28 
THE NEW CATTLE DISEASE. 
compressed matter taken out from between the folds or 
leaves, something like very thin oilcake, and almost as dry. 
With it the coats of the stomach will peel off, from inflam¬ 
mation. Unless a passage can be forced through this stomach 
all hope of saving the animal is gone. In some cases a thin 
fluid will pass (emitting a most nauseous smell), sometimes 
streaks of clotted blood mingled with it, but that is a bad 
sign. I would rather see the excrement pass in small round 
balls, as then we are sure that the medicine is acting pro¬ 
perly. I will, as briefly as possible, give our mode of treat¬ 
ment, which has proved as effective as it is simple in seven 
cases out of eight. They were cattle rising three years old 
which suffered with us, but some of our neighbours^ yearlings 
and stirks suffered most. We first gave one pound of Epsom 
salts, with about an ounce of castor oil, in a quart of warm 
water (the oil was to supple the coats of the stomach). If 
the bowels were not opened in twelve hours, one pint of linseed 
oil was given, and repeated every twelve hours till they were. 
From a quart to three pints of thin oatmeal gruel with a 
piece of hog^s lard about the size of a large walnut was [then?) 
given about every four hours, the lard being a fine thing to 
penetrate the leaves of the manyplies. A fresh turf turned 
upside down was put before each beast for them to lick, which 
they will often do w’hen they will not look at food, but after 
having licked they will be induced sometimes to pick a bit of 
cabbage or vetches, which should be ready at hand. It may 
be that their mouths are too sore, which was the case with 
one of ours. We then put some succulent food into its mouth, 
as far on the back teeth as possible, which it seemed grateful 
for. The gruel was made thicker after the stomach became 
cleared of its poisonous contents, and sweetened with sugar, 
and the linseed oil continued every morning till the cattle 
were out of danger. Much depends upon good nursing in 
these cases. We allowed them to drink as much linseed tea 
or w’arm water as they liked, carefully avoiding dry food, till 
rumination returned.— John Watts, Whitfield, Berkeley ; ^Gar¬ 
deners^ Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette.^ 
