8 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



— also in Lexington. It proved to be plciiro-pneuraonia, and its 

 origin was directly traced to a dealer, and from the sale of cattle 

 by him, to eight different herds. The appropriation ($1,000,) 

 was soon exhausted, consequently the commissioners resigned. 



The selectmen of several towns were called upon to execute 

 the law, which they (some of them at least,) reluctantly did, yet 

 the disease still prevailed. Accordingly the present board of 

 Commissioners was appointed in April, 1864. 



It was found that several herds were affected, and that the 

 origin of the disease was in Lexington or that immediate 

 vicinity. Seventy-four cattle were killed during the year. 



In 1865 but three herds were found affected with the disease, 

 from which four animals were killed. 



The Legislature at its last session, in a proviso to the Resolve 

 allowing the sum of twenty thousand dollars to the use of the 

 Commissioners, require them to make investigation and report 

 upon the curability of the disease. 



No cases of the disease having come before the board the past 

 year, they were of course unable to comply with the request, and 

 can only refer, for information on this subject, to the report of 

 last year, on the experiments made by the Commissioners during 

 the years of 1864 and 1865. 



The uniform course of the present board has been to isolate 

 all herds they have found affected with the disease, and such 

 other cattle as had in any way been exposed to diseased herds, 

 to kill such as they were satisfied had the disease to that extent 

 as to make them useless to the owner, and, in but few instances, 

 only such. The result of our action contrasts favorably with 

 that of Great Britain in the management heretofore of contagious 

 diseases among cattle. 



In Great Britain, during the past two years, public attention 

 has been diverted from pleuro-pneumonia to the more terrible 

 disease, rinderpest. 



We here quote from Prof. McCall's introductory lecture before 

 the class of veterinary students, November 6th of the present 

 year, at Glasgow, Scotland, to show that pleuro-pneumonia is still 

 making its ravages among the cattle of that country : — 



"For upwards of twenty years this country has annually lost thou- 

 sands of cattle from one contagious disease alone, viz., pleuropneumonia, 

 and at the present moment it is busy among our herds. One gentleman 



