Notes on Diseases of Swine, Sheep, Poultry and the Dog

This 1917 veterinary manual offers a remarkable window into animal husbandry on the eve of modern medicine. Written by Charles J. Korinek, a graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College, the book documents the diseases that threatened American farms and homesteads in the early twentieth century, from hog cholera and sheep abortion to poultry bronchitis and canine distemper. Here, veterinarians worked without antibiotics, relying on observation, isolation, and empirical treatments that had been refined through generations of trial and error. The language is direct and practical, designed not for academic theorizing but for working professionals who needed immediate answers when livestock fell ill. Each chapter addresses a specific species, offering diagnostic clues, preventive measures, and treatment protocols grounded in the scientific knowledge of the era. Reading this book today is less about applying its methods and more about understanding a pivotal moment in agricultural history, when veterinary science was rapidly formalizing into a profession and farmers were learning to read the signs of disease before it spread through the entire herd. It will appeal to historians of medicine, agricultural historians, and anyone curious about how we got from there to here.