‘ 
14 ~~ REPORT OF 'THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 
in Mar Pidntl: have ue ney in ek an ana no ‘dattle altow edn «) vig pr 
to leave them without a permit issued after a special examination. ONES 
By this means new outbreaks have been almost entirely prevented. Sras 
Before these regulations were made the contagion was carriedtothe 
counties of Washington and Delaware, in the State of New York, ‘/ 
and quite widely disseminated. It was stamped out, however, with- __ 
out any serious interference with the trade and commerce of these 
sections. It was also carried into several counties of New Jersey, 
but in the most of these cases it has been extirpated. 
From the beginning of the work for the eradication of this diwdaae, 
in August, 1886, to October 31, 1887, the inspectors of this Bureau 
have carefully inspected 15,387 herds, containing 117,480 animals, in 
districts where the plague was supposed to exist. Among these there 
were found 798 infected herds, containing 10,766 animals, of which 
2,235 were affected with pleuro-pneumonia. These figures do not in- 
clude 2,873 head of cattle in the distillery stables of Chicago, nearly 
half of which were diseased. Thenumber of animals found affected 
with this disease, and the number of. infected herds, were much 
greater than had been anticipated, and the work for its control has 
consequently required a correspondingly larger force and greater 
expenditure of money. Our progress, however, has been very satis- 
factory, and the appropriation has been found sufficient to meet the 
demands which have been made upon it. : 
At the time of writing my last report the serious outbreak of 
pleuro-pneumonia at Chicago, IIl., had recently been discovered, and 
there was great danger that the plague would extend and cripple the 
great cattle industry of the Western States. By promptly placing a 
guard over the worst infected stables, and by co-operation with the 
State authorities for the destruction of all diseased and exposed cat- 
tle and the thorough disinfection of premises, the contagion was not 
only prevented from spreading, but I am happy to say it has been 
entirely extirpated. The restrictions placed upon the movement of 
cattle from Illinois by the authorities of other States and Territories 
are now being removed, and within a short time this interstate traffic 
will again be carried on with entire freedom. While the loss to the 
farmers of Illinois from this temporary interruption of trade has 
been very heavy and the restrictions have been burdensome, it is a 
matter for congratulation that it was possible to remove the source 
of this trouble in so short a time. 
The work done in Illinois from October 1, 1886, to November 1, 
1887, is shown by the following figures: The total number of herds 
examined was 7,285, in which were found 24,161 head of cattle. Post- 
mortem examinations were made on the carcasses of 7,693 animals, of 
which 1,426 were found affected with pleuro-pneumonia. The total 
