634 DISEASES OF SWINE 



should be kept warm and comfortable and fed on a light, sloppy diet. 

 The bowels should be stimulated to action by a mild dose of castor 

 oil or Epsom salt mixed with the food. If constipation is very 

 marked, an injection of warm soap and water may be given to un- 

 load the large bowel. 



Stimulating liniments may be apphed over the back. An excel- 

 lent application of this kind is the so-called hartshorn liniment, 

 consisting of equal parts of ammonia-water and sweet oil or linseed 

 oil. Another excellent Uniment is made by adding | ounce of 

 croton oil to 3| ounces of oil of turpentine. Where these Hniments, 

 combined with rest and proper food, fail to bring relief, the best 

 method of handling the case is usually to sell the animal for 

 slaughter while in good general condition. In the case of valuable 

 pure-bred animals it may be advisable to attempt further treat- 

 ment. 



In such cases counterirritation of a more severe form than that 

 produced by the use of liniments may be tried. The use of the 

 firing iron along the back, in a manner similar to that used in firing 

 the legs of horses, is sometimes tried. Dr. Peters, of the Illinois 

 State Serum Plant, recommends the following method for firing the 

 back in a hog: Fourteen or fifteen pieces of No. 16 wire, pointed 

 at one end, are placed in a charcoal or corn-cob fire and heated to 

 white heat. When properly heated, they are grasped by a pair of 

 pincers or tongs, and the pointed ends plunged through the skin and 

 into the fatty tissues along the back. The skin should be punc- 

 tured about every 1 or 2 inches along the entire region affected by 

 the paralysis. 



For the purpose of improving the tone of the nervous S3^stem 

 various nerve tonics may be tried. The best of these is strychnin, 

 which may be given in the form of the powdered drug or in strych- 

 nin tablets. The dose of this drug for the hog would be about 3V 

 to tV gr. twice or three times a day. The drug may be more 

 handily given in many cases in the form of tincture of nux vomica 

 which contains strychnin. The dose of the tincture of nux vomica 

 for a hog is about 15 drops three times a day. This may easily be 

 administered in the food. It acts not only as a nerve stimu- 

 lant, but also improves appetite and general tone of the entire 

 body. 



