SCOURING IN CALVES. 
347 
Suckling calves escape because they are healthier, be¬ 
cause their digestive organs have not been abused, and be¬ 
cause their milk is sweet and pure and free from bacteria. 
While on the other hand, calves brought up by hand are usu- 
ually more or less troubled with chronic indigestion from 
one or other of the causes already mentioned. 
The pails and milking utensils and receptacles for milk 
are not usually so pure and clean as they ought to be, and 
partly for that reason, and in consequence of the hot weather 
in summer, the milk often swarms with germ life, and is sour 
and acid from fermentation having already commenced, so 
that when taken into the stomach, especially if taken in large 
quantity, and in hot weather when the system is enervated, 
and there is a low state of vitality, the digestive power is to 
a great extent lost, food will ferment and produce irritating 
acids and ptomaines, which in turn produce the symptoms 
which we know as “ sqouring in calves.” 
Symptoms .—The symptoms of acute mycotic diarrhoea in 
calves are well marked. The onset is usually sudden. One 
of the first symptoms noticed is usually the want of appetite. 
The calf refuses food entirely ; the tail and buttocks are no¬ 
ticed to be foul and covered with a dirty yellowish discharge ; 
its eyes appear sunken ; there is often a discharge from both 
nose and eyes; the nose is usually dry ; it rapidly loses 
flesh and strength ; it lies constantly in a semi-comatose con¬ 
dition with its eyes wide open, and it has not even vitality to 
brush off the flies that are attracted by the sour-smelling evac¬ 
uation ; if made to rise it will stagger and appear weak; the 
abdominal walls appear flat and collapsed ; its extremities are 
cold; its muscles become flabby; sometimes when it has 
been lying with its head round to its side, when made to 
move the muscles of the neck will have contracted so that it 
is unable to straighten its neck ; it keeps continually pressing 
its teeth against its gums, causing a peculiar rubbing noise ; 
the pulse is rapid and weak, and hard to count; the temper¬ 
ature is usually elevated. 
This disease runs a particularly rapid course, the severe 
symptoms seldom lasting over forty-eight hours, and in some 
