BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 207 



control and eradicate infectious and contagious diseases of live stock. 

 Such a board ^Yas appointed June 15, 1910, the day after the law 

 became effective. Arrangements have been made for the Bureau 

 to cooperate with this board in eradicating sheep scabies, and to this 

 end active work will be commenced in the near future. 



The area quarantined for scabies of cattle in the West was reduced 

 during the fiscal year by the release from quarantine of more than 

 50,000 square miles. 



ERADICATION OF BOVINE TUBERCUL.0SIS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



During the past few years there has been a continuous and marked 

 increase in private and legislative efforts to eradicate bovine tuber- 

 culosis. Coincident with these efforts on the part of States and 

 municipalities, the Bureau of Animal Industry has given active aid 

 toward the eradication of the disease in a number of localities and 

 in preventing the interstate movement of cattle affected with tuber- 

 culosis. In the belief that a demonstration of the practicability of 

 eradicating bovine tuberculosis from a given area would be of mate- 

 rial benefit bj'the encouragement which it would give and by outlining 

 working methods to accomplish successful results, the District of 

 Columbia was selected for the purpose, and a cooperative arrange- 

 ment was entered into with the Commissioners of the District. 



All the cattle in the District, numbering 1,701, were tested with 

 tuberculin, and of these 321, or 18.87 per cent, gave reactions. All of 

 the reacting animals were slaughtered under inspection, and all except 

 a few belonging to the Government were appraised and the owners 

 reimbursed. In only five of the carcasses was there a failure to find 

 lesions of tuberculosis on post-mortem, hence the correctness of the 

 tuberculin reaction was verified in 98.36 per cent of the cases. Of 

 course there is a likelihood that in these five cases the lesions were 

 present but were too minute for detection by the methods used. In 

 nearly 77 per cent of the carcasses the lesions were so slight and 

 localized as to permit the use of the meat for food, while the remain- 

 der were more or less generalized cases and were entirely condemned. 

 The average appraised value of the reacting cattle was $45.41. An 

 average price of $18.88 was obtained from their sale, and the Depart- 

 ment reimbursed the owners to the extent of an average of $13.97 for. 

 each animal, making the average loss to owners $12.56 per cow, based 

 upon the appraised value. The particulars of this work are given in 

 the portion of this report relating to the Quarantine Division. 



GID IN SHEEP. 



Since the discovery of the gid parasite in sheep in Montana was 

 announced by the Bureau a few years ago the study of the gid disease 

 and the parasite which causes it has been continued. One publication 

 giving some of the results of this work was issued during the year and 

 others are now in press and in preparation. As the disease appears to 

 be prevalent only in a part of Montana, it is very desirable that the 

 parasite should be prevented from spreading to other sections and that 

 it sliould be exterminated if possible. To that end the Bureau is en- 

 deavoring to place before the sheep owners of the affected region cor- 

 rect information as to the life history of the parasite, the nature of the 

 disease, and methods to be followed in combating the parasite. 



