NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
308 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, III
would expect the effect in an old bull to be transitory, but in the case 1 below,
the effect has persisted for four months, and he is still active. It was expected
that the Steinach operation would be necessary in his case. In the remainder it has
been a success. One young bull appears to be ' cow shy' and will not serve,
though keen enough to jump other young bulls.
(1) Chieftain, a 12½ year old Hariana, body weight 1,000 lbs., off service
completely for 7 months. He was given 45 c.c. on four consecutive days: January
25-28th. Effect seen in 16 days, when he served his first cow for 7½ months.
He served 6 cows in February-March, 6 in April, and 5 more up to 11th May.
During my visit at the end of April he served a cow, taking just 10 minutes to
complete the service from the time he was brought in. The dose given him was
less than half that since recommended by the Institute of Animal Genetics.
(2) Tharparkar Bull, aged 8 years, body weight about 800 lbs., off service.
Given one injection of 40 c.c. Effect seen in four days served 5 cows during the
first month promptly. Effect began to wane after 8 weeks and he was given four
injections of 40 c.c. in March. He again responded at once and served 6 cows in
the succeeding month. Dose half that now recommended.
(3) Two cross-bred Hariana and local bulls aged 6 and 7 years respectively,
very slow to serve. Each given 40 c.c. injections on four consecutive days, in
November and January. Both still active in May.
In these full-grown bulls it seems that the effect is produced by re-activating
the animals' own glands, and the effect has persisted for a useful period of time.
We have not yet tried the effect of giving a longer course of smaller doses.
On account of the good results of the hormone injection we have not had
occasion to try the Steinach operation.
From an article published in the Veterinary Journal 7, Special Physiology
Number, Vol. LXXXVII, No. 10, I see that cows' urine may be tested for
pregnancy, using mice in the usual way. Our first attempt to do so was not
successful, though the cows were known to be pregnant. Possibly this was due to
the fact that a trace of toluene was added as a preservative, as the samples
had to travel 24 hours during the hot weather. Our results are apparently
unusually encouraging, and the only explanation I can offer is that we have so far
used raw urine, filtred and injected at once. We have only used half doses, and
have had no protein reactions. It remains to be seen whether using detoxicated
urine will make any difference to our results.
STIMULATION OF REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF CATTLE.
309
Our experiments have been carried out by Mr. Gossip, Livestock Expert,
Bengal, and the cattle used were those under his charge on the Government Farms.
I am greatly indebted to Colonel Acton, Director of the Calcutta School of Tropical
Medicine, for his ready co-operation and practical help, and to Dr. Wm. C. Miller,
Institute of Animal Genetics, Edinburgh, for the most valuable information and
advice in his reply to my letter.
*A NEW METHOD OF MOUNTING SMALL MUSEUM
SPECIMENS
BY
G. D. BHALERAO, M.Sc.,
Helminthologist, Imperial Institute of Veterinary Research, Muktesar-Kumaun, U. P.
(Received for publication on 24th April 1932.)
(with Plate XXIV)
Most of the specimens that are kept for show in museum jars are usually tied
with a cotton thread to a piece of glass or celluloid. If the specimens are suffi-
ciently large and thick this method acts very well. Considerable difficulty is,
however, felt in mounting small and thin objects such as helminths and some
larval forms. These cannot be tied to a glass or celluloid plate by means of a
thread since they are not sufficiently thick. A new method has therefore been
devised to mount such small objects and their dissections for show, taking ad-
vantage of the fact that gelatin forms an insoluble compound in combination with
formalin. The method consists briefly of the following step :—
1. Soak some gelatin sheets in cold water for at least half an hour until they
are soft and pliable.
2. Heat these in a water bath without any addition of water. Very soon the
whole mass is converted into a thick paste.
3. Apply the paste to a glass or a celluloid sheet and fix on it the specimen to
be mounted.
4. Keep this sheet in a jar of 4 per cent. formalin for about an hour.
The specimen is now ready for permanent preservation, which can be done
in Kaiserling III solution to which a little thymol is added to prevent the growth
of moulds.
The cover of the museum jar can be fixed by means of a paste which is pre-
pared out of red lead and Stockholm tar in the proportion of 1 to 6 approximately
by volume. After fixing the cover in this manner it should be allowed to dry for
three to four days. The top may then be painted with Black Japan and the
label fixed on it.
A photograph of the dissection of a female Parascaris equorum mounted in the
manner described above is here given (Plate XXIV).
* Paper read before the Medical and Veterinary Section of the 18th Indian Science Congress,
Bangalore.
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PLATE XXIV.
SELECTED ARTICLE
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THREE COMMUNICATIONS
DEALING WITH THE TREATMENT OF GASTRO-
INTESTINAL STRONGYLOSIS OF SHEEP
BY
P. L. LE ROUX, B. Sc. (EDIN.), M. R. C. V. S.,
Assistant Veterinary Research Officer, Mazabuka, N. Rhodesia.
(Reprinted from the Veterinary Journal, vol. 88, No. 5, May 1932.)
The treatment of sheep for gastro-intestinal strongylosis still receives con-
siderable attention in various parts of the world, and is of the utmost importance
to the sheep industry of Australia, South Africa, and other sub-tropical countries.
Publications on this subject by Seddon and Ross [1929], Parkin [1929], and Wood
[1930], have been contributed from Australia, South Africa, and England respec-
tively. A critical study of these communications indicates certain discrepancies
which cannot be readily overlooked.
When the vermicidal action of a drug or a mixture of drugs is tested against
any parasite, it is only reasonable to expect that the sheep selected for the test
should be definitely known to be infested, and that the degree of such infestation
should be gauged with fair accuracy. Seddon and Ross and Wood did not take
these precautions, and this detracts from the value of their reports. The selected
sheep which they believed to be infested. The Australian contributors did not
infect their animals experimentally, " since it was not found practicable to infect
sheep artificially ". Artificial infestation of sheep should always be resorted to
when the vermicidal property of any drug or proprietary remedy is to be tested
against any particular species. The degree of infestation before and after the
treatment of the animal can be readily ascertained by the "cultural" method.
The various genera, e.g., Hæmonchus, Œsophagoslomum, Monodontus, Gaigeria and
Trichostrongylus, are differentiated by the unequal lengths of the tails of their
larval stages.
The slaughter of treated animals for ascertaining the resultant action of the
drug is not an economical proposition in all countries, and is not necessary. The
" egg count " method of ascertaining the result is most laborious and unreliable,
because the eggs of most Trichostrongylidæ inhabiting the gastro-intestinal tract
of sheep are very much alike.
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312 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, III
The reports from Australia and England refer inter alia to unsatisfactory
results obtained with the use of the mixture of copper sulphate and sodium
arsenite, the mixture recommended by Veglia [1918], against Hæmonchus contortus.
The authors refer to the findings of Veglia, but their conclusions would seem to
suggest that Veglia's results must be accepted with caution. They do not openly
state that they doubt his findings. They are not entitled to compare their
findings with those of South African workers, since they did not administer the
mixture as recommended by him. Their failures to obtain the results claimed by
him should probably be attributed to the fact that they administered the mixture
in capsules to sheep. This means that the chemicals entered the rumen, but not
the abomasum, and the results were similar to those obtained when Veglia ad-
ministered it intra-rumenally by an injection through the left flank. The Austra-
lians mentioned the fact that Veglia records two cases where a considerable number
of wireworms were not expelled by the prescribed treatment. These were in
animals one of whom had an impaction of the rumen, and the other an impaction
of the abomasum. My personal experience in dosing sheep with tabloids or with
drugs enclosed in capsules is that tabloids and capsules invariably pass into the
rumen. Bulky powders follow a similar course. It is not evident why Wood
[1930] should recommend that the powdered copper sulphate be given in capsules.
This is undoubtedly a tedious procedure where hundreds of animals are to be dosed
every three weeks.
The procedure recommended by Veglia enables four attendants to dose ap-
proximately 400 or more sheep per hour. Furthermore, the giving of drugs in
capsules would amount to mixing them with the food, as they will pass to the
rumen, and it is, therefore, significant to note that Wood tried drugs in food with
disappointing results. Where Seddon and Ross used copper sulphate in solution,
they claim that some wireworms were killed. The Australians claim the better
results when a preliminary starvation preceded the administration of the mustard
and copper sulphate in solution draught.
From data personally gathered during the last five years, I can substantiate
Veglia's findings as to the efficiency of the Union Government wireworm remedy
when administered as orginally recommended in the instructions issued to farmers.
Recently Monning [1929] recommended a very much reduced starvation period,
and there were complaints from farmers who had adopted this that the treatment
was not as efficacious as before. This reduction of the starvation period was
recommended because it was believed that the starved animals would partake
more readily of poisonous herbage when returned to the pastures. It was thought
desirable to ascertain the efficiency of the remedy in starved and non-starved
TREATMENT OF GASTRO-INTESTINAL STRONGYLOSIS OF SHEEP
313
animals, experimentally infested with Hæmonchus contortus. The results which are
available show that a preliminary starvation of from 18—24 hours is essential when
the maximum effect is to be obtained. The double dosing originally prescribed by
Veglia was completely effective in removing all worms. Double dosing proved
rather drastic in heavily infested animals. It is desirable that the mixture used in
South Africa be given a trial in countries where the wireworm is claiming many
victims. Seddon and Ross have rightly remarked that there are no reports except
that of Sheather [1927] dealing with the value of the Union Government remedy
against Hæmonchus contortus. Further reports will be eagerly awaited, but will only
be of value for purposes of comparison if conducted as outlined by Veglia. Finally,
it may be stated that the efficiency of the Union Government wireworm remedy
(termed " Theiler's remedy " by many farmers) will depend on whether it reaches a
comparatively empty abomasum directly on administration. This remedy is un-
doubtedly the best vermicide known for minimising the annual ravages of
Hæmonchus contortus.
As regards the other anthelminthics tested by the authors concerned, I can
only add that Carbon tetrachloride proved to be no better than the remedy recom-
mended by Veglia. My experience is that 100 per cent. effective drugs are still to be
discovered for the numerous species of Trichostrongylus, Osterlagia, and Cooperia
parasitising the sheep in various parts of Southern Africa. Carbon tetrachloride was
found most efficacious in outbreaks of hookworms (Monodontus trigonocephalus and
Gaigeria pachyscelis).
The publication by Parkin [1929] deals mainly with the possibility of the intra¬
abomasal administration of drugs in sheep. The author describes his method, and
seems convinced that it is a practical proposition. It may be so in the hands of the
experienced operator, but not as a general procedure. He undertook his experiments
in an attempt to remove Œsophagostomum columbianum. The absence of O.
columbianum at the post-mortem of sheep No. 32,I would prefer to ascribe to the
enteritis present rather than to the direct action of the Union Government wire-
worm remedy administered intra-abomasally. In the case of sheep No. 39, experi-
ment No. 26, he claims that 5 c.c. tetrachlor-ethylene had a positive effect on the
nodular worms. This cannot be accepted, for he admits that a " cultural " exami-
nation was not made. This animal was therefore not definitely known to be
infested at the time of treatment. He does not report whether the drugs introduc-
ed had any effect on any of the other parasites present in the gastro-intestinal
tract at the time of the experiments. This author also states that the treatment
of œsophagostomiasis has up to the present not been crowned with success. This
is not absolutely correct, for Veglia [1928] reports very favourably on the enema
314 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, III
treatment on experimentally infested sheep. The results were so satisfactory that
this is to-day the method recommended to farmers for combating this malady in
the Union of South Africa. It has proved very efficacious against nodular worms
of sheep at this institute.
REFERENCES
Parkin, B. S. (1929). " Intra-Abomasal Administration of Drugs to Sheep ", 15th Ann. Rept. Dir. Vet.
Services, 2, Sect. 9, October.
Seddon, H. R. and Ross, I. Clunies (1929). " Observations on the Treatment of Parasitic Castro-
Enteritis in Sheep ", Vet. Res. Rept., Dept. Agric., N. S. Wales, Sydney.
Wood, W. A. (1930). " Treatment Experiments on the Treatment Parasitic Gastritis in Sheep and
Lambs ", Jl. Agric Sc., 20, Pt. 2, April.
Veglia, F. (1918). " Chemotherapy of Hæmonchosis in Sheep " 5th and 6th Rept. Dir. Vet. Res., April.
Veglia, F. (1928). " Œsophagostomiasis in Sheep " (Preliminary Note). 13th and 14th Rept. Dir. Vet.
Educ. and Res., Pt. 2, October.
PLATE XXV.
FIG. 1. Pedal bone of a horse with the keratomatous growth in situ.
FIG. 2. Pedal bone showing the cavity in which was lodged the growth,
which has been removed.
CLINICAL NOTE
KERATOMA IN THE PEDAL BONE OF A HORSE
BY
P. R. KRISHNA IYER, G.M.V.C.,
Officiating Assistant Veterinary Research Officer, Imperial Institute of Veterinary
Research, Muktesar-Kumaun.
(Received for Publication on 20th April 1932.)
(with Plate XXV)
The occurrence of " Keratoma " or horn tumour affecting the horse's foot is an
extremely rare condition, which does not seem to have been previously recorded in
this country.
The present note deals with a specimen of keratoma recovered from the pedal
bone of a horse that had to be destroyed on account of chronic and intermittent
lameness. The specimen was made available to the writer for examination through
the courtesy of Major R. C. G. Thwaytes, R.A.V.C., Officer Commanding, Military
Veterinary Hospital, Sialkot, who also very kindly furnished very valuable informa-
tion concerning the history of the animal and accorded permission to the writer for
publishing this short note.
Williams [ 1904 ] says that keratoma occurs on the inner surface of the horny
hoof, generally at the toe and occasionally at other situations with corresponding
depressions on the pedal bone and that it is caused by the pressure of the toe-clips or
side-clips or by some mechanical injury.
The condition described by Williams, is designated by Caulton Reeks [1906] as
"Keraphyllocele ", which he defines as an enlargement forming on the inner sur-
face of the wall of the hoof, and he reserves the term "Keratoma" for horn
tumours occurring only on the sole.
Professor Walley [1890] records a case of keratoma following upon the operation
of " Grooving" the wall " in a case of bad sand-crack. The horse which was killed
after some time showed a tumour on the inner surface of the horny hoof correspond-
ing to the external fissure, as also some V shaped grooves with corresponding
depressions on the bone.
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316 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, III
O'Connor [1922] states that there is a comparatively rare form of keratoma
which appears independently of inflammation or irritation of the horn-secreting
structures and that it may be adherent or free.
History.—The subject was a brown Australian mare aged 10 years. The
animal was first admitted into hospital on 10th March 1931 for contused and
bruised sole of the near fore-limb and was discharged on 31st March 1931 as being fit
for duty. She entered the hospital again for a second time on 25th April 1931 for
contused fetlock of the same limb and was discharged on 5th May 1931. Again
she was admitted for pedal ostitis of this limb on 21st May 1931 when she had to
remain in the hospital till 31st July 1931, on which date she was discharged, being-
fit for duty. She was admitted a fourth time for the same complaint (pedal ostitis)
in the same limb on 25th September 1931 and was discharged on 19th October
1931 to be tried at light work. However, she had to come back again for the fifth
and the last time, after about a week's trial at light duty, on 27th October 1931
and there she remained for 37 days till 3rd December 1931, on which date she was
destroyed, being considered to be incurably lame.
From the above history, it is evident that the lameness was of an intermittent
character and that there were intervals of varying duration during which the
animal went sound.
The Os coronae, the Os navicularis, the Os pedis and the horny hoof of the
affected limb were received for examination at this Institute and the following
changes were noticed :—
The Os coronae showed many bony prominences [exostoses] along the borders
of its anterior surface. The Os navicularis did not present any deviation from its
normal anatomy.
The Os pedis showed a cavity, the size of a large marble, in which was lodged
the horn tumour. The cavity was situated at about the middle of the outer half
of the Os pedis and its inner surface was smooth and shining. This cavity [Plate
XXV Fig. 2] involved a portion of the anterior or laminal surface as well as a portion
of the inferior surface of the bone aad in both situations the bone tissue had been
completely absorbed. The horn tumour was visible on both surfaces. The tumour
itself had a smooth and shining outer surface and was of a yellowish-brown colour,
irregular in form and flattened from side to side. It weighed 5.30 grms. and
measured one inch in length, by 0.8 inch in width and 0.6 inch in thickness. It
had two extremities, one of which was broad and the other tapering. The broad
extremity showed a distinct ovoid cavity running up the centre of the tumour.
The tapering extremity occupied a position a little above the inferior edge of the
bone and it is this extremity that is visible through the opening on the laminal
KERATOMA IN THE PEDAL BONE OF A HORSE
317
surface of the bone [Plate XXV, Fig. 1]. The whole appearance of the tumour,
together with the depression at its broad end, was that of a conch.
The tumour appears to have grown into the bone at the expense of the latter,
the bone itself having been absorbed to an extent corresponding to the progressive
growth of the tumour. The trouble in this leg started from a contused and bruised
sole received by the animal about 9 months prior to the date of its destruction, and
its seems that these injuries led to the formation of this horn-tumour which worked
its way into the bone and brought about the condition of pedal ostitis. The cavity
was formed by the subsequent absorption of the bone material for the reception
and accommodation of the growth.
It is of interest to note that this growth was quite free and independant of the
horny hoof and that its existence was confined to the Os pedis, where it was found
in a self-made cavity. The horny hoof did not present any abnormality, either
on its inner or outer surface, and seems to have had no connection with the tumour.
All hitherto recorded cases of keratoma, on the other hand, have had their origin
in the horny wall of the hoof.
The occurrence of intermittent lameness is quite characteristic of this condi-
tion, but diagnosis must always be difficult in the absence of any other indications
on the outer surface of the horny hoof.
REFERENCES.
O'Connor (1922)—Wooldrige's Encyclopaedia of Veterinary Surgery and Obstetrics, p. 679.
Reeks (1906)—Diseases of the Horse's foot, p. 302.
Walley (1890)—Jour. of Comp. Path. and Ther., 3, pp. 169-171.
Williams (1904)—Principles and Practice of Veterinary Surgery, 10th Edition, p. 378.
Winter (1923)—Veterinary Record, 3, p. 209.
ABSTRACTS
Immunity in East Coast Fever—DU TOIT, P. J.—[Reprinted from the Veterinary
Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 2, February 1932.]
It is well-known that immunity to " East Coast fever " can be broken down by exposure to
natural infection by ticks, but, up to the present, there is no experimental evidence to show that a
recovered animal can suffer a relapse in the absence of exposure to infected ticks. New outbreaks
of the disease are frequently accounted for by farmers and others on the grounds that such
breakdowns of immunity do occur, thus making the starting point of a new centre of infec-
tion.
In 1928, the author reported experiments which aimed at producing such relapses without the
intervention of ticks, but the details were not given; these are now included in the present paper
for the sake of completeness and case of reference. In the first experiments, substances which are
known to be capable of producing relapses in other protozoan diseases were injected ; a condition of
anæmia was produced by venesection and by the injection of ichthargan. Splenectomy was
performed, attempts were made to set up peritonitis and to produce metritis and abortion, and
animals were infected with trypanosomes and "heartwater"
Finally, a camp was established on a farm where recovered and susceptible animals were kept
together for a period of three years, the number of animals within the camp being maintained at
about 30 during the period. The area of the camp was about 200 acres and the grazing was such
that 30 animals were as many as it would support. These animals were kept under very careful
observation. Although a large variety of protozoan infections developed in animals concerned in
some or other of the experiments, no case of "East coast fever" occurred. Infection with
The mutans occurred and the author explains his reasons for feeling absolutely confident that no
confusion arose between these parasites and Th. parva. The essential reason was that no acute
fatal infection occurred. [A. LESLIE SHEATHER.]
Some activities of the Bureau of Animal Industry—MOHLER, J. R.—[Reprinted
from the Veterinary Bulletin, Vol. 2, No. 2, February 1932.]
In this address, delivered at the Twenty-third Annual Conference for veterinarians at Cornell
University, Dr. Mohler, Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, U.S.A., briefly surveyed the
manifold activities of his department.
He pointed out that profitable livestock production is obviously essential for successful agricul-
ture and that, without the intervention of veterinary science, herds and flocks would be deci-
mated by disease to such an extent as to render production unprofitable.
In January, 1930, the value of livestock in the U.S.A., exclusive of poultry, was estimated at
$6,000 million which exceeded the aggregate value of all the corn, oats, wheat, rye, barley, buck-
wheat, potatoes, tobacco and cotton produced in the U.S.A. during the year 1929.
The estimated annual loss from contagious disease suffered by the livestock industry was approxi-
mately 300 million dollars and, in the opinion of the author, at least two-thirds of that loss
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