The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-06-29
Meaaurss Against BIack, ! !.


a report OF the Bureau Of ANNA n.
\ auss'try says: When it is known tina,
5p p, iialc,k1eg occurs with more or less req.
/ uiar1ty in a pasture, feed lot, Or stable
~ 5as due to the presence 81, the b]ack.
leg germ germ, either in the ground of these
places 7s# Or in materials coarse feed
* et'c.) brought there, regularly. When.
#<'''s an ar animal becomes affected. the
4 &c germs as multiply by the million in its
system .' 't'e and their liberation. through
I t natural or artificial means. tends ia
preserve l.sesst increase, or spread the infec-
,ion =. ]. IN u the large pastures Of the West
ss'iiu southwest ollWest an affected animal Is
I rarely rarely noticed until after death. when
=.ne s'W warn Of buzzards or other birds
q prey indicate that there is, some
seils Dead and an investigation is
made ma [[t 1t is then frequently too late
70 ]. attempt to prevent the spread Of in
/ i Ie'''a for wolves and other vermin
usually Usually attack the carcass in short or
. yer, Without even waiting for the ami
n!al TO die, and only the bones and
pieces OF the hide are found scattered
o'e1 an acre or more Of ground. ~
IN more densely populated districts,
W V',e a sick animal is readily discov
ered, there Is often an inclination to
doctor" the animal, usually by means
OF a jackknife, and the result is the
same as in the other case-the infec-
zion Is scattered broadcast from in
clslons made in the affected part. -
In some districts the cattle that die
from blackleg are skinned in order at
least to save the hide, and the re-
naming parts Of the carcass are left
to take care of themselves. This pro-
cess naturally assists in scattering the
Infection. It is therefore of the utmost
Importance that cattle owners in the in
fected districts be made to realize that
an animal affected with bIackleg may
be the cause of large subsequent losses
from the same disease, maybe not i'm
med1ately, but within a period Of years
to follow, and it can not be recon-
mended too urgently that they make
every effort to reduce the danger by
taking adequate measures to destroy
the germs and remove the danger
OF renewed Infection.
r. For this purpose the French scien-
lists recommend various methods,
some Of which, however, are imprac.
t1cable under the conditions which OBJ
tain in the infected districts of this
country. .: They propose, for instance
to place the dead animals in tank
of sulphuric acid until completely dis.
solved. Where wood is plentiful the
best method is to cremate the carcass
In order to insure it's complete destruc.
ton, the dead animal should be placed
on a couple of logs and plenty of dry
wood 'heaped around it. A couple OF
quarts Of kerosene oil should then be
poured on and fire set to it. 1t is nee.
essary that the carcass be entirely de-
stroyed; If any part of 1t remains, an
other fire should be built over it.
In a pasture where wood is scarce
the carcass may be buried: This meth
cd is always more or less unsatisfac-
tory, as the infection is not destroyed
but merely removed to a few feet be-
low the surface, whence it may return
through various means Of egress-fol
instance, as demonstrated by Pasteur:
through the agency Of the earthworms
It is therefore of Importance that the
hole in the ground be made at least {
feet deep and the carcass we'll covered
with lime before the earth is filled in
The lime has no special. germieidal eff.
feet on the blackleg bacillus but may
present the infection from being car.
ried to the surface. The place where
the animal was lying before being bur-
led, as well as the top of the grave;
should be freely sprinkled with 2 pei
cent solution of creo1in, or any of the
carbolic sheep dips or disinfectants
which are guaranteed to contain thy.
mol or eucalyptol. The two latter Sub
stances are especially recommended by
the French scientists because of their
destructive action on the blackleg
germs.