253 
CONSULTATIONS, NO. XXI. 
endeavoured to get her up to milk her, but she seemed unable to 
rise. They then tried to get her to drink, but she would not; so 
they drenched her with five or six bottles of warm water-gruel as 
carefully as they could, and without touching the tongue. 
It was near 9 a.m. when I saw her, still lying as described. 
No pulse was to be felt; she was breathing rather quickly, and 
looked very languid. I sent for the cow doctor, but before he 
came and had time to give her any thing, she was dead. She 
died very quietly, and without a struggle or a groan, about 11 a.m. 
On being opened and very carefully examined, nothing wrong 
could be seen with the heart, liver, kidneys, stomachs, or bowels ; 
but, on opening the lungs, I found in the tubes branching off 
from the windpipe above twenty small pieces of hay and straw, 
about half an inch in length, the hull or husk of some oats, and a 
small piece of turnip, about the size of a flattened pea, with a 
little white matter, which, on washing and drying, 1 think has 
every appearance of oatmeal, or the sediment of meal and water. 
I now had no doubt that the substances found in the lungs 
were the cause of death ; but how did they get there ? — that is 
the difficulty. Could the bits of hay, straw, &c. have been lying 
in the mouth and carried down the windpipe by a small quantity 
of the gruel, although given with care, always from a bottle, and 
the tongue not touched ? or could they get there by any other 
means ? I could send you the bits of straw, &c,, taken from the 
lungs, in a letter, if you wished to see them. The mealy matter 
might, perhaps, proceed from a drink or food which the cow got 
the day before she died — if you think it possible for such things 
to get to the lungs of a living cow without human interference. 
Had the cow been quite well until she got the gruel in the morn- 
ing, I should, of course, suppose that there could be no doubt 
about it ; but when you think on the fact that she refused her 
fodder at supper-time, was lying on her belly in the morning, 
and either could not or would not rise to be milked, or drink — 
all of which took place before any gruel was put into her, and 
that she allowed it to be given while lying and without offering 
any resistance — -it is difficult to account for ; neither does it seem 
very likely that many bits of hay or straw should be lying in the 
mouth so as to be carried down the windpipe by any of the gruel. 
Would you have the kindness to favour me with your candid 
opinion of the case, and also to inform me what you consider 
the safest method of putting liquid into cattle ? 
I am, Sir, &c. 
