THE MOST COMMON DISEASES OF SWINE 533 



far toward keeping away diseases which would thrive 

 where filth, foul water and lack of care were present. 



The greatest anno3^ance and losses by disease with 

 wiiich the hog raiser contends comes from so-called 

 "cholera," swine plague, and from tuberculosis. Dr. 

 J. R. Alohler of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture has made the statement that the loss from tuber- 

 culosis is greater than from any other disease, and this 

 condition has come about in comparatively recent years. 

 Ilie last word is far from being said regarding what 

 should or may be done to stamp out these diseases, and 

 the best that can be recorded now is that the government 

 authorities, as well as other experimentalists in this 

 country and abroad, are believed to be making progress 

 toward a definite procedure in the work of eradicating 

 ihe scourges so much to be dreaded. In fact, authorities 

 arc confident that prevention of cholera by vaccination, 

 ])n)perly done by an expert, is unquestionably practicable. 



In summing up the tremendous losses by diseases. Dr. 

 D. E. Salmon, Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 once said : "When the investigations of swine diseases 

 were commenced by the government in 1878, the annual 

 losses were estimated at from $20,000,000 to $30,- 

 000.000. They have gone on increasing wnth the growth 

 of the swine industry, until it appears from statistics (in 

 1898) that have been gathered in some states, they some- 

 times reach $60,000,000 or $70,000,000 a year — possibly 

 more if the ravages in the sections heard from are 

 e(|uale(I in all of the hog-raising states. 



"These l<isses and their effects upon the countrv arc 

 not appreciated fully by many of the people, and it is 



