The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-09
Milk Fever or Parturient Paralysis.

i'arHes' instructor in Dairying tennessee Experiment Station,
 Ihls Is very serious disease pecu- liar to cows. especially the higher bred animals and those giving a large flow ol milk It Is one of the worst enc mics dairyman has to contend with TOT about 90 per cent of the victim : dle regardless of treatment Tho trouble has never been known to come 10 young heifers; that is, before they nave had the third calf, and 1t is sell oom seen In cows that are thin in flesh ana those with a light milk flow, but all mature cows have been found to be more or less subject to the disease II has generally been found to attack oeep milkers, especially those with ud- aers greatly distended at time of calv- Ing and those having been highly fed on rich food, therefore being general Iy in full flesh. The disease usuallv occurs shortly after parturition, some times only a few hours and at other times two or three days; rarely if ever before calving.
 Symptoms.
 The COW begins to nope about, mov- ing blindly from place to place with a staggering gait, her ears cold at the base and dropping downward, her eyes dull and half closed. When touched she will Toll her tongue out and ap- pear very nervous. In some instances the COW will stand up for hours before getting down. while others will fall down at once and never get up again unless they recover.
 The victim soon becomes very fnao- tive and helpless; she lies on her breast with her head thrown back on her side. The eyes soon become glassy In appearance and do not respond to the touch: the throat and tongue become paralyized and the stomach and bow els cease to act The heart action gets very weak and the temperature fre- quently goes below normal.
 Dr. Schmidt's theory is that the breaking down of the epithelial cells in the udder-due to the revival of milk secretion. evolves kind of poison which Is absorbed by the blood and carried to all parts of the body caus- ing anto- -intoxication. thus producing the paralysis characteristic of the dis ease.
 Treatment.
 What IS known as the Schmidt's or Iodine treatment has been the most successful of any yet tried. This treatment is intended to neutralize the poison and temporarily lessen the ac- tivity of the udder by the injection of potassium iodide. which readily per- HAS'hNCS iHt IHtmDTdneS or the udder and enters the circuIatory system and Is carried to all parts of the body, thus aiding the animal to throw off the poison through the secretions. The ap- paratus consists of a milk tube to in- sert in the teat, a small rubber tube aoout four feet long, one end of which IS attached to the milk tube and the other to small glass funnel This with convenient vessel holding about one quart in which to mix the medicine. constitutes the entire buffet which can be easily and cheaply obtained and kept on hand ready for use at all times.
 TO apply this Urea tment dissolve one to two drachms of iodide of potassium in a quart of recently boiled water which has been cooled to blood heat Wash the udder and teats thoroughly with some dislnfectant solution Ga 5 per cent solu- ton of creoln or Zenoleum is very good), milk the udder dry and then spread clean grain sack. or better still, an oil cloth under the udGer to prevent 1t be- coming wet After thoroughly sterializ- Ing the apparatus insert the milk tube into one of the teats. raise the funnel the length of the rubber hose, and slowly pour in about one-fourth of the iodide solution. Continue in the same way with the other three teats Then give the udder thorough kneading and rub hing. In the course of an hour milk out the udder carefully and again every two hours for about twelve hours. If the cow shows no improvement at the end