120 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Many remedies for inanj;e Lave been tried, including all of the 

 usual antiseptic washes, ointments and liniments that are commonly 

 i-ecommeuded for this disease. The best remedy that has been tried 

 and one, indeed, that has shown itself to be thoroughly efficacious, 

 is a lime and sulphur wash, such as is used for dipping sheep 

 afflicted with sheep scab. A satisfactory method of making this 

 wash, recommended in a report of Liie United States Bureau of 

 Animal Industry', is as follows: 



Place one-half pound of unslaked lime in a bucket or kettle. To 

 this add enough water to form a paste. luto this paste sift one 

 and one-half jjounds of flowers of sulphur and stir the mixture 

 well. Place the surphur-lime-paste in a kettle with about three 

 gallons of water, and boil. The boiling should be continued until 

 the sulphur disajjpears, or almost disappears, from the surface, 

 which will require from one to three hours. The solution is then of 

 a chocolate or liver color. Water may be added as necessary. 



Pour the mixture and sediment into a bucket and allow two or 

 three hours for the sediment to settle, then carefully dip off the 

 clear liquid, taking care not to disturb the sediment. Place this 

 liquid in a wooden receptacle, or a keg that can be closed tightly 

 to exclude the air, or in a glass receptacle, such as a large demijohn. 

 To the clear liquid thus dipped off, add enough water to make six 

 gallons. The sediment should be thrown away. This mixture can 

 be used freely for washing the horse. As it stains the hands of the 

 person who uses it (although it does no harm otherw'se, and the 

 stain does not last long) it may be applied with a spoi.ge attached 

 to the end of a stick, or rubber gloves may be worn. About one- 

 half of the body of the horse may be covered at a time; that is, 

 on a single day, and the applications should be repeated at inter- 

 vals of two or three days so long as may be necessary. In the west, 

 where many horses are to be treated, they are dipped in lime and 

 sulphur wash in special vats. 



This wash should be applied with a sponge to the diseased area 

 and the surrounding apparently healthy skin. It is well to apply 

 little but not much friction in order to cause the wash to soak 

 through the scurf and accumulation and to penetrate into the bur- 

 rows and fissures of the skin. The wash should be applied at 

 intervals of two or three days until recovery is complete. 



It has been found that the disease can be cured in about three 

 weeks. 



Infectious Ahortion of Cows. — Infectious abortion has prevailed 

 much less extensively in Pennsylvania during this year than at 

 any time during the past decade. There was a time but a few years 

 ago when infectious abortion was one of the principal posts of 

 breeding cattle, and the loss amounted to several hundred thou- 



