Reports on the diseases of cattle in the United States made to the Commissioner of Agriculture, with accompanying documents. / Department of Agriculture.

  • United States Department of Agriculture
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports on the diseases of cattle in the United States made to the Commissioner of Agriculture, with accompanying documents. / Department of Agriculture. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    27/206 (page 21)
    attontion, apart tVoni the fact tliat but ouo case on tlio Avliole coiitiiieut is a soiuvo of iiu-alcnlable daiijior, is proved by a circular recently issued by gvutlcineu iu Westchester, Pennsylvania, and Avliicli is of sutticient importance to be reproduced here: Pleuro-pneumonia.—The great iucreaso in the disease known as plouro-pnoiiiiionia anionjj i-attln within a tow years ])a.st, its highly contagious character, and the acknow- ledged inability of the most skilUiil veterinary surgeons to control or in the least miti- gate its severity iu certain stages of the disease, calls for immediate and earnest atten- tion from the coninmnity. It is a well-known fact that the cupidity of many induces them a« soon as the disease develops itself on their premises to hnrry off their stock (diseased as well as those not diseased) to the nearest drove-yard, to be there sold for whatever they will bring ; to bo either sold as food or driven off to new sections, and there to infect and poison other animals with which they may come iu contact. With the view of arresting this increasing and wide-spreading evil, the undersigned, a committee of the Mutual Live Stock Insurance Company of Chester county, an institution established purely for mutual assistance and protection, respectfully invite your co-operation in procuring such action at the hands of our next legislature, by the l)assage of a law authorizing the appointment of a suitable number of (]ualiiied and con- scientious inspectors throughout the State, whose duty it shall be to examine t^iorouglily all animals, especially those otfered for sale, wherever they may bo; and subjecting those offering such diseased animals to both fine and imprisonment, and to take Such other measures as may be deemed necessary to effect the entire extirpation of the dis- ease from our midst. I can corroborate the statements made as to the sale of cattle that are infected. Xot only has this occurred often where the disease has been most rife for years i^ast, as on Long Island, but recently, in making inquiries in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, I learned of three cows which had been sold healthy (?) out of an infected herd. Such a prac- tice explains the progress of the disease even further south than Maryland. I have been informed that the malady has traveled as far west as Kentucky and Ohio, but of this I have not been enabled in the brief time since I commenced the inquiry to obtain satisfactory evidence. I have taken some pains to ascertain if the disease had reappeared in Massa- chusetts, and personal inquiries in various parts of the State show that it is quite free from the disease, thanks to the energy of its people and the enlightened action of its legislature. The conclusions that are warranted l>y the facts I have gleaned are as follows: Fir.st. That the lung i)lague in cattle exists on Long Island, where it has prevailed for many years; that it is not uncommon in Xew elersey; ha« at various times appeared in jSTew York State; continues to be very prevalent in several counties of Pennsylvania, especially in Delaware and Buck.s; has injured the fanners of Maryland, the dairymen around Wash- ington, D. C, and has penetrated into Virginia. Second. Tliat the disease travels wherever sick cattle are introduced, and that the great cattle-rearing States of the west, which may not at pre cut entir;-ly free from the disease, have been protected by the ftict that they .sell ratixa- than l)uy and import horned stock. Third. Tliere are no proper restrictions on the sale of infected stock.