316 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



much greater. As a matter of wise economy, it seems to me that 

 the State cannot do better than to provide the means for protect- 

 ing all the classes of swine mentioned — the "feed lot" herds as 

 well as the "registered herds" — means sufficient to carry on the 

 work in a well organized, systematic way looking to the complete 

 eradication of the disease. 



Policy and Plans in Field Work. — The main object in the pro- 

 duction and use of this serum, from the point of view of the State, 

 is not so much to aid any particular individual who may be losing 

 hogs from cholera, as to eradicate the disease in the shortest time 

 possible in order that the infection may not spread to a large num- 

 ber of other herds, and thus result in a general outbreak that may 

 prove disastrous to a large number of tax payers. In the use of 

 the serum in field work, this main purpose should always be kept 

 in mind. It is evident that the greatest good can be accomplished 

 by sending veterinary officials who are properly trained, to the 

 seat of every outbreak to investigate the extent of the disease, and 

 locate every focus of infection. In addition to inoculating the 

 hogs on the infected farm, it is the duty of the veterinary official 

 to give the owner of the herd such instructions in regard to meth- 

 ods of quarantine and disinfection as are necessary to prevent or 

 limit the spread of the disease to other parts of the same farm, 

 and to the farms of neighbors — such instructions as are given in 

 the first part of this paper. 



The inoculation of healthy herds on neighboring farms may 

 also be advisable in many cases where, on account of drainage or 

 other circumstances, it seems difficult to confine the infection to 

 the farms where the officer finds it. 



It has been my practice, when called to a locality where an 

 outbreak of hog cholera has occurred, to enlist the interest of the 

 local veterinarian in this work, in order that he may aid in the 

 suppression of outbreaks of that disease when they occur in his 

 field of practice. Several veterinarians in the State have already 

 done good service in using this serum. Some of these were offi- 

 cial deputies, others in private practice. In some instances good 

 service has been rendered by farmers whom we have taught hov/ 

 to diagnose cholera, and how to use the serum. In so large a 

 problem as the control of hog cholera efficient veterinary aid is not 

 always available, and the co-operation of the farmers is both nec- 

 essary and advisable. 



Protecting of "Shotv Herds" by Serum inoculation. — As 

 already mentioned, fairs have many times in the past been 



