Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1900-04-12

ISlldOlS ulutISHIldl uldSuOSlS. AS L
will show presently, this would be a
needless undertaking for our present
purpose.
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED CRIMINAL.
What I wish to show is that it is
wrong and ought to be considered
criminal for farmer or stockman
to skin any animal that died of an
infectious disease of any kind what
ever and then offer the hide for sale.
Such proceeding should not be
allowed except under the supervision
of the most rigid sanitary police
control.
Anthrax, blackleg and malignant
oedema are diseases all three of
which occur among the farm animals
Especially cattle) of Kansas. They
resemble each other strikingly. An
thrax and malignant oedema occur
in practical all domesticated animals
and men, and are often fatal. Black
leg occurs particularly in cattle;
man has never been known to be
injured by handling the hides or
carcasses of cattle that died from
this disease. Even the consumption
of the meat as food cannot be con-
sidered as injurious.
Although malignant oedema is a
more widely spread disease, it causes
fewer deaths by far than either
blackleg or anthrax. Of the latter
two diseases the first named causes
by far the greater number of losses
among cattle in Kansas.
DISEASES SIMILAR.
Although it is, for all practical
purposes, impossible for the average
farmer or stockman to distinguish
between blackleg, anthrax and
malignant oedema, the chances are
that as rule he has to deal with
blackleg, disease non-communic-
able to man, and hence out of the
question when body danger to hu-
man beings is considered. There is
however, always a chance that the
disease is something other than
blackleg, especially if it occurs as
an isolated case, but a definite dag.
nosis could not be made without the
aid of a very careful psychological
examination, as basis. AS far as
this goes, therefore, it would be a
very wise thing to remain on the
safe side and not skin the animal,
but burn it on the spot and thus re-
move further danger by a thorough
disinfection of the possible source.
But this is not all by any means,
The hides of blackleg victims are
the best possible material for the
dissemination of the germs of this
disease. That the disease can be
spread by this means needs nc
further proof here.
BLAcKLEG COMMON.
Blackleg is stationery wound
disease. This disease occurs only
in certain localities, sheds, etc.,
where the germ causing it has gain
ed foothold in the soil. Certain
soils are favorable to the indefinite
propagation of this disease germ
an hence where once introduced, the
soil being favorable to its develop.
ment, blackleg becomes permanent
visitor, Actual statistics gathered
at the State Agricultural experiment
station at Manhattan show that
blackleg becomes more common
every year; it appears in new local
tiles and claims an increasing num-
Der of victims in old ones.
One cause of this is the spread,
through various agencies, of the
blackleg germ. That the transpor-
tation of hides from infected animals
may play an important role here is
hardly questionable. The danger
of transporting cholera infected
swine is recognized by the laws OF
the state regulating the transporta-
ton of such animals from place to
place and practically from one state
into another.
LOSS A MILLION ANNUALLY.
When it is known that the state
of Kansas loses annually 5000, 900
to 81, 900, 900 from blackleg in
cattle, and that the other diseases
mentioned frequently cause unneces-
sary losses in live stock and disease
and death in human beings, we have
Efficient Ground RI incict that everv