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curetted. Tincture of iodine may then be painted over the lesions. Before
feeding, the milk should be warmed and about half a drachm of potassium
chlorate for each calf should be dissolved in it. Internal antiseptics and
stimulants, e.g. salol (½ drachm), sodium salicylate (½ drachm), and aromatic
spirits of ammonia (1 drachm) in about two ounces of water may be given to
the calves two or three times a day. In order to keep up the vitality of the
patient, artificial feeding with whole milk and eggs may have to be resorted to
in some cases.
II.—NUTRITIONAL DISEASES
In new-born calves there occur a number of diseases which are the
result of feeding cows on deficient and unbalanced diet, especially during
pregnancy. Of these, mention may be made of congenital blindness, pica
and rickets. Nutritional deficiency in the cow is reflected in the calf during
its foetal development and while on milk. Such a deficiency in the
dam may also result in abortion, or the birth of a dead calf, of a weak and under-
sized calf that may die soon after birth. Even those calves that are born
normally to such dams, and are apparently healthy, possess a greatly lowered
resistance to disease. All these pathological conditions are very difficult to
cure but they can be easily prevented by feeding cows on diets containing
suitable proportions of vitamins and minerals.
Although goitre, which is prevalent in other species of animals, is not so
far known to affect calves in India, nevertheless it is liable to occur chiefly
in places that are away from the sea at high altitudes and around large lakes
where the soil and water are deficient in iodine and its occurrence in such
areas can be easily prevented by using iodised salt licks or by occasional ad-
ministration of potassium iodide in small quantities in their diet.
(i) Congenital blindness.—It would appear that the condition is especially
widespread in the Indus valley, certain parts of the Punjab and Delhi where
green fodder is not included in the diet of cattle for considerable period during
the year. It is also of interest that night blindness, which is reported to dis-
appear on feeding fresh green fodder, is prevalent in these areas. The disease
becomes much more serious in those herds where intensive methods of breeding
and milk production are practised because under these conditions any nutri-
tional defect brought about by lack of vitamins or minerals in the diet becomes
more pronounced. In such herds, the incidence of congenital blindness may
be as high as 30 per cent or more. It has been observed that cows which have
had intermittent periods of sterility do not produce blind calves. Such
sterility prevents the depletion of the mineral and vitamin reserves of their
bodies by frequent pregnancies and thus enables them to deliver normal calves
occasionally.
The calves may be born blind of one or both eyes or the sight may be only
impaired at birth and complete blindness may follow gradually. In most
cases the blind calves do not show any apparent pathological condition of the
eyes, and these outwardly appear to be perfectly normal (Plate XI, fig. 1).
In such cases degenerative changes are usually found in the optic nerves.
However, in some cases the cornea and other structures of the eye may show