DISEASE AMONG SWINE AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 65 



the auiinal will purge severely and pass large quantities of black offensive matter. 

 Internally we find the etfects of the disease ditfi^ring as widely as the symptoms. 

 With sonie the lungs are found in a normal condition, while in others they are found 

 diseased and decayed, as is also the liver. I have knowji instances where hogs would 

 die very suddenly, and upon examination a shoulder, ham, or other portion of the body 

 would bo found bloodsliotten and in some cases mortified. Last year I had forty head 

 which seemed perfectly well one day, and on the next day they were sore, stiff, and 

 lame. I lost thirty of them within as many days. I do not believe the disease con- 

 tagious. I have known Avell hogs from other fields and farms to bed with diseased, 

 dying, and dead hogs, and yet not become infected. Again, I have known those that 

 were kept at a distance of a half-mile from diseased hogs and yet become affected 

 with the malady. 



Mr. J. Ballard, Nilcs, Berrien County, Michigan, says : 



Preventives for what is known here as hog cholera will be found better than cures. 

 A great deal of this disease is produced by uucleauliness and a lack of pure water dur- 

 ing dry seasons. Another cause is no doubt found in an exclusive corn feed. Tbis food 

 is dry and heating, and soon produces fever, which is one of the first symptoms of so- 

 called cholera. If hogs are kept on good clover pasture, where they can have pure 

 running water to drink and wallow in, with salt, ashes, and charcoal within their reach, 

 and an occasional dose of sulphur, they will generally remain free from the disease. 

 An occasional change of feed is always desirable, as but few animals will thrive con- 

 tinually on the same kind of food. The symptoms of the cholera are almost as various 

 as the hogs themselves. Sometimes it will begin with a cough ; one will appear lame 

 iu a hind-quarter, while another will bleed at one or both ears or at the nose ; another 

 will lose all its hair and bristles ; another will eat heartily at night, iu apparent good 

 health, and will next morning be found dead. I have no remedy. 



The symptoms of a disease affecting horses, known xmder the general name of epi- 

 zootic, are a cough and loss of appetite, and soon a discharge from the nose. Rosin, 

 saltpeter, ginger, and indigo are used as remedies with good results. The animal should 

 be kept warm and comfortable, and given warm food of boiled potatoes and bran mash, 

 or anything he will eat. Rub frequently and thoroughly, and give exercise, but not 

 enough to heat the animal. The above remedies and treatment cured the worst cases 

 we have had in this vicinity. Where strong medicines were given, several animals died, 

 and others were a long time in recovering. 



There is no prevailing disease among cattle at present. Occasionally we have a case 

 of milk- fever among cows. A preventive for this trouble will be found in bleeding the 

 animal a week or ten days before calving, and giving her a sufficient quantity of Ep- 

 som salts to thoroughly physic her. 



Mr. W. P. Cooper, Alexandria, Calhoun County, Alabama, says : 



The disease affecting horses in this locality for the most part is simply colic, caused 

 by overwork and irregular feeding. All horses are more or less affected with hots, 

 but they seldom attack until disturbed by an accumulation of gases. To prevent colic, 

 moderate work, regular feed, and a proper an\ouut of green food are necessary. If the 

 physical condition of the horse is reduced disease will surely follow. As a remedy for 

 colic, one ounce of chloroform to three ounces of sweet milk and one pint of whisky, 

 mixed with one pint of water, and used as a drench at the mouth, will cure ninety- 

 nine cases out of one hundred. As a remedy for bots, drench with one quart of lard oil. 

 . If not relieved in thirty minutes, repeat the dose. I have seen the bot die almost im- 

 mediately when dropped in hog's lard. The grub breathes through the pores of the body, 

 and when oiled they cease to breathe and death ensues. Nitric acid will not kill them, 

 but oil will. 



Native cattle here are subject to but few diseases, but imported cattle almost all die 

 of a disease we call murrain. But few live to becouie acclimated. The symptoms are 

 eyes feverish and excited; disposition to stand iu water; very thirsty ; discharges of 

 bloody urine. In two or three hours the animal becomes uncontrollable and dies sud- 

 denly. On post-mortem examination one portion of the stomach is found perfectly dry. 

 There is also found a large extended gall or bladder rilled with bloody secretions. In 

 the region of the heart are found collections of fluid which seems to be an overflow of bile 

 from the gall. The disease is very fatal. We have no remedy. 



Cholera is the only disease which seems fatal among hogs. W^hen attacked the hog 

 becomes stupid, its eyes matter, and it is often stiff and lame. Sometimes the animal 

 is constipated and at others exactly the reverse. As a preventive, sulphur, copperas, 

 salt, and strong wood-ashes in equal parts, mixed in slops, is given once a week. Cab- 

 bage leaves are regarded as an excellent food for sick hogs, and many believe them to 

 be a cure for the so-called cholera. 



Fowls are invariably healthy when kept clean. If the chick or older birds become 

 lousy, tip the under feathers with grease and sulphur or mercurial ointment. 



S. Ex. 35 5 



