No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 141 



several weeks. The loss of condition, the evidence of the occlusion 

 of parts of the lungs, and the cough, may readily lead one to believe 

 that the young cattle are afflicted with tuberculosis of the lungs. 

 The points of ditTerence are, — the cough is more violent in verminous 

 bronchitis than in tuberculosis, the progress of the disease is much 

 more rapid and the fact that a number of the young cattle simul- 

 taneously develop almost exactly the same condition, is evidence 

 rather of verminous bronchitis than of tuberculosis. If, as is some- 

 times the case, one is able to detect long, slender worms in the 

 coughed out material or in the discharge from the nose, there need 

 no longer be doubt as to the nature of the trouble. The disease 

 has a more rapid and serious course in young, weakly animals than 

 in those that are older and stronger. Upon the examination of the 

 lungs after death, made by cutting the air tubes open longitudi- 

 nally, the worms may be found in greater or lesser numbers. 



The preventive treatment of this disease consists in keeping sus- 

 ceptible animals off of the infested pastures until mid-summer. 

 Cattle kept in the stable and fed soiling crops rarely develop this 

 disease. Danger to mature animals following exposure to infesta- 

 tion with lung worms, is not great. Something can be done to 

 render infested areas less dangerous by draining them and removing 

 all accumulations of stagnant water. In regard to curative treat- 

 ment, perhaps the most important item is to see that the animals 

 are well nourished and to provide them with generous rations of 

 concentrated food, as bran, ground oats, corn meal or linseed meal, 

 used singly or in combination. The idea of this is to keep the 

 animal as strong as possible so that it may successfully pass through 

 the natural crisis of the disease. When the worms have reached 

 full development they are expelled by coughing. Therefore, if the 

 animal can be kept strong until this time, it will naturally tenc? 

 to recover. It may safely be said that no medicine is as useful ii 

 this disease as good food and plenty of it. To assist digestion anC 

 to increase the appetite, a lick should be given of salt containing a 

 little Glauber salts and sulphate of iron. The practice of giving 

 vermifuges by the mouth is not to be recommended because any- 

 thing given in this way that would be strong enough to influence 

 worms in the lungs would be certain to upset digestion and so 

 do much more harm than good. If the necessary facilities are at 

 hand it may be profitable to cause the infested calves to inhale 

 medicated vapors. This can be carried out by enclosing the animals 

 in a tight room and there vaporizing a mixture of oil of turpentine 

 and tar, one part of the former to two parts of the latter. This can 

 be done by heating the mixture over a water bath. 



The most direct way of bringing remedial agents in contact with 

 these parasites is by intra-tracheal injection. In order to practice 



