CHAPTER III 



TREATMENT 



Preventive Treatment. — The subject of preventive medicine 

 becomes more important as our knowledge of the cause of disease 

 advances. A knowledge of feeds, methods of feeding, care, 

 sanitation and the use of such biological products as bacterins, 

 vaccines and protective serums is of the greatest importance 

 to the farmer and veterinarian. We are begimiing to realize that 

 one of the most important secrets of profitable and successful 

 stock raising is the prevention of disease ; that the agricultural 

 colleges are doing a great w^ork in helping to teach farmers 

 that there are right and wrong methods of feeding and caring 

 for animals ; that the practice of sanitation in caring for animals 

 is the cheapest method of treating disease ; and that it is advisable 

 to practise radical methods of control, when necessary, in order 

 to rid the herd of an infectious disease. 



The raiion fed and the method of feeding are not only im- 

 portant in considering the causes of diseases of the digestive 

 tract, but diseases of other organs as well. The feeding of an 

 excessive, or insufficient quantity of feed, or a ration that is too 

 concentrated, bulky and innutritions, poor in quality, or spoiled 

 may produce disease. 



An impure water supply is a common cause of disease. A 

 deep well that is closed in properly and does not permit of con- 

 tamination from filth, does not insure a clean water supply if 

 the trough or tank is not kept clean. 



Farm Buildings.- — If stockmen would make a more careful 



study of the kind of farm buildings most suitable to their needs, 



the selection of the location, the proportions, the arrangement 



of the interior and the lighting and ventilation, there would be 



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