XVIII REPUKT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 



The sheep industry has greatly suffered from sheep scab, and this 

 Department has given much time and attention to securing its control 

 and eradication. It has been a difficult matter to get control of the 

 sheep traffic in such a manner as to prevent the spread of scab with- 

 out at the same time too seriously interfering with the marketing of 

 the animals. To lessen the burden of the sheep owners as much as 

 possible, the regulations were at first very simple and easily complied 

 with; they have been made more stringent and effectual as the nature 

 and objects of the requirements became known. 



The effect of this work has been very marked. Sheep owners have 

 been encouraged and stimulated to treat their diseased animals and 

 free their ranges from the contagion. There is a much smaller num- 

 ber of diseased sheep found in the stock yards, and the infection is 

 gradually disappearing. A few years more of earnest work will be 

 sufficient to eradicate this disease and to remove in this manner one of 

 the greatest sources of loss to the sheep industry. 



The number of sheep inspected at various places was 1,801,379, and 

 626,838 were dipped under the supervision of Bureau inspectors. 



SERUM FOR HOG CHOLERA AND SWINE PLAGUE. 



The work of preparing serum for treating hog cholera and swine 

 plague has been continued. Inspectors of the Bureau have been engaged 

 in treating a large number of animals in two counties in Iowa, two of 

 the same counties in which work was conducted during the previous 

 year. The results in general, so far as can be determined at the present 

 time, will not justify definite conclusions, but are sufficiently encourag- 

 ing to justify continued experimentation, including some experiments 

 on entirely new lines. 



The preparation of the large quantities of antitoxic serum necessary 

 to conduct this work in the field has entailed a large amount of routine 

 work in the laboratory, and also at the experiment station, where the 

 animals for supplying the serum have been treated. Full reports are 

 being kept this year, as last, of the herds that are treated. Cultures 

 are taken from the sick animals and are sent to the laboratoiy for fur- 

 ther tests and identification, and care is taken not only to demonstrate 

 the exact character of the disease so far as possible existing in the 

 animals which are treated in the field, liut also to test the quantity and 

 character of the serum used for treatment. Important variations in 

 cultures, cultural products, and their bearings which have developed 

 in this work arc being carefully studied. 



THE PREPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF BLACKLEG VACCINE. 



During the past fiscal year 1,076,060 doses of blackleg vaccine have 

 been prepared and distributed among the various States and Territo- 



