Diseases occurring after Parturition in Cows arid Sheep. 557 



scarcely deviating from the ordinary and natural pulse ; the horns, 

 extremities, and surface of the body are cool, the nose moist, no 

 appearance of inflammation about the udder, but the secretion of 

 milk is much diminished ; the animal has no appetite, and rumi- 

 nation is suspended ; the shape is open and flabby, and there is 

 frequently a discharge of white tenacious mucus proceeding from 

 it; the pupils of the eyes are dilated, the eyeball looking blue 

 and glassy ; in a short time the head will be turned backwards, 

 the nose resting in the flank ; the horns, extremities, surface of 

 the bod}^ and udder, now become colder, and the animal passes 

 into a state of coma ; the breathing in some cases is heavy and 

 stertorous, in others there is no visible alteration ; the eyeballs 

 are now fixed, the finger may be passed round the inner surface 

 of the orbit without any sense of feeling being manifested ; 

 eructations of fetid gas will rapidly succeed each other up the 

 gullet ; possibly the paunch will be distended with this gas, con- 

 stituting hoove; the number of pulsations remains the same, but 

 the force is much diminished, indeed sometimes the pulse can 

 hardly be felt; neither dung nor urine has been voided since she 

 fell ; she never changes her position, but if you raise her head it 

 falls helplessly upon her side, and thus gradually life passes 

 away, generally in about twenty-four hours from the commence- 

 ment of the attack. In other cases the symptoms, as soon as the 

 beast has fallen, are more violent ; the pulse ranges from 70 to 

 80 beats per minute, the breathing is quickened, the horns are 

 hot, the nasal pad dry, the udder is hard and hot, she froths at 

 the mouth, moans, and makes desperate but ineffectual struggles 

 to rise, no feculent matter or urine is evacuated, the pulse 

 increases in frequency, but is less distinctly to be felt, the respira- 

 tions are increased to perhaps 40 in the minute, and in seven or 

 eight hours the state of coma before adverted to supervenes, 

 death rapidly following. There is yet another state known 

 under the name of dropping after calving ; in these cases the 

 animal falls about the second or third day ; she can raise herself 

 upon her fore limbs (in fact some of them will sit up like a dog- 

 upon their haunches), but she cannot make any effort with her 

 hind limbs, yet the appetite continues good, rumination is accom- 

 plished, the secretion of milk is plentiful, and the evacuations are 

 natural ; in this state she may remain from two to five days, or 

 even longer, and at length rise upon her legs and completely 

 recover. 



It is a notable fact, that upon making an examination of the 

 bodies and viscera of some animals that have died from this dis- 

 ease, so trifling will be the deviations from a healthy appearance, 

 that it becomes a matter almost impossible for the examiner to 

 point out the immediate cause of death ; nevertheless there are 



