ard in winter, or if they are compelled to wade through water
in frosty weather. Another form of erythema occurs in young cattle highly
fed and closely stabled for a long winter. The erythema appears in patches,
and as it is most common near the end of the winter it is known as the
"spring eruption" or "spring itch."

_Treatment._--In ordinary cases of erythema the removal of the cause and
the application of benzoated oxid of zinc ointment, carbolized cosmoline,
or ichthyol ointment applied a few times, will restore the skin to a
healthy condition.

When there are fissures the zinc ointment is the best. If at the teats, a
milk siphon (Pl. XXIV, fig. 4) should be used instead of milking by hand,
and the calf, if one is suckled, should be taken away. The calf should be
fed by hand if its mouth is affected. When the legs are irritated or
chapped, dry stabling for a few days and the application of tar ointment
will soon heal them.

URTICARIA (NETTLE RASH, OR SURFEIT).

This is a mild, inflammatory affection of the skin, characterized by sudden
development of patches of various sizes, from that of a nickel to one as
large as the hand. The patches of raised skin are marked by an abrupt
border and are irregular in form. All the swelling may disappear in a few
hours, or it may go away in one place and reappear on another part of the
body. It is always accompanied with a great desire to rub the affected
part. In its simplest type, as just described, it is never followed by any
serous exudation or eruptions, unless the surface of the skin becomes
abraded from scratching or rubbing.

_Causes._--Digestive derangements caused by overloading the stomach when
the animal is turned out to graze in the spring, certain feed constituents,
high feeding of fattening stock, functional derangement of the kidneys,
spinal and other nervous affections, are the most common sources of nettle
rash.

The disease consists in paralysis of the nerve ends that control the volume
of the capillary vessels in certain areas of skin, thus permitting the
vessels to expand, their contents in part to exude, and thus produce a
soft, circumscribed swelling.

_Treatment._--Administer a full dose of Epsom salt. Give soft, easily
digested feed, and wash the affected parts with a solution of bicarbonate
of soda (common baking soda), 8 ounces to the gallon of water twice a day,
or diluted glycerin may be applied to the skin. If it assumes a persistent
tendenc