ick; he still refuses feed and does not ruminate. At this stage
he does not pass any dung, though sometimes a small quantity of bloody
mucus may be passed. The animal passes very little urine. This condition
may continue for a considerable time, as cattle so affected may live for 15
or even 20 days.

_Post-mortem appearance._--At death the bowels are found to be misplaced or
obstructed, as mentioned above, and inflamed, the inflammation always
originating at the point where the intestine has been invaginated, twisted,
or knotted. Sometimes the part is gangrenous, the compression of the blood
vessels preventing circulation, and thus causing the death of the tissues.

_Treatment._--Purgatives, anodynes, and other remedies are of no service in
such cases, and bleeding also fails to produce any benefit. Indeed, it is
usually true that in such cases treatment is useless. Some cases are
recorded in which an incision has been made in the flank, so as to enable
the operator to restore the intestine to its normal position or to remove
the kink.

CONSTIPATION.

Constipation is to be regarded rather as a symptom of disease or of faults
in feeding than as a disease in itself. It occurs in almost all general
fevers unless the bowels are involved in local disease, in obstructions of
all kinds, from feeding on dry, bulky feed, etc. In order to remove the
constipation the treatment must be applied to remove the causes which give
rise to it. Calves sometimes suffer from constipation immediately after
birth when the meconium that accumulates in the bowels before birth is not
passed. In such cases, give a rectal injection of warm water and an ounce
of castor oil shaken up with an ounce of new milk. The mother's milk is the
best food to prevent constipation in the new-born calf, as it contains a
large amount of fatty matter which renders it laxative in its effects.

It is usually better to treat habitual constipation by a change of diet
than by medicine. Flaxseed is a good feed laxative. If the constipation has
lasted long, repeated small doses of purgatives are better than a single
large dose.

INTESTINAL WORMS.

[See chapter on "The animal parasites of cattle," p. 502.]

RUPTURES (VENTRAL HERNIA).

Ventral hernia, or rupture, is an escape of some one of the abdominal
organs through a rupture in the abdominal muscles, the skin remaining
intact. The rumen, the small intestine, or part of the large intestine, and
the fourth