HOG CHOLERA AND MEAT INSPECTION 203 



hog cholera or swine plague which are slight or limited 

 in extent, it shall be passed for sterilization in accord- 

 ance with regulation 15. 



" (c) If the carcass shows no identification of either 

 hog cholera or swine plague in any organ or tissue other 

 than the kidney or lymph glands it shall be passed for 

 food unless some other provision of these regulations 

 requires a different disposal." 



For years it has been a common practice among 

 swine raisers to consign hogs to market as soon as 

 hog cholera appeared among them, and even at 

 the present day, when an effective preventive of 

 the disease is at hand, the custom still prevails. 

 If an entire herd consists of hogs nearing com- 

 pletion of the fattening period, and if cholera is 

 recognized as soon as it appears, the loss to the 

 feeder is not heavy. He promptly markets all 

 hogs that are apparently well, leaving behind the 

 few that are visibly sick. If, though, a herd in- 

 cludes sows, pigs and shoats which cannot be mar- 

 keted to advantage, or if it consists of pure-bred 

 animals, heavy and unnecessary loss must be ac- 

 cepted in consigning it to market. Unfortunately 

 the loss is not confined to the man who ships the 

 infected hogs. His herd becomes a menace to 

 others in the vicinity as it is driven to the nearest 

 loading station, and it helps to perpetuate the in- 

 fection which, existing in practically all large pub- 

 lic stockyards in the country, threatens all cholera 

 susceptible swine not intended for immediate 



