Report of State Veterinarian. 67 



If it should appear from an investigation that tuberculous cattle 

 are being- imported in considerable numbers, or that breeders in 

 other states are unloading their tuberculous cattle on this State, a 

 suitable law or quarantine regulation ought to be passed to prevent 

 if. I will, as far as possible, closely observe this matter during the 

 coming year, and will submit recommendations to the board as may 

 be necessary. 



LEGISLATION. 



In my opinion, the following laws should be secured and I 

 recommend that the Board of Agriculture urge their passage by 

 the next General Assembly: 1, a law authorizing the Board of 

 Agriculture, whenever necessary, to put an inspector at each of 

 the public stock yards in this State with authority to prevent the 

 removal therefrom of diseased animals for slaughter or addition 

 to dairy herds ; 2, a law providing for the disposition of cattle that 

 are found diseased with tuberculosis or such as may become af- 

 fected with foot and mouth disease. 



APPROPRIATIONS. 



For each of the last five biennial periods the appropriation for 

 the use of the State Veterinary Department in the control and 

 eradication of contagious diseases of live stock has been $16,200. 

 This is only $8,100 per year for the payment of the salary and 

 expenses of the State Veterinarian and the per diem and expenses 

 cf twenty-five deputies. The amount of money appropriated for 

 this purpose has not been increased to meet the increased demand 

 for control work. With the limited sum available, it has been abso- 

 lutely impossible to attend to all the work. Many outbreaks of 

 cc-ntagious diseases have, of necessity, been left without any in- 

 vestigation whatever. During the year 1908, there were some 

 forty-three outbreaks of scabies among sheep which we were com- 

 pelled to neglect. Numerous calls for the tests of herds of cattle 

 for tuberculosis had to be neglected. No attempt was made to at- 

 tend to the control of the various outbreaks of hog cholera. We 

 could not employ men enough to prevent losses from Texas fever 

 ir Newton and McDonald counties and had to neglect Ripley coun- 

 ty altogether. 



As further evidence that this biennial appropriation is not in 

 keeping with the vast live stock interests of this State, I submit 

 herewith some comparative statistics. 



