SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU. SIR: At the time my last annual report was submitted there was in progress in the Western States the first outbreak of contagious pleuropneumonia which had ever invaded that section of the country. Although the disease seemed to be under control in Ohio and Illinois, there were many reasons to fear that some infected herds might have escaped discovery, and there were grave apprehensions that the contagion would be allowed to spread from the affected herd in Kentucky. The owners of this herd assumed an unfriendly attitude towards the officers of the Bureau from the time the first investigations were made, and were so evidently determined to save themselves from loss without regard to the safety of their neighbors or that of the country at large as to make it reasonably certain that the trouble would be disseminated by their cattle in spite of all that could be done under either the national or State laws to prevent it. They employed able counsel to protect their interests, and demanded complete compensation for all loss to which they might be subjected in efforts to isolate the contagion, even asking that the cost of feeding the herd while in quarantine should be assumed by the Bureau. The inspections in the Eastern States have demonstrated the preva lence of the same disease in the vicinity of New York City and Brooklyn, and in parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. The experiments and other investigations were also successful in demonstrating beyond question the contagiousness of this affection and its identity in all of its characters with the contagious pleuro-pneumonia of Europe. INVESTIGATIONS OF PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. In this report the history of these outbreaks and the account of our investigations will be resumed at the point where it was neeessary to close them last year. PLEURO-PNEUMONIA IN KENTUCKY. As there was no law among the statutes of Kentucky which had been framed with such an emergency in view as occurred by the introduction of lung plague among the cattle of that State, many of the citizens advocated an extra session of the legislature in order that such laws might be enacted. They argued that as the next regular session would not begin until after a period of more than a year had elapsed, the spread of the malady might before that time work irreparable injury to the cattle interests of the State. 9 1 On the other hand, Governor Knott contended that the common law and the general provisions of the statutes in regard to distempered cat. tle were amply sufficient to accomplish all that could possibly be done by legislation. The following letter which I find in the Home and Farm, a paper published at Louisville, Ky., in its issue of October 15, 1885, gives the governor's views so clearly that it is inserted as a document of great interest at this time: FRANKFORT, KY., September 24, 1885. To the honorable judge of the county court and justices of the court of claims of Fayette County: GENTLEMEN: I am this moment in receipt of a copy of your resolution of the 20th instant, calling my attention to the fact that the disease known as pleuro-pneumonia had made its appearance in an expensive herd of cattle near Cynthiana, in Harrison County, and suggesting in my "experience and intelligence some means might be found to avert what threatens to be a most serious calamity," in view of the highly contagious character of that malady. Tendering you my sincerest thanks for such a distinguished indication of your confidence, I have the honor to say that the subject had already excited my liveliest interest, and I had, on more than one occasion, expressed to others my willingness to do anything in my power that might be necessary to prevent the spread of that disastrous plague in our State. It is a mistake, however, to suppose "that there is no law in existence to meet the gravity of the occasion"; on the contrary, it strikes me that the law is amply adequate to the emergency. Should the owner of a herd of cattle known to be infected with pleuro-pneumonia, or any other contagious distemper, keep them in such a situation as would be likely to favor the communication of the contagion to others, he would be liable to indictment under the common law for maintaining a nuisance, and upon conviction, to punishment by fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the jury, and in addition to that judgment the court would have power, if the offense were laid with a continuando, to order that the nuisance abate, and the abatement might be enforced, if necessary, even to the destruction of the property from which the nuisance springs. The court would, in such cases, have authority to order the sequestration of the infected herd until all liability of communicating the contagion had ceased, or its destruction, as the circumstances might indicate, to be more advisable. Even private citizens may, at their own expense, abate a public nuisance, though they would be compelled to answer in damages in case they should resort to violence beyond what is actually needed, or the fact should turn out to be insufficient to authorize such peremptory intervention. In view of such responsibility, of course no private citizen of ordinary prudence would think of resorting to such a remedy, except in the extremest emergency, especially as the courts have power to give complete redress. In addition to the remedy by penal prosecution, which may result, as I have already said, not only in the fine and imprisonment of the delinquent owner of such infected herd, but the sequestration or destruction of the herd itself, he would be answerable in damages to any one directly injured by the spread of the contagion, after the facts of its existence had come to his knowledge. Besides, you will observe by reference to sections 4 and 6, chapter 9, General Statutes, that if a justice of the peace be informed by affidavit that the owner of any distempered cattle has permitted them to run at large outside his inclosure, or has driven the same into or through any part of this Commonwealth, except from one pertion of his own inclosure to another, it is the duty of such justice to issue his order, in the name of the Commonwealth, commanding the owner to impound them; and if he fail or refuse to do so, or permit them to escape, the magistrate has power to order the cattle to be killed and buried at the expense of the owner. It seems to me that if these remedies are insufficient to eradicate or to prevent the dissemination of pleuro-pneumonia it would be difficult, if not impossible, for legislative wisdom or ingenuity to devise any that would accomplish these ends. I will add that the owners of the herd supposed to be infected are fully aware of their liability under the circumstances, and have assured me that they will use every precaution to prevent the spread of the disease, and every effort in their power to extirpate it, if it really exists among their cattle. What precautionary methods should be taken by other cattle dealers and breeders will, of course, be dictated by their own prudence and intelligence. The only suggestion that I can make is that the law should be rigidly enforced whenever the circumstances require it. That, if anything, will insure the extirpation of the disease, as it must result in the destruction of the diseased animals themselves, if necessary.. With sentiments of great respect, I am, very truly, your obedient servant, It will be seen that in this communication Governor Knott points out a course of procedure which, if enforced, would seem to inevitably lead to the annihilation of all dangerous cattle in the State. As a matter of fact it was not enforced. The diseased cattle were handled so recklessly that many others were infected; the plague notoriously existed in the herd of Messrs. Frisbie & Lake for month after month, endangering the stock of their neighbors, and causing burdensome restrictions to be placed upon the cattle trade of the whole State; but no legal measures were adopted in accordance with the plan so forcibly outlined by the governor. Whether this action was deferred becauso of the intimation in the above letter that the parties enforcing this law "would be compelled to answer in damages in case they should resort to violence beyond what is actually needed, or the fact should turn out to be insufficient to authorize such peremptory intervention," or whether it was because of a general feeling that the measures indicated were not as practical and efficient as the governor thought, is not clear, but it is believed that both of these reasons had considerable influence. The Department received many letters from citizens of Kentucky, stating that the infected cattle were not isolated sufficiently to prevent the spread of the contagion, that some cows believed to be affected were allowed to mingle with other cows belonging to citizens of Cynthiana, and asking that an inspector be sent to watch the course of events, and to do whatever was possible towards checking the disease until more efficient and practical legislation could be enacted either by Congress or the State legislature. In view of the great amount of property threatened, and the possibility of violations or evasions of the act of Congress prohibiting the movement of affected animals from one State or Territory into another, it was deemed advisable to accede to these requests. Accordingly, Dr. H. A. Woodroffe, a gentleman who was well recommended for professional ability, and who had acquitted himself with credit in the English veterinary service, was appointed December 3, 1884, and instructed to proceed at once to Kentucky. He was to consult with the leading stock-owners, to keep a supervision of the cattle about Cynthiana, and to inform the Department of any violation of the law, or of any movement of cattle that there was reason to believe had been exposed to the contagion. On Saturday, December 27, 1884, the following letter was received at the Department from Dr. Woodroffe, inclosing copy of a certificate which he had furnished Messrs. Frisbie & Lake to enable them to make a large shipment of animals from their herd to the State of Texas: LEXINGTON, KY., December 25, 1884. SIR: I visited Cynthiana, Ky., on the 23d instant, for the purpose of inspecting 126 head of unregistered Jersey cows and heifers and 20 registered bulls, which Messrs. Frisbie & Lake are about to ship to Texas. After a careful inspection I found them all perfectly healthy and free from any appearance of pleuro-pneumonia or other coutagious diseases, and being satisfied that due precautions have been taken to prevent their exposure to the infected cattle, I gave them a certificate of health, copy of which is also annexed. I also made an inspection of their infected herd, which contains about 75 head of registered Jerseys in all. I noticed some of them very unthrifty-looking and conghing, and on closer examination found several of their lungs showing signs of the disease in its chronic form. Messrs. Frisbie & Lake are now making arrangements to put all their suspicions cases in a spare barn by themselves, about 200 yards from where the remainder of the herd are to be housed. The disease appears to be pretty well under control in this State and in Ohio, as, with the exception of the Dresden cattle, no fresh outbreaks have come under my notice. There have been some fatal cases of anthrax amongst cattle in the neighborhood of Lexington. And I am also informed that hog cholera is very prevalent and causing great mortality amongst the swine in this State and Ohio. Respectfully yours, Dr. D. E. SALMON, H. A. WOODROFFE, M. R. C. V. S., Veterinary Inspector, Bureau of Animal Industry. Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry. I hereby certify that I this day inspected the undermentioned Jersey females and registered bulls belonging to Messrs. Frisbie & Lake, Cynthiana, Ky., viz: 11 cows and heifers upon the farm of John Moore, 6 miles from Cynthiana; 58 heifers and 3 bulls upon the farm occupied by George Mitchell, 6 miles from Cynthiana; 57 cows and heifers and 17 bulls on farm occupied by A. T. Fitzwater, as tenant of J. K. Lake, 3 miles from Cynthiana. After a careful examination I find said cattle in perfect health, and free from any appearance of pleuro-pneumonia or other contagious diseases. H. A. WOODROFFE, M. R. C. V. S., Veterinary Inspector, Bureau of Animal Industry. CYNTHIANA, KY., December 23, 1884. The following telegrams will show the action taken by the Department on the receipt of Dr. Woodroffe's letter: FRISBIE & LAKE, Cynthiana, Ky. : UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, You are hereby notified, in accordance with the law relating to contagious animal diseases, not to ship cattle to Texas or elsewhere without permit from this Depart ment. GEO. B. LORING, Commissioner of Agriculture. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Dr. H. A. WOODROFFE, Lexington, Ky.: Go to Cynthiana inmediately and notify me by telegraph if Frisbic & Lake's cattle have been shipped. GEO. B. LORING, Commissioner of Agriculture. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AGENT KENTUCKY CENTRAL RAILROAD, Cynthiana, Ky.: Under the provisions of sections 6 and 7 of the act of Congress approved May 29, 1884, I am obliged to notify you that the herd of cattle belonging to Messrs. Frisbie & Lake, of Cynthiana, Ky., are affected with contagious pleuro-pneumonia in the judgment of the veterinary Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry of this Department, and that their shipment over the Kentucky Central Railroad would be a violation of the act referred to, and would render your company liable to the penalty therein specified. GEO. B. LORING, Commissioner of Agriculture. This action was taken because(1) In the conference of Kentucky cattle-breeders held in Lexington, Ky., September 19, 1884, Messrs. Frisbie & Lake, through their counsel, were reported to have made this statement: On the 15th instant they received a letter from E. A. Carman, Acting Commissioner of Agriculture, and afterwards from Governor Knott, to make no sales. Wednesday they noticed several cattle sick, and Dr. Hagyard was sent for and slaughtered a cow and discovered the presence of pleuro-pneumonia. Since then several others have taken sick, and have been in contact with the herd, which numbers upwards of 200 animals. (Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, September 21, 1884.) (2) In a letter to the Department, dated September 18, 1884, Messrs. Frisbie & Lake wrote: Our herd consists of about 250 head, and all of them had an opportunity to take the disease if contagious.-(First Annual Report of Bureau of Animal Industry, 1884, p. 32.) (3) On September 24, 1884. the chief of this Bureau visited the farm of Mr. Lake, of which A. T. Fitzwater was tenant, and found there running with the remainder of the cattle on the farm two animals which, on examination of the lungs, presented very plain symptoms of pleuro-pneumonia, and others which were not examined, but which did not appear well, and which were believed at the time to be suffering from the same disease. Mr. Frisbie was present at this examination, and expressed the opinion that a considerable number were more or less affected. Indeed, at the time of this visit no one questioned the fact that the unregistered as well as the registered cattle had been exposed and were sickening, and when the stockmen of the State attempted to raise money to purchase and slaughter this herd they appraised the unregistered as well as the registered, and they did this because of the statement of Messrs. Frisbie & Lake that all were infected. These facts were deemed sufficient to justify the holding of the herd in Kentucky until a longer period had elapsed, even though the inspectors had been unable to find any traces of disease by a careful and thorough examination. The examination actually made, it was learned afterwards, was a very superficial one, less than half of the animals in the herd being caught for this purpose. The following telegrams were received from Dr. Woodroffe and Messrs. Frisbie & Lake, January 3, 1885: Hon. GEO. B. LORING, CYNTHIANA, KY., January 3, 1885. Commissioner of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.: Cattle referred to in my last dispatch belonging to Frisbie & Lake were unregistered Jerseys, and had not been exposed to infected herd for fully six months. They were inspected by Dr. Hagyard and myself and found free from any appearance of disease. H. A. WOODROFFE. CYNTHIANA, KY., January 3, 1885. Hon. GEO. B. LORING, Commissioner of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. : H. A. WOODROFFE. CYNTHIANA, Ky., January 3, 1885. Hon. GEO. B. LORING, Commissioner of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.: Before receiving your dispatch we had made a shipment of cattle, but not from infected herd. The cattle shipped were thoroughly examined by Drs. Hagyard and Woodroffe, and were healthy and sound. They have never been diseased, and for six months have been miles away from diseased herd. FRISBIE & LAKE. The governor of Texas was immediately notified of the shipment of this herd in the following telegram: Governor JOHN IRELAND, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Austin, Tex.: Frisbie & Lake, of Cynthiana, Ky., shipped by railroad December 27, 1884, consigned to Austin, Tex., a number of unregistered Jerseys. They are from a herd of Jersey cattle pronounced by the Chief of Bureau of Animal Indestry of this Depart ment affected with contagious plearo-pneumonia. All were exposed to disease, and |