134 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 



We are wholly in the dark concerning the cause of cow 

 pox. It arises spontaneously and attacks but once. In 

 many cases it is imparted by contagion, as when a person 

 milks a healthy cow after one affected with the pox. It 

 never appears as an epidemic, but is sometimes produced 

 by contagion from the malanders (grease) in horses. 



The cow pox is not only a very harmless, but a very in- 

 significant disease. The accomjjanying slight fever and 

 loss of appetite require no treatment, because they are of 

 no consequence and disappear after a few days, when all 

 the organs of the body again resume their natural functions. 

 Nothing can be done to the udder, because the eruption can 

 be neither accelerated nor retarded. It is therefore best 

 not to interfere. All that can be done is to avoid rough 

 handling and irritating external influences. The udder 

 must be milked frequently (if this can be done without 

 irritating the teats too much), very gently and with oiled 

 hands. If this cannot be done on account of the number 

 of tumors, and if the udder is very much swollen and in- 

 flamed, the animal should receive very scanty green food, 

 and should be purged with half a pound or a pound of 

 glauber salts. It is well to keep the patient warm and 

 covered with a blanket. As soon as the tumors begin to 

 dry up and change to scab, the fever disappears and the 

 appetite and rumination (chewing the cud) return. No- 

 thing can then be done but to cover the scabs with oil or 

 cream. 



If from improper treatment or other causes the tumors 

 have passed into ulcers secreting an offensive liquid, and 

 refuse to heal or cicatrize, an external treatment is neces- 

 sary. The part should be washed several times a day with 

 a solution of one ounce of alum or chloride of lime in a 

 quart of cold water, or with a decoction of two ounces of 

 oak or willow bark in a quart of water. If the udder is 



