280 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



healthy pigs t^vo or three months of age, the former were fed to the lat- 

 ter M'ith the result that both pigs become tuberculous, which made it very 

 evident that the hogs upon the ranch first mentioned derived their tuber- 

 cular infection from consuming the tuberculous fowls. The frequent as- 

 sociation of pigs and fowls makes it desirable to eradicate the disease from 

 among the fowls should it exist before attempting to clean up the hog 

 quarters. 



The small amount of money required to start in the hog raising busi- 

 ness and the quick returns on the amount invested makes this an attrac- 

 tive field for the farmer of limited means. Hogs will make greater gains 

 on less feed than almost any other live stock and at the same time utilize 

 profitably waste food products of every variety if properly prepared. As 

 tuberculosis is chiefly acquired by ingestion the significance of the latter 

 feature is obvious. 



Hogs from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas are remarkably free from 

 tuberculosis due to the methods of caring for them, or rather the lack of 

 care. They are not restricted to feed lots, where disease is commonly 

 found, but roam over large areas to shift for themselves. No prolonged 

 feeding in narrow limits is practised, but from birth to maturity they 

 are pastured on alfalfa, oats, corn, cow peas, sorghum, rape and 

 peanuts. Hogs raised in the forest regions of Hungary are likewise 

 rarely afflicted with tuberculosis. In striking contrast are the hogs 

 slaughtered from three cities in one of the leading dairy states where 

 there are a large number of co-operative creameries and where the raw 

 skimmed milk is fed. Samples of separator sediment from two of these 

 creameries were injected into guinea pigs and in one instance virulent 

 tubercle bacilli were recovered. 



Buyers from packing houses are learning from bitter experience to 

 avoid sections of certain states, and there are at least two firms who 

 will not buy hogs from one state which is known to be badly infected. 

 In fact many of the smaller packers in the central west buy subject to 

 post-mortem inspection as a measure of self-protection. 



Sooner or later the packers will buy subject to post-mortem examina- 

 tion as some are now doing. Then the hog raiser who persists in fat- 

 tening with tuberculous material will be made to feel the cost of his 

 lack of knowledge or indifference. Today the buyer makes his purchases 

 with the knowledge that a certain proportion of his animals will be con- 

 demned, and as the post-mortem is the only correct and reliable key, the 

 cari'ful breeder must suffer equally with the careless one. This is not 

 equitable. But when the packer buys subject to post-mortem results, the 

 painstaking and intelligent raiser will receive more for his healthy hogs 

 than he does now, and the ignorant or indifferent breeder will get less 

 for his tuberculous animals, which will be more nearly a fair deal for all 

 concerned. 



REMEDIAL ME.\SUEES. 



It may appear at first glance that the suppression of hog tuberculosis 

 is an absolutely hopeless undertaking, the more so when we realize that 

 no section of our country is free from it, but that inspection reports to 

 the Department of Agriculture show that it is encountered at least to 



