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Show CTS HG3 CHOLERA Serum Developed by Department of Agriculture Used. v Cleaning Up of Infection Is Huge Job, But Believed Can Be Accomplished Same as Eradication of Ticks in South. Beginning with a few counties in Iowa and Indiana, the department of agriculture is commencing a campaign for the eradication of hog cholera. As this disease is as widespread as the hog raising industry, which covers the whole country, the cleaning up of the infection is a large order. It is believed, be-lieved, however, that it can be done in much the same way that the cattle tick is being eradicated from the south. Before the tick eradication work started it was feared that it was an impossible task. The experts of the department, however, figured out meth-'ods meth-'ods of cattle dipping, pasture rotation and other means of control so that now a quarter of the area in the south that formerly was under strict cattle quarantine has been declared" tick free and released. Counties adjoining the cleared territory have seen the benefit bene-fit and are taking up the work so that eventually the impossible will be accomplished ac-complished and tho whole of the south will be turned into a cattle-raising country. It is thought that the same thing can be done with hog cholera. Congress last year appropriated $75,000 to start the work. The beginning in Iowa will be in co-operation with the Iowa State college. The method used will be the serum that was developed by Doctor Dorsett of the department of agriculture. agricul-ture. Hog cholera is by all odds the greatest great-est scourge of the hog-raising industry. It was estimated that it cost the farmers farm-ers last year $60,000,000. Before the discovery of the serum treatment the toll was still larger. Cholera was regarded re-garded as inevitable and was almost always fatal. There was no protection against it except segregating the well hogs, and this precaution was uncertain, uncer-tain, r ' The injeccion of the serum gives ifn-tnunity ifn-tnunity from attack even on close contact. con-tact. The immunity is not permanent, but it lasts long enough to allow cleaning clean-ing up an entire community. It was estimated that the second year the serum was in use it saved about $11,-000,000. $11,-000,000. Now many of the states are manufacturing the serum in their own agricultural laboratories and distribute it free on application. The plan for cleaning up the country is to commence on county areas, as is being done in Indiana and Iowa, and gradually spread the work, cleaning up In widening circles and preventing the Importation of the disease by careful quarantine. Any specific local outbreak will be wiped out as quickly as it can be located. It may be the work of years to get all the country cleaned, but it is believed be-lieved once it is cleaned it can be kept bo. This will mean a great increase in the hog-raising industry, larger profits md a proportionate reduction in the . price of meat. |