DISEASES OF ANIMALS 



95 



no results. Contaminated floors, ceil- 

 ings, walls and other woodwork, how- 

 ever, may be sprinkled* or sprayed with 

 2 or 3 per cent solution of formalin 

 with excellent results. 



Cautions about contagious diseases — 

 In case of the death of any animal from 

 contagious disease the carcasses should 

 be at once destroyed without opening 

 or allowing the infection to be spread 

 by the fluids in the body. This destruc- 

 tion is best accomplished by burying 

 deeply or by burning. The carcasses of 

 animals which have died of contagious 

 diseases are a great menace to the health 

 of other animals or to man. The virus 

 in such carcasses may be carried long 

 distances by water, flies and various 

 other insects and particularly by dogs, 

 other carnivorous animals, and carrion- 

 eating birds. All danger from such dis- 

 semination of the disease may be avoided 

 by destroying the carcasses promptly. 

 Small animals may be easily disposed of 

 by burying to a depth of 2 feet. This is 

 particularly effective with chickens 

 which may be covered with unslaked 

 lime before the soil is placed over them. 

 McDowell believes, however, that burn- 

 ing is the most satisfactory method of 

 disposing of contagious carcasses. If 

 no furnace or specially prepared place is 

 available, a trench may be dug 2 or 3 

 feet deep and a layer of brushwood 

 placed in the bottom, after which the 

 body is laid on the wood and covered 

 with brushwood sprinkled with kerosene 

 and set on fire. According to the experi- 

 ments of McDowell complete destruc- 

 tion of a 1,300 pound carcass required 5 

 gallons of kerosene and Y-z a cord of 

 wood. In other localities good results 

 have been obtained in burning carcasses 

 by placing them on iron rails under 

 which a fire may be easily maintained. 

 In the southwestern part of the country 

 where crude oil is abundant and cheap 

 this material may be used for destroying 

 carcasses. 



The care of pastures i s an important 

 matter on account of the possibility of 

 the spread of various parasitic diseases 

 as a result of carelessness in this regard. 

 It should be remembered that the tape- 

 worms of sheep, the gid worm and stom- 

 ach worms of sheep and calves, lung 

 worms of sheep, and the nodular disease 

 of the intestines of sheep are all due to 

 the use of pastures which have become 

 thoroughly contaminated with the par- 



asitic worms which cause the diseases in 

 question. In order to avoid the annual 

 propagation of these diseases it is nec- 

 essary to adopt a system of rotation, 

 changing the sheep and cows from one 

 pasture to another every few days and 

 combining this system witb better drain- 

 age and protection of the water supply. 



DISEASES OF THE HORSE 



_ The horse stands in a peculiar rela- 

 tion to man as compared with other 

 domestic animals, in that he enjoys the 

 close personal sympathy of man and is 

 therefore looked after rather closely with 

 regard to his health. Moreover, the 

 average farmer, after finding a horse 

 winch suits bis purposes, naturally wants 

 to keep him as long as he is capable of 

 good service, and this means that the 

 horse is subject to a great many chances 

 of injury which are not of much im- 

 portance in the case of cattle, sheep or 

 pigs, for the reason that these animals 

 are kept only a short time. 



Veterinarians have spent more time 

 and energy in studying horse diseases 

 and perfecting practical remedies than 

 is true of the diseases of any other farm 

 animal. In fact, in many localities the 

 terms "veterinarian," and "horse doc- 

 tor" are practically synonymous. The 

 obvious reason for the common use of 

 the term "horse doctor" for "veterina- 

 rian" is due to the fact that the farmer 

 calls in export veterinary services in 

 treating bis horses more often than for 

 his other animals. In the following ac- 

 count of horse diseases, attention is 

 given first to the general infectious dis- 

 eases and later to those which affect one 

 organ or set of organs. 



How to detect illness — The normal 

 temperature, pulse rate, rate of breath- 

 ing and other matters which may be of 

 assistance to the farmer in examining the 

 horse to determine whether anything is 

 wrong with his health have already been 

 discussed in Part I. The temperature 

 of the horse, as in the case of most other 

 farm animals, is to be taken by insert- 

 ing a clinical thermometer in the rec- 

 tum. Most farmers, after a little experi- 

 ence, can readily tell whether fever is 

 present or not by placing the hand in 

 the mouth. In a particular case of sick- 

 ness, considerable importance attaches to 

 the attitude of the horse and to various 

 facts regarding the history of the case. 

 Thus, there is always the possibility 



