46 THE DISEASES OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



the eyes ; swelling of the head, eruptions upon the ears and other 

 parts of the body ; occasionally bleeding from the nose, and partial 

 or total blindness ; dizziness, diarrhoea, and stertorous breathing. 

 The flanks fall in, and the animals rapidly become emaciated, and 

 betray a vitiated appetite for dung, dirt, and saline substances ; in- 

 creased thirst, accumulation of secretions in the canthi of the eyes, 

 and more or less copious nasal discharges. The peculiar offensive 

 and fetid smell of the exhalations and excrements may be looked 

 upon as characteristics of this disease. This odor is so penetrating as 

 to announce the presence of the disease, especially if the herd of 

 swine be a large one, at a distance of half a mile, or even more, if 

 the direction of the wind be favorable. If the animals are inclined 

 to be costive, the faeces are generally grayish or brownish-black in 

 color, and hard ; if diarrhoea is present, they are semi-fluid, of a 

 grayish-green color, and in some cases contain an admixture of 

 blood. In a large number of cases the more tender portions of the 

 skin on the lower surface of the body, between the posterior ex- 

 tremities, behind the ears, or even on the nose and neck, exhibit 

 numerous larger or smaller red spots, or sometimes a uniform red- 

 ness. Toward the fatal termination, this redness frequently changes 

 to a purple color. The physical examination of the thorax reveals, if 

 pleuritis be present, the characteristic crepitation. As the patholog- 

 ical processes progress, the movements of the afflicted animal become 

 weaker and slower, the gait staggering and uncertain ; sometimes 

 paretic phenomena appear, especially in the posterior portions of the 

 body. If still standing, the head becomes much depressed, but, as a 

 rule, the diseased animals are found lying down in a dark and se- 

 cluded corner, with the nose buried in the bedding. An extremely 

 fetid diarrhoea frequently marks the approach of a slow, fatal termi- 

 nation of the disease ; the voice becomes very peculiar, faint, and 

 hoarse, the sick animal manifests the greatest indifference to its 

 surroundings ; emaciation and general debihty increase very fast ; 

 the skin is hard, dry, and dirty, the more so according to the dura- 

 tion of the disease ; death ensues under convulsions, or very quickly ; 

 in some cases a cold, clammy perspiration breaks out over the body. 

 "Wherever pigs or hogs have been ringed, the wounds thus made 

 betray a great inclination to ulceration. In those few cases which 

 do not terminate fatally, the symptoms gradually disappear ; the 

 cough becomes more frequent but less laborious, the discharge from 

 the nose becomes for a day or two more copious, but soon diminishes, 

 and the offensive odor of the excrements disappears ; existing sores 

 or ulcers have a tendency to heal ; the animal becomes more live- 



