THE CULTIVATOR. 
fifteen years, during which time no indisposition has 
appeared among them. 
Mild fever, pantas or paretaria. Cattle appear 
sometimes affected with heat, redness of the nos¬ 
trils and eyelids; they refuse food, are dull, evacu¬ 
ate stale with difficulty, and the urine is high coloured. 
These symptoms are often aggravated every other day, 
giving it the appearance of an intermitting affection. 
The complaint is often brought on by over driving in 
very hot weather, occasionally by pushing their fatten¬ 
ing process too fast. If there be no appearance of ma¬ 
lignancy, and the heaving be considerable, bleed, and 
give half an ounce of nitre, night and morning; but un¬ 
less the weather be cold, do not house the animal. 
Inflammatory fever, is called, among farriers, cow-leech- 
ers, and graziers, by the various names of black-quarter, 
joint felon, quarter-evil, quarter ill, showing of blood, 
joint-murrain, striking-in of the blood, &c. Various 
causes may bring this on. It is sometimes epidemic, 
and at others it seems occasioned by a sudden change 
from low to very full keep. Over driving has brought 
it on. No age is exempt from it, but the young oftener 
have it than the mature. The inflammatory stage con¬ 
tinues but a few days, and shows itself by a dull heavy 
countenance, red eye and eyelids: the nostrils are also 
red, and a slight mucus flows from them. The pulse is 
peculiarly quick; the animal is sometimes stupid, at 
others watchful; particularly at first, and sometimes 
irritable. - The appetite is usually entirely lost at the 
end of the second day, and the dung and urine either 
stop altogether, or the one is hard and the other red. 
About the third day a critical deposite takes place, 
which terminates the inflammatory action: and it is to the 
various parts to which this occurs, that the disease re¬ 
ceives its various names. The deposite is, however, 
sometimes universal, in the form of a bloody suffusion 
throughout the whole skin. In others, swellings form 
on the joints, or on the back or belly; and in fact, no 
part is exempt from their attack. Sometimes the ani¬ 
mal swells generally or partially, and the air being dif¬ 
fused under the skin, crackles to the feel. After any of 
these appearances have come on, the disease assumes a 
very malignant type, and is highly contagious. 
Treatment of inflammatory fever. Before the critical 
abscesses form, or at the very outset of the disease, bleed 
liberally, and purge also. Give likewise a fever drink. 
(1.) If, however, the disease be not attended to in this 
early stage, carefully abstain from bleeding, or even 
purging; but instead, throw up clysters of warm water 
and salt to empty the bowels; give salt mashes. Green 
meat should be allowed, and a very cool shelter should 
be provided. As medicine, three doses are necessary, 
every day, of the malignant epidemic fever drink; (2) 
and if the weather be warm enough to allow it, two or 
three hours turning out in the field in a day is proper. 
It may be added that four drachms of muriatic acid in 
three pints of oak bark decoction, given twice a day, 
has proved useful. The swellings themselves may be 
washed with warm vinegar, both before and after they 
burst. 
Catarrh or influenzavsx cattle, also known by the name 
of felon, is only a more mild form of the next disease. 
Even in this mild form it is sometimes epidemic, or pre¬ 
valent among numbers, or endemical by being local. 
Very stormy wet weather, changing frequently, and 
greatly also in its temperature, are common causes. 
We have seen it brought on by change of food from 
good to bad, and from too close pasturage. It first ap¬ 
peal’s by a defluxion from the nose; the nostrils and 
eyelids are red ; the animal heaves, is tucked up in the 
flanks, and on the third day he loses the cud. There is 
a distressing and painful cough, and not unfrequently 
a sore throat also, in which case the beast almost in¬ 
variably holds down his head. 
The treatment may in some cases be cut very short, 
by giving, as soon as the attack takes place, sweet spi¬ 
rits of nitre, or when not at hand, spirit of hartshorn, 
an ounce, in a pint of sound ale [or other liquid.] After 
the running has come on, or as soon as the weakness 
has become considerable, give night and morning the 
fever drink (1) in a mash or drink. Most mashes, when 
the weakness is great, are proper. Bleeding only the 
first two days, carefully sheltering, but in an open airy 
place, and littering well up. 
The malignant epidemic influenza is popularly called 
the murrain or pest; and has at various times made 
terrible havoc among cattle. Ancient history affords 
ample proof of its long existence; and by accounts 
handed down, it does not seem to have varied in its 
type materially. In 1757, it visited Britain, producing 
extreme fatality among our kine. From 1710 to 1714 it 
continued to rage on the continent with unabated fury. 
The years 1730 and 1731, and from 1744 to 1746, wit¬ 
nessed its attack, and produced many written descrip¬ 
tions of it. The British visitation of the malady in 
1757, elicited an excellent work from the pen of Dr. 
Layard, which was afterwards translated into several 
languages. 
Dissections of those that have died of this disease, 
according to Sauvages, have showen marks of a great in¬ 
flammation, and of a great putrid tendency; but the solid 
parts seldom run into gangrene. The fluid secretions, 
however, always were sufficiently dissolved and broken 
down by putridity The paunch, he says, was usually 
filled with undigested matter, and the other stomachs 
highly inflamed. The gall bladder was also commonly 1 
distended with acrid, thick, brown bile. Goelich, who 
likewise dissected these subjects, describes the gall as 
particularly profuse and intolerably fceted. According 
to him, the whole alimentary canal, from the mouth to 
the anus, was excoriated. Gawnola describes the mur¬ 
rain as accompanied with pustulous sores; and so great 
was the putrid tendency, that even the milk, before it 
dried up, which it generally did the fourth day, became 
putrid. 
Symptoms of the murrain. Dr. Layard described it as 
commencing by a difficulty of swallowing, and itching 
of the ears, shaking of the head, with excessive weak¬ 
ness and staggering gait; which occasioned a continued 
desire to lie down. A sanious foetid discharge invaria¬ 
bly appeared from the nostrils, and eyes also. The 
cough was frequent and urgent. Fever exambating, 
particularly at night, when it usually produced quick¬ 
ened pulse. There was a constant scouring of green 
foetid dung, after the first two days, which tainted every¬ 
thing around: even the breath, perspiration aDd urine 
were highly foetid. Little tumors, or biles, were com¬ 
monly felt under the skin; and, if about the seventh or 
ninth day these eruptions became larger, boils and bu¬ 
boes appeared with a lessened discharge of faeces, they 
proved critical, and the animal often recovered ; but if, 
on the contrary, the scouring continued, and the breath 
became cold, and the mouth dark in colour, he informs 
us, mortality followed. Sauvage describes the murrain 
as showing itself by trembling, cold shivers, nose exco¬ 
riated with an acrid discharge from it, purging often the 
first two days, but previous to which there was often 
costiveness. Great tenderness about the spine and with¬ 
ers vvas also a characteristic, with emphysema, or a 
blowing up of the skin by the air discharged under¬ 
neath it. 
Treatment of the murrain. In the early stages, all emi¬ 
nent authors recommend bleeding; but which should 
not only be confined to the very early periods, as to the 
first two ,days, but also to such subjects as by their 
previous health and condition can bear it. The animals 
should be placed in an open airy place; the litter should 
be frequently removed; and the place itself should be 
fumigated with the preventive fumigation (3.) It has 
been recommended to burn green boughs as a substitute; 
even charcoal fires, occasionally carried round the place, 
would be useful. Dr. Layard advised the body to be 
washed with aromatic herbs in water; but vinegar 
would have been better. In early stages, saline purga¬ 
tives, as from ten to twenty ounces of Epsom salts, are 
to be invariably used. If the scourings have already 
come on, still, however, purge, but with only half the 
quantity; an artificial purge will carry off the morbid 
bile; and if excessive weakness do not come on, the 
same may be advantageously repeated. Setons are also 
recommended in the dewlap. When abscesses appear, 
they may be opened, and their contents discharged, 
washing the wound with brandy or vinegar, if putrid 
sloughing takes place. The emphysematous swellings, 
or cracklings, may also be opened, and the air discharg¬ 
ed. The other essentials of medical treatment, as de¬ 
tailed for the preceding disease, is here applicable in 
every particular. When recovery takes place, it is usu¬ 
ally a very slow process, and requires care to prevent 
other diseases supervening. The animals should con¬ 
tinue to be housed, and neither exposed to sun or wind 
for some time, and the feeding should be nutritious. 
The prevention of the murrain, or the prevention of 
its spreading, in many respects is even more important 
than its medical treatment. When it has already ap¬ 
peared, all the out buildings, but particularly the ox 
lodges or stalls, should be daily fumigated with the pre¬ 
ventive fumigation (3); and even the whole of the in¬ 
fected- districts should have frequent fires of green wood 
made in the open air, and every such district should be 
put under a rigorous quarantine. The cattle on every 
farm should be examined three or four times every day, 
and the moment one is found to droop, he should be re¬ 
moved to a distance from any of the others. In very 
bad weather, while the disease is prevalent, the healthy 
cattle should be housed, and well fed; and their pas¬ 
ture should also be changed. The bodies of those 
which die of the disease should be buried with their 
skins on, very deep in the earth, and quick-lime should 
be strewed over them. 
The hove or blown in cattle is also an inflammatory 
affection of the paunch, ending in paralysis and rupture 
of its substance. From the frequency of its occurrence, 
it has become a subject of investigation with almost 
every rational grazier, and a particular matter of inqui¬ 
ry with every agricultural body; from whence it is now 
very successfully treated by the usual attendants on 
cattle, when skilful; but when otherwise, it psually 
proves fatal. It is observed to be more frequent in 
warm weather, and when the grass is wet. When ei¬ 
ther oxen, cows or sheep, meet with any food they are 
particularly fond of, or of which they have been long 
deprived, as potatoes, turnips, or the different grasses, 
particularly red clover, they eat greedily, and forget to lie 
down to ruminate, by which means the first stomach, or 
paunch, becomes so extended as to be incapable of expel¬ 
ling its contents. From this inflammation follows, and fer¬ 
mentation begins to take place: a large quantity ofair is 
let loose, which still adds to the distention, till the sto¬ 
mach either bursts, or, by its pressure on the diaphragm, 
the animal is suffocated. The situation of the beast is 
known by the uneasiness and general swelling of the 
abdomen ; while the circumstances of the animal being 
lound with such food, or the presumption that it has 
met with it. 
Treatment. There are three modes of relieving the 
complaint, which may be adverted to according to the 
degree of distention, and length of time it has existed. 
These are, internal medicines; the introduction of a 
probang, of some kind, into the paunch by the throat; 
and the puncturing it by the sides. Dr. Whyatt, of Ed¬ 
inburgh, is said to have cured eighteen out of twenty 
hoved cows, by giving a pint of gin to each. Oil, by 
condensing the air, has been successfully tried. Any 
other substances, also, that has a strong power of ab¬ 
sorbing air, may be advantageously given. Common 
salt and water, made strongly saline, is a usual country 
remedy. New milk, with a proportion of tar equal to 
one-sixth of the milk, is highly spoken of. A strong 
solution of prepared ammonia in water often brings off 
a great quantity of air, and relieves the animal. [Com¬ 
mon lye, procured either by pouring water upon ashes, 
or dissolving pot or pearl ashes, has proved highly effi¬ 
cacious.] Any of these internal remedies may be made 
use of when the hoven has recently taken place, and is 
not in a violent degree. But when otherwise, the intro¬ 
duction of an instrument is proper, and is now very ge¬ 
nerally resorted to. The one principally in use is a spe¬ 
cies of probang, invented by Dr. Monro, of Edinburgh. 
Another, consisting of a cane six feet in length, and of 
considerable diameter, having a bulbous knob of wood, 
has been invented by Eager, which is a more simple 
machine, but hardly so efficacious. It is probable that 
in case of emergency, even the large end of a common 
cart whip, dexterously used, might answer the end. 
But by far the best instrument for relieving hoven cat¬ 
tle, as well as for clistering them, is Read’s enema ap¬ 
paratus, which is alike applicable to horses, cattle and 
dogs. It consists of a syringe (a, Fig. 19,) to which 
tubes of different kinds are applied, according to the 
purpose, and the kind of amimal to be operated upon. 
[Fig. No. 19.] 
There is a long flexible tube for giving an anema to 
horses and cattle (a) and a smaller one for dogs ( b ). 
To relieve hoven bullocks effectually, it is necessary 
not only to free the stomach from an accumulation of 
gas, but from the fermentating pultaceous mixture 
which generates it. For this purpose a tube (/) is 
applied to the extremity of the syringe, and then passed 
into the animal’s stomach through the mouth, ( d ) and 
being put in action, the offending matter is discharg¬ 
ed by a side opening. When the same operation is per¬ 
formed on sheep, a smaller tube (e) is made use of. 
The characteristic excellency of Read’s instrument is, 
that there is no limit to the quantity of fluid that may 
be injected or extracted. The same instrument is used 
for extracting poison from the stomach of man, for 
smoking insects, extinguishing fires and syringing fruit 
trees. [This machine is now sold at the seed shops, as 
a garden syringe—lacking merely the tubes which 
may be prepared readily to screw on.] The introduction 
of any of these instruments may be effected by the aid 
of an assistant, who should hold the horn of the ani¬ 
mal by one hand, and the dividing cartilages of the 
nose in the other; while the operator himself, tak¬ 
ing the tongue in his left hand, employs his right in 
skilfully and carefullly introducing the instrument; 
the assistant bringing the neck and head into such 
an attitude as to make the passage nearly straight, 
which will greatly facilitate the operation. But when 
no instruments can be procured, or as cases may 
indeed occur when it is advisable not to try them, as 
when the disease has existed a considerable time, or 
the animal has become outrageous, or the stomach so 
much distended with-air, that there is danger of imme¬ 
diate suffocation or bursting—in these instances the 
puncture of the maw must be instantly performed, 
which is called paunching. This may be done with 
the greatest ease, midway between the ilium, or haunch 
bone, and the last rib of the left side, to which the 
paunch inclines. A sharp pen-knife is frequently used; 
and persons in veterinary practice should always keep 
a long trochar, which will be found much the most effi¬ 
cacious, and by far the most safe, as it permits the air 
to escape certainly and quickly, at the same time that 
it prevents its entrance into the cavity of the abdomen, 
which would occasion an equal distention. As soon 
as the air is perfectly evacuated, and the paunch re¬ 
sumes its office, the trochar may be removed; and, in 
whatever way it is done, the wound should be carefully 
closed with sticking plaster or other adhesive matter. 
It is necessary to observe that this operation is so safe, 
that whenever a medical assistant cannot be obtained, 
no person should hesitate a moment about doing it him¬ 
self. After relief has been afforded either by the pro¬ 
bang or the paunching, a stimulant drink may yet be very 
properly given, such as half a pint of common gin, or 
one ounce of spirits of hartshorn diluted in ale or wa¬ 
ter, or 2 oz. of spirits cf turpentine in ale, may any of 
them be used as an assistant stimujus. When also the 
cud is again chewed, still some relaxation of the diges¬ 
tive organs may remain; at first, therefore, feed spar¬ 
ingly, and give, for a few mornings, a tonic (4). 
