•290 



THE A(;RICULTURAL NEWS. 



September 12, 1014. 



In the West Indies, especially in St. Vincent, anthrax 

 lias in the past been a serious menace tu the cattle-raising 

 industry, but by means of vaccination, introdtici d by 

 the Government, the malady has now been placed 

 under control. No case has come un<lt'r observation in 

 this Colony since 1911. The compulsory disposal of 

 infected carcasses has also been an important factoi- in 

 the suppression of anthrax in St. Vincent. 



The health of live stock is veiy carefully guarded 

 in many jjlaces by quarantint', just as the healthy con- 

 -tlitioi) of crops is protected in this way. The out- 

 Isreak of Mai ile Caderas in British Ciuiana has recently 

 •emphasized the importance of ijuarantine, and most of 

 the Colonies are alive to the ilangers of admitting 

 animals, even though they appeal- healthy, from disease- 

 infested territory. Several islands, for example Barba- 

 ■ilos and Grenada, have taken special legislati\e act inn 

 to prevent the introductinn of Mai de Caderas from 

 .South America. 



It is generally admittccl that the most elaborate 

 -animal <juarantine .service in the world is that of the 

 United States of America, .\niiuals imported into 

 New York, for instance, are tiist ijuarantined on an 

 island before being allowed on to the mainland. Cattle 

 from Europe are regarded with particular suspicion and 

 .are generally quarantined for thirty days. This is 

 because of the inability of European countries to con- 

 trol ailiMjuatc'ly loot-:ind-iiiouth disea.se. 



Some years ago a large stock owuii in Texas 

 approached the Government with a view to importing 

 a number of Zebu cattle from India. Amongst Indian 



■ cattle there is prevalent a very fatal disease known as 

 surra, which does not occur in the United States, and 

 consequently the Bureau of Animal Industry refused 

 to entertain the Texas stock owner's representations. 

 Eventually, however, it was agi'eed that the cattle 

 might be imported under specially strict quarantine 



■conditions, under the following circumstances. The 

 importer was to proceed to India in company with one 

 of the United States Government Veterinary Inspectors 

 and select the requisite number of healthy animals 

 personally in Bondiay and obtain evidence that, as 

 far as was known, they had not been near any source 

 of contagion. As well as this it was laid down that 

 the blood of each of the animals was to be examined mic- 

 roscopically in India, to make sun- that the jKiiasite 

 which causes suri-a was not present in a latent condi- 

 tion ill the animal's system. Also it was stipulated 

 that dining the voyage from Bombay to New York, the 

 nniiiials were to be d.-iily exainined in the same wav liv 



the otticei' accoinpanj'ing the cargo. All this was dcjne, 

 and the animals were brought to Xe\y York where they 

 were immediately placed under quarantine in wired 

 stables, the wiring being necessary because surra is 

 a disea.se which is disseminated liy biting flies. 

 Although apparently .sound on their arrival, it was 

 only a few flays before three of the animals showed 

 syiiiptoiiis of surra and were immediately slaughtered. 

 Not until after a prolonged quarantine of five months 

 under screens were thirty-three of the original herd of 

 fifty-one cattle released and sent to their destination 

 in Texas. Eighteen out of a herd of fifty-one had been 

 destroyed in quai'antine. 



This remarkable case has been described in oidcr 

 to show what devolves ujjon the biologist in (|uarantine 

 work, and the necessity for his existence. It also 

 demonstrates the elaborate thoroughness of the Amer- 

 ican system. It is the same with the tick eradication 

 Work ill the T'nited States: neither tim eiior money is 

 spared to control the parasitism and, on the evidence 

 of the stock owners themselves, eiiormims .savings have 

 accrued tinni the suppre.ssioii l>v systematic spraying 

 and i|UMrantiiie, of a pest that threatened to cripple 

 one of the largest, if not the largest, agricultural 

 industry, from the point of view of capital, in the 

 United States. 



In concluding it may be fitting to call attention to the 

 necessity for organized action of the same kind in regard 

 to the tick problem in the West Indies. The health of 

 Westlmlian stock as a whole is intimately bound up in 

 this que.stion, and there is little doubt that a more 

 extended use of cattle sprays in place of the casual 

 attempts to eradicate ticks at present in vogue would 

 lead to a great appreciation in the value of (.me's stock. 

 At this point, reference may be made to papers by the 

 late Veterinary Ofiicer on the Staff of this Depart- 

 ment in the West Jndiun Bulletin. Vol. XIV, Ni>s. 2 

 and 8. The information contained therein will he 

 found usetid and very significant, in connexion with 

 the jji'inciples set out in the present article. 



In Iciirti-t No. 1."), 1'.>U. of the Dfiiartiiient of Agricul- 

 ture, Ciiion of South Africa, it is .said that the condition of 

 the lior.se's health is good when the following points iiuiy he 

 oljserved: skin and hair unbroken: coat .sleek, .shiny, lying 

 close down to the skin; body surface warm and of equal 

 temperature; cool feet; bright eyes; moist mouth: sweet 

 V>rcath; nuicous membrane rosy pink: and so on. Disease is 

 indicated by such symptoms as lack of appetite, shivering, 

 al)nonnal respiration, pul.se or temperature, and the like. 

 The leaHet is instructive and will no doubt serve a u.seful 

 j)ur})ose as an aid to tho.se who arc unaccustomed to horses. 



