126 



ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



QUARANTINE DIVISION. 



The Quaraiitino Division, under Dr. I\. W. Hickman, chief, has 

 continued to achninister rej:;uhitions governing the importation and 

 exportation of livestock and also joint regulations of the Treasury 

 Department and the Department of Agriculture for the sanitaiy 

 •handling and control of hides, wool, hay, straw, etc., offered for 

 entry into the United States. 



INSPECTION AND QUARANTINE OF IMPORTED ANIMALS. 



All possible diligence has been observed in the inspection and 

 quarantine of animals offered for importation in order to protect 

 the country's livestock against contagion from abroad. Importations 

 from Canada and Mexico have continued without interruption 

 throughout the year and in greater volume than during the preced- 

 ing year. No permits Avere issued for the importation of ruminants 

 and swine from the continents of Europe and Asia, on account of the 

 prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease in continental Europe and of 

 that and other dangerous diseases in Asia. Repeated outbreaks of 

 foot-and-mouth disease occurred in England and Wales during the 

 3'ear, but the disease did not extend to Scotland, Ireland, or the 

 Channel Islands. The importation of cattle, sheep, and swine from 

 England was therefore not permitted, but permits were granted 

 throughout the year for shipments from Scotland and the Channel 

 Islands. Horses have also been admitted from Scotland but pro- 

 hibited from England since February 20, 1920. Permits were issued 

 for the importation of breeding sheep directly from New Zealand 

 to San Francisco for quarantine. Two importations of purebred 

 goats originating in Switzerland were permitted from the West 

 Indies. 



In revised regulations issued for the insiDcction and quarantine of 

 import livestock, effective September 1, 1919, special precautions 

 were taken to prevent the introduction of disease through horses from 

 Europe. Special provision was made for the return of Army horses, 

 and 121 of these animals were imported and quarantined at New- 

 port News, Va., under conditions prescribed by the bureau and the 

 Surgeon General of the Arm3^ As a result of blood tests one animal 

 was found to be affected with ulcerative lymphangitis and another 

 with trypanosomiasis, and both were destroyed. 



The following tables show the importations of the various kinds 

 of livestock through the different ]3orts of entry : 



Imported animals inspected and quarantined. 



