USA > Michigan > Branch County > Branch County, Michigan, directory, 1919 > Part 27
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To prevent thumps, get over into the pen several times a day and hustle the little pigs about the pen; also stint the sow so that she will give less milk. Pigs when they stir about, and when they are thin in flesh, rarely have thumps.
Thumps rarely occurs among pigs far- rowed after the weather is fine, but does quite frequently occur among pigs far- rowed in early spring. If the weather is cold and stormy and the sow and litter keep their bed much, then be on the look- out for thumps. Guard against it by compelling both sow and litter to exer- cise in the open air.
CANKEROUS SORE MOUTH is a disease which is quite common and which if not promptly taken in hand is often quite fatal. When pigs are from a few days to two weeks old, you may notice a slight swelling of the lips or a sniffling in the nose. An examination will show. a whitish spongy growth on the sides of the mouth just inside the lips or around the teeth. This is cankerous sore mouth, and if not taken promptly in hand will result in the death of the entire litter, and will sometimes spread to other litters.
Some claim the disease is caused by damp and filthy beds, others say it comes from a diseased condition of the sow, and still others claim it is caused by the little pigs fighting over the teats and wounding each other with their sharp
teeth, and stoutly aver that if the teeth are promptly removed no case of sore mouth will ever occur.
Hold the pig firmly and with a knife or some cutting instrument remove all the spongy foreign growth, and be sure you get it. all even though the pig may squeal and the wound bleed; your suc- cess in treating the disease will depend largely on the thoroughness with which you remove this foreign growth. After removing the fungous growth apply an ointment made of glycerine and carbolic acid in about the proportion of one part of the acid to from five to eight parts glycerine. Repeat this each day for three or four days and the disease will usually yield. You may discover in a day or two after commencing treatment that you did not succeed in removing all the cankerous growth at first, and if so, repeat the cutting operation till you do remove it all.
Another treatment which we have heard recommended is to catch the dis- eased pig and dip his nose and mouth up to his eyes in chlora naptholeum with- out diluting it. This is certainly easily done and is highly commended by the person suggesting it.
BLIND STAGGERS, INDIGESTION, SICK STOMACH, FOUNDER .- Causes, over-feed- ing, especially common with new corn; sour or decayed food. Sudden warm sultry weather predisposes in highly fed hogs. Insufficient exercise is also a pre- disposing cause.
Symptoms .- Loss of appetite, bowels constipated, or maybe diarrhoea. In some severe cases blind staggers and great paleness of mouth and nose, cold- ness of surface of body; abdomen may be distended and drum-like from con- tained gases.
Treatment .- Remove sick animals, pro- vide clean, dry, well ventilated quarters, with chance for exercise, and fresh earth and water. If animal will eat, give light feed. Give charcoal in lump form, also mix soda bicarbonate in food at rate of two tablespoonfuls per day to each half-grown animal. It is rarely neces- sary to drench with medicine. If recov- ery begins, use care not to again feed too much.
MILK FEVER occurs in sows immedi- ately after farrowing or within the first few days afterwards. The symptoms are loss of milk, swollen, hard condition of the milk glands, which are more or less painful on pressure. Sow may not allow the pigs to suck; she may lie flat on her
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belly or stand up, and in extreme cases the sow has spells of delirium, in which she may destroy her young.
Cause .- Injudicious feeding, overfeed- ing on milk-producing foods. Do not feed sow quite full rations for few days just before and after farrowing.
Treatment .- Give sow plenty of cool clean water; bathe the swollen glands for half hour at a time with water as warm as she will bear, dry thoroughly with soft cloth and give good dry pen. If bowels seem constipated give the sow internally one-half pint pure linseed oil. (Never use the boiled linseed oil used by painters; it is poisonous.) If the sow starts killing her young, or has no milk for them, it is best to take most of them, or all, away from her and feed by hand with spoon or ordinary rubber nipple and bottle. For this use one part boiled water and three parts cow's milk. The pigs may be returned to the sow if her milk returns.
SCOURS among pigs is another common and very troublesome though not dan- gerous disease. This disease is not con- fined to any particular season, but is more common in the wet, damp weather of April and early May than in other seasons of the year.
As in thumps, remove the cause. This disease is almost invariably caused by some improper food eaten by the sow. A sour swill barrel is often the cause It should be borne in mind that pigs once affected will be more liable to a recur- rence of the disease than those never affected, and greater care should be used with ther 1 for some weeks till they fully recover.
.
CONSTIPATION .- Cause, improper feed- ing, exclusive grain diet, lack of exer- cise. Not dangerous in itself, but fre- quently followed by prolapsus of the rec- tum, or what is commonly called piles. The constant straining causes this. The only remedy is laxative food and exer- cise. The protruding bowel must be washed clean as soon as seen and well covered with olive oil or lard. It should then be returned by applying firm pres- sure with the hand, and when once in place should be retained by three or more stitches of waxed linen or heavy silk thread, passed from side to side through the margins of the opening, care being used to take a deep hold in the skin.
While this operation is being done the animal should be held by the hind legs by two assistants, thus elevating the hind
quarters. Allow stitches to remain two or three weeks.
RHEUMATISM .- A disease of the joints, manifested by pain, heat and lameness, with swelling of one or several joints. There may be high fever and loss of ap- petite. May be acute and rapid in its course, or slow, chronic and resulting in permanent enlargements of the bones of the legs, especially the knee and hock.
Causes .- Primarily deranged digestion, lack of exercise ; dampness and exposure to draughts of cold air also a cause. The tendency to rheumatism is heredi- tary in certain families of hogs.
Treatment .- Endeavor to prevent by proper exercise, food and attention to surroundings. Do not breed rheumatic specimens even if fully recovered from lameness. In acute cases an adult hog should have twice or three times daily one drachm salicylate soda.
ASTAMA sometimes occurs in adult hogs.
Symptoms .- Shortness of breath on lease exercise, noisy breathing, more or less intermittent. Do not breed; butcher early.
CONGESTION OF THE LUNGS sometimes occurs, the result of driving or chasing. May be rapidly fatal.
Symptoms. - Sudden shortness of breath and sudden great weakness. The hog is not adapted to rapid driving; if it must be driven at all, give plenty of time.
PNEUMONIA (LUNG FEVER) may fol- low congestion of the lungs; may be in- duced by crowding too many hogs to- gether, when they heat and become moist, after which they are in poor con- dition to withstand cold.
Symptoms .- Loss of appetite, chills, short cough, quick breathing.
Treatment .- Separate sick at once from the drove; give dry quarters with abundance of dry bedding: tempt appe- tite with small quantities of varied food. . Apply to sides of chest, enough to moisten the skin, twice daily, alcohol and turpentine equal parts; continue until skin becomes somewhat tender.
TETANUS (LOCK-JAW) .- Caused by in- troduction into the system of the tetanus bacteria, which gains entrance through a wound.
Symptoms .- A stiffness of more or less the entire muscular system. gener- ally most marked in the jaws, which are greatly stiffened. Eating very slow, or entirely stopped: appetite not lost.
Treatment .- Some cases recover if
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carefully nursed. Give nourishing drinks, elevate trough or bucket so the patient can get its snout into the drink; give dissolved in hot water and mixed with the slop forty grains bromide of potash two or three times daily until im- provement is noticed. Do not attempt to drench. Any wound which seems to be a cause should be cleansed and wet often with five per cent. solution of car- bolic acid and water.
LICE .- Very commonly found upon hogs. They are introduced by new pur- chases or by visiting animals.
Caution .- Examine the newly pur- chased hog well on this point before placing with the drove. Hog lice are quite large and easily detected on clean white animals, but not readily on dark or dirty skins.
Remedy .- Wash well with soap and water, if weather is not too cold, then warm water, if weather is not too cold, then apply enough petroleum and lard, equal parts, to give the skin a complete greasing. If weather is too cold for wash- ing, clean with stiff brush. Creolin one part to water five parts is also a safe and sure remedy. Two or more applications are necessary at intervals of four or five days to complete the job. The wood- work of pens and rubbing places must be completely whitewashed.
MANGE .- Caused by a microscopic parasite which lives in th .: skin at the roots of the bristles.
Symptoms .- Intense itching with red- ness of the skin from the irritation of rubbing. Rather rare, but very con- tagious.
Treatment. - Separate diseased ani- mals; scrub them thoroughly with warm water and strong soap; apply ointment composed of lard, one pound; carbonate of potash, one ounce; flor. sulphur, two ounces; wash and re-apply every four days.
MAGGOTS .- The larvæ of the ordinary blow-fly frequently infests wounds on hogs during the summer months. Watch all wounds during hot weather; keep them wet frequently with creolin one part and water six parts, or five per cent. watery solution carbolic acid. If the maggots gain entrance to the wound, ap- ply either above remedies freely, or ordi- nary turpentine with a brush or common oil can.
ROUND WORMS. - Very common in shotes and young hogs, not apparently harmful, unless in great numbers, when they cause loss of flesh. They may be
exterminated by keeping the hog without food for twenty-four hours, and giving to each shote or old pig one tablespoon- ful of turpentine thoroughly beaten up with one egg and one-half pint of milk.
TUBERCULOSIS (CONSUMPTION). - A contagious disease common in man, cat- tle and not rare in the hog.
Symptoms .- Loss of flesh, cough, diar- rhoa, swelling about the head and neck, which may open and discharge with little tendency to heal; death in from few weeks to months. Post mortem shows various sized tubercles, which may be situated in any part of the body, most commonly in the bowels, lungs, liver, or. glands of the neck.
Causes .- Direct contagion from other hogs, but generally from feeding milk from tuberculous cows, or by eating butcher offal from such cows.
Prevention .- Care as to the source of the milk fed; if suspicious, boiling will render it safe. Do not feed butcher offal; separate suspicious hogs at once, and if satisfied they are tuberculous, kill and bury deep, or burn them. The tuber- culin test can be applied to the remainder of drove, as without it it is impossible to say how many may be diseased.
WOUNDS generally heal readily in the hog if kept clean and free from maggots. The result of neglected castration wounds is sometimes serious. Have the' animal clean as possible when castrated, and endeavor to keep it clean and give opportunity for abundant exercise until wound is healed. There is probably nothing better and safer to apply to wounds of the hog than creolin one part, water six parts.
TRAVEL SICKNESS .- Similar to ordinary sea-sickness in man; very common in shipping pigs by wagon.
Symptoms .- Vomiting, diarrhea, great depression ; seldom if ever fatal. May be rendered must less severe by very light feeding before shipment.
To Find the Amount of Wall Paper Required to Paper a Room
Measure the distance around the room, deduct the width of each window and door, take two-thirds of result. Divide this result by the number of strips that can be cut from each roll and you have the number of rolls required. A roll is generally a foot and a half wide, 24 feet long and contains 36 square feet, ₡ 4 square yards.
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Moving and Cartage Long Hauls a Specialty R. W. BECKER COLDWATER, MICH. PHONE 636-M - 128 EAST PEARL STREET
RUMSEY'S Ice Cream and
Restaurant
Soda Parlor Service is Our Motto - Quality is Our Hobby DAN RUMSEY, Proprietor
BRONSON - - MICHIGAN
The Daily Reporter
COLDWATER,
MICHIGAN
Only Daily Newspaper Published in Branch County
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE BY MAIL 25c A MONTH ONE YEAR IN ADVANCE $2.75
The Reporter enters 5,800 homes in Branch and surrounding counties. An ad. in the Classified column costs only 5c a line. If you have anything for sale, or have lost something, try a little ad. It will do the business.
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RURAL DIRECTORY
Troublesome Pests-Roach
The ordinary roach or cockroach comes of an ancient (although not · distinguished !) lineage which dates back farther than the "family tree" of the proudest human family. Fos- sil remains prove that this insect existed away back in the Carbon- iferous age.
About 5000 different species of the roach family are believed to exist in different parts of the world, most of which, however, live out- of-doors and subsist on vegetation. Only a very few species are en- gaged in making trouble for good housewives.
Roaches are lovers of the dark; it is then they roam around pantry and rooms in search of mischief and food. At the approach of a light they scurry away, like a pack of cow- ardly thieves. Any kind of food tastes good to them, whether it be shoe leather, apple dumpling, or book covers. Toothache, loss of appetite, or dyspepsia are, we be- lieve, unknown to the roach family.
But the roach has one good point. Alas, only one. It is this: He has a fondness for bed bugs, and, by eating them, he often does the housewife a real favor.
Now we come to "remedies," and here the trouble begins. Nothing short of eternal vigilance will rid a house of these pests when once they gain a foothold.
Unfortunately (for the house- wife) the roach seems to be en- dowed with remarkable intelligence
as regards poisoned foods. Arsenic, no matter how disguised, he refuses (with thanks) nearly every time. However, it is said that a prepara- tion of sweetened flour paste con- taining phosphorous will often fool him.
Another remedy often used is fresh pyrethrum powder or buhach. This, when liberally dusted on shelves, etc., usually affords tem- porary or partial relief. A better use of this powder, however, is to burn a quantity of it in an infested room, and then tightly close the apartment for ten hours. Bisulphide of carbon is sometimes used in this way, also, but its vapor is more dangerous to have in a dwelling house.
Trapping the insects is another remedy. Roach traps may easily be made at home, as follows. Take any deep vessel or jar and place it where the roaches congregate. Fill it partly full of sweetened, liquid paste. Then take several thin, nar- row pieces of wood, bend each one into an inverted V, and hang them on the jar-one end almost in the liquid, the other on the shelf or floor. The idea is to make several "gang planks" up which the roaches can crawl, with a steeper gangway inside, down which they will slide into the liquid-never to return.
Some of the prepared "roach powders" that are on the market are also effective when perfectly fresh.
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BRANCH COUNTY
Some Advantages Afforded AT THE Western State Normal School KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN
1. The Life Certificate may be earned by graduates of approved high schools In two years. This certificate granted at the Western Normal is now accepted in more than twenty States.
2. At the opening of the fall term, 1918, four-year conrses were offered at the Normai leading to the Bachelor's degree. Graduates of the two-year life certificate course complete the A. B. course at Ann Arbor in two years.
3. Western Normal instructors (65 In number) have been trained in forty-two leading colleges, normal schools and universities.
4. Western Normal graduates are in great demand. They are now teach- Ing in every section of Michigan-also in 31 States as well as in Alaska, Canada and Porto Rico.
5. The library contains 17,000 carefully chosen volumes, all selected in the past thirteen years, and is growing rapidly. One hundred and seventy-five periodicals are regularly received, and the library now inciudes 52 complete sets of the leading magazines.
6. The new Science building (three storles, 148 feet long by 78 feet wide), which with equipment cost $130,000, greatly increases the efficiency of the severai departments of science.
7. The gymnasium (120 feet by 68 feet) is equipped with apparatns, swimming pool, showers, lockers and running track. It is the largest normal schooi gymnasium in the Middle West.
S. We have a fourteen-acre athletic field. A splendid diamond, a first- class footbali gridiron, and one of the best quarter-mile tracks in the country are among the features. Bleachers with a capacity for 3,000 spectators have been provided.
9. The Student Loan Fund has served spiendidiy in assisting deserving students. Three hundred and fifty loans have been made during the past five and one-haif years.
10. Young men who have completed the life certificate course receive from $950 to $1,200 the first year. Graduates of the Normal are now holding 228 important administrative positions in Michigan, including superintendencies, principalships, county normal directorships and county commissionerships.
11. A two-year ilfe certificate course in Commerce was organized at the opening of the school year in 1916. Graduates of this conrse are already in demand beyond our ability to supply.
12. Western Normal is the only institution in Michigan granting a speclai manuai training certificate. Graduates of this department are teaching in 36 cities in Michigan and in nine States other than Michigan. The normai school possesses manuai training equipment valued at $12,000, and additions are constantly being made to this equipment.
13. The new course in Rural Administration Is growing in favor. This is a two-year course leading to the life certificate. There is a most promising field for graduates of this department, and the demand for such gradnates at high salaries is now beyond the supply.
14. The Normai Lunch Room serves 500 students daily and there are rooms for 1,200 students within easy walking distance of the school.
15. Expenses are reasonable. The tuition fee is $6.00 for 12 weeks for residents of Michigan and $10.00 for non-resident students. To this is added a fee of $1.50 for the support of athietics and for subscriptions to the Normal Record and the Western Normal Herald. There are many opportunities for remunerative work.
16. There is a splendid patriotic spirit at Western. The Service flag aiready has 220 stars, representing graduates and undergraduates. Thirty of our graduates and students hold officers' commissions.
17. The buildings and equipment are ali new. The inventory of iand, bulldings and contents is $600,000. The Normal now owns nearly forty acres of land.
IMPORTANT
18. A law passed by the Legislature in 1915 requires a minimum of six weeks of professional training of all beginning teachers in Michigan. Western Normal offers courses especially planned to meet the needs of such beginners and to fulfill the requirements of the law.
For year book or information, address
PRESIDENT D. B. WALDO, Kalamazoo.
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RURAL DIRECTORY
Horse Ailments (From the Biggle Horse Book)
The majority of horse ailments may be traced, directly or indirectly, to im- proper feeding and watering, careless management in the stable and in harness. A careless driver is a very frequent cause of loss.
There is no reason why a first-class team, six to eight years old, should not serve continuously and satisfactorily for a term of twelve to sixteen years, if properly protected, fed and looked out for.
If, from improper care or feeding, or from some unavoidable cause, your horse is out of condition, you should dose him with little medicine and much common sense.
The horse that allows himself to be caught lying down may be considered out of condition or lacking sufficient nutritious food. A quart of linseed meal divided into three feeds and added to his grain daily will do him much good and help a quick shedding of the coat.
BLINDNESS .- Consult a skilled veteri- narian at once.
) Bors .- The bot-fly resembles a honey- bee in size, and in late summer deposits eggs of a yellowish color on the hair of the horse's breast, legs, etc. In try- ing to bite at these eggs, the animal gets some of them in his mouth and throat. The eggs soon hatch and the larvæ attach themselves eventually to the lining of the stomach, and are then called "bots." They remain in the stom- ach until the following spring. Of course, the presence of these pests causes more or less irritation, but, as a rule, no serious harm is done in ordinary instances. Contrary to popular belief, bots do not eat holes through a horse's stomach. We do not know of any treat- ment that will remove bots. Prevention should be the horse owner's main re- liance. Kill the flies whenever pos- sible; hang pieces of red cloth from the halter throat-latch, so that the shaking of the head when a horse is in pasture may serve to frighten the flies away; and scrape off, from time to time, any eggs which are found on the horse.
BROKEN-WIND .- See Heaves.
CAPPED HOCK .- May be reduced in the same manner as Wind Galls (which see).
CHOKING .- Horses that choke thrust out their heads, bend and stretch the neck, while there is a copious flow of saliva from the mouth. In some cases
there is distention of the gullet on the left side of the neck, if it has descended so far. If it be in the upper part of the gullet a man accustomed to giving balls may be able to reach it with his hand. Obstructions that have got lower down may be moved upward gently from the outside. Sometimes an obstruction is soft and may be crushed small enough for the animal to swallow it. A mass of meal or other impacted food is some- times removed by frequent drinks of water, and a drench of olive or cotton seed oil can do no harm. The plan of reaching a whip or heavy piece of rope down the gullet to push the substance into the stomach is risky, in the hands of one not accustomed to the anatomy of the horse.
CHOKING DISTEMPER. - This disease prevails at times in many parts of the country. It is sometimes called spinal meningitis or putrid sore throat. The animal often falls down paralyzed, can- not arise, and if left prostrate is almost sure to die. He must be got upon his feet, and if he cannot stand must be swung. A majority of cases are fatal. It is caused by some specific poison taken into the system with food or drink, mostly the former. Dirty man- gers, rotting roots or meal, and mouldy hay, especially meadow hay, are usually the media by which the disease is ac- quired. The moral is to have every- thing sweet and clean that the animal eats and drinks, and have no decayed matter in the entry or in any other part of the barn. (See Distemper.)
COCKED ANKLE .- See Knuckling.
COFFIN-JOINT LAMENESS. - Same as Navicular Disease (which see).
COLIC, SPASMODIC .- This begins sud- denly. The horse stamps impatiently, looks backward, soon paws, and then rolls. After an interval of ease the pains return with increased severity. Give chloral hydrate, one ounce, in half a pint of water as a drench; or ether and laudanum, two ounces each, in lin- seed oil, half a pint; or sulphuric ether and alcohol, two ounces of each in eight ounces of water. If nothing else is handy, give of whiskey half a pint in hot water. If not relieved in one hour repeat any of the doses prescribed. The body should be warmly clothed and sweating encouraged. Dip blankets in hot water containing a small quantity
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of turpentine, and hold them in place under the body with dry . blankets, or rub the abdomen with stimulants or mustard water. If cramp is due to irri- tation in the bowels, a cure is not com- plete until a physic of aloes, one ounce ; or linseed oil, one pint, is given. Soapy or salt water aids the cure when used as an injection.
COLIC, WIND .- Is caused by feeding after a long fasting, or when the animal is exhausted by driving, or by new grain or hay, too much grain fed, or by sour or indigestible food. The horse seems dull, paws, and the pains are continuous. The belly enlarges, and when struck in front of the haunches sounds like a drum. If not soon relieved, difficult breathing, sweating, staggering and death follow. Give alkalines to neutralize the gases formed. No simple remedy is better than common baking soda, two to four ounces. If this fails, give chloride of lime in half-ounce doses, or the same quantity of carbonate of am- monia dissolved and diluted with oil or milk, until relieved. Chloral hydrate is particularly useful in both wind and spasmodic . colic. Horsemen would be wise to keep it ready for emergencies. Physic should be given in flatulent colic, and turpentine, one to two ounces, with linseed oil, eight ounces, frequently, to stimulate the motion of the bowels. Colic should not be neglected nor the patient left, until you are certain of cure or death.
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