No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 119 



blackquarter must be kept up for several years after the last case 

 has occurred in a given locality. 



Hemorrhagic septicaemia. This disease was reported during the 

 y<-ar from the following counties: Bedford, Centre, Erie, Franklin. 

 Potter, Tioga and Wayne. It is evident that hemorrhagic septicae- 

 mia is rather widely distributed throughout the mountainous sec- 

 tions of the State. The carcasses of animals dying of this disease 

 should be promptly and thoroughly cremated. There is as yet no 

 method known for vaccinating cattle against hemorrhagic septicae- 

 mia and so, for the present, reliance must be placed in the avoidance 

 of special pastures known to be infested by the germs of this 

 disease, and in properly disposing of the carcasses of the animals 

 that die. 



Hog cholera. The principal outbreaks of hog cholera during the 

 past year have been in the counties of Bucks, Centre, Crawford. 

 Cumberland, Delaware, Franklin. Perry, Susquehanna and Union. 

 On the whole, the disease has not prevailed so extensively as for 

 several years past. This is probably due to the fact that fewer hogs 

 have been brought in from the West. It is chiefly among hogs 

 that have been shipped that hog cholera occurs; even though the 

 hogs are healthy when they leave the western farms, they are inevi- 

 tably exposed to infection during transit, both in stock yards and in 

 stock cars. The result is that it is very dangerous to purchase 

 western hogs or hogs that have been shipped unless they are to be 

 killed before the expiration of the period during which hog cholera 

 may occur. To keep such hogs with the idea of raising or fattening 

 them is to incur such a very hazardous risk that it is not justified by 

 any possible profit from the transaction. The prevalence of hog 

 cholera in Pennsylvania bears a very direct relation to the number of 

 hogs imported from other states, and especially from the West. 

 This depends very largely upon market conditions. When these 

 conditions are such as to encourage the farmers of Pennsylvania 

 to buy western hogs there is much cholera in Pennsylvania, and 

 vice versa. Hog cholera does not appear to be stationary in any part 

 of the State, and thus far it has been possible to prevent the exten- 

 sion of an outbreak beyond a single farm or a single limited group 

 of farms. The situation with regard to this disease is very much as 

 it is with regard to glanders. We are not breeding it at home; we 

 exterminate it as rapidly as it is brought to us and, practically, we 

 never have either of these diseases excepting as they are imported 

 from other States. 



Rabies. Rabies has occurred during the past year in the follow- 

 ing named counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, 

 Centre, Carbon, Chester, Clearfield, Clinton, Dauphin, Delaware. 

 Erie, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Le- 

 high, Luzerne, McKean, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumber- 

 land, Perry, Potter, Philadelphia, Schuylkill. Somerset, Union, Ve- 

 nango, Warren, Washington and York. It appears, therefore, that 

 rabies has occurred in more than one-half of the counties in Penn- 

 sylvania. Some of the outbreaks have been small and some have 

 been rather extensive. In most cases the disease has been con- 

 fined to dogs, and in every case the disease has been propagated only 

 by dogs. Still, other animals have been bitten and the incomplete 

 records show deaths from rabies of 6 horses, 47 cattle, 14 hogs and 



