244 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



ful, however, whether our relations with those countries were ever 

 so close as they are today, and it is quite likely that the near future 

 will see an improvement in business relations with that part of 

 the world. When fast steamer routes are opened, stockmen will 

 have at their command more rapid and better means of shipment, 

 and we may then see one very serious obstacle to this trade removed. 

 With the increase of business of all kinds with South America, 

 more convenient methods of exchanging money and credit will 

 naturally follow. 



DISEASE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



The presence of disease in foreign countries is a second ob- 

 stacle to the development of an export trade. Healthy, but non- 

 immune American animals coming into contact with infected ones 

 after landing are liable to sicken and die, and no matter what the 

 cause, the American animal will get the reputation of being unable 

 to stand the climate. This is particularly to be guarded against 

 in the export of cattle to countries in which Texas fever exists. 

 This disease is perhaps the one most to be feared by the exporter ; 

 but, fortunately, our knowledge of it is now such that it is possible 

 so to handle shipments that the danger of loss is reduced to a mini- 

 mum. No cattle should be shipped to the West Indies, Mexico, 

 Central America, South America, Australia, Africa or other coun- 

 tries bordering on the tropics, except to those sections which are 

 known to be free from Texas fever, without having been first 

 rendered immune by some form of inoculation. The disease is also 

 found in Southern France, Italy, Turkey, along the Danube river 

 in Roumania, in Ireland, Finland, Southern Russia, China, and 

 Japan.* Immunity may be brought about either by direct blood 

 inoculation, or by inoculation of young animals by the infected 

 cattle tick itself. For more complete safety, shipments from herds 

 south of the Texas fever quarantine line would probably be most 

 satisfactory. 



It should also be borne in mind that many other diseases, 

 even more dangerous than Texas fever, exist in some foreign coun- 

 tries, and losses are likely to follow American exportations. The 

 prevalence of disease in these countries can readily be ascertained 

 by the prospective American exporter by reference to the annual 

 reports of the Bureau of Animal Industry. Where diseases, such 



♦Bulletin No. 78, Bureau of Animal Industry. 



