338 , ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



There is another chiss of common diseases of livestock which 

 causes extensive losses and over which the State has no jurisdiction. 

 The most conspicuous diseases of this class are such familiar condi- 

 tions as blood ])()is()uiug, colic, founder, heat siroke, iniiueuza, pneu- 

 monia, bloat in cattle, garget or iniiamation of the udder and among 

 parasitic diseases might be mentioned nodular diseases in sheep, 

 tape worm in sheep, lice, hoose or worm bronchitis in calves, gapes in 

 chickens and many other familiar diseases too numerous to mention. 



Many such diseases might be prevented if proper attention was 

 given to animals in the way of care, feeding, exercise, rest and sani- 

 tary measures in general- They are curable in most cases if the 

 proper form of treatment is adopted before the symptoms have pro- 

 gressed too far. 



In some cases the disease is not recognized and proper measures for 

 its cure are not adopted till the patient is past all hope. Too much 

 time is wasted in either waiting for the animals to recover without 

 treatment or some patent medicine, home remedy or that suggested 

 by those not competent to prescribe is given a trial. The time to 

 begin treating sick animals that are in need of treatment is in the 

 beginning and then no medicine should be used unless it is prescribed 

 by one who knows what is wrong with the animal in question and 

 also the dose and effect to be expected from its administration. In 

 most cases the handy dose of medicine does more harm than good. 

 You may say that you have cured many cases of colic in this way. It 

 is a well known fact that many cases of colic will recover if no medi- 

 cine is giveii. Colic frequently kills quickly and in spite of the 

 most approved sj^stem of treatment. It is, therefore, advisable to 

 look upon colic as a dangerous disease and treat it accordingly. 



Cases of blood poisoning usually develop as a result of wound in- 

 fection. Serious and dangerous forms may develop from apparently 

 insignificant wounds. Nail wounds and wounds from fork tines are 

 especially dangerous and the danger is increased by applying poul- 

 tices to them. We frequently find such wounds dressed with poul- 

 tices made of cow manure, flaxseed, wheat bran, etc., and the case in 

 the last stages of lockjaw which may have existed for days but had 

 not been recognized. Lockjaw can be caused in no other way than 

 by the specific germ that is known to produce it, gaining admission 

 in some way to the animals body. It may gain such admission 

 through small wounds from which air is excluded. The animal may 

 be vaccinated any time in a week after such a wound and the disease 

 will not occur. After the disease has developed treatment is nearly 

 hopeless yet occasionally the patient will recover either with or with- 

 out treatment. It is always advisable to vaccinate animals to prevent 

 this disease when a suspicious wound has been received. The wound 

 should also receive antiseptic treatment. 



Horses are often foundered by suddenly checking a perspiration 

 as by giving too much cold water soon after a drive or allowing the 

 horse to stand in a draft when sweating- The disease occurs in a 

 few hours offer such exposure and if recognized promptly and the 

 proper treatment applied soon enough the case should make a com- 

 plete recovery in a few days. When such case<s are not recognized, 

 are neglected or not properly treated for three or four days or more 

 there is great danger of bad results and the animal may die or is 



