274 The Diseases of Animals 
slowly than in horses, and the symptoms are not so 
well marked. There is abdominal pain, not so severe 
as in the horse. It is marked by persistent constipation 
and a rise of temperature to 105° or 106° F. It is 
usually fatal in eattle. The treatment is the same 
as for horses, except that the doses for adult cattle 
should be half as much again. 
DIARRHEA, SCOURING 
Diarrhea is usually an effort of nature to remove 
some irritant from the bowels. It is one of the most 
common diseases of domestic animals. There are 
frequent movements of the bowels, and discharges are 
more thin and watery than normal, and are often char- 
acterized by a very disagreeable odor. There may be a 
severe straining, associated with the passing of a small 
amount of dung. 
Diarrhea may be caused by bad food, by overfeed- 
ing, by indigestible food or by a sudden change of food. 
Bolting the food without thorough mastication, or lack 
of proper digestive juices, may cause the disease. The 
presence of bacteria in decomposing food, especially 
in milk fed to young animals, is a common cause, as 
well as the overloading of the stomach by infrequent 
feedings and too large amounts of food given at a 
time. Some horses are predisposed to diarrhea, espe- 
cially when driving on the road. Such horses are 
called “slab-sided ” or “washy” by horsemen. Usually 
their ribs are not well “sprung;” they have not a round, 
full “barrel.” There is a common belief that horses 
