Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-01-17
TREATMENT FOR HOG CHOLERA
Success Claimed for Recent Extensive
Experiments.
The Remedy an Anti-Toxine
Serum, Obtained and Applied in
the Same General Manner as the
Diphtheria Specific-Congress to
Be Asked for an Appropriation to
Further the Work in Hand.

Washington, January 16.-The chief
OF the Bureau of Animal Industry, DR..
d. E. Salmon, has submitted to Sec
rotary Wilson report upon the eX
pertinent OF hogs for hog cholera with
anti-toXine serum. This serum is
made upon the same principal as the
anti-toxine of diphtheria. Good serum
has been obtained from both horses
and cattle, horse or cow being in
oculated with the hog cholera virus in
snail quantities at first, and with
larger doses after suitable intervals
of time. The resistance of the animal
is thus raised to the highest practicable
point. The blood of such an animal,
when injected under the skin of
swine, has been found to possess both
a preventive and curative action.
This serum was first tested upon
small animals in the labratory, and
being found efficacious was last fall
tested in Page county, Iowa, on several
herds of swine, containing altogether
2l8 animals. Leaving out one herd,
from which
DEFINITE RETURNS
as to cause of death could not be OBJ
tanned, only thirty-nine died out of
pa animals treated, of which Sc were
sick. Consequently S2.S per cent. OF
the animals in these herds were saved.
Of untreated herds kept under obser-
walton during the period referred to,
about SIS per cent. of the animals died.
DR.. Salmon believes that with expert
ence a better quality of serum can be
prepared and he has no doubt that
this per centage can be maintained
hereafter
Referring to this report, Secretary
Wilson remarked that undoubtedly
the results reported by DR.. Salmon
were most encouraging to hog raisers
The cost of the serum now, said the
secretary, is but ten cents per head
of animals treated, only one dozen be-
ing required, and doubtless in course
of time this cost may be
STILL FURTHER REDUCED.
at is my opinion" said the secre-
tary, "of the utmost Importance that
this serum for the next year be made
by the bureau under our own super
vision and distributed in large guam
titles in order to demonstrate its eff
cacy upon a more extended scale. 1t
is absolutely essential that during the
experimental stage serum Of undoubt-
ed quality be used. Unless the hog
growers can obtain it from this depart
ment they will be forced to depend up
on what can be obtained from private
sources, and ewing to the novelty OF
this product, not only will discourag-
ingly exorbitant prices be charged for
it, but in many cases inferior products
may be offered. This would preclude
the possibility of making satisfac-
tory test on a widely extended scale.
| propose to ask Congress to provide
an appropriation necessary to enable
this department to furnish
TWO MILLION DOSES
of serum during the next year and TO
make a considerable portion of the APP
preparation Immediately available. 1t
seems from DIR. Salmon's report that
it takes three or four months to put
a horse or COW in condition to supply
the serum, consequently the work upon
an extended scale must be undertaken
at once.
The losses from hog cholera are so
enormous and have weighted so heav
lily for years upon our farmers that
cannot imagine that Congress will for
a moment hesitate to make the aprro-
priations necessary to carry Oh this
work thoroughly. Indeed, apart from
the great stake the farmers have n
this matter, to refuse to provide for =
thorough test of this remedy INV
would be, indeed, penny wise and
pound foolish, for the discovery of this
serum has involved already many
years of work and very large sum of
money. 1t would be great mistake,
now that so great a discovery seems to
have been made, not to finish the woglZ
by giving it a thorough and extensive
test