DISEASES OF SWINE AND OTHER ANIMALS. 131 



was carried tliere by the droves. Indeed, I have found but oue opinion 

 among tliose best informed on this matter, and that is, that the (lisease 

 was never known in this section till introduced by animals driven 

 from Western States ; and in some sections of this State, a part of Ala- 

 mance county for instance, the disease never existed tUl the present 

 year. 



Judging from all these facts, therefore, we cannot escape the conclu- 

 sions that this disease is a contagious fever. 



In this connection there is one more question that is generally raised 

 by those discussing the nature of this fever, and that is, does the disease 

 always originate fi'om pre-existing- contagious germs, or is it often or 

 generally developed de novo as a result of impro]ier hygienic surround- 

 ings ? In the consideration of this question I shall confine myself to 

 the facts brought out hy the investigation in this State, simply premising 

 that most of these facts are as true of the Middle States and proba- 

 bly of most of the Southern States as of ilorth Carolina. The first point 

 that attracts attention is the fact that this State was free from the 

 disease tdl about 1859, certainly till it was introduced by droves from 

 other States, whatever the date may be ; hogs had been kept in this 

 State from the time of its first settlement undoubtedly under similar 

 hygienic conditions, and yet the disease had not api^eared up to that 

 time, when it was brought by im^^orted animals, just as England was 

 free from contagious pleui'o-pneumouia up to 1842 , when it v,"as imported 

 with animals from the Continent. It is claimed that in tlie west the dis- 

 ease is produced by overcrowding and filth, but I doubt if these animals 

 are crowded any more now than forty years a go ; indeed, I was sur- 

 prised at the results of my investigations on this point, for, in aU the 

 time I have been visiting infected localities, I have not found a case of 

 overcrowding, and not more than two or three where there was any- 

 thing like filthy siuTOundings. In the western part of the State most of 

 .the hogs are kept in the large mountain forests, or are at least allowed the 

 run of the highways and commons ; in the east they either run in the 

 highways and old fields or have ample pastures. If it originates from 

 restricted range and unheathful climatic conditions, it is certainly in the 

 east that we should expect to hear of its originating and proving most 

 disastrous ; but it was known in the mountains as early as in the other 

 parts of the State. And if we examine the list of counties which I have 

 given above, we shall find it as fatal in the elevated and heathful west, 

 with its immense mountain ranges, as in the malarious east. I append 

 some conspicuous examples of this : 



Loss in eastern counties, I Loss in icatcni counties. 



Per cent. Per ct-nt. 



Camduu 3d McDowell 37 



Lenoir 24 BiincomLo 25+ 



Eobesou 14 Mitchell 15| 



Hyde lOJ | Clierokeo 10^ 



We find here, then, just as large losses in the west as in the east, and 

 just as small ones in the east as in the west; in other words, the 

 disease rages irrespective of these climatic and hygienic extremes ; and 

 this becomes still plainer when we add that in Swannanoa township 

 of Buncombe county the loss reached GO per cent. 



Of course, at the present time, as with all contagious diseases which 

 have existed for several years in a country, there are some outbreaks 

 which it is impossible to trace to their source; and it seems probable 

 that the contagion may be i^reserved over winter in mainire, straw, litter, 

 or in the remains of unburied animals which died the preceding year. 

 There are some outbreaks that cannot well be explained otherwise, and, 

 indeed, there is no reason to doubt that this maybe the case; contagious 



