534 SWINE Ii\ AMERICA 



common to hear the remark, even among farmers, that 

 were it not for cholera hogs would be so numerous and 

 so cheap that they would be worth nothing. This is a 

 superficial and incorrect opinion. If there were no 

 cholera hogs could be jDroduced cheaper than at present, 

 and the number marketed would be increased until the 

 price was forced down to the limit of profitable produc- 

 tion. But on the other hand, when the limit of profit 

 was reached, the number grown would be reduced, just 

 as happens at present, and the average returns from the 

 grain fed would not vary greatly from what are now 

 received. 



"With no contagious diseases, however, the hog raiser 

 would be doing a much safer business than at present ; 

 he would not be subject to such disastrous periodical 

 losses, and he could consequently sell his animals lower 

 and still make more money than at present. Lowering 

 the price of pork would be a great boon to thousands of 

 consumers and would greatl}^ stimulate our export trade. 

 Above all, perhaps, would be the saving and adding to 

 the w^ealtii of the country of the fifty, sixty or seventy 

 millions of dollars' worth of property now annihilated 

 every year. 



"The hog disease question is, therefore, one worthy of 

 the most careful and persistent study, and while primarily 

 an agricultural problem, in its broader sense it is one 

 which affects many industries and even has a material 

 effect upon the nation." 



IMPORTANCE OF PREA^NTION 



Dr. A. S. Alexander says : "There are several fea- 

 sible plans of fighting disease among hogs, and these 



