146 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



RABIES 



The disease known as rabies or hydrophobia, has been quite 

 prevalent throughout the State during the past year, it having ap- 

 peared in forty-four of the counties. Only through the strict quaran- 

 tine of ail dogs that have been bitten or have been exposed to the 

 disease have we been able to hold it in check. In many instances 

 it was necessary to place general quarantines on townships, boroughs 

 and counties. In many instances these quarantines were wilfully 

 violated by no one claiming ownership to the dog at large, and it 

 was therefore necessary for the State Livestock Board to enforce 

 these quarantines by placing a man in the district quarantined and 

 authorizing him to shoot all dogs running at large which were not 

 properly muzzled. In this way many valueless dogs were destroyed. 

 The law required every, dog to be taxed and to wear a tag upon 

 one side of which shall be stamped in raised letters the following: 

 ''dog tax for — (naming the year) paid." it becomes the duty 

 of the constable of the district to kill all dogs not wearing tags, 

 and for which services said constable shall be entitled to receive, 

 for each dog killed by him, the sum of fifty cents from the county 

 commissioners. If this law was rigidly enforced it would go far 

 to stamping out this disease. A number of people as well as a 

 great number of large animals, such as horses, cattle, etc., have 

 been bitten by rabid animals. 



A synopsis of the various outbreaks will be found in the following 

 table: 



