which sometimes is not at hand, it should be
flexible and should possess a smooth surface. A piece of new rope, with the
end closely wrapped and waxed and then oiled, or a piece of thin garden
hose, or a well-wrapped twisted wire may be used in emergencies.

DISEASES OF THE STOMACHS.

ACUTE TYMPANITES (HOVEN, OR BLOATING).

Tympanites is a distention of the rumen or paunch with gases of
fermentation, and is manifested outwardly by swelling in the region of the
left flank.

_Causes._--Tympanites may be caused by any kind of feed which produces
indigestion. When cattle are first turned into young clover they eat so
greedily of it that tympanites frequently results. Turnips, potatoes,
cabbage, or the discarded pulp from sugar-beet factories may also cause it.
Middlings and corn meal also frequently give rise to it.

Care is necessary in turning animals into fields of clover or stubble
fields in which there is a strong growth of volunteer grain. It is always
better to keep them from such pasturage while it is wet with dew, and they
should be taken out when they have eaten a moderate quantity. When cattle
are fed upon pulp from sugar beets, germinated malt, etc., they should be
fed in moderate amounts until they have become accustomed to it, as any of
these feeds may give rise to severe bloating.

An excessive quantity of any of the before-mentioned feeds may bring on
this disorder, or it may not be caused by excess, but to eating too
hastily. Sometimes the quality of the feed is at fault. Grass or clover
when wet by dew or rain frequently disorders digestion and brings on
tympanites; frozen roots or pastures covered with hoar frost should also be
regarded as dangerous. When feed has been eaten too hastily, or when it is
cold and wet, the digestive process is imperfectly performed, and the feed
contained in the paunch ferments, during which process large quantities of
gas are formed. The same result may follow when a cow is choked, as the
obstruction in the gullet prevents the eructation or passing up of gas from
the stomach, so that the gas continues to accumulate until tympanites
results.

_Symptoms._--The swelling of the left flank is very characteristic, as in
well-marked cases the flank at its upper part rises above the level of the
backbone, and when struck with the tips of the fingers emits a drum-like
sound. The animal has an anxious expression, moves uneasily, and is
evidently distressed. If relief is not