Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1919-10-18
BLACk-[EC CAUSE AND
 SYMPTOMS IN CATTLE

Cattlemen are being urged to guard against black leg by the State Live stock Sanitary Board. Dr. J. P. Jacks Extension Veterinarian specialist in Arizona on livestock diseases cooper ating between the U. s. Bureau of Animal Industry, the Livestock Sani- tary Board, and the Agricultural Ex- tension Service, gives the following data on the disease. In next weeks Press Letter Dr. Jacks will discuss the treatment of the disease.
 "Black-leg is an acute, infectious disease affecting young cattle. More rarely sheep and goats are affected and according to some authorities swine occasionally contract this dis ease.
 ''This disease known as 'Black-Leg,' Black Quarter 'Black-Ill and also as 'Symptomatic Anthrax is caused by a specific organism or germ, the Black Leg bacillus.
 "The disease is not transmitted di- rectly from the sick animals to the we'll ones by contact, but as the bac- teria thrive in the soil of certain To- calities, the animals on grazing over this infected area, becomes infected through feed and water. AS the bac teria gain entrance to the body of the animal they multiply rapidly, sub sisting on and destroying the tissues and soon causing death.
 "This disease is prevalent in prac- tically all cattle breeding localities, but is more noticeable on the large ranges where cattle raising is the chief industry. Nevertheless, deaths are just as apt to occur where only a few calves are raised and propor- tionate economic losses are just as great.
 Cattle under two years of age are the most susceptible and by far the greatest number of deaths occur in animals over six months and under two years old.
 "The percentage of deaths from Black-Leg based on the age of the animals are about as follows.
 1 to weeks old, per cent.
 to months old, per cent.
 8 to 6 months old, 15 per cent. 6 months to two years old, 72>per cent.
 Over two years old, 8 per cent.
 Symptoms of Black Leg
 Frequently deaths from Black-leg occur suddenly and the first intima- tion the owner has that the disease is present in his herd is the finding of one or more dead fat calves, year ings or short two year olds. More often the first symptoms he will mo- tice is feverish condition of the an maj infected, also lack of appetite and suspended rumination. Lameness may suddenly develope and is usual ly accompanied by trembling of the muscles and arching of the back, these symptoms are followed by the char acteristic 'Black-Leg' swellings which are at first hot and painful and later become cold and painless and crackle when manipulated due to the gaseous condition of the tissues produced by the invasion of the 'Black-Leg bac- teria,
 Swelling due to the Black-leg de- velopes most suddenly and frequent ly on one of the quarter but do not extend beyond the knee or hook, more rarely these swellings affect the back, neck, throat or chest. As the disease progresses the swelling in creases in size and the affected an- imal soon falls or lies down.
 Death may occur in short time or in the more protracted cases the animal may finger for some time be- fore death occurs and in this case the animal may show evidences of great pain, and finally die in convulsions, Black-leg infection generally termin- ates fatally in from 12 to AS hours after the symptoms are first noticed. A few cases may finger for many days and very rarely one may recover.
 Bodies of cattle dying form Black