REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 221 



a very fatal visitation of disease which people called hog cholera. It attacked nearly 

 all, old and young, fat and lean, indiscriminately, and under all conditions. Prob- 

 ably this disease was rightly named hog cholera, but there are large numbers of 

 farmers who will cry out " hog cholera " whenever their lean shoats fall .with starva- 

 tion by the roadside, where they have been turned by their unwise as well as un- 

 kind owners to enforce the injunction of "root hog or die." In my opinion not 

 one-half of the hogs reported as dying of hog cholera ever have that disease. In- 

 deed, it is not putting it too strong, I think, to say that two- thirds of the farmers 

 deliberately invite disease to their herds by neglecting proper food, shelter, access 

 to pure water, and other attentions necessary to healthy growth and profitable de- 

 velopment. In the treatment of this subject, and in looking for causes, if we should 

 neglect to cast an eye towards ' ' in and in " breeding, in my opinion we would over- 

 look a very prolific first cause of disease, not always hog cholera, but which is in 

 some cases reported as such. Of " in and in " breeding I might give my own expe- 

 rience, but it would only go to confirm the fact that the learning of the times is cor- 

 rect, and then it would have the negative quality of being unasked. For myself, if 

 you can give me preventive measures you will dp me a favor. But when my hog 

 is once seriously attacked by hog cholera the relief that I crave is for him to die 

 speedily, for if he should recover he will not be worth anything. 



RIPLEY. No hog cholera reported as prevailing at present. It made its appear- 

 ance here in 1863, but was of short duration and did but little damage. Since that 

 time we have suffered no further loss from it. A few horses have died of pink-eye, 

 and a few sheep have been lost by grub and foot-rot. 



RUSH. Very few hogs have been lost during the current year by cholera. No 

 preventive that I am aware of has been used to secure this exemption. I think the 

 disease is like epizootic in horses it " just quits." 



ST. JOSEPH. I am informed that the report of the assessors for this county, made 

 last spring, shows that the loss by hog cholera for the year 1886 amounted to over 

 $10,000. There has been some cholera this fall, but the disease has not been so 

 prevalent or destructive as last year. 



SHELBY. Cholera among hogs first made its appearance in 1856 hi the distillery 

 pens along the Ohio River, from which it spread throughout the country. Since 

 that time we have had more or less of the disease yearly. Hogs are healthy in this 

 county this year. There seems to be as much evidence against the theory of con- 

 tagion in hog cholera in our experience as in its favor. We have found no remedy 

 for the disease as yet. 



SPENCER. Hog cholera first made its appearance in this county about the year 

 1853, and was very severe worse than it ever has been since. The disease of late 

 is of a lighter form, although thousands die every year. The disease yields more 

 readily to treatment than it did at first. Some farmers feed hogs by putting car- 

 bolic acid in slops or water, they think with beneficial results. 



STARKE. The hogs of this county have been tolerably free from cholera. About 

 the first appearance of the disease,- to any extent, was in 1878. There may have 

 been a few cases previous to that time. As to how it was introduced is unknown. 

 There have been occasional recurrences of the disease in a mild form since its 

 introduction. There have been but very few cases during the past year. Previous 

 to its appearance the hogs of this locality were very healthy. I presume there are 

 but few counties in this State where hogs are as healthy as in this. 



SULLIVAN. Hog cholera made its first appearance in this county in 1859-'60, 

 and has done more or less damage to the industry each year since. It came in im- 

 mediately after the first advent of oat-rust, and many farmers thought the disease 

 was caused by hogs eating oats affected with it; but oat-rust has entirely disap- 

 peared and cholera still prevails. So far as the treatment of hog cholera is con- 

 cerned, all remedies have utterly failed. I have had the disease among my hogs 

 many times since 1860, and have tried all the sure cures I could hear of, and if I 

 ever saved a hog's life by doctoring it for cholera I don't know when it was, and I 

 have quit trying to doctor altogether. 



TIPTON. Hog cholera, or swine-plague, appeared in this county about the year 

 1860, and has been very destructive ever since that time, more especially during 

 warm, wet years, caused by the animals drinking from the stagnant pools of water. 

 But when the land has been quite w-ell drained this disease has become less frequent 

 and destructive. In proof of this theory I have noticed that in extraordinary years, 

 such as 18S7, there has been very little swine disease, consequently we infer from 

 these facts that swine diseases, such as cholera, malignant or typhoid fever, are pro- 

 duced by insects taken into the animal while drinking out of these stagnant cess- 

 pools. 



UNION. Hog cholera first appeared in this county in the year 1862, as near as wo 

 can find out. Previous to that swine were comparatively free from fatal dis- 



