114 AGRICULTURAL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



Avei<rh 80 or 90 pounds, we are tryinn: to <zet him to vaccinate them 

 when they are small, and then he will save half of his hoj;-cholera 

 serum bill. 



Mr. AxDERSOX. Do they die as a result of the vaccination? 



Doctor MoHLEK. Xo, sir. We have vaccinated little pi^ which 

 v.ere not more than 10 days old, ri^ht into the abdomen — put the 

 needle through the abdominal wall so that the serum would <zo into 

 the abdominal cavity, and they get down and suckle their mothers 

 without showing any discomfort. "We had 270 out at the Beltsville 

 farm this spring, and })ractically half of them were vaccinated when 

 from 10 to 14 days old. We did not lose one. The inference has 

 gotten out among the hog growers that if they vaccinate a pig lie- 

 fore it is weaned it will not remain innnune. I do not know how 

 that theory arose, but it is absolutely without any foundation. We 

 tried to disprove that with these baby pigs at Beltsville, and when 

 they got to weigh about 00 to 80 pounds we took them over to 

 Bethesda where we do our hog cholera work. We placed them in 

 contact with virulent hog cholera and we have yet to lose a single 

 animal from this infection, showing they were made immune by 

 being given this vaccination when they were 10 to 14 days old. 



Mr. BrcHAXAx. What is the name of the preparation. 



Doctor MoiiLEK. Hog cholera serum. You inject 30 to 40 c. c. of 

 hog cholera serum with 2 c. c. of the hog cholera virus. 



Mr. BucHAXAX. They use that virus to give them a mild phase 

 of cholera? 



Doctor MoHLER. Yes, sir. They are then immune forever. 



Mr. AxDERsox. How many men have you got working in the field 

 on the hog cholera proposition? 



Doctor ]MoHLER. Eighty-one men work full time on hog cholera 

 and about 23 work part time. All together it would make about 

 91 full-time men. 



Mr. AxDERSOx. You have a reduction of about $100,000 on that 

 item ? 



Doctor MoHLER. Yes, sir; $103,980. 



REDUCTION IN APPROPKIATIOX. 



Mr. AxDERSox. Will you be able to take care of the work with 

 that reduction? 



Doctor MoHEER. Not on the scale that we are doing the work at 

 the present time, but what I plan to do is to reduce the force in 

 these outlying States, like Michigan, Georgia, and Florida, and up 

 in Montana. Washington. Idaho, and California. Instead of con- 

 tinuing 4 men in Texas and 4 men in Kentucky, we will retluce the 

 number there and concentrate the work on hog cholera in the Corn 

 Belt States, where 50 per cent of the hogs iu"C being produced. 



Mr. Andersox. Is this being carried on on an (Madication l)asis? 



Doctor MonEER. Xo, sir. 



Mr. AxDERsoN. You are simply taking care of the districts where 

 that occurs? 



