The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-03-19
Nothing Else VIII Do So Much,
Says DR.. HOuck
To Eradicate Foot and Mouth
Disease in Kansas.
TEN DAYS OF CLEAR SKIES
VIII Remove Last VeStige OF
Epidemic, He Believes.
Battle Has Been Fought I'm
Rain, Snow and Mud.

Ten davs of sunshine will do more
to eradicate the foot and mouth dis
ease in Kansas than any other ele-
ment according to DR.. Z. G. Houck
of the federal bureau of animal lnduS-
try who came to Topeka today to con-
fer with Governor Capper concerning
the livestock situation in southern
Kansas. There have been no fresh
outbreaks of the disease in elght uASS'
DR. Houck declared, and with cleai
skies and bright sunshine there IS eN-
ery indication that the disease VIII DC
effectively wiped out at an carry uat e
Every human endeavor hH NV f,,ot
man has been made to tlght the IOo1
and mouth disease in Kansas, Dr;
Houck said ''Now with little alu
from nature, conditions snoulu oe
most encouraging. But WITH cio 9
and rain and snow, the next ten uety
will occasion much anxiety among the
men who have been on the 1lrlnS un r.:
DR. Houck attributes the chleI oltn-
Guilty in the Butler county tisne - a.
unfavorable weather conditions pc
cause of the inability to dig trenches
or to effectively fight the oIsease,
there is but one explanation. mat IS
the mire of mud in the Butler county
feed lots. Until experts can flght uh-
der more favorable weather conoltlots
little can be done, said the tederal eA-
pert Now the men on the flrlng me
only SUR up the
bright sunshine conditions would I'M
mediately improve.
Delay Due to Mud.
''The unusual delay in disposlng OF
the Scribner herd is due to but one
thing" said DR. Houck. THAT is
md md Vet regardless of the unfavor-
able conditions, every possible prog
ress was made. In five days the nerd
was disposed of, although for eleven
successive days it stormed In Butler
eli
mud. mud. 1t was the worst condi-
ton 1 ever encountered. Until the
roads and feed lots are dry, we cannot
hope to effectually blot out the posi-
bility of a spread of the disease"
Yet with the Butler county roads
and feed lots a veritable ocean of mud,
DR.. Houck believes the spread of the
disease is being effectively blocked. |
Armed guards are stationed through |
out the infected district and the most
rigid quarantine is being enforced: The
quarantine is against man and beast
and the fowls of the air.
"For a distance of two or three |
miles on either side of the Teeter |
farm, the roads are closed and deputy |
sheriffs with -shotguns stand at either
end of the road" said the federal. ex-
pert. Every dog that enters the re-
stricted district is promptly killed. |
The same quarantine is enforced
against birds and fowls of the air. |
Hundreds of birds are killed and every
precaution is taken against possible
spread of the disease to adjoining
feed lots.
''All feed lots on either side of Wal |
nut creek below the Teeter feed lots |
are quarantined. No stock is permit |
ted to drink from the stream. The |
farmers have been urged to gather |
and burn all debris and drift from the I
streams. Because of the high waters,
there is every danger that the dis
ease germs may be carried in the |
river debris and might be harbored |
for weeks or even months
Warm Weather Needed.
LAS for the condition of the roads,
pastures and feed lots we cannot i'm
prove this situation until we have
some warm weather and sunshine. AS
soon as the surface of the roads are
dry, we will at once drag them and
roll under the upper crust. The pas
lures and feed lots in which the dis
eased cattle were kept, will be plowed
and narrowed and in this manner we
hope to stamp out every evidence of
the disease. No one except persons
actually employed in enforcement of
the quarantine or burial of dead stock
is permitted on the land A rigid
quarantine against shipment of stock
from all pastures and lots within a
radius of five miles will be enforced
for at least thirty days.
'In our fight we have had the most
hearty cooperation of both the state J
officials, property owners and resi- I
dents of the district" said DR. Houck