Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-12-16
OURMBAT SUPPLY.
PORK.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

10 a country Will d AoPANAS AhASA SoS"
ing population and a shortage In its
meat supply. which Is the situation of
the United States today. the hog is a
peculiarly important animal, because,
with the exception Of the various kinds
of poultry, he is the only meat-pro-
ducing animal that thrives better on
the farm than on the range Great
plans are going forward to increase the
number Of sheep and cattle kept on
American farms, and no doubt the meat
supply will be increased in that way
but the fact remains that both of these
are primarily range animals, are sub
ject to diseases, when kept on farms.
that are unknown upon the range, and
that only a very few can be kept upon
small area.
Not so the hog. Turn him loose on
the range, without food or protection
from the weather, and he becomes a
wiry razor back" mostly snout and
ears. and a mere shadow Of his former
hand. he will live happily. grow to a
great size and admirably fulfill his des-
tiny as pork in a pen no more than
large enough for him to turn around
in. The more farms there are tho more
hogs 1t is possible to raise. Pork. like
ing agriculture. Where the herds of
cattle have been driven out by the in
coming homesteaders the humble hog
has arrived to root and stay. There
were once more hogs in the south than
in any other part of the United States
now the middle western states of the
corn belt have most Of them, while the
Pacific northwest Is looked upon as the
coming hog country by many authori-
ties.
* X
prolific of farm animals. He natures
and fatten s
Hog Most Prolific rapidly. Swine
Of Farm Animals WI, WI reuapera' :.
from excessive loss by disease and
from excessive slaughter than any 9TH
er meat animal. It is significant fact
that despite the ravages of hog
cholera in 1913, the great number of
hogs, many Of them not yet mature,
that were slaughtered to take advan-
tage of the high meat prices, and the
drought which made the value Of corn
almost prohibitive/ for stock feeding,
the number of hogs in the country de-
clined only 81 per cent during that
year. Experience has shown that the
swine will recover their numbers in
two years If given a fair chance. 1t
will probably require many times that
long to remedy the present shortages
in cattle and sheep.
The number of swine in the country
January l, 1914, was 58,933,000. AL
though, as stated, this represents a de-
crease Of 81 per cent since 1913, it is
a gain of 1.3 per cent since 1910, dur
ing which period the numbers of cat
roY MD pe.;v
All of these advantages seem to point
to the hog as the meat animal of the
future in America. There is just one
serious drawback. and that is hog
cholera. Wherever there are hogs in
this country there Is also hog cholera
and the outbreak Of the disease means
the probable loss, Of tho entire herd
unless the farmer diagnoses the dis
ease correctly In its early stages, iso-
lates the affected hogs and promptly
the only known cure of the disease.
): 4
The annual loss from hog cholera
in this country is impressive. In the
year 1897, when the
Cn0lera Loss disease was at its
r. Yun,..,: worst, 1870 hogs out
Amp1ess1se' out every 1000 in
LILO Oultco states OleQ OF QOS ChOlera
and were a total loss. In the early
part Of this century there was short
respite from the plague. but in 1913,
despite the great efforts that have been
made to control the disease, the death
toll again rose to 107 per thousand
The value of the hogs that died of hog
cholera in 1913 is estimated at $685.
100000. If these hogs had been saved,
there would have been thirty-six more
pounds Of meat in the country for
every family of four or FIVE members
In addition to this actual loss Of pork
and money, there is the indirect loss
due to the fact that farmers will not
even attempt to raise hogs where the
disease is known to be prevalent.
In view OF this state Of affairs the
question Of the pork supply is largely
question of the hog cholera epidemic
If the hog cholera can be eradicated OF
controlled the United States is assured
of an adequate supply of pork, and one
that will tend to increase rather thar
decrease with the growth of the popu-
lation. If the disease gains Roadway
on the other hand, the production OF
pork is going to decrease steadily
The solution Of the problem depends
largely upon the American farmer
Government experts will show him how
to use the serum and diagnose the dis
ease. If the farmers will then organize
to combat it there is little doubt bu