THE LUNG PLAGUE OF CATTLE. 61 



Again, in most of the Western centers of cattle traffic, Buffalo, Pitts- 

 burgh, Iron City, East Saint Louis, Indianapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, 

 Council Bluffs, Galesburg, and Geneseo, the local herds wandering at 

 hirgo are allowed to come close up to the fences of the stock-yards, and 

 even in some cases to wander along the alley-ways between the inclosures, 

 so that if they failed to con tract infection through accessions of new stock 

 drawn from the yards they could not long escape the result of frequent 

 contract with the yarded cattle, if infection existed at all among the 

 latter. 



Then, again, in most of the Western cattle centers, Kansas City, Saint 

 Louis, Council Bluffs, Geneseo, Galesburg, Chicago, Milwaukee, Indian- 

 apolis, and even in Iron City and Allegheny City (Pittsburgh), and 

 Buffalo, the dairy cows, and sometimes feeding-herds, are turned out in 

 summer on the commons or prairies where the stock of different owners 

 mingle freely, so that we find all those conditions existing which have 

 served to perpetuate this infection in all countries where its ravages are 

 continuous. 



As will be seen more fully by reference to the reports of Drs. Farring- 

 ton, Murray, and Paaren, appended, we found all the conditions usually 

 supposed to cause such disease in cattle existing, but no lung plague re- 

 sulting. We found swill-feeding, feeding with the refuse of glucose and 

 other factories, crowding, close, ill- ventilated, filthy buildings, absence 

 of all drainage, cattle subjected to long and exhausting journeys by road, 

 to railroad transit in open cars in the depth of winter and the height of 

 summer, under scorching suns and in rain, fog, and snow, but not one 

 nor all served to develop lung plague. 



As if to add proof to proof, un til doubt became impossible, we traced 

 these conditions along the lines of cattle traffic, from Kansas City, 

 Omaha, and Council Bluffs, through all the successive steps on the jour- 

 ney eastward, through Saint Louis, Peoria, Geneseo, Galesburg, Chicago, 

 Elgin, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cincinnati Toledo, Detroit, Grosse Isle, 

 Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Salamanca, Buffalo, Suspension Bridge, Eoches- 

 ter, Deposit, Albany, Boston, Portland, well knowing that seeds gathered 

 into the river at any part of its course, or through any affluent chan- 

 nel, will find their way into the main trunk and spring up at intervals 

 along its banks. Soil and climate being favorable to the growth of these 

 seeds they will appear especially wherever the waters of the river have 

 been delayed and have overflowed their banks. But at no point of de- 

 tention or overflow, at no market, stock-yard, nor feeding yard, in no 

 herd coming in contact with the inmates of these yards, and in none 

 recruited continually from them, have we been able to find a single trace 

 of lung plague from the source of the traffic at the plains to its termi- 

 nus in our extreme eastern State. 



At the time of our examinations not a shadow of suspicion of lung 

 plague could be thrown upon our Western herds. And with circum- 

 stances everywhere so favorable to its preservation, to have had such 

 a plague once introduced in the line of our cattle traffic was equiv- 

 alent to having it permanently established. Its absence, therefore, at 

 the present moment is a sufficient guarantee of its absence in all past 

 time. 



The following table will serve to show the facilities for the infection 

 of local herds in case the lung plague really entered the line of our cat- 



