546 REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



detfuiaino -whetbcr there is n, fever germ among them. We think that olivo branch 

 of ])eace that is being hehl out to Texas drovers is deceptive and should not be borne 

 aloft. There is no doubt in our mind as to the fact that all native cattle north of the 

 Upper Cross Timbers in Texas are as free from splenic fever as are those of Colorado 

 and Kansas. But the herds made np in those sections are so frequently mixed with 

 Southern .Texas cattle previously brought in that it is very difticult to get a clean 

 bill of health. Experience on the border shows beyond any question that there is 

 no definite time betAveen exposure to and development of fever. Ninety days is as 

 short a time as is absolutely safe. It has been known to develoj) at any and every 

 period between ten and ninety days. Hence any such test as aljove meuti<uicd is 

 valueless, except at theend of the ninety days, and the sanitary board is not liktdy to 

 make any rule that has an uncertain sound among the people who have forced the 

 quarantine measures and to whom the board is responsible. 



" The people owning the cattle in the district where the fever is known to germinate 

 have a rigiit to know exactly what to expect, andshould not be buoyed up by false or 

 deceptivH utterances that nught leail them into trouble. If the gentlemen from the 

 coast know their cattle cannot come in under ninety days they will be loth lo drive 

 from Wichita Falls or Harold and take the chances of selling their cattle in the autumn 

 at such figures as those who have range and feed may choose to offer. The fact is 

 that all cattle from what may be termed the infected district will bo nsligionsly kept 

 out until the law has been fully enforced. The lino of infection is the difficult thing 

 to establish, but when once settled it will be a 'sure enough ' dead-line. 



"The western or uorthwe.stern edge of the Up{)er Cross Timl)ers may bo taken ais a 

 safe line, so far as the North is concerned. There are a few counties souih and east of 

 this that w^ould probably be safe .sections to receive cattle from, but the line would be 

 crooked and uncertain. Tlif (|iiesti<)!i can be (Ictermined by honest care, and th6i)eo- 

 ple of Texas are as much interested ia the matter as those of the North. Any county 

 in North Texas where the native cattle take the fever from coining in contact with 

 Southern Texas cattle is a safe country from which to receive native cattle. And the 

 reverse ]iropositiou is true. It is a little difficult to get at an exact, or positive, line 

 just as it is difficult to determine the point where two nicely-shaded lines on a i)icture 

 blend. There is a sort of middle ground in the iiicture where the colors cannot be 

 distinguished. So there is a neutral .strip on this line of infection. But the line as 

 laid down above is on the side of absolute safety. When properly adjusted there will 

 be a safe inlet for all of the steers from North Texas, and that section is really in the 

 same boat with Kansas and Colorado. 



" Instead of a misunderstanding and pulling apart, the people of the South and the 

 North want to enter upou a concert of action that will develop all the facts about 

 splenic fever and enable them to shape their action as to bring about trade and market 

 relations to their mutual interests. Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and 

 the Texan is as quick to assert it as the citizen of Kansas cr any other country. But 

 a knowledge of all the facts will aid all those in interest." 



REPORT OF S. P. CUNNINGHAM. 



In order to gain all the additional information that could be obtained 

 at this time, Col. S. P. Cunningham, an employe of the Bureau of Ani- 

 mal Industry, was directed to make a trip across Texas through the sec- 

 tion of the country where the boundary line of the infected district was 

 believed to ran, and to gather all the known facts bearing on this-ques- 

 tion. Colonel Cunningham made this trip and submitted the following 

 report : 



Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of my labor and its results, as 

 an employ6 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, since niy appointment to dale. This re- 

 port wouitl have been in your hands sooner had it not been held back in order to secnre 

 information that I knew would have great bearing on its value, and when most of this 

 had been collected I was taken with illness, and write now on a bed of fever. I was 

 appointed July 1, 18^5, by Hon. Norman J. Colman, Commissitmer of Agriculture, and 

 notified that you would furnish me instructions as to the field and scope of n;y lai)or.s. 

 Under date otMuly 9, I8d5, I received the following from you : 



" I desire that you should obtain as accurate information as possible in regaid to 

 the movement of cattle from Texas during the present summer. We are anxious to 

 locate the Texas fever line across Texas, and Want all the definite and reliable in- 

 formation on this subject that can be obtained." 



Accompanying this were questions showing the character of information needed. 

 You also instructed mo to obtain from the proper State officers at Austin a statement 

 showing the number of cattle in each of the counties of Texas according to the latest 



