The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-07-10

ing, and a sticky discharge appears on them;
the animal begins to look emaciated and
on feeling the horns they mayvary inheat,
now hot and then cold; pressure along the
loins may cause finching; the same tender
ness may also be noticed along the ribs and
sides of the chest. These symptoms are
very slight, and may not be noticed at all
until suddenly change takes place, and
then is commenced
THE SECOND OR IRRITATIvE STAGE.
A violent fever commences and varies in
intensity, being higher at one time than
another; the animal has apparent chills,
which we see by its shivering now and
then, and on feeling the body we find it
now hot and then cold; the horns likewise
differ in the same way as to heat; again,
one part of the body may feel warmer than
another; the nose gets dry and hot, the ap-
petite ceases altogether, and the animal
docs not ruminate, or, in other words, loses
it cud; constipation is noticed and the drop
pings are rarely voided and are hard and
dark; the urine is also dark and scant;
drinking is cause of pain, and but little
water is taken, as it excites much cough
ing; the secretion of milk is nearly or en-
tirely suspended. The animal now stands
with the forelegs stretched wide apart, thus
endeavoring to relieve the pain and oppres-
sion of the chest, and often changes the
hind legs, seeking thus to rest them; the
intervals between the ribs are bulged out,
considerably; the animal seldom lies down
and when it does it rests on the breast bone
with the legs drawn up under the chest,
or stretched in front of them. 1t can
move around only with great difficulty, and
is very averse to doing so; the breathing
now is very fast, and the nostrils are
stretched wide at every breath; the entire
body moving at the same time; the TANKS
can be seen to beat at each breath, and
moan or grunt is emitted. You can tell
whether an animal is in an advanced stage
of the disease by placing the hands on the
rump; if the body heaves at each breath of
the animal, it proves that the disease has
made great advances. We now perceive
that the cough is becoming much more
frequent, and is husky and painful, and by
pressing on the sides of the chest great
pain is evinced by coughing and grunting.
The symptoms become aggravated as
death approaches; the cough seems almost
continuous the breath becomes very fetid
and a dirty matter is discharged from the
nostrils and eyes; the skin gets dry and
sticks tightly to the bones; the animal
seems unconscious of its surroundings and
does not mind the infiction of pain; now
becoming weaker, it can barely stay on its
feet; the dew-lap is dropsical, as will be
seen by pressing with the finger, the i'm.
print being left. Finally, the animal drops
to the ground and lies on its side, with the
head stuck out and the mouth open, with a
sticky saliva running out of it the gums
are of livid hue; the teeth are ground
together; the belly distended with gas, a
fetid diarrhea sets in, as the animal dies
in state of marasmus or wasting away.
Death gradually ensues in from two to three
weeks after the fever has set in with such
violence. although it may occur much
sooner. The disease is generally more rapid
in its course in young vigorous animals,
than in older, lean and apparently weak
ones. Sometimes it may assume more
benign form before the symptoms become
SO aggravated and recovery takes place;
then the cough becomes less frequent; the
breathing somewhat more free; the animal
commences to improve in appetite the
fever disappears, and gradual.recovery en-
sues. In the worst stage recovery is very
rare, and when it does take place persistent
cough is left, neither much flesh is taken
on, nor is the usual amount Of milk given.
1t may take in this case from one to three
months for an animal to reach its best con-
dition. However, as the lungs are mater
tally effected, it will probably succumb at
some future time to the effects of the dis
eased part of the lung, that is left encap-
suled, or enclosed in a tough membrane
similar to hogs head cheese in its cover
ing. This diseased mass may not exert
any i'll effect for time, but after while
it undergoes decomposition, and bursts its
way out of the sac, killing the animal at
last
On making a post-mortem examination
upon an animal, we find, on attempting to
open the chest, that we cannot raise the
ribs up without the lungs coming along,
and we have to separate them by tearing
away the tough, yellowish substance hold
ing them together. After we have taken
the ribs off we see, first, that there is quite
a quantity of straw-colored fluid in the
cavity of the chest, more or less viscid,
yellowish material, similar to that holding
the lungs and sides of the chest together.
The pleura is covered with the same yell
lowish deposit, and it can easily be stripped
off the lung tissue proper. These LESSONS
are characteristic of pleurisy, that is, the
adhesion of the lungs to the walls of the
chest, and the presence of the fluid with
the faky deposits. We now see the lungs
exposed before us, showing maybe one
part healthy and rosy pink in color, spongy
to the touch and giving soft, cracking
sound on pressure with the fingers. An,
other, and generally the larger part, will be
heavy, hard and liver-like and reddish
brown, yellow, gray, black or deep red
color, surrounded ahd interspersed here and
there by bands of tough, light yell9wish or
yeiOW gray Indtcilai' IhO iuhSs 0utiiO
are enormously heavy in comparison to
healthy ones, and instead of the normal
weight of four or five pounds, they may
weigh as high as fifty pounds. On cut
ting directly through the diseased lung we
see before us an excellent imitation of parti-
colored marble, in this shiny, liver-like
mass, and this marbled appearan ce is char
acteyistic of contagious Pleuro-Pneumonia.
The flesh of the animal is dark in color,
and the fat has yellowish tilge; the blood
is less in quantity and of thinner consis-
tency than usual. We may find, also, in
cutting into lung, stream of dirty, gray
ish-black matter bursting forth, and on look |
ing closely, we see that an abcess has exis-
ted enclosed tightly in circumscribed sac,
maybe an inch thick. Nature thus pro-
tects the rest of the lung from Its influence.
Again, we may find one part of the lung |
black and greenish, soft and easily torn
and extremely offensive, thus showing gan
creme or death of this part. When the
disease runs its course, in a few days, we
see this black oanorenous degeneration very