REPORT OF SECRETARY. 29 



REPORT OF STATE VETERINARIAN. 



To the Missouri State Board of Agriculture: 



(Jentlemen — During the past year the work of the Vcterinar}- Depart- 

 ment has been greater in extent than ever l)ef()re. There has been held 

 a greater number of farmers' institutes than ever before in one year and 

 this work has consumed a good deal of time. 



From some cause there has l)een a greater numl)er of outbreaks of 

 glanders than has ever been reported in a single year. This may be most- 

 ly attributed to the increased traffic in horses and mules, occasioned by the 

 demand for horses and mules for the War Department of this country 

 and England, the demand for horses and nudes for use in grading in and 

 about the World's Fair ground and for use in grading for railroad con- 

 struction. At any rate, the demand for work horsey and mules has been 

 very great on every hand and the traffic in them has been in proportion. 

 It is not unexpected nor discouraging, therefore, that there were a greater 

 number of outbreaks of glanders than usually occur. 



During the drouth of 1901 a large per cent of the hogs, shec]) and 

 cattle of the State were shipped to the market and to other States. In re 

 supplying the farmers with stock cattle during the summer of 1902, after 

 abundant crops were assured, as would naturally be expected, there were 

 conveyed into the State more or less of the contagious diseases. Promi- 

 nent among these diseases was tick (Texas) fever. Outbreaks of tick 

 fever occurred in nine different lots of cattle in North and Central Mis- 

 souri where the disease heretofore has been practically unknown. All of 

 these outbreaks were promptly controlled and the infection eradicated and 

 there is nothing further to be feared from this disease during the coming 

 year, unless there is new infection introduced into the State. It is a mat- 

 ter worthy of note that the ticks which caused the outbreaks of fever in 

 this State in every case were picked up by native cattle in the native pens 

 in the various stock yards, or in cars, which had not been properly disin- 

 fected, in which the cattle were shipped. The disease occurred among 

 cattle which, as a rule, were known to be from areas entirely free from 

 fever ticks and far removed from the permanently infested section of the 

 United States. 



There were introduced by this shipment a few other diseases of minor 

 importance. Among them were mange and malignant catarrh. The 

 mange has occurred in only a few places, as far as I am able to learn, and 

 as it can easily be controlled and cured, it will probably not do a great 

 amount of harm. Malignant catarrh, however, has broken out in numer- 

 ous localities in this State and, principally owing to the fact that the af- 

 fected cattle are not well cared for, is causing considerable loss. 



