TREATMENT OF CHOLERA 249 



the fact that he may at any time release from his beak or claws 

 pieces of dead meat which are full of the disease-producing virus. 



No single means is so likely to cause widespread scattering of 

 cholera infection as the turkey buzzard. While there may at one 

 time have been apparently good reasons for protecting this bird 

 by law, it would seem that the great financial loss for which he is 

 indirectly responsible would make it advisable that this law be 

 repealed. At any rate, there can be no question that it is absolutely 

 inexcusable to leave exposed in your fields the carcasses of dead 

 animals which are bound to attract these scavengers of the air and 

 cause enormous money loss not only to yourself, but to the entire 

 community in which you live. 



Public Stock-yards. — Without question, the one most import- 

 ant cause of the spread of hog-cholera into widely scattered parts 

 of the country are the public stock-yards. In every large city, 

 especially at our great packing centers, we have located large pubUc 

 stock-yards in which animals are brought together from all parts 

 of the United States. When cholera outbreaks occur large numbers 

 of cholera-infected animals are shipped to these central markets and 

 find their way into the hog alleys. As a result it may be said in a 

 general way that all these public hog yards are infected, and likely 

 to cause cholera to break out in any hogs that pass through 

 them. 



Not only are the hog alleys in these yards infected, but in many 

 stock-yards no strict separation is made between the pens used for 

 hogs and those used for cattle, and in case of overflow cattle pens 

 may be used for hogs, and vice versa. This results in a wide spread- 

 ing of the cholera germs throughout the entire yards. Further, 

 farmers and traders frequently are passing from one part of the 

 yards to another, and it cannot be otherwise than that these entire 

 yards become more or less filled with germs of cholera. 



Not only is this true at the large centers, but it is equally true 

 at local shipping points. Every country siding and village has its 

 own small pubhc stock-yards and loading pens from which hogs and 

 cattle may be loaded on the cars for shipment. In the case of 

 these local stock-yards there is nearly always no distinct, separate 

 pens for cattle and hogs, and usually the same loading chutes are 

 used for loading and unloading, and for all classes of animals. 



