Commissioner of Agriculture 267 



ously. It prevailed for a length of time oh the broad and largely 

 fenceless pampas, repeating the experience of the steppes of Asia 

 and fenceless ranges of central Europe. 



NORTH AMERICAN INVASIONS 



The United States remained free during the period anterior to 

 steam navigation, the long voyage of a month or six weeks allow- 

 ing the few animals shipped, even though infected, to pass through 

 the disease on the ocean and to undergo disinfection, together with 

 their products before they were landed. 



The most extended invasion occurred in 1870, when short horn 

 cattle from England were landed at Montreal and introduced the 

 disease into the herd of the importer. Sales from this herd, before 

 disinfection had been accomplished, carried the infection to dif- 

 ferent outside herds, and the plague swept rapidly over the 

 provinces of Quebec- and Ontario and, escaping southward by the 

 ports of entry, Ogdensburg, Cape Vincent and Suspension Bridge, 

 entered New York, where, following the course of the cattle trade, 

 it ravaged New York, New England, and New Jersey. For- 

 tunately, the outbreak took place in the late autumn and early 

 winter, when the dangers of conveyance by insects and birds were 

 eliminated. It was before the days of the pestiferous English 

 sparrow in America. The rapid diffusion of the disease tem- 

 porarily arrested almost all trade and movement of stock. The 

 severity of the winter drove all herds from the fields into the 

 yards and barns, where each herd was closely shut up and isolated, 

 and before the susceptible spring calves were born, all infection 

 had disappeared and the outbreak was permanently abolished. 



In later years, before 1883, when the quarantine on imported 

 cattle was imposed, various importations introduced the infection, 

 which spread through the herd in which the importation was 

 placed. By declining all sales for some months, however, the 

 owner of each such herd allowed time for complete disinfection 

 and the trouble did not extend beyond the one new American center 

 of infection. 



In 1884, a herd imported from England to Portland, Maine, 

 had passed through the disease at sea and appeared well when 

 landed, but contaminated the road over which they walked to the 



