DISEASES OF SWINE 443 



breathing ("snuffles") are often associated with rickets in swine, 

 and prove fatal. 



Pigs affected with rickets can seldom be profitably treated. 

 Prevention is to be sought by avoiding the causes mentioned, main- 

 taining sanitary conditions about the hogs, providing adequate sup- 

 plies of various foods, rich in all the requisites of a perfectly nour- 

 ished animal, and obviating degeneracy by careful selection of 

 robust sows and timely infusion of fresh blood. (Wis. B. 184.) 



Causes. This condition is due to a lack of development of the 

 bones. The mineral matter is not deposited in the normal propor- 

 tion. It is seen in growing pigs after weaning. It most often 

 occurs in those that receive an almost exclusively corn diet with 

 no milk and no pasture. It is seen more often in winter than in 

 summer because the conditions enforce the penning and feeding 

 of pigs at that season. It is also seen in some litters which might 

 indicate that it was hereditary. 



Symptoms. The disease is characterized by weakness of the 

 bones, bending of the legs, breaking down upon the feet ; there may 

 be either a dropping or arching of the back, a spraddling gait, dis- 

 torted face, bulging forehead, sniffles and paralysis. Such pigs are 

 nearly always fat at the beginning. The disease does not tend to 

 destroy the animal quickly, as it is a slowly progressing disease. 



Treatment. The treatment as far as it can be of service, is to 

 feed less fattening: food and substitute milk, oats, rye, and a little 

 oil meal. An abundance of salt, charcoal, wood ashes and air 

 slaked lime should be available. (Ind. B. 100.) 



SORE FEET. 



Causes. If hogs are kept continually on hard floors or driven 

 over hard, rough roads, the feet may become inflamed and bruised. 

 Standing in filth may cause the feet to become sore, the moisture 

 softening the tissue at the upper margin of the wall, in the inter- 

 digital space and at the heel. 



Symptoms. The hog flinches a great deal when it walks, goes 

 quite lame. This is especially true of heavy hogs, and if the pain 

 is severe, they lie down most of the time. On making a local exam- 

 ination, the claws may be found long and overgrown or the heels 

 and the space between the claws is swollen, sore and inflamed. 



Treatment. When caused by hard floors, simply turning 

 them out on pasture will effect a cure. If the pens and yards are 

 filthy, they should be changed to clean dry pens, and the feet freed 

 from all filth and washed once a day with a four per cent, watery 

 solution of some of the coal tar preparations; or with chloride of 

 zinc (one teaspoonful to the pint of water). It is very necessary 

 that the hogs be kept in a clean, dry place until well. (Ind. B. 

 100.) 



SNIFFLES, SNUFFLES, BULLNOSE. 



It is evident from the descriptions given that all writers are 

 not agreed upon the nature of this affection. There are two vari- 

 eties of the affection the catarrhal and the rachitic. In the ca- 

 tarrhal form we have a more or less wheezing, respiration occurring 



