THE VETERINARIAN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 937, 14 February 1890, Page 19

THE VETERINARIAN.

ANIMAL AILMENTS. ULCERS AT THE MOUTH OF A STALLION. The ulcers probably are the result of a feverish condition from too high feeding and too little outdoor exercise. A drachm of powdered aloes, with an ounce of powdered gentian, once a day for a a week, will be of service. Feed carrots twice a day and oats once during service season, and half an hour’s feed at grass daily, will be well. WARTS ON cow’s TEATS. The best and quickest method to remove such warts is to cut them off with a pair of sharp scissors and paint two or three times a day for two days the cut surfaces with tineture of iodine. The skin and wart should be raised or pinched up between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand so aB to cut close to the skin. Care should be taken not to cut the fold of skin, lest an unnecessarily large elliptical wound be made, for the scars or cicatrices thus formed would be nearly as unsightly as the warts. COCKED ANKLE. The case may be hereditary, or arise from severe strain upon the cords from running upon the hind legs or by jumping. Hot water and hand-rubbing night and morning, with rest, may produce favourable results. An ointment made of a pound of Jard and half an ounce of iodine, rubbed in with the

hands, should be tried tor a week or two. If these methods are not successful, and the condition has not resuited from hereditary transmission from either sire or daiii, the next best plan will be to breed the mare to the best sire in your section. For breeding purposes, it pays best always to breed from the best animals. The trouble and reasonable expense in breeding from such animals pays compound interest in the get. Of course, both size and quality add to the value. Speed is an uncertain factor and is too apt to be expensive. No horses pay so well as good-sized, showy, stylish coach, horses. There is always a demand for such horses at good prices in every part of the world. BLOODY MILK. A diseased udder cannot yield a healthy product. The difficulty with the cow comes probably from injury in jumping fences or wallowing in the swampy pasture. The udder should be sponged with very warm water morning and evening, before milking. The cow should have half a pound of glauber salts dissolved in her slop every ocher evening until the case improves. Then give in some manner an ounce of iodine of potash every evening for a week, and, if not then cured, after one week renew fora week, alternately, in this manner. Tether the cow in a good dry part of the pasture near the rest of the herd, for, if separated, cows worry and do not do well. An ox separated from his fellow has been known to mourn and starve to death. Treatment of sick animals, like that of Bick persons, must be reasonably persevered in to accomplish the best results. INOCULATION FOR PLEURG-PNEU-MONIA IN SCOTLAND. The principal of the Glaßcow Veterinary College lately read a paper on the subject of pleuro-pnaumonia before the members of the Renfrewshire Agricultural Association ; and whether his hearers were believers in inoculation as a preventive, or advocates of theffheory of the spontaneous origin of the disease, or were without any particular opinions on any of the points under consideration, they had an opportunity of heariug some facts in the history of the disease which should have been instructive and of listening to some reflections which ought to have interested them. Professor McCall began by referring to the accepted doctrine that contagious diseases are dne to the existence and influence of minute organisms, which livo in the tissues and effect changes that end in the development of the specific disease, and announced his adherence to the belief that the existence of such organisms is proof that every new case of contagious disease is connected with a previous case. The question which is often asked, How did the first case arise in the absence of a previous case ; he did not answer, because no answer is possible, but evaded in the orthodox way, he showing that the same difficulty is present iu the case of an oak, which only arises from an acorn derived from a previous oak, or a chicken, which can only come from an egg derived from a previously existent chicken. Having cleared the way by disposing of or getting over certain obstructive objections, the reader devoted himself for a short time to the consideration of the proposition which has emanated from some medical friends, as he politely terms them, to the effect that veterinarians know nothing of the intricate pathology of pleuro-pneumonia. An eminent medical authority, he says, writes in these terms : * It is abundantly evident that in employing inoculation as at present practised we are working in the dark. We want to be certain whether the essential part of the virus is a living organism, what that micro-organism is, and upon what it grows, and whether it germinates rapidly or slowly. . , . Theße are questions of the deepest scientific interest and practical importance.’ Without questioning the importance of the points raised, Professor McCall pertinently asks, what have the medical profession done in the past in regard to the essential part of the virus of smallpox or other specific diseases of man, to entitle them to claim the right to investigate diseases of the lower animals, and to ask for funds for the purpose ? What is said of inoculation for pleuropneumonia may surely be assorted of vaccination for protection against smallpox. No scientist has yet discovered the microbe of cowpox, and therefore medical men are working in the dark, as veterinarians are ; and if the discovery of the infecting germ is necessary before inoculation for pleuropneumonia can be placed on a satisfactory basis, it can hardly be denied that exactly the same thing is true of vaccination. Investigation has been going on for some time, with the view to the discovery of the organism of cowpox ; but the fact that the very respectable prize of £25,000, which (he Grocers’ Company offer to the successful bacteriologist, remains unclaimed is sufficient proof that the inquiries have not been fruitful in results. Professor McCall considers that an inoculated herd of cattle, if perfectly healthy at the time of the operation, is secure from an attack of the natural disease ; but he contends that to wait until an outbreak of pleuro.pneumonia occurs before resorting to inoculation is to court failure, because some of the animals will certainly have the disease in their systems when the operation is performed. This serious objection to inoculation as a substitute for slaughter we have frequently pointed out. Finally, Professor McCall decides that, under all the circumstances, the only way to get rid of pleuro-pneumonia is to Btamp it out by the slaughter of diseased cattle, and of all those which have bean in contact with

them, or otherwise exposed to infection. —The Field.