Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-12-16

partment back in 1888 and then we
heard no more Of it until 1860. was
born in Indiana and my father was a
large hog raiser in that country. In
1862 we had a scourge Of hog cholera
which was prevalent only through the
summer, dying out in the fall. This
same disease appeared again in 1868
and at this time too 1t lasted only I'M
til the first frost. It was called hog
cholera then because Of the great re-
semblance that it had to Asiatic chol-
era which was affecting people at that
time. The hogs would suddenly be-
come sick the same as the people.
Large fat healthy looking animals
weighing perhaps 200 or 800 pounds
would become seriously sick in two or
three hours and we have lost as many
as twenty or thirty in one night. They
scarcely ever recovered and they did
not live two or three weeks as they
do now sometimes. These days the
as much in the winter as In the
summer.
"In 1896 and 1897 disease became
very prevalent throughout the corn
and hog raising states Of Iowa, Ne
braska, Missouri, Wisconsin and Kan
sas. was practicising in Mason City
at that time and in the fall and win
ter of 1S96-97 endeavored to find out
what this disease was. called In sew
eral of my friends who were doctors
and together we started an organized
movement to try and find out what the
disease was and what kind ola rem
edy could be found for it. For a per-
iod lasting from five to seven months
we went out in the fields Of northern
Iowa and southern Minnesota and ex-
amined herd after herd of sick hogs.
We examined their internal organs
and made chemical analysis OF their
blood in all stages of the sickness. We
formulated all kinds of remedies. some
on the ground of preventives and
others to cure. Some of the hogs had
high and some had low temperature,
some were coughing and others were
not At that time l learned good
deal and that Is one Of the reasons
why I oppose serum. found five or
six distinctive diseases in one herd.
With pneumonia, typhoid fever and
tuberculosis along with several other
all existing in a single herd I decided
that i was impossible to try and de-
wise one remedy to combat all of these
different and distinct diseases.
about that time the bureau of anil
NAL husbandry began to send out men
to try and find out what this disease
could be. They spent several months
out l.ere and then returned to Wash.
ington and If they returned report
have never seen it. Everything was
quiet until 1898 when a bulletin was
issued by the bureau which was
called farmers bulletin and was
designed to give the reader light on
the matter of hog cholera or swine
plague. This bulletin SAID that swine
plague was another disease resembling
closely the hog cholera and having
very much the same symptoms. Now
hog cholera Is disease considered
more resistive to conditions and they
ARE two separate diseases. Swine
plague is confined to the lungs while
the cholera is confined to the intes-
tines. Both may exist in the same
animal at the same time and often a
careful microscopic research and culti-
walton of germs is necessary to dis.
tinguish.
"Everything was quiet again until
1909 when another bulletin was is
sued which was intended to supersede
the former bulletin. It stated that
laboratory ald field experiments had
been made and they N0ve proved con
clusively that the SC ,,alled hog chol-
era was not the primary cause Of the
disease 1t went to say that the germ
had never been seen and is only known
70
would Xix to know how they can man.
ufacture serum to kill theagerm If they
cont know what the germ Is. The
bulletin went on with the description
OF how to make hog serum. It advo-
Gated the method of injecting into a
we'll hog some Of the diseased blood of
a sick hog and then after a time TAX
ing some of the blood from this hog
who was immune because he had with
stood the effects of this poison blood,
and mixing it with carbolic acid place
it in a sterilized bottle.
"Why has hog serum become so
popular? Because it originated with
the highest tribunal in the land on
contagious diseases. The bureau has
done a great deal for my profession
but when they made a guess at the
hog serum question I think that they
guessed wrong Everyone remembers
the black leg scourge we had twenty
five years ago. Today every farmer
knows how to combat it because the
bureau Of animal industry found
remed" for It.
Gust little time ago, representa-
tives OF twenty-six or twenty-seven
states met at Ames and held dis
cussion as to the hog cholera question.
They decided that they were going to
combat the disease and they also de-
cided that Iowa would be the battle
field. With Ames as the center of &C
tivities They began manufacturing
serum at Ames and soon the demand
far exceeded the supply. Then they
began going to packing houses to get
it. There have never been SO many
sick hogs in Iowa as there has been
during the past year. The effort has
been doubled this year, men have
been sent out from washington to
help with the fight The conditions
Of hogs in Iowa today is appalling.
There never has been AS much serum
used in state as in Iowa during the