212 VETERINARY STUDIES 



for example. No member of the family should go to any farm 

 where swine disease has appeared ; nor should any one from the 

 farm where such sickness is present be allowed to walk about 

 the yards of his neighbor. Dogs and other dangerous visitors 

 should be kept away from the pens on uninfected farms by a 

 temporary fence if necessary. 



Hogs should not be allowed access to small ponds or mudholes 

 during the prevalence of any suspicious disease. Such ponds 

 and mudholes become deadly centers of infection. 



Before a herd becomes infected, it may be desirable to divide 

 it into three or four parts, if serum is not available, and sepa- 

 rate these groups widely on different portions of the farm. The 



Fig. 75. — Hog Cholera. (M. S. B.) 



Ulcers in mucous membrane of large colon. Bowel split open. View of 

 the interior. 



owner may then lose one group, or even two groups, and still 

 save the others. 



If the weather is cool or wet, the herd should be given quar- 

 ters as warm and dry as possible, because, under conditions of 

 exposure, the mortality is apt to be very high. 



So far as we know now it is useless to spend money on medi- 

 cines in the treatment of hog cholera and before giving credit 

 to patent medicines, one should bear in mind that outbreaks 

 often check suddenly without treatment. 



Experience demonstrates that it is desirable to ruove the 

 healthy animals away from the sick promptly, if serum is not 

 available, and to place them in uninfected sheds, pens, or yards. 

 It is also important to keep the pens, both where the sick and 

 the healthy hogs are confined, thoroughly cleaned and frequently 

 disinfected. For cleansing and disinfecting purposes, unslaked 

 lime used freely is satisfactory, and easily applied. The better 

 grades of coal-tar disinfectants are also satisfactory. 



