SCOURING IN CALVES. 
345 
may cause digestive derangements. It is quite likely that 
this form of disease may act as a predisposing cause to other 
forms. 
Second.—“ By formation of irritating materials during the 
fermentation of food stuffs in the intestine, especially in acid 
fermentation. 
Third.—“ By producing ptomaines which act as physiolog¬ 
ical poisons.” (Universal Med. Sciences, Vol. i, 1889). 
All investigators seem unanimously to be of the opinion 
that bacteria, either directly or indirectly, are the cause of this 
class of disease. 
There seems to be a tendency, however, to lay too much 
stress on the bacterial origin of the disease, and forget that 
diet and constitution and the sanitary and hygienic surround¬ 
ings have a great deal to do with its fatal character. As 
showing the influence of diet on the prevalence of diarrhoeal 
diseases in children, out of 1,000 cases recorded by Hope, 30 
were fed by the breast exclusively ; of 602 fatal cases, re¬ 
corded by Meineot, 24; and of 34 fatal cases, recorded by 
Ballard, 7 were fed by the breast exclusively, making a total 
of 1,943 fatal cases, of which but about three per cent, had the 
breast exclusively. 
“ These facts,” says Keating, “ speak volumes. They show 
that the manner of feeding is one of the most important fac¬ 
tors in the production of diarrhoea. As long as children are 
nursed exclusively they suffer but little from diarrhoeal dis¬ 
ease, but in the same class of children as soon as the age is 
reached when other food is added we find a very marked in¬ 
crease in its frequency. Children among the poor in tene¬ 
ments enjoy immunity from intestinal disease just in propor¬ 
tion as they are nursed at the breast and just so long as they 
are so, but as soon as artificial feeding is begun diarrhoeal 
diseases begin to be prevalent.” (Keating, p. 64). 
These remarks apply equally well to calves. In the sum¬ 
mer of 1890 and 1891 I treated from forty-five to fifty cases 
of scouring in calves. The calves averaged from one to three 
months old when attacked. They were usually allowed to 
suck until three or four weeks old, when they were hand-fed 
