38 NON-SPECIFIC OR GENERAL DISEASES 



tion. It is very difficult to form a correct ditigiiosis, as the disease 

 comes on without any apparent cause. Sometimes a swelling is 

 noticed in the right and inferior abdominal region. If the heart 

 becomes injured, symptoms of pericarditis are manifested. 



The treatment is largely preventive. Special care should 

 be used to avoid getting foreign substances into the feed given 

 to cattle. The feed troughs should be kept clean ; we should avoid 

 dropping nails and staples into the feed when repairing the silo 

 or grain bin ; and pieces of baling wire should be removed from 

 straw or hay. Feeds known to be dirty should be run through 

 a fanning mill before feeding. 



Inflammation of the Stomach of Swine. — Overloading and 

 feeding spoiled feed are common causes of inflammation of the 

 stomach. Swill-fed hogs are most commonly affected with this 

 disorder. Overloading more often results in an inflammation of 

 the stomach if the overloading follows the feeding of a light 

 ration, and the weather is extremely warm. Hogs that are accus- 

 tomed to eating salt may eat too much of it when fed to them 

 after it is withheld for a week or longer, and a large quantity of 

 water is taken soon afterwards. Slop containing alkaline wash- 

 ing powders and soaps irritate the stomach and intestines and 

 cause a serious inflammation. 



The symptoms are loss of appetite, restlessness and some- 

 times colicky pains. The hog usually wanders off by itself, acts 

 dull, grunts, lies down in a quiet place or stands with the back 

 arched and the abdomen held tense. Vomiting commonly occurs. 

 Sometimes the animal has a diarrhoea. The body temperature 

 may be above normal. 



The treatment consists in avoiding irritating feeds and sud- 

 den changes in the kind or (piantity of feed fed. Drenching with 

 hot water, or with about one ounce of ipecacuan may be prac- 

 tised. From one to three ounces of castor oil, depending on 

 the size of the hog, may be given. After recovery the hogs 

 should be confined in a comfortable pen and fed an easily digested 

 ration. 



