Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-04-05
Prevention Of Sty.Feyer,o or Hog Cholera.

Prevention OF Sly. Fever, or Hog Cholera.
From the National Lie Stock journal.
To THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL:
The cause of this d~isease-and moth
ing eve did or can exist without sufic-
lent causc-is a poison, miasm, malaria,
or bad air, generated by keeping large
numbers of swine in imperfectly venti-
lated apartments. This poison is moth
ing more nor less than crowd poison,
and, when once generated. is capable of
being communicated from one animal
to another, adj infnitum,. The proof is
partly negative and partly positive.
Where small numbers Of hogs are kept,
this disease is unknown-never origi-
mates among a few hogs-and no dan
ger is apprchendcd, except from conta-
gion. 1t was first brought to notice in
a distillery where large numbers were
kept, and and all subsequent outbreaks
can be traced to numbers as the prime
cause. That bad or vitiated air will
cause disease is so well understood by
us all, that this proposition needs no
elucidation. But that bad air will
cause a disease hat may become con
tagious q use this word in it's common
ly accepted sense), is more than is will
ing to be granted by the votaries of the
cries. One single fact should outweigh
a cart-load Of theories; but Ephriam is
welded to his theories, and to convince
Il man against his will, is the most up
hill work in creation, You can hardly
expect me to make the attempt. And
what is Or is not contained in this bad
air that produces this disease? 1t is
nothing more nor less than the emana-
tons of the lungs and bodies Of effcte
matter of respiration. Would any of
us like to try the experiment of sleep
ing in an atmosphere that had been
brcathed wei and over again by a crowd
of human beings? trow not. Now |
ask, in all good conscience, is such an at
mosphere good for a hog? Look at our
sites after the hogs have gone to bed,
and see them packed, like sardines in a
box and then put the question to your
self, Is it safe? Is it healthy? And
may there not be death in the sly from
breathing such an atmosphere? 1t is
not the stencil that is poisonous, though
it may offend the n~ostrils and make us
turn up our noses. 1t is the animal
matter thrown off that generates this
poison, and, when in sufficient quaint.
ties produces a contagious disease. In
the human subject. this poison is the
cause of typhus fever (ship fever, and
for this reason | name the disease OF
hogs, produced by the same lause, sly
fever, from the place of its origin
Your books on physiology will tell you
how many cubic feet of air are neces.
sary for each person duriug a giver
time. In constructing our sites, who
ever thinks Of the Importance Of plenty
of pure air? Or who makes mp the bed
and sees that the bedding is well aired
and the room properly ventilated? Is i
not the rule-any place is good enough
for a hog? | am frequently more thar
annoyed by the visitor to my unpreten
tious quarters for my swine, asking, fol
the first question, How much did i
COST" And, Il do not see how you
could afford to lay out so much none,
for your hogpen and feeding hoors.
Cheap John the world over! What
say INTO one | say unto all: Keep nj
more hogs than you can furnish goO(
breathing room for, and then keep
strict watch that disease is not commun
icatcd to them by your careless neigh
Dors."
When this disease is universally rec
ognized as contagious, then, and not til
then, will our sanitary laws compel thu
owners of diseased swine to keep then
on their own premises, or pay the pen
atty. | might cite instance after IN
stance where this disease has beef
bought, traded for, brought home b!
dogs or other vermin, and very possibl!
in the clothing of man himself. | hard
Iy think the most skcptical unbelieve
in contagion of this disease would pur
chase hogs for his own feeding that hac
been transported owe u railways, ant
oeen unloaded in any of our stock yards
We all have some idea that discretion
is the better part OF valor.
Where large numbers of hogs ar,
kept, the same %precaution should be tax
en- as where large numbers of men are OF
necessity confined in a limited space
as on board our emigrant ships and il
military hospitals. Carbolic acid shoulC
be sprinkled frequently and plentifully
on their floors and bedding, and on al
accessible wood work. | am in the hab
It of using about half a pint of crude
carbolic a~cid-costing about one dollar
per gallon-to a pail of water. A com.
mon gardeners watering pot, with the
rose attached, is a very convenient arti
Gle for this purpose. Other disinfect
ants might answer equally as well, bu
carbolic acid is within the reach of ev
erybody. Should the disease break out
this is the only thing that can be rec
commended, with any likelihood of sue
cess, to prevent the spread of the dis
ease among those exposed to the con
tagion. This course is what all well-in
formed physicians would tell you to pur
sue, should typhus, or ship fever, breal
out, or be communicated to your house
holds; never forgetting that pure air i!
Natures disinfectant, and worth athou
sand times more than all the drugs O
the apothecary's shop for that purpose
There is no such thing as a specific
for any disease, quacks and patent med
icines to the contrary Notwithstanding
The office of the physician is to alleviate
ylnpuOnlS as tncy occur, trusting W i
higher law than drugs to effect a cure
This everlasting habit of dosing mel
and animals cannot be too severely con
demned. | violate no obligation, whel
| tell you that doctors are not in TIN
habit of taking their W remedies
Remember the epitaph of the Spanisl
nobleman. 1t reads
was well. wished to be better:
took physic. and here | am.