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Y yy Wage LF Te Pr eee ae oe hate en aN a Clee re i ates Sy revi a 
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t awe ‘ is; : ' i Riel NE 5 4 Ws eee al 
BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. — fi 
_. general census returns or by the reports of the Statistician of the De- 
- partment. During the past year a very thorough inquiry has’ been 
made as to the number and value of the thorough-bred cattle of dif- 
ferent varieties in the United States. A separate study is now being 
made of the sheep industry, its condition, the methods by which it is 
co.ducted in the various sections of the country, and the means by 
which it can be improved and made more profitable. : 
The investigations of this character have been made in a compara- 
tively inexpensive manner by the appointment of one or two agents 
> having special knowledge of the subject. The results obtained in 
‘the past have been accurate and of very great value. 
CLERICAL WORK OF THE BUREAU. 
Since the passage of the appropriation act for the current year the 
clerical work of the Bureau has greatly increased. There has been 
a large correspondence trom all sections of the country in reference 
to outbreaks of disease, and requesting copies of reports or informa- 
tion on special subjects connected with stock-raising. 
It has also required much labor to make a record of the reports of 
all the different employés and to supervise their work and expendi- 
tures. This work has been organized as rapidly as possible and sys- 
tematized, so that it is done with aminimum number of employés. 
The details of the work of this Bureau are published in annual re- 
ports, which show the work done and the information obtained dur- 
ing the year. There is, however, an increasing demand for special 
reports on various subjects, which shall collect and summarize all 
attainable knowledge bearing on the particular subject trea.ed. It 
seems to me very desirable that such special reports on matters of in- 
terest and importance should beissued from time to time, and more 
attention will in the future be devoted to this branch of the work. 
FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ON THE NATURE AND PRE- 
VENTION OF HOG CHOLERA. 
An extensive outbreak of hog cholera near the city of Washington 
during the months of November and December, 1887, afforded the 
opportunity of examining more carefully the condition of the lungs . 
in the various types of this disease as contrasted with swine plague 
or trueinfectious pneumonia, Atthe same time the bacteriological ex- 
amination re-affirmed the constant presence of the bacterium de- 
scribed three years ago in genuine hog cholera and its causal relation 
to this disease. It is to be hoped that the rather stubborn and wholly 
unfounded position maintained in some quarters that there is no dis- 
ease such as hog cholera independent of swine plague will be given 
up. This is the more important inasmuch as hog cholera is a more 
prevalent and more virulent disease than swine plague. At least 
live epizootics have been observed in the District of Columbia to one 
of swine plague. In order to combat any bacterial disease it is ab- 
solutely essential that all facts connected with the life history of the 
bacteria be taken into account, and this implies the frank acceptance 
of results of investigations if the evidence has been fully and unre- 
servedly presented. 
The history of the outbreak, as far as could be ascertained, was 
briefly as follows: On October 28, there were in all 119 swine, chiefly 
AG 87——31 
