SWINE TROUBLES. 
823 
after me. We concluded to sell the herd. Consequently cars 
were backed up at the depot, the healthy appearing porkers 
were loaded on and shipped to the markets of New York City, 
while the sick ones remained to die as they would. 
I believe that those two herds suffered and died from the re¬ 
sults of improper care and impure food, acting on the whole 
animal system. 
Mr. D. owns a meat market in our little village, he has his 
own slaughter-house in the vicinity, where he keeps a great 
many hogs, feeding them on the offal from the slaughtered 
animals. Disease broke out in 1892 and over $1500 of hogs 
were destroyed, leaving none. In 1893 ^ le moved his slaughter¬ 
house to other fields, thinking the old field and surroundings 
were at fault; he bought and gathered together some 80 hogs. 
The disease renewed its attacks again ; we had them driven 
into the country about five miles further, put them into a 
wooded lot and changed the food. They were 300 yards or 
more from farm buildings or other hogs. Their food was good 
farm produce, but with all our trouble we saved two, I think ; 
and, what is very strange, while they were thus dying the 
farmer’s own hogs contracted the disease and all died. Both men 
now quit raising hogs for two years. Of late years they each 
raise a few only ; occasionally one or two take sick and die, 
and so far as I can see they died from the same disease as did 
those of 1892 and 1893. They get no village swills, conse¬ 
quently no soaps. It appears to me that the disease does not 
cause such wholesale destruction now because fewer animals 
make up the herds. 
Mr. F. owns a bakery in our village. He usually kept 14 or 15 
hogs, which were fed on the sour breads from the shop, the stale 
breads, etc., from the store, slops from his own kitchen, only he 
denies that any soaps found their way to the pigs. This herd 
was kept dry and clean, with abundance of sunlight and air, 
though they were cramped for room, I believe. In 1891, my 
first year in Plattsburg, I was approached on the matter. I 
made post-mortems on all the animals as they died. The 
