Powdered skunk cabbage,equal parts.Powdered lobelia,equal parts.Powdered poplar bark,equal parts.Indian meal,1 pint.
Make it of the proper consistence with boiling water. When sufficiently cool, put it into a flannel bag, and secure it above the pastern. To be renewed every twelve hours. After the second application, examine the foot, and if suppuration has commenced, and matter can be felt, or seen, a small puncture may be made, taking care not to let the knife penetrate beyond the bony part of the hoof.
In the mean time, prepare the following drink:—
Indian hemp or milkweed, (herb,)1 ounce.Powdered mandrake,1 table-spoonful.Powdered lobelia seeds,1 tea-spoonful.Powdered poplar bark, (very fine,)1 ounce.
Make a tea, in the usual manner—about one gallon. After straining it through a cloth, add the other ingredients, and give a quart every two hours.
A long-necked bottle is the most suitable vehicle in which to administer; but it must be poured down in the most gradual manner. The head should not be elevated too high.
A liberal allowance of camomile tea may be resorted to, during the whole stage of the disease.
Next stimulate the external surface, by warmth and moisture, in the following manner: Take about two quarts of vinegar, into which stir a handful of lobelia; have a hot brick ready, (the animal having a large cloth, or blanket, thrown around him;) pour the mixture gradually on the brick, which is held over a bucket to prevent waste; the steam arising will relax the surface. After repeating the operation, apply the following mixture around the jaws, back, and extremities: take of cayenne, skunk cabbage, and cypripedium, (lady'sslipper,) powdered, each two ounces, boiling vinegar two quarts; stir the mixture until sufficiently cool, rub it well in with a coarse sponge; this will relax the jaws a trifle, so that the animal can manage to suck up thin gruel, which may be given warm, in any quantity. This process must be persevered in; although it may not succeed in every case, yet it will be more satisfactory than the blood-letting and poisoning system. No medicine is necessary; the gruel will soften the fæces sufficiently; if the rectum is loaded with fæces, give injections of an infusion of lobelia.
[8]This is a narcotic vegetable poison; and although large quantities have been occasionally given to the horse without apparent injury, experience teaches us that poisons in general—notwithstanding the various modes of their action, and the difference in their symptoms—all agree in the abstraction of vitality from the system. Dr. Eberle says, "Opiates never fail to operate perniciously on the whole organization." Dr. Gallup says, "The practice of using opiates to mitigate pain is greatly to be deprecated. It is probable that opium and its preparations have done seven times the injury that they have rendered benefit on the great scale of the civilized world. Opium is the most destructive of all narcotics."
[8]This is a narcotic vegetable poison; and although large quantities have been occasionally given to the horse without apparent injury, experience teaches us that poisons in general—notwithstanding the various modes of their action, and the difference in their symptoms—all agree in the abstraction of vitality from the system. Dr. Eberle says, "Opiates never fail to operate perniciously on the whole organization." Dr. Gallup says, "The practice of using opiates to mitigate pain is greatly to be deprecated. It is probable that opium and its preparations have done seven times the injury that they have rendered benefit on the great scale of the civilized world. Opium is the most destructive of all narcotics."
[9]This is a perfect seesaw between efforts to kill and efforts to cure.
[9]This is a perfect seesaw between efforts to kill and efforts to cure.
[10]Then it ought not to be used.
[10]Then it ought not to be used.
INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH, (Gastritis.)
Such a complicated piece of mechanism is the stomach of the ox, that organ is particularly liable to disease. Inflammation, being the same as local fever, (or a high grade of vital power, concentrated within a small space,) may be produced by over-feeding, irritating and indigestible food, or acrid, poisonous, and offensive medicines. The farmer must remember that a small quantity of good, nutritious food, capable of being easily penetrated by the gastric fluids, will repair the waste that is going on, and improve the condition with more certainty than an abundance of indifferent provender.
Cure.—The first indication will be to allay the irritability of the stomach; this will moderate the irritation and lessen the fever. Make a mucilaginous drink of slippery elm, or marshmallows, and give half a pint every two hours. All irritating food and drink must be carefully avoided, and the animal must be kept quiet; all irritating cordials, "including the popular remedy, gin and molasses," must be avoided. These never fail to increase the malady, and may occasion death. If there is an improper accumulation of food in theviscera, the remedies will be, relaxing clysters, abstinence from food, and a tea of sassafras and mandrake, made thus:—
Sassafras, (laurus sassafras,1 ounce.Mandrake, (podophyllum peltatum,)4 drachms.Boiling water,2 quarts.
Let the mixture stand until quite cool, and give a pint every four hours.
Almost all animals, when suffering under acute symptoms, require diluting, cooling drinks. This at once points out the use of water, or any weak gruel of which water is the basis; the necessity of diluting liquors is pointed out by the heat and dryness of the mouth, and rigidity of the coat.
When the thirst is great, the following forms a grateful and cooling beverage: Take lemon balm, (melissa officinalis,) two ounces; boiling water, two quarts; when cool, strain, and add half a tea-spoonful of cream of tartar. Give half a pint at intervals of two hours.
If the stomach continues to exhibit a morbid state, which may be known by a profuse discharge of saliva from the mouth, then administer camomile tea in small quantities: the addition of a little powdered charcoal will prove beneficial.
Remarks.—Gastritis cannot be long present without other parts of the system sharing the disturbance: it is then termed gastric fever. This fever is the result of the local affection. Our object is, to get rid of the local affection, and the fever will subside. Authors have invariably recommended destructive remedies for the cure of gastritis; but they generally fail of hitting the mark, and always do more or less injury.
A light diet, rest, a clean bed of straw in a well-ventilated barn, will generally perfect the cure.
INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS, (Pneumonia.)
Causes.—Errors in feeding, over-exertion, exposure in wet pastures, or suffering the animal, when in a state ofperspiration, to partake too bountifully of cold water, are among the direct causes of a derangement of vital equilibrium. Want of pure air for the purpose of vitalizing the blood, the inhalation of noxious gases, and filth and uncleanliness, may produce this disease in its worst form; yet it must be borne in mind that the same exciting causes will not develop the same form of disease in all animals. It altogether depends on the amount of vital resistance, or what is termed the peculiar idiosyncrasy of the animal. On the other hand, several animals often suffer from the same form of disease, from causes varying in their general character. Hence the reader will see that it would be needless, in fact impossible, to point to the direct cause in each grade of disease. The least obstruction to universal vital action will produce pneumonia in some animals, while in others it may result in disease of the bowels.
Cure.—No special treatment can be successfully pursued in pneumonia; for the lungs are not the only organs involved: no change of condition can occur in the animal functions without the nervous system being more or less deranged; for the latter is essential to all vital motions. Hence disease, in every form, should be treated according to its indications. A few general directions may, however, be found useful. The first indication to be fulfilled is to equalize the blood. Flannels saturated with warm vinegar should be applied to the extremities; they may be folded round the legs, and renewed as often as they grow cold. Poultices of slippery elm, applied to the feet, as hot as the animal can bear them, have sometimes produced a better result than vinegar. If the animal has shivering fits, and the whole surface is chilled, apply warmth and moisture as recommended in article "Locked-Jaw." At the same time, endeavor to promote the insensible perspiration by the internal use of diaphoretics—lobelia or thoroughwort tea. A very good diaphoretic and anti-spasmodic drink may be made thus:—
Lobelia, (herb)2 ounces.Spearmint,1 ounce.Boiling water,2 quarts.
Let the above stand for a few minutes; strain, then add two table-spoonfuls of honey. Give half a pint every hour, taking care to pour it down the œsophagus very gently, so as to insure its reaching the fourth or true digestive stomach. The following clyster must be given:—
Powdered Lobelia,2 ounces.Boiling water,3 quarts.
When sufficiently cool, inject with a common metal syringe.
These processes should be repeated as the symptoms require, until the animal gives evidence of relief; when a light diet of thin gruel will perfect the cure. It must ever be borne in mind that in the treatment of all forms of disease—those of thelungs more especially—the animal must have pure, uncontaminated atmospheric air, and that any departure from purity in the air which the animal respires, will counteract all our efforts to cure.
INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS,(Enteritis,—Inflammation Of the Fibro-Muscular Coat of the Intestines.)
Character.—Acute pain; the animal appears restless, and frequently turns his head towards the belly; moans, and appears dull; frequent small, hard pulse; cold feet and ears.
Causes.—Plethora, costiveness, or the sudden application of cold either internally or externally, overworking, &c.
Cure.—In the early stages of the disease, all forms of medication that are in any way calculated to arouse the peristaltic motion of the intestines should be avoided; hence purges are certain destruction. Relax the muscular structure by the application of a blanket or horse-cloth wrung out in hot water. In this disease, it is generally sufficient to apply warmth and moisture as near the parts affected as possible; yet if the ears and legs are cold, the general application of warmth and moisture will more speedily accomplish the relaxation of the whole animal. After the application of the above, injections of amild, soothing character (slippery elm, or flaxseed tea) should be used very liberally. A drink of any mucilaginous, lubricating, and innocent substance may be given, such as mallows, linseed, Iceland moss, slippery elm. During convalescence, the diet must be light and of an unirritating character, such as boiled carrots, scalded meal, &c.
INFLAMMATION OF TILE PERITONEAL COAT OF THE INTESTINES, (Peritonitis.)
This disease requires the same treatment as the latter malady.
INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS, (Nephritis.)
The usual symptoms are a quick pulse; loss of appetite; high-colored urine, passed in small quantities, with difficulty and pain. Pressure on the loins gives pain, and the animal will shrink on placing the hand over the region of the kidneys.
Causes.—Cold, external injury, or injury from irritating substances, that are often sent full tilt through the kidneys, as spirits of turpentine, gin and molasses, saleratus. It is unnecessary to detail all the causes of the disease: suffice it to say, that they exist in any thing that can for a time obstruct the free and full play of the different functions.
Treatment.—This, too, will consist in the invitation of the blood to the surface and extremities, and by removing all irritating matter from the system,in the same manner as for inflammation of the bowels. The application of a poultice of ground hemlock, or a charge of gum hemlock, will generally be found useful. The best drinks—and these should only be allowed in small quantities—are gum arabic and marshmallow decoctions.
INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER, (Cystitis.)
During the latter months of pregnancy, the bladder is often in an irritable state, and a frequent desire to void the urine is observed, which frequently results from constipation. A peculiar sympathy exists between the bladder and rectum; and when constipation is present, there is a constant effort on the part of the animal to void the excrement. This expulsive action also affects the bladder: hence the frequent efforts to urinate. The irritable state of the bladder is caused by the pressure of the loaded rectum on the neck of the former.
The common soap-suds make a good injection, and will quickly soften the hardened excrement; after which the following clyster may be used:—
Linseed tea,3 quarts.Cream of tartar,1 ounce.
After throwing into the rectum about one third of the above, press the tail on the anus. The object is, to make it act as a fomentation in the immediate vicinity of the parts. After the inflammation shall have subsided, administer the following in a bottle, or horn:—
Powdered blackroot, (leptandra virginica,)half an ounce.Warm water,1 pint.
Repeat the dose, if the symptoms are not relieved.
INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB.
This may be treated in the same manner as the last-named disease. The malady may be recognized by lassitude, loss of appetite, diminution in the quantity, and deterioration in the quality, of the milk. As the disease advances, there is often a fetid discharge from the parts; a constant straining, which is attended with a frequent flow of urine.
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, (Phrenitis.)
In this disease, the pia mater, arachnoid membrane, or the brain itself, may be inflamed. It matters very little which of the above are deranged, for the means of cure are the same. We have no method of making direct application to either of the above, as they all lie within the cranium. Neither can we act upon them medicinally except through the organs of secretion, absorption, and circulation. Post mortem examinations reveal to us evident marks of high inflammatory action, both in the substance of the brain and in its membranes; and an effusion of blood, serum, or of purulent matter, has been found in the ventricles of the brain.
Treatment.—The indications are, to equalize the circulation by warmth and moisture externally, and maintain the action to the surface by rubbing the legs with the following counter-irritant:—
Vinegar,1 quart.Common salt,2 ounces.
Set the mixture on the fire, (in an earthen vessel,) and allow it to simmer for a few moments; then apply it to the legs. After the circulation is somewhat equalized, give the following drench:—
Extract of butternut,half an ounce.Tea of hyssop,1 pint.
A stimulating clyster may then be given, composed of warm water, into which a few grains of powdered capsicum may be sprinkled.
If due attention be paid to counter-irritation, and the head kept cool by wet cloths, the chances of recovery are pretty certain.
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE.
This disease is too well known to require any description; we shall therefore, at once, proceed to point out the ways and means for its cure.
Treatment.—First wash the eyes with a weak decoction of camomile flowers until they are well cleansed; then give a cooling drink, composed of
Cream of tartar,1 ounce.Decoction of lemon balm,1 quart.
Repeat this drink every six hours, until the bowels am moved. Should the disease occur where these articles cannot be procured, give two ounces of common salt in a pint of water. Should the eye still continue red and swollen, give a dose of physic. (SeePhysic for Cattle.)
If a film can be observed, wash with a decoction of powdered bloodroot; and if a weeping remain, use the following astringent:—
Powdered bayberry bark,1 ounce.Boiling water,1 pint.
When cool, pour off the clear liquor. It is then fit for use.
Inflammation of the eye may assume different forms, but the above treatment, combined with attention to rest, ventilation, a dark location, and a light diet, will cover the whole ground.
INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER, (Hepatitis.)
Cattle very frequently show signs of diseased liver. Stall-fed oxen and cows kept in cities are most liable to derangement of the liver; in such animals, (after death,) there is an unusual yellowness of the fat. A disease of the liver may exist for a long time without interfering much with thegeneral health. Mr. Youatt informs us that "a chronic form of diseased liver may exist for some months, or years, not characterized by any decided symptom, and but little interfering with health."
Symptoms.—Permanent yellowness of the eyes; quick pulse; dry muzzle; hot mouth; considerable pain when pressure is made on the right side. Occasionally the animal looks round and licks the spot over the region of the liver.
Treatment.—First give half pint doses of thoroughwort tea, at intervals of one hour, (to the amount of two quarts.) This will relax the system, and equalize vital action. The following drench is then to be given:—
Extract of butternut,half an ounce.Warm water,1 quart.
If the butternut cannot be obtained, substitute a dose of physic. (SeeAppendix.) Stimulate the bowels to action by injections of soap-suds. If the extremities are cold, proceed to warm them in the manner alluded to in articleInflammation of the Bowels. On the other hand, if the surface of the body is hot and dry, and there is much fever present, indicated by a quick pulse and dry muzzle, then bathe the whole surface with weak saleratus water, sufficiently warm to relax the external surface. The following fever drink may be given daily until rumination again commences:—
Lemon balm,2 ounces.Cream of tartar,1 ounce.Honey,1 gill.Water,2 quarts.
First pour the boiling water on the balm; after standing a few minutes, strain; then add the above ingredients.
This disease is well known to every farmer; the yellow appearance of the skin, mouth, eyes, and saliva at once betray its presence. It consists in the absorption of unchanged bile into the circulation, which bile becomes diffused, giving rise to the yellow appearances.
In the treatment of jaundice, we first give a dose of physic, (seeAppendix,) and assist its operation by injections of weak lie, made from wood ashes. The animal may roam about in the barn-yard, if the weather will permit; or rub the external surface briskly with a wisp or brush, which will answer the same purpose. The following may be given in one dose, and repeated every day, or every other day, as the symptoms may require:—
Powdered golden seal, (hydrastus canadensis),1 table-spoonful.Powdered slippery elm,2 ounoces.
Water sufficient to make it of the consistence of gruel.
Should a diarrhœa set in, it ought not to occasion alarm, but may be considered as an effort of nature to rid the system of morbific matter. It will be prudent, however, to watch the animal, and if the strength and condition fail, then add to the last prescription a small quantity of powdered gentian and caraway seeds.
There are various forms of disease in the liver, yet the treatment will not differ much from that of the last-named disease. There is no such thing as a medicine for a particular symptom, in one form of disease, that is not equally good for the same symptom in every form. In short, there is no such thing as a specific. Any medicine that will promote the healthy action of the liver in one form of jaundice will be equally good for the same purpose in another form of that disease.
Mr. Youatt states, "There are few diseases to which cattleare so frequently subject, or which are so difficult to treat, as jaundice, or yellows." Hence it is important that the farmer should know how and in what manner the disease may be prevented. And he will succeed best who understands the causes, which often exist in overworking the stomach, with a desire to fatten. Men who raise cattle for the market often attempt to get them in fine condition and flesh, without any regard to the state of the digestive organs, the liver included; for the bile which the latter secretes is absolutely necessary for the perfection of the digestive process. They do not take into consideration the state of the animals' health, the climate, the quality of food, and the quantity best adapted to the digestive powers; and what is of still greater importance, and too often overlooked, is, that all animals should be fed at regular intervals. Some men suppose that so long as their cattle shall have good food, without any regard to quantity,—if they eat all day long, and cram their paunch to its utmost capacity,—they must fatten; when, in fact, too much food deranges the whole digestive apparatus. As soon as the paunch and stomach are overloaded, they press on the liver, interfering with the bile-secreting process, producing congestion and disorganization.
Diseases of the liver may be produced by any thing that will for a time suspend the process of rumination: the known sympathy that exists between the stomach and liver explains this fact.
Digestion, like every other vital process, requires a concentration of power to accomplish it: now, if an ox should have a bountiful meal, and then be driven several miles, the process of digestion, during the journey, will be partly suspended. The act of compelling an ox to rise, or annoying him in any way, will immediately suspend rumination, which may result in an acute disease of the liver. In most cases, however, the stomach is primarily affected.
Dealers in cattle often overfeed the animals they are about to dispose of, in order to improve their external appearance, and increase their own profits: the consequence is, that suchanimals are in a state of plethora, and are liable at any moment to be attacked with congestion of the liver or brain.
Again. If oxen are driven a long journey, and then turned into a pasture abounding in highly nutritious grasses or clover, to which they are unaccustomed, they fill the paunch to such an extent that it becomes a matter of impossibility on the part of the animal to throw it up for rumination; this mass of food, being submitted to the combined action of heat and moisture, undergoes fermentation; carbonic acid gas is evolved; the animal is then said to be "blown," "hoven," or "blasted." Post mortem examination, in such cases, reveals a highly-congested state of the liver and spleen.
In fattening cattle, the injury done to the organs of digestion is not always observed in the early stages; for the vital power, which wages a warfare against all encroachments, endeavors to accommodate itself to the increased bulk; yet, by continuing to give an excess of diet, it finally yields up the citadel to the insidious foe. Chemical action then overpowers the vital, and disease is the result.
Thousands of valuable cattle are yearly destroyed by being too well, or, rather, injudiciously fed. Many diseases of the liver and digestive organs result from feeding on unwholesome, innutritious, and hard, indigestible food. Bad water, and suffering the animal to partake too bountifully of cold water when heated and fatigued, are among the direct causes of disease.
The mucous membrane is a duplicature of the skin, and is folded into the external orifices of the animal, as the mouth, ears, nose, lungs, stomach, intestines, and bladder; but not being so much exposed to the action of external agents, it is not so strong or thick as the skin. It performs, however, nearly the same office as the skin. If the action of one issuppressed, the other immediately commences the performance of its office. Thus a common cold, which collapses the skin, immediately stops insensible perspiration, which recedes to the mucous membrane, producing a discharge from the nose, eyes, bowels, &c. So, when great derangement of the mucous membrane exists, debilitating perspiration succeeds. In the treatment of diseases of the mucous membrane, we endeavor to remove the irritating causes from the organs affected, restore the general tone of the system, and invite action to the external surface.
CATARRH, OR HOOSE.
This disease often arises from exposure to wet or cold weather, and from the food being of a bad quality, or deficient in quantity. If the animal is enfeebled by poor feed, old age, or any other cause, then there is very little resistance offered against the encroachments of disease: hence young beasts and cows after calving are often the victims.
Treatment.—It is necessary to attend to this disorder as soon as it makes its appearance; for a common cold, neglected, often lays the foundation of consumption. On the other hand, a little attention in the early stages, and before sympathetic action sets in, would set all right. The first indication to be fulfilled is to invite action to the surface by friction and counter-irritants. The following liniment may be applied to the feet and throat:—
Olive oil,4 ounces.Oil of cedar,1 ounce.Liquid ammonia,half an ounce.
Rub the mixture in well; then give
Gruel,1 quart.Powdered licorice,1 ounce.Composition,half a tea-spoonful.
Give this at a dose, and repeat two or three times during thetwenty-four hours. A drink of any warm aromatic tea,such as pennyroyal, hyssop, catnip or aniseed will have a good effect. The diet should consist of scalded meal, boiled carrots, flaxseed, or any substance that is light and easy of digestion. Should the discharge increase and the eyelids swell, recourse must be had to vapor, which may be raised by pouring vinegar on a hot brick; the latter held, with a pair of tongs, beneath the animal's nose, at the same time covering the head with a blanket. A small quantity of bayberry bark may occasionally be blown up the nostrils from a quill. It is very important, during the treatment, that the animal be in a warm situation, with a good bed of straw to rest on. If the glands under the jaw enlarge, the following mixture should be rubbed about the throat:—
Neat's foot oil,4 ounces.Hot drops,2 ounces.Vinegar,1 gill.
If the disease assumes a chronic form, and the animal is evidently losing flesh, then give the following:—
Golden seal, powdered,1 table-spoonful.Caraway seeds, powdered,1 table-spoonful.
Divide into three parts; which may be given daily, (in thin gruel,) until the animal is convalescent.
EPIDEMIC CATARRH.
This often prevails at particular seasons, and spreads over whole districts, sometimes destroying a great number of cattle. It is a disorder whose intensity varies considerably, being sometimes attended with a high grade of fever, at other times quickly followed by general debility.
Treatment.—This requires the same treatment as the last-named disease, but only more thoroughly and perseveringly applied; for every portion of the system seems to be affected,either through sympathetic action or from the absorption of morbid matter. Hence we must aid the vital power to maintain her empire and resist the encroachments on her sanative operations by the use of antiseptics and stimulants. The following is a good example:—
Powdered charcoal,1 ounce.Powdered bayberry bark,half an ounce.Powdered pleurisy root,1 ounce.Honey,1 table-spoonful.Thin gruel,1 quart.
MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC, (Murrain.)
This disease has been more or less destructive from the time of Pharaoh up to the present period. For information on the origin, progress, and termination of this malignant distemper, the reader is referred to Mr. Youatt's work on cattle.
Treatment.—The indications to be fulfilled are, first, to preserve the system from putrescence, which can be done by the use of the following drink:—
Powdered capsicum,1 tea-spoonful.Powdered charcoal,2 ounces.Limewater,4 ounces.Sulphur,1 tea-spoonful.
Add to the capsicum, charcoal, and sulphur, a small quantity of gruel; lastly, add the lime water. A second and similar dose may be given six hours after the first, provided, however, the symptoms are not so alarming.
The next indication is, to break down the morbid action of the nervous and vascular systems; for which the following may be given freely:—
Thoroughwort tea,2 quarts.Powdered assafœtida,2 drachms.
Aid the action of these remedies by the use of one of the following injections:—
Powdered lobelia,2 ounces.Oil of peppermint,2 quarts.
Another.
Infusion of camomile,2 quarts.Common salt,4 ounces.
In all cases of putrid or malignant fever, efforts should be made to supply the system with caloric, (by the aid of stimulants,) promote the secretions, and rid the system of morbific materials.
DIARRHŒA, (Looseness of the Bowels.)
In the early stages of this disease, it is not always to be checked. It is often a salutary operation of nature to rid the system of morbific materials, and all that we can do with safety is, to sheathe and lubricate the mucous surfaces, in order to protect them from the acrid and stimulating properties of the agents to be removed from the alimentary canal.
When the disease, of which diarrhœa is only a symptom, proceeds from exposure, apply warmth, moisture, friction, and stimulants to the external surface, aided by the following lubricant:—
Powdered slippery elm,1 ounce.Powdered charcoal,1 table-spoonful.Boiling water,2 quarts.
Common starch, or flour, may be substituted for slippery elm. The mixture should be given in pint doses, at intervals of two hours. When the fecal discharges appear more natural and less frequent, a tea of raspberry leaves or bayberry bark will complete the cure.
When the disease assumes a chronic form, and the animalloses flesh, the following tonic, stimulating, astringent drink is recommended:—
Infusion of camomile,1 quart.Powdered caraway seeds,1 ounce.Bayberry, powdered,half an ounce.
Mix for one dose.
Remarks.—In the treatment of this disease, it is necessary for the farmer to know, that through the instrumentality of the nervous structure, there is constantly a sympathy kept up between the different parts of the animal; whenever any part is affected, the corresponding part feels the influence. Thus the external surface is opposed to the internal, so that, if the function of the former be diminished, or excessive, or suspended, that of the latter will soon become deranged; and the restoration of the lost function is the only true way to effect a cure. For example, if an animal be suffered to feed in wet lands, the feet and external surface become cold; and hence diarrhœa, catarrh, garget, dysentery, &c. If the circulation of the blood is obstructed by exposure, we should restore the lost function by rubbing the surface, and by the application of warmth and moisture. If the animal is in poor condition, and there is not enough vitality to equalize the circulation, give warm anti-spasmodics. (SeeAppendix.) In cases where diarrhœa results from a want of power in the digestive organs to assimilate the food, the latter acts on the mucous surfaces as a mechanical irritant, producing inflammation, &c. Inflammation is the concentration of the available vital force too much upon a small region of the body, and it is invited there by irritation. Now, instead of the popular error,—bleeding and purging,—the most rational way to proceed is, to remove the cause of irritation, (no matter whether the stomach or bowels are involved,) and invite the blood to the surface by means already alluded to, and distribute it over the general system, so that it will not be in excess any where. There is generally but littledifficulty in producing an equilibrium of action; the great point is to sustain it. When the blood accumulates in a part, as in inflammation of the bowels, the sensibility of the part is so highly exalted that the least irritation causes a relapse; therefore the general treatment must not be abandoned too early.