LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
[1].HealthFrontispiece
[2].Common Sheep Scab3
[3].Hog House and Feeding Floor5
[4].Poulticing the Throat8
[5].How a Cell Divides10
[6].Bones of Skeleton of a Horse16
[7].One of the Parasites of the Hog18
[8].Circulation and Digestion22
[9].Diseased Kidney25
[10].Stomach of Ruminant27
[11].Circulation of Blood in Body30
[12].Lumpy Jaw (jaw bone)36
[13].Bad Attitude Due to Conformation41
[14].Ewe Neck46
[15].Anatomy of the Foot49
[16].Fractures54
[17].Bandaging a Leg57
[18].Rickets in Pigs63
[19].Round Worms in Hog Intestines66
[20].Tetanus Bacilli71
[21].Ready for the Drench81
[22].Bacteria As Seen Under the Microscope85
[23].Result of Bone Spavin90
[24].Feeling the Pulse94
[25].How Heat Affects Growth96
[26].Diseases of the Horse102
[27].Lumpy Jaw (external view)105
[28].Where to Tap in Bloating118
[29].Bog Spavin122
[30].Horse Bots in Stomach124
[31].Colic Pains138
[32].Retention of the Urine141
[33].Curb145
[34].Fistulous Withers156
[35].Foot Rot in Sheep160
[36].Founder163
[37].Bad Case of Glanders170
[38].Ventral Hernia180
[39].An Attack of Cholera182
[40].The Result of Hog Cholera186
[41].Kidney Worms in the Hog205
[42].Liver Fluke207
[43].Lockjaw209
[44].Lymphangitis215
[45].Natural Presentation of the Foal225
[46].Abnormal Presentation of the Foal227
[47].Quittor235
[48].A Cattle Bath Tub241
[49].Side Bones244
[50].Splint248
[51].Twisted Stomach Worms252
[52].Tuberculosis Germs264
Health and Disease[Plate 1]
Making Post Mortem Examinations[Plate 2]
A Victim of Tuberculosis[Plate 3]
Exterior Points of the Horse; Castration[Plate 4]
Texas Fever[Plate 5]
A Typical Case of Foot and Mouth Disease[Plate 6]

INTRODUCTION
Facing Disease on the Farm

To call a veterinarian or not—that is the question. Whether your horse or cow is sick enough for professional attendance, or just under the weather a little, is a problem you will always be called upon to face. And you must meet it. It has always faced the man who raises stock, and it is a problem that always will. Like human beings, farm stock have their ailments and troubles; and, in most cases, a little care and nursing are all that will be required. With these troubles all of us are acquainted; especially those who have spent much time with the flocks and the herds on the farm. Through experience we know that often with every reasonable care, some animals, frequently the healthiest-looking ones, in the field, or stable, give trouble at the most unsuspected times. So the fault is not always with the owner.

There is no reason, however, why an effort should not be made, just as soon as any trouble is noticed, to assist the sick animal to recover, and help nature in every way possible to restore the invalid to its usual normal condition. The average observing farmer, as a rule, knows just about what the trouble is; he usually knows if treatment is beyond him, and if not, what simple medical aid will be effective in bringing about a recovery with greater dispatch than nature unaided will effect.

Now, of course, this means that the farmer should be acquainted with his animals; in health and disease their actions should be familiar to him. If he be a master of his business he naturally knows a great deal about his farm stock. No man who grows corn or wheat ever raises either crop extremely successfully unless he has an intimate knowledge of the soil, the seed, the details of fertilization and culture. He has learned how good soils look, how bad soils look; he knows if soils are healthy, whether they are capable of producing big crops or little crops.

So with his stock. He must know, and he does know, something as to their state of health or ill health. With steady observation his knowledge will increase; and with experience he ought to be able to diagnose the common ailments, and not only prescribe for their treatment, but actually treat many of them himself. Unfortunately, many farmers pass health along too lightly and the common disorders too seriously. This is wrong. The man who deals with farm animals should be well acquainted with them, just as the engineer is acquainted with his engine. If an engine goes wrong the engineer endeavors to ascertain the trouble. If it is beyond his experience and knowledge he turns the problem over to an expert. It should be so with the stock raiser. So familiar should the owner be with his animals in case of trouble he ought to know of some helpful remedy or to know that the trouble is more serious than ordinary, in which case the veterinarian should be called.

All of this means that the art of observing the simple functions should be acquired at the earliest possible moment—where to find the pulse of horse or cow, how many heart beats in a minute, how many respirations a minute, the color of the healthy nostril, the use of the thermometer and where to place it to get the information, the character of the eye, the nature of the coat, the passage of dung and water, how the animal swallows, the attitude when standing, the habit of lying down and getting up—all of these should be as familiar to the true stockman as the simplest details of tillage or of planting or of harvesting.

COMMON SHEEP SCAB

Here is an advanced case and shows how serious the trouble may become. A very small itch mite is the cause. The mites live and multiply under the scurf and scab of the skin.

Moreover, the stockman should be a judge of external characters, whether natural or temporary. He should have a knowledge of animal conformation. If to know a good plow is desirable, then to know a good pastern or foot is desirable. If the art of selecting wheat is a worthy acquisition, then the art of comparing hocks of different horses is a worthy accomplishment also. If experience tells the grower that his corn or potatoes or cotton is strong, vigorous and healthy or just the reverse, observation and experience ought also to tell him when his stock are in good health or when they lack thrift or are sick and need treatment.