HEALTH OF CATTLE.

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first will no more drink distillery slop, than the child whose appetite is undepraved will drink ardent spirit. It is said that some cows cannot be induced to eat this kind of food. But as the hotter the slop, the greater the aversion, in order to overcome this repugnance, it is at first given cold; and by depriving the cattle of water, keeping them on short allowance of food, giving them only such as is dry with abundance of salt to excite thirst, they, in time, generally learn to love the nauseous slush, as men acquire a relish for intoxicating drinks. Eventually, indeed, they become voraciously fond of this kind of food; and if they fail of their usual supply, they will paw and rave and indicate all the uneasiness of the drunkard who is deprived of his accustomed drams.

This aliment, from its stimulating power upon the stomach and intestines, produces an artificial thirst, which induces the cattle to swallow three times the quantity that is necessary of suitable food, for their proper nourishment. It, of course, unduly excites the absorbent and secretory organs; the blood becomes serous and innutritious; the fluids bearing an undue proportion to the solids, are voided in preternatural quantities;—hence the quantity of slush milk they yield. The flesh becomes flaccid, with a peculiar tendency to putrescence; the teeth decay and drop out; scabs and cutaneous eruptions sometimes appear; and not unfrequently the hair falls off, which gives the hide the appearance of having been scalded.

But the want of pure air, and exercise, not less than improper food, operates deleteriously on the health of the animals. They sometimes lose their feet at the navicular bones, or articulation of the first joint; their hoofs often become elongated several inches and curved upwards, and withal so tender as to produce lameness, and nearly deprive

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DEPRIVATION OF EXERCISE.

them of the power of locomotion. The muscles being deprived of the action necessary to send into them the supply of blood which is essential to their increase of size and strength, become at length attenuated and relaxed, and incapable of performing their functions. Glandular swell

ings in consequence of the torpor of the arterial circulation, are not infrequent ; and cases have occurred where, owing to lameness from debility or disease, and sometimes by a paralysis of the limbs, the cattle, unable to stand, have been supported by straps passed under the body, and yet have been retained as milkers. It is not meant, however, that the general description given, is the precise condition of every cow that is kept on slop diet, or that any individual animal is afflicted with the complication of maladies referred to; for the treatment of the cattle may vary in important respects, and the constitutional vigor of some, favored by circumstances, may longer resist the combined effects of bad food, foul air, and deficient exercise, than others. But the conclusion of which we are certain, and upon which we insist, is this, that distillery slop, in proportion to the quantity consumed and the management usually consequent thereupon, produces the effects above described, and of course, is unhealthy and improper; and it is self-evident, that the lactic secretions, and also the flesh of such animals, are only fit to be thrown into our rivers.

But thousands of these cattle, after having become so diseased as to possess no value for the dairy, are every year slaughtered in our markets and eaten by our citizens. As is common in scrofula, consumption, and some other diseases which are most fatal in the spring, so is it in the mortality of these still-fed cows, especially in the months of March, April and May, when they are crowded into the cattle market, where they may be seen in droves of several hun

dreds every week. It is the policy and interest of the dairymen, to part with those first which they are in the greatest danger of losing; and also that they be removed from the stalls to the shambles in the shortest possible time. For as the vessels of the animals which have been distended with serum, become depleted, they not only rapidly lose weight, but also their good appearance; and as they refuse to eat, and indeed, from the condition of their teeth, are unable to masticate solid food, if not killed, they must speedily die of starvation or disease. When slaughtered, the effluvium of the carcase is intolerably offensive, which subsequent exposure to the air does not entirely remove; and the flesh must be sold as quickly as possible, or it will putrify on the dealer's hands. A butcher with his eyes bandaged, by the peculiar smell of slop-fed beef, will select out every piece in the market. The flesh being distended with serum, or a thin bloody fluid, when cooked, either by roasting or boiling, will shrivel up to the bone, or be reduced, perhaps, to one half its original dimensions, a fact which is familiar to every cook or kitchen maid, although they are unable to account for. The business of slaughtering these cattle is disreputable; and no butcher who values his reputation would willingly be known as a “slop-beef dealer." They say, however, the flesh though a little darker is very juicy, and sometimes well flavored, and they generally appear not to be aware that it is unwholesome; yet all agree, that either from its loose, pulpy fibre, or some other undefined cause, it will not retain salt like other meat, and very soon becomes putrid—which facts, according to settled physiological principles, beyond all others demonstrate its unhealthy properties.

CHAPTER XVIII.

OTHER DEMONSTRATIONS OF THE EFFECTS OF PERNICIOUS

DIET.

The teeth.-Testimony, with illustrations.-Some exceptions thereto. -Consequences not peculiar to cattle. -Swine affected by it.-How kept in Philadelphia.-Testimony of distillers.-Feeding swine on slop unprofitable.-Mortality among cows.-Report of a committee.-Diseased meat unfit for food.-On whom the correction of the evil depends.

As the teeth constitute an essential part of the animal structure, it may be useful to refer to them more particularly than we have yet done, for proof of the deleterious effects of improper diet on the general health of cattle.

Like the other organs of the body, the teeth are supplied with nerves, blood-vessels and absorbents; they, of course, possess a principle of vitality, and are governed by the same physical laws. It is evident, therefore, that whilst a violation of these laws diseases the system, the healthy condition of the teeth and gums must suffer in the general derangement. On this point, the deductions of reason, common observation, and the investigations of scientific physiologists, not only harmonize, but the truth is a general one, which as legitimately applies to many of the lower orders of animals, as to the human species. In demonstration of this position, we need only examine the teeth of cows that are fed on distillery slop, or other unnatural aliment. The teeth of such cattle speedily become affected with dental gangrene or decay, and also blackened and encrusted with a substance called salivary calculus, or tartar,

which is deposited from the saliva. In some cases that we have seen, the teeth were corroded down to the gums; and according to the descriptions of other cases that have been furnished, ulcerations were found at the roots of the fangs, occasioned, doubtless, by the acrid humors generated in the blood by pernicious food, and the teeth thus becoming loosened in their sockets actually drop out. But the subject cannot, probably, be more forcibly illustrated, than has already been done by Burdell, whose attention was particularly directed to its consideration, in his work on dentistry. Having stated as his opinion that whatever is injurious to the general welfare of the system affects the teeth as a part of that system, he proceeds to remark:

"But perhaps one of the most striking proofs of the position I take, is to be drawn from the effects which a deviation from the natural food has upon the lower orders of animals."

"The above drawing exhibits a portion of the jaw of a cow which has fed upon natural food. It will be observed