“The rumen being distended with gas not only makes the animal appear much fuller than usual, but it presses forward on the diaphragm, or ‘midriff,’ and this presses against the lungs, and interferes seriously with the animal’s breathing. The breath is short and rapid. The animal often grunts, or moans, with each breath. The animal’s nose protrudes, and there is a driveling of saliva from the mouth. Sometimes there are quite severe colicky pains, shown by the animal’s kicking at its belly and stepping about uneasily. Sometimes, also, the pressure is so great as to cause eversion or bulging out of the rectum. The symptoms of bloating are so prominent, especially when the history of the case is taken into account, as to make this disease very easy to recognize, even by an ordinary observer. “When animals die from bloating, death usually takes place in the following manner: The diaphragm is pressed against the lungs so hard that the animal cannot breathe, and it dies of suffocation. Animals usually remain standing until near the end, when they gradually lose consciousness, stagger, and fall, and in falling rupture some of the vital organs. “Treatment must depend somewhat upon the condition of the animal. If the animal is badly bloated, with labored breathing and staggering gait, energetic measures must be resorted to at once. The best and most satisfactory treatment for bad cases is tapping. This consists in making a hole through the skin and muscles, over the prominent swelling on the left side, into the rumen or ‘paunch,’ thus allowing the gas to escape at once, relieving the animal. “The best method of tapping is by means of an instrument called a _trocar_ and _cannula_. A trocar is a sharp-pointed instrument, five or six inches long, and about the size of a lead pencil, with a handle at one end. Over the point of the trocar slips a tube, called a cannula, not quite as long as the trocar, with a wide flange around the upper end of the tube, as shown in the illustration herewith. TROCAR AND CANNULA