THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



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tines and sides of the body. In three 

 cases there was an effusion of blood into 

 the peritoneal cavity. To give a detailed 

 description of all the appearances presen- 

 ted, would extend our notice of this dis- 

 ease to a great length, and could afford in- 

 terest only to a medical reader. Suffice 

 it to say, that I found the liver, the lungs, 

 the pleura, the peritoneum, the mucous 

 membrane of the bronchia, the trachea, 

 and larynx, all at different times bearing 

 marks of inflammation ; frequently one or 

 both lungs were engorged or hepatized, and 

 adhering to the ribs. The lymphatic glands 

 were generally inflamed or greatly conges- 

 ted, resembling lumps of coagulated blood. 



These are some of the facts revealed by 

 our dissections, which show this disease 

 to produce a diffusive form of inflamma- 

 tion, which attacks the skin, the cellular, 

 serous, the mucous, and glandular tissues ; 

 it spreads along these tissues very similar 

 to the manner in which an erysipelas 

 spreads along the tissues in the human 

 system — and, in some respects, resembles 

 this disease. 



When this malady made its appearance 

 at Aurora, it was supposed by many to be 

 produced from the slop that the hogs were 

 fed on at the distillery ; and we had many 

 opinions, and but few facts, to explain its 

 cause. We suggested to Mr. J. W. Gaff, 

 one of the owners of the distillery, that a 

 series of experiments be tried, to prove 

 how far these opinions were true, and to 

 obtain more positive knowledge of this 

 disease. He readily agreed to our propo- 

 sition, and by the aid of Mr. J. Backman, 

 it has been most clearly proved that 

 so far from, the slop producing the disease, 

 this malady is not so severe amongst hogs 

 fed upon slop as those fed upon corn. We 

 have also proven the disease to be con- 

 tagious. We have also ascertained the 

 about latest period of the contagion to be 

 thirteen days. We have also proved 

 that pens in which diseased hogs have 

 been, will retain the infection, in warm 

 weather, for more than four days, and 

 probably from ten to twenty, which is a 

 fact of importance to those who have had 

 the disease in their pens, and are buying 

 stock hogs ; and we have also ascertained 

 the fact, that hogs have this disease but 

 once; those that recover lose their sus- 

 ceptibility to a second attack. 

 28 



We have not seen a single instance of 

 a hog having this malady a second time. 

 The hogs that have been in the pens over 

 six months, have not generally been at- 

 tacked with the disease. We account for 

 this by considering that the disease pre- 

 vails more or less in the pens every year, 

 and that these hogs have been under its 

 influence ; but this year, from some pre- 

 disposing cause, this malady has assumed 

 a more malignant form and spread over 

 the country. Some of our experiments 

 were as follows : — Four young and healthy 

 hogs were put into a pen in which four 

 days previous diseased hogs had been ; 

 these were fed on corn and water ; on the 

 fourteenth day they were all unwell and 

 one died, and in five days they were all 

 dead. Ninety hogs that had been exposed 

 to the disease were put into a pen by 

 themselves and fed on corn and water, and 

 sixty died. 



One hundred stock hogs were put into a 

 pen by themselves and fed on corn and 

 water, and for thirty days they continued 

 w T ell. They were then put into#the pens 

 with diseased hogs, and in fourteen days 

 after, the disease made its appearance 

 amongst them. We innoculated eight 

 hogs with blood from the diseased parts of 

 hogs that had died of this disease ; in 

 fourteen days they were all unwell and 

 one died, and all died within a week of 

 each other, with the exception of one, 

 which recovered. Although this disease 

 is so very infectuous to the hogs, I feel 

 confident it cannot be communicated to 

 the human system. I several times woun- 

 ded myself while examining the diseased 

 hogs, but the wounds readily healed, and 

 there was no unusual inflammation, and 

 the men that were constantly at work 

 amongst these hogs, were not the least af- 

 fected by this disease. 



In the treatment of this disease, it must 

 be obvious, more can be done by preven- 

 tion than medicine. The diseased hogs 

 should be separated from the healthy, and 

 when this disease is prevailing in a neigh- 

 borhood, farmers should keep their hogs 

 from running at large. We have been 

 able to trace this disease most clearly, as 

 it spread by contagion from farm to farm. 

 Although this malady must occasionally 

 have a spontaneous origin, yet when once 

 produced, it spreads rapidly by contagion. 

 Those who are feeding large numbers of 



