480 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



An agent of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 

 Animals telephoned September 13, reporting a disease in 

 pigs in Agawam resembling mange. An agent of the 

 Board was sent to Springfield September 15, and proceeded 

 to Agawam. He reported that, in his opinion, tlie pigs 

 had eczema; that they were in a dirty, dusty pen, and the 

 dust collected upon them, making thick scabs after the 

 eczema appeared. He advised a change of food, as they 

 were then getting distillery slops, and also advocated let- 

 ting them run in the fields, where they could get some green 

 food, and where it would not be so dusty. Nothing has 

 been heard of this trouble further, so it is hoped that the 

 change of food and care was beneficial. 



Miscellaneous. 

 February 23, Dr. C. H. Playdon of Reading reported 

 what he thought might be a contagious disease among cattle 

 on a farm in Saugus. The chairman of the Board and Dr. 

 Langdon Frothingham visited the farm February 24, and 

 found five cows had died and five more were sick ; eleven 

 cows and one bull were healthy. The animals that were 

 sick seemed to be grinding their teeth, leaning forward in 

 the stanchions, and those that were very sick would get 

 down and seem unable to rise before death took place. 

 Post-mortems were made on some of the animals that were 

 dead, and the blood was black and tarry, and some of them 

 showed little patches of broncho-pneumonia, but not all. 

 Cultures were taken by Dr. Frothingham from the blood 

 and various organs, but he did not succeed in finding any 

 pathogenic germs. One peculiar thing in this case was that 

 there was no rise in temperature ; the sick animals did not 

 seem to be feverish, their temperatures remaining normal. 

 The food seemed to be of the usual quality : salt marsh hay, 

 English hay, Chicago gluten meal, bran, corn meal and a 

 little steamed linseed meal. The water supply came from 

 a well a little distance from the barn, and seemed to be of 

 good quality. The second visit was made by the chairman 

 and Mr. Dennen, March 1, when the eleven cows and the 

 bull, which-were quarantined February 24, were released, 

 as they remained healthy. Four quarantined cows that 



