568 DISEASES OF SWINE 



Treatment. — The prevention of this disease in young pigs con- 

 sists largely in giving them plenty of room in which to exercise and 

 light, airy quarters, with plenty of sunshine. 



Active treatment is directed, first of all, to getting the animals 

 into a range where they will have plenty of room to exercise and 

 plenty of sunKght to stimulate and enhven them. Castor oil or 

 calomel may be given to clean out the stomach and bowels in those 

 cases where there seems to be irritation of the digestive tract. 

 For controlling the spasms of the muscle the most effective agent 

 is tincture of opium, which may be given in doses of 3 to 15 drops, 

 according to size of the animal. The diet should be very light for a 

 few days, and the animal encouraged to forage about and get 

 exercise on a rather hungry stomach. 



WHEAT AND BARLEY BEARD INFLAMMATIONS 

 When hogs are turned into a wheat or barley stubble, or allowed 

 to burrow around a wheat or barley straw-stack, they often develop 

 inflammation of the mouth and bowels and die. The cause of the 

 trouble is the penetration of the sharp beards of the wheat and 

 barley into the hning membranes of the mouth, gullet, stomach, 

 and intestine. This sets up a severe form of inflammation and in 

 many cases produces death. 



The symptoms of the condition will differ in each individual 

 case. In some instances most of the trouble appears to be in the 

 mouth, and in these cases the beards will be found sticking in the 

 lining membrane of the mouth and tongue or may be rolled up in a 

 ball beneath the tongue. They also often involve the upper air- 

 passages, and in these cases there is considerable difficulty in 

 breathing. In other cases the disturbance is more marked in the 

 bowels, and there may be diarrhea, loss of appetite, and abdominal 

 pain. 



Treatment. — In those cases where the trouble is located in the 

 mouth the beards should be removed in so far as possible, and the 

 treatment advised for stomatitis given. Take the animals off of the 

 wheat stubble and feed only with soft, easily digested food. In 

 those cases that involve the intestines or the upper air-passages but 

 little can be done. Where inflammation starts around the upper 

 part of the wind-pipe there is apt to be such swelling as will cause 



