Cattle 1853 - Lewis Family Farm

CATTLE.
Cattle of all descriptions and ages are occasionally subject to inflammatory
fever ; but young stock, and those that are thriving most
rapidly, are its chief victims. So aware is the proprietor of young
short-horn cattle of this, that while he is determined to take full advantage
of their unrivalled early maturity by turning them on more
luxuriant pasture than prudence would always dictatej he endeavors
to guard himself by periodical bleeding, or by the insertion of setons
in the dewlap of all his yearlings. This disease is sometimes epidemic,
that is, the cattle of a certain district have been pushed on
too rapidly ; they have lurking inflammation about them, or they
have a tendency to it ; and, by-and-bye, comes some change or state
of the atmosphere which" acts upon this inflammatory predisposition,
and the disease runs through the district.
There are few premonitory symptoms of inflammatory fever. Often
without any, and generally with very slight indications of previous
illness, the animal is found with his neck extended ; his head
brought, as much as he can affect it, into a horrizontal position
the eyes protruding, and red ; the muzzle dry ; the nostrils expanded
; the "breath hot ; the root of the horn considerably so ; the
mouth partly open ; the tongue enlarged, or apparently so ; the
pulse full, hard, and from 65 to 70 ; the breathing quickened and
laborious ; the flanks violently heaving, and the animal moaning in
a low and peculiar way.
Sometimes the animal is in full possession of his senses, but generally
there is a degree of unconsciousness of surrounding objects : he
will stand for an hour or more without the slightest change of posture,
he can scarcely be induced to move, or when compelled to do
so, he staggers ; and the staggering is principally referable to the
hind quarters ; rumination has ceased, and the appetite is quite gone.
After a while he becomes more uneasy, yet it is oftener a change
of posture to ease^his tired limbs, than a pawing : at length he lies
down, or rather drops ; gets up almost immediately ; is soon down
again ; and debility rapidly increasing, he continues prostrate ; sometimes
he lies in a comatose state ; at others, there are occasional but
fruitless efforts to rise. The symptoms rapidly increase : there is
no intermission ; and the animal dies in twelve to twenty-four hours.
In a majority of cases, and especially if the disease has been properly
treated, the animal seems to rally a little, and some of the symptoms
appear, from which the common names of the disease derive
thefr origin. The beast attempts to get up : after some attempts he
succeeds, but he is sadly lame in one or both of the hind quarters.
If he is not yet fallen, he suddenly becomes lame ; so lame as to
scarcely be able to move. He has quarter-evil— joint-murrain.
This is not always an unfavorable symptom. The disease may
be leaving the vital parts for those of less consequence. If the
apparent return of strength continues for a day or two, we may en-
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