DISEASE AMONG SWINE AND OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 139 



our horses and mules while younj;, and sol] a larjie proportion of thoui after maturity, 

 it is only in rare instances that one ever dies. Tlie epizootic 8Nvei)t aloujj in the fall 

 of 1872, but by the time it reached us it had assumed so mild a tyi)e as to do but little 

 harm, and it has not since roapi>eared. Our youujj horses sometiuies have something 

 like iutluft]]za, but it seldom proves fatal, the animals rccoveriug without treatment. 

 Wiiat is known as " bots " or " <>rubs " is the only really formidable disease that at- 

 tacks the horse here. Tlie 8yuii>toms are restlessness, loss of appetite, tlie eyes appear 

 weak and the whites enlarfjed, or more apparently visible, the gmns and lips i>ale and 

 clammy. The animal frequently turns his heail toward his Hank, lies down fre- 

 quently, but does not roll as with colic. As a remedy I can scarcely think of anything 

 in the whole veterinary i>ractice that has not been recommended. Sage-tea followed 

 l>y a purgative, sweet milk and molasses, spirits of turpentine, a bluestouo i)ill, are 

 among the most commonly-applied remedies. I look, however, upon a copious drench, 

 say a (luart, of a strong decoction of the common garden tansy as the most efficacious. 

 I do not give it as a specific, but I have not yet known it to fail, if given in the early 

 stages of the disease. As a preventive, keep a cloth saturated with hog's lard in the 

 stable during the months of August and September, and occasionally or daily rub the 

 horse lightly with it over the parts where the "bot-fly " deposits its eggs or nits on 

 the hair. These nits by some means get into the horse's stomach, and hatching there 

 produce the grub. Grease kills the egg and prevents its hatching. 



Hogs have cholera, or a disease which we call cholera, that in the last two years has 

 cut our hogs down below the demand for home consumption. The symptoms are loss 

 of appetite, disinclination to move, vomiting, diarrhea, erujition of the skin, loss of 

 hair. and. of course, great loss of flesh. It is very fatal, killing, I think, over half the 

 animals it attacks. It seems to be epidemic. I do not think it is contagious. What 

 causes it ? A writer in Illinois — vide Country Gentleman — says an exclusive corn diet ; 

 but here it attacks equally our hogs in the wild mountain range with those raised on 

 the farm, those fed on kitchen-swill, garden-vegetables, or by a mixture of all these 

 things. It also attacks all breeds from the Berkshire down to our native razor-backs, 

 and all the intermediate grades. We have no remedy. A good many things have been 

 tried, and sometimes the animal gets well, but I believe as large a proportion without 

 as with treatment. My own experience, corroborated by that of some of my neigh- 

 bors, is that a plentiful supply of fresh wood-ashes and charcoal, with a little salt, 

 kept where the hogs will have continual access to it, is a preventive. One would be 

 surprised at the avidity with which they will eat this mixture. I lay great stress on 

 this preventive, for I do not remember that I ever had an animal attacked with the 

 disease when it had been supplied with the mixture, and, as a verification of the 

 adage that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," I have never had a 

 hog to recover from the disease. 



We also have chicken-cholera, but I know neither remedy nor preventive. I only 

 know the chickens refuse to eat, droop a few days, and die. A neighbor tells me : " Feed 

 your chickens on dough made of corn-meal and soft (lye) soap and they will not have 

 the cholera." It is simple and worthy of trial. 



:Mr. Albert Badger, Nevada, Yeruon County, Missouri, says : 



Last year this county lost many thousands of dollars in horses, cattle, and hogs, and 

 this year seems to be no exception, as the same diseases have prevailed to a greater 

 or less extent every year, for thirty j'ears past. I believe this can be said of every 

 county in the State. At least 80 head of horses have died in this county since Oc- 

 tober, 1877, from the eflects of eating worm-eaten corn, and in all probability as 

 many more will die before grass comes in the spring. It is true this loss can be avoided 

 by carefully removing all worm-dust from the corn before feeding, but many never 

 know the danger until too late. Others, boys and hired help, although often warned 

 to be careful, are just the opposite. The symptoms of the disease are various; some- 

 times it results in blind- staggers, crazy fits, stupidity, and general prostration ; some- 

 times they will sit for a long time like a dog. I believe, from the start, they are par- 

 tially blind or entirely so. The disease has never been cured, and we sorely need an 

 antidote for this worm-poison. 



We also lose quite a large per cent, of horses every year by bots. The fly which 

 produces this grub is very plentiful in prairie countries. Specifics arc used which 

 sometimes succeed in causing the worms to let go, otherwise the horse dies. I lost one 

 of the finest animals in this part of the county during the past summer, within fifty 

 minutes after he was attacked. One of my neighbors lost two last week, and so they 



go- 



The most troublesome disease among cattle, which yearly hangs to us, is blackleg, 

 for which we have no preventive or cure. The disease is most prevalent and fatal 

 among calves and young stock. It invariably attacks and kills the fattest and most 

 promising calves, and leaves the poor and runty ones. Either a preventive or cure 

 would save millions of dollars annually to the people of this State. I might as well 



