KXPERTMENT STATION BULLETINS. 635 



iiil'ected cow ami the ways by wliieli I he iiiieru urgaiiisiiis eiiU'i' llie body 

 of the susceptible cow. The discharges from the uterus and the milk 

 are the most important of the former, and with the feed and water and 

 by the bull and direct contact with the floor the most important of the 

 latter. In fighting abortion one must aim to kill the micro-organisms as 

 they leave the infected cow on the one hand and protect the feed and 

 water and the bull against infection on the other. 



There is no practical and certain way of determining Ihc exact number 

 of infected animals in a herd and, if there were, the conditions would 

 not be the same a few months later. Further, an infected animal that 

 gives birth to an apparently normal calf at full term may be as great a 

 source of danger to yet uninfected animals as though abortion had 

 occurred. For these reasons, in adopting control measures that will prove 

 most effective, one must apply tliese measures to all animals of breeding 

 age. 



Daily disinfection of the hind parts of all non-pregnant females of 

 breeding age should 1»e practiced until the animals are safely in calf. 

 There are two reasons for this. First, the uterine discharges from in- 

 fected animals are constantly soiling the hind parts and udder of the cow 

 and the barns and lots, and the infection frequently reaches the uterus 

 of non-infected cows through contamination of the external genitals from 

 infected animals and from infected floors. 



With a pail of some good reliable disinfectant of sufficient strength 

 and a brush, one should systematically wash the buttocks, thighs, root 

 of tail, external genitals and udder daily, until the animal is known to 

 be with calf. In addition to this the gutter and floors of barn should 

 be cleaned daily and sprayed with an effective disinfectant. A thirty- 

 gallon spray mounted on two wheels, for convenience in moving from 

 one part of the barn to another, should be a part of the equipment of 

 every dairy barn. 



Since the udders of a high percentage of infected cows are infected, 

 the first few streams of milk should not be milked on the floor of the barn 

 as is practiced in some herds, where it is desired to keep down the bac- 

 terial count of the milk. A separate container should be provided for 

 this and disposed of outside of the dairy barn. The practice of disinfect- 

 ing the udder and floor daily should be applied at all times, but it is 

 probably safe to discontinue disinfection of the other parts of the cow 

 when it is known that she is safe in calf, until approaching abortion or 

 calving. 



Several days before a cow is to be bred, the vagina should be douched 

 daily with three ounces of borax to one gallon of warm water, using 

 about one gallon of the solution for each douche. This is more conven- 

 iently done by suspending a wire over the gutter, two or three feet higher 

 than the posterior parts of the cow, on which may be hung an ordinary 

 fountain syringe. This is connected with four or five feet of rather stiif 

 rubber tubing about one-half to five-eighths inch in diameter. (A pure 

 gum horse stomach tube is very useful for this purpose. Your veter- 

 inarian can get it for you.) This is inserted as deeply into the vagina as 

 possible in order to thoroughly cleanse the mouth of the uterus. After 

 using the tube it should be allowed to remain in a pail of disinfectant 

 three or four minutes to disinfect it before using on another animal. 



