DISEASE IN GENERAL 189 



the organ. Too much dry, highly nutritious food will clog up the 

 digestive canal causing constipation and torpidity of the liver and 

 other organs. Overfeeding combined with lack of exercise may 

 not only affect the processes of digestion and absorption, but also 

 bring about a condition of plethora by surcharging the blood with 

 nutrients that the body is incapable of taking care of. In the 

 horse in such cases an attack of azoturia occurs when the animal 

 is put to work ; in the cow that is a heavy milker the udder becomes 

 congested; in sheep a peculiar form of apoplexy that is usually 

 fatal occurs. Insufficient food causes lack of nourishment, with 

 loss of strength, weight, and resistive power to disease. During 

 the growing period if not enough food is provided the young 

 animal's growth is retarded, often to such an extent that even 

 in later months on full feed it is prevented from fully developing. 

 A ration that is too laxative will produce flaccidity of the whole 

 system and a general lack of vigor. When the ration is spoiled, 

 or of a nature that ferments easily, large amounts of gases form 

 and if the natural outlets are closed or unable to take care of the 

 excess, bloating and other digestive disorders occur. Moldy 

 fodder has caused abortion in mares, and forage poisoning in 

 horses and cattle. Skimmed milk from tubercular cows may 

 contain the germs of tuberculosis and has been known to be the 

 medium through which hogs have acquired the disease. 



(5) Water at the wrong time or at too long intervals may be 

 harmful and cause digestive disturbances. Too little water gives 

 insufficient fluidity to the food mass and leads to constipation. 

 Animals deprived of water for a long time lose their appetite for 

 solid food, and often develop a persistent diarrhea when water is 

 again provided. Water from a contaminated source has been 

 found to be the origin of some outbreaks of disease, particularly 



.those of a parasitic nature. 



(6) Work plays a part in acquiring disease. In man the name 

 occupational diseases is given. to those that occur in persons 

 engaged in a particular kind of work. In animals such a division 

 is unnecessary. When young horses are worked too hard before 

 their bones are matured they may sooner or later develop unsound- 

 nesses. Draft horses used for years on the pavements of city 

 streets acquire a disposition to certain forms of lameness. When 

 animals are put to work immediately after a full feed an attack 

 of colic is apt to result. Excessive work loads the body with 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



