DISEASES OF SWINE 417 



into the tissues beneath the skin; (c) by rubbing into the skin; 

 (d) by the air passages and lungs; (e) by the rectum. 



By the Mouth. Hogs possess a rather simple digestive tract, 

 and are very susceptible to the action of drugs when given in the 

 feed or as a drench. If the hog is not too sick to eat and the drug 

 does not possess an unpleasant taste, it can be given in the feed. 

 If soluble, milk can be used; if insoluble, ground feed is to be pre- 

 ferred. In all cases the medicine must be well mixed with the feed. 

 When a large number are to be dosed it is best to separate them 

 into lots of ten and feed each lot separately. When this is done, 

 there is greater certainty of each getting the proper dose and the 

 danger from overdosing is avoided. In the case of young pigs, we 

 can take advantage of the fact that some drugs are excreted in the 

 milk, and administer the drug to the mother. Drenching a hog is 

 not difficult if quietly and easily managed. A large herd can be 

 drenched quite rapidly if driven into a small pen, as the hogs will 

 be in such close quarters that they can not get away. To secure 

 the hog while drenching it, a noose of sash cord or a small rope 

 can be placed around the upper jaw well back toward the angles of 

 the lips, and the medicine administered with a metallic dose syringe. 

 Sometimes when the drench is bulky, and the hog hard to hold, it 

 is necessary to elevate the head and raise the fore feet off the 

 ground. For this purpose a pulley and a rope wire stretcher is 

 recommended. It should be hung in some convenient place in the 

 pen and the animal secured in the usual way by placing a noose 

 over the upper jaw. The rope is then thrown over the hook in the 

 lower pulley and the hog drawn up until it is almost off its feet. 

 The drench must not be administered until the hog is quiet and 

 well under control, as there is some danger of the medicine getting 

 into the air passages and doing harm. If there is danger of the 

 hogs getting mixed in the operation, as soon as one is drenched it 

 can be marked w r ith paint. 



Drugs, when soluble, are best given in water or milk; when 

 insoluble, in syrup or oil. Instead of a syringe a long necked 

 bottle, or a funnel with rubber tubing and an iron nozzle can be used. 



Injecting Beneath the Skin. This method of administration 

 is suitable when the drug is non-irritating, the dose small and when 

 prompt, energetic effects are required. The needle and hypodermic 

 syringe should be sterile, and the place of injection washed with an 

 antiseptic wash in order to prevent the formation of an abscess. 

 The point of injection should be where the skin is thin, as the 

 flank, belly, ear, or inside of thigh. The needle is introduced 

 through the skin and the medicine injected beneath it by slowly 

 pushing the piston. In the case of fat hogs the injection should 

 go into the muscular tissue; otherwise it will not be absorbed 

 promptly. 



By the Air Passages and Lungs. This method of administra- 

 tion is practiced but little, and usually for a local effect on the 

 respiratory organs only. The hog or hogs are put into a tight 

 enclosure and allowed to inhale vapors of the drug. Drugs suit- 



