Part 25 (1/2)

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....