OTHER PIG AILMENTS. 133 



breast, which interfere with its action, and the lungs work hard 

 pump for dear life to keep up the heart's action to send the 

 blood through the body. The pig is faint because of feeble circu- 

 lation, and he is cold, and soon dies from exhaustion or weakness. 

 He has no strength to suck or move. Poor little thing ! 



To prevent thumps, get over into the pen several times a day 

 and hustle the little pigs about the pen ; also stint the sow so that 

 she will give less milk. Pigs when they stirabout, and when they 

 are thin in flesh, rarely have thumps. 



I have sometimes succeeded by shutting them out in the sun- 

 shine for an hour or two each day , but usually they die. Thumps 

 rarely occurs among pigs farrowed after the weather is fine, but 

 does quite frequently occur among pigs farrowed in the early 

 spring. If the weather is cold and stormy and the sow and litter 

 keep their bed much, then be on the lookout for thumps. Guard 

 against it by compelling both sow and litter to exercise in the 

 open air. 



CANKEROUS SORE MOUTH is a disease which is quite com- 

 mon and which if not promptly taken in hand is often quite fatal. 

 When pigs are from a few days to two weeks old, you may notice 

 a slight swelling of the lips or a sniffling in the nose. An exami- 

 nation will show a whitish spongy growth on the sides of the 

 mouth just inside the lips or around the teeth. This is cankerous 

 sore mouth, and if not taken promptly in hand will result in the 

 death of the entire litter, and will sometimes spread to other litters. 



Some claim the disease is caused by damp and filthy beds, 

 others say it comes from a diseased condition of the sow, and still 

 others claim it is caused by the little pigs fighting over the teats 

 and wounding each other with their sharp teeth, and stoutly aver 

 that if the teeth are promptly removed no case of sore mouth 

 will ever occur. I am inclined to believe there is some truth in 

 each of these claims. I do not believe that the wounds made by 

 fighting will alone produce the disease, but it is quite reasonable 

 to conclude that the wound furnishes a place for the germ to begin 

 its work. 



Hold the pig firmly and with a knife or some cutting instru- 

 ment remove all the spongy foreign growth, and be sure you get 

 it all even though the pig may squeal and the wound bleed ; your 

 success in treating the disease will depend largely on the thor- 

 oughness with which you remove this foreign growth. After re- 



