CATTLB. 327 



not be safely sown, but if first boiled it may be fed in small amounts 

 or turned into manure. The growth of both ergot and smut may be 

 to a large extent prevented by the time-honored Scotch practice of 

 sprinkling the seed with a saturated solution of sulphate of copper 

 before sowing. 



Fields badly affected with ergot or smut may be practically renewed 

 by plowing up and cultivating, for a series of years under crops (turnips, 

 beets, potatoes, buckwheat, etc.), which do not harbor the fungus, and 

 which require much cultivation and exposure of the soil. Drainage and 

 the removal of all unnecessary barriers to the free action of sunshine and 

 wind are important provisions. 



Other precautions concerning separation from cows in heat, a proper 

 construction of stalls, the avoidance of carrion and other offensive 

 odors, protection from all kinds of mechanical injuries, including over- 

 driving and carrying by rail in advanced pregnancy, the exclusion of 

 all irritants, or strong purgatives and diuretics from food or medicine, 

 and the guarding against all causes of indigestion and bloating have 

 been sufficiently indicated under Causes. For protection of the womb 

 and foetus against the various causes of disease available methods are not 

 so evident. For cows that have aborted in the last pregnancy chlorate 

 of potash, three drams daily before the recurrence of the expected abor- 

 tion, is often useful. Prevention of contagious abortion will naturally 

 come within this treatment. 



Treatment of Contagious Abortion. So far as this differs from 

 the treatment of sporadic abortion, it consists in the free use of germi- 

 cides and disinfectants. 



1 . Scrape a ad wash the back part of the stall and gutter and water 

 it with a solution of five ounces sulphate of copper (bluestone) in one 

 gallon of pure water. Repeat this cleaning and watering at least once 

 a week. This should in all cases be applied to every stall where an 

 aborting cow has stood and to those adjacent. To treat the whole in the 

 same way would be even better, as it is impossible to say how many of 

 the cows harbor the germ. This is more needful that in three or four 

 years, if the aborting cow is kept on, she becomes insusceptible and 

 carries her calf to full time. A cow may therefore be infecting to oth- 

 ers though she no longer aborts herself. 



2. Dissolve one dram corrosive sublimate, one ounce each of alcohol 

 and glycerine, and shake up in a gallon of water to use as an injection 

 into the vagina and a wash for the parts about the vulva and root of 



