DISEASE IN GENERAL 151 



is best, for the nature of the substance to be acted upon must be 

 considered. Bichlorid of mercury, commonly called corrosive 

 sublimate, is in favor with many. It has the power to destroy all 

 forms of microbes in relatively weak solutions. It is a cheap, 

 reUable, and easily handled disinfectant, but has the disadvantage 

 of being very corrosive and extremely poisonous. Carbolic acid 

 is commonly employed. It does not injure clothing, metals, or 

 wood, and does not coagulate albumen so readily as bichlorid of 

 mercury. On the other hand, carbolic acid is not so trustworthy 

 as some of the other disinfectants on the market. Coal-tar dips, 

 under various trade names, are useful, but the phenol coefficient 

 of each should be obtained from a trustworthy source before reli- 

 ance can be placed in them, as their disinfectant properties vary 

 within wide limits. 



Fumigation is in most cases impracticable for stable disinfec- 

 tion. This is due to the impossibility of making the stable air- 

 tight. When this can be done, various poisonous gases like for- 

 maldehyd or carbon disulphid may be used to advantage. 



Quarantine is a safeguard against the spreading of disease. It 

 is always advisable to place in quarantine recently purchased ani- 

 mals or those returned to the farm after a prolonged absence. In 

 this way only can diseases be prevented from getting a foothold. 

 Separate attendants should be employed for quarantined animals, 

 or a change of clothing, more especially shoes and overalls, provided 

 for the men. 



THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE 



The term therapeutics is used to cover all the curative forces 

 employed in the treatment of disease. Treatment consists in 

 removing the cause of disease and the support of nature in her 

 endeavor to combat the malady. 



This suggests the first questions to be considered in outlining 

 a course of treatment; namely, can the disease be left to nature's 

 care, or is medicinal treatment needed or desirable? If we decide 

 to lend aid, the question immediately arises about when to help 

 and when to hinder nature's curative processes. How to help 

 without doing harm is a problem of prime importance, the solu- 

 tion of which calls for mature judgment. 



In general, it may be said that treatment must be instituted 

 early in the course of a disease — that is, before the pathologic 



