520 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
by drying within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and it is speedily 
destroyed in water. Its life in the soil is no doubt very limited for 
these reasons. Moreover, it fails to multiply on vegetable substrata, 
like potato, and grows feebly in most nutritive media. In these re- 
spects it differs very markedly from the hog cholera germ, which 
manifests a very decided resistance to the destructive agencies in 
water and soil. 
It seems probable that infectious matter from swine plague is more 
directly conveyed from one animal to another than is the case with 
hog cholera virus. Direct contact of the sick with the healthy must 
be considered as one of the principal means of infection. The mucus 
from the lungs contains the disease germs in abundance, and a forci- 
ble expiration by which particles of water, etc., are ejected from the 
nostrils to some distance may easily communicate the disease to 
another. The soil at the same time becomes infected from intestinal 
discharges, as with hog cholera, and it is therefore necessary to sep- 
arate the well from the sick by removing them to uninfected grounds; 
but the infection of the soil and pens can not live for more than two 
weeks, and in a month such places may be considered safe. 
The same remarks apply to both diseases as regards disinfection. 
This need not be so thorough in swine plague if the pens or grounds 
are left unused for a month, and if the healthy be ont away from 
the sick. At any rate, disinfection should always be practiced if 
possible. For this purpose lime is perhaps the best and cheapest, 
and for suggestions as to its use the reader is referred to page 489 of 
this report. 
There may be some difficulty in determining which disease has 
attacked a given herd, or whether both are not actually present. 
Very severe lung disease is now the only sign that is of any positive 
value in the detection of swine plague, unless it be bacteriological 
testimony, which is the safest, but not at hand under most circum- 
stances. Where any doubt exists the disease should be treated as 
hog cholera, and all the rules for disinfection and isolation which 
have been suggested in this and the preceding report for that disease 
should be followed out. In the disinfection lime should take the 
place of the mercuric chloride recommended in the report for 1886. 
Whether this disease can be prevented by inoculation requires 
more evidence than has been obtained thus far, and experiments to 
test this matter are now going on. 
i 
UNITED STATES NEAT-CATTLE QUARANTINE. 
The superintendents of the various neat-cattle quarantine stations 
report the names of the importers, and the number and breed of each 
lot of animals imported during the year 1887, as follows: 
