402 ■ Missouri Agricultural Report. 



THE COST OF NEGLECT. 



(By Dr. D. F. Jjuckey, State Veterinarian, Columbia, Mo.) 



Any attempt to summarize the total cost of neglect in a paper 

 of reasonable length must of necessity prove absolutely futile. The 

 items of loss, if enumerated, would require a volume for their state- 

 ment. If the total cost could be reckoned accurately, the amount 

 would seem incredulous. In view of the fact that this paper must 

 be brief, it seems best to confine it to the discussion of the losses 

 from neglect to prevent contagious diseases, particularly those of 

 dairy cattle. 



Sound information concerning the prevention of contagious 

 diseases, and the treatment of those that will yield to treatment, is 

 being spread broadcast over the land in bulletins and agricultural 

 papers. It requires courage in many cases for the editor of an 

 agricultural paper to publish the plain truth. At the present time 

 many of the leading agricultural papers are daring to state the 

 cold facts. The public neglects to read and neglects to believe. 

 The loss from this neglect can not be estimated. 



Many of those who have read and who know definitely and 

 well what steps are necessary to prevent the various contagious 

 diseases, neglect to take those steps. In summing up the cost of 

 such neglect we would have to count the losses from contagious 

 diseases, diseases which amount to millions. 



The dairyman is subject to losses from blackleg, calf scours, 

 garget, hog cholera, contagious abortion and tuberculosis. While 

 blackleg is not as common among dairy as among beef cattle, yet 

 well fed dairy calves should be vaccinated to prevent it. The dairy- 

 man neglects to provide clean quarters for his cows at calving time, 

 and his neglect frequently results in a heavy loss from a contagious 

 form of calf scours. He neglects to care for the udder of the heavy 

 milking cow at the proper time, and his neglect causes the loss 

 of the function of a profitable udder on account of garget. As all 

 other farmers do, the dairyman neglects to prevent the exposure 

 of his hogs to cholera, or allows the infection to be brought to his 

 place, and the cost is already well known. Again, the dairyman 

 neglects to take the proper precautions in breeding his cattle, and 

 allows his herd to become affected with contagious abortion, the 

 cost of this neglect being already well known to only too many 

 dairymen. The dairyman neglects in building up a herd, to take 



