FARCY IN THE OX. 
563 
partly re-absorbed, and the remaining enlargement assumes a 
harder character. In other cases, small encysted abscesses are 
formed. Oftenest, however, the induration of the cord super- 
venes without any manifest fluctuation. If an incision is then 
made along the cord, nothing is found but a lardaceous tissue, 
very adherent to the skin, or, rather, continuous with it, and 
nothing escapes but a few drops of blood. The animal always 
expresses some pain when these incisions are made. 
The circumscribed tumours, much less frequent than the cords, 
usually appear about the knee, on the external face of the fore- 
arm, and on the neck. Like the cords, they develop themselves 
slowly and insensibly — they remain a long time without changing 
their form or character, and they rarely form themselves into 
abscesses. If they are cut into, nothing is found in them but 
a lardaceous tissue, white or grey, and rarely homogeneous. 
Several cords often surround this tumour, with one of the ex- 
tremities losing itself in the mass of the tumour. This is pecu- 
liarly remarkable about the extremities. These tumours ulti- 
mately contain one or more small encysted purulent abscesses. 
The progress of the disease is very slow. It may exist during 
twelve or eighteen months, or more, without the health of the 
animal being materially changed. Neither the cords nor the 
tumours necessarily produce lameness ; but animals that work, 
and particularly the limbs which are thus affected, speedily tire. 
Cows may have both cords and farcy tumours for a considerable 
time, without the secretion of milk being in the least affected. 
These animals, however, rarely fatten, and their owners, sooner 
or later, destroy them; and especially, when a loss of flesh 
begins to be apparent, and which will go on notwithstanding all 
they do to prevent it. I have never seen any of these cattle 
die in consequence of farcy ; but when this wasting is confirmed, 
they are invariably sold to the butcher. 
The causes of this farcy are difficult to determine. I have 
rarely had occasion to suspect that the peculiar locality had any 
thing to do with it ; but it is, perhaps, more frequent in low and 
humid than in more elevated and drier situations : neither am I 
able to state whether it is an hereditary disease. It can scarcely 
be considered as contagious, when it is in comparatively a few 
cases only that it produces that suppurative matter by means of 
which the contagion could be communicated. 
As in the same disease in the horse, the treatment of farcy is 
not often successful. Discutients have little or no effect on farcy 
cords and tumours ; and scarifications only tend to the greater 
enlargement of both of them. Incisions into the fluctuating 
cords certainly permit the concrete pus which they contain to 
