The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-10-08

ceived too little attention from scientific
men, and am convinced, also, that in
dividuals who wish to study those dis
eases with a view to making themselves
useful and earning living should have
better opportunities for obtaining thor
Ough information in regard to them
than they now possess. know of no
field for the practical application of
science which has hitherto been so
much neglected, and l am persuaded
would pay the community fully tenfold
for all the expense that would need to
be laid out upon il.
PLAIN FACTS ABOUT HOG CHOLERA.
A practical farmer living near Bur-
lington, Iowa, gives the following ex-
cellent hints concerning plague in
which the farmers of the West have
keen interest: "A great deal has already
been written on this subject, but it is
hoped that the result of much research
and some practical experience may prove
of value. IL is due to the United States
Department Of Agriculture that SO much
has been accomplished toward discover
ing the origin of this disease rs well as
the precautionary measures necessary
to prevent its contagion and ravage 1t
has been seen that the germ of hog
cholera (Which, by the way, is name
enormously applied to many of the af-
tlictions of swine) is microbe, or
small round substance so small, in
deed, that millions of them may be con-
tanned in drop of water In this germ
is the origin of the disease in any par
ticular case. There appears to be more
than one kind, although only one has
yet developed or appeared in any cases
examined in this country. The second
kind has been recently discovered by
Pasteur, and the subjects of his investi-
CATION were of French origin.
1.-The secret of preventing hog cholera
from attacking your herd of swine when
your neighbours herd if afflicted lies in
your ability to keep out the germs, and
there are many ways in which they may
reach you. The germ may be picked
up on the sole of shoe, or on the foot
of a dog OF horse, and conveyed from
one farm to another miles distant 1t
may be (and is, not infrequently) con-
veyed in manure wagons or wagons ex-
changing products of any kind. 1t may
be conveyed in the wind. You can
readily see that rigid quarantine is
absolutely necessary to prevent the
spread of this disease, and if you hear
of q neighbor whose hogs are afflicted,
do not 90 over to his farm and inquire
into the matter, offer suggestion, ETC.,
and then, perhaps, bring the germ of
the disease to your own herd in small
particle of dirt that may adhere to the
sole of your shoe. Remain at home and
look after your own hogs. Shoot at
sight any strange dog or cat you see
wandering near your yards, and do not
allow any neighbor or passer-by to
enter. These measures may seem rather
severe, but they are necessary. When
you have barricaded your farmyard
against intruders turn your attention
to your hogs, as perhaps some SEM
blance of the disease may have already
appeared among them. Some of the
following suggestions apply as well to
local cases of sickness as to hog chol-
era:
'If you find sick hog. do not re-
move him. but remove all the rest; this
is very important. Divide your herd
in two or three parts, and put each one
in new and separate yard or apart
ment, supplied with new troughs, pals,
ETC., and then avoid entering or allow
ing any one else to enter the vacated
yards. Look out where you step. Sprin-
kle the hogs, rs well as the pens and
yards, with carbolic acid diluted in
water. in the proportion of table
spoonful of the former to two quarts of
the latter. Little can be done in the
way of curing a sick hog, and all at
tention should be given to preventing
well hogs from getting the disease.
Low, damp, muddy yards are to be
avoided, and cleanliness must be con-
sidered of the most vital importance.
When any hogs die of cholera, do not
open them for examination. thereby al
lowing. perhaps, millions of the germs
to escape, and do damage, but bury
them at least four feet in the ground,
and in such places as neither cattle nor
hogs will be likely to pasture or root in
for two or three seasons to come.
Beyond this system of rigid Quaran-
tine and the practice of cleanliness in
all its details, there is little more to be
suggested. 1t is hoped that one day a
system of incubation may be perfected,
while it is more to be desired that a
system of sanitary and health measures
may be practiced that will not only
prevent cOntagiOn and further ravage,
but eventually exterminate the germ or
disease