NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
TREATMENT OF STERILITY IN COWS
227
covered regularly every third week. When in heat the cow was treated 6-11 with
10 c. c. of wheat germ oil intramuscularly and covered on the same day, and was
then quiet. On examination, 7-2-31, the cow was found to be pregnant (about
three months).
(2) Owner, the manor of H. Ten-year-old cow, No. 117. Calved 20-1-30.
Covered 27-2, 20-3, 10-4, 1-5, 23-5, 14-6, 22-7 (ovary treatment on the same day),
12-8 (ovary treatment repeated); was then covered every third week except a few
times in the autumn, where the cow was not brought to the bull even if in heat.
Treatment, 8-11 with 10 c.c. of wheat germ oil intramuscularly, covered 21-11, and
was then quiet. On examination, 11-2-31, the cow was found to be pregnant
(about two-and-a-half months).
(3) Owner, same as under (2). Five-year-old cow, No. 160. Calved 4-5-30.
Was covered 5-6, 27-7, 16-8, etc., until treatment, 8-11, with 10 c.c. of wheat
germ oil intramuscularly, then only covered once, 28-11. On examination, 11-2-31,
the cow proved to be pregnant (about two-and-a-half months).
(4) Owner, same as under (3). Three-year-old cow, No. 194. Calved, 5-1-30.
Covered 20-2, 3-4, 29-4, 22-5, 23-6 (ovary treatment 22-7), covered again 17-8, etc.
When in heat 8-11, treated with 10 c.c. of wheat germ oil intramuscularly, but
not brought to the bull until next heat, 1-12, then quiet. On examination, 11-2-31,
the cow was found to be pregnant (scarcely two-and-a-half months).
(5) Owner, the manor of B. Three-year-old cow, No. 59. Calved, 13-6-30.
Covered 13-7, 5-8, 9-9, 10-10, 1-11. Treatment 11-11, with 10 c.c. of wheat germ
oil intramuscularly, was covered 18-11, and was then quiet. On examination,
6-2-31, the cow was found to be pregnant (about two-and-a-half months).
(6) Owner, same as under (5). Five-year-old cow, No. 110. Calved, 13-6-31.
Covered 7-8, 19-9, 20-10, 11-11. When in heat, 11-11, treatment with 10 c.c. of
wheat germ oil intramuscularly, and covered on the same day. On examination,
6-2-31, the cow proved to be pregnant (about three months).
(7) Owner, same as under (6). Eleven-year-old cow, No. 213. Calved, 14-
10-29. Covered 28-12-29, 27-1-30, 16-2, 28-3, 17-4, 14-5, 27-6, 25-7, 15-8, 4-9, 26-9,
14-10, 11-11. Ovary treatment two to three times. When in heat, 11-11, treat-
ment with 10 c.c. of wheat germ oil intramuscularly and covered on the same day;
became quiet, but proved not to be pregnant on examination 6-2.
(8) The farm of A. Five-year-old cow, No. 29. The cow slunk, 29-4-30.
Covered 17-6, 6-7, 31-9, 2-10. Treatment, 12-11, with 20 c.c. of wheat germ oil
intramuscularly, covered 14-11 and 26-11; was brought to the bull 17-12, but was
restless and had to be forced, was then quiet. On examination, 24-2, the cow
proved to be pregnant (two-and-a-half months).
D 2
228 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ I, III
(9) Owner, L. H., farmer of R. Three-year-old cow. Calved, 4-1-30, but a
prolapse occurred; has been covered serveral times (exact information has not been
obtained). Ovary treatment, 5-8, 16-8, and 1-9, but was in heat every week or
every fortnight, then treated with iodine (by a colleague), but continued to be-in
heat, ovary treatment repeated 23-10. Treatment, 12-11, with 20 c.c. of wheat
germ oil intramuscularly, covered on the same day, and three to four times later on.
On examination, 22-1 and 17-2, the cow was found not to be pregnant. (Perhaps
this cow ought to be excluded from the number of experiments, as, owing to the
complication occurring during delivery, there is every reason to suppose that the
sterility may have been of an anatomicopathological causation).
(10) Owner, the manor of R. Seven-year-old cow, No. 9. Calved 24-7-30.
Covered 7-9, 2-10, 8-11. Treatment, 12-11, with 20 c.c. of wheat germ oil intramus-
cularly, covered twice, the last time 25-12. On examination, 24-2-31, the cow
proved not to be pregnant.
(11) Owner, A. M., farmer of M. Six-year-old cow, No. 10. Calved 28-10-29.
Covered 10-5-30, 25-7, 24-8, 30-10, 19-11. When in heat, 19-11, treatment with
20 c.c. of wheat germ oil intramuscularly, was covered on the same day and has been
quiet since. On examination, 10-2-31, the cow proved to be pregnant (about two-
and-a-half months.)
(12) Owner, I. O., small holder of K. Six-year-old cow. Calved in July 1929 ;
milked satisfactorily. Covered for the first time two-and-a-half to three months
after calving, and then every third week by two different bulls; a couple of months
ago the owner gave up hoping to get the cow with calf. Treatment, 22-11-30, with
12 c.c. of wheat germ oil, as the cow had been in heat a few days before; was covered
14-12, and on examination on 24-2-31 the cow proved to be pregnant (about two-
and-a-half months).
As will be seen, the above material is not so comprehensive that it is possible
safely to base anything decisive on it, but, nevertheless, it will presumably hint that
vitamin E preparations may be of therapeutic value in sterility in cows. When
everything is considered, also the fact that the dosage was rather an arbitrary one,
and that two of the " negative " cows proved incapable of being influenced despite
repeated treatment of the uterus and the ovaries, whilst several of the positive cows
resisted repeated ovary treatment, we believe to be justified in saying that in the
case of such a batch of permanently sterile cows as we have had to do with here,
none of the methods hitherto in common use would have yielded better results after
one treatment. We therefore believe that the results encourage continued experi-
ments on a considerably larger scale, and we have commenced such experiments,
using partly wheat germ oil, partly a vitamin E concentrate.
TREATMENT OF STERILITY IN COWS
229
RÉSUMÉ.
Referring to vitamin E and the importance of this vitamin in the organism, and
to the pathological alterations occurring when vitamin E is lacking in the food, the
results of treatment of sterility in cows with wheat germ oil (vitamin E) are com
municated. The results obtained after a single dose of wheat germ oil administered
intramuscularly must be termed so satisfactory that they encourage further experi-
ments with the said therapy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Beard, H. H.: Am. Journ Physiol., 75, 682, 1926.
Evans, H. M.: Journ. Nutrit, 1, 23, 1928-29.
Evans, H. M., and Bishop, K. S.: Science, 56, 650, 1922.
Evans, H. M., and Burr, G. O.: " The Anti-Sterility Vitamin Fat Soluble E." Mem. Univers. of
California, Vol. 8, 1927, 1.
Evans, H. M., and Burr, G. O.: Journ. Am. Med. Ass., 88, 1462, 1927, 2.
Evans, H. M., and Burr, G. O.: Journ. Am. Med. Ass., 89, 1587, 1927, 3.
Evans, H. M., and Burr, G. O.: Journ. Biol. Chem., 76, 273, 1928.
Hart, E. B., Miller, W. S., and McCollum, E. V.: Journ. Biol. Chem., 25, 239, 1916.
Hart, E. B., McCollum, E. V., Steenbock, H., and Humphrey, G. C.: Journ. Agr. Research, 10, 175,
1917.
Jackson, C. M.: Arch. Pathol., 8, 273, 1929.
McCollum, E. V., and Simmonds, N.: " The Newer Knowledge of Nutrition.," 4th ed., New York, 1929.
Osborne, T. B., and Mendel, L. B.: Journ. Bio. Chem., 37, 557, 1919.
Sure, B.: Journ. Biol. Chem., 69, 29, 1926
THE USE OF NICOTIN AND ITS COMPOUNDS FOR THE
CONTROL OF POULTRY PARASITES*.
BY
CLIFF D. CARPENTER,
Petaluma Laboratories, Los Angeles, Calif.
(Reprinted from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, N. S.,
Vol. 31, No. 5, May 1931.)
The use of tobacco and its alkaloid, nicotin, for the control of insects, began
with the introduction of its use in floriculture, about 1890, when nurserymen and
gardeners used tobacco stem fumigation as a means of protecting their flowers
against insect life. These insects were destroyed by burning the tobacco stems,
producing a dense smoke, and also by spreading the tobacco several inches deep in
the greenhouses or beneath the plants.
In 1892, the first standardized extract of nicotin, called " Rose Leaf ", was
placed upon the market. This product contained slightly less than 3 per cent.
nicotin and had many disadvantages, being thick and gummy and was employed by
exposing the extract to live steam under high pressure, and forcing the diluted
vapors throughout the greenhouses by a system of pipes.
As early as 1898, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station reported that
Rose Leaf cost less, was easier to prepare, was more effective and had a wider range
of application than any form of insecticide used up to that time.
The first entrance of nicotin into the control of animal parasites dates back to
the early nineties, when sheep were first dipped for scabies, ticks and lice. It was
soon proved that nicotin destroyed all three of these external parasites with a single
dipping and was greatly superior to lime-sulfur solutions, arsenical dips and coal-tar
previously used.
In 1910, Arnold developed a 40 per cent. solution of sulfate of nicotin and for
twenty years this product has been available, principally in the form of " Black
Leaf 40".
Lamson found that Black Leaf 40 was an effective agent in the control of
stomach worms of sheep. For several years nicotin had been given in various
* Presented at the 67th annual meeting of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Los
Angeles, Calif., Aug. 26-29, 1930.
( 230 )
NICOTIN FOR THE CONTROL OF POULTRY PARASITES
231
forms with the food, including tobacco stems, leaves and dust. Again, however,
it was found that these were too uncertain in their nicotin content and with the
advent of Black Leaf 40 it was possible to standardize the dose and obtain more
efficient results than with copper sulfate treatment. It was cheap, easy to obtain
and did not have the prolonged after-effects of copper sulfate.
With this evidence of nicotin controlling external and internal parasites in
sheep and cattle, Beach and Herms, in 1916, first employed tobacco stems for the
control of poultry parasites. Beach found that by steeping finely chopped tobacco
stems for two hours and mixing the stems and the liquid with about one-half of
the usual ration of the ground feed and by fasting the birds for a day previous to
the treatment, many roundworms were expelled. This treatment was followed by
Epsom salt and repeated in ten days. Some evidence was secured to indicate that
from ten to twenty-five per cent. of the cecum worms also were removed by this
method and it was suggested that the treatment be repeated at intervals of three to
four weeks in an attempt to control these parasites. The fasting before and the
purging after treatment caused a loss of egg-production and greatly shocked the
birds, and was otherwise undesirable even though many worms were expelled.
A commercial poultryman of California provided the next step by recommend-
ing that commercial tobacco dust be mixed with the mash and fed over a period of
time. Dougherty and Beach confirmed these results and recommended adding to
the mash two per cent. by weight of tobacco dust, containing 1½ per cent. nicotin and
feeding for a period of three or four weeks. For several years the tobacco dust treat-
ment was the best known means of removing roundworms.
During the period from 1916 to 1923 many products were offered on the market,
using nicotin sulfate as a base, which were sold under trade names and were no
more efficient than steeped tobacco stems and no less harmful.
In 1924, Freeborn developed the first individual treatment for the elimination
of roundworms, using nicotin sulfate as the active ingredient. He combined 7.9
grams of nicotin sulfate with 16 grams of a selected fullers' earth, known as Lloyd's
Alkaloidal Reagent, and found that he could thus safely administer an amount of
nicotin serveral times the lethal dose. This mixture was packed in a number two
gelatin capsule, which, when filled, weighed from 350 to 400 milligrams. These
capsules were administered by introducing them into the back of the throat and
after locating them from the outside, forcing them into the crop with the thumb and
forefinger. Freeborn reports an efficiency of 97.2 per cent. for 312 birds treated.
It is not definitely known how fullers' earth protects the bird from the poisonous
effects of nicotin, but it is a fact that the nicotin is both absorbed and adsorbed and
the nicotin is undoubtedly released slowly enough that the birds are not seriously
232 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ I, III
affected. A lethal dose of nicotin causes a depression on the somatic reflexes to the
extent that respiration and other body processes cease.
In the early field application of the capsule treatment, quite a few birds were
killed by leaving capsules in the back of the throat, since many nerve endings are
exposed in this area. Other birds were suffocated by faulty application in that
capsules were introduced into the trachea. When the capsule is placed well into the
crop, very little shock results.
Freeborn concludes that inasmuch as the fullers' earth loses its normal ability
to remain in suspension when subjected to extracts of intestinal washings, there is a
possibility that the direct cause of the nicotin being liberated is due to the derange-
ment of its colloidal system from purely physical factors. It is quite evident that
colloidal chemistry is seriously involved in this phenomenon.
Linsteadt found that certain colloids were safe carriers of nicotin and stated
that molecular weights and sizes are determining factors in the protection granted
to the bird. Since the molecular weight of nicotin (alkaloid) is 162.13 and of
nicotin sulfate 211.17, it is thus seen that the alkaloid nicotin is more toxic to the
bird than nicotin sulfate.
He successfully combined nicotin and casein and determined the molecular
weight as 1297.13, more than six times that of nicotin sulfate making it a safe
carrier. With a thought of overcoming the undesirable features of the nicotin
sulfate capsule, Linsteadt combined 10 per cent. soap with his nicotin caseinate
compound and produced a pellet of a size and shape that it could not enter the
trachea and one which would be slippery when moistened and therefore not stick in
the throat.
Many tests have been employed, by the writer, to determine the efficiency of this
product, called " Nicocides". In no instance has the efficiency fallen below 99 per
cent.
In an attempt to make a dual-purpose Nicocide for both tapeworms and round-
worms, nicotin alginate and crude kamala were combined, using the same amount
of nicotin with one gram of kamala. This has been done without sacrificing the
efficiency of either ingredient when used singly and Freeborn states that the dual
nicocide produces less toxicity than the combining of kamala with nicotin sulfate.
Undoubtedly molecular size is again involved, since nicotin alginate is approxi-
mately six times as heavy as nicotin caseinate and over thirty-seven times that of
nicotin sulfate.
Older than the industry itself is the fight against body lice. Thirty years ago it
was considered standard practice to get birds out of doors in the spring, as soon as
sufficient road dust had accumulated to allow the birds an opportunity to smother
NICOTIN FOR THE CONTROL OF POULTRY PARASITES
233
the lice by dusting. This procedure evidently regulated by an idiosyncracy of the
species, was thought to be sufficiently effective to keep under reasonable control six
of the seven recognized varieties of lice. These varieties have been named prin-
cipally for their location on the bird, but do have several distinguishing characteris-
ties, including size, shape and color. The one species not controlled by this
" nature-provided treatment " is commonly called head lice and greasing with
butter or lard was resorted to for control.
For several years tobacco dust, mixed with the road dust, has been officially
recommended as an aid in minimizing the infestations of body lice.
Bishopp and Wood developed the sodium fluorid treatment, recommending both
the dipping and dusting methods. Both were thoroughly efficient but laborious,
hazardous and disagreeable to the operator.
In 1928, another commercial poultryman of California brought to the attention
of the manufacturers of Black Leaf 40, a new use for their product, revolutionary
in its application and far-reaching in its benefits to the industry because of its
efficiency, availability and small cost per bird.
This poultryman found that he got a perfect kill of all varieties of lice by merely
applying a thin film of nicotin sulfate, in the form of Black Leaf 40, to the roosts
in the evening.
Freeborn, Lunn and Bittenbender, in rapid succession, verified these practical
findings and standard recommendations for the use of this product are as follows :
Paint the roosts with a thin coating of undiluted Black Leaf 40 shortly before
roosting time, using one-half pound to each one hundred feet of roosts, including
cross-arms. If roosts have been whitewashed, clean off the lime completely before
painting. Be sure that all birds are on the roosts for at least two successive nights
following application. Leave ventilators open in the front of the house, to provide
sufficient air for the birds, but close ventilators above or behind the roosts to pre-
vent fumes from being blown away too quickly.
Lice eggs hatch in from six to ten days, so examine birds ten to twelve days
following treatment of the roosts to determine the necessity of repeating treatment.
If more lice are found, the material should be applied again, at once, to prevent
their developing into maturity and laying more eggs for another reinfestation .
Under good conditions two treatments a year should prove adequate.
Nicotin is highly volatile at temperatures of 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and
is released by the body temperature of the fowl. Since lice breathe through the
pores of the skin, they absorb the free nicotin and are killed by contact.
234 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [I, III
The advantages of this method of louse control are obvious :
1. No loss of egg-production.
2. No handling of birds.
3. Roost space for one thousand can be treated in one hour.
4. Meat is not flavored nor feathers stained.
5. Supplies are usually conveniently available.
Attempts to use free nicotin on the roosts have not been so successful as nicotin
sulfate. Nicotin alginate has been found to remain on the roosts for a period of
time longer than nicotin sulfate. This again is apparently due to the larger size
molecules. While much has been done with nicotin in the field of poultry parasite
control by practical poultrymen, investigators and private laboratories, there yet
remains much to be accomplished. This is evidenced by the fact that new pro-
ducts, many of them inefficient and some actually harmful, are continually making
their appearance.
Some manufacturers are diluting forty per cent. nicotin sulfate as much as
one-half by adding various sticky substances to back their claims of greater
efficiency, for the eradication of lice.
The claims of many manufacturers of products for worm control may be
similarly criticised. Just recently the writer received literature citing the merits of
one which is a fair sample. To quote, " Now science has worked another
wonder. Prof. Blank's great worm remedy not only removes all tapeworms, round-
worms, etc., from the intestinal tract, but also makes all the thirty other parasitic
worms drop off and disappear as though by magic".
The evident misstatement is accompanied by a sectional drawing of a fowl,
picturing grape worms, gizzard worms, air sac mites and other parasites quite
probably attempting to demonstrate the " etc." group above referred to, or else
part of the group of " thirty ".
The writer deplores the present situation, which is costing the poultry industry
many hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted resources, lack of results, and a
false security which surrounds the average poultryman after he has treated his flock
with any one of these products, if they contain an insufficient quantity of nicotin
sulfate or other of its compounds.
The time is rapidly approaching when the practicing veterinarian will be held
directly responsible by the industry for the control of poultry parasites, and until
such time as uniform legislation throughout the United States requires manufac-
turers to register the amount of nicotin employed per unit of treatment, the
veterinarian must make sure that the amount is adequate to assure results from the
use of those products, where nicotin is the active ingredient.
NEW TREATMENT OF FLUKE.
BY
Prof. G. MAROTEL, of the Lyons Veterinary School. (Revue Vétérinaire, December,
1930.)
(Reprinted from the Veterinary Journal (London), Vol. 87, No. 4, pp. 205-207,
April 1931.)
Oil of male fern is known to be a classic remedy against distomes, but recently
criticism has been levelled at its high price (10 to 20 francs per sheep, and 70 to 150
francs per cow), at its sometimes insufficient action, and above all to its danger (for
it has caused fatal accidents). These defects have led to research for a better
therapeutic remedy and for two years some ten new anti-fluke remedies have been
issued without any scientific study of control ever having been published on the
subject.
I considered it necessary to undertake experimental researches with a view to
ascertaining what amongst these new treatments appeared to be most advantageous
and to be recommended from the different points of view of effectiveness, harmless¬
ness, cost price, and ease of administration. My studies are not yet finished, but in
view of the past rainy year a prevalence of fluke may be expected, and I consider
that it is as well to make known that there is a remedy better than male fern, and
that is Vitan.
Vitan is a Bulgarian product, which is sold in red gelatinous capsules as big as
a cherry, and containing a liquid of the following composition : benzol, 78 ; vaseline
5 ; camphorated alcohol, 5 ; essence of turpentine, 12. Price of a capsule, 2 francs.
I have experimented with this drug on thirty-five sheep with constant success
and no accidents ; the eggs of flukes disappeared from the excrement in three to
four days, the animals treated did not seem in any way upset, although badly
affected. Here is, therefore, an anti-fluke remedy which, being quite as effective
as male fern, is clearly superior in several respects :—
(1) Cost price is small.—Two francs per sheep (for one capsule suffices), ten to
fifteen francs per cow. Up to now no research has been conducted on this animal,
but knowing its susceptibility to certain anti-fluke agents, it is not recommended to
give more than three capsules.
(2) Easier administration by reason of its presentation in capsules ; no need of
the stomach sound, or risk of a false route. On the other hand, the treatment only
needs a single intervention (in places of three or four for male fern), which decreases
considerably the work of the attendant where, say, a flock of 300 sheep has to be
treated.
( 235 )