Part 31

The author takes this occasion to acknowledge the receipt of two very ably written articles upon this subject, which, in consequence of their length and the comparatively limited space allotted, he is reluctantly compelled to omit. One is from the pen of R. McClure, V.S., and the other from Isaiah Michener, V.S. For the benefit his readers, however, he desires to make a single extract from the last-named communication, without being considered as endorsing the opinion advanced therein:--

"I am inclined to favor the hypothesis that pleuro-pneumonia is produced by animalculae, and that these enter the lungs by myriads, and thereby set up irritation and inflammation, which lead to all the phenomena and pathological conditions which are to be found upon dissection. This is my opinion of the cause of the malignant pleuro-pneumonia which has existed in the United States for the last seven years."

After writing the foregoing, the author was informed that this disease had made its appearance in Mr. Logan's herd, already mentioned as exposed. He was called to visit the herd of Mr. G. Satterthwaite, who likewise lost two cows, and had two cows and a calf sick at the time of sending for him.

PNEUMONIA.

There are two conditions of the lungs known as pneumonia,--one, the inflammatory, and the other, the congestive stage. The former may follow an attack of bronchitis, or it may have a spontaneous origin. The congestive is generally the result of cold suddenly applied to an overheated animal, causing a determination of blood to the lungs, which sometimes causes death by suffocation.

Symptoms.--The disease is preceded by a shivering fit; dry skin; staring coat; clammy mouth; short cough; Schneiderian membrane (of the nose) very much reddened; respiration hurried or laborious. In the congestive stage, upon applying the ear to the sides, no sound will be detected; While in the inflammatory stage, a crackling or crepitating sound will be distinctively heard.

Treatment.--In the congestive stage, plenty of pure air will be necessary. Bleed freely; and give in drench one pound of Glauber-salts, with two drachms of Jamaica ginger. Nothing more will be required by way of treatment.

In the inflammatory stage, bleeding should seldom be resorted to, except where the animal is in full condition. Apply the following blister to the sides, well rubbed in: oil of turpentine, one ounce; croton-oil, twelve drops; aqua ammonia, half an ounce; linseed-oil, four ounces; mix all together. Give internally one pound of salts in drench, and follow with one of the following powders every four hours: nitrate of potash, one ounce; tartrate of antimony and pulverized digitalis leaves, of each, one drachm; mix all together, and divide into eight powders. Or the following may be given with equal advantage: nitrate of potash, one and a half ounces; nitrate of soda, six ounces; mix, and divide into six powders; one to be given in wash or gruel every six hours.

PROTRUSION OF THE BLADDER.

This sometimes occurs during the throes in difficult cases of parturition in cows, and the aid of a skillful veterinary surgeon is requisite to replace the inverted bladder.

PUERPERAL FEVER.

This disease--milk fever, or dropping after calving--rarely occurs until the animal has attained mature age. The first symptoms make their appearance in from one to five or six days after parturition. It appears to be a total suspension of nervous function, independent of inflammatory action, which is suddenly developed, and, in favorable cases, as suddenly disappears. It is called dropping after calving, from its following the parturient state.

Symptoms.--Tremor of hind legs; a staggering gait, which soon terminates in loss of power in the hind limbs; pulse rises to sixty or eighty per minute; milk diminishing in quantity as the disease progresses; the animal soon goes down, and is unable to rise, moans piteously; eyes set in the head; general stupor; and slow respiration.

Treatment.--This disease, though generally regarded as a febrile disorder, will not yield to the general practice of taking blood, as a large majority of the cases so treated die. The bowels must be opened, but the veins never. Give Epsom-salts, one pound; Jamaica ginger, two ounces; dissolve in warm water, one quart, and drench. The author usually gives with good effect, some five or six hours after the salts, two ounces of nitric ether and one ounce of tincture of opium, in half a pint of water. Rub well in, along the back and loins, the following: strong mustard, three ounces; aqua ammonia and water, each one and a half ounces. Some modifications in the treatment of this disease, as well as of most others, will be necessary under certain circumstances, which can only be determined by the veterinary practitioner.

QUARTER EVIL.

In some sections of the country, this disease--known by the other names of black quarter, and joint murrain--is quite common among young cattle, and is generally fatal in its termination. There is little or no warning of its approach. The first animals in a herd to be attacked are generally those in a full, plethoric condition.

Symptoms.--The joints suddenly become swollen, and so painful as to produce severe lameness, particularly in the hind parts. General irritative fever exists in the system, attended with great tenderness of the loins; the head is poked out; eyes red and bulging; the roots of the horns, as well as the breath, are hot; the muzzle dry, and nostrils expanded; pulse rises to seventy or eighty, full and hard; respiration is hurried; the animal is constantly moaning, and appears to be unconscious of surrounding objects; the swelling of the limbs extends to the shoulder and haunch; the animal totters, falls and dies in from twelve to twenty-four hours.

Treatment.--Early bleeding is requisite here, to be followed by active purgatives; after which, give one of the following powders every half hour: nitrate of potassa, two ounces; tartrate of antimony and pulverized digitalis, of each one and a half drachms; mix, and divide into eight powders. These should not be renewed. Cold linseed tea should be freely given.

RABIES.

Hydrophobia in cattle is the result of the bite of a rabid dog, from which bite no animal escapes. The effects produced by the wound made by the teeth of such an animal, after the virus is once absorbed into the circulation of the blood, are so poisonous that all treatment is useless. The proper remedies must be instantly applied to prevent this absorption, or the case is utterly hopeless. Among men, nine out of every ten bitten by rabid dogs escape the terrible effects resulting from this dreadful disorder, without resorting to any applications to prevent it. It is a well-established fact, that men, when bitten by dogs, are generally wounded in some part protected by their clothing, which guards them from the deleterious effects of the saliva which covers the teeth, and which, at such times, is deadly poison. The teeth, in passing through the clothing, are wiped clean, so that the virus is not introduced into the blood; hence the comparatively few cases of rabies occurring in man. When, however, the wound is made upon an exposed surface, as the flesh of the hand, or of the face, this fatal disease is developed in spite of every precaution, unless such precautions are immediately taken. For this reason, cattle when bitten, do not escape the disease.

Symptoms.--The animal separates itself from the rest of the herd, standing in a kind of stupor, with the eyes half-closed; respiration natural; pulse quickened; temperature of body and limbs natural; the slightest noise agitates, causing the eyes to glare and exciting bellowing; the bark of a dog produces the most violent effects; the animal foams at the mouth and staggers as it walks; if water is offered, the muzzle is plunged into it, but the victim cannot drink; in making the effort, the most fearful consequences are produced. The animal now seeks to do mischief,--and the quicker it is then destroyed, the better.

Treatment.--This must be applied quickly, or not at all. The moment an animal is bitten, that moment the wound should be searched for, and when found, should be freely opened with a knife, and lunar caustic, caustic potash, or the permanganate of potash at once applied to all parts of the wound, care being taken not to suffer a single scratch to escape. This, if attended to in time, will save the animal.

RED WATER.

This disease derives its name from the color of the urine voided in it. It is one of the most common complaints of horned cattle, and one of the most troublesome to manage.

Symptoms.--Respiration hurried; rumination ceases; a high degree of fever presented; the animal moans, arches the back, and strains in passing the urine, which is tinged with blood, or presents the appearance of pure blood. Prof. Gamgee, of the Edinburgh Veterinary College, says: "The cause is almost invariably feeding on turnips that have grown on damp, ill-drained land; and very often a change of diet stops the spread of this disease in the byre. Other succulent food, grown under similar circumstances, may produce the same symptoms, tending to disturb the digestive organs and the blood-forming process.

"In the course of my investigations as to the cause of various cattle-diseases, and of red water in particular. I have found that it is unknown on well-drained farms and in dairies where turnips are used only in a moderate degree. The lands of poor people furnish the roots most likely to induce this disorder; and I can confirm the statement of the late Mr. Cumming, of Elton, who, in his very interesting essay upon this subject, says, particularly in reference to Aberdeenshire, that it is 'a disease essentially attacking the poor man's cow; and to be seen and studied, requires a practice extending into the less favorably situated parts of the country. On large farms, where good stock is well kept, and in town dairies, where artificial food is used to supplement the supply of turnips, it is seldom now seen.'

"Symptoms.--General derangement attracts the dairyman's attention, and, upon observing the urine which the animal has voided, it is seen to be of a red, or of a reddish brown, or claret color; sometimes transparent, at others clear. The color increases in depth; other secretions are checked; the animal becomes hide-bound, and the milk goes off. Appetite and rumination are suspended; the pulse becomes extremely feeble and frequent, though--as in all debilitating, or anaemic, disorders--the heart's action is loud and strong, with a decided venous pulse, or apparent regurgitation, in the large veins of the neck.

"In some cases, if even a small quantity of blood be withdrawn, the animal drops in a fainting state. In red water, the visible mucous membranes are blanched, and the extremities cold, indicating the languid state of the blood's circulation and the poverty of the blood itself. Constipation is one of the most obstinate complications; and many veterinary surgeons--aware that, if the bowels can be acted on, the animal is cured--have employed purgatives in quantities far too large, inducing at times even death. Occasionally, diarrhoea is one of the first, and not of the unfavorable, symptoms."