52 . Missouy'i AgricuUural lleport. 



REPORT OF STATE VETERINARIAN. 



Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Board, of Agriculture : 



The work of the Veterinary Department was greatly handicapped 

 during the past year by the lack of funds. At least five more men 

 should have been available for the veterinary service. In order to cover 

 the ground at all, it was necessary to leave the control of hog cholera 

 almost entirely to the Experiment Station, and to omit investigations 

 of all outbreaks of contagious diseases which did not threaten immedi- 

 ate and heavy losses. In cases of outbreaks of scab among sheep we 

 simply took the matter up through correspondence, and did the best 

 we could in that way. Of the thirteen outbreaks of lip and leg disease 

 of sheep, we were able to thoroughly investigate but one. A serious 

 disease among horses and mules in parts of southwest Missouri was 

 left without any investigation whatever. In all probability this dis- 

 ease is what is known as infectious anemia. In view of the fact that it 

 is of a serious nature, and may become wide-spread, it would certainly 

 be worth while for the State to provide sufficient means for its investi- 

 gation and suppression. There were many other matters of more or less 

 importance that were neglected simply from the fact that there were 

 no funds with which to employ sufficient force of competent men. In 

 the event of a general outbreak of any serious contagious disease of live 

 stock, our present force would be entirely inadequate to protect the 

 State from its ravages. We are by no means prepared to safe-guard 

 the health of the live stock in the manner that it should be done in a 

 great live stock producing State lilce ours. 



Personally, I have attended to the office work, lectured at farmers' 

 institutes, and done as mucli as possible of the tuberculin test work. 

 In addition to planning and superintending the Texas fever, and all 

 other control work, I spent over three months of the past sununer in the 

 field assisting in spraying cattle for the eradication of Texas fever ticks 

 from cattle. Concerning the control work attempted, I beg leave to re- 

 port of each disease separately, as follows : 



SCABIES . 



During the year we had official information of thirty-four outbreaks 

 of scabies among sheep in this State. There were probably a few other 

 outbreaks concerning which we had no information. 



