658 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP AGRICULTURE. 



it is poisonous to animals as well as to man, and that to get the desired 

 effect no large quantities need be applied. The snrface^need simply 

 be moistened with it in order to be disinfected. A spray apparatus, 

 by means of which a spray is deposited, would be most convenient, 

 but such apparatus is expensive and not readily procurable. It is 

 always desirable to moisten the bodies of dead animals with the dis- 

 infectant before removing them. Any virus adhering to the surface 

 of the body is thereby destroyed and the danger of disseminating it 

 avoided. 



When the disinfectant is not at hand much can b edone with boil- 

 ing water, which immediately destroys the virus. Scalding the 

 troughs and other articles is perhaps better than the use of the cor- 

 rosive sublimate, especially if they are immersed in the boiling water 

 or flooded with it. Some good may be dyne by scalding bowel dis- 

 charges and the flooring of pens, although by doing so the virus 

 which is not destroyed is carried away by the cooling water, which 

 may later on favor its multiplication. In any case it is best to use 

 for pens the sublimate solution first and then scald them. 



As it is quite impossible to disinfect the soil with any degree of 

 certainty, it is very desirable that in a herd in which the disease has 

 appeared the still healthy animals be transferred to fresh ground and 

 kept confined. In this way the dangers arising from an infected soil 

 are averted. For a like reason animals should be kept from streams 

 which have become polluted, as it is impossible to disinfect them. 

 Hence a dry soil, without standing pools of water, should be chosen 

 as long as any suspicion of the disease exists. 



Great care should be bestowed upon the food, especially that of a 

 liquid character, which, when infected, will permit the multiplica- 

 tion of the virus and may infect large numbers. Cleanliness in this 

 respect is perhaps the simplest and most universal rule which can be 

 laid down. This simply means that the food should not come in 

 contact with the bowel discharges of diseased animals; that it should 

 not be allowed to stand for more than a few hours before it is con- 

 sumed; and that the troughs used for feeding should be scalded at 

 least twice a day when there is a suspicion that the virus may be 

 among the animals. 



It may seem too laborious or perhaps superfluous to carry out such 

 directions as these. They may be incompatible with the present 

 methods of hog-raising in many parts of our country. They are, 

 however, the only means at present available by which the spread 

 of the virus may be checked. They prevent the soil from becom- 

 ing saturated with it, and every exertion made towards disinfection 

 destroys so much, and continued efforts may finally destroy it al- 

 together. Moreover, if the disease does appear while measures of 

 prevention are being carried out, it is not so apt to become very de- 

 structive, for the severity of the disease depends, as a rule, upon the 

 quantity of virus taken into the system. If this is allowed to accu- 

 mulate on all sides, much will find its way into the stomach and in- 

 testines and cause the most severe disease. 



We do not know whether the virus can live in the soil through the 

 winter, but it seems highly probable. Hence thorough disinfection 

 practiced will lessen the chances for a reappearance of the disease in 

 the following year. 



The investigations in regard to vaccination as a means of preven- 

 tion have not yet led to any results which can be practically utilized, 

 and therefore are still being carried on. The ordinary methods of 



