(72 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



occur in herds of imported cattle where almost the entire calf crop 

 for the first year was lost. , It is an infectious disease and one which 

 may be guarded against. 



Another disease of dairy cattle not yet controlled in this country 

 is contagious abortion. I was much interested in learning of the 

 investigations of Professor Barrington, of Copenhagen. He is ready 

 to fight this disease by vaccination, lie has discovered that con- 

 tagious abortion is due to a germ which may be introduced into the 

 body in a variety of ways. He has found that feeding this organism 

 to a pregnant cow will often lead to abortion. It is less virulent 

 when injected beneath the skin than when fed. It is a fact that 

 has been observed not only in relation to infectious abortion but in 

 relation to fowl tuberculosis. A chicken may be infected with tuber- 

 culosis very easily by feeding it with a small culture of the macillus 

 of tuberculosis. By injecting an equal amount beneath the skin 

 the fowl is not injured. The injection of the germ beneath the skin 

 has the effect of increasing the resistance of the animal to the action 

 of the same germ taken in by the mouth. This investigator is 

 experimenting with the vaccination of cows against this disease and 

 he is encouraged to believe that his results will be satisfactory. 



The value of the livestock of this country approximates three 

 billion, six hundred million dollars, and it is astonishing that so 

 little attention is paid to the study of the diseases of animals. 

 Nearly all of the veterinary schools in the United States have small 

 equipments and the support is generally from private sources. It 

 is a sad reflection upon this country that practically all the ad- 

 vances in our knowledge of the diseases of animals have come from 

 foreign sources. We have profited enormously from these sources, 

 but we have contributed little to the sum total of veterinary knowl- 

 edge. In this respect we have been leading a parasitic existence. 

 We have been drawing upon the store of knowledge generated in 

 other countries. The appreciation of the knowledg^e of the veter- 

 inary sciences in European countries is shown by the way in which the 

 veterinary schools are supported. In Switzerland there are two well 

 equipped veterinary schools, both far better than the schools in this 

 country. The veterinary schools in Denmark and in Holland are 

 far better than the best in the United States. The one in Belgium 

 is one of the best in the v.'orld. In the larger countries the work is in 

 proportion to the size of the land. In Germany there are seven large 

 well equipped veterinary schools. I hope the time will come when 

 it will be possible to do more work and better work in this country 

 in connection with diseases of animals and that we may be able to 

 induce more students to take up the practice of veterinary medicine. 

 What we are doing is done well so far as it goes. It does not go 

 far enough and the country would profit largely if it were possible 

 for it to go farther. 



