18 
W. B. NILES. 
the treatment will have little practical value on account of the 
necessarily limited amount that can be produced. He states 
that in his State it would have taken something like 450 barrels 
to treat all the hogs lost in 1896. 
I believe he is unwarranted in his conclusions for the reason 
that all our swine need not and will not be treated. 
It must not be supposed, and we must not make the mistake 
of thinking, that the serum treatment, even if successful, is all 
that we need to “ help us out of the woods ” in dealing with 
this cholera question. It should be used systematically in con¬ 
nection with efficient sanitary regulations. If only used spas¬ 
modically here and there by a farmer, or a neighborhood, the 
spread of the disease will not be arrested, the loss not much re¬ 
duced and little good will be done. Like tuberculin, anthrax 
and black-leg vaccines, and other like preparations, it can best 
be used under professional supervision. 
Dr. Salmon states that it should form a valuable addition to 
the resources of the State in eradicating the disease, and we can 
readily see that when in early spring cholera appears in a neigh¬ 
borhood, if the neighboring herds could be rendered immune, it 
would very much assist in stamping out the outbreak. If used 
systematically in this way by the State authorities in all parts 
of the State when hog cholera appears, but a comparatively 
small per cent, of the swine kept would need the serum treat¬ 
ment. 
I want to emphasize the fact that the serum treatment should 
be used in connection with quarantine. 
The price at which serum will be furnished cannot yet be 
definitely determined. The Southern Anthrax Vaccine Co. state 
that the price will be about ten cents per dose. This, even in 
addition to the veterinarian’s fee for using it, would not make 
the treatment expensive. 
Dr. Peters thinks it can be produced for from ten to fifteen 
cents at a good profit. 
Since observing the numerous Marshall County outbreaks 
this past season, I am more than ever impressed with the fact 
