298 
]lEVIEW. —CATTLE LATHOLOGY. 
which pervade the membranes of the stomachs, shew the import¬ 
ance of these organs in the animal economy. M. Gelle, contrary 
to the opinion of most cattle pathologists, and contrary, we confess, 
to that which we have been accustomed to maintain, believes that 
the stomachs of these animals, so extensive and so complicated, 
are peculiarly susceptible of morbid impression. He says, that 
the great development of the stomachs of the didactyls—their mode 
of digestion, effected almost entirely in these organs—the little 
extent of the intestinal canal in them, and which appears to be 
simply an organ of absorption—the necessity of rumination, and 
the frequent interruption to which it is subject in their state of 
domesticity—the enormous quantity of food which these stomachs 
contain—the nature of that food, and the absurd mode of feeding, 
all these are powerful causes of disease in the digestive organs. 
We will not agitate this question at present, but give a somewhat 
rapid sketch of the Professor’s peculiar opinions. 
Meteorization of the Paunch. 
This disease consists in the sudden disengagement of gas in the 
rumen, considerably distending this stomach, pressing it against 
the diaphragm, and thus causing it to become a mechanical means 
of suffocation—always placing the animal in considerable danger, 
and, sometimes, producing sudden death. It is one of the cases 
of most common occurrence in veterinary practice, and is fre¬ 
quently complicated with other serious maladies. 
Its causes are numerous and varied, and it is of frequent occur¬ 
rence in proportion as the animal is removed from its natural state 
and habits. In the wild state of the ruminant—the wants of na¬ 
ture being freely supplied—this disease has never been recognized. 
It is comparatively rare where the animal is out at pasture during 
almost the whole of the year browsing at his leisure, but it is 
most prevalent where an artificial mode of feeding prevails. 
Trefoil, or lucern, or turnips, or, even luxuriant after-math, freshly 
cut for the stable, or eaten in the field, are the most frequent 
causes of hoove; and these kinds of food become more dangerous 
if they are damp, or covered with dew or white frost, or if they 
contain too much sap, as is generally the case when they are pre¬ 
maturely consumed. 
The tumefaction of the paunch has been attributed by some per¬ 
sons to the property which those plants possess of disengaging a 
considerable quantity of gas, or to the vaporization of the dew, or 
any other moisture which they contain, and this effected by the 
increased temperature in which they are placed. 
Any one of these causes may sufficiently account for the extrica¬ 
tion of aqueous or other gas, or more than one of them may be acting 
