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As this disease is oftentimes fatal and wide spread in some sections of our country, any effectual remedy for it must be a great boon to suffering humanity A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer asserts that its cause is the presence of cobalt in the soil of the pastures on which the cattle feed whose milk is said to produce the sickness The remedy which he states has been successfully employed for it, is sulphuric acid, but he gives no directions as to its uses We believe he is mistaken regarding cobalt in the soil, but he may be correct as to the remedy About five drops of sulphuric acid in a pint of water sweetened with a little white sugar, makes a pleasant and tart drink, which has been found very effective in curing dysentery, and it may be equally good for milk sickness Very dilute sulphuric acid is no more dangerous than lemon juice in a beverage, therefore it may be safely tried for the above disease If there is cobalt in the soil of the meadows where the above sickness prevails, it can be easily detected by stirring some of the soil in clear soft hot water, allowing the sediment to settle, pouring off the clear solution and using a reagent, such as ammonia, which will form j a blue precipitate (if not used in excess) with the cobalt |
