OTHER PIG AILMENTS. 135 



or less painful on pressure. Sow may not allow the pigs to suck ; 

 she may lie flat on her belly or stand up, and in extreme cases the 

 sow has spells of delirium, in which she may destroy her young. 



Cause. Injudicious feeding, overfeeding on milk-producing 

 foods. Do not feed sow quite full rations for few days just before 

 and after farrowing. 



Treatment. Give sow plenty of cool clean water ; bathe the 

 swollen glands for half hour at a time with water as warm as she 

 will bear, dry thoroughly with soft cloth and give good dry pen. 

 If bowels seem constipated give the sow internally one-half pint 

 pure linseed oil. (Never use the boiled linseed oil used by 

 painters; it is poisonous.) If the sow starts killing her young, or 

 has no milk for them, it is best to take most of them, or all, away 

 from her and feed by hand with spoon or ordinary rubber nipple 

 and bottle. For- this use one part boiled water and three parts 

 cow's milk. The pigs may be returned to the sow if her milk 

 returns. 



SCOURS among pigs is another common and very troublesome 

 though not dangerous disease. This disease is not confined to 

 any particular season, but is more common in the wet, damp 

 weather of April and early May than in other seasons of the year. 



As in thumps, remove the cause. This disease is almost in- 

 variably caused by some improper food eaten by the sow. A sour 

 swill barrel is often the cause. But to be doubly sure that I make 

 no mistake in removing the cause I stop all feed and give nothing 

 but water to drink and possibly a little dry corn to eat for three or 

 four days, and I seldom fail to bring about a speedy cure. It 

 should be borne in mind that pigs once affected will be more 

 liable to a recurrence of the disease than those never affected, and 

 greater care should be used with them for some weeks till they 

 fully recover. 



CONSTIPATION. Cause, improper feeding, exclusive grain 

 diet, lack of exercise. Not dangerous in itself, but frequently 

 followed by prolapsus of the rectum, or what is commonly called 

 piles. The constant straining causes this. The only remedy is 

 laxative food and exercise. The protruding bowel must be washed 

 clean as soon as seen and well covered with olive oil or lard. It 

 should then be returned by applying firm pressure with the hand, 

 and when once in place should be retained by three or more 

 stitches of waxed linen or heavy silk thread, passed from side to 



