SWINE— CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



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SWINE, Inflammation of the Lungs. — 

 This complaint is known among the 

 breeders and fatteners of swine by the 

 term of rising of the lights. There seems 

 to be a peculiar tendency in every mala- 

 dy of this animal to take on a highly in- 

 flammatory character. It is the conse- 

 quence of the forcing system that is 

 adopted in the fattening of the hog. It 

 resembles the blood or inflammatory fever 

 of oxen and sheep — a general and high 

 degree of fever, produced on a system al- 

 ready strongly disposed to take on in- 

 tense inflammatory action from the slight- 

 est causes. Every little cold is apt to de- 

 generate into inflammation of the lungs 

 in the fatted or fattening hog; and so 

 many cases of this sometimes occur in 

 the same establishment, or the same 

 neighborhood — in fact, among those who 

 are exposed to the same exciting cause, 

 that the disease is mistaken for an epi- 

 demic. There is no doubt that when this 

 heaving of the ligths begins to appear in 

 a herd of swine, a great many of them 

 are sooner or later affected by it, and die. 

 It is the cough or cold that is epidemic, 

 but it is the plethora and inflammatory 

 state of the animals that cause it to be 

 so general as well as fatal. 



The early symptom is cough. A cough 

 in a hog is always a suspicious circum- 

 stance, and should be early and promptly 

 attended to. The disease is rapid in its 

 progess. The animal heaves dreadfully 

 at the flanks ; he has a most distressing 

 cough, which sometimes almost suffocates 

 him, and he refuses to eat. The princi- 

 pal guiding symptom will be the cough 

 getting worse and worse, and becoming 

 evidently connected with a great deal of 

 fever. 



In many cases congestion takes place 

 in the lungs, and the animal dies in three 

 or four days; in others he appears for a 

 while to be getting better; but there is a 

 sudden relapse, a frequent dry, husky 

 cough comes on, there is a little appetite, 

 rapid wasting, and the hog dies in a few 

 weeks, evidently consumptive. 



The first thing that is to be done is to 

 bleed, and the most convenient place to 

 bleed the hog is from the palate. If an 

 imaginary line is drawn from between the 

 first and second front middle teeth, and 

 extending backward an inch along the 

 palate, and the palate is there cut deeply, 



with a lancet or fleam, plenty of blood 

 will be obtained. A larger quantity of 

 blood, however, can be abstracted from 

 the vein on the inside of the fore-arm, 

 about an inch above the knee. The ap- 

 plication of cold water with a sponge will 

 generally stop the bleeding without diffi- 

 culty, or at least so far arrest it that no- 

 harm will be done if it should continue a 

 little while longer. An assistant may 

 easily open the mouth sufficiently for all 

 this by means of a halter or stout stick, 

 but beyond this the swine is an awkward 

 patient to manage. He will struggle ob- 

 stinately against every attempt to drench 

 him, and the inflammation may be ag- 

 gravated by the contest. It will, there- 

 fore, be necessary in the majority of cases 

 to endeavor to cheat him by mixing his. 

 medicine with his food. 



Here we must recollect the nature of 

 his stomach ; it is not of that insensible 

 character and difficult to be acted upon 

 or nauseated as in the cow and the 

 sheep, but it approaches as nearly as pos- 

 sible to the structure of that of the hu- 

 man being ; and we must adapt our med- 

 icine accordingly. The emetic tartar must 

 be omitted from our Fever Medicine, or 

 it would sadly vomit the patient. The 

 Fever Medicine for swine (see No. 88, 

 Domestic Animals, Medicines for,) 

 may be given. 



In the greater number of cases the an- 

 imal will readily take this ; but if he is so 

 ill that nutriment of every kind is refused, 

 he must be drenched. 



This should be repeated morning, noon 

 and night, until the inflammation is. 

 abated. A purgative should quickly fol- 

 low, and we have those for the hog which 

 are mild as well as effectual, and from 

 which no danger can result. The Ep- 

 som salts may be given in doses of from 

 one to three ounces, and they will com- 

 municate a not unpleasant or unusual fla- 

 vor to his broth or swill. 



If this inflammation of the lungs in 

 the hog rivals in the speed with which it 

 runs its course, and in its intensity and fa- 

 tality, the blood, or inflammatory fever of 

 oxen and sheep, no time should be lost in 

 adopting the proper measures, and the 

 bleeding should be copious, and the med- 

 icine given in doses sufficiently powerful. 

 When the disease lingers on, and the dry, 

 husky cough remains, and the animal is. 



