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proper drainage is the chief cause of the prevalence of 

 anthrax in this country. A field submerged for a consider- 

 able period under water should not be used for grazing 

 cattle on, for at least 2 months afterwards. The neck-swelling 

 disease (or gloss-anthrax) is also probably caused by cattle 

 grazing on fields of this kind where very coarse grass grows. 

 Such fields should not be too readily used for growing crops 

 on, either. They should be well dug up or cultivated in the 

 cold weather and exposed to the burning sun of April and 

 May, before they are used for cropping. Well cultivated 

 soils exposed to the rays of the sun for several days 

 together in April or May most likely become free from all 

 dangers arising from the disease-producing germs, as continu- 

 ous application of heat and light kills these germs. 



1,280. Some general rules for prevention of epidemics 

 are given below : 



(a) As soon as a contagious disease is noticed, clean- 

 ing of jungles, re-excavation of tanks, cleaning of sewers 

 and disturbance of putrid matter generally, should be 

 stopped. One should be always careful about cleaning 

 sewers, jungles, tanks &c. beforehand. But when a disease 

 takes an epidemic character the attempt to remove nuisance 

 often causes the spread of the disease all the faster. When 

 an epidemic has broken out it should be inferred that putre- 

 factive processes somewhere have gone too far and that the 

 germs have now become mixed up with the air that is breath- 

 ed, or the water that is drunk, and the disturbance of filth 

 at this stage is likely to cause a greater admixture of such 

 germs with water and air. Instead of disturbing these possi- 

 ble sources of infection, it is best to treat them with germicidal 

 substances, i. e. t sprinkle sulphate of copper, alum, or corro- 

 sive sublimate solution over them. 



(&) If in a herd of cattle one is found attacked with a 

 zymotic or infectious disease, the affected animal should not 

 be removed elsewhere, but only the healthy animals. 



