ON RED-WATER IN CATTLE. 
87 
the attack, the cow feeds almost as well as usual, ruminating a 
little ; but the milk is diminished in quantity, and bad in colour 
and taste. When the appetite fails, it is generally the food most 
desired in health that is first rejected, such as turnips or potatoes. 
During this stage, hay or sweet oat straw will be preferred, but 
eaten in very small quantities and in a careless manner. The 
urine is ejected frequently with considerable force, has a high 
temperature, and is gradually getting darker in colour. The animal 
gets exceedingly weak, the back is bowed, and the pulse quick. 
I have felt it from 75 to 83, very irregular, often feeble, scarcely 
to be felt at the jaw — tender loins, and the animal yielding under 
pressure. As the disease advances, the head becomes pendulous 
— the mouth supported on the crib — the ears cold — great disinclina- 
tion to move, or if down unable to rise. Of course, these symptoms 
are not always present ; but generally the majority of them are. 
They increase in intensity for a period of from four to nine days, 
when death closes the scene. 
Post-mortem appearances. — The rectum generally contains 
indurated faeces, often covered with dark-coloured slime — the liver 
is darker in colour than usual — its structure is tender — the gall- 
bladder full of thick bile, black in colour, and aptly compared to 
molasses. Sometimes there is an appearance of oil mixed with 
and covering it. The thoracic viscera are often tolerably healthy ; 
but at times inflamed, and generally has the same morbid colour 
common to the abdominal viscera. Commonly the contents of the 
lacteals and thoracic duct are found of a dirty red or brown colour. 
Thus the whole of the secretions may be said to present more or less 
of a morbid appearance — the third stomach obstructed, the contents 
hard, matted, and often apparently not properly masticated, the kid- 
neys, ureters, bladder very dark in colour; in the majority of 
cases a quantity of partially putrid fluid in the uterus, which of 
itself is always inflamed more or less, but generally in patches. 
CAUSES OF RED-WATER. 
Most of those who have written on this disease attribute its 
production to the poisonous qualities of particular plants. To a 
certain degree this is true ; but as many, or most, of the cases that 
occur do so during the early part of spring, and comparatively few 
in summer, we must look for other causes than any that arise from 
grazing, more especially as the best medical authorities that have 
noticed the subject inform us “ that the most acrid ” (or at least 
some of the most acrid) “ plants our pastures produce are perfectly 
harmless when dried,” I am inclined to think that it depends more 
on the quality of the food in general than on any particular plant 
