River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1884-02-07
The Causes of Garget in the Cow.

The Causes OF Garget in the Cow
From the Prairie Farmer.
The causes of garget in the COW are
principally improper treatment after
ealving, exposure to cold and wet, the
leaving of portions or dregs of the milk
andrawn at the time Of milking, habit
Of lying in such posture as to crush the
adder, and the allowing Of the animal to
acquire an unduIy plump and fat condi-
lion, especiallv at time of hot and sui
try weather. The causes in the eve are
similar, through the chief are wet lair,
hard pasture, the removal of one of twin
lambs from sucking, and various kinds
of constitutional arrangement.
An udder affected with garget may suf-
fer in either one or more quarters; 1t
swells, hardens, becomes knotty, has
more heat than in a state of health, and
appears to be much panied when
pressed. The secretion of milk either
lessons and becomes mingled with
blood and pus, or Is entirely arrested
and gives place to suppurauon, and in
very bad cases TO gaugrene. The hinder
extremities, particularly about the iet~
locks, the hook, and the hip joint, in
many AuSlttllIEGt PtblAAAAO WIZ tAAD
udder, and undergo so much
swelling and Inflammation rs
to prevent the animal from rising, ex-
cept with great difficulty, or even from
rising at all, or almost from moving.
The symptoms in the eve are similar,
but, in the most cases, they, are both
very sudden and exceedingly violent,
and may raise such a gangrene as vii
prove fatal to the animal within twenty
four hours of the commencement Of the
attack. The symptoms in the heller are
comparatively gentle, and have been
supposed to resemble those Of rheuma-
tism in the human subject, and are re-
movable by means of the simple and nat
ural remedy of dry pasturage and clean
bedding.
A COW attacked with garget must be
kept in the stable and have dry, soft
bedding; she ought to be fed for day
or two on mashes, with little hay and
when she becomes well enough to leave
the stable, she ought TO be turned on
quite dry and rather short pasture. II
the attack be slight, she should have her
udder subjected to friction and sucket
1T the unrestrained will Of the calf; il
it has decidedly infiammatory char
acter, and be accompanied with fever
and loss Of appetite, she should have a
dose of physic and have her udder
abundantly iomented with hot water.
be throughly MIXED thrice day, have
quantity of camphorated mercurial
ointment rubbed well into the udder
after each milking, and washed off again
with warm water Immediately before
the next milking. If the hardening
proves to be obstinate, an iodine
ointment, composed of lard and hydro
date OF potash, must be substituted for
the camphorated mercurial ONT
ment; and if gangrene sets in and de-
velops a purifying ulcer, the sore must
be well cleansed with warm water and
freely WASHED with weak solution OF
chloride of lime till the gangrenous mat
ter be considerably reduced, and then
alternately dressed with Friar's balsam.
and washed with the solution of chlor-
ide of lime, till the gangrenous matter
wholly disappe hrs. If induratIon and
chronic enlargement, accompanied By
deficiency in the secretion of milk, con-
tinue after all the inhammatory action
has been subdued, the iodide ofpotash
must continue to be applied in the form
of ointment, and, if need be internally
administered in some other form. The
proper treatment of the gargeted eve is
in all respects similar to that of garget-
cd COW.