The Grenada gazette., 1889-02-21
BlG.HEAD IN CATTLE
How to Prevent the Spread OF This DIE
agreeable aud Fatal Disease.

creasing with great rapidity among the
large herds of cattle and has become a
source OF anxiety and alarm. 1t pre-
walls, too. to large extent in dairies.
and especially among the most yalu-
able pure breeds of cows kept for but
termaking and milk. Its peculiar nat
ure and its unouestionablc contagious
ness give to it an unusual Importance
and call for immediate attention. It's
hereditary, and is Of a scrofulous char
acter; some veterinarians consider 1t to
be variety of cancer, but this is some-
what doubtful. considering the facts in
the case.
The first appearance OF the disease
Is hard swelling ON the upper jaw or
the bones of the face; it rarely attacks
the lower jaw unless at the same time
the tongue and adjacent parts OF the
mouth are diseased The hard SWELL
ing increases and in time supurates,
discharging a fetid pus mixed with
blood and leaving the peculiar odor OF
decayed bone. This discharge irritates
the skin and causes sores and ulcers,
which eat away the tissues until the
bone is laid bare and the food escapes
through the opening. Finally the jaw
is eaten away and starvation ends the
animals life, if it has not been de-
stroyed by blood poisoning before this.
The cause of the disease has not been
well understood until within a few years
back, when it was found to be caused
by u peculiar parasitic growth. which
really eats away and consumes the
heshy and bony tissues, and which is
conveyed from the diseased animal by
heredity or by contagion to others.
Cases have been known by the writer
ia which the progeny of diseased ami
mails have been affected through sew
eral generations, until the young calves
were attacked and the race ceased to
exist. Considering the nature of this
class of diseases, it is clear that this
disorder is encouraged and made pos
sible by mal-nutrition, deficiency
of bone-making material weaken
ing the structure in a part where
it is most readily attacked by the
waiting organism, already lurking
in the mouth and among the teeth, and
very possibly finding subsistence in the
dccaying organic matter which is al
ways found there. When the favora-
bic conditions arise the parasites at
tack the bone or the tongue or the It's
sues of the cheek and spread their
ravaces from one to the other. The
disease is now known as dctino my
kosis, but more commonly as "big
head and is sometimes still called
0Stc0-5uTcome. 1t attacks horses as
well as cattle.
The treatment of disease of this
character should clearly include and
begin with preventive measures.
! heso consist of the exclusion from
breeding herds of every diseased ami
nal which. because of the scrofulous
nature of the disease, should be put
safely under the ground as soon as
possible. No diseased COW should
be bred; nor should she be kept. as
the milk might and probably would
infect the calf, or even persons
who might use it. although so
far this disease has not become
an object of dread among physi-
clans, unless it may be thought
that the fatal cases of malignant dis
ease Of the tongue or throat which
have of late been so conspicuous be-
cause of the high position of the suffer-
crs, and which is becoming more and
more common, have had their origin
in infection through the milk Of dis
eascd cows.
The disease is curable if treated in
its early stages The writer knows OF
several cases which have been success
fully treated at the beginning of the
outbreak. The successful treatment
has consisted in the use OF daily doses
Of one ounce of hyposulphite of soda,
continued in some instances for three
months before the disease was finally
and permanently cured. One typical
case was that of a heifer pregnant with
her first calf and under two years old.
Her dam, a pure-bred Jersey, had per-
shcd of the disease, and the sire, a
pure Jersey bull, was slaughtered be-
cause it was hopelcssly diseased. The
swelling appeared and discharged
the typical fetid pus in course
Of time, when the above treat
ment was used, and the dis
charge slowly decreased, nnd finally
stopped. The opening was maintained
md washed twice daily with warm wa
.cr and carbolic soap by injection until
it healed beautifully and nothing re-
NAMED but small, hard excrescence,
which is not painful, and is merely
Dlemsh. The heifer calved, and the
calf at two years of age gave no indica-
lions of being affected by the disease.
This hcifer belonged to a valuable
strain OF Jersey blood, and her escape
was worth large sum to her owner.
The use of this antiseptic in this
class Of diseases has been found ex-
3eedingly effective, and it is advisable
that it should be given TO cattle that
are exposed to this special disease as
a means of avoiding the results of con-
tagion, whether inherited or not
Sometimes this disease follows the
decay of tooth, when the conditions
favorable to the attack OF the parasitic
organism are presented. and the jaw
or facial bones are quickly involved in
the spread of the disease. N. Y.
Times.
How Milk is Formed.