Sing, heavenly muse, the noble quadruped,
Whom Orientals oft presume to scorn,
Who glorifies the food that he is fed,
Extracting carbon from convenient corn.
Peaceful his life, his death almost sublime,
His end a grand effect of modern art;
Scarce has he bid a sharp adieu to time,
When he is packed and ready for the mart.
He goes abroad, our land to represent;
The earth, from pole to tropic, is his range;
He fills the bill for use and ornament,
Greases the world, and regulates exchange.
Though ministers abroad may lightly treat
The rights that only appertain to men,
They must protect our Western corn-fed meat,
Defending our four-footed citizen.
If Bismarck bars our barrels, tubs, or cans,
Forcing our pork to make its way incog,
Upset his schemes, and overthrow his plans,
And clear a pathway for the native hog.
Dr. Detmers, V.S., stationed at the Union Stock Yards at Chicago, by the Department of Agriculture for the purpose of inspecting swine, alleges that during the last four months he has examined at one packing-house not less than four thousand hogs and has seen at least ten times that number, but has not seen the slightest trace of disease, as he certainly should if any had existed. During the last two years but very little swine plague has prevailed anywhere, and, as far as he knows, no diseased hogs have been shipped; nearly if not all the small rendering tanks having been closed.
M. Pasteur, the eminent French scientist, says epizootic hog-cholera, even of the most virulent type, can be prevented by inocculation with the attenuated virulent virus. He also says it is proven that the period of immunity is more than a year; that, consequently, this is long enough for the requirements of hog-raising, since the period of fattening does not generally exceed a year. Yet, in spite of these happy results, I repeat that the question of the use of vaccination for different breeds needs new investigation, so that the vaccination of swine may be made general.