73G 
PIGS POISONED BY EATING DECAYED 
VEGETABLES AND SOUR MILK. 
By J. Barnett, Veterinary Student, Market Drayton. 
On September tlie 8tli I was summoned in great haste to 
see a number of pigs the property of a nurseryman in this 
neighbourhood. On arriving at his premises, I found that 
three four-months-ohl pigs were dead, and that three others 
of the same age had retired each into a separate corner of the 
yard, together with a four-year-old sow, in such a state as to 
afford but slight hopes of their recovery. The most striking 
symptoms were sickness, staggering gait, and convulsive 
movements of the hind extremities. The heart’s action was 
very feeble, and the visible mucous membrane extremely 
pallid. The entire surface of the skin of the smaller animals 
was of a dark colour, an 3 ^thing but natural, caused, doubt¬ 
less, by the highly carbonized state of the blood. In the sow 
I could not notice the condition of the skin so well, she 
being a black one. The owner not liking to see the animals 
die without doing something towards relieving them, had, 
before my arrival, been unwisely dosing them with salt and 
water. At first I was inclined to think the salt the cause of 
all the mischief, but further examination proved this opinion 
to be untenable. On inquiry, I ascertained that several 
milch cows were kept, the surplus milk and butter-milk of 
which had been thrown into a large tub, together with a 
quantity of turnip tops, cabbage and mangel leaves. 1 was 
informed that this mixture had been accumulating for four 
or five months, under the belief that it would come in useful 
Avhen the ordinary supply of' food fell short. This occurred 
for the first time on the morning in question, and consequently 
the pigs were fed with the fatal beverage. They appeared 
to cat it with great relish; but within half an hour its effects 
were visible, and in a few minutes afterwards three lay pro¬ 
strate. A messenger was despatched at once, and I was in 
attendance in three quarters of an hour after their meal, at 
the utmost. To administer any supposed antidotes was a 
matter of impossibility, the power of deglutition being lost 
before my seeing them. The smaller pigs were immediately 
immersed in water of about 80°, for from ten minutes to a 
quarter of an hour, after which I endeavoured to administer 
Tinct. Opii, Spt. T^th. Nit., et 01. Lini, but was only par¬ 
tially successful. Ultimately two of the smaller ones reco¬ 
vered, the remainder dying in my presence. 
