e;xtracts from catti^e commissioners report. 275 



usual to find that like lesions have made their appearance upon 

 the perineum of the victim. In cows, the udder and more par- 

 ticularly the teats show the same vesicular eruption. The 

 attack upon the feet of an animal is frequently manifested in all 

 four feet at once; but one or more of the feet may entirely 

 escape and remain unaffected. As the feet become sore, the 

 animal lies down persistently and bed sores develop which 

 wholly baffle all attempts at treatment until after the patient has 

 regained its feet. 



While the disease is not very fatal (from i to 3 per cent) it 

 destroys the usefulness of the animal for from two weeks to 

 one year, and is quite fatal to young stock fed on the infected 

 milk (from 60 to 80 per cent). It is highly infectious, easily 

 disseminated, and the virus liable to live a saprophytic life for 

 long periods. When an outbreak occurs, the owner should 

 make every effort to keep other animals from coming in contact 

 with his diseased cattle. The contagion is likely to spread 

 rapidly by means of infected manure, hay and other feeds, by 

 the feet of attendants, by dogs, cats and rats carrying it on their 

 feet, by infected cars and other means hard to trace. 



As the disease has appeared in Pennsylvania and some other 

 states, your Commissioners decided to refuse permission to 

 bring cattle from other states into Maine until such time as the 

 federal authorities had got the disease under control. They 

 therefore met at Bangor and issued the following notice. 



Bangor, Maine, November 30, 1908. 

 Board of Cottle Commissioners in session: 



Ordered : That in view of the fact that foot and mouth 

 disease is reported in several middle and western states, the 

 Maine Cattle Commission herewith discontinue granting per- 

 mits, for the purpose of bringing into Maine any grade or pure 

 blood cattle, until further notice. 



The following two provisions should be made into law in this 

 State : 



Whenever any person buys an animal of another, either for 

 breeding purposes or for slaughter, and it is found, within 30 

 days of such sale, that such animal is affected with tuberculosis, 

 the seller shall be held liable for any loss that may occur to the 

 buyer, and all expenses of examination shall be borne by the 

 buyer. 



