FIFTIETH ANNUAL CONVENTION 149 



If the unnatural condition is found to be acquired after 

 the milk is drawn, it is probably due to lack of cleanliness 

 at some stage of the handling of the milk. In this event, 

 efforts should be directed toward the disinfection of uten- 

 sils, and other sanitary measures. 



The prompt pasteurization of new milk at a tempera- 

 ture of 140° F. for 30 minutes should protect it from be- 

 coming viscous or assuming other undesirable properties or- 

 dinarily attributable to bacterial action. 



Milk Stone, or Calculus. 



Milk stone, or calculus, is a term loosely applied to 

 concretions in the udder. Some stones are formed by coag- 

 ulated casein and may be an indirect result of udder inflam- 

 mation, while others are simply accumulations of lime salts 

 from the milk, which sometimes may be distinguished by 

 the occasional discovery of gritty particles in the bottom of 

 the milk pail or on the strainer cloth. 



Treatment — After a prolonged, gentle massaging of 

 the teat extremity with an ointment containing 10 per cent 

 of the fluid extract of belladonna leaves, the concretions, if 

 not very large, may be passed with the aid of a sterile 

 spring teat dilator. The injection of a small quantity of 

 sterile olive oil into the teat may assist materially in the 

 removal of the obstructions. In case the stones can not be 

 removed in this way it may be necessary to remove them 

 by means of an opening in the side of the teat. This opera- 

 tion should not be undertaken by the inexperienced layman, 

 as the danger of seriously infecting the udder by insanitary 

 procedure can no,t be overestimated, as well as the extreme 

 likelihood of leaving a fistulous, leaky teat. Unless the con- 

 cretions are sufficiently large to constitute an obstruction, 

 their surgical removal, even by a veterinary surgeon, had 

 far better be postponed until the cow has been dried off. 



Agalactia, or Suppression of Milk. 



The disease known as agalactia, or suppression of milk, 

 is not infectious in cattle, as it is in sheep and goats. Nei- 

 ther is it so common. Occurring, as it usually does, at ca.lv- 



