106 Management of Aberdeen Angus Cattle. 
recovery does take place, the improvement begins and progresses 
rapidly after treatment has commenced; this, therefore, may be 
our guide, and if cases do not quickly respond to the treatment 
they should be sent to the butcher at once. In dealing with 
such cases I have tried several agents and several plans, but the 
one that has given me the best results is corrosive sublimate 
(bichloride of mercury), dissolved in warm water and applied 
as a vaginal douche. Of course it is an agent that requires 
extreme caution in its use, and when not required it should be 
kept under lock and key. It is now dispensed in the form 
of “ Antiseptic discs,” and by varying the quantity of water 
in which they are dissolved a solution of the desired strength 
may be easily prepared. The strength I have used has been 
from 1 to 3,000 up to 1 to 2,000. It is best to begin with the 
weaker solution, and to inject it into the vagina with a syringe 
or enema funnel ; it may be repeated after an interval of six 
or seven days, and with me cases that will recover never require 
more than three dressings. The cow must be tied up when the 
dressing is applied, as it brings on more or less severe straining. 
Cows that recover must not be served again till they have 
passed over two periods of regular oestrum, though three are 
to be preferred. In all these cases I am sure that it is wise to 
look upon the vaginal discharges as infectious ; they are un- 
doubtedly so in many of them. Cows with the slightest 
abnormal vaginal discharge should not be served, for in the first 
place service intensifies the diseased condition, and the bull 
himself is very likely to contract disease, which he will transmit 
to cows that he may afterwards be put to. I have known such 
cases, and the results have been most disastrous. Occasional 
cases of abortion, fast cleansings, and disease of the generative 
organs (both male and female) will occur. By no amount of 
foresight can they be prevented, but the serious troubles that 
follow in their wake may be much mitigated by watchful care 
and by always being on the look-out for signs of approaching 
trouble, and, when these are seen, by promptly adopting strict 
isolation and thorough disinfection. 
In some non-breeders there are no abnormal changes to be 
observed externally, and three months or more may elapse 
between periods of oestrum. These animals, after a fair but 
unsuccessful trial of changes of management and of bulls, should 
be sent to the butcher. No greater mistake can be made than 
to keep animals in the herd that are not regular breeders. 
Some of these doubtful ones take to wandering about the field, 
and to bellowing somewhat like a bull ; when this is the case 
the sooner they are sent to the butcher the better. 
