Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-01-24
IT'S SPREAD SHOULD BE STOPPED.
Contagious Abortion Prevalent in Two
Herds Near VirOqua.

1t is with a sad heart that / chronicle
the fact that contagious abortion is prev.
alent among the COWS on two farms two
miles west OF Niroqua. | heard last year
that this vile disease prevailed at or near
Soldiers Grove and also on Dach Ridge,
and wrote in the CENSOR a warning re
garding it. Now it has come from Dach
Ridge in an affected herd to Jefferson
and God only knows where it will be
next year. IL It spreads over this region
1t means death TO the dairy business. 1t
means q loss to the farmers of thousands
of dollars. | want every farmer who
reads this TO tell all his makers" about
IL and warn them of the danger. A
farmer came from an adjoining town
with herd OF cows infected with this
disease They had contracted IL from a
bull ana their calves came when per-
haps the size of rabbits. They were bred
10 healthy stre in the new neighbor.
hood and still they lost their calves.
which came de- when half grown
This sire was bred to healthy COWS in the
town and he gave them the disease and
they lost their calves Now they say
history repeats itself, and so does this
contagious abortion. That condition of
things viii 20 ON and on and more cows
will be infected and more bulls will be
infected until the curse is everywhere.
Now Is the time to stop it. Let not that
sire serve single healthy COW until
treated by veterinary. He will spread
tbs disease if he does Let those cows,
too, be treated or sold for beef A man
from Trout Greek, told me with sadness
how his eight cows, which he had bred
up and selected with care, were infected
for two years and how be had 10 sell
them and buy inferior cows not worth
half az much An because | let my
neighbor bring his cows to my sire and
he never even paid for service, he said
with sadness, The disease Is every
where in the state. In writing this |
have a selfish motive in viewI don't
want The disease In my own herd. Ii is
too expensive Not for $500 Woald !
have the experience that some dairymen
have had. The milk ia not injured If
this disease prevails in a herd, but the
stables, stalls and even soil of the barn
yard become infected with the germs
for time.
at the ten days farmers course at
Madison, February 6 to IL next. the stu
dents over 25 years old, win be ehown
how to disinfect the bull and COW infect.
ed with this disease. He will also see
killed dairyman's herd of tuberculous
cows which have reacted to the tubercu.
lin test. 1t will cost you some six dol-
lars to go to Madison and return, and
some fifteen dollars to graduate from the
ten day course at the university. You
learn everything there pertaining to
farming how to throw a sheep; how to
grow alfalfa how to Judge an ear of
corn how to test milk and care for sep
srator; how to build silos and Hll them.
You see a horse dissected by DIR. Alexan-
der. one of the very best men in his pro-
fession. Iou see hogs, sheep aud cattle
killed and cut up by experts, and you
! listen to lectures by some of the world g
most famous teachers of agricultural
science. You visit the great library.
the observatory, and listen to a scienti-
hc lecture or two and, if you wish, at
tend half dozsn association meetings
You stay there ten days and come home
| feeling that there is q dignity to your
profession, and you feel that agriculture
is just as much a profession as dentistry
or law or theology You get good
| rest, see the great governor, and come
home stimulated to do little better
work on the old farm another year. And
you will be apt to do it and will earn
the fifteen or twenty dollars it costs you.
Why not 50? c. V. PORTER.