The Family Cow and Her Troubles 
NO. IV. 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
59 
miii!iii!i uni; 
The average automobile owner gets 
more satisfaction out of owning a car if 
he understands how to make the more 
simple repairs and knows when the trou¬ 
ble is serious enough to let the expert do 
the tinkering. The same logic applies in 
owning a family cow, and the family cow, 
like the automobile, is likely to have her 
troubles. 
Milk Fever. —This is one of the less 
frequent diseases of the family cow, and 
yet one. that is most sure to result in 
death if the proper treatment is not 
quickly applied. It usually occurs within 
48 hours after calving, and with heavy 
milkers. Paralysis takes place, and the 
cow is unable to rise. The head is turned 
to one side and rest on the chest with the 
muzzle pointing towards the flank. Death 
usually occurs inside of 24 hours unless 
the udder is inflated with air. Special 
milk fever outfits can be purchased for 
this work, and by taking the necessary 
precautions and following directions, any¬ 
one can bring the cow out of an attack 
and have her on her feet within a few 
hours. For the one-cow owner this is one 
of the cases when it is best to call a vet¬ 
erinarian. There is little difficulty in 
recognizing the disease. 
Abortion. —Giving birth to the calf pre¬ 
maturely usually at the fifth or seventh 
month is known as abortion. The abor¬ 
tion may be accidental as the result of 
some injury. If this be the case, there is 
not so much to worry about except the re¬ 
sulting loss of milk. Abortion is usually 
of the contagious character, however, and 
in case of the family cow is usually con¬ 
tracted from an infected bull. Owners of 
family cows should make it a point to find 
out if the herds containing the bull that 
serves their cow are having trouble with 
abortion. If this is the case, take the 
cow to some other bull where the trouble 
does not exist. If cow calves premature¬ 
ly, douche her with a warm one per cent 
solution of lysol or creosol. A funnel 
and rubber tube are necessary. A douche 
should be given once in two days at first 
and twice a week as long as any dis¬ 
charges appear. The cow should not be 
used until discharges disappear. 
Tuberculosis. —This disease must be 
detected by the tuberculin test, conducted 
by a veterinarian. Where milk is used 
largely for infant feeding one should sat¬ 
isfy himself that the cow is free from 
tuberculosis, since authorities generally 
agree that children under five years of 
age may contract the bovine type of the 
disease through the use of the milk. The 
other remedy is to pasteurize the milk 
by heating it to 145 degrees F. and hold¬ 
ing for 30 minutes. 
Congestion of Udder. —This frequent¬ 
ly occurs after calving, and is not a cause 
for alarm, if milk can be drawn from all 
quarters. The ration should be smaller 
than usual and laxative feeds such as 
wheat bran and oil meal should be used. 
Relief in badly congested quarter can be 
brought about by rubbing it with hot lard 
or applying antiphlogistine. 
Garget or Udi>er Inflammation.— 
This is chronic with some cows. Injury, 
exposure to too severe weather or too 
heavy grain feeding may "bring it about. 
The udder or infected quarters sometimes 
swell and the milk is stringy or lumpy. 
Cut. the feed down for a time and give a 
pound of Epsom salts as a drench, also 
give an ounce of saltpeter a day for two 
or three days. This may be given in the 
graiu feed. 
Chapped Teats. —Occur in cold weath¬ 
er. The application of a little vaseline 
when the trouble is first noticed usually 
overcomes the trouble. 
Warts on Tf.ats. —If these become 
numerous, large or troublesome in milk¬ 
ing, remove them with sharp scissors and 
touch up each spot with a stick of caustic 
potash. 
Lice. —-This is the most common pest 
of the dairy cow, causing the most trou¬ 
ble during the Winter months. The lice 
are found mostly on the forehead, throat, 
over the shoulder tops, on the tail and 
escutcheon. The cow becomes greatly ir¬ 
ritated and rubs hair off infected parts, 
is apt to get into poor condition and drop 
off in milk flow, l’rof. Lamson of the 
Storrs Experiment Station has recently 
found that raw linseed oil applied with a 
stiff brush is the cheapest and most ef¬ 
fective remedy. In applying the oil, rub 
it in lightly with the brush and keep the 
cow quiet and away from direct sunlight 
for a few hours to avoid any burning. 
The first application should be repeated 
in 10 days, and succeeding applications 
should be made once a month. The treat¬ 
ment should begin about the first of Octo¬ 
ber, before tbe lice appear, and under no 
conditions should one wait until tbe cow 
is badly infected before applying the oil. 
Flies. —Flies in Summer and lice in 
Winter! When does the cow get any 
peace? Flies in the one-cow dairy can be 
handled more practically than in the large 
dairy, although they are not an easy 
thing to control. Fly repellents are on 
the market, that if sprayed on the cow 
each day will help some. With one cow 
this can be done at small expense. 
Abnormal Milk. —Abnormal milk oc¬ 
curs very freqently in the one-cow dairy, 
and is more noticeable than in the large 
herd. Bloody milk is usually caused by 
the rupturing of a blood vessel in the 
udder. This may occur in one or all four 
quarters. In severe cases the trouble is 
not likely to be overcome until the cow is 
dried off. The blood vessel 'will then heal 
Food! To supply enough for hungry 
millions stricken by war is one of the 
most vital of all the problems confronting 
humanity. 
Production must be tremendously in¬ 
creased if the world is to be saved from 
starvation. 
Europe, despoiled and depopulated, has 
become a continent almost entirely of 
consumers. 
It remains for America to feed the world. 
Last year, meeting its obligation, America fur¬ 
nished to other countries almost twelve million tons 
. of foodstuffs. 
But the need increases. And in 1919 America 
alone is pledged to contribute twenty million tons 
to hungry humanity abroad. 
To accomplish the mighty task every acre must 
be made to produce its maximum capacity. 
The shortage in man power and horse power 
that menaces the undertaking can only be offset 
by mechanical power. 
We must have tractors. And with them we 
must have tractor tillage implements that fit the 
ground best—that have the built-in quality to with¬ 
stand the strains of racking service day by day. 
Oliver, as the world’s largest manufacturer of 
plows and other tractor implements, is deeply 
conscious of its responsibility in the emergency. 
And Oliver will rise to that responsibility even if 
