No. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



137 



The work of the laboratory has materially increased duriug the 

 past 3^ear. It appears that the veterinarians throughout the State 

 have come to realize the assistance the laboratory can give them 

 in making diagnoses of their cases, especially those that are sus- 

 pected of being of an infectious or contagious nature. A complete 

 report of the work of the laboratory will follow. 



THE MEAT HYGIENE SERVICE 



The agents of the Meat Hygiene Service have worked arduously 

 in the territories assigned to them. Their work has consisted prin- 

 cipally in the re-inspection of slaughter houses and of giving advice 

 to those Avho proposed the erection of new buildings to be used for 

 the slaughtering of animals for food purposes. 



Owing to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease the previous year, 

 it was not possible for the agents to visit the slauglitering and 

 rendering plants in their territories as often as desired. This year 

 they have been able to give their undivided attention to the work 

 of inspecting meat and all by-products that are to be used for food, 

 as well as to give instructions as to the manner in which animals 

 shall be killed and the disposal of the otfal. In nearly all territories 

 each slaughtering house has been inspected at least twice and some- 

 times three and four times with a few exceptions. During the 

 summer months when the flies were abundant, attention was paid 

 to meat markets in order to insist upon the owner keeping all meat 

 well covered. The greatest difficulty encountered along this line 

 in market houses where the meat was exposed for a period of 

 to Ave hours in the morning; the owner claiming tliat if he 

 forced to cover up his meat that it would be impossible for 

 to obtain new trade inasmuch as customers could not see the 

 character of the meat he had to offer. 



Attention lias also been paid to the iuspection of carcasses of 

 animals that have been killed which were previously not considered 

 to be tuberculous, but afterwards found to be diseased to such an 

 extent as to render their meat and by-products unfit for food pur- 

 poses. 



The folowing table will give an illustration of the number of meat 

 markets and slaughter houses inspected during the year: 



was 

 four 

 was 

 him 



MEAT MARKETS 



County 



Si « 



a d 

 >- c o 



3c.a 



Adams, _. 



Allegheny (a), 



Armstrong, -.- 



Beaver, 



Bedford, ^ 



Blair, 



Berks, - 



Bradford^ --. 



Butler, 



Bucks, 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



