No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 613 



Northern states by the introduction of Southern cattle. The nature 

 and cause of this disease were discovered in 1889. Measures were 

 at once taken to prevent the infection of Northern cattle, and with 

 such success that Texas fever formerly so prevalent is now almost 

 unknown in the Northern states. Moreover, measures have been 

 devised for the protection of Northern cattle taken South with 

 such success that great numbers of breeding animals have been 

 taken to Texas and othern Southern states with the result that 

 the Texas long-horn has been practically bred out of existence and 

 Texas bred steers are now of such good quality that many of them 

 have taken high prizes at the great stock shows in Chicago. Meas- 

 ures are now being taken — measures that have been developed 

 by veterinarians — to exterminate the cattle tick in invested portions 

 'of the country. This work has been carried out successfully in 

 some large districts, and, although the tight will be a long one, 

 there is no reason to doubt that it will ultimately result in the 

 eradication of this bovine scourge. The benefits that result from 

 the measures already taken amount to untold millions, and it is 

 estimated by Meyer that when this source of disease is finally ex- 

 tinguished the country will be better off to the extent of $100,00*0,000 

 each year. Then the South will become a great breeding ground for 

 supplying feeders to the corn-growing states. 



The other disease that I shall refer to is the so-called "milk-fever," 

 parturient paresis or "dropping-after-calving," This disease has 

 long been one of the principal destroyers of dairy cows of the first 

 class. It is a disease that is most likely to take cows that are 

 heavy milkers and while they are in the prime of life. It has had 

 two especially untoward results: First, it has destroyed many, in- 

 deed, a large proportion of the most highly developed and most 

 valuable dairy cows, and thus has prevented further increase in the 

 produce of these exceptionally useful cows. Second, milk fever has 

 seemed to establish a barrier to the evolution of the milch cow, as it 

 has destroyed so large a proportion of the cows that reach or 

 pass a given standard yield. In some good dairy herds the average 

 ^ mortality from milk fever was for many years higher than from 

 all other diseases. By means of a simple treatment discovered by 

 Schmidt, a Danish veterinarian, it is now possible to cure from 90 

 to 95 per cent, of all animals suffering from this disease. The gain 

 to the dairy industry from this discovery is almost beyond belief. 

 It amounts to at least a million dollars a year in each of the leading 

 dairy states of this country, and the saving and profit is sufQcieni 

 to pay the interest on the entire bonded indebtedness of the Penn- 

 sylvania railroad. Surely this discovery constitutes an enornioue 

 addition to our national wealth. The saving to the country is 

 equivalent to a discovery of a new source of wealth, equal to an 

 income producing investment of more than .$150,000,000. This dis- 

 covery has already saved to cattle breeders more money than has 

 ever been paid on building, equipping, and maintaining all the 

 veterinary schools of the world since the establishment of the first 

 one in France in 1702. For this valuable discovery Schmidt has 

 received several resolutions of thanks, and his Danish colleagues 

 have presented him with a loving cup! While the full credit for 

 this discovery must go to Schmidt, it should not be overlooked that 



