DAIRY MEETING. 1 27, 



and very likely is beyond the line of our vision, even with the 

 highest microscope. So far, then, we know nothing as to the 

 exact cause of this disease. 



By what means is the disease spread? Well, it is spread in 

 all manner of ways. It is, of course, spread by diseased cattle, 

 or diseased animals of any kind. It is supposed that it is even 

 carried great distances by birds that have been infected, and 

 some experiments have been made in this line, to prove whether 

 birds could carry the disease or not. I remember one experiment, 

 which consisted of feeding pigeons with the infected material 

 which had come directly from cattle, and then the feathers of 

 these pigeons were fed to animals, and the animals were infected 

 in that way. It is easy to see how far the disease might be 

 carried by this means. I do not wish to state that the disease 

 is carried by this means very often, but I do wish to assume that 

 it may be carried by such means. The ordinary means, of course, 

 is by traffic, by cattle travelling from one district to another, 

 by putting other animals into the cars in which they have been 

 confined, and by people travelling from one place to another. 

 A person coming from an infected farm to a farm which has 

 never seen the disease, will carry the infection upon his clothing, 

 and upon his shoes. The manure, also, may carry the disease 

 from infected to uninfected regions. The milk, the cheese, all 

 the products of the animal, may carry the disease from one region 

 to another. So you can see the great difficulty in keeping the 

 disease away from a locality after it has once started in its 

 neighborhood. 



What is the prevention ? The prevention consists practically 

 in keeping out all animals. You must have the strictest quaran- 

 tine laws, and prevent any animal from an infected district from 

 going into a district that is not infected. The strictest laws 

 should be now made for the State of Maine, to keep cattle and 

 all products of cattle from Massachusetts, Rhode Island or any 

 of the infected states, out of Maine. This is the only way in 

 which you can keep the disease from your borders. Quarantine 

 the borders of the state so carefully that nothing can get in, not 

 alone from New England, but from Canada. Keep everything 

 out in the way of cattle until the danger is passed. I think it is 

 also a wise precaution to take, to be exceedingly careful how 

 you allow cow dealers or men interested in cattle from infected 



