Some Account of the Distemper Raging among the Cow-Kind in the Neighbourhood of London, Together with Some Remedies Proposed for Their Recovery by Cromwell Mortimer, M. D. Secr. R. S. and Fellow of the College of Physicians, London

X. Some Account of the Distemper raging among the Cow-kind in the Neighbourhood of London, together with some Remedies proposed for their Recovery by Cromwell Mortimer, M.D. Secr. R.S. and Fellow of the College of Physicians, London. Read Nov. 21, 1745. Thinking it my Duty, as a Physician, to contribute my small Mite towards remedying this publick Calamity, I have been at the Trouble of visiting several of the Cow-houses near the Skirts of Westminster and London, where I have collected what Intimations I could from Persons who have been conversant with the Cows during the whole Course of their Illness, have carefully examined several sick Cows myself, and have seen two open'd. The great Hippocrates did not think it beneath him to consider the Distempers of Horses, and has left us an excellent Treatise on that Subject; surely then it cannot derogate from the Dignity of the Profession now-adays for the most eminent in it to lend their compassionate Assistance to any of the brute Creation; especially to such Creatures as are more immediately of Use, or even Pleasure, to Man: And as the Price of Horses and Dogs has of late Years been raised to most extravagant Rates, it is a Wonder the Owners of them have never been so generous as to encourage Gentlemen of higher Degrees of Learning than the Farrier and the Cowleech to make themselves acquainted with the Diseases of Horses, Cows, and other Cattle, and to try Methods for their Releif and Cure. Mr. Mr. Bates, a worthy Member of this Society, has given us a very particular Account of the Sickness among the Cows in 1714. (see Phil. Trans. No. 358.) but he has omitted one Circumstance I remember myself, having seen many Cows die near Bethnal-Green; they commonly came to the Ponds to drink, were taken giddy, fell down, were convulsed, bled much at the Nose and Mouth, and so died. Dr. Lobb, a very diligent and laborious Observer of what occurs in his Profession, as his Histories of various Cases of the Small Pox, and his curious Experiments on Dissolvents of the Stone, sufficiently evince, has lately published, in a Collection of Letters relating to the Plague, an Inquiry into the Quality of the Cause of the contagious Sickness among the Cattle: It were to be wish'd what he proposes were now tried *. As to the Distemper now reigning among the Cattle, I am informed by the Cowkeepers, that a Cow shall be seemingly well, and feed heartily over-night, or in the Morning, and give the usual Quantity of Milk; that in twelve Hours time they shall all of a sudden abate in their Milk near half, and entirely fall off their Stomach, so as neither to eat or drink, and then gradually lose all their Milk. As soon as they perceive this, they give them a warm Mash of Malt, or the following Drench: "Take two Ounces of Caraway-seeds, boil them in a Quart of Water, and strain it; add a Gill of White-wine, and a Quarter of a Pound of Honey." Their * See his Letter to John Milner Esq, first Commissioner for examining the State of the Distemper among the Cows. Their Teeth are commonly observed to be loose; for which they lance the Gums, and rub them with Salt and Vinegar. The very first Day they have a Huskiness, breathe short, and wheeze, but have no great Cough; for which they have blooded them, [in too small Quantities] and rubb'd their Noses with Tar, but with no Success. Some hang down their Heads, and run much at the Nose; for which they lay a Bag of scalding hot Malt to their Heads, tying it between their Horns. This has sometimes relieved this Symptom, but the Beasts have not recovered. The second or third Day most of them, not all, fall into a Purging, groan much, and seem to be in great Pain. The Stools, I have seen, seem to be bilious, have Cakes of Jelly come away with them, and some were streaked with Blood. They soon die after these Stools come on. Those that are kept out in the cold Air seldom live beyond the third Day; those that are kept warm in Houses, and cloathed, live five, six, or seven Days. Many of the Cows, I have seen, have a wild Stare with their Eyes; the Whites of the Eye, and the Skin of the Eye-lids, look'd yellowish: Their Tongues look'd white; they had no extraordinary Heat in their Mouths, at the Roots of their Horns (a Place where they usually feel to judge of the Heat of Cattle), or in the Axilla or Arm-pit, if I may so call it. The Mucus running from their Nose is very thick and ropy: Their Milk is thick and yellow. In the two I have seen open'd, the Flesh and Blood look'd much darker colour'd than usual; the Fat of the first look'd yellow; the Lungs were much inflamed in many Places, and had several large Blisters, two or three Inches over, full of Water, on their outward Surface: There was no Water in the Thorax, little or none in the Pericardium: The Heart look'd well, but the Blood in it was not at all clodded, being exceeding fluid and dark-colour'd: The Paunch was very full of Food, and greatly distended: The Stomach look'd well; the Liver was full of scirrhouss Swellings and chalky Knobs; the Gall-bladder bigger than usual; the Gall fluid, but dark-colour'd; the Intestines inflamed in many Places; the Fat about the Kidneys was distended with Air; the Kidneys were found, as was the Bladder and Uterus. This Cow was not with Calf. On opening the Scull there was much Water gushed out. In the second Cow the Fat was not yellow; the Lungs, Heart, Paunch, and Stomach, were like the former; the Liver was pale, flabby, not scirrhouss: but the Gall-bladder very large; the Intestines inflamed, and in some Places livid; the Fat of the Kidneys in this was found, but one of the Kidneys was mortified. This Cow was about a Month gone with Calf. The Man who fle'a'd and open'd these Cows said, These were the general Appearances in most he had fle'a'd; only that in some he found Water in the Cells of the Cores of the Horns. They fle'a off the Hides, which they say are good to tan; and they save the Fat to make Tallow of. The Fleaer to'd me, a poor Man made a hearty Meal of some Steaks he cut off one of these Cows, and that he was not sick with it*. * I am assured, that a very sufficient Experiment was made in our Army in Flanders last Campain in Favour of this. From these Circumstances I think it evident, that this Distemper begins by an Inflammation of the Lungs, attended with a Catarrh or Flux of Humours from the Nose; that in the Progress of it there comes on an Inflammation of the Guts, and a Purging, caused by an Acrimony and Overflowing of the Gall, which ends in Stools tinged with Blood, exciting great Pain in the Bowels, and so brings on Death. Bleeding (in small Quantities) has not been found effectual, nor in short any of the Remedies yet made use of; therefore, having a chief Regard to the ultimate Effort of Nature, which seems to be to carry off the Distemper by an extraordinary Discharge of Gall, I hope the Use of Crocus Metallorum, a Medicine made use of with Success in Horses, and a great Discharger of Gall, as I have known its good Effects in the Jaundice in Men, may be attended with Success: I have therefore proposed to some Cow-keepers to give to a Cow, as soon as taken ill, one of the following Balls. "Take Crocus Metallorum half an Ounce* in Powder; make it into a Ball with Dough or Crum of Bread moisten'd; give the Cow a Draught of Bran and warm Water after it, and repeat the Draught after every purging Stool." For the Running at the Nose, I am told, that pouring a Pint of warm Vinegar, with an Ounce of Salt, into the Nostrils, has proved successful in making the Cow sneeze, and discharge a great Quantity of thick yellow Mucus, and other Matter, from the Nose, after which the Cow recover'd. --- * Or more, according to the Size and Strength of the Cow; or as the first Dose is found to operate. For the Shortness of Breath, I have advised the giving "Whale-Oil, Treacle of Sugar, each a Pint; "Flower of Brimstone four Ounces: Give it in a "Mash of Malt, or Bran and Water, twice or "thrice a Day." For the Scouring, first give the Crocus-Purge above-mention'd; then give them every six or eight Hours the following Draught. "Take Whiting one Pound, bruise it; pour "boiling Water upon it, a Quart or more; let "it stand to settle; pour off the clear Water, "and fling it away; then put a Quart of warm "Water to the wet Whiting; and add Bole-"Armeniac in Powder two Ounces, Venice-"Treacle one Ounce, English Malt-Spirits half "a Pint." These Proposals being founded upon the Appearance of the Symptoms, I hope they will be attended with the wish'd-for Success. XI. A Letter from Mr. D. P. Layard, Surgeon, to C. Mortimer, M. D. Secr. R. S. inclosing an Account of a Fracture of the Os Ilium, and its Cure. SIR, Read Dec. 5. Inclosed I send you a Case, which, as the Learned Heister observes, rarely happens.