478 HORSE, SWINE AND POULTRY DISEASES 



standpoint; but today it must be considered as a general veteri- 

 nary problem which should receive the careful attention of all 

 sanitarians. 



The swine of this country January 1, 1908, according to 

 estimates of the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, numbered 56,084,000, and their value at that time was 

 $339,030,000. From these figures one may partially realize the 

 serious menace to the hog-raising industry which is offered by a 

 disease which affects almost 1.5 per cent of all hogs slaughtered at 

 the abattoirs of this country which have Federal inspection. Re- 

 ports from European abattoirs show that tuberculosis is far more 

 widespread among their hogs than among ours, some of the re- 

 turns showing as high as 5.5 to 7.5 per cent. It is to be hoped that 

 the spread of the disease in this country may be checked, and that 

 concerted action by the stock owners and veterinarians may lead 

 to the complete eradication of this costly affection. (B. A. I. 

 Cir. 144.) 



Prevalence. The prevalence of tuberculosis among swine must 

 be judged by the abattoir statistics entirely. Thus it has been noted 

 from the records kept by the Bureau of Animal Industry that some 

 sections of the country contribute a greater proportion of diseased 

 animals than others. Hogs from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas 

 are remarkably free from this disease, due probably to the method 

 of caring for them, or rather the lack of caring for them. They 

 are not hampered in feed lots as those are in the sections where 

 the disease is mostly found, but are allowed to roam over large 

 areas of pasture and to shift for themselves, and when they are 

 found affected the majority of them show very slight lesions. 

 Furthermore, no prolonged feeding is practiced in narrow bounds 

 as in the corn belt. Lastly, there are relatively few dairies in these 

 sections, and likewise few tuberculosis cattle. On the other hand, 

 the hogs are carried from birth to maturity on some form of pas- 

 ture, as alfalfa, oats, corn, cowpeas, sorghum, rape, and peanuts 

 all the year round. Swine fed on entirely vegetable food, as corn 

 and roughage, are proportionately less affected than those fed on 

 dairy products or behind diseased cattle. 



Three cities in one of the leading dairy States show 3.1 per 

 cent, 3.4 per cent, and 6.4 per cent, respectively, of the hogs slaugh- 

 tered to be affected with tuberculosis. There are a large number 

 of co-operative creameries in the territory contiguous to the three 

 cities alluded to and the raw skimmed milk is taken home by the 

 patrons for their hogs. 



The hog buyers for packing houses are from bitter experience 

 gradually becoming familiar with these conditions and are avoid- 

 ing certain sections of certain States, and there are at least two 

 eastern packers who will not under any condition kill hogs from 

 one of the badly infected States. In other localities the packers 

 are beginning to take self -protective measures so as to have the 

 feeder of diseased hogs bear the burden, and many of the smaller 

 establishments in the Central West are buying hogs subject to 



