Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-06-21

negligence In I'LL, anu FARMER who Keeps
his stock in filthy stables will seldom pro-
vide better yards or first-rate quality Of
food. Nine enths Of all the diseases af-
fecting farm stock originate in filth, and
in inferior and insufficient Quantities OF
food. No animal can breathe an impure
atmosphere for any considerable time
without being more or less affected, and
the disease so common in many localities,
and know as " black leg" in calves, big
Jaw" in horses, ard hog and hen cholera,
are the direct results OF filth and improper
food. Stock which are kept in clean sta
bles in winter, and Craze upon high, dry
land in summer, drinking from pure
springs or running streams, are seldom
attacked by diseases, except through the
introduction of some contagious, epidem-
cal kind, and then they are more likely
to escape than stock under less favorable
conditions.
OF course it is not to be expected that
every man who keeps stock can have all
the natural advantages at command; but
few are so situated that they cannot i'm
prove those which they do possess, and
generally to an extent which will almost
entirely exclude disease from their herds
In addition to keeping the stables clean
and purified by scattering plaster or dry
earth about the floors after the manure is
removed, the stock yard requires like
attention. Drains should be put under it
if the land is wet and there is not sutii-
cient dry litter at command TO spread over
the surface and absorb all liquids which
may be deposited thereon. Cattle cannot
wade about for weeks and months in mud
and water, or sleep in the same, without
contracting diseases, even if we'll fed and
cared for otherwise. If man cannot
provide dry beds of straw or similar ma
terial he can certainly find plenty of dry
earth, and this can be stored under cover
until wanted for use.
Swine are generally considered filthy
animals, and less care is bestowed upon
their surroundings for the purpose of pre-
serving cleanliness than with other farm
stock. But the idea that they prefer filth
is mistake, and hog will always drink
pure water in preference to that which is
impure, and sooner eat an ear of corn laid
upon clean grass or plank than dig one
Out of mud hole. That low, wet soils
and filthy yards, without a proper diet,
are the cause of hog cholera in the West.
ern States is conclusively shown by the
reports lately sent to the Board of Agri-
culture OF Illinois from all the counties
of that State. For instance, f. w. Bel
den, Kane County, says: keep seventy
five to 100 pure Berkshires; run in blue
grass pasture; feed corn to hogs, and oats
and corn ground to pigs; never lost any
from cholera. Land loose, dry and loamy
Soft coal, wood ashes, and salt fed !"
Wherever the conditions were of an OBJ
posite character, such as land wet, hogs
kept in yard, etc, the cholera carried off
fifty to seventy five per cent. of the herds.
Chicken cholera is OF a similar nature
to hog cholera, and seldom appears among
flocks kept on high, dry land, properly
fed and housed.
All kinds of animal parasites, such as
hen lice, the hog louise, and mango in
horses and horned cattle are the results of
uncleanliness. Internal parasites, which
live in the intestines of our larger ami
mails, attack only the enfeebled and neg
lected. Therefore to prevent the appear
ance of the first adopt rules which shall
insure the strictest cleanliness about the
barn, stable and hennery; to prevent the
latter give good, wholesome food and
plenty Of it, and avoid exhaustion through
severe labor. AS soon as an animal be-
comes feeble through any cause, parasites
step in to hasten dissolution, just as thou
sands of insects will attack a dying or
dead tree, and leave a healthy one alone.
N. Y. Sun.