THE MAD BULL.
THE MAD BULL.
"The ergot, or spur of the hay, is confined to the June grass, as far as my observation extends; owing, probably, to its early maturity. Most other kinds of grass are cut before the seeds have matured sufficiently to produce the spur. I was suspicious of the foulness of the feed before I examined any hay, and have found the spur in the hay wherever thediseaseis found.
"Mr. Sanford, of Edinburgh, Ohio, purchased one half ofa mow of hay from Mr. Bassett, of Randolph, which was removed to his farm in Randolph, eight miles distant. Of this hay, Mr. Sanford fed eleven cows some six or eight weeks. Mr. Bassett had been feeding the same to four cows. At about the same time, both heads began to show lameness. I visited Mr. S. after he had lost six cows, and examined the remaining five, four of which were lame and the other showed symptoms of the disease. He had two other cows, one of which was loaned to a neighbor, and the other was fed upon different hay, for convenience. The loaned cow was returned about the first of March,—the two then running with the ailing ones until the 24th of April, when I saw them sound and in good health.
"I then visited Mr. Bassett's stock, which I found infected with the same disease,—he having lost one, and the remaining three being lame, and much debilitated. The hoofs were sloughing off. Some of the same hay remained in the snow, which, upon examination, exhibited an abundance of the spur. Upon inquiry, I found that no such disease existed between the two farms, or in the neighborhood of either Mr. S. or Mr. B. The peculiarity of this circumstance at once swept away the last vestige of doubt from my mind. Mr. E. Chapman, of Rootstown, accompanied me, and can vouch for the correctness of these statements.
"He hooted at my opinions, asserting that he understood the disease, and that it was caused by the freezing of the feet. He has since, however, abandoned that idea, and honestly 'acknowledged the corn.' This ergot is regarded by some as a parasitic fungus, formed in other grains, an abundant vegeto-animal substance, and much disposed to putrefaction.We appear to be in the dark regarding its real composition. The little which has been written upon the subject, appears to be founded upon hypothesis, and that the most obscure. The articles to which I refer may differ in quality or property to a considerable extent, and we may forever remain in the dark, unless chemical investigation be instituted.
"In this particular disease, there appears to be singularity in the symptoms through all its various stages, which is likely to originate in the peculiarity of the cause which produces them. The effects and symptoms arising from the continued use of the ergot of rye, as manifested in the human system, have been but briefly hinted at by authors, and, probably, some of them are only reasonable conjectures. All they say is, that it produces violent headache, spaculation in the extremities, and death. Hitherto, its effects upon the inferior animal have been subjected to no investigation, and its peculiarity in the symptoms, differing from likephenomenaby other causes, may yet be demonstrated. I am not alone in my opinion of this disease. I have taken counsel of those whose judgment cannot be questioned. Whatever difference of opinion exists is attributable to a want of investigation, and it will continue to exist until this singularphenomenonis clearly accounted for. Every opinion should be thoroughly criticized till facts are obtained. Every man's opinion is sacred to himself, but we should yield to conviction.
"Two classes of this disease are exhibited: one, of irritation, and the other, of debility; one, an acute, the other, a chronic form. The point at which it assumes the chronicform is between congestion and gangrene. By close observation we can discover these to be different and higher degrees of the same disease. All subsequent degrees are dependent upon the first.
"The first symptom, or degree, is, probably, an attack upon the systematic circulation, produced by a certain medicinal and deleterious property existing in the ergot, and communicated to the blood through the absorption of the tongue. This is more evident from the fact that the digestive organs retain their normal condition till the last stages of the chronic form. The blood in the first two stages is healthy, and the peculiar influence is only apparent in the subsequent stages; as evidenced by the fact that the muscles and general good appearance, as well as life itself, last longer than could be possible, if this deleterious influence were exhausted upon the digestive organs and the blood, in its first stages. And, as we suppose that fever and congestion constitute an attack upon the red blood, which is exhibited by hurried pulsation, we might rationally infer that the next degree would be gangrene of the globule, causing sloughing, the same as if it were carried to the muscles, or surface. This sloughing of the globule would be the same as if exhibited on any other part of the organization, for the fibrin is identical with muscle, as albumen is identical with the white of an egg; and since congestion is the forerunner of gangrene at the extremities, or on the surface, so fever and quick pulsation are the forerunners of congestion of the blood. Gangrene cannot ensue without obstruction in the blood-vessels; and congestion cannot take place without obstruction in that which sustains the globule. As gangrene,then, is the first stage of decomposition of animal matter, so is congestion the first stage of decomposition of the globule; and as mortification is death in the organized body, so is congestion death in the organized globule.
"It appears evident that this disease, in all its forms and degrees of intensity, seeks vent or release; in other words, Nature conflicting with it, throws it off its track, or balance, and offers means of escape, or shows it a door by which it may make its exit. In the first stage of the disease, the dermoid (skin) tissues make the effort. In the inflammatory, the serous, and the congestive, the mucous gangrene seeks vent; if obtained, mortification is prevented; if not, mortification directly supervenes, and death terminates the case.
"In the case to which I refer, observation confirms my opinion that absolute mortification without vent determines the gangrene of the blood, and is hardly curable; but that gangrene's finding vent determines it to be curable, and the recovery highly probable."
Catarrh frequently assumes an epizoötic form of a very virulent character, originating spontaneously and extending over a large section of country at or about the same time. A cold spring succeeding a mild winter, is peculiarly productive of malignant catarrh. This is one of the most distressing and fatal diseases to which cattle are subject.
Symptoms.—The animal appears dull, and unwilling to move about, staggering when forced to do so; obstinate costiveness is usually one of the earliest symptoms, succeeded by diarrhœa, which is equally difficult of management; sometimes,however, diarrhœa is present from the first; the animal loses flesh rapidly; the coat is staring; appetite is lost; tumors form about the head, neck, back, and joints, which appear to be filled with air, and upon pressure cause a crepitating sound; saliva flows from the mouth, becoming very fetid as the disease progresses. The animal always dies of putrefaction.
Treatment.—This disease should be treated early, or not at all. Good nursing is very essential. When costiveness is present, give Barbadoes aloes, one ounce; croton-oil, ten drops; mix together; or give one pint of linseed-oil, to which add from ten to twenty drops of castor-oil. If the bowels are not open in twenty-four hours, give four ounces of sulphate of magnesia every six hours until they are opened. Follow this with tincture of aconite, ten drops in water, every four hours, until the fever has abated.
Bleeding has been recommended by some writers; but the author has failed to experience any benefit from resorting to it, but, on the contrary, has seen much injury result from the use—or, rather, the abuse—of the lancet. He is, indeed, inclined to attribute much of the fatality attending this disease to indiscriminate blood-letting.
When much debility exists, the animal should be sustained by tonics and stimulants. One ounce of nitric ether and half an ounce of tincture of opium, given in a little water, will be found beneficial. It should be given twice a day. Pulverized gentian-root, one ounce; Jamaica ginger, half an ounce; pulverized cloves, half an ounce; mixed, and divided into four powders, one to be given at night and at morning; will be found useful, in place of the opium and ether.
This disease is properly known by the name of clue-bound. The manyplus, or omasum (third stomach), frequently becomes so choked up with food that it is hard and dry, and the operation of the digestive organs is very seriously impaired. The animal eats voraciously, for a time, but stops suddenly and trembles; the countenance assumes a peculiarly haggard appearance; there is a wild expression of the eye; a foaming at the mouth; a tendency to pitch forward, and at times a falling head-foremost to the ground. Occasionally, the symptoms are very active, speedily terminating in death. There are few diseases of a constitutional character in which the stomach is not, more or less, sympathetically involved.
"Toward the end of September, 1746, a great number of cows died at Osterwich, in the principality of Halberstadt. Lieberkuhn, a celebrated physician,—there were no veterinary surgeons at that time,—was sent to examine into the nature of the disease, which was supposed to be one of the species of murrain that was then committing such ravages among the cattle in various parts of the Continent. There were none of the tumors, or pestilential buboes, that, in an earlier or later period of the malady, usually accompanied and characterized murrain; but upon inspection of the dead bodies, considerable peritoneal inflammation was found; the first and second stomachs were filled with food, but the third stomach was the palpable seat of the disease; its leaves were black and gangrened. The mass contained between the leaves was black, dry, and so hard that it could scarcely be cut with a scalpel. It intercepted the passage of the foodfrom the first two stomachs to the fourth; and this latter stomach was empty and much inflamed. Neither the heart, nor the lungs, nor the intestines exhibited any trace of disease. Twelve cows were opened, and the appearances were nearly the same in all of them."
Treatment.—Give one and a half pounds of Epsom-salts, dissolved in three pints of water; or one quart of potash, three times daily, dissolved in water, will be found useful in this disease.
This is caused by hard or irritating substances making their way in between the claws of the foot, causing inflammation, and sometimes ulceration, in the parts. The pasterns swell, and the animal becomes lame.
The foot should be thoroughly washed, and all foreign substances removed. A pledget of tow, saturated with tar and sprinkled with powdered sulphate of copper, should be inserted between the claws. This usually requires but one or two applications.
This is a hard, knotty condition of the udder, which sometimes follows calving, in consequence of the sudden distention of the bag with milk; and the inflammation which supervenes causes a congealed or coagulated condition of the milk to take place, of which, if neglected, suppuration and abscesses are the result.
Treatment.—Let the calf suck the dam as speedily as possible, and, if the hardness is not then removed, fomentthe udder with warm water; after which, wipe it dry, and apply to the entire surface melted lard as hot as the animal will bear. This is, generally, all that is required, the most obstinate cases yielding to it. If abscesses form, they should be lanced.
This disease—otherwise known as wood-evil, or moor-ill—arises from eating the buds of oak, young ash, and other trees, which are of a very highly stimulating or irritating character. As the intestinal canal is liable to inflammatory action from irritant substances admitted into it, animals are found to become diseased from eating too freely of these vegetable substances.
Symptoms.—Loss of appetite and suspended rumination; mouth hot; skin dry; pulse from sixty to seventy; swelling and pain of the belly; obstinate constipation; fæces hard and covered with blood; urine of a strong odor, highly colored, and voided with difficulty.
Treatment.—The animal should be bled, and a strong purgative administered, followed by aconite and belladonna, as in enteritis. Injections of Castile-soap and water should be freely used; the application of the mustard, hartshorn, and water to the belly will also be found very beneficial.
This disease—known also as catarrh—is occasionally the sequence of coryza, but more frequently it arises from an impure atmosphere; consequently, in cow-houses where animals are crowded together in numbers, it is most frequentlyfound. Scanty provender, and of an inferior quality, is among the exciting causes of hoose, producing, as it does, a debilitated state of the system, which, upon exposure of the animal to cold, or wet, hastens the disorder. Some breeds of cattle are peculiarly liable to this disease, which, if not arrested in its early stage, runs on, involving the lungs, and frequently terminating in consumption. Of all our domestic animals, neat cattle are most subject to pulmonary diseases. This is attributable to the neglect and exposure which are far too often their lot. Butchers will testify that a large portion of all cattle slaughtered have abscesses and other diseases of the lungs.
Symptoms.—Loss of appetite; muzzle dry; coat rough, or staring; respiration quickened; horns hot; ears, nose, and legs cold; husky cough; pulse from sixty to seventy, small and thready; bowels frequently constipated.
Treatment.—Give one ounce of the following powders every six hours, until the bowels are opened: Barbadoes aloes, one and half ounces; nitrate of potassa, half an ounce; ginger, six drachms; mix and divide into six powders. Setons in the dewlap are often of great benefit.
Hoove, or blown, so common, and often so speedily fatal in cattle, is the result of fermentation in therumen, or paunch, in consequence of the animal's having eaten large quantities of wet grass, luxuriant clover, turnips, etc. An accumulation of gas is the result of this fermentation, which greatly disturbs the haunch and left side of the belly, causing much pain to the animal, and frequently threatening suffocation.
Treatment.—Drench the animal with one ounce of spirits of hartshorn in one quart of water, the object being to neutralize the gas which is present in the rumen; or, two ounces of table salt dissolved in one quart of water will be found very effectual. If these do not speedily give relief, an active purge should be given. Injections of soap and water should be freely used. If the case still proves obstinate, and the life of the animal is threatened, the paunch should be punctured. For this purpose, the trochar—an instrument specially adapted—should be used; but, in the absence of an instrument, an ordinary pocket-knife may be employed, taking care not to make a large opening. The proper point to operate is midway between the last rib and the prominent point of the hip-bone, about twelve inches from the centre of the back or loins. Few cases have a fatal termination where this operation has been properly performed.
Worms in the brain occasionally occur, causing great uneasiness to the animal and generally proving fatal.
The symptoms are, loss of appetite; suspended rumination; a fevered condition of the system; horns and ears hot; respiration disturbed; coat staring, etc. No course of treatment will prove efficacious in this disease.
Pressure on the brain may occur from an accumulation of water, tumors, bruises, etc., in the cranial case. In either case, the same effects are produced as are observed in apoplexy.
Inflammation of the bladder generally accompanies inflammation of the kidneys, though it is sometimes found disconnected and alone. It is occasionally caused by calculous concretions in the bladder,—which should be removed,—causing very acute abdominal pain to the animal. She makes frequent efforts to stale, passing but a few drops of urine at a time. The pulse is full and rapid; mouth clammy; nose dry; eyes bloodshot; appetite lost; moaning, and walking with a staggering gait.
Treatment.—Inject into the bladder one quart of tepid water, and from one to two ounces of tincture of opium mixed together. Give internally one of the following powders every hour until relieved; nitrate of potassa, one ounce; tartrate of antimony, and pulverized digitalis leaves, each one drachm; mix, and divide into six powders. Mucilaginous draughts should be freely given.
Rupture of the bladder sometimes occurs, but there are no symptoms by which it may be known; and, if there were, no service could be rendered in the way of repairing the injury; the animal must die.
The ox, like the horse, has a membrane of semilunar form in the inner corner of the eye, which is capable of being thrown over the entire eyeball, for the purpose of cleansing the eye from any foreign substance which may get into it. This membrane is commonly called the haw, and is susceptibleof attacks of inflammation, which cause it to swell, frequently even closing up the eye.
Treatment.—Give a dose of physic, and, if the animal is plethoric, extract a little blood from the vein on the same side as the affected eye. Apply to the eye either of the following washes: tincture of opium, one ounce; rain-water, one pint; or, tincture of aconite, one drachm, to one pint of water. Bathe two or three times a day.
This disease—sometimes called nephritis—occurs occasionally in cattle in consequence of their eating bad or unwholesome food, or of the abuse of diuretics, etc.
The symptoms are very insidious in their approach. The loins are very tender upon pressure; the urine is voided in small quantities. As the disease advances, the symptoms become more marked and acute. The animal is dull, and feeds daintily; the evacuation of urine is attended with increased pain, and the urine is highly colored and bloody; the nose is dry; the horns, ears, and extremities are cold; respiration hurried; the pulse full, hard, and throbbing.
Treatment.—Give one pint of linseed-oil and ten drops of castor-oil, mixed together; follow this with small doses of salts once a day, for three or four days; give injections of water, one half a gallon to two ounces of tincture of arnica. Mustard applications to the loins are also very useful.
Diseases of the liver are of very common occurrence,—a fact with which all beef-butchers are familiar. Perhaps noorgan in the animal economy is so liable to disease. The obscurity of the symptoms and the good condition of the animal prevent its discovery, as a general thing, during its lifetime. When, however, the disease assumes an active form,—known as the yellows, jaundice, or inflammation of the liver,—the symptoms are more readily detected.
Symptoms.—A yellowish color of the eye will be observed; skin, urine, etc., highly colored; soreness, on pressure, on the right side; loss of appetite; dullness; constipation of the bowels, etc.
Treatment.—Calomel is the most reliable medicine known to practitioners for diseases of the liver. Its abuse, however, has brought it into disrepute. Yet, as with ordinary care it may be advantageously used, we will prescribe it as that upon which the most dependence is to be placed, and in doing so, will endeavor to have it used safely. Bleeding has been recommended: but the author has never found any benefit resulting. Give Epsom-salts, in doses of four ounces each, every night, with one scruple of calomel, until the animal is relieved. Mustard and water should be frequently applied to the right side, and well rubbed in.
This disease is of rare occurrence in cattle. In it, the mucous membrane lining the larynx is in a very irritable condition; the least pressure upon the parts affected causes intensely excruciating pain; the respiration becomes quick, painful, and laborious; the animal often appears to be hungry, yet does not eat much, in consequence of the pain occasioned by the act of swallowing.
Treatment.—Apply to the throat externally strong mustard, mixed, with equal parts of aqua ammonia and water, to a thin paste, every hour, until it produces an effect upon the skin; sponging the parts each time with warm water before applying the mustard. The animal should not be bled. Give upon the tongue, or in drink, half-drachm doses of nitrate of potassa, every three or four hours, until relief is obtained. If suffocation threatens, the operation of tracheotomy is the only resort.
AN ABERDEENSHIRE POLLED BULL.
AN ABERDEENSHIRE POLLED BULL.
Cloths saturated with cold water, wrapped around the neck so as to cover the larynx, frequently afford relief. A purgative will also be found useful.
Cattle are very subject to lice, particularly when they are neglected, half-starved, and in poor condition. Good care and good feeding—in connection with the treatment recommended in mange, to which the reader is referred—will comprise all that is requisite.
Mange, or leprosy, is one of the most unpleasant and difficult diseases to manage of all the ailments to which cattle are subject requiring the nicest care and attention to renderit easy of cure. An animal badly nursed will not, under the most skillful treatment, quickly recover. Its causes are in the main, due to poor food, which produces a debilitated condition of the system, and in connection with a want of cleanliness, causes a development of theacari, or minute insects, exciting very great irritation upon the skin and causing the cow to rub herself against every object with which she comes in contact. The hair falls off; a scurfy appearance of the skin is perceptible; and the animal is poor in condition and in milk. The great trouble in treating this disease springs from its contagious character; for, no sooner is the animal, oftentimes, once free from theacarithan it comes in contact with some object against which it has previously been rubbing, when theacariwhich were left upon that object are again brought in contact with the animal, and the disease is reproduced. If, immediately after the proper applications are made, the animal is removed to other quarters, and not allowed to return to the former ones for six or eight weeks, there is, generally speaking, but little trouble in treating the disease.
Take the animal upon a warm, sunny day, and with a scrubbing-brush cleanse the skin thoroughly with Castile-soap and water; when dry, apply in the same manner the following mixture; white hellebore, one ounce; sulphur flower, three ounces; gas-water, one quart; mix all well together. One or two applications are, generally, all that will be required. Give internally one of the following powders in the feed, night and morning: flowers of sulphur, two ounces; black antimony, one ounce; nitrate of potassa, one ounce; mix, and divide into eight powders.
This is one of the most malignant diseases to which cattle are liable. Fortunately, however, true murrain is comparatively rare in this great stock-raising country.
The entire system seems to partake of the disease. The first indication of its approach is a feverish condition of the system, attended with a frequent and painful cough; the pulse is small, hard, and rapid. As the disease advances, the respiration becomes disturbed; the flanks heave; vesicular eruption is observed upon the teats, mouth, and feet; the horns are cold; the animal is sometimes lame; constipation and, sometimes, diarrhœa are accompanying symptoms;fæcesblack and fetid; the eyes weep and become much swollen; great tenderness along the spine; a brown or bloody discharge from the nose and mouth; the animal moans incessantly, grinds his teeth, rarely lies down, but to get up again quickly; finally, the breath becomes very offensive; tumors make their appearance in various parts of the body, which, in favorable cases, suppurate, and discharge a fetid matter.
Treatment.—Give one fourth of a pound of Epsom-salts, with one drachm of Jamaica ginger, twice a day, for two or three days. A bottle of porter, twice a day, will be found serviceable. Very little medicine is required internally in this disease, but much depends upon good nursing. External applications are chiefly to be depended upon. A solution of chloride of lime should be applied to the eruptions, or a solution of the chloride of zinc, twenty grains to an ounce of water; or, of sulphate of zinc, two drachms to apint of water; or pulverized charcoal applied to the parts will be found useful.
Inflammation of the navel in calves occasionally occurs, causing redness, pain, and sudden swelling in the part affected. This disease, if not promptly attended to, speedily carries off the creature.
Treatment.—Foment the part well with warm hop-tea; after which, the application of a cloth, well saturated with lead-water and secured by bandages, should be applied. Internally, doses of Epsom-salts, of two ounces each, dissolved in half a pint of water, should be given until the bowels are acted upon. After the inflammation has subsided, to counteract the weakness which may follow, give a bottle of porter two or three times a day.
Choking in cattle is of common occurrence, in consequence of turnips, potatoes, carrots, or other hard substances, becoming lodged in the œsophagus, or gullet.
These obstructions can sometimes be removed by careful manipulations with the hand; but, where this can not be accomplished, the flexible probang should be employed. This is a long India-rubber tube, with a whalebone stillet running through it, so as to stiffen it when in use. This instrument is passed down the animal's throat, and the offending substance is thus pushed down into the stomach.
Opening of the joint generally results from accidents, from puncturing with sharp substances, from kicks, blows, etc. These injuries cause considerable nervous irritation in the system, and sometimes cause lock-jaw and death.
Treatment.—Close up the wound as speedily as possible. The firing-iron will sometimes answer the purpose very well. The author depends more upon the application of collodion—as recommended in his work upon "The Horse and His Diseases" for the same trouble—than upon any other remedy. It requires care in its application, in order to make it adhere firmly. Shoemakers'-wax, melted and applied, answers a very good purpose.
In natural labor—as has been suggested in a former part of this work—the aid of man is rarely required in bringing away the calf. But it not infrequently happens that, from malformation or wrong presentation, our assistance is required in order to deliver the animal.
The brute force, which has been far too often heretofore resorted to, should no longer be tolerated, since the lives of many valuable animals have been sacrificed by such treatment. Very often, by gentle manipulation with the greased hand, the womb can be so dilated as to afford a comparatively easy exit for thefœtus.
If, however, the calf is presented wrong, it must be pushed back and placed in its proper position, if possible. In natural labor, the fore-legs, with the head lying betweenthem, are presented; in which position—unless deformity, either in thepelvisof the cow, or in thefœtus, exists—the calf is passed with little difficulty, and without assistance. It sometimes happens that the head of the fœtus is turned backward. When this happens, the attendant should at once strip himself to the waist, bathe his arms, and hands with a little sweet-oil, or lard, and introduce them into thevagina, placing a cord around both fore-feet, and then, pushing them back, search for the head, which is to be brought forward to its proper position. The feet are next to be brought up with it. No force should be used, except when the cow herself makes the effort to expel the calf; otherwise, more harm than good may be done.
A case of this kind recently occurred in the author's practice, being the third within a year. The subject was a cow belonging to William Hance, Esq., of Bordentown, New Jersey. After she had been in labor for some twenty hours, he was called upon to see her. Upon inquiry, he found that several persons had been trying, without success, to relieve her. She was very much prostrated, and would, doubtless, have died within two or three hours, had no relief been afforded. The legs of thefœtusprotruded as far as the knees; the head was turned backward, and with the body, pressed firmly into thevagina, so that it was impossible to return it, or to bring the head forward. The operation of embryotomy was, therefore, at once performed, by cutting away the right shoulder, which enabled the operator, with the aid of his appropriate hooks, to bring the head forward, when the calf came away without further trouble,—the whole operation not requiring fifteen minutes. Theuteruswasthen washed out, and the animal placed in as comfortable a position as possible, and a stimulating draught given, composed of two ounces of nitric ether, one ounce of tincture of opium, and a half pint of water. This was followed with a few doses of Fleming's tincture of aconite, ten drops in a little water, every few hours. In a few days the animal had entirely recovered.
Occasionally, the head comes first, or the head and one leg. In such cases, a cord should be slipped around the jaw and leg, and these then pushed back, so as to allow the other leg to be brought up. When this cannot be done, thefœtuscan, in most cases, be removed in the original position.
Breech, side, back, and other presentations sometimes occur; in all of which instances, thefœtusmust be turned in such a position that it can be brought away with as little trouble as possible. When this cannot be accomplished, the only resort is embryotomy, or cutting up of thefœtus, which operation can only be safely performed by the qualified veterinary surgeon.
Since writing the above, another case has occurred in the author's practice. The cow—belonging to Samuel Barton, Esq., near Bordentown, New Jersey—had been in labor some eighteen hours; upon an examination of the animal, the calf was found to be very much deformed, presenting backwards,—one of the hind-legs having been pulled off by the person or persons assisting her previous to the author's arrival. Finding it impossible to deliver her in the usual way,embryotomywas in this instance employed. By this means, after taking out the intestines, lungs, etc., of thefœtus, and cutting away its hind-quarters, the fore-partswere brought away. The head presented a singular appearance; the under jaw was so twisted as to bring the front teeth on the side of the face; the spinal column or back-bone, was turned twice around, resembling a spiral string; the front legs were over the back; the ribs were much contorted; the hind-parts were as much deformed; and, taken altogether, the deformity was the most singular which has been brought under the author's observation.
Free Martins.—It has long been supposed by stockbreeders, that if a cow produce twins, one of which is a male and the other a female, the female is incapable of producing young, but that the male may be a useful animal for breeding purposes. Many instances have occurred when the twin sister of a bull has never shown the least desire for the male.
This indifference to sexual commerce arises, doubtless, from the animal's being but imperfectly developed in the organs of generation. This fact has been established by the investigations of Mr. John Hunter, who had three of these animals slaughtered for anatomical examination. The result is thus reported: "The external parts were rather smaller than is customary in the cow. Thevaginapassed on, as in the cow, to the opening of theurethra, and then it began to contract into a small canal, which passed on into the division of theuterusinto the two horns; each horn passed along the edge of the broad ligament laterally toward theovaria.
"At the termination of these horns were placed both the ovaries and the testicles. Both were nearly of the same size, which was about as large as a small nutmeg. To theovaria, I could not find any Fallopian tube.
"To the testicles werevasa deferentia, but they were imperfect. The left one did not come near the testicle; the right one only came close to it, but did not terminate in the body called theepididymis. They were both pervious and opened into thevagina, near the opening of theurethra.
"On the posterior surface of the bladder, or between theuterusand the bladder, were the two bags, calledvesiculæ seminalesin the male, but much smaller than they are in the bull. The ducts opened along with thevasa deferentia. This animal, then, had a mixture of all the parts, but all of them were imperfect."
Well-authenticated cases have, however, occurred where the female has bred, and the offspring proved to be good milkers. There are several instances on record of cows' giving birth to three, four, and even five calves at a time. There were on exhibition, in 1862, at Bordentown, New Jersey, three free martins, two sisters and a brother, which were beautiful animals. These were from a cow belonging to Mr. Joab Mershon, residing on Biles Island, situated in the Delaware River, a short distance above Bordentown. They were calved November 1st, 1858, and were therefore nearly four years of age. They had never shown the least desire for copulation. Their aggregate weight was 4300 pounds.
We extract the following from the London Veterinarian, for 1854:—"A cow, belonging to Mr. John Marshall, of Repton, on Wednesday last, gave birth tofive, live healthy calves, all of which are, at the time I write, alive and vigorous, and have every appearance of continuing so. They are all nearly of a size, and are larger and stronger than could be supposed. Four of them are bull-calves.
"The dam is by no means a large one, is eleven years old, of a mongrel breed, and has never produced more than one offspring at any previous gestation. I saw her two days after she had calved, at which time she was ruminating, and did not manifest any unusual symptoms of exhaustion. I may mention that the first four calves presented naturally; the fifth was a breech-presentation."
Cleansing.—Theplacenta, or after-birth, by which thefœtusis nourished while in embryo, should be removed soon after calving. Generally, it will come away without any assistance. This is what is called "cleansing after calving." When, however, it remains for some time, its function having been performed, it becomes a foreign body, exciting uterine contractions, and therefore injurious. The sooner, then, it is removed, the better for the animal as well as the owner. To accomplish this, the hand should be introduced, and, by pulling gently in various directions, it will soon yield and come away. Should it be allowed to remain, it rapidly decomposes, producing a low, feverish condition of the system, which greatly interferes with the general health of the animal.
Inversion of the Uterus.—Theuterusis sometimes turned inside out after calving. This is, generally, the result of debility, or severe labor. Theuterusshould be replaced as carefully as possible with the hands, care being taken that no dirt, straw, or other foreign substance adheres to it. Should it again be expelled, it would be advisable to quiet the system by the use of an anæsthetic, as chloroform, or—which is much safer—chloric ether. As soon as the animal is under the influence of this, theuterusmay be again replaced. Thehind-quarters should be raised as high as possible, in order to favor its retention. The animal should have a little gruel and a bottle of porter given to her every five or six hours, and thevulvashould be bathed frequently with cold water.
Inflammation of the brain is one of those dreadful diseases to which all animals are liable. It is known to the farmer as frenzy, mad staggers, etc.
The active symptoms are preceded by stupor; the animal stubbornly stands in one position; the eyes are full, red, and fiery; respiration rapid; delirium soon succeeds; the animal, bellowing, dashes wildly about, and seems bent on mischief, rushing madly at every object which comes in its way.
The causes of this disease are overwork in warm weather, a plethoric condition of the system, and too stimulating food. Prof. Gamgee, of the Edinburgh Veterinary College, relates a case resulting from the presence within the externalmeatusof a mass of concrete cerumen, or wax, which induced inflammation of the ear, extending to the brain.
Treatment.—As this is attended with considerable risk, unless it is taken prior to the frenzied stage, bleeding almost to fainting should be resorted to, and followed by a brisk purge. Take one ounce of Barbadoes aloes, and ten to fifteen drops of Croton-oil; mix the aloes with one pint of water and the oil, using the mixture as a drench. One pound of Epsom-salts will answer the purpose very well, in cases where the aloes and oil cannot be readily obtained. Application of bags of broken ice to the head, is very beneficial. Spirits of turpentine, or mustard, together with spirits of hartshorn andwater should be well rubbed in along the spine, from the neck to the tail.
This is an inflammation of thepleura, or the serous membrane which lines the cavity of the chest, and which is deflected over the lungs. Inflammation of this membrane rarely occurs in a pure form, but is more generally associated with inflammation of the tissue of the lungs. If this disease is not attended to at an early period, its usual termination is in hydrothorax, or dropsy of the chest. The same causes which produce inflammation of the lungs, of the bronchia, and of the other respiratory organs, produce also pleurisy.
Symptoms.—The respiration is quick, short, and painful; pressure between the ribs produces much pain; a low, short, painful cough is present; the respiratory murmur is much diminished,—in fact, it is scarcely audible. This condition is rapidly followed by effusion, which may be detected from the dullness of the sounds, on applying the ear to the lower part of the lungs. The febrile symptoms disappear; the animal for a few days appears to improve, but soon becomes weak, languid, and often exhausted from the slightest exertion.
Treatment.—The same treatment in the early stage is enjoined as in inflammatory pneumonia, which the reader will consult—counter-irritation and purgatives. Bleeding never should be resorted to. When effusion takes place, it is necessary to puncture the sides with a trochar, and draw away the fluid, giving internally one of the following purges three times a day: rosin, eight ounces; saltpetre, two ounces, mix, and divide into eight powders. Half-drachm doses ofthe iodide of potash, dissolved in water, to be given three times daily, will be found useful in this disease.
This disease, as its name implies, is an inflammatory condition of the lungs and thepleura, or the enveloping membrane of the lungs and the lining membrane of the chest. It is sometimes called contagious, infectious, and epizoötic pleuro-pneumonia,—contagious or infectious, from its supposed property of transmission from the diseased to the healthy animal.
TAKING AN OBSERVATION.
TAKING AN OBSERVATION.
A contagious character the author is not ready to assign to it,—contagious, as he understands it, being strictly applicable to those diseases which depend upon actual contact with the poison that it may be communicated from one animal to another. This does not necessarily imply the actual touching of the animals themselves; for it may be communicated from the poison left in the trough, or other places where the diseased animal has been brought in contact with some object, as is often the case in glanders in the horse; the matter discharged from the nose, and left upon the manger, readily communicatingthat disease to healthy animals coming in contact with it. Contagious diseases, therefore, travel very slowly, starting, as they do, at one point, and gradually spreading over a large district, or section of country.
This disease is, however, regarded by the author as infectious; by which term is meant that it is capable of being communicated from the diseased to the healthy animal through the medium of the air, which has become contaminated by the exhalations of poisonous matter. The ability to inoculate other animals in this way is necessarily confined to a limited space, sometimes not extending more than a few yards. Infectious diseases, accordingly, spread with more rapidity than contagious ones, and are, consequently, more to be dreaded; since we can avoid the one with comparatively little trouble, while the other often steals upon us when we regard ourselves as beyond its influence, carrying death and destruction in its course.
The term by which this disease is known, is a misnomer. Pleuro-pneumonia proper is neither a contagious, nor an infectious disease; hence, the denial of medical men that this so-called pleuro-pneumonia is a contagious, or infectious disease, has been the means of unnecessarily exposing many animals to its poisonous influence.
In theRecuéil de Médécine Vétérinaire, for 1833, will be found a very interesting description of this fatal malady. The author, M. Lecoy, Assistant Professor at the Veterinary School of Lyons, France, says: "There are few districts in thearrondissementof Avesnes where more cattle are fattened than in that of Soire-le-Chateau. The farmers being unable to obtain a sufficient supply of cattle in the district, areobliged to purchase the greater part of them from other provinces; and they procure a great number for grazing from Franche Comté. The cattle of this country are very handsome; their forms are compact; they fatten rapidly; and they are a kind of cattle from which the grazer would derive most advantage, were it not that certain diseases absorb, by the loss of some of the animals, the profits of the rest of the herd. Amongst the diseases which most frequently attack the cattle which are brought from the North, there is one very prevalent in some years, and which is the more to be dreaded as it is generally incurable; and the slaughter of the animal, before he is perceptibly wasted, is the only means by which the farmer can avoid losing the whole value of the beast.
"This disease is chronic pleuro-pneumonia. The symptoms are scarcely recognizable at first, and often the beast is ill for a long time without its being perceived. He fattens well, and when he is slaughtered the owner is astonished to find scarcely half of the lungs capable of discharging the function of respiration. When, however, the ox has not sufficient strength of constitution to resist the ravages of disease, the first symptom which is observed is diminution, or irregularity of appetite. Soon afterwards, a frequent, dry cough is heard, which becomes feeble and painful as the disease proceeds. The dorso-lumbar portion of the spine (loins) grows tender; the animal flinches when the part is pressed upon, and utters a peculiar groan, or grunt, which the graziers regard as decisive of the malady.
"Quickly after this, the movements of the flanks become irregular and accelerated, and the act of respiration is accompaniedby a kind of balancing motion of the whole body. The sides of the chest become as tender as the loins, or more so; for the animal immediately throws himself down, if pressed upon with any force. The elbows become, in many subjects, more and more separated from the sides of the chest. The pulse is smaller than natural, and not considerably increased. The muzzle is hot and dry, alternately. The animal lies down as in a healthy state, but rumination is partially or entirely suspended. Thefæcesare harder than they should be; the urine is of its natural color and quantity; the mouth is often dry; and the horns and ears retain their natural temperature.
"This first stage of the disease sometimes continues during a month, or more, and then, if the animal is to recover, or at least, apparently so, the symptoms gradually disappear. First of all, the appetite returns, and the beast begins to acquire a little flesh. The proprietor should then make haste and get rid of him; for it is very rare that the malady, however it may be palliated for a while, does not reappear with greater intensity than before.
"In most cases, the disease continues to pursue its course toward its termination without any remission,—every symptom gradually increasing in intensity. The respiration becomes more painful; the head is more extended; the eyes are brilliant; every expiration is accompanied with a grunt, and by a kind of puckering of the angles of the lips; the cough becomes smaller, more suppressed, and more painful; the tongue protrudes from the mouth, and a frothy mucus is abundantly discharged; the breath becomes offensive; a purulent fluid of a bloody color escapes from the nostrils;diarrhœa, profuse and fetid, succeeds to the constipation; the animal becomes rapidly weaker; he is a complete skeleton, and at length he dies.
"Examination after death discloses slight traces of inflammation in the intestines, discoloration of the liver, and a hard, dry substance contained in the manyplus. The lungs adhere to the sides and to the diaphragm by numerous bands, evidently old and very firm. The substance of the lungs often presents a reddish-gray hepatization throughout almost its whole extent. At other times, there are tubercles in almost every state of hardness, and in that of suppuration. The portion of the lungs that is not hepatized is red, and gorged with blood. Besides the old adhesions, there are numerous ones of recent date. The pleura is not much reddened, but by its thickness in some points, its adhesion in others, and the effusion of a serous fluid, it proves how much and how long it has participated in the inflammatory action. The trachea and the bronchia are slightly red, and the right side of the head is gorged with blood.
"In a subject in which, during life, I could scarcely feel the beating of the heart, I found the whole of the left lobe of the lungs adhering to the sides, and completely hepatized. In another, that had presented no sign of disease of the chest, and that for some days before his death vomited the little fodder which he could take, the whole of that portion of the œsophagus that passed through the chest was surrounded with dense false membranes, of a yellowish hue, ranging from light to dark, and being in some parts more than an inch in thickness, and adhering closely to the muscularmembrane of the tube, without allowing any trace to be perceived of that portion of the mediastinal pleura on which this unnatural covering was fixed and developed.
"The cattle purchased in Franche Comté are brought to Avesnes at two periods of the year—in autumn and in the spring. Those which are brought in autumn are much more subject to the disease than those which have arrived in the spring; and it almost always happens that the years in which it shows itself most generally are those in which the weather was most unfavorable while the cattle were on the road. The journey is performed by two different routes,—through Lorraine and through Champagne,—and the disease frequently appears in cattle that have arrived by one of these routes. The manner in which the beasts are treated, on their arrival, may contribute not a little to the development of the malady. These animals, which have been driven long distances in bad weather, and frequently half starved, arrived famished, and therefore the more fatigued, and some of them lame. Calculating on their ravenous appetite, the graziers, instead of giving them wholesome food, make them consume the worst that the farm contains,—musty and mouldy fodder; and it is usually by the cough, which the eating of such food necessarily produces, that the disease is discovered and first developed.
"Is chronic pleuro-pneumonia contagious? The farmers believe that it is, and I am partly of their opinion. When an animal falls sick in the pasture, the others, after his removal, go and smell at the grass where he has lain, and which he has covered with his saliva, and, after that, new cases succeed to the first. It is true that this fact is notconclusive, since the disease also appears in a great number of animals that have been widely separated from each other. But I have myself seen three cases in which the cattle of the country, perfectly well before, have fallen ill, and died with the same symptoms, excepting that they have been more acute, after they have been kept with cattle affected with this disease. This circumstance inclines me to think that the disease is contagious; or, at least, that, in the progress of it, the breath infects the cow-house in which there are other animals already predisposed to the same disease. I am induced to believe that most of the serious internal diseases are communicated in this manner, and particularly those which affect the organs of respiration, when the animals are shut up in close, low, and badly-ventilated cow-houses." [Rec. de Méd. Vét. Mai, 1833.]
No malady can be more terrible and ruinous than this among dairy-stock; and its spread all over the country, together with its continuance with scarcely any abatement, must be attributed to the combination of various causes. The chief are:first, the very contagious or infectious nature of the disorder;second, inattention on the part of Government to the importation and subsequent sale of diseased animals; and,third, the recklessness of purchasers of dairy or feeding cattle.
This disease may be defined as an acute inflammation of the organs of the chest, with the development of a peculiar and characteristic poison, which is the active element of infection or contagion. It is a disease peculiar to the cattle tribe, notwithstanding occasional assertions regarding observations of the disease among horses, sheep, and otheranimals,—which pretended observations have not been well attested.
The infectious, or contagious nature of this virulent malady is incontestibly substantiated by an overwhelming amount of evidence, which cannot be adduced at full length here, but which may be classified under the following heads:first, the constant spreading of the disease from countries in which it rages to others which, previously to the importation of diseased animals, had been perfectly free from it. This may be proved in the case of England, into which country it was carried in 1842, by affected animals from Holland. Twelve months after, it spread from England to Scotland, by means of some cattle sold at All-Hallow Fair, and it was only twelve months afterward that cattle imported as far north as Inverness took the disease there. Lately, a cow taken from England to Australia was observed to be diseased upon landing, and the evil results were limited to her owner's stock, who gave the alarm, and ensured an effectual remedy against a wider spread. Besides, the recent importation of pleuro-pneumonia into the United States from Holland appears to have awakened our agricultural press generally, and to have convinced them of the stubborn fact that our cattle have been decimated by a fearfully infectious, through probably preventable, plague. A letter from this country to an English author says: "Its (pleuro-pneumonia's) contagious character seems to be settled beyond a doubt, though some of the V.S. practitioners deny it, which is almost as reasonable as it would be to deny any other well-authenticated historic fact. Every case of the disease is traceable to one of two sources; either to Mr. Chenery's stock in Belmont (nearBoston, Massachusetts), into which the disease was introduced by his importation of four Dutch cows from Holland, which arrived here the 23d of last May; or else to one of the three calves which he sold to a farmer in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, last June."
2dly.Apart from the importation into countries, we have this certain proof—to which special attention was drawn several years ago—that cattle-dealers' farms, and public markets, constitute the busy centres of infection. Most anxious and careful inquiries have established the proposition that in breeding-districts, where the proprietors of extensive dairies—as in Dumfries, Scotland, and other places—abstain from buying, except from their neighbors, who have never had diseases of the lungs amongst their stock, pleuro-pneumonia has not been seen. There is a wide district in the Vicinity of Abington, England, and in the parish of Crawford, which has not been visitedbythis plague, with the exception of two farms, into which market-cattle had been imported and thus brought the disease.
3dly.In 1854 appeared a Report of the Researches on Pleuro-Pneumonia, by a scientific commission, instituted by the Minister of Agriculture in France. This very able pamphlet was edited by Prof. Bouley, of Alfort, France. The members of the commission belonged to the most eminent veterinarians and agriculturists in France. Magendie was President; Regnal, Secretary; besides Rayer, the renowned comparative pathologist; Yvart, the Inspector-General of the Imperial Veterinary Schools; Renault, Inspector of the Imperial Veterinary Schools; Delafond, Director of Alfort College; Bouley, Lassaigne, Baudemont, Doyére, Manny deMorny, and a few others representing the public. If such a commission were occasionally appointed in this country for similar purposes, how much light would be thrown on subjects of paramount importance to the agricultural community!
Conclusions arrived at by the commission are too important to be overlooked in this connection. The reader must peruse the Report itself, if he needs to satisfy himself as to the care taken in conducting the investigations: but the foregoing names sufficiently attest the indisputable nature of the facts alluded to.
In instituting its experiments, the commission had in view the solving of the following questions:—
1stly.Is the epizoötic pleuro-pneumonia of cattle susceptible of being transmitted from diseased to healthy animals by cohabitation?
2dly.In the event of such contagion's existing, would all the animals become affected, or what proportion would resist the disease?
3dly.Amongst the animals attacked by the disease, how many recover, and under what circumstances? How many succumb?
4thly.Are there any animals of the ox species decidedly free from any susceptibility of being affected from the contagion of pleuro-pneumonia?
5thly.Do the animals, which have been once affected by a mild form of the disease, enjoy immunity from subsequent attacks?
6thly.Do the animals, which have once been affected by the disease in its active form, enjoy such immunity?
To determine these questions, the commission submittedat different times to the influence of cohabitation with diseased animals forty-six perfectly healthy ones, chosen from districts in which they had never been exposed to a similar influence.
Of these forty-six animals, twenty were experimented on at Pomeraye, two at Charentonneau, thirteen at Alfort, and eleven, in the fourth experiment, at Charentonneau.
Of this number, twenty-one animals resisted the disease when first submitted to the influence of cohabitation, ten suffered slightly, and fifteen took the disease. Of the fifteen affected, four died, and eleven recovered. Consequently, the animals which apparently escaped the disease at the first trial amounted to 45.65 per cent., and those affected to 21.73 per cent. Of these, 23.91 per cent. recovered, and 8.69 per cent. died. But the external appearances in some instances proved deceptive, and six of the eleven animals of the last experiment, which were regarded as having escaped free, were found, on being destroyed, to bear distinct evidence of having been affected. This, therefore, modifies the foregoing calculations, and the numbers should stand thus:—
Of the forty-two animals which were exposed in the first experiments at Pomeraye and Charentonneau, and which escaped either without becoming affected, or recovering, eighteen were submitted to a second trial; and of these eighteen animals, five had, in the first experiment, suffered from the disease and had recovered; five had now become affected; and four had been indisposed. The four animalssubmitted to the influence of contagion a third time, had been affected on the occasion of the first trial. None of the eighteen animals contracted the disease during these renewed exposures to the influence of contagion.
From the results of these experiments, the commission drew the following conclusions:—
1stly.The epizoötic pleuro-pneumonia is susceptible of being transmitted from diseased to healthy animals by cohabitation.
2dly.All the animals exposed do not take the disease; some suffer slightly, and others not at all.
3dly.Of the affected animals, some recover and others die.
4thly.The animals, whether slightly or severely affected, possess an immunity against subsequent attacks.
These are the general conclusions which the commission deemed themselves authorized to draw from their experiments. The absolute proportion of animals which become affected, or which escape the disease, or of those which die and which recover, as a general rule, cannot be deduced from the foregoing experiments, which, for such a purpose, are too limited. The commission simply state the numbers resulting from their experiments. From these it transpires that forty five of the animals became severely affected with pleuro-pneumonia, and twenty-one per cent. took the disease slightly, making the whole sixty-six per cent. which were more or less severely attacked. Thirty-four per cent. remained free from any malady. The proportion of animals which re-acquired their wonted appearance of health amounted to eighty-three per cent., whereas seventeen per cent. died. Many minor points might be insisted on, but it is sufficienthere to say, that the most careful analysis of all facts has proved to practical veterinarians, as well as to experienced agriculturists, and must prove to all who will calmly and dispassionately consider the point, that pleuro-pneumonia is pre-eminently an infectious, or contagious disease.