farmers' institutes. 783 



some iustunces. Out of a larjie herd of mixed hogs it is always safe to 

 predict that the younjror ones will die and that from ten to thirty per cent. 

 of the older ones will escape. Here is where hundreds of farmers are 

 duped into believing that certain hog cholera cures accomplished great 

 good, as they lose the susceptible ones before a remedy is tried and then 

 succeed in savinir those that would have lived anyhow. 



One attack usually confers immunity against subsequent attacks, but 

 there are exceptions. An animal then that passes through the disease 

 becomes valuable as a breeder. Often sows lose the litter of pigs which 

 they may be carrying at the time, but it has no influence upon subse- 

 quent litters. No immunity is conferred upon the offspring, as they are 

 as susceptible as any to the disease. 



Treatment.— The treatment naturally divides itself into medicinal, 

 hygeuic and preventive. The medicinal is the lea.st important, as we 

 have no specific for the disease. Veterinarians who have made a careful 

 study of the action of drugs and of the character of the disease have 

 tried everything that would seem to be a rational treatment, but have 

 failed. Pathologists have x-ecognized the apparently hopeless condition 

 to be treated and have been unable to suggest a remedy. Experimenters 

 have tried everything which science and empiricism has claimed would 

 cure, but they have found nothing which they could indorse. Notwith- 

 standing all the futile efforts that have been made by careful and con- 

 scientious workers, backed by large sums of money and every facility 

 for investigation, we have more than one hundred sure-cure cholera rem- 

 edies upon the market in this State. According to the manufacturer (and 

 the claims are all alike), the prevention and cure of hog cholera is a very 

 simple thing, and depends wholly upon whether the farmer is willing to 

 buy a few packages of their remedy and use as directed. It is impossible 

 to make a close estimate of the amount paid for such preparations, but 

 it is safe to say that in this State it amounts to more than $100,000 an- 

 nually. 



In 1897 and 1898 the writer devoted considerable time to the investi- 

 gation of the merits of the various preparations upon the market. Many 

 of these preparations are the product of misguided men, wholly ignorant 

 of the pathology of the disease and equally as ignorant of the action of 

 the ingredients in their concoctions. From a very limited trial they had 

 drawn conclusions and sincerely believed they had discovered a sui'e 

 cure, and were willing to part with it for a large compensation. 



A much larger number of the remedies are prepared by men and com- 

 panies who know the value of a well-worded advertisement and who are 

 in the business for revenue only. They take the government formula, 

 alter it in some slight particulars, call it by another name and increase 

 the price probably ten times. AnotlHM- favorite scheme is to take the for- 

 mulae of some of the patented preparations and sell the remedy under a 

 new name, well knowing that if it failed under one name that it would 



