512 DISEASES OF THE UDDER AND TEATS IN COWS. 
of a pea. They appear to occupy some part of the cavity of 
the teat; and as if they were formed within or on its lining 
membrane, and in some cases as if they were pedunculated, 
and slightly moveable. In other cases the centre of the tube, 
in various degrees, seems indurated and closed up, and has a 
corded feel ; and in my neighbourhood, as I before stated, 
this obstruction goes by the name of being “ thunked” (from 
like a thong, I fancy). 
In the first instance the milk will sometimes gradually 
pass below the obstruction and accumulate in the lower part 
of the teat, but as soon as it is removed no more can be ob- 
tained until it accumulates again. Sometimes the obstruc- 
tion is not so great, but what the milk can, with great 
difficulty and patience, be removed entirely from the udder, 
but in other cases it too frequently happens that the sides of 
the tube have united together, and completely obliterated 
the passage so as to admit the milk to pass, and of course 
the quarter will be useless, and the retention of the milk will 
very likely bring on mammitis. 
Mr. W. C. Sibbald, veterinary surgeon, Biggleswade, in 
his Prize Essay, and inserted in the c Journal of the Royal 
Agricultural Society,’ says that, “ not unfrequently the flow of 
the milk through one or more of the teats is obstructed by a 
small moveable tumour or tumours, about the size of peas, 
descending into the passage. A small metallic probe should 
be passed up the teat, which will push them back into the 
udder, and they will often remain there without causing any 
further inconvenience,” Now, in these cases, the tumours 
must have been greatly pedunculated to admit of their being 
forced into the udder, or they must have been lacteal calculi. 
I cannot say that I ever met with a case in point, but the 
observation is well worth our notice. 
It is very extraordinary that in many of these diseases of 
the teats, the cows are perfectly well when they are “ loosed 
dry” and the obstruction is only discovered after calving. 
Now the point is, what is the cause of the disease ? I have 
often thought that it is sometimes produced in the act of the 
animal lying down, the hoof pressing upon the teat, thus 
producing inflammation and effusion on the lining membrane. 
I have been induced to think so from having seen several 
cases where the teat has been actually cut, and I could not 
account for it in any other way, the hoof being at the time 
very hard, and its edges almost as sharp as a knife. 
In many cases, most probably, it is produced by inflamma- 
tion being set up in the parts in consequence of the retention 
of the milk on loosing them dry, but no matter what is the 
