44 THE COW IN HEALTH AND DISEASE 



contagious abortion, and hog cholera, and others. 

 Thorough sanitation would greatly lessen the fre- 

 quency of these diseases and stop the spread of 

 them. These diseases are causing the farmers 

 to lose millions of dollars each year. 



The general condition of many farm build- 

 ings makes it next to impossible to render them 

 sanitary to any degree worthy of the name. The 

 floors of many stables are worn and contain large 

 cracks through which the manure and urine pass 

 and in which countless varieties of disease germs 

 are to be found. Since cement has become so 

 popular as a building material, it greatly assists 

 in maintaining sanitary surroundings for the 

 farm animals, as nearly all the floors of barns 

 and stables are now made of concrete, and in cow 

 stables and hog pens it is possible to use the iron 

 fixtures that make it convenient to do a thorough 

 job when disinfecting and cleaning the building. 



In cleaning up the stable all the trash should 

 be removed from the manger, the bedding re- 

 moved, and the dirt and cobwebs swept from 

 the sides and ceilings. If the floor is of cement 

 you can use a bichloride of mercury solution on 

 the floors and a hot lime wash on the stalls and 

 mangers, or a carbolic acid or coal tar disin- 

 fectant. The harness may be disinfected with 

 creolin or some coal tar disinfectant, but do not 

 use the bichloride of mercury solution. The same 

 procedure can be carried out in the cow stable. 

 If it can be made air tight, you may use one 

 pound of permanganate of potash to 20 ounces 



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