685 
ON THE PRESENT EPIDEMIC AMONG CATTLE. 
Bj/ Mr. H. H utchinson, East Retford. 
The epidemic, or as it is more properly named by Mr. J. 
Barlow, the pleuro-pneumonic epizootic, having made its appear- 
ance in this neighbourhood, and in many instances proved fatal, 
I have hastily thrown together a few remarks thereon, which, 
should you deem them worthy to occupy a page of your valuable 
Journal, I shall feel amply repaid. There is one farm on which 
I have had a full opportunity of watching the disease in all its 
different stages. It is occupied by Mr. Wood, of Hodsack, and 
is a light and sandy soil, bounded on the north-east side by some 
low meadows, and, at the time of the disease first making its 
appearance, there had been a great deal of rainy and cold weather. 
The first symptoms : — Constant hoozing — great irritability of 
the trachea, and pain upon pressure from the larynx to the 
sternum. The eyes appear dull and sunken — the muzzle is pro- 
truded, yet lower than usual — they separate themselves from 
their companions — continue to graze, but in an indolent manner — 
the secretion of milk isdiminished and sometimes totally stopped— 
the coat looks unhealthy. The respiration is increased — the heav- 
ing at the flank is very considerable — after coughing the patient 
appears to suffer considerable pain. The pulse is from 60 to 70 
per minute, but small and feeble — the ears and extremities are 
cold — the bowels in their usual state. 
From the third to the eighth day the animal generally be- 
comes worse — the breathing is more difficult — the respiration in- 
creased — the flanks beat like those of a broken-winded horse — the 
hoozing becomes more frequent, yet weaker — they begin to moan 
— there is disinclination to move — the bowels become daily more 
and more relaxed, and end in violent purging — there is rapid ab- 
sorption of the muscles, with great prostration of strength. Should 
the animal, after the third day, appear to rally, it is marked by 
the cough becoming stronger — his lying down more frequent — his 
head becoming more elevated — his looking somewhat anxiously 
round when visited, and gradually seeming inclined to feed", 
although a very little satisfies him. He also frequently urines. 
Treatment . — In the first stages I have found bleeding give great 
relief, from six to twelve pounds of blood being abstracted. In 
some cases, I repeat the bleeding on the following morning, but 
in no case have I found them to require or able to bear a third 
bleeding, debility being a strong characteristic throughout the 
whole of this disease, and so much so, that I have generally found 
vol. xvi. 4 z 
