The American Reformed Cattle Doctor Part 41

BALM OF GILEAD BUDS. One ounce of the buds, after being infused in boiling water and strained, makes a good drink for chronic coughs.

BALMONY. A good tonic and vermifuge.

BALSAM, CANADA, is a diuretic, and may be given in slippery elm, in doses of one table-spoonful for diseases of the kidneys.

BALSAM OF COPAIBA, or CAPIVI, is useful in all diseases of the urinary organs, and, combined with powdered marshmallows and water, makes a good cough drink. Dose, half an ounce.

BALEAM OF TOLU. Used for the same purpose as the preceding.

BARLEY. Barley water, sweetened with honey, is a useful drink in fevers.

BAYBERRY BARK. We have frequently prescribed this article in the preceding pages as an antiseptic and astringent for scouring and dysentery.

BEARBERRY, (_uva ursi_.) This is a popular diuretic, and is useful when combined with marshmallows. When the urine is thick and deficient in quant.i.ty, or voided with difficulty, it may be given in the following form:--

Powdered bearberry, 1 ounce.

" marshmallows, 2 ounces.

Indian meal, 2 pounds.

Mix. Dose, half a pound daily, in the cow's feed.

BITTER ROOT, (_apocynum androsaemifolium_.) Given in doses of half an ounce of the powdered bark, it acts as an aperient, and is good wherever an aperient is indicated.

BLACKBERRY ROOT, (_rubus trivialis_.) A valuable remedy for scours in sheep.

BLACK ROOT, (_leptandra virginica_.) The extract is used as physic, instead of aloes. (See _Physic for Cattle_.) A strong decoction of the fresh roots will generally act as a cathartic on all cla.s.ses of animals.

BLOODROOT, (_sanguinaria canadensis_.) It is used in our practice as an escharotic. It acts on fungous excrescences, and is a good subst.i.tute for nitrate of silver in the dispersion of all morbid growth. One ounce of the powder, infused in boiling vinegar, is a valuable application for rot and mange.

BLUE FLAG, (_iris versicolor_.) The powdered root is a good vermifuge.

BONESET, (_eupatorium perfoliatum_.) This is a valuable domestic remedy. Its properties are too well known to the farming community to need any description.

BORAX. This is a valuable remedy for eruptive diseases of the tongue and mouth. Powdered and dissolved in water, it forms an astringent, antiseptic wash. The usual form of prescription, in veterinary practice, is,--

Powdered borax, half an ounce.

Honey, 2 ounces.

Mix.

BUCKTHORN, (_rhamnus catharticus_.) A sirup made from this plant is a valuable aperient in cattle practice. The dose is from half an ounce to two ounces.

BURDOCK, (_arctium lappa_.) The leaves, steeped in vinegar, make a good application for sore throat and enlarged glands. The seeds are good to purify the blood, and may be given in the fodder.

b.u.t.tERNUT BARK, (_juglans cinerea_.) Extract of b.u.t.ternut makes a good cathartic, in doses of half an ounce. It is much safer than any known cathartic, and, given in doses of two drachms, in hot water, combined with a small quant.i.ty of ginger, it forms a useful aperient and alterative. In a constipated habit, attended with loss of cud, it is invaluable. During the American revolution, when medicines were scarce, this article was brought into use by the physicians, and was esteemed by them an excellent subst.i.tute for the ordinary cathartics.

CALAMUS, (_acorus calamus_.) A valuable remedy for loss of cud.

CAMOMILE. See _Anthemis_.

CANELLA BARK is an aromatic stimulant, and forms a good stomachic.

CAPSIc.u.m. A pure stimulant. Useful in impaired digestion.

CARAWAY SEED, (_carum carui_.) A pleasant carminative for colic.

CARDAMOM SEEDS. Used for the same purpose as the preceding.

Ca.s.sIA BARK, (_laurus cinnamomum_.) Used as a diffusible stimulant in flatulency.

CATECHU, (see ACACIA.)

CATNIP, (_nepeta cataria_.) An antispasmodic in colic.

CEDAR BUDS. An infusion of the buds makes a good vermifuge for sheep and pigs.

CHARCOAL. This is a valuable remedy as an antiseptic for foul ulcers, foot rot, &c.

CLEAVERS, (_galium aparine_.) The expressed juice of the herb acts on the skin and kidneys, increasing their secretions. One tea-spoonful of the juice, given night and morning in a thin mucilage of poplar bark, is an excellent remedy for dropsy, and diseases of the urinary organs. An infusion of the herb, made by steeping one ounce of the leaves and seeds in a quart of boiling water, may be subst.i.tuted for the expressed juice.

COHOSH, BLACK, (_macrotrys racemosa_.) Useful in dropsy.

COLTSFOOT, (_tussilago farfara_.) An excellent remedy for cough.

CRANESBILL, (_geranium maculatum_.) Useful in scours, dysentery, and diarrhoea.

DILL SEED, (_anethum graveolens_.) Its properties are the same as caraways.

DOCK, YELLOW, (_rumex crispus_.) Good for diseases of the liver and of the skin.

ELECAMPANE, (_inula helenium_.) An excellent remedy for cough and asthma, and diseases of the skin.

ELDER FLOWERS, (_sambucus canadensis_.) Used as an aperient for sheep, in constipation.

ELM BARK, (_ulmus fulva_.) This makes a good mucilage. See Poultices.

ESSENCE OF PEPPERMINT. Used for flatulent colic. One ounce is the usual dose for a cow. To be given in warm water.

FENNEL SEED. Useful to expel wind.

FERN, MALE, (_aspidium felix mas_.) Used as a remedy for worms.

FLAXSEED. A good lubricant, in cold and catarrh, and in diseases of the mucous surfaces. It makes a good poultice.

FLOWER OF SULPHUR. This is used extensively, in veterinary practice, for diseases of the skin. It is a mild laxative.

FUMIGATIONS. For foul barns and stables, take of

Common salt, 4 ounces.