Disease" will be found in the report of the State Veterinarian in succeeding paragraphs.

The breeding of pure bred cattle, especially the dairy breeds, has become an important live stock industry in Michigan during recent years, and the pure bred live stock breeders have exercised considerable care in keeping their herds free from tuberculosis and contagious abortion.

The Legislature was asked to pass a law for the protection of Michigan herds against the bringing of diesased cattle into the State by unscrupulous cattle dealers with the result that Section 25 of the Michigan Live Stock Sanitary Laws was enacted, which reads as follows:

"(25) Sec. 25. The importation of cattle into the State for breeding or dairy purposes is hereby prohibited, excepting when such cattle are accompanied by a certificate of inspection made by a duly qualified veterinary surgeon, who is a graduate of recognized veterinary college in the United States, Canada or Europe. Such certificate shall show that at the time of said inspection and within sixty days prior to shipment said cattle had been subjected to tuberculin test and were free from tuberculosis. Duly certified certificates of inspection, giving in full the temperature records of the tuberculin test, must be prepared in triplicate, one of which is furnished the shipper, one furnished the transportation company hauling the cattle, and one forwarded immediately to the president of the State Live Stock Sanitary Commission. The expense of such inspection and certificate shall be paid by the owner of the cattle."

The present Live Stock Sanitary Commission has made an effort to enforce this section of the law, and a number of car loads of cattle originating in other states have been held up when not tuberculin tested as provided by law, and have been ordered sent out of Michigan when shipped in by cattle dealers and speculators.

In numerous other instances, where cattle have been shipped into the State by residents of Michigan not familiar with the law, the cattle have been placed in quarantine until they have been carefully tuberculin tested at the owner's expense and found to be free from tubrculosis. As a result of these precautionary measures, it is generally conceded that Michigan cattle are comparatively free from tuberculosis and contagious abortion.

This fact will prove of untold benefit to the pure bred cattle breeders and dairy interests of the State when this fact becomes more generally known to prospective purchasers of pure bred and dairy cattle from other states, who are looking for sound healthy cattle with which to establish profitable herds.

The last session of the Michigan State Legislature amended Section 24 of the Live Stock Sanitary Laws to read as follows:

"(24) Sec. 24. In case of tuberculosis cattle, whenever the commission shall direct the killing of such cattle, it shall be the duty of the commission to appraise the animal or animals condemned, the owner or owners thereof to receive fifty per cent of value of animals as though not diseased, but such sum shall in no case exceed the sum of fifty dollars: Provided, That the owner or owners of slaughtered animals shall receive no compensation for the same unless the Commission shall be satisfied that the premises have been kept in a sanitary condition, nor

shall they receive compensation until said Sanitary Commission is satisfied that the infected premises have been disinfected in such manner as to prevent the further spread of the disease. When the State Live Stock Sanitary Commission, or a member thereof, shall deem it expedient to have cattle that have reacted to the tuberculin test slaughtered under federal inspection, or under the inspection of a competent veterinarian authorized by the State Live Stock Sanitary Commission, it shall have the power to order such slaughter. If the carcass of any such animal shall pass the inspection without being condemned, the owner of the animal shall receive all proceeds secured from the sale of such carcass after payment for shipping, handling and slaughtering charges have been deducted, in addition to the above mentioned fifty per cent appraisal value. If the carcass of any such animal shall be condemned by the inspectors, the owner of the animal shall receive the proceeds of the sale of the hide, tallow, offal or any other proceeds from the sale of the carcass, after deducting the cost of handling, shipping and slaughtering, in addition to the above mentioned fifty per cent appraisal valuation: Provided, That any animal, upon being slaughtered, and showing no tuberculin lesions, the owner thereof shall be paid full value for such animal, but such sum in no case shall exceed the sum of seventyfive dollars. The State Live Stock Sanitary Commission shall have power to designate the places where suspected animals shall be slaughtered, and also to employ a competent inspector to examine the carcasses of slaughtered animals."

This additional remuneration for tubercular cattle slaughtered has proved an incentive for owners of cattle to test their herds and remove the tubercular animals, and thus materially reduce the number of tubercular cattle in the State.

This Department estimates that about 700 herds of cattle have been tuberculin tested in Michigan during 1913 and 1914.

The files in our office show that nearly 8,000 head of cattle have been tested and 647 reacting cattle have been slaughtered and remuneration to the amount of $20,512.00 has been paid by the State of Michigan to the owners of these reacting cattle during the biennial period of 1913 and 1914.

The number of tubercular cattle slaughtered with the remuneration paid for the same is hereby tabulated by counties, showing the number of tubercular cattle slaughtered in each county, with the total amount received from the State in each county by the owners of these cattle:

The above tabulated report showing 647 reacting cattle slaughtered out of about 8,000 head of tuberculin tested must not be taken as showing the probable percentage of tubercular cattle in Michigan.

It must be remembered that during the biennial period of 1913 and 1914, the Live Stock Sanitary Commission has ordered numerous suspicious herds tuberculin tested with the result that a number of these herds have been found to be from 25% to 100% tubercular, and these diseased cattle have been slaughtered and are included in the 647 tubercular cattle listed above.

It is the opinion of this Department that the percentage of tubercular cattle in Michigan is comparatively small at the present time, and it is hoped that pure bred cattle breeders and dairymen will continue to exercise all necessary precaution in the future as they have in the past and thus continue to keep their herds free from tuberculosis.

This Department desires to respectfully call the attention of the Michigan State Legislature to Section 27 of the Michigan Live Stock Sanitary Laws, which reads as follows, viz.:

"(27) Sec. 27. It shall be required of all individuals or firms who sell mallein or tuberculin to any resident of the State of Michigan to report such sale immediately to the State Veterinarian, including the date of sale, name and address of parties to whom sold, and the amount of such sale."

There is no penalty provided for the violation of this section of the law, and during the biennial period of 1913 and 1914 not a single case of the sale of mallein or tuberculin by individuals or firms has been reported to the State Veterinarian. We would recommend that this seetion of the law be amended to prohibit any firm of individual selling mallein or tuberculin to any resident of the State of Michigan, except where permission is given by the State Live Stock Sanitary Commission, or a member thereof, or by the Michigan State Veterinarian, and where this law is violated, a suitable penalty should be provided.

We believe that this Department can give better protection to the live stock interests of the State if we have a record of where and when mallein and tuberculin is used.

SHEEP.

Since our last report, very few cases of disease in sheep have been reported to this office. The disease commonly known as "scab" has become almost extinct in Michigan. Since our last report, but four cases of this disease have been known to exist in the State. These cases have yielded readily to treatment by a thorough dipping with a solution of nicotine or coal tar preparations. It was at one time thought that scab could not be cured, but it has been demonstrated that it can be cured and it is easily handled, and at the present time, I believe we are safe in saying that not a single case of scab exists among the flocks of this State.

HOG CHOLERA.

The hog cholera situation, while not unusually alarming, is nevertheless a very serious problem; and in the past has baffled all attempts at eradication or control. It is today the most infectious, contagious disease which attacks the hog family, and makes very uncertain the success of pork production by the farmers. The ravages of this disease are not greater at this time than they have been; and no greater in Michigan than in many states. Still the problem is unsolved and the proposition of best handling the disease is very important. This work is one of our Department's activities and we hope to make it very prominent and efficient in the future.

TERRITORY.

The disease is found in all parts of the world in varying degrees of prevalence. In the United States it was first recorded in Ohio in 1833 and was supposed to have been introduced by foreign importation of hogs, and has spread to every section of the United States. Federal investigators have estimated the loss to hog raisers of the country to be at least $60,000,000.00 per year.

NATURE AND DESCRIPTION.

Cholera is not borne in the air, as many suppose, but is acquired by taking the germs into the system, mainly with the food and drink of the animal, and it affects the whole alimentary canal, which explains the necessity for clean and careful feeding and quartering of hogs. This germ is an ultra-microscopic, living thing, the nature of which is not understood at the present time, even by competent pathologists. As science advances, we expect to understand this baffling subject and acquire a positive, practical cure, but until we do, we must work upon preventive methods. The germ, or micro-organism is present in the blood or excretions of the sick hog, particularly the feces and urine which explains the highly infectious nature of the disease; and as it is taken into the body through the food, and drink of the animal, it can readily be seen that manure and other filth from the pens must be kept from the food of the herd. This fact also explains the necessity for radical sanitary treatment and strict quarantine. The majority of hog pens are in a filthy condition as the result of the accumulation of litter and manure gathered through months and perhaps years. Many times food is scattered in the pens and becomes contaminated by all kinds of filth before being eaten by the hog. Hence, if cholera has existed, the litter and manure has been saturated with the body discharges of sick animals and is alive with the germs. The building of pens enclosed with fine wire netting and provided with cement floors to which the hogs are admitted only at feeding time is evidently a wise precaution, these feeding pens to be thoroughly disinfected and cleaned regularly. A strong healthy hog cared for in a sanitary way is less susceptible than one