SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IX 491 



Through active scouting by employees of the Bureau of Animal 

 Industiy on October 16 and 17, many diseased herds were discovered 

 in the vicinity of Niles, and it was learned that the infection had 

 been spread rapidly through local creameries but was yet confined 

 to an area about eighteen miles long and eight miles wide, extend- 

 ing from Niles southwest through Barrien county, Michigan, into 

 St. Joseph and LaPorte counties, Indiana. Barrien and Cass coun- 

 ties, Michigan, and St. Joseph and LaPorte counties, Indiana, were 

 quarantined under an order of the Secretary of Agriculture, ef- 

 fective October 19, 1914, and the authorities of the infected states 

 proceeded immediately to issue their quarantine orders. 



Before proceeding with the actual work of eradication, arrange- 

 ments were made with the various state officials for co-operation in 

 the work, and it was mutually agreed that the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture and the states should share equally the ex- 

 penses incurred in the purchase of diseased and exposed animals, 

 the cost of burial, the cleaning and disinfection of infected premi- 

 ses, and the appraised value of property destroyed in connection 

 with the cleaning and disinfection of infected premises. These ar- 

 rangements proved generally satisfactory and the states willingly 

 rendered valuable assistance in suppressing the disease. 



As this outbreak occurred in a thrifty dairy and stock raising 

 community in close proximity to the public stock yards of the Cen- 

 tral West and not far from the open range territory, the live stock 

 industry of the country was threatened with a grave calamity, and 

 it was realized that prompt drastic measures must be adopted if we 

 hoped to eradicate the disease. After seriously ci^nsidering the un- 

 favorable conditions that were confronted and the consequences to 

 Ihe live stock industry' that would follow failure, it was decided to 

 adopt the quarantine, slaughter and disinfection method in com- 

 bating the disease, as this method had proved successful in eradi- 

 cating previous outbreaks from this country and is, in fact, the only 

 method that has ever proved effectual in eradicating foot and mouth 

 disease from any country. 



Steps were taken immediately to assemble a sufficient number 

 of inspectors ; the creameries were closed ; all movement of live stock 

 in the quarantined district was stopped; all shipments that had 

 gone out of the infected territoiy for the previous three months 

 were traced back to the farm, and all cars that had carried live 

 stock out of the district during that time were ordered cleaned and 

 disinfected before they were again used. Everything was going 



