44 Veterinary Medicine. 



from which they came, and the purity of the means of transit, 

 and we shall have taken a long- step toward the final extinction of 

 the pest. 



State limits and rights stand in the way of successful work, but 

 this can be partly met by a frontier supervision by national offi- 

 cials, and should be further, by a prompt and hearty cooperation 

 of the sanitary officers of the two states involved. When it 

 becomes possible to trace infecting hogs, back to the infected 

 place in another commonwealth, and punish the offender who 

 shipped them, we shall be within sight of a satisfactory control or 

 extinction of hog cholera. 



Extinction of Hog Cholera in Herds and Districts. As in all 

 deadly plagues this should be a recognized governmental function 

 to be carried out at public expense. It is a question of political 

 economy and its neglect is subversive of prosperity not in Agri- 

 culture alone but in all public industries whose workers must 

 subsist on the fruits of the soil. The $io 000,000 lost yearly by 

 the farming community, is a dead loss, not to agriculture alone, 

 but to the prosperity of the nation , the markets of which would 

 be revived and improved by such a yearly sum expended. 



The existence of the disease at any point should be reported by 

 the stockowner or guardian, under penalty in case of failure. 

 When the nature of the outbreak has been certified by the expert, 

 the district should be scheduled, and the herd appraised, 

 slaughtered and all products disposed of in such a way as to pre- 

 vent any escape of infection. The carcasses may be burned, 

 buried deeply, or boiled and rendered. The buildings, yards, 

 utensils, fences, manure, cesspools, and infected fields should be 

 thoroughly disinfected, or secluded from all animals for a year. 

 The owners of the herd should be indemnified according to 

 appraisment, and not to exceed ^ths of the actual market value, 

 provision being made that no award shall be made if the herd 

 sickened within a fortnight after their arrival from another State, 

 or in case, the owner, has concealed the existence of the illness, or 

 has otherwise deliberately or carelesslj' contributed to its spread. 



Many minor rules and restrictions will be required to fit the 

 general measures to individual cases and local conditions, and 

 these require the direct supervision of an expert, and not of a 

 mere business manager or layman. 



