Cattle 1853 - Lewis Family Farm

166
CATTLE.
of thd oxjit should be attempted if the disease does not speedily
subside. The. hair should be closely cut or shaved from the upper
part of the forehead and the poll, and for six inches on each side
down the neck, and some of the following ointment well rubbed in :
Blister Ointment.—Take, lard, twelve ounces ; resin, four ounces
melt them together, and, when they are getting cold, add oil of tur-
— ;
pentine, four ounces ; and powdered cantharides, five ounces ; stirring
the whole well together.
When the blister is beginning to peel off, green elder or marshmallow
ointment will be the best application to supple and heal the
part. A little of it should be gently smeared over the blistered sur-
face, morning and night.
A seton smeared with the above ointment may be inserted on each
side of the poll, in preference to the application of a blister.
Although the violence of the disease, and of its remedies, will
necessarily leave the beast exceedingly reduced, no stimulating
medicine or food must on any account be administered. Mashes and
green meat, and these in no great quantities, must suffice for nourishment,
or, if the animal, as is sometimes the case, is unable to eat, a
few quarts of tolerably thick gruel may be horned down every day ;
but ale, and gin, and spices, and tonic medicines, must be avoided as
downright poisons. There is not a more common or a more fatal
error in cattle management than the eagerness to pour in comfortable,
one might rather say, poisonous drinks. Even the treacle and the
sugar in the gruel must be prohibited, from their tendency to become
acid in the debilitated stomach of the animal recovering from such a
complaint.
Every symptom of the disease having vanished, the beast may very
slowly return to his usual food ; but, when he is turned to pasture,
it will be prudent to give him a very short bite of grass, and little or
no dry*food. Nature is the best restorer of health and strength in
these cases ; and it is often surprising, not only how rapidly the ox
will regain all he has lost, if left to nature, and not foolishly forced
on, but how soon and to what a considerable degree his condition
will improve beyond the state in which he was before the complaint.
The ox that has once had inflammation of the brain should ever
afterwards be watched, and should be bled and physicked whenever
there is the least appearance of staggers or fever. The safest way will
be to send him to the butcher as soon as he is in sufficient condition.
Homoeopathic treatment.—Aconitum is the first and chief remedy,
before the disease is yet fully developed. It is given in frequent
doses, separated by short intervals. When there is heat in the mouthj
eyes, horns, and the animal rests its head against the wall or manger ;
or when, melancholy and almost devoid of consciousness, it allows it
to hang ; the best medicine is belladonna, to be given in repeated
doses, especially when the look is frantic, with swelling of the vessels