PROGRESSIVE BEEF CATTLE RAISING 



tive treatment by means of vaccination. The losses 

 following this are less than one-half of i percent. 



CONTAGIOUS ABORTION. This is a chronic and highly 

 insidious disease that is confined to the organs of repro- 

 duction and is probably the most widely spread disease 

 in cattle. It is caused by a specific germ which is more 

 likely to infect heifers than cows and which seldom affects 

 the bull. During the early months after breeding the 

 animal appears normal but the calf may be born from 

 three to five months prematurely. Some cows may be- 

 come "carriers" of the disease without themselves being 

 sick. Skilled veterinarians are required to recognize 

 these animals by means of blood tests. The only treat- 

 ment possible is preventive. Immediately after the 

 animal aborts all of the litter should be disposed of by 

 burning and the stable floor should be disinfected with a 

 strong liquid. The cow should be douched with a i per- 

 cent solution of salt at blood temperature to prevent the 

 accumulation of pus. Some investigators at present urge 

 the use of a vaccine, but this has not yet been standardized. 



FOOT-AND-MOUTH-DISEASE. Although this disease is 

 not common in America, there have been several serious 

 scourges from it, the last in the years 1914-15. It affects 

 cattle worse than other stock and the mortality ranges 

 from i to 3 percent. The disease opens with a moderate 

 fever and the appearance of blisters in the mouth and 

 between the hoofs. A profuse flow of saliva is stimulated 

 which hangs from the mouth in viscid ropes. No attempt 

 is made to treat the disease in the United States and 

 infected animals are immediately slaughtered. 



FOOT ROT. Cattle that are forced to stand in filthy 

 lots occasionally suffer from a contagious hoof disease 

 known as foot rot. The animals become lame, develop 

 a hot and painful swelling around the hoof and lose their 

 appetite and flesh. The "proud flesh" which appears 

 must be trimmed away, the pus tracts drained and a dis- 



Page Forty-one 



