196 VETEEINARY HYGIENE 



or the grain may be obtained from countries well known to 

 be anthracoid, such as Eussia or Turkey. 



Ship contamination is due to the vessel being infected by 

 a previous cargo of hides taken from animals which have 

 suffered from anthrax. It is well known how resistant the 

 spores of this bacillus are, and how frequently infected 

 hides and skins are imported. Evidence bearing on this 

 point is ' wool-sorters' ' disease, which is simply anthrax 

 in the human, due to infection by contaminated imported 

 wool. 



Ships used for the conveyance of hides and wool, and 

 subsequently for the conveyance of grain, must be regarded 

 as a serious source of danger. In this way it is easy to 

 understand the infection of linseed, the virus in which 

 would not be destroyed by the process of manufacture into 

 cake, and it may also explain the death of horses from 

 anthrax through oats being carried on anthrax-infected 

 vessels. This subject will be dealt with later, it is alluded 

 to here owing to its intimate connection with food. 



DISEASES DUE TO IMPERFECT PEEPARATION OF FOOD. 



Experience shows that certain foods require preparation 

 before being given to animals, not only owing to their 

 physical condition, but in the case of working animals to 

 economise time in feeding. This latter aspect of the 

 question will be considered when dealing with the prepara- 

 tion of food ; we will here notice those conditions where 

 the neglect of this leads to disease. 



' Eoots ' invariably require to be prepared for cattle and 

 sometimes for sheep feeding, either by pulping or slicing. 

 Neglect of this precaution means a great strain on the 

 teeth of young or old animals, and furthermore is the most 

 common cause of impaction of the oesophagus. 



The crushing of maize, peas, and beans is absolutely 

 essential to their mastication and digestion ; without some 

 form of preparation, of which crushing is the most common, 

 these grains, from their hardness, very largely defy the 



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