EPITOME OF EVIDENCE ON PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 253 



the system of re-inoculating an animal when it did not take. 

 After the experience of years, I can speak to its general success, 

 and I would advise the Government to adopt protective in- 

 oculation, along with compulsory slaughter. 



William Cairns, Fountainbridge, called in, and examined. 



I have had over twenty years' experience of pleuro-pneumonia. 

 We had it on our place almost constantly for ten years previous 

 to 1878. I had from 35 to 40 cattle. I lost a good many. We 

 sold them for slaughter. Some would not take the disease for 

 some months, others would take it soon. There were always 

 some animals left in the byres. I tried almost everything for 

 these different outbreaks. I have had no outbreaks for three 

 years ; I attribute this to inoculation. I have not inoculated 

 for two or three years. I have been fortunate in buying cattle 

 and keeping clear all that time. The last time I had the dis- 

 ease was in 1883 and 1884. Mr Rutherford pressed me to 

 inoculate, and I complied in 1878. At this time our byi^e had 

 not been clear for sixty days for some years. Our stock was 

 redviced from 40 down to somewhere about 15. I bought five 

 cows on a Tuesday, I had them inoculated on the Wednesday 

 morning, and the same day I bought three others and put them 

 into the bj^re. The three, which were Ayrshires, cost me £70, 

 and these were put into the same byre with the five. I would 

 not risk inoculating them. They were along with six or eight 

 of the old stock that were in the byre. Well, the three Ayr- 

 shire either died or were ordered to be killed for pleuro- 

 pneumonia within three months from that time. The inspector 

 said it was pleuro-pneumonia. The three died, and the five that 

 had been inoculated were all right. From that I was satisfied 

 that inoculation was a sure preventive. Again, I have seen 

 perhaps one or two that Mr Rutherford tried to inoculate but 

 would not take it on, and none of those animals showed disease 

 afterwards. I have had fatal cases from inoculation from swell- 

 ings at the tail head. At first we lost several, but since then 

 the losses have not been heavy at all — perhaps one out of fifty. 

 All the animals I have inoculated have been cows in milk. 

 I inoculated about ten days or a fortnight after calving. I find 

 it difficult to detect when a cow is first affected with pleuro- 

 pnevnnonia. They go off their milk, but it might be a long time 

 hanging about them. The only way to know at once is to kill 

 one. I think that if an inquiry were made into the matter, it 

 would be beneficial, but I will leave that to scientific men to 

 say. The only thing that we found to cure the disease was 

 inoculating. I have washed the byres from top to bottom, and 



