SivelUng of the Spleen, 407 



AGUE CAKE— MILT SWELLING— SPLENITIS. 



Like cattle, hogs which live in swampy, malarious dis- 

 tricts are quite liable to an enlargement of the spleen or 

 milt, and a failure to fatten, in consequence of it. It is 

 also believed to be brought on at times by over-feeding, with 

 little or no exercise, as in the case of "show'' pigs. In 

 France this disease is called ^'la ratille/^ and has received 

 considerable attention, as it so often interferes with the fat- 

 tening of hogs for market. In itself, it is not often, or at 

 all, productive of fatal consequences. 



Symptoms. — There is a perceptible loss of condition; the 

 pig eats, but his food "does him no good,'' as the breeders 

 say ; his appetite is rather capricious and irregular ; he is 

 dull and languid. When further advanced, he is noticed to 

 lie nearly or quite always on one side, and in walking leans 

 toward one side, sometimes cringing and bending over, as if 

 the erect position gave internal pain. 



Treatment. — This should begin with a brisk purge. 

 Twenty grains of podophyllin, or ten of jalap and ten of 

 calomel, may be enclosed in a boiled potato, and given 

 fasting. The diet should be lowered, and when possible the 

 animal put to graze on a dry upland. The French 

 veterinarians praise highly, especially in cases w^here this 

 complaint comes on while fattening, and interferes with that 

 process, the following : — 



No. 454. Wormwood leaves, 



Liverwort " of each, ^ lb. 



Boil slowly in a gallon of soft water, for half an hour. 



This may be given in slop, in doses of half a pint to a 

 pint daily. The liverwort is the Hepatica triloba, and is 

 found in most parts of this country. 



In preparing to fatten after an attack, it must be done 



