124 Journal of Agriculture. [lo Feb., 1910. 



AXSAVERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



The Staff of the l)ei>aitinent has Vjeen orj-anized to a lari,'e extent for the purpose of ^iviiiy- information 

 to farmers. i^>uf~tioii> in every branch of ayrriculture are gladly answered. \Vnte a short letter, giving as 

 full particulars as possible, of your local conditions, and state precisely what it is that you want to know. 

 All inquiries must be accompanied by the name and addre.ss oi the writer. 



Congestion of the Lungs and Pleurisv. — Because of the clearness and terse- 

 ness of the following letter, received frjm Mr. D. A. McDougall, ■" C'raigielea,"' 

 Maroona, it has been decided to publish it in full, together with the reply of the 

 Veterinary Branch. 



Mr. McDougall writes — "■ I had a mare die and would like to know what was 

 the cause of her death and what would have been the proper treatment for such a 

 case. She was working in the harvester when she took bad, but had not been in 

 constant work for some lime. 



" It was first noticed that she would not eat, was shivering and her breathing 

 was fast ; the body was very hot, especially about the chest, and the heart was 

 beating fast. In putting the ear to the front of the chest, a dry grating sound 

 could be heard ; it could also be heard on the right side of the chest and along 

 the neck. The ears and legs were cold. She ate a little now and again, stood 

 mostly in the one place with the head down and the ears drooping, and had a 

 reddish discharge coming from the nostrils. 



" She was bad for about a week, took another fit of shivering and fell over 

 once or twice. The heart seemed to be getting thinner and not so fidl ; more 

 irregular. On putting the ear on the right side of the chest a sound as if the 

 chest had a lot of water moving about in it could be heard. It sounded like water 

 dropping from a height into a vessel ; it could be heard from the bottom of the 

 chest well up the sides of the horse. On looking at the side of the horse a line 

 was noticeable, running from the flank to the shoulder along the bottom of the 

 ribs, pressure on the right side of the chest caused jjain, and a very low, painful, 

 cough was present. The inside of the evelid was of a dark red colour, the front 

 legs swelled and a watery discharge was oozing out of them. 



■' I put mustard, vinegar, and a little turp' around the sides of the chest and 

 also oia the front of it. There was some swelling under the chest and a little in 

 front of it after the j)laster came off. When breathing she would give a little 

 grunt with each breath. She never laid down all the time she was bad, but at 

 last she staggered, breathed faster, broke out in sweat, and dropped down dead. 

 The illness lasted ten days. Doses of tincture of aconite, and sweet spirits of 

 nitre were administered, and injections made. Towards the last I gave her 

 whisky and water." 



Answer. — The first symi^toms shown were those of acute congestion (with 

 hsemorrhage (jr a]joplexy) of the hmgs which was mainly indicated by the bleeding 

 from the nose ; from this the mare may have recovered had not pleurisy set in as 

 a complication. The line described as rimning along the lower border of the ribs 

 is verv characteristic of this affection. 



The most common cause of congestion of the lungs is fotmd in putting a full 

 blooded animal suddenly into hard work, more especially during hot weather. 

 The first line of treatment to a(lo])t in such a case should be an endeavour to stimulate 

 the general circulation so as to relieve the blood pressure within the lungs. This 

 may be effected by administering in the very early stages a dose of tincture of 

 opium, 2 ()Z. ; this should be followed every three hours with a stimulant such as 

 ammonia in the form of aromatic spirits or, if that is not available, then 

 4 oz. of brandy or whisky, at the same time applying warm rugs to the body 

 and warm dry bandages to the legs. The latter may also be rubbed with a mild 

 stimulating liniment. A warm well ventilated loose box should be provided. 



Pleurisy setting in renders the chance of successful treatment more remote. 

 Treatment is similar to that for congestion of the lungs but, in addition, the chest 

 walls should be rubbed with a strong stimulating liniment or mustard plaster. 

 Tincture of aconite ^ dr., and spirits of nitre 2 ozs. , mav be given everv four hours 

 with advantage. Later on, as the fever subsides and recovery mav be looked for, 

 absorption of the fluids, which have been formed in the chest cavity, may be assisted 

 by administering three times a day the following : Tincture of nux vomica ^ dr., 

 iodide of potash 5 dr., tincture of ginger i^ ozs.^ water i jiint. 



Death ok YorXG Pigs. — R.J.S. writes :^" Several of my young pigs have 

 died lately when nbout three weeks old and in good condition. The stve is dry, 

 but dusty. The symptoms are — They start sniffing as if suffering from cold in 

 the head, the nostrils get choked up and are blown by the flies, there is a bad smell 

 and the j)igs do not suck. Death ensues in three or four days."' 



