Diseased Teeth 249 
cloth. The solution of a tablespoonful of alum dis- 
solved in a pint of water is also excellent. 
Practically all cases make a good recovery if they 
are cared for and carefully fed. ‘The greatest loss is 
due to the falling away in flesh. Milk from affected 
cows should not be used for human food, nor fed to 
calves. This disorder is not the contagious foot-and- 
mouth disease of Europe, an account of which will be 
found in Chapter XVI. 
DISEASED AND ABNORMAL TEETH 
All domestie animals are subject to diseases of the 
teeth, but horses are most frequently affected. Com- 
mon difficulties are decayed and ulverated teeth; while 
split or broken, and irrégular or projecting teeth cause 
much trouble. In horses and cattle, there is a constant 
wearing away of the molars, or “grinders.” This keeps 
the edges sharp so the food can be ground properly. 
If, for any reason, a tooth does not come into proper 
contact with its opposite, there is nothing to wear it 
away. Asaresult, it grows out long, and often strikes 
and lacerates the soft tissues of the opposite jaw (Fig. 
48). This causes severe pain and interferes seriously with 
the animal’s eating. When the front teeth, or incisors, 
of horses do not come evenly together, it will be found 
that the lower jaw is drawn too far back. This causes 
the baek parts of the upper incisors to be worn away 
and the frout edges to shut over the lower ones, like 
a parrot’s bill; hence the term, “ parrot-month.” Fig. 47. 
The symptoms of diseased teeth are: difficulty in chew- 
