28 General Principles of Veterinary Medicine, 



floor should be well littered with clean straw which should 

 be changed as often as it becomes foul with the discharges. 

 Surface gutters are to be preferred in all instances to traps 

 or sink holes, as the former allow the discharges to be 

 rapidly and thoroughly removed. 



In some systems of ventilation, especially that by a tube 

 or shaft descending from the roof, and that by open doors 

 and windows, there is danger, especially at night, of a cur- 

 rent of raw cold air striking the animal, and chilling it to a 

 dano^erous de^ee. Louver windows in the roof or under the 

 eaves, if properly made, are less objectionable; and best of 

 all is a ventilating shaft w^iich has its opening within a foot 

 or two of the floor, the current in which is maintained by a 

 revolving ventilator at the top. 



DISINFECTIOlSr. 



Should never be neglected. The walls should be fre- 

 quently whitewashed, and the discharges deodorized by the 

 use of sulphate of iron (copperas), w^hich is a cheap and effi- 

 cient agent for the purpose. A handful may be dissolved in 

 a bucket of water and thrown into the drain. 



More efficient is the chloride of zinc (butter of zinc), which 

 may be dissolved in water in the proportion of an ounce to 

 one or two gallons. It is very efiective, and not liable to be 

 absorbed. 



In contagious cases it is of the first importance that the 

 infecting germs be destroyed as soon as they are produced, 

 and before they have had a chance to spread the contagion. 

 The attendants on such cases should not handle or approach 

 healthy animals, when it is possible to avoid it. 



The sheds or stables occuj)ied by such animals should be 

 fumigated with sulphur two or three times a week. The 

 fumes should not be strong enough to set the animals cough- 



