CASXBATlOSr.] 



PIGS, 



[CEACKINGS. 



appears, the treatment must be very prompt, 

 aud blood should be immediately taken from 

 the palate. As purgatives, Epsom salts and 

 sulphur should be given, or emetic tartar, dis- 

 solved in sufficient water to cause the animal 

 to vomit. Should these prove effectual, there 

 must be no stiaiulatiug food given for some 

 time afterwards, and the animal should be 

 bled, at least, every three months. There 

 should also be some nitre infused with the 

 water he drinks. 



CATARRH, OR COLD. 



This disease springs from the same causes 

 as those which affect other animals with it. 

 It consists of an inflammation of the mucous 

 membrane of the nose, &c. ; and, if taken in 

 time, is easily cured by opening medicine, 

 succeeded by a warm bran mash, abstinence 

 from rich grains, and careful, comfortable 

 housing. "Where the cases are very severe, it 

 is well to administer medicine ; and the follow- 

 ing is recommended by a writer in Morton's 

 Cyclopcedia : — 



Antimonial powder . . . 2 to 6 grains. 



Nitre . . . . . 10 „ 30 „ 



Digitalis . . • • 1 » 2 „ 



This to be given daily. Should the disease 

 extend to the lungs and become bronchitis, in 

 addition to the above medicine, the animal 

 should be bled, and a stimulant rubbed on the 

 brisket. 



COLIC. 



Colic frequently attacks the bog, and is in- 

 dicated by the animal rolling on the ground, 

 murmuring sounds that betray suffering, and 

 exhibiting great restlessness. The following 

 is recommended to be administered : — 



Peppermint water 

 Tincture of opium 



1 gill. 

 40 drops. 



The animal must be kept warm, and supplied 

 with new and warm milk, until well. Some re- 

 commend a dose of Epsom or Glauber salts ; 

 but for colic, oleaginous medicines are the best ; 

 therefore, castor-oil, given in a dose propor- 

 tioned to the size of the pig, may be safely 

 administered. 



CASTRATION. 

 As this can be no more called a disease than 



794 



parturition or spaying, it might have been 

 introduced in another part of the Division of 

 this work ; still, as it is a surgical operation, 

 we consider this the most appropriate place to 

 speak of it. There is no great difficulty in 

 the performance of this operation, conse- 

 quently, in country towns, there is always one 

 sufficiently skilled in the art to gain a liveli- 

 hood by it. In castrating hogs, which should 

 not be older than three weeks, they are 

 grasped by an assistant by the hind legs, with 

 their faces towards his person, so that the testes 

 may be kept on a level with the hands of the 

 operators. As the skin of the testes is loose, 

 a longitudinal cut is made in the scrotum, over 

 each of them, when the finger and thumb are 

 pressed gently on each side of the incision, so 

 as to cause the testes to protrude. This 

 being done, it is gently taken hold of by the 

 other hand, and the spermatic cord separated 

 by the knife. The whole of the operation is 

 soon over ; but, after it, the pig should be suf- 

 fered to fast for a few hours, although the 

 little animals seem to be so slightly aflected by 

 any pain which they may have endured, that, 

 by the following morning, they are as active as 

 ever. Beyond three weeks, and in proportion 

 to the age of the animal, the operation becomes 

 proportionally difficult. " With the aged boar, 

 especially, it is a very tedious affair, as he 

 cannot be held up in the way the young pigs 

 can under a month old. It is thus necessary 

 to lay him on his side, and have him well 

 secured before the operation is performed. 

 He should also fast a little before it is done, 

 as well as through the following night, and be 

 supplied only with bran and milk after. Sows 

 in season should be kept from him till the 

 wound is healed. There is more difficulty, 

 however, in performing the operation, either 

 on the old or young, when there is a rupture, 

 which is not unfrequently the case. Greater 

 care must be taken in making a perfectly clean 

 cut. The pigs should fast a day before, and a 

 night, at least, after the operation; and the 

 scrotum should be carefully stitched up after 

 its performance, otherwise inflammation will 

 ensue." 



CRACKINGS. 

 The cause of crackings is exposure to the 

 extremes of temperature; and when they do 



