Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-02-27
T,I,unEncurIosrs AMONG rHr HOGS.

! TUBERCULOSIS AMONG THE HOGS.
The serious question Of the existence
Of tuberculosis among the hogs in 1he
corn belt is one that is attracting
great deal Of attention, as well it may,
It has been generally supposed this dis
ease has been confined to the bovine
animals and that the hog Is rarely af-
ficted with 1t. This conclusion is who'll
~ wrong, as the slaughter tests at the
stockyards of the country show that 1t
Is becoming very common thing, so
common that certain of the hog produc-
ing sections of the country have be-
come blacklisted in the markets, and
buyers are instructed to refuse to take
any hogs from such blacklisted ter
ritory, owing to the large per cent OF
the hogs which at the packing houses
are condemned as being affected
with tuberculosis and which are sent
to the rendering tanks. One of the
largest of the packing houses in Chi
cage reports the loss from hogs CON
demned for this cause to have been
100000 during the past year, and a
general movement is now on foot by
\ the packers to make the growers OF
these infected hogs stand the loss which
accrues from this source. 1t Is of In
terest to note in this connection that
this blacklisted section Of the country
represents the dairy sections where tho
hogs are largely raised on the biprod-
ucts Of the dairy-skimnled milk, but.
termilk, etc.-showing conelusively
very close relation between the tuber-
cular COW and the tubercular hog. II,
as it is generally admitted, the use an.
milk from a tubercular cow will ely
gender the disease in the human being
1t is easy to account for the spread Of
the disease among the hogs and, further,
easy to see how the use Of meat prod
uct so infected may become a prolifica
source Of still further Infection. So
serious has this matter become notS
only from its possible danger to human
life, but as affecting the profits OF the
hog business at large, that the matter
demands the prompt and united atten-
ton of our government and state au-
thorities. 1t is almost useless to take
action to use sanitation for the treat
ment of persons suffering from tuber-
culosis while such provoking causes Of
the great white plague are permitted
to exist.
FINE OUTLOOK FOR SHEEP.
The sheep industry never looked
more promising than it does today. It
looks as though it would be impossible
to SO increase the production Of wool
and mutton that either would fall in
price to point where it would not be
profitable to produce them, especially
In the line Of meat. This is true for
the reason that all the meat eating
countries are demanding more and
more mutton We believe that in con-
nectfon with the farms of the corn beiG
the sheep can lie made just as profit
able as the hog. In Il way the sheep 10,
scayenger in that it lives largely. on
food rejected by other animals. u 1t is.
better farm fertilizer than the hog,
and enjoys much greater degree OF
freedom from disease. 1t Is also true
that a pound Of mutton can be produc-
ed on corn belt farm as cheaply as q
pound of pork or beef, and the pros
pect Is that producer would receive
more for his pound Of mutton in the
market than he will for either his beef
or pork. Taking the outlook as 1t is,
we should regard the putting OF al
hundred ewes Of some good mutton
breed on the average quarter section
farm as one Of the very best things
that could be DONE