ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 
37 
< accident developed in stables where the distance between mangers and drains was 
nail, or where the drains did not have sufficient fall, whereby the hind-quarters of the 
i ctle were readily soiled by the excreta in them. 
( Without, then, going further into the question, and without taking into consider- 
sion other agencies which may cause extensive abortions, such as ergotized grasses, 
imay be concluded that this kind of miscarriage is transmissible through the medium 
i some infectious principle, which is specific in its nature; for it is not necessarily 
j ied to putrefaction of the foetal membranes; and it always produces the same effect 
iibortion—without any other apparent efficient cause being in operation. 
It is rare that this kind of abortion occurs before the third or fourth month of 
{station, more frequently it is at the fifth or the seventh month, and even later. 
There are no premonitory symptoms, except a trifling uneasiness for a few hours 
■ eviously, and sinking of the flanks and descent of the abdomen; the animal gener- 
i.y looks well and hearty, and yields its supply of milk as usual. It is rare that the 
:ptured membranes are rejected immediately after the foetus; as a rule they are 
] arly always retained, particularly where gestation is advanced, and they decompose 
: the womb, being expelled only in shreds at intervals. Then the animal loses its 
j petite and condition, goes off its milk, and sometimes perishes, as a consequence of 
iis placental restriction. If it recovers, heat appears unnaturally often, though con- 
• ption is unfrequent and sterility common ; and on the other hand, there are some 
iiimals which expel the membranes promptly, conceive soon after, but again abort 
i readily—perhaps three times in the course of a year. 
/ The foetus is usually dead, though when it is expelled after the fifth month, it 
:av be alive, but is weakly and soon dies, even when born near the termination of 
; egnancy. Those which are dead when expelled exhibit indications of having ceased 
* live a short time previously. 
All the animals on a pasture or in a shed where the disease prevails do not abort 
i the same time, but at intervals. When one aborts, another, its neighbor, perhaps, 
opears te prepare for the event, which occurs usually in about eight days; then some 
oys after this it is the turn of another, and so on, until two-thirds, or perhaps even 
;1 of the pregnant cows beyond three months’ gestation have miscarried. 
Instances have been known in which a pregnant cow, leaving a shed in which 
portions prevailed, and transferred to another where the accident had not been seen, 
ould remain healthy for some time, then suddenly miscarry, and in the course of ten 
■ fifteen days other abortions would occur in this shed, testifying to the danger of 
oeping pregnant cows in contact with, or in proximity to, those which have miscar- 
: 3 d in this way. It has also been stated that an animal which aborts has always a 
ndency to do so again. 
But it has been observed that if cows are well fed the period of gestation after 
rch abortion is often longer; so that if a cow aborts the first time at six months, it 
ill do so again at the seventh month, and the third time a little before the ninth 
:onth, reaching its full period in three pregnancies. 
TREATMENT. 
If the malady is suspected to be due to any one particular cause, or if there exist 
■edisposing causes, then the indications for the prevention or cure of the diseased 
ndition are obvious. . If, however, we admit the most common and efficient cause 
be infection, that abortion is due to the presence of an agent transmissible from an 
fected animal, or something that has belonged to it, to another in health, then the 
1st and fundamental indication is to remove or isolate the source of mischief. When, 
erefore, abortion occurs, and there is reason to believe that this accident is in its 
iture infectious, the foetus and all pertaining to it should be removed as promptly 
id completely as possible from the shed or place in which the animal is located. The 
■ w herself should also be removed and kept altogether isolated, or at least away from 
1 other pregnant cattle, with a special attendant employed to look after her; this 
tendant should not go near the unaffected cattle, and the droppings of the cow 
lould also be kept carefully out of their way. 
The shed from which the cow has been moved, and which contains other pregnant 
u ttle, ought to be immediately cleared of all manure and other matters of an objec- 
inable kind, the drains, floor and stall thoroughly washed and sprinkled with some 
>od disinfectant. 
The shed or stable should be well ventilated and disinfected for a number of days, 
he best disinfectant for this purpose is carbolic acid or sulphuric acid; with the 
tter. Dr. Salmon has succeeded in eradicating the disease in stables where it had 
revailed for some time. He uses three pounds of sulphuric acid mixed with forty 
illons of water, and completely saturates the stables and articles with which the 
aimal has been in contact. 
The animal which has aborted must also at once be attended to. If the mem- 
ranes have not been expelled, which is most frequently the case, they should be 
