l8 DISEASES OF SWINE 



dominal walls with the hands, diarrhoea, vomiting, 

 lameness, nervous disturbances, and a partial paraly- 

 sis* In some cases the symptoms and course of the 

 disease resemble that of " hog cholera." 



The treatment is mostly preventive, and consists 

 in avoiding the feeding of slops containing washing 

 powders. If this form of poisoning is suspected or 

 recognized, vinegar should be given in the early part 

 of the attack, in order to neutralize the alkaline 

 substances. 



Poisoning from Feeding Cottonseed. — Fatal re- 

 sults may follow the feeding of cottonseed to hogs, 

 whether given ground, boiled, or as droppings from 

 cattle. However, poisoning is less apt to occur under 

 the latter condition than in any other way. 



The evil effects of the cottonseed may not be 

 noticed for several weeks after the hogs have begun 

 eating it. The symptoms are as follows : Dulness, 

 staggering gait, labored breathing, spasmodic in 

 character, and usually called " thumps," loss of sight, 

 restlessness, walking in a circle, running into ob- 

 structions, lying down on the belly, and, finally, sud- 

 den exhaustion and death. In the majority of cases 

 the hogs are found dead in their beds, or in the yard, 

 ten or twelve hours after they have apparently been 

 in the best of health. 



The only treatment that can be recommended is 

 preventive, and consists in avoiding cottonseed as a 

 feed for hogs for more than two weeks at a time, 

 unless it is in the droppings from cattle. 



Poisoning from Eating Ergot. — Hogs may be 



