AMONG CATTLE IN IRELAND IN 1842. 
581 
death, there was no acceleration of the breathing, although the 
animals had been ill for many days, and, when dissected, were 
found to have almost the entire structure of their lungs disor- 
ganized, and also a quantity of fluid in their chests. 
There are some symptoms frequently present, but by no means 
always so. Of such are cough, shivering, horns and feet alter- 
nately hot and cold, grinding of the teeth, moaning from pain, and 
a great disinclination to move. The principal seat of disease 
being in the lungs leads many to suppose that a cough must ne- 
cessarily accompany it. Such, however, is by no means the case. 
Many animals go through all the different stages, dying within 
the variable space of twelve hours to three weeks, without ever 
being heard to cough ; but in the majority of instances cough 
is present. 
Never within the memory of man have cattle been found to 
cough so much as within the last twelve months. In many 
parts of Ireland, where large herds are kept, as many as eight 
out of every ten animals are affected with coughs. 
All the glaziers with whom I have had conversation on this 
subject appear not to attach any importance to their stock hav- 
ing coughs. They say, “ every animal is coughing ; we have 
some that have had coughs all the year round, yet they continue 
to feed well.” This is certainly “ bagging the question” to the 
fullest extent. In entertaining such doctrines they sadly injure 
themselves in a pecuniary point of view. A cough is generally 
consequent on an inflamed state of the mucous membrane lining 
the air-tubes and cells of the lungs. This membrane being the 
principal seat of the present distemper, is rendered highly predis- 
posed to its attack by its being already in a diseased state. The 
original inflammation or irritation producing the cough requires 
only to be rendered a little more intense, in order to assume all 
the essential characters of the epizootic disease of the present 
season. Cattle affected with cough should never be purchased 
either for grazing” or “ store.” 
On the due performance of respiration depends the blood being 
properly prepared to fulfil its functions of furnishing materials for 
the growth and nutrition of the animal frame. The lungs being 
the organs by which the blood is prepared for this purpose, the 
derangement of them tends more to injure the animal’s constitu- 
tion than disease of almost any other part, and, therefore, di- 
minishes in a direct ratio to the extent of disease, the tendency of 
the animal to accumulate “ condition” — the grand and indeed 
almost the only desideratum in cattle fed for either the home 
markets or export. I wish it to be understood that I do not 
assert that no animals having a cough will fatten. I merely, 
VOL. XV. 4 1 
