MONTHLY REPORT. 
D5EPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
Washington, D. C., May, 1868. 
Str: I herewith submit, for publication in the April report of this division, a 
statement showing the Condition of Farm Stock of the United States at the 
present time; a continuation of the Special Statistics of Farm Resources and 
Products; a concise statement of the distinguishing features of rinderpest; and 
facts from various quarters. 
Respectfully, 
J. R. DODGE, Statisticzan. 
Hon. Horace Capron, 
Commissioner of Agriculture. 
CONDITION OF FARM STOCK OF THE UNITED STATES. 
The customary review of the diseases of domestic animals during the year, 
and their condition upon emerging from winter quarters, has been taken, based 
upon returns to the April circulars from all sections of the country, which were 
very full and evidently considered with care. The practical lesson of this mass 
of information, if heeded, would be worth millions to the country, though it is 
not to be expected that disease may be warded off entirely. ‘The following 
letter, from the Commissioner to the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture 
of the House of Representatives, is inserted as a suitable introduction to the 
detailed statements following : 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
Washington, D. C., May 15, 1868. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge your favor of the 7th instant, relative 
to “the extent of the prevalence of diseases of domestic animals in this country 
at the present time,” and also to the propriety and value of an investigation of 
the nature and causes and possible cure and prevention of these diseases. 
The subject is one of the first importance, affecting the interests of farmers 
scarcely more than the well-being of all consumers of meats. Could three- 
fourths of the diseases of farm stock be prevented, the cost of all meats would 
be lessened, and food production proportionally increased. 
The annual inquiry into the condition of farm stock in the United States at 
the close of winter, and the diseases and mortality of the past year, has just 
been made by the statistical division of this department, and its results have been 
analyzed and condensed. It shows that the past winter has been unusually 
favorable to the health of domestic animals, and that leanness and feebleness, 
which might almost be said to be the rule throughout whole States one yearago, 
are now the rare exception. The uniformly low temperature of the western 
States, with the absence of severe storms, while causing the consumption of an 
unusual amount of hay, grain, and fodder, proved conducive to health and fine 
condition; so that returns of “condition” are everywhere burdened with such 
phrases as “very good,” “extra good,” “excellent,” “better than for years,” 
and “better than was ever before seen.” As an instance, and not the only one, 
