The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-12-02
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE.

| Measuring Account of the 1870 Out I break.
 (Thonas Bradburne in Breeders Ga
 zette.)
 As far back as can we'll reXneTn- 1 ber Gin 1870 and followtng) the foot | and-mouth disease was bad in Eng l land almost all the cattle being in- fected It became SO serious that the government Quaranttned infected dis tricts and gradually got 1t under con- l trol. For years I had lots of experi-
 ence-much more than cared for at l times, attending sick animals. If cat tie in getting up stumble forward and try to walk on their toe ends, their coats etandinR up the wrong way and 1 their tails held down tight, their eyes 1 appearing 4glasgy and wild, and saliva
 running from their mouths, they then
 present every indication of foot-and- | mouth To be certain, catch one, raise 1 the upper lip and see if there is a
 white blister there. If sos the. case is l ifoot-and-naouth. Farmers should not 1 jump at conclusions too quickly. Often steers are foul between the feet: this will make them shrink in weight am certain cattle will not take 1t twice in one year. Cattle are more sus- cepttbIe to 1t than any other kind of ! stock. Sheep seldom have 1t. have l known cases where cattle have been down with. it and sheep have been in
 the same field. with them and have \ not taken it. Swine are not likely to 1 contract it unless fed milk from n-
 fected cows. remember my father
 was milking % ShOrthorns and send ing the milk to London. 112 miles away, twice a day. These cows came
 down with 1t but he did not lose one. We continued milking. usual, giv- l ing the milk to the hogs, which had a slight attack of the disease, but it did not stunt their growth. In 1878, our I. I4 in 9 virulent form, at about this time 1 of the year. Sheep were running all around thsms picking up what hay 1 they could steal, and they did not
 contract the disease.
 Pieruaan Smith. wealthy lawyer, started a herd of Herefords. His cattle came down with foot-and-mo1th and l our sheep which were in the adjoin- l ing field were not infected, although they were quarantined two months. I | took precautions by fencing the sheep back six yards from the fence. When l the Royal was held at Shrewsbury I was preparing twelve yearing ewes 1 for that show. They developed the disease, but soon got well. and went to i the show and won. This shows that they could not have shrunk very much
 None of the other sheep on the farm 1 took 1t. I lay this to disinfecting my feet every time [ left the inclosure where the ewes were kept. To me this 1 is not so dreaded disease in sheep as 1 footrot, because they get well sooner. 1 Cattle and sheep will lose weight for 1 about five or six days, and then be- months time the loss of weight will l have been recovered. If cattle are at grass just close the gate and tell l everyone to keep out, and in five days Ithey will have passed the turn. and i in ten days be much better, and in l twenty they will not have lost many l pounds.
 I have noticed in almost every case I that this disease breaks out among 1 dairy cattle. More inspectors should l visit those old milking dens we see on so many farms in, this country In l milking cows be sure to keep on milk 1 ing them as usual. They will appear to
 dry up and, give NEafery milk, hut stick ! right to them and their milk will come ] right in time; otherwise If the owner stops milking them that adds fever to l the body, and he will have many cases 1 of bad udderz. My advice is not to T give thezm any medicine at all, except i Epson salts. We proved this to be right.
 l The late Sir Richard Cooper, when ! he was a veterinary surgeon in straf- T fordshire use to try experiments. He I would have some cattle from my fath-= l CT and his father-in-1aw, MT. Ashns1u, l and would give the medicine to his 1 own, and they were always longer in l getting well and would sometimes die. i The best feed for cattle infected with
 the foot-and-mouth is bran mash,
 steamed hay and crushed oats.
 The last time left England I l brought over with me 200 Shropshire I sheep for Dr. G. Howard Dayison. On l that same ship there were about 200 Belgian, Percheron and German coach
 horses. which were backed into stalls headed towards the center of the ship My sheep were in the center about 1 two feet from the horses noses. We gave and took hay all the way over and frequently what the sheep would ] not eat the horses would. When we arrived at New York special trains | made up of horse cars came beside | the ship and took the horses to all l parts of the United States and my sheep had to go into quarantine for fifteen dayss
 What is the use Of being careful of l not spreading this disease when these
 things exist? Many of the horses came Il from parts of the country where the disease is common I am certain that the disease will be in tais country more or less until these things are
 stopped Horses should come over on
 separate ships; they should be rep-
 resented by certificates from the men who raised them, stating that their l stock and farm are free from foot
 and-mouth. This should also apply to
 any hay that might be purchased for I the voyage.
 All stock should be examined by a l local veterinary surgeon before ship ment. to Chicago or any other stock yards. The expense of this shoultA
 fall on the country until the disease
 is under control.
 The greatest blow the foot-and- mouth has caused has been to exhibit | r S~x- l Exposition. as they are unable to l show think that some one has been greatly to blame is not sooner detect
 ing the disease in Michigan. It was al-