PREVENTIVE MEDICINE 353 



This method has received much criticism, adverse as well as favour- 

 able. The author has used it extensively for horses and dogs 

 and usually with good results. Dogs should be soaked for 20 

 minutes or so in the bath at body temperature and then left to 

 shake themselves dry, care being taken, of course, that they are not 

 exposed to cold. In using this wash it is well to remember that 

 the success of the treatment depends chiefly upon the strength of 

 the bleaching powder (so-called " chloride of lime ") of which the 

 sodium hypochlorite is made. This substance very soon decom- 

 poses unless kept in stoppered bottles, so that the chloride of lime 

 as purchased in the shops in cardboard cartons instead of containing 

 30 per cent, or more of available chlorine may yield less than half 

 this amount. For this reason the author invariably uses twice 

 the quantity of bleaching powder that is prescribed for making 

 sodium hypochlorite. 



Other dressings commonly used on horses and cattle are : a 

 solution of perchloride of mercury, 1 to 1000 ; a 3 per cent, solution 

 of a coal tar disinfectant, or a decoction of stavesacre, four ounces 

 to each gallon of water. 



The treatment of grooming tools, harness, stall partitions and 

 the like should be similar to that advocated for mange-infected 

 articles. 



Infestation by lice causes, in horses, a dermatitis simulating 

 mange, and it must not be forgotten that the two may, and fre- 

 quently do, co-exist. 



When dogs are infested with lice they should be subjected to 

 a weekly soak in Mangin's solution for at least three successive 

 weeks ; the sleeping baskets, kennels and rugs must be thoroughly 

 cleansed and disinfected, otherwise the treatment of the animal 

 itself will be of little avail. 



The N.C.I, powder, recommended for the use of men, may 

 perhaps be suitable for dogs. It is composed of naphthaline, 96 

 parts ; creosote, 2 parts ; and iodoform, 2 parts, this is to be dusted 

 on to the clothing or hair as the case may be. A caution is given 

 that if used too liberally the powder causes an irritation of the skin. 



Fowls are often found to suffer greatly from lice, of which 

 they harbour numerous species. The ill effects are perhaps more 

 intense than those caused by fleas. Badly-infested birds are un- 

 thrifty, and egg-laying is interfered with. Young chickens fail to 

 grow, and their general unthrifty condition renders them more 

 susceptible to disease, and they may even die from debility. Preven- 

 tion is secured by attending to the cleanliness of the poultry houses 

 and nests. A periodic and thorough cleansing with subsequent white- 

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