The Savannah morning news., 1904-04-25
Crows and ChoIera.

We notice from the daily press that
the farmers in a Wisconsin county are
going to have big crow slaughtering
bee before long. says the Farmers Re-
view. There is bounty of ten cents
a head on these birds and that of
course invites their destruction, but it
is given out that the chief object in
conducting the raid is the fact that
crows spread cholera. Perhaps they do,
but they should not be given a chance,
and cholera viii never be stayed or
stopped by crow destruction. Hawks
and buzzards may be included in the
category of Notwithstanding birds,
and they doubtless do more damage of
this sort than the common crow. Car
rion crows feast on dead bodies and
no doubt may in some instances carry
disease to pastures used by sound an
imals, but We have never traced an
outbreak with any degree of certainty
to common crows, while buzzards have
often been given the blame and prob
ably deserved it. The point we wish
to make is that neither crows nor buzz
yards can spread disease of any sort
If the carcases Of animals dying of
disease are properly buried, or, better,
still, utterly destroyed by fire. 1t is
the allowing of dead animals to lie
about the yards or fields that gives
birds chance to carry the conta gion,
and we want in every state a law
making it a punishable offense to thus
abandon dead animals and requiring
their destruction by fire. Very often
hog cholera is spread by throwing dead
hogs into streams or creeks, and we
have a number OF records showing
that anthrax has been spread in the
same way. The germ must have a
source, and it is in the diseased ami
NAL. 1t will die out if the victim of
the disease is destroyed by fire. 1t
will stay and increase if the dead ami
mails are thrown into streams or wat
ering places. The water carries the
germs, and unburied animals are also
subject to the attentions Of carrion
birds which may further the work of
germ distribution. In Indiana it has
been shown that hog cholera is most
common and most virulent near rivers
and tends to lessen and finally die out
as the rivers are left behind. The river
does not originate the germ nor carry
it unless dead hogs are thrown into
the water. Evidently then, the way
to get at the business is to make 1t a
crime to contaminate water by dis
posing of dead animals according to
this common plan. If those who have
determined to shoot every crow would
useful work in the destruction of
small vermin and insects and see to
ii that no cholera carcass is allowed
to lie for an hour unburned the dis
ease would more speedily disappear in
community than by the inauguration
of any other plan that could be de-
vised. Better than shooting crows
would be general disinfection of prem
ises occupied by hogs. Coal-tar carbolic
and 9TH
ers of like character are cheap and
easily obtained and will go far to-
wards killing germs and preventing
germ spread and proliferation. Clean
illness means health and the wholesale
use of such dislnfectants along with
free use of whitewash tend to safe
guard our herds. This, however, is not
all that is necessary to conserve
health and keep out diseases prevalent
everywhere 1t is as important to
properly nourish the animals by the
furnishing of ample amounts of all
food requisites. Remember that a
hog fed on an incomplete ration from
birth to maturity is necessarily tncom-
plete in some particular or another.
On the other hand, complete nutrition
means robust health, normally devel-
oped organs, pure blood-provided am
pie exercise is allowed, sunlight per-
mitted and cleanliness observed. We
must see to it. too, that our stock is
not allowed to degenerate in vitality
by too close breeding. Potatoes, oats
and many other vegetable crops, tend
to weaken and depreciate If seed is
not changed frequently. Animals SUI
fer in the same way. Consanguineous
breeding reduces vitality and saps con-
stitution. A change to rugged blood
now and then is advisable, and ad-
vantageous.