SYMPTOMS.—The pigs affected generally appear in good condition and seem to be doing well, but suddenly they become paralyzed in the hind quarters, owing to the weakened condition of the bones, which sometimes fracture without receiving injury or any additional weight to that of the pig itself. The bones of the snout, back, limbs and feet bend and become deformed. The pigs grow weak, poor and stunted and perhaps the best treatment is to destroy them. PREVENTIVE TREATMENT.—Careful feeding of good, wholesome food. This disease is very seldom seen where hogs are frequently fed corn. MEDICAL TREATMENT.—When the first signs of Rickets appear, feed regulator and tonic as prescribed on first page of this chapter. It contains the mineral matter needed by the hog. ROUND WORMS. CAUSE.—Is undoubtedly due to filth or hogs eating food or drinking water contaminated with well developed eggs or embryos of roundworms, thus taking them into their digestive canal, where they multiply rapidly and set up considerable irritation. This worm varies in length from three to thirteen inches, and is of a reddish-brown color. SYMPTOMS.—The Roundworm is generally passed with the feces, and can be readily seen with the naked eye. A hog infested with a large number of these worms is generally restless, appetite varied. When these worms develop in large numbers, they obstruct the intestines. In other cases they irritate and inflame the intestines, causing inflammation and diarrhoea, and death may be due to either obstruction or inflammation of the bowels. TREATMENT.—Treatment is very satisfactory. Withhold all food from eighteen to twenty-four hours. Then place in one pint of finely ground feed, Calomel and Santonin, each five grains to every one hundred pounds of hog weight. For instance, if the hog affected with round worms weighs two hundred pounds, double the dose by giving ten grains of each of the above, but if the hog only weighs fifty pounds, give one-half the dose mentioned, or two and one-half grains of each. This treatment should be repeated in a week or ten days to assure the expulsion of worms that might have survived the first dose. Feed sparingly on laxative food, as bran mashes and vegetables, for a few days following each treatment. RUPTURE. (_Scrotal or Inguinal_) DEFINITION.—In the male the intestines pass through the wide Inguinal Canal, through which the cord of the testicle passes. It is not difficult to recognize this form of rupture, as the scrotum that normally retains only the testicles is usually enlarged by the bowels entering it. Sometimes the scrotum almost reaches the ground, and in this case, both sides of the scrotum, or the sack which contains the testicles, also contains intestines. If the pig is held up by the hind parts, the intestines will gravitate back into the abdominal cavity, but as soon as a pig lies down or stands they again return into the scrotum. The testicles can be located at the bottom of the enlargement.