. They may be associated with
inflammatory irritation or not; certainly we fail to discover any morbid
changes in the skin. There is to some extent a delightful sensation
produced by rubbing, and it may partly become a habit of pleasure.

_Treatment._--We must place our chief reliance upon a change of food,
plenty of exercise, and in most cases the administration of an active
cathartic--1 to 1-1/2 pounds of Epsom salt, a handful of common salt, a
tablespoonful of ginger or pepper, mixed with 2 quarts of water, all of
which is to be given at one dose. Afterwards half an ounce of hyposulphite
of soda mixed with the feed may be given twice a day for a week. For an
external application, when the skin is abraded or thickened from rubbing, a
solution of borax, 4 ounces to the quart of water, may be used. Carbolic
acid, 1/2 ounce to a quart of water, will give relief in some cases.

INFLAMMATORY DISEASES OF THE SKIN.

ERYTHEMA.

This is the simplest form of inflammation of the skin. It consists of an
increased redness, which may occur in patches or involve considerable
surface. The red coloration disappears when pressed by the finger, but soon
returns after the pressure is removed. There is seldom much swelling of the
affected part, though often there is a glutinous discharge which dries and
mats the hair or forms a thin scale upon the skin. In simple erythema the
epidermis alone is affected; when it becomes chronic, fissures form and
extend into the corium, or true skin.

_Causes._--Simple erythema, consisting of an inflammatory irritation, is
seen in very young calves, in which the navels leak. The discharge being
urine, it causes an irritation of the surrounding skin. Chafing, which is
another form of erythema, is occasionally seen on the udders of cows from
rubbing by the legs; chafing between the legs is not uncommon among fat
steers. Chronic erythema is found in the form of chapped teats of cows and
chapped lips in sucking calves. It frequently occurs in cows when they are
turned out in winter directly after milking, and in others from chafing by
the sucking calf. Some cows are peculiarly subject to sore teats. The
fissures when neglected in the early stage of formation become deep, very
painful, often bleeding at the slightest touch, and when milked in that
condition cause the animal to become a kicker. Occasionally the lower
portions of the legs become irritated and chapped when cattle are fed in a
muddy or wet y