151 

 BLACK-LEG."' 



By W. H. Dalrymple, R.C.V.S. 



From time to time the Veterinary Department receives requests 

 for information regarding "Black-leg," a disease quite fatal to 

 young cattle frequently in the best of condition, but which does 

 not appear to be recognized by many, and it is for the purpose of 

 supplying to our cattle owners something like accurate data on 

 the subject that the Station publishes this short bulletin at the 

 present time. We are not prepared to say that this disease is of 

 more frequent occurrence than heretofore in the State : but, on 

 account of the greater tendency on the part of our people to raise 

 and own animals of better breeding, and, in consequence,^ of 

 greater value, losses occurring in their stock may be receiving 

 more attention as to cause, with the result that the trouble is 

 being more frequently recognized rather than becoming more 

 frequent. 



The value of young " scrub " cattle is relatively so inconsider- 

 able that when a few of them die on the farm little thought is 

 taken of the probable cause of death and, therefore, no investiga- 

 tion is made to endeavour to discover it. Black-leg may have been 

 at the bottom of many of such fatalities in the past, unrecognized, 

 and because of the proper sanitary measures not having been taken 

 to destroy infection in the bodies of the victims, the disease may, 

 no doubt, have become established in certain localities, laying the 

 foundation for the cases in the more valuable animals, and which, 

 because of their greater value, has caused owners to seek more 

 information regarding the fatal ailment. Fortunately, although 

 the disease is a very fatal one among young cattle, it can be almost 

 wholly prevented by vaccination. In fact, statistics recorded by 

 the National Department of Agriculture at Washington go to 

 show that out of 1,500,000 animals vaccinated, the loss reached 

 only about one-half of one per cent. 



Besides being known as black-leg, the disease has other names, 

 such as black-quarter, quarter-ill, symptomatic anthrax, symp- 

 tomatic charbon, etc. To avoid confusion, however, we will 

 confine ourselves to the first name, black-leg. The use of the 

 terms, symptomatic anthrax and symptomatic charbon has led to 

 a good deal of misunderstanding and error in our State, so far 

 as this disease is concerned, because, having anthrax or charbon 

 as a part of the name, many have been led to think that the 

 disease was genuine anthrax or charbon. Some writers on 

 veterinary medicine use the terms, symptomatic anthrax and charbon 

 symptomatique (the French), because of its apparent resemblance 

 to the external appearance of that disease, especially a swelling 

 that is usually to be found in those parts of the body thickly 

 clothed with muscular tissue. But since bacteriology has as- 

 sumed the rank of a most import science, it has been found that 

 the two diseases are separate and distinct and produced by entirely 



♦Bulletin No. 8E, March, 1906, of the Agii., E.xperimeDt Station of Louisiana. 



