REPORT OF THE CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 245 



trade of its embarrassments, on the 19th of January, a state- 

 ment of all the facts in tlje case was published, and a circular 

 was sent to the towns from which milk was sent to market, 

 directing the authorities to appoint inspectors in their several 

 localities, with instructions to enforce the existing regulations 

 and see that no milk was sold but that of perfectly healthy 

 herds. 



The disease was introduced here insidiously, and, by the 

 movement of cattle in the usual course of the trade, it was 

 widely disseminated before its nature or hardly its existence was 

 known to the Commissioners or our stock owners. But the per- 

 fect isolation of all diseased herds, the prohibition to the driving 

 of cattle in all infected neighborhoods, and the absolute inter- 

 diction of stores, milch cows and working oxen from the dis- 

 tributing markets, at once checked its progress, and the short 

 time required in ordinary cases for its incubation, development 

 and recovery, enabled us to control it in the locaties where it 

 existed. But the eradication of the contagion, or the killing of 

 the poisonous power of the virus in places infected by it, was a 

 more important and difficult matter. It was found, during the 

 winter, that the disease was in abeyance when the ground in 

 infected inclosures was frozen, but the introduction of healthy 

 cattle when the earth was softened by thawing, caused a new 

 outbreak. This fact made it clearly apparent that if we would 

 prevent this malady from becoming permanent here and annually 

 inflicting the enormous losses it has occasioned in England and 

 on the European Continent, some method must be devised to 

 compel the perfect disinfection of all places where it had existed. 

 To accomplish this object, on the 4th of March the Board pre- 

 pared minute directions for the disposal and disinfection of 

 everything which had come in contact with the sick animals or 

 which could reasonably be supposed to be infected with the 

 poison ; which directions were sent to all our municipal 

 authorities and the owners of our market yards, directing them 

 to see that they were rigidly complied with, at the expense of 

 the owners of such premises, and to report to this Board the 

 accomplishment of the work on or before the 20th of April. 

 At the same time notice of these measures was sent to all the 

 railroad presidents of the State whose roads extended to the 

 north and west, and they were required to disinfect thoroughly 



