EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VHI 455 



syjmptoms or hog cholera 



The symptoms of cholera are not always clear to the eye of the layman. 

 They may be easily overlooked in a busy season or, if noted, be mis- 

 taken for some other ailment. But the wise herdsman will remember 

 that nine-to-one bet stacked up against him and take no chances. 

 Cholera may be sudden, acute and extremely vicious in its initial on- 

 slaught, or it may assume the tedious, insidious form and sneak in so 

 unobtrusively that the entire herd is infected before the owner is aware 

 of its presence. Acute outbreaks have been noted whore the first warning 

 the owner had was the discovery of a half-dozen dead animals some 

 morning before breakfast. But as a rule the observing owner will have 

 sufficient warning in time to segregate those first afflicted. 



The healthy pig takes a lively interest in life. When it fails to re- 

 spond promptly to the breakfast call, preferring to remain with snout 

 dejectedly buried in the bedding, depend on it there's something wrong. 

 For it isn't pig nature to loaf on the job and flout the bounties of a 

 generous owner. And if, after having been kicked out of bed by the 

 inquiring herdsman, the pig stands about with its hands in its pocket, 

 like an I. W. W., refusing to eat, refusing to associate with its fellows, 

 refusing to do anything but mope about, lop-eared and morbid, it should 

 be hurried to the hospital at once. For a pig that acts like that is 

 certainly sick. It may have a touch of pneumonia; it may have a belly 

 full of ten-inch worms that are taking the joy out of life. But the 

 chances are nine to one in favor of cholera, and the wise herdsman will 

 segregate first and investigate afterward! It is better to be safe than 

 sorry, and "pigs is pigs" these days. Time was not so very long ago 

 when the passing of a pig or two was not considered an occasion for 

 extended worry or mourning; but today when a hundred-pound shoat 

 turns up its toes it is equivalent to throwing a twenty-dollar greenback 

 into the kitchen fire. 



PREVENTION THE ONLY SOLUTION 



But if cholera cannot be cured it can be prevented by team work be- 

 tween breeders and veterinary authorities. The rendering tank and 

 the "dead-hog wagon" are things of the past, but there are still too many 

 ways of distributing germs. Some day, doubtless, the country will have 

 quite as stringent quarantine regulations for the protection of live stock 

 as for the human animal. There is no sane reason to the contrary. 

 Certainly a cholera-afflicted herd of hogs is a menace to the health and 

 business interests of a community and should be quarantined. The 

 conscientious owner, mindful of the rights of his neighbors, will insti- 

 tute a self-imposed quarantine, at least to the extent of posting notices 

 and enjoining visitors from the privilege of his hog lots. 



Preve.ntion is a strenuous undertaking for a community, not infre- 

 quently calling for social and financial sacrifices as well as labor and 

 vigilance. But it is always worth the price. There are so many ways 

 of scattering the germs. The migrant crow is a constant menace. 

 This sable tramp may be of some slight use to a community by killing 

 field mice and other small pests; but if allowed access to an occasional 



