No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUIVfURE. 131 



this local slaugliter business, a combine of packers could regulate 

 the price of dressed meats at will. 



Since, under existing conditions, and especially since the passage 

 of the new Federal Meat Inspection law, certain large establish- 

 ments have the endorsement of the Federal Meat Inspectors' guar- 

 antee, these inspected meats have decided advantage in the market 

 at the cost of and to the injury of home dressed meats. 



It is evident that the business in home dressed meats will suffer 

 from this competition and that it needs, for its proper development, 

 indeed, for its preservation, the protection and sustaining influence 

 of a State meat inspection service, and the reputation and confidence 

 such a service will give. Such a service will, therefore, be of great 

 economic importance to the live stock and meat producing interests 

 of the Commonwealth. 



On the other side, this measure is of great sanitary importance; it 

 has direct bearing on the security of life and health. The officers 

 of the Federal government and Congress and, in fact, the whole peo- 

 ple of the United States are so convinced of the sanitary necessity 

 for meat inspection that the Federal appropriation of $3,000,000.00 

 a year for this purpose is generally commended. With one twelfth 

 of the population of the United States in Pennsylvania, this means 

 that the Federal government is expending about |250,000.00 a year 

 for the protection of citizens of this State from the evil effects of un- 

 wholesome meats. And the larger part, that is not inspected, is of 

 lower quality and, in general, of more dangerous character than the 

 part that is inspected by the Federal government. 



The field is so large that it will be difficult to organize and con 

 duct any State meat inspection service that will be adequate. As 

 the Federal law requires the support of State laws so State laws 

 will need to be supplemented by local regulations and by the estab- 

 lishment of municipal and other local meat inspection service. The 

 function of a State meat inspection service under such conditions 

 would be to coordinate and regulate the local service and to fill in 

 such gaps as might exist between the local and Federal meat inspec- 

 tion. Of course in the beginning of such a movement a great amount 

 of instruction would be necessary as to the principles and practise of 

 inspection and as to the methods for organizing such service and 

 this instruction, example and leadership would come most appro- 

 priately from the State. 



VETERINARY EDUCATION. As the diseases of animals can- 

 not be effectively controlled witliout the assistance of trained men, 

 and as the training of such men is in older countries and in many of 

 the states of this country recognized as a public function, it seems 

 to be appropriate to refer to the relation of veterinary education to 

 animal husbandry and to the welfare of the Commonwealth, by add- 

 ing, as an appendix a paper on this subject that T presented at the 

 last annual meeting of the Pennsylvania State Veterinary Medical 

 Association. 



Eespectfullv submitted, 



LEONARD PEARSON, 



State Yeterinarian, 



