NEWS AND ITEMS. 
805 
inal Industry last summer, in Page County, Iowa, have proven 
very satisfactory, as will be seen by the following report of 
Chief Salmon to the Secretary of Agriculture “ I have the 
honor to state concerning the experiments made diirino- the 
pas suinmer for the control of hog cholera that the treatment 
with anti-toxin serum gave even better results than were ex- 
pected from It, and that this method constitutes a satisfactory 
plan for treating the disease and preventing by far the greater 
part of the loss. This method is the outgrowtli of experiments 
that hare extended over the past twelve years. Everv point in 
the process is based upon careful and extended scientific experi- 
iiients and there can consequently be no doubt of the efficacy 
o the treatment, although many details in the preparation of 
the serum will no doubt be modified. This serum is made 
upon the same principle as the anti-toxin of diphtheria, which 
has given such extraordinary results in the treatment of that 
isease. We have used both horses and cattle and have 
obtained good serum from both species of animals. In order 
to obtain the serum a horse or a cow is inoculated with the hos" 
cholera virus, beginning with small quantities and repeating 
le inoculation with larger doses after suitable intervals of 
time, until the resistance of the animal is raised to the hishest 
practical point. The blood of such an animal when injected 
under the skin of swine has both a preventive and curative 
action. As there are two diseases of swine—hog cholera and 
swine plague to be combated we have prepared a compound 
^rum which acts as a preventive and cure for both diseases. 
This serum was first tested on small animals in the laboratory 
and found to prevent the disease in them, and last fall it was 
tested in Page County, Iowa, upon eight herds of swine contain- 
mg 278 aminals. The owner of one of these herds, containing 
thiity-four animals, did not carry out the directions for the care 
of his animals and began treating them with some proprietary 
medicine. He also is said to have killed some for examination, 
so that with this one herd it is difficult to learn the exact effect 
of the remedy. However, including this herd there were but 
fty-nine animals lost out of 278, or 21.3 per cent., while in 
untreated herds which were kept under observation about 8^ 
animals died. Heaving this one herd, from 
which definite returns as to cause of death could not be ob- 
ained, out of the calculation there, were 244 animals treated, of 
which eighty-six were sick and only thirty-nine died. Conse¬ 
quently 82.8 per cent, of the animals in these herds were saved. 
