CONTAGIOUS DISEASES OP DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 419 



to destroy the infectious principle or its effect, if its influx is a great 

 one, and continued by keeping healthy and diseased swine together in 

 the same lot, yard, or pen. A strict separation is necessary, at any rate 

 of the greatest importance, because the eiiect of the infectious principle, 

 like that of an accumulative poison, seems to increase and to become 

 more intense or violent after each new influx ; in other words, the dis- 

 ease, as a rule, will be the more malignant, and the time of incubation 

 or period of colonization will be the shorter the greater the amount of 

 the infections principle introduced. Other disinfectants, such as sali- 

 cylic acid (rather doubtful) and thymol have probably a similar effect 

 as carbolic acid, but are rather expensive, and therefore can be made 

 use of only on a small scale. 



7. Salt and ashes, sulphate of iron or copperas, sulphur, assafcetida, 

 black antimony, lime, coal, carbonate of soda, soap, oil of tui-pentine, 

 and quite a number of other similar substances, singly, and in various 

 combinations, have been used very extensively by a large number of 

 farmers in different parts of the State, and at diflerent seasons of the 

 year, but notwithstanding diligent inquirj', I have failed to learn of a 

 solitary case in which any of those substances, or any combination of 

 them, has produced favorable results, or in which their use has been fol- 

 lowed by a decrease in the mortality that might not be ascribed more 

 reasonably to other causes. Sulphate of iron especially is of no value, 

 neither as a preventive nor as a remedy. Mr. Bassett, an intelligent 

 farmer in Champaign County, tried it thoroughly, and has used it ex- 

 tensively, and lost 96 per cent, of a very nice herd of shoats. Others 

 have met with similar results. 



8. As to a treatment of the diseased animals, there can be no doubt 

 that a good hygienic treatment — a strict separation of the diseased ani- 

 mals from each other, so as to prevent any further influx of the infectious 

 principle is advisable. Swine diseased with the i)lague evince very often 

 a vitiated appetite for the excrements and the urine of their companions, 

 and as these excretions contain immense numbers of Schizomycetes, 

 spherical and rod-shaped, and are therefore highly infectious, more and 

 more infection or disease-i^roducing elements will be introduced into 

 the animal organism if that vitiated ai^petite is satisfied. Clean 

 quarters and clean troughs (it is very important to clean the troughs 

 after each meal), clean and fresh well-water to drink, clean food to eat, 

 reasonable and adequate protection against the inclemency of the 

 weather (against heat as well as against cold, rain, snow, &c.), and pure 

 air to breathe will go a good way and may save many an animal. 



As to a medical treatment, it would be necessary, if anything at all 

 is to be accomplished, to subject every individual animal to a special 

 treatment, dictated by circumstances; but as this is impossible, 

 especially in a large herd of swine, not much can be expected from the 

 use of medicines unless a " specific" is discovered that is simple of ap- 

 plication. If such a specific remedy is existing, one would suppose, 

 from the nature of the disease, it must be among the antiseptics or dis- 

 infectants. I have tried several of them, and so fer have met with very 

 poor results, as most of the animals thus treated have died, probably 

 because the morbid changes had become irreparable. Hyposulphite of 

 soda especially, which afterwards, in Mr. Graham's herd, proved to be 

 very effective, even under aggravated circumstances — at least, its use 

 was attended with very satisfactory results — and which is compara- 

 tively cheaper, and easy of application, was used extensively in three 

 different herds, but failed to produce any visible good results, and so 

 with all other medicines that were tried/ 



