Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-07-08
Importance Of Supplying Cattle With
Pure Water.

In order to prevent many of the diseases
| to which cattle are liable it is important
| that they be supplied with pure water.
Cattle have often been known to turn away
| from the filthy fluid found in some
| troughs, which abound in slime and de-
cayed vegetable matter; and, indeed, the
common stagnated pond water is no better
than the former Such water has, in
| former years. proved itself to be serious
cause of disease, and at the present day
death is running riot among the stock
our Western and also our Northern farm
ers, when, to our certain knowledge, the
cause exists, in some cases, under their
very noses. The farmers ofttimes see
their best stock sicken and die without
any apparent cause; and the cattle doctors
are running rough -shod through the ma
terra medicd, pouring down the throats OF
the poor brutes salts by the pound, castor
oil by the quart; aloes, lard and host of
kindred trash follow in rapid succession,
converting the stomach into sort OF
apothecarys shop; setons are inserted in
the "dewlap;n the horns are bored and
sometimes sawed off; and as last resort
the animals are blistered and bled They
! sometimes recover in spite of the violence
done to the constitution; yet they drag out
low form of vitality, living, il may be
said, yet half dead, until some friendly
epidemic puts period to their sutferings.
Our attention was first called TO this
subject on reading an article in an En-
glish work, the substance of which is as
follows: A number of working oxen were
put into pasture, in which was pond,
considered to abound in good water. Soon
after putting them there they were at
tackled with securing, upon which they
were Immediately removed to another
field. The securing continued. They
still, however, drank at the same pond
They were shifted to another piece of
very sweet pasture without arresting the
disease. The farmer thought it evident
that the pastures were not the cause Of the
disease, and contrary to the advice of his
friends, who affirmed that the spring was
always noted for the excellence of its
water, fenced his pond round, so that the
cattle could not drink. They were then
driven to a distance and watered. The
securing gradually disappeared. The
farmer now proceeded TO examine the sus-
pected pond, and on stirring the water he
found it all alive with small creatures.
He now stirred into the water a quantity
of lime, and soon after an immense num-
Der of animalculs were seen dead on the
surface In short time the cattle drank
of this water without any injurious re-
suits
There is no doubt but that inferior kinds
of water produce arrangement of the di.
gestive organs, and subsequently loss OF
flesh, debility, etc. We have frequently
made post morten examinations of animals
that have died from disease induced by
debility, and have often found a large num-
Der of worms in the stomach and intes-
tines which, we firmly believe, had their
origin either primarily from the water
itself or subsequently from its effects on
the digestive function.
All decayed animal and vegetable matter
tends TO corrupt water and render it unfit
for the purposes of life. Now, if the
farmer has the best spring in the world,
and the water shall flow from it, az ii
sometimes does, through whole fields OF
gutter or dixie Astounding in decayed filth,
such water will be impregnated with
agents that will more or less affect its
purity. Journal.