72 DErARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



liiit with (lie tubes in()])(>.se(l to preserve the liquid a very sini])le j)lan 

 consists in usiii<)- a siiiiili bistoury or huieet, scariiyinj; the ui)per surface 

 of the tail an inch or so from the end, and from this ])urt the hair may 

 be clipix'dolf with a ])air of scissors; the scarification must be sui)erfieial 

 and blood shoukl not be drawn if jjossible ; the tube is taken and both 

 ends broken otf ; a little rubber ball or tube is fixed onto one end, and 

 by pressin,i>- this a fcAV drops of li(piid are dropped in the scaritication. 

 This is the safest method, as there is no doubt of the virus being applied 

 to an abs(>rbent surface, and the method of collection affor<ls a j,niar- 

 antee of its purity; the tubes are thus kept hermetically sealed till 

 needed, and trom the way they are used there is no loss of material. 



Tlie results of successful inoculation are somewhat various; by some 

 nu'thods the swelling- is considei'able, and many tails slough. It is not 

 a little remarkable that cows do not often fail to enjoy immunity from 

 the disease after sloughing- of the organ ; it might, « jpnon, have been 

 supposed that the acute inflammation and gangrene would have pre- 

 vented the specific action of the virus on the system, and there is reason 

 to believe that occasionally this does occur, as I have seen more than 

 one case of pleuro pneumonia in cows that had lost their tail after inocu- 

 lation. 



But under favorable circumstances a slight heat and tumefiu'tion 

 occur round the puncture, at a period varying from a week to even sixty 

 days. Commonly from the ninth to the fifteenth day the local erup- 

 tion is visible, and if at all marked is attended with a little fever ; a 

 slight shiver, restlessness, and some loss of appetite, slightly checked 

 secretion of milk, and constipation, may be noticed. I have repeat- 

 edly inoculated all the cows in a dairy, and the owner has not sustained 

 the slightest loss or inconvenience from cows going oft" their milk; indeed 

 this is the rule. 



Xo pustule, no suppuration, forms ; untoward results consist in the 

 excessive local swelling-, or, if putrid matter has been used, in secondary 

 deposits at the root of the tail, around the anus and other parts. One 

 of the most remarkable cases I ever witnessed was one in which, on the 

 seventeenth day after a carefully perf(U'med inoculation, both fore legs 

 and brisket swelled up enormously, and the aniuud suftered intensely 

 from fever and died on the fourth day. 



As a rule, no after-treatment is necessary, inasmuch as the results are 

 so slight that they even escape observation altogether. But Avlien 

 ex(;essive swellings occur it is best to use cold applications, and nothing 

 is better than a steady stream of cold water on the part at short inter- 

 vals. Incisions are not always desirable, but where it is deenuMl advisa- 

 ble to relieve great tension, they must be deei) and free ; the resulting 

 wound must be Mashed with a solution of ses(iuichloride of iron or 

 chloride of zinc, of the strength of four grains to the ounce of water. 

 AVlien file animal has much fever and is costive, a saline purge, such as 

 a j>()und of Epsom salts, affords relief. 



