BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 127 



coverable lesions and arc not as numerous as in tlie bodies of mice, 

 and are not expelled as freely. 



During the year 250 samples of checso obtained on the market were 

 tested for the presence of \irulent tubercle bacilli, and IG samples of 

 fresh varieties were found to be infected, in all cases with bovine types 

 of the germ. Fifteen of the infected samples belonged to one kind 

 of cheese which is of interstate importance, and it is gratifying to 

 be able to report that it was possible to enforce measures which 

 promise to secure its freedom from contamination in the future. 

 The one additional infected sample was a fresh, local product which 

 has no general significance. On the whole the investigation indi- 

 cates that so far as tubercle bacilli are concerned most kinds of 

 cheese are safe food. 



EQUINE VESICULAR STOMATITIS. 



The widespread outbreak of equine vesicular stomatitis among 

 horses collected by agents of the French and English Governments 

 for shipment to Europe, and its subsequent spread to cattle, and the 

 remarkable resemblance of the lesions to those of foot-and-mouth 

 disease, necessitated many tests for diagnostic purposes. 



The conclusions supported by special investigations at the Experi- 

 ment Station may bo briefly stated as follows: The disease is highly 

 contagious for horses and cattle, less so for the latter than the for- 

 mer ; it can be induced in hogs by artificial inoculation but does not 

 result from simple contact exposure; sheep and small experiment 

 animals are entirely immune; the germ has not been discovered but 

 does not seem to belong to the group of organisms which can pass 

 through porcelain filters; an attack of the disease confers immunity 

 against another, but the full duration of such immunity has not been 

 determined; the period of incubation is very short, and the period 

 during which attacked animals disseminate the infection is, in most 

 cases, also very short. 



EXPERIMENTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS IN LIVE-STOCK PRODUC- 

 TION IN CANE-SUGAR AND COTTON DISTRICTS. 



The live-stock production work in the cane-sugar and cotton 

 districts was begun in 1914, and is directed by a committee consisting 

 of William A. Taylor, Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry, chair- 

 man; B. H. Rawl, Chief of the Dairy Division, Bureau of Animal 

 Industry ; and W. R. Dodson, director Louisiana experiment station 

 and director of extension service, Louisiana State University. 



IBERIA EXPERIMENT FARM. 



The Iberia Experiment Farm of 500 acres, at Jeanerette, La., which 

 Avas presented to the department by the State of Louisiana, is now 

 equipped for carrying on investigational work with horses, mules, 

 beef cattle, dairy cattle, and hogs. Mules and draft mares have been 

 used on the farm and at the same time have furnished a comparison 

 of their relative costs for farm work. Data obtained indicate that 

 a mare must produce a colt to the value of $103 every two years in 

 order to be as economical as a mule. The cost of raising a mule on 



