolin, 1 ounce to a pint of water, applied 

 a few times, will restore the skin to a healthy condition. 



When there are fissures the zinc ointment is the best. If at the 

 teats, a milk siphon (PI. XXIV, fig. 4) should be used instead of 

 milking by hand, and the calf, if there is one suckled, should be taken 

 away. When the calf's mouth is affected it should be fed by hand. 

 When the legs are irritated or chapped, dry stabling for a few days 

 and the application of tar ointment will soon heal them. 



URTICARIA (NETTLE RASH, OR SURFEIT). 



This is a mild inflammatory affection of the skin, characterized by 

 sudden development of patches of various sizes, from that of a nickel 

 to one as large as the hand. The patches of raised skin are marked 

 by an abrupt border and are irregular in form. All the swelling may 

 disappear in a few hours, or it may go away in one place and reappear 

 on another part of the body. It is always accompanied by a great 

 desire to rub the affected part. In its simplest type, as just described, 

 it is never followed by any serous exudation or eruptions, unless the 

 surface of the skin becomes abraded from scratching or rubbing. 



Causes. — Derangements of the digestive organs are the most com- 

 mon causes, such as overloading the stomach when the animal is 

 turned out to graze in the spring, certain constituents of food, and 

 high feeding among fattening stock. When the kidneys are func- 

 tionally deranged, urticaria may appear. Spinal irritation and other 

 nervous affections may cause it. The disease consists in a paralysis 

 of the nerve ends that control the volume of the capillary vessels in 

 certain areas of skin, thus permitting the vessels to expand, their 

 contents in part to exude, and thus produce a soft, circumscribed 

 swelling. 



Treatment. —Administer a full dose of Epsom salts. Give soft, easily 

 digested food, and wash the affected parts with a solution of' bicar- 

 bonate of soda— common baking soda— 8 ounces to the gallon of water 

 twice a day, or diluted glycerin may be applied to the skin. If it 



