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STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



CENSUS OF VETERINARY DIVISION. 



V City Sanitary Inspector and practitioner. 



X First freshman clasa 1912-13. 

 XX Discontinued with fall of 1914. 



* No regular freshman class, four special students. 

 *• Not all definitely settled when report was wri.,ten. 



Kesearch : Naturally, our first duty is the making of men competent 

 to apply the knowledge and facts acquired during their college career, 

 but, even so, we must not remain ignorant of the enormous resources in- 

 vested in Michigan livestock and the present high annual death toll, and 

 we believe the valuation of animals in the State, approximating |175,- 

 000,000, warrants our urging further resources (through intimate rela- 

 tionship with the State Experiment Station or otherwise) that will per- 

 mit of our active cooperation toward curtailing, if possible, some of the 

 annual losses sustained through animal diseases. Taking federal sta- 

 tistics, January 1, 1910, estimating the nation's investment in farm an- 

 imals at 16,002,784,000, with losses during 1915 of |222,850,000 or .037% 

 and applying these figures to Michigan, we can assume that, during 1915, 

 farm animal losses within its borders amounted to or even exceeded 

 |G,000,000. Now, no disease can be said to be understood and worked 

 out in every essential detail; but we must admit that many are prevent- 

 able and that the ravages of others, of epizootic and infectious type, can 

 be very materially lessened. Here then is a field in which we ought to 

 be at work, a field appreciated by at least four states, New York, Penn- 

 sylvania, Kansas and Iowa, where facilities are afforded the veterinary 

 colleges to engage themselves with, and investigate problems incident to 

 animal disease. 



Under our present organization a closer relation can be discovered 

 between argicultural and veterinary affairs, but we are even yet holding 

 back, although there is great opportunity to work to the advantage of 

 the livestock interests through increasing veterinary efficiency on the 

 one hand and, on the other, discovering if possible, better ways for pre- 

 venting animal loss. The report from the Department of Animal Path- 

 ology will show that during its first year it has filled an important and 

 growing demand in the field of diagnosis. A quantity of material has 

 been sent here from veterinarians, farmers and the State Live Stock 

 Sanitary Commission for diagnostic information; this should be encour- 



