Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-29
UNION AND AMERICAN.
FARM AND GARDEN.
WHAT IS BLOODY srURRAIN2

WHAT Is BLOODY MURRAIE?
Last Sunday morning the editor Of
this department Of the UNION AMI
AMERICAN lost a valuable COW part
short horn from a disease which was
thought to be bloody murrain. She
was giving milk and regarded as well
till an hour before her death. Blood
was discharged from the bowels at that
time, and good deal of very black
blood was found IN them on a post
, mortem examination. The COW was
eight years old, and raised on IN ad-
joining farm in a good bluegrass pas
ture. She was taken from this some
two months since, and has been run
ming on the common with many other
cattle, having corn-meal night and
morning. She lost flesh, and had she
remained on her native grazing ground,
she would doubtless have continued
well. 1t Is possible the COW was pois-
oned, but not probable. What caused
her death? The heading Of this article
indicates the belief that the little IN
derstOod malady, called "bloody muir
rain,S was the cause.
Texas cattle on being transported
through this State and others to mar
ket, stopping a few hours or days for
rest, water and feeding, although ap-
parently healthy and sound, have,
nevertheless, communicated fatal dis
ease to cows and other neat stock.
Men Of science have examined the
blood, liver and contents Of the diges-
tive organs Of both slaughtered Texas
cattle, and many others that have died
from theIc contagiCn, with microscopes,
and find organisms alike in each which
are regarded as the living germs of
murTaiu. For reasons that we need
not now stop to point out, these micro
scopic parasites do not multiply suf-
fciently to kill all affected animals;
and they often become as harmless as
few lice or ticks on cattle.
How do the daily droppings Of one
COW on a large common communicate
the germs Of murrain TO another COW
grazing over the same pasture? Any
one who has put a foot on a ripe puff
ball knows that the sporules fly far and
near and light on blades of grass as
well as elsewhere. If the germs Of
this fungus were parasites like rust on
wheat, they might grow on blades Of
grass; and if nature adapted them 20
multiply in the intestines and blood
vessels Of cattle, eaten with grass, they
would be as much at home IN the stom-
ach Of an OK as the eggs and Larvae Of
a bot fly are in the stomach of a horse.
BOTTLES or ''bees," as some call them,
form perfect insects under a parental
heap Of horse dung; but if the female
fly were to deposit her eggs IN the mass
of dry or wet excrements their en-
bryos would all perish. What next?
She must find some horse or mule on
the hair Of whose legs and sides she
CLUES her nits, for the large brute to
bite, lick and swallow into their natural
abode in his stomach.
1t is plain that the horse could have
no bots in his belly if he kept his lips
away from the eggs that produce them
on his legs and sides. 1t is also plain
that the ancestors Of the bots that kill
one horse may for a hundred genera
tons have passed through the bodies |
Of horses without doing their foster
parents any harm. The same Is true |
of the parasites that produce mild |
cases Of Asiatic cholera, yellow and |
typhoid fevers, and murrain. Their
germs exist IN many systems without |
any conspicuous development OF the |
fact. Some children are more subject |
to worms than others, and the same |
principle pervades all organic life.
A large cattle grower IN Texas told
the editor of the St. Louis StQclyards
Recorder that he uniformly cured the
Texas cattle fever by giving a table,
spoonful Of calomcl il a quart Of sweet
oil to the beast affected. This is
iudicious treatment; for the oil and
mineral would be likely TO work on the
contents Of the ghole digestive ap.
paratus. On the blood, liver, and other
organs. A medical shot of this kind
in time might have saved our COW.
Another hint may not be out Of place
in this connection. Several years ago
a farmer and his son IN East Tennessee
whose I. mes we have forgotten, lost
their liv.s under the following circum-
stances: A tram Load of Texas cattle
had infected the grass where they stop
ned. VIII h eaten by the farmers COW
.,-,zed h.r death. ANXIOUS to learn all
they could of the natures and char
,ctor. Of the disease, the father and son
snent some time IN dissecting the dead
orimal Both imbibed the germs Of
,,urrain and died. We could easily
cine many cases Of this kid from
Furopean authorities.
The history Of this cattle distemPer
coas bael, to the early times Of Abra-
ham and Lot. Some five hundred
years later, when Moses was about 10
lead the children Of Israel out Of Egypt