244 EPITOME OF EVIDENCE ON PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 



to great trouble and loss, whereas you allow the men who bring 

 in the diseased cattle into the country to go with impunity. 

 You interfere with your own people every day in the world, 

 and you try to insert every kind of restriction you can for 

 them. I do not see how the Irish cattle should be more 

 unhealthy than our own in winter ; but it is a moist climate, 

 and the animals are often very poor from l}"ing out all winter. 

 I have no doubt that it assists in developing the disease. I 

 think that the transit from Ireland to Britain is the worst in 

 the world ; there is nothing so bad. Cattle will be brought 

 from America to Glasgow, and they will be in a better con- 

 dition than those that are brought from Belfast to Glasgow. 

 I think the evidence you might have in the autumn in Scotland 

 shows what the Scottish farmers think of Irish cattle. If you 

 go to Hallow Fair, you will find the north of England cattle 

 standing on one side, and the Irish cattle on the other. You 

 will see the north of England cattle all sold before the Irish. 

 That is a proof that the Scotch farmers think the Irish cattle 

 dangerous, and they only take them when they cannot help it. 

 I have sometimes thought that if you were to try to amend the 

 system of transit, it would do a great deal of good to rid the 

 country of the disease. I have thought it might do if you 

 allowed cattle to be classified three-year olds, two-year olds, and 

 one-year olds, and to license the boats to carry certain numbers, 

 as is done in regard to omnibuses, and if that were done I 

 don't see why you could not bring over healthy animals. I 

 am certain that if the Irish landlords and the Irish graziers 

 had paid more attention to the matter of their animals when 

 they came to England and Scotland, they would put one and 

 a-half millions more money in their pockets than they do per 

 annum. They have suffered immensely from carelessness in 

 the transit. I think an exhaustive inquiry into this would 

 be beneficial to the country. I think a great deal might be 

 done by making an inquiry, and by putting efficient orders in 

 force. 



Mr R. Rutherford, F.R.C.V.S., Edinburgh, called in, and 



examined. 



I have been in practice twenty-seven years. During that 

 time I have treated many outbreaks of pleuro-pneumonia. The 

 system I would advise to be followed in an outbreak of pleuro 

 occurring is careful examination of every animal amongst which 

 the outbreak has occurred. Slaughter all of the affected, and 

 above all, those that are suspected, and immediate inocula- 

 tion of the remainder. I would kill all suspected animals 

 with a higher than normal temperature, indicating pleuro- 



