Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-05-05
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The Swine Disease.

DR.. ii. j. dinners. Il prominent vet
eInary surgeon who jas been engaged
for several Years BIZ the Agricultural
Department; in the investigation of the
diseases of swine. has made an rlahor-
ate report 10 the Commits 'ioner of A~ri-
culture on his operations of the season
Just past.
The swine plague of the last season in
Illinois. where DIR. Ditmers' work was
chiefly performed. was of mild type.
but he found ample scope for his inves-
legations. He describes at length his
experiments. both with single animals
and with herds. He apparently satisfied
himself that several antidotcs for the
swine plague are effective. He says,
however: "Of all the antiseptics expert
mented with rs prophylacticS, carbo!c
acid. everything considered. has given
by far the most satisfactory results, con-
sidering the small doses. eight to ten
drops of a ninety-tiye per cent. solution.
three times 4 day, for every one hum
dred pounds of live weight. 1t is very
inexpensive. as Il pound goes great
way, and Il pound of Malluckrodt's best
crystaliZcd carbolic acid. such is have
almost exclusively used in my expert
ments. can he bought, if purchased in
large quantities. for siXty-fivc cents. j.
is not di>agrecablc to the hogs. does not
destroy their appetites, nor pcrccp:ibly
Interfere with any organic func-
tons, except that it reduces animal
heat, which is. perhaps. Just what
makes it an efficient prophvlac,ic OF
course. if much larger doses than those
indicated are given, which is not at all
necessary. it becomes 4 deadly poison.
1t is, however, only prophylactir. and
all 1t does, or can be expected to do. is
to destroy the conditions necessary to
the development and propagation of
the swine plague, schizophytes. 1t will
not and cannot repair or even reduce
the morbid changes which have already
been produced, and are still existing,
and, therefore. cannot be expected to
effect cure of a diseased animal. Such
thing is out of the question. All
that carbolic acid or any other prophy-
Tactic can be expected to do is to pre-
vent and to arrest the morbid process,
by changing or destroying certain con-
dltlonS necessary to the metamOrphoScS
and propagation of the pathalogcnic
schizOphyteS. If a cessation of the
morbid processes has been effected by
arresting or neutralizing its cause, AID
the morbid changes produced are not
already irreparablc, 4 recovery may
safely be left to nature. If the morbid
changes have become irreparable, the
animal will, in all probability, die. If
it lives, it will only partially recover,
and never be healthy again
As to the medical treatment of an an
imal in the advanced stages of swine
plague, DR.. dinners SAYS he has no sug-
| gestlons to offer, and expresses the
| opinion that the sooner such an animal
dies, naturally or violently, the better it
Will be for the herd and its owner To
illustrate the thorou@hncss of his cxper-
lment. it may be said that he >urch:i sed
on one occasion six Young and healthy
pigs, to which he administered for a
| period somewhat III excess of the usual
length OF time required for the develop
ment OF the plague. carbolic acul in
their drink. He then inoculatrd them
with virus of the most malignant char
acter procurable. He stopped acid
treatment with four of the pigs AT oncs
! ana continued II Tor week longer with
the remaining two. The latter were
not affected in the least by their inocu-
lation. The others took the disease in 4
mild form. Two of them recovered,
and the others We're in fair way to re-
cover when they Were slaughtered for
! the purpose of examining their internal
condition. incubation OF pics which
had not been treated with carhOlic acid
sever failed to produce the plague in q
malignant form. usually within six days.
I In his experiments with herds nr
dinners met some unforeseen difficulties.
In almost every instance when he found
n herd in which the disease had begun
to manifest itself, and sought the oppor-
tunity TO made observations and expert
mentS, the owner stepped in and put an
end to the work BY selling OIL his whole