196 REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. :. 



of the hogs of this county died with the disease known as hog cholera. After the 

 opening of the spring of 1887 the disease seemed to subside, but now it has ap- 

 peared again, and numbers of young hogs are dying. As to when the disease 

 made its appearance in this county, I am unable to say. In 1863 there was a very 

 fine mast of acorns, but rather late ripening, and on the 25th of October a frost 

 came, which nipped so as to damage them; after this the hogs began to die, the 

 same as now. It is called hog cholera, and has prevailed more or less in this county 

 since that time. If there is any sure remedy for the disease it is not known here. 

 Horses and cattle are comparatively free from disease. 



POINSETT. One of the greatest evils the farmers of this county are compelled to 

 contend against is hog cholera, which, according to statistical reports, made its ap- 

 pearance here in 1858. It first made its appearance north of here, and gradually 

 came south. It has made its appearance here many tunes since, in various types 

 or forms. Nearly every year we have more or less mast, and after a good mast the 

 cholera is worse. I attribute a good deal to the carelessness of the owners. When 

 the mast gives out it is then the hogs need some preventive, but they do not re- 

 ceive it. When there, is a year or two of poor mast the hogs increase in numbers, 

 and after a good mast year they decrease. 



POLK. Hog cholera was first known in this county eighteen years ago. It has 

 only visited this county as an epidemic twice since the organization of the county. 

 A very small per cent, of horses die with blind staggers; also, a small per cent, of 

 cattle die of murrain. This county can hardly report any loss upon stock of any 

 kind, it being so extremely healthy. This we attribute to pure water. 



POPE. About 1860-'61 was the first I ever heard of any disease among hogs in this 

 county. A greater or less number of hogs have died each year since then, but it 

 has only been of late years that they have died by the wholesale. Some years they 

 almost all die in certain neighborhoods, while in other localities they escape.^ The 

 next year that neighborhood suffers and the others escape. Numerous remedies are 

 used, but all fail to stop the disease after it once gets into a herd or locality. 



ST. FRANCIS. A disease known as hog cholera visits this county every year or 

 two, and kills about 50 per cent, of the hogs of the county. It made its appearance 

 in this county back in the fifties. Diseases of hogs generally follow a crop of heavy 

 mast. It is not known how the disease was introduced into this county. 



SCOTT. Stock of all kinds have been very healthy during this year. Very few hogs 

 have died, and none with the so-called cholera. 



VAN BUREN. Hog cholera first appeared in this comity during the fall of 1876. It 

 was very destructive, killing out many of the finest herds. It appeared in the eastern 

 portion of the county, attacking several of the finest herds almost simultaneously. It 

 is not known how the disease was first introduced into tho county. It does not prevail 

 every year. It invariably appears first in the east and southeast and gradually pro- 

 ceeds in a northern and northwesterly direction. It was very severe in 1876. Then 

 again in 1878 it appeared, but in a milder form. From that time the county was 

 apparently free from the disease until 1882, when it again appeared and was very 

 destructive. Again in the fall and winter of 1885-'86 it was very destructive. The 

 sows that had it and recovered brought no pigs for a year afterwards. There have 

 been but few cases since that time. All advertised remedies have been tried, with 

 but litttle effect. A mixture of charcoal, ashes, salt, and copperas, mixed with 

 meal and fed dry, is most relied on as a preventive. Hogs were generally healthy 

 previous to its introduction. 



WASHINGTON. It is tho belief of old citizens in this county that hog cholera was 

 brought here with improved stock from the North about 1867* Previous to that 

 time no such disease was known among the native hogs. It is believed that fully 

 20 per cent, are lost annually on an average, and no remedy has yet been found for 

 it. Our best farmers think the disease is now on the decrease. It is difficult to 

 raise pigs for one year or more after a severe epidemic of cholera* 



WHITE. Hog cholera first made its appearance in this county in 1873, when nearly 

 all the hogs in the county died. Since that time it has prevailed every few years, 

 making the raising of hogs a precarious business. Various opinions are held in re- 

 gard to the cause of the disease, but it is most generally believed that ^rnast" 

 (acorns, hickory nuts, etc.) is a fruitful source of cholera, as the disease is more 

 prevalent after a mast year. Hogs that are kept up in clean quarters seldom have 

 the cholera. We have occasionally a case of murrain among cattle, and some years 

 the disease prevails to a considerable extent. It is sometimes called "Southern 

 fever," "Spanish fever," " Texas f ever,' * etc., which I think Are only different 

 names for the same disease. 



