Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1891-02-25
GUINEA PICS ENOUGH.
How They Arc Raised for Experimental
Purposes.


How They Arc Raised for Experimental
Purposes.
There is not the least danger OF
scarcity of guinea pigs, despite the fact
that hundreds Of them are being sacr1-
feed daily on the altar of science. The
demand created by the extensive manu-
tacture OF Koch's curative lymph has
not affected the local market in the
Toast. The harmless little animals are
wonderfully prolific, and two or three
healthy pair can easily furnish enough
subjects for small army OF doctors to
experiment with.
The usual price, says the Philadelphia
Record, one dollar and fifty cents to two
dollars q pair, has undergone no in
crease, though Philadelphia dealers are
in constant receipt of inquiries from
producers in regard to the probability
of an excessive future demand. The
dealers, in turn, are giving close scru-
Tiny to the matter OF tuberculosis cure
in order to give timely notice to pro-
Ilucers, but it is authoritatively stated
that, even In case of sudden increased
demand, the scarcity of the scientifical-
ly important animals could not be of
long duration. The guinea pigs litters,
too, are usually large, and the general
oddity of the little creature shows itself
in the fact that an odd number of young
are always born at time Guinea pig
twins and quadruplets are unheard of,
tive small ones being the rule.
1t was with surprise that animal deal.
ers learned Of the discovery in patholo-
gy that the gentle rodent contains ele-
ments capable of successful warfare
with the rapacious bacillus tuberculosis,
and seller of pets said that no one but
genius could have deduced from the
lymphatic temperament of the guinea
pig the fact that from it could be de-
rived lymph of sufficient activity to
combat the micro-organism OF con-
sumption.
The guinea pigs sold in Philadelphia
are of two variet -, the smooth haired
and the rough haired or Abyssinian.
They are technically known as "cavies,"
and the smooth haired "cavy," being
cheaper, is usually found in the shops
and used for scientific purposes.
jefferson and the University medical
colleges dispose of fifty pairs each dur
ing the year, and they are the favorite
subjects OF private vivisectors, who
timidl..s refrain from risk;ng their fingers
by handling rats and other low-down
quadrupeds used in experimental medi-
cine. The cavy farm has never been
run TO its fullest capacity, which is de-
clared by the proprietors to be limited
only by the size of the barn used for
breeding purposes
The pigs begin to breed at the age Of
two months, and a well-constructedp pair
are capable of producing three ittefs a
year. Each succeeding litter is COM
posed of larger number of young than
the preceding one, so that it often hap
pens that gray old pair will present
their owner with as many as eleven lit
tie ones ut one litter.
The common CAVES are product of
domestication, and it is said that their
wild relatives which swarm in Uruguay
and Brazil are vastly different from the
cultivated variety, and would be useless
for experimental purposes. The at
tractive colors even of the guinea pig
are the result of interbreeding of diff
ferent wild varieties, and, until use was
made of the animal for scientific re-
search, were it's only claim to interest.
Neither its flesh nor fur are put to use,
and attempts to use the offensive and
defenseless quadruped for bait in hunt
ing sports have always proved failures.
Thc idea that the presence of the cavy
in a house is sufficient to drive away
rats and mice lacks confirmation, and
belongs to the same class as the story
that if guinea pig be lifted by the tai
its eyes will fall out. The optical organs
of the creature appear protruding
enough to drop from their sockets or
slight provocation, but careful search
tolls to reveal the presence of a tail.