222 Oattle Problems. 



tioii is "not epidemic in New York." Still there seems 

 to be a vague notion in some quarters that it is epidemic. 

 But the only thing in which there is any semblance of any 

 epidemic is, that extraordinary abortions occur in clusters 

 of cases, or in numbers of cows together at the same time. 

 Instances of from two to twenty cases have occured together, 

 and may again. The aborting cows, in such cases, fre- 

 quently reach their head over their pasture fences ; the un- 

 affected cows in adjoining pastures, in some cases, even in- 

 haling the expired breath of aborting cows without becom- 

 ing affected, showing clearly enough that there is no in- 

 fection, or epidemic in cases of this kind of abortion. In 

 fact this kind of abortion is not a disease, but results 

 from the engorgement and injury of the udder-supply 

 arteries. 



The reason and explanation of clusters, or groups of 

 cases occuring together is : the cows that abort together 

 are previously brought into the dairy herds together, or at 

 nearly the same time, and have their udder-supply arteries 

 engorged and relaxed to a nearly like extent, from nearly 

 a similar increase of feed and blood. This increase of 

 blood establishes a similar extent or degree of relaxation, 

 in the udder-supply arteries; which is the predisposing 

 cause, and reason of clusters or numbers of cows aborting 

 in groups or together, as frequently happens in new herds, 

 formed mainly of new cows. 



Some persons assign microscopic fungi in the tissues as 

 the cause of abortion ; but Dr. Dalton carefully examined 

 in special cases, without finding any such growths. But 

 as it clearly appears that the embryos die from starvation, 

 the fungoid theory is alluded to merely to show its inap- 

 plicability. 



The exemption of farms, herds, and localities, of small 

 or considerable extent, from the affection, is explained by 

 the circumstance of half, three-fourths, or some other pro- 



