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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



According to researches conducted at Cornell University, the blood of a large pro- 

 portion of calTes in which the sexual hairs are matted with pus reacts to the 

 agglutination test for contagious abortion. These calves had been fed raw milk. 

 Those fed boiled milk showed no signs of infection and did not react to the test 

 It is not, however, practicable to feed any but the strongest calves on boiied or 

 sterile mOk. but they may be reared on pasteurized milk, which is nearly as safe. 

 According to present knowledge, it seems very unsafe to feed a new-born calf raw 

 milk from a cow which has aborted or has had retained after-birth or discharges 

 from the vuSva. If the milk is fed raw, it should be from a cow which has calved 

 normally, has cleansed promptly (within two hours after calving), and which has 

 not shown any abnormal pus-discharge after calving. Such a cow is more likely 

 to be free from infection. 



The virulence of the infection is greatly 

 increased by sexual intercourse. In herds 

 where there is a large amount of sterility 

 and consequently copulation is always 

 occurring, the infection becomes intensified 

 in J ota the cow and bulL Care, then, most 

 be taken in selecting a male from a herd 

 free from abortion. The virulence of the 

 infection may also be increased by intro- 

 ducing an animal from a badly affected 

 herd or by letting the animal* get run down 

 in condition. Dr. W. L. Williams, of Cor- 

 nell, states that from present knowledge 

 nearly an herds may be said to be infected 

 with the abortion bacillus, but that the 

 disease may lie dormant and not show 

 itself, like tuberculosis. Given a favourable 

 opportunity, the disease may become viru- 

 lent and abortions or sterility will follow. 

 When an abortion occurs, the foetus 

 and after-birth must be burned or deeply 

 buried. The cow needs to be isolated and the place disinfected with a 5-per-cent. 

 carbolic-acid solution. The womb must be disinfected and washed with a 2-per-cent. 

 solution of creolin or a permanganate of potash solution made by dissolving 1 tea- 

 spoonful of the crystals hi 3 gallons of water. A rubber hose can be inserted and 

 the disinfectant poured into a funnel attached to the outer end, which is raised above 

 the cow, while the free end is inserted about 2% feet. The solution should be 

 about blood-heat 100" Fahr. The hind parts of the cow must be washed with the 

 solution every day. The washing of the womb should be repeated in two or three 

 days, and afterwards twice a week until all discharges cease. 



Where possible, it is best to have two bulls, one for the infected cows and the 

 other for the healthy females. As a precautionary measure it is well to irrigate 

 the interior of the bull's sheath with one of the disinfectant solutions mentioned, 

 using a syringe. 



Carbolic Treatment. In addition, some authorities recommend that every 

 animal in the herd should receive hypodermic injections of a 2-per-cent- solution of 

 carbolic acid in doses of 25 to 50 cubic centimetres every two weeks from the fourth 

 month of pregnancy. Large mature cows and those suspected of having the disease 

 receive the largest doses. The efficiency of this treatment depends on the thorough- 

 ness with which it is applied. Some authorities daim that if the cows are not bred 

 sooner than six months after aborting, the germs will die or become dormant and 

 the disease will cease to show itself. 



Mctkglcne-Wuc Treatment Some authorities daim this to be a cure, but it has 

 not yet been proved such. The method is as follows: Each cow which has aborted 



A strong leather hood Cor a eraas boIL 

 Another device to a 3-foot learth of trace- 

 ehatat left feoagfBg to the bolls 



