The American Reformed Cattle Doctor Part 25

Boiling water, 2 quarts.

Set the mixture aside to cool. Then strain, and add infusion of marshmallows (see APPENDIX) one quart; which may be given in pint doses every two hours.

If a bad discharge sets up from the wound,--but this will seldom happen, unless the system abounds in morbific materials,--then, in addition to the drink, wash the wound with

Pyroligneous acid, 2 ounces.

Water, 2 quarts.

Mix.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] Although we recommend that cows be confined in the trevis for the purpose of performing this operation, it by no means follows that it cannot be done as well in other ways. In fact, the trevis is inadmissible where chloroform is used. The animal must be cast in order to use that agent with any degree of safety. If the trevis is not at hand, we should prefer to operate, having the cow secured to the floor, or held in that position by trusty a.s.sistants. We lately operated on a cow, the property of Mr. C. Drake of Holliston, in this state, under very unfavorable circ.u.mstances; yet, as will appear from the accompanying note, the cow is likely to do well, notwithstanding. The history of the case is as follows: We were sent for by Mr. D. to see a heifer having a swelling under the jaw, which proved to be a scirrhous gland. After giving our opinion and prescribing the usual remedies, the conversation turned upon spaying cattle; and Mr. D. remarked that he had a five year old cow, on which we might, if we chose, operate. This we rather objected to at first, as the cow was in a state of plethora, and the stomach very much distended with food; yet, as the owner appeared willing to share the responsibility, we consented to perform the operation. The cow was accordingly cast, in the usual manner, she lying on her right side, her head being firmly held by an a.s.sistant. We then made an incision through the skin, muscles, and peritoneum. The hand was then introduced, and each ovary in its turn brought as near to the external wound as possible, and separated from its attachment with a b.u.t.ton-pointed bistoury. The wound was then brought together with four interrupted sutures, and dressed as already described. Directions were given to keep the animal quiet, and on a light diet: the calf, which was four weeks old, to suckle as usual. The operation was performed on the 17th of January, 1851, and on the 27th, the following communication was received:--

DR. DADD.

Dear Sir: Agreeably to request, I will inform you as regards the cow. I must say that, so far as appearances are concerned, she is doing well. She has a good appet.i.te, and chews her cud, and the wound is not swelled or inflamed.

Yours truly, C. DRAKE.

HOLLISTON, _Jan 27, 1851_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Three South Down Wethers

The Property of Mr. Jonas Webb of Babraham, near Cambridge, which obtained Prizes in their respective cla.s.ses at the Smithfield Cattle Show, Decr. 1839.]

SHEEP.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

Many of the diseases to which sheep are subject can be traced to want of due care in their management. The common practice of letting them range in marshy lands is one of the princ.i.p.al causes of disease.

The feet of sheep are organized in such a manner as to be capable, when in a healthy state, of eliminating from the system a large amount of worn-out materials--excrement.i.tious matter, which, if retained in the system, would be injurious. The direct application of cold tends to contract the mouths of excrement.i.tious vessels, and the morbid matter acc.u.mulates. This is not all. There are in the system numerous outlets,--for example, the kidneys, lungs, surface, feet, &c. The health of the animal depends on all these functions being duly performed. If a certain function be interrupted for any length of time, it is sure to derange the system. Diseases of the feet are very common in wet situations, and are a source of great loss to the farming community.

Hence it becomes a matter of great importance to know how to manage them so as to prevent diseases of the feet.

Professor Simonds says, "No malady was probably so much feared by the agriculturist as the rot; and with reason, for it was most destructive to his hopes. It was commonly believed to be incurable, and therefore it was all important to inquire into the causes which gave rise to it.

Some pastures were notorious for rotting sheep; on other lands, sheep, under all ordinary circ.u.mstances, were pastured with impunity; but, as a broad principle, it might be laid down that an excess of moisture is prejudicial to the health of the animal. Sheep, by nature, are not only erratic animals, wandering over a large s.p.a.ce of ground, but are also inhabitants of arid districts. The skill of man has increased and improved the breed, and has naturalized the animal in moist and temperate climates. But, nevertheless, circ.u.mstances now and then take place which show that its nature is not entirely changed; thus, a wet season occurs, the animals are exposed to the debilitating effects of moisture, and the rot spreads among them to a fearful extent. The malady is not confined to England or to Europe; it is found in Asia and Africa, and occurs also in Egypt on the receding of the waters of the Nile.

"These facts are valuable, because they show that the cause of the disease is not local--that it is not produced by climate or temperature; for it is found that animals in any temperature become affected, and on any soil in certain seasons. A great deal had been written on rot in sheep, which it were to be wished had not been. Many talented individuals had devoted their time to its investigation, endeavoring to trace out a cause for it, as if it originated from one cause alone. But the facts here alluded to would show that it arose from more causes than one. He had mentioned the circ.u.mstance with regard to land sometimes producing rot, and sometimes not; but he would go a step further, and ask, Was there any particular period of the year when animals were subject to the attack? Undoubtedly there was. In the rainy season, the heat and moisture combined would produce a most luxuriant herbage; but that herbage would be deficient in nutriment, and danger would be run; the large quant.i.ty of watery matter in the food acting as a direct excitement to the abnormal functions of the digestive organs. Early disturbance of the liver led to the acc.u.mulation of fat, (state of plethora;) consequently, an animal being 'touched with the rot' thrived much more than usual. This reminded him that the celebrated Bakewell was said to be in the habit of placing his sheep on land notorious for rotting them, in order to prevent other people from getting his stock, and likewise to bring them earlier to market for the butcher."

Referring to diseases of the liver, Professor S. remarked, that "the bile in rot, in consequence of the derangement of the liver being continued, lost the property of converting the chymous ma.s.s into nutritious matter, and the animal fell away in condition. Every part of the system was now supplied with impure blood, for we might as well expect pure water from a poisoned fountain as pure blood when the secretion of bile was unhealthy. This state of the liver and the system was a.s.sociated with the existence of parasites in the liver.

"Some persons suppose that these parasites, which, from their particular form, were called flukes, were the cause of the rot. They are only the effect; yet it is to be remembered that they multiply so rapidly that they become the cause of further diseased action. Sheep, in the earlier stages of the affection, before their biliary ducts become filled with flukes, may be restored; but, when the parasites existed in abundance, there was no chance of the animal's recovery. Those persons who supposed flukes to be the cause of rot had, perhaps, some reason for that opinion. Flukes are oviparous; their ova mingle with the biliary secretion, and thus find their way out of the intestinal ca.n.a.l into the soil; as in the feculent matter of rotten sheep may be found millions of flukes. A Mr. King, of Bath, (England,) had unhesitatingly given it as his opinion that flukes were the cause of rot; believing that, if sheep were pastured on land where the ova existed, they would be taken up with the food, enter into the ramifications of the biliary ducts, and thus contaminate the whole liver. There appeared some ground for this a.s.sertion, because very little indeed was known with reference to the duration of life in its latent form in the egg. How long the eggs of birds would remain without undergoing change, if not placed under circ.u.mstances favorable to the development of life in a more active form, was undecided. It was the same with the ova of these parasites; so long as they remained on the pasture they underwent no change; but place them in the body of the animal, and subject them to the influence of heat, &c., then those changes would commence which ended in the production of perfect flukes. Take another ill.u.s.tration of the long duration of latent life: Wheat had been locked up for hundreds of years--nay, for thousands--in Egyptian mummies, without undergoing any change, and yet, when planted, had been found prolific.

... He was not, then, to say that rot was in all cases a curable affection; but at the same time he was fully aware that many animals, that are now considered incurable, might be restored, if sufficient attention was given to them. About two years ago, he purchased seven or eight sheep, all of them giving indisputable proof of rot in its advanced stage. He intended them for experiment and dissection; but as he did not require all of them, and during the winter season only he could dissect, he kept some till summer. They were supplied with food of nutritious quality, free from moisture; they were also protected from all storms and changes of weather, being placed in a shed. The result was, that without any medicine, two of these rotten sheep quite recovered; and when he killed them, although he found that the liver had undergone some change, still the animals would have lived on for years.

Rot, in its advanced stage, was a disease which might be considered as a.n.a.logous to dropsy. A serous fluid acc.u.mulates in various parts of the body, chiefly beneath the cellular tissue; consequently, some called it the _water_ rot, others the _fluke_ rot; but these were merely indications of the same disease in different stages. If flukes were present, it was evident that, in order to strike at the root of the malady, they must get rid of these _entozoa_, and that could only be effected by bringing about a healthy condition of the system. Nothing that could be done by the application of medicine would act on them to affect their vitality. It was only by strengthening their animal powers that they were enabled to give sufficient tone to the system to throw off the flukes; for this purpose many advocated salt. Salt was an excellent stimulative to the digestive organs, and might also be of service in restoring the biliary secretion, from the soda which it contained. So well is its stimulative action known, that some individuals always keep salt in the troughs containing the animal's food. This was a preventive, they had good proof, seeing that it mattered not how moist the soil might be in salt marshes; no sheep were ever attacked by rot in them, whilst those sent there infected very often came back free. Salt, therefore, must not be neglected; but then came the question, Could they not do something more? He believed they could give tonics with advantage....

"The principles he wished to lay down were, to husband the animals'

powers by placing them in a situation where they should not be exposed to the debilitating effects of cold storms; to supply them with nutritious food, and such as contained but a small quant.i.ty of water; and, as a stimulant to the digestive organs, to mix it with salt."

The remarks of Professor S. are valuable to the American farmer. First, because they throw some light on the character of a disease but imperfectly understood; secondly, they recommend a safe, efficient, and common-sense method of treating it; and lastly, they recommend such preventive measures as, in this enlightened age, every farmer must acknowledge to be the better part of sheep doctoring. The reader will easily perceive the reason why the food of sheep is injurious when wet or saturated with its own natural juices, when he learns that the digestive process is greatly r.e.t.a.r.ded, unless the masticated food be well saturated with the gastric fluid. If the gastric fluid cannot pervade it, then fermentation takes place; by which process the nutritive properties of the food are partly destroyed, and what remains cannot be taken up before it pa.s.ses from the vinous into the acetous or putrefactive fermentation; the natural consequence is, that internal disease ensues, which often gravitates to the feet, thereby producing rot. This is not all. Such food does not furnish sufficient material to replenish the daily waste and promote the living integrity. In short, it produces debility, and debility includes one half the causes of disease.

It must be a matter of deep interest to the farmer to know how to prevent disease in his flock, and improve their condition, &c.; for if he possessed the requisite knowledge, he would not be compelled to offer mutton at so low a rate as from three to four cents a pound, at which price it is often sold in the Boston market. We have already alluded to the fact that neat cattle can, with the requisite knowledge, be improved at least twenty-five per cent.; and we may add, without fear of contradiction, that the same applies to sheep. If, then, their value can be increased in the same ratio as that of other cla.s.ses of live stock, how much will the proprietors of sheep gain by the operation? Suppose we set down the number of sheep in the United States at twenty-seven millions,--which will not fall far short of the mark,--and value them at the low price of one dollar per head: we get a clear gain, in the carca.s.ses alone, of six millions seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The increase in the quant.i.ty, and of course in the value, of wool would pay the additional expenses incurred. It is a well-known fact that, when General Was.h.i.+ngton left his estate to engage in the councils of his country, his sheep then yielded five pounds of wool. At the time of his return, the animals had so degenerated as to yield but two and a half pounds per fleece. This was not altogether owing to the quality of their food, but in part to want of due care in breeding.

It is well known that many diseases are propagated and aggravated through the s.e.xual congress; and no matter how healthy the dam is, or how much vital resistance she possesses,--if the male be weak and diseased, the offspring will be more or less diseased at birth. (See article _Breeding_.)

Dr. Whitlaw observes, "The Deity has given power to man to ameliorate his condition, as may be truly seen by strict attention to the laws of nature. An attentive observer may soon perceive, that milk, b.u.t.ter, and meat, of animals that feed on good herbage, in high and dry soils, are the best; and that strong nourishment is the produce of those animals that feed on bottom land; but those that feed on a marshy, wet soil produce more acrid food, even admitting that the herbage be of the bland and nutritious kind; but if it be composed in part of poisonous plants, the sheep become diseased and rotten, much more so than cattle, for they do not drink to the same degree, and therefore (particularly those that chew the cud) are not likely to throw off the poison. Horses would be more liable to disease than cattle were it not for their sagacity in selecting the wholesome from the poisonous herbage.

"A great portion of the mutton slaughtered is unfit for food, from the fact that their lungs are often in a state of decomposition, their livers much injured by insects, and their intestines in a state of ulceration, from eating poisonous herbs."

Linnaeus says, "A dry place renders plants sapid; a succulent place, insipid; and a watery place, corrosive."

One farmer, in the vicinity of Sherburne, (England,) had, during the s.p.a.ce of a few weeks, lost nearly nine hundred sheep by the rot. The fear of purchasing diseased mutton is so prevalent in families, that the demand for mutton has become extremely limited.

In the December number of the London Veterinarian we find an interesting communication from the pen of Mr. Tavistock, V. S., which will throw some light on the causes of disease in sheep. The substance of these remarks is as follows: "On a large farm, situated in the fertile valley of the Tavey, is kept a large flock of sheep, choice and well bred. It is deemed an excellent sheep farm, and for some years no sheep could be healthier than were his flock. About eighteen months ago, however, some ewes were now and then found dead. This was attributed to some of the many maladies sheep-flesh is 'heir to,' and thought no more about. Still it did not cease; another and another died, from time to time, until at length, it becoming a question of serious consequence, my attention was called to them. I made, as opportunities occurred, minute post mortem examinations. The sheep did not die rapidly, but one a week, and sometimes one a fortnight, or even three weeks. No previous illness whatever was manifested. They were always found dead in the att.i.tude of sleep; the countenance being tranquil and composed, not a blade of gra.s.s disturbed by struggling; nor did any circ.u.mstance evidence that pain or suffering was endured. It was evident that the death was sudden. We fancied the ewes must obtain something poisonous from the herbage, and the only place they could get any thing different from the other sheep was in the orchards, since there the ewes went at the lambing time, and occasionally through the summer. But so they had done for years before, and yet contracted no disease. Well, then, the orchards were the suspected spots, and it was deemed expedient to request Mr. Bartlett, a botanist, to make a careful examination of the orchards, and give us his opinion thereon. The following is the substance of his report:--

"The part of the estate to which the sheep unfortunately had access, where the predisposing causes of disease prevailed, was an orchard, having a gradual slope of about three quarters of a mile in extent, from the high ground to the bed of the river, ranging about east and west; the hills on each side being const.i.tuted of argillaceous strata of laminated slate, which, although having an angle of inclination favoring drainage on the slopes, yet in the valleys often became flat or horizontal, and on which also acc.u.mulated the clays, and ma.s.ses of rock, in detached blocks, often to the depth of twenty feet--a state of things which gives the valley surface and soil a very rugged and unequal outline; the whole, at the same time, offering the greatest obstruction to regular drainage.

"These are spots selected for orchard draining in England; the truth being lost sight of, that surfaces and soil for apple-tree growth require the most perfect admixture with atmospheric elements, and the freest outlet for the otherwise acc.u.mulating moisture, to prevent dampness and acidity, the result of the shade of the tree itself, produced by the fall of the leaf.

"On this estate these things had never been dreamt of before planting the orchards. The apple-tree, in short, as soon as its branches and leaves spread with the morbid growth of a dozen years, aids itself in the destructive process; the soil becomes yearly more poisonous, the roots soon decay, and the tree falls to one side, as we witness daily, while the herbage beneath and around becomes daily more unfit to sustain animal life. Numerous forms of poisonous fungi, microscopic and otherwise, are here at home, and nourished by the carburetted and other forms of hydrogen gas hourly engendered and saturating the soil; while on the dampest spots the less noxious portions of such hydrates are a.s.similated by the mint plant in the shape of oil; and which disputes with sour, poisonous, and blossomless gra.s.ses for the occupancy of the surface, mingled with the still more noxious straggling forms of the ethusa, occasionally the angelica, vison, conium, &c.

"This state of things, brought into existence by this wretched and barbarous mode of planting orchard valleys, usually reaches its consummation in about thirty years, and sometimes much less, as in the valley under notice. Thus it is that such spots, often the richest in capabilities on the estate, (the deep soil being the waste and spoil of the higher ground and slopes,) become a bane to every form of useful vegetation; and, at the same time, are a hotbed of luxuriance to every thing that is poisonous, destructive, and deleterious to almost every form of animal life. And such an animal as the sheep, while feeding among such herbage, would inhale a sufficiency of noxious gases, especially in summer, through the nostrils alone, to produce disease even in a few hours, though the herbage devoured should lie harmless in the stomach. But with regard to the sheep in the present case, we fear they had no choice in the matter, and were driven by hunger to feed, being shut into these orchards; and thus not only ate the poisoned gra.s.ses, but with every mouthful swallowed a portion of the water-engendering mint, the acrid crowfoot, ranunculus leaves, &c., surrounding every blade of gra.s.s; while the other essential elements of vegetable poison, the most virulent forms of agarici and their sp.a.w.n, with other destructive fungi, were swallowed as a sauce to the whole.

This fearful state of things, to which sheep had access, soon manifested its results; for although a hog or a badger might here fatten, yet to an animal so susceptible to atmospheric influences, unwholesome, undrained land, &c., as the sheep, the organization forbids the a.s.similation of such food; and although a process of digestion goes on, yet its hydrous results (if we may use such a term) not only overcharge the blood with serum, but, through unnatural channels, cause effusion into the chest, heart, veins, &c., when its effects are soon manifested in sudden and quick dissolution, being found dead in the att.i.tude of sleep."

It is probable that the gases which arose from this imperfectly drained estate played their part in the work of destruction; not only by coming in immediate contact with the blood through the medium of the air-cells in the lungs, but by mixing with the food in the process of digestion.

This may appear a new idea to those who have never given the subject a thought; yet it is no less true. During the mastication of food, the saliva possesses the remarkable property of enclosing air within its globules. Professor Liebig tells us that "the saliva encloses air in the shape of froth, in a far higher degree than even soap-suds. This air, by means of the saliva, reaches the stomach with the food, and there its oxygen enters into combination, while its nitrogen is given out through the skin and lungs." This applies to pure air. Now, suppose the sheep are feeding in pastures notorious for giving out noxious gases, and at the same time the function of the skin or lungs is impaired; instead of the "nitrogen" or noxious gases being set free, they will acc.u.mulate in the alimentary ca.n.a.l and cellular tissues, to the certain destruction of the living integrity. Prof. L. further informs us that "the longer digestion continues,--that is, the greater resistance offered to the solvent action by the food,--the more saliva, and consequently the more air, enter the stomach."

STAGGERS.

This disease is known to have its origin in functional derangement of the stomach; and owing to the sympathy that exists between the brain and the latter, derangements are often overlooked, until they manifest themselves by the animal's appearing dull and stupid, and separating itself from the rest of the flock. An animal attacked with staggers is observed to go round in a giddy manner; the optic nerve becomes paralyzed, and the animal often appears blind. It sometimes continues to feed well until it dies.

_Indications of Cure._--First, to remove the cause. If it exist in a too generous supply of food, reduce the quant.i.ty. If, on the other hand, the animal be in poor condition, a generous supply of nutritious food must be allowed.

Secondly, to impart healthy action to the digestive organs, and lubricate their surfaces.

Having removed the cause, take

Powdered snakeroot, 1 ounce.

" slippery elm, 2 ounces.