6Zb THE DISEASES OF SWINE. 



beats strong; membranes increased in color. A long 

 sleep may follow, or the animal may soon regain con- 

 sciousness, but only to be speedily reattacked ; dies. 



Remedy. — If caused by nervous disorder, give bella- 

 donna or atrophine. If from worms, give a vermifuge. 

 Proper food and housing ; exercise. At the time of attack 

 little can be done. Dashing cold water over the head 

 and face is the most proper course, deferring other mea~ 

 sures till the seizure has passed. Strychnine, quassia, 

 gentian or other tonic for lack of blood ; less nutritious 

 diet for too much blood ; also exercise. As a means of 

 reducing the severity of an attack, and while there is 

 power to swallow, chloroform, chloric or sulphuric ether, 

 chloral hydrate, &c, should be given, or the animal may 

 inhale the first, the latter being injected beneath the skin. 

 When it is known that a nerve is at fault, it may be 

 divided, or the firing-iron may be applied over the locality. 



For doses, see pages 13 to 29. 



TRICHINA SPIRALIS (WORMS), 



According to Williams, is usually found within capsules 

 or cysts, occupying the muscles of some animals, such 

 as the pig, or even of man. When full-grown, the female 

 is much larger than the male, being one-eighth and one- 

 eighteenth of an inch in length respectively. 



Small animals, such as rats, cats, and rabbits, when 

 seriously infected, like man, soon succumb to the disease. 

 The health of larger animals, however, is rarely affected. 

 A pig that was experimented on in the Eoyal Veterinary 

 College, showed no signs of the disease, notwithstanding 

 an after-death examination indicated that its flesh prob- 

 ably contained 16,000,000 of living worms ! Other pigs, 

 however, showed much general disturbance and suffering, 

 arising from the irritation of the worms in the intestines 

 and during their passage into the muscular tissue. The 

 irritation of the alimentary canal, which lessens toward 



