No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 115 



lij^lited, (lean and well ventilated stables. The hay seed and chalT 

 that accumulate beneath or in the bottom of a deei) box-manger, 

 and that has become damp and mouldy ma}' produce forage poison- 

 ing when it is eaten by a greedy or hungry horse. When the dis- 

 ease occurs among horses kept in a clean, bright stable, it is 

 usually due to feeding corn or hay that were damaged before ar- 

 rival upon the premises. 



Contaminated water, wells subjected to overflow and surface 

 drainage, or shallow wells in a porous soil comtaminated with or- 

 ganic matter, may give rise to forage poisoning. Since the general 

 facts in regard to the origin of this disease have been made known 

 and the cause avoided, forage poisoning has become less prevalent 

 and is diminishing in prevalence from year to year. The old, unsani- 

 tary, dark, damp stone basement bank barns that were formerly re- 

 garded so favorably are now known to be unsanitary and unsafe. 

 The need for dryness, sunlight, cleanliness and fresh air are becom 

 ing better understood each year, and there are now few who do not 

 realize that a place suitable for the winter storage of turnips and 

 potatoes is not a suitable habitation for farm animals. 



No one who can avoid it would think of living in a dark cellar, 

 where the wall is damp and covered with mould. Light, dryness 

 and fresh air are jmst as necessary for domestic animals as for the 

 families of their owners. It is because these facts are becoming 

 better appreciated and because more attention is given to the 

 quality of the food, that forage })oisoning is becoming less preva- 

 lent. 



Since this disease does not respond at all readily to treatment, 

 and is fatal in a high percentage of cases, it is important that it 

 shall be prevented. Prevention can be accomplished by the ob- 

 servance of the points referred to above. 



Cow-pox. — This is a disease that is most likely to occur in large 

 herds of dairy cows that are recruited by purchase. Where a large 

 number of animals are kept together and many additions are made 

 to the herd or flock, there is greater probability of infection than 

 in the case of smaller herds, and especially when these herds are 

 self-sustained. Tuberculosis, contagious garget and abortion occur 

 more often in large herds to which purchased animals are fre- 

 quently added than in small breeding herds. In such herds there 

 is not only greater opportunity for the admission of the disease, 

 but there is also greater opportunity for its spread after it has 

 entered. 



During the past year, several large dairy herds in the eastern 

 part of the State have been seriously infested with cow pox. Gen- 

 erally, cow pox is not in itself a serious disease, but when erup- 

 tions occur on the udder and teats of milking cows, and these are 



