418 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP AGRICULTURE. 



3. The renderiDg' tanks established in almost every locality in which 

 STTine plague is or has been prevailing, contribute very much, directly 

 and indirectly, to the spreading of the disease. They contribute di- 

 rectly by disseminating the infectious principle wherever the tank- 

 agent-s, who collect the dead hogs from the farmers, travel with their 

 wagons; and by contaminating and infecting, in many instances at 

 least, the waters of streamlets, creeks, and rivers with such parts of the 

 dead hogs as are not worth rendering, but which constitute the principal 

 seat of the morbid process. Indirectly they contribute by inducing the 

 farmers to leave their dead animals lying around unburied, thus remain- 

 ing a source of infection until the "dead-hog man" comes and takes 

 them away. If transportation of swino that have died of the disease is 

 prohibited by law, the numerous rendering tanks wiU soon disappear, 

 and another source of infection will thus be closed. 



4. The disease is spread not only by the transportation of dead hogs, 

 but also by that of diseased ones. That such is the case becomes ap- 

 parent by the fact that swine plague in its spreading not only foUows 

 the course of streamlets, creeks, and rivers, but also travels along the 

 lines of railroads and public highways. All traffic in, and transporta- 

 tion of, diseased hogs and pigs, and of animals that have died of swine 

 plague, should, therefore, be stopped ; and sending diseased swine to 

 market — a very common practice at present — should be made a criminal 

 offense. Further, a law which would compel every owner of swine to take 

 care of them, to confine them to his own premises, and not allow them 

 to run at large on public highways, &c., would, if executed and complied 

 with, do a great deal of good, and prevent a gTcat many infections. It 

 has happened very often that a stray hog or i)ig has carried the disease 

 into a healthy herd; and, vice versa, it has happened also — perhaps 

 just as often — that a hog or pig has become infected whUe among other 

 swine and, coming home again, has introduced swine plague into the 

 herd to which it belonged. 



5. As to sweeping and effective measures of prevention, I would only 

 repeat what I said in my last report. No authenticated case of a sponta- 

 neous development of swine plague has yet come to my knowledge, and 

 the disease, I am more convinced than ever, can be stamped out, but 

 only by adopting the most stringent measures, such as I advocated in 

 my last report. If the stamping-out process is begun in the winter, af- 

 ter the fat hogs have been sold or butchered, and before the spring pigs 

 have been born, the difficulties will not be insurmountable, and the 

 hardships or inconveniences necessarily to be imposed upon the own- 

 ers of diseased swine will not be as great as might be supposed. 

 The best method, as stated before, would be to kUl and bury or cre- 

 mate, immediately, every hog or pig that shows symptoms of sv/ine 

 plague. Where this cannot be done, the diseased or infected herds 

 must be isolated from all healthy animals for a period extending at least 

 to t^o months after the last sick animal has died or recovered. All 

 dead hogs or pigs must be immediately buried or burned ; persons at- 

 tending to sick hogs should bo prohibited from going among healthy 

 swine ; infected strawstacks, &c., should be burned. 



6. As to medicines for the purpose of prevention, carbolic acid given 

 twice or three times a day in the water for drinking has proved to be of 

 value, and has done good service, and so has hyposulphite of soda. 

 These medicines are valuable, and have proved to be eftective, especi- 

 ally in oases in which there is reason to suppose that the water for drink- 

 ing or the food may become infected, but it is doubtfal whether the 

 disinfecting and antiseptic properties of those medicines will be sufficient 



