56 BULLETIN 1089, U. S. DEPAETMEHT OF AGRICULTURE, 



practices should be avoided as much as possible. The mortality in 

 some herds may run as high as 1 to 2 per cent. 



In one small herd of 700 animals, 9 affected fawns were examined, 

 5 animals were operated on and released, and 4 were killed on account 

 of the involvement of the hock joints. In another herd of 1,300 

 reindeer it was learned that 6 fawns had been killed for a similar 

 cause. The strains of Bacillus pyocyaneus brought back from Alaska 

 were tested on guinea pigs in the Pathological Division of the Bureau 

 of Animal Industry, where it was found that 0.5 cubic centimeter 

 of a broth culture inoculated intraperitoneally was fatal to guinea 

 pigs in 1 to 4 days. 



EYE TROUBLE (KERATITIS). 



Inflamed eyes are not of uncommon occurrence. The condition 

 may become aggravated and end in blindness (PL XXIII, Fig. 1). 

 It is rare that both eyes are affected, and in only one or two in- 

 stances were totally blind animals encountered. In one particular 

 case, in a herd of about 3,000 reindeer, approximately 1 per cent of 

 the animals were affected, only one of them being blind in both eyes. 

 The affection seems to be seasonal, starting with the hot weather 

 and disappearing in the autumn. Though the cause of the disease 

 has not yet been ascertained, it would appear to be infectious, and 

 therefore the diseased animals should be slaughtered and not kept 

 as breeding stock. Treatment of the eyes would be valuable if there 

 is any way of doing it regularl3^ Nitrate of silver solution promises 

 to be the most satisfactory remedy. 



WARTS (PAPILLOMA). 



Warts seem to be more common in reindeer than in either cattle 

 or sheep, and they often attain large size. While most frequently 

 noticed on the flanks, they may be found on all parts of the body, 

 and are generally black in color, with a narrow neck at the point of 

 attachment. In some of the herds these warts were very noticeable. 

 They appear in the spring and often disappear when the cold 

 weather starts. In the light of recent investigations, it seems pos- 

 sible that they are produced or stimulated by parasites. It does not 

 seem as though much importance need be attached to these growths, 

 but they have attracted the attention of some of the herd owners. 



RHEUMATISM. 



Eheumatism has been observed in old deer. In life the affected 

 animals show a marked stiffness and a disinclination to move. On 

 post mortem examination roughenings and exostoses of the bones 

 were found, also reddened and turbid synovia in the articulations. 



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