The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-02-23
LIVE STOCK.
IS HOG CHOLERA CONTAGIOUS

a Fe8OeE IN F8Y6CGo county, Iowa,
writes US that man has been in that
locality claiming to be able to cure hog
cholera. He also alleges that the dis
ease is not contagious, and in order to
prove his theory has brought some
healthy hogs and put them in with the
sick ones. The correspondent wishes to
know our ideas on the subject, says
says the Western Live Stock Journal.
The term ''hog cholera" has been
used throughout the country with q
great deal of loeseness. We feel
morally certain that a great many
thousands of hogs die annually of all.
ments that are not hog cholera at all,
and are nevertheless popularity attrib-
uted to that disease. Any one with
experience in such ailments, only,
might very easily observe facts which
would lead him to believe that they
we're not contagious, and this might
also be in accordance with the fact:
and as they are popularity called hog
cholera, he might infer from these
facts that hog cholera is not con-
tagious. If, however, there be any one
we'll settled fact with respect to genu-
inc hog cholera, it is that it is a very
contagious disease. Accurate inoccu-
ation experiments have shown this,
as have also hundreds Of equally accu-
rate experiments made in the way our
correspondent speaks Of, namely, by
turning healthy hogs in among those
having the disease. Our further be-
liefs with respect to hog cholera are
that the contagion may be made more
virulent by such faults in breeding and
management as decrease constitutional
vigor and lessen resisting power. For
example, every one Of US every day Of
our lives come in contact in some way,
with the contagion of tuberculosis, but
it is only when those organs that are
primarily involved in the contraction
of the disease are in some way lowered
il tone, as for example, by severe colds,
that we are in danger of taking con-
sumption. So likewise, as bad sanitary
conditions add to the virulence of
many contagious diseases in the human
family, so bad sanitation in the care of
swine probably increases the virulence
of hog cholera contagion.
1t follows from what we have said
that we have no favorable opinion of
any proposition to treat hog cholera
upon theory which presupp poses it's
non-contagious character. A bad at
tack OF non contagious indigestion that
would kill hog if permitted to have
its course, may be cured, but such cure
does not warrant any one in assuming
that he has thereby cured case of hog
cholera. So with the numerous other
affections that hon die of that are not
contagious, but are popularity called
hog cholera. 1t is possible that they
may be cured, but such cure does not
imply that hog cholera would yield to
the same treatment. We think the
ravages may be very considerably
minimized by such care in breeding,
feeding and general management as
will promote high degree of vigor,
both constitutional and otherwise. It
is possible also that methods may be
discovered that will actually cure
cholera in a reasonable number of cases,
but such discovery will not be made
along lines that assumes cholera to be
non contagious, unless all accurate ex-
periments with respect to this feature
of the disease that have been so abund-
antIy made in the past would prove
worthless.
Now is the time to pay your subscrip-