Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-11-20
Helena, Montana, Thursday, November 20, 1884.
Report of the Commissioners of Agri-
culture.

WASHINGTON. November 12.--Dr. D. E.
| Salmon, chief of the bureau of animal in
dustry, has submitted to the commissioner
of agriculture a vOluminous report upon
contagious diseases, the report being the
result of experiments and investigation
made by the veterinary division. COnsid-
erable space is given to details of the his
tory of the recent outbreak among the
cattle of Kansas and to a description of
the symptoms DR.. Salmon reaches the
conclusion that the disease was ergOtism,
due to eating fungus known as ergot.
Upon the treatment aud prevention of
this disorder he says:
when the ljrst signs OF The disorder ap-
pear the most important point to be at
tended to is to make complete change Of
food, and to see that it is OF good quality,
nutritious, and free from ergOt. IL would
also he proper to give a good dose f
physic-trom one to two pounds OF EPSON
salts-in order TO remove as much as pos
sible the poison still contained in the di-
gestive organs and to follow this with
soft food, as maShes and roots. la the
most severe cases, those in which part OF
the limbs are already lfeless, treatment
will avail but little. The greater number
of cases, however, have not advanced to
this stage when lameness Is 1rSt noticed,
and these will he greatly benefited by re-
moving the cause and placing the animal
under conditions favorable for resisting
poison. A very important condition IS
warmth. Even when animals are fed
large quantities Of ergot they seldom suffer
except in cold weather, and consequently
in attempting to check the advance of the
disease advantage should be taken of this
fact by placing the cattle in warm sheds.
Another condition, believed by some to
have much influence on the development
of ergOtism, is a water supply. With
plenty of water always at hand it is be-
lieved that larger quantities of ergot may
be taken for a longer time than when the
water supply is deficient. In cold winters,
which occur over so much of our cattle
raising country, it is difficult to induce
animals to take a sufficient amount of
water Holes cut through ice soon freeze
over and the weather is frequently so Sc
we're that the cattle will drink only few
swallows of water before they will leave
to seek shelter from the cutting winds, and
later in the day when they try more water
drinking the holes are froze over. Where
ergotism prevails watering should receive
close attention. Ergotism can probably be
entirely prevented by cutting hay before
the seeds have formed. Both III Missouri
and Illinois l saw clear example of this.
Hay composed of the same kind, cut upon
the same land, was free from ergot, or was
largely infected with it, according as it
had been cut, green or ripe. This matter
is worthy of careful consideration. Hay
cut green is more digestible and in every
way more palpable than that which is al
lowed to become ripe and woody. The
latter is much more liable to produce Sc
we're diseases, such as Indigestion, impac-
ton and ergotism. This disorder may,
therefore, be prevented in the future by
proper and careful management"