646 DISEASES OF SWINE 



tion of the nose. The breathing becomes noisy and difficult, and ac- 

 companied by a disagreeable, irritating discharge from one or both 

 nostrils. The disease at this time very closely resembles an ordi- 

 nary cold in the head. The discharge, however, keeps up, and the 

 animal begins to show signs of unthriftiness. There is loss of 

 appetite or the animal may develop a desire for unusual articles of 

 food, as described under the head of Rickets. The discharge from 

 the nose collects in the nostrils and throat, and when the animal 

 gets up it is forced to cough and sniff repeatedly in order to clear 

 the nose so it can breathe freely. 



The condition is not rare even in old hogs. I saw a case a few 

 weeks ago in eastern Illinois in a brood sow weighing perhaps 300 

 pounds. The owner first noticed the condition as a discharge from 

 the nose, which he mistook for a simple inflammation of the nostrils. 

 A week or two later he noted the swelling of the bones of the head, 

 and thought that perhaps the animal had been kicked or trampled 

 on by one of the horses or cattle ranging in the same pasture. This 

 case finally developed into a typical example of snuffles. 



The difficulty in breathing gives rise to a continuous sniffing 

 or snuffling sound, from which the disease derives its name of 

 "snuffles." Bleeding from the nose sometimes occurs in the more 

 advanced cases, probably from ulceration of the lining of the nose. 



With further progress of the disease the nasal discharge becomes 

 a secondary symptom, and the more important evidences of the 

 true character of the disease become apparent with a well-marked 

 enlargement of the bones of the head. This produces marked de- 

 formity of the jaws and of the snout, from which the disease derives 

 the name of "bullnose." Other bones of the body may also un- 

 dergo changes similar to those seen in the case of rickets. The 

 bones frequently become brittle and are easily broken. 



Appetite becomes poor and the animal loses flesh. The hair 

 becomes rough and unthrifty in appearance, and the downward 

 course of the hog is quite rapid. For instance, the brood sow above 

 mentioned dropped from a weight of over 300 pounds to less than 

 150 in a little over a month. The inflammation of the nasal mu- 

 cous membrane may spread to other parts of the head, and there is 

 frequently seen a discharge from the eyes and evidences of a sore 

 throat. 



