No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 97 



become established in a new locality and greatly interfere with stock 

 raising and injure the value of farms in a considerable district. If, 

 on the other hand, it can be shown (hat a supposed outbreak of 

 anthrax is, in reality, some less dangerous disease, special precau- 

 tion and alarm are avoided. Jt has, in fact, happened that by the 

 discovery of the first case of anthrax in a neighborhood the perma- 

 nent establishment of the disease has been avoided. 



The early diagnosis of rabies, which is possible only by the use of 

 exact laboratory methods, is of such extreme importance that it is 

 realized as soon as attention is called to it. If a person is bitten by a 

 dog that is suspected of being rabid, nothing is of greater importance 

 to that person than to know whether the dog was rabid or not. 

 About one hundred diagnoses of rabies by the use of the new rapid 

 histological method of Van Gehucten and Nelis have been made in 

 the laboratory of the State Live Stock Sanitary Board by Dr. Ravenel, 

 who was the fust to introduce this method of diognosis in the United 

 States. 



By means of bacteriological examinations of cadavers and speci- 

 mens it has been discovered that certain wide-spread diseases of hogs 

 supposed to have been cholera were in reality another disease. 



Diagnosis of glanders, tuberculosis and many parasitic diseases 

 fiave also been made in the laboratory and many specimens have been 

 submitted for examination and reported by veterinarians and stock- 

 owners in all parts of the State. The laboratory of the State Live 

 Stock Sanitary Board is the only one in the State that is prepared 

 to do this sort of work. 



About 55,000 doses of tuberculin were made during the year, and 

 all of the mallein and anthrax vaccine used in the work of the State 

 Live Stock SaniTary Board. Besides the work referred to above, a 

 number of investigations have been conducted for the purpose of in- 

 creasing the fund of existing knowledge in relation to several of the 

 diseases of animals. The research work that has been done on tu- 

 berculosis is discussed in another part of this volume, and will soon 

 be reported upon in greater detail. Other diseases studied are rabies, 

 paralysis of hogs, lung worm diseases, dysentery of cows, mountain 

 disease of cattle and forage i)oisoning of horses. This work of the 

 laboratory is supported by a sjiecial appropriation of $5,000.00 a year. 



In relation to the general field work of the State Live Stock Sani- 

 tary Board, I shall report on the following subjects separately: 



RABIES. 



During the year, rabies has prevailed to an alarming degree. 

 Nearly all parts of the State have been visited by rabid animals and 

 much loss has come from bites inflicted by them. Four apparently 

 7— f5— 1001 



