HIE LUNG PLAGUE OF CATTLE. 91 



BUFFALO, 



1 proceeded at oner to lluftalo, X. \. This is ;i ver\ i mpoit ;i nt cattle market. Foi 



the week ending September 18, the receipts wen- 1 ;.>".'. head of cattle. Shipment- 

 for t lie same week. 1 I.O'.U head. 



The stork yards arc located at Mast Buffalo. ii])ou the line of the N'ew Voi-U Central 

 Railroad. An area of :>'2 acres is devoted to the purpose of marketing stuck that is 

 brought here. At these yards is stationed by the city authorities of Miiffalo a cattle 

 inspector, whose duty it is to prevent all diseased anil disabled animals from passing 

 into consumption in the city. 



The present inspector is Mr. Edward Chorriston, who has held this position since 

 January 1. 1>>1. He has been engaged in the business of slaughtering cattle for 

 eighteen years, and is familiar with t he appearance of cattle affected with lung 

 plague, having seen them in Ireland ; imt he states that he has never seen cat tie affected 

 \\ithit since coming to Mutlalo. On July (5, he condemned t wo steers affected with 

 Texas fever, which are t he only ones he has seen with t his disease t h is season. The 

 majority of animals he tinds it necessary to condemn are those which have received 

 injuries in shipping, and from the feverish state of their systems are unlit for human 

 food. The condemned animals are sent to rendering works, where the hide is taken 

 otf. the carcasses are cut into pieces and placed in a large iron tank and thoroughly 

 cooked h\ superheated steam. \Ylien sufficient ly disintegrated the flesh is separated 

 from the hones and used in the manufacture of commercial fertili/ers. 



1 next visited some of the rendering works, hoping by this means to see some 

 (attic that had died either in the city or at the stock yards, that I might determine 

 upon examination of the lungs whether any had died from lung plague. 



While not ignoring other diseases, my chief endeavor was to ascertain if any lung 

 plague existed among the cattle here ; consequently the lungs were the organs I wished 

 to examine. At none of these works were there any dead cattle, and, from conversa- 

 tion with the owners and workmen, I was informed that the number of dead cows they 

 received was very email, and they had not noticed that the lungs presented any pecnliai 

 appearance. I think the abnormal condition of the lungs would have attracted their 

 attention if any animals had been affected with lung plague. Mr. Preston, who is en- 

 gaged in this business of rendering, and who gets the larger portion of cows that die 

 in the city dairies, stated that he got from twenty to twenty-five per year. This is 

 considerably less than the number of dead horses obtained, and goes to show that no 

 contagious disease exists in the cow-stables in the city. 



I next visited the slaughtering establishments, and examined the lungs of cattle 

 killed there. C. Klinck has the largest establishment, and kills upon an a I erage two 

 hundred cat t le per week, the greater number of which he purchases at the stock yards. 

 Mr. Klinck stated that he has never seen any sickness among the cattle, does not find 

 the lungs diseased, and that the livers of the cattle are more healthy than formerly. 

 He tinds the cattle- from city feeding-stables and dairies as healthy as those bought 

 at the stock yards. Has killed about a thousand head from Dr. Firmenick's stable, 

 and has found them free from lung disease. The lungs of the cattle slaughtered that 

 day 1 found perfectly normal and healthy. The cattle in the pens awaiting slaughter 

 were also healthy. 



Surrounding the stock yards on all sides are commons or unfenced land, upon which 

 cows belonging to people in the city are pastured, though at the time of my visit the 

 vegetation was nearly dried up, and next to no grass was to be obtained ; yet it af- 

 forded a place where the cows could exercise themselves. The herds of various 

 owners mingle together here. Herds of fat steers are driven over these commons from 

 the stock yards to the slaughter-houses of their respective owners, and must neces- 

 sarily come in contact, to a greater or less extent, with the cows there. Here, then r 

 would be a locality where any contagious disease would spread very rapidly, provided 

 an animal affected with it were introduced. 



One lot of six cows belonging to Mr. Metzdorff, Clinton street, upon these commons, 

 I examined and found them free from any lung disease, and was also told that none 

 of them had died. 



Patrick Grogau, Clinton street, has twenty-six cows, which he turns out upon the 

 commons, but has never lost a cow. I examined them in the stable and found no lung 

 affection. The cows are fed upon brewers' grains and hay, and are kept as long as 

 They i;i\e milk, and when dry are fattened and sold to the butcher. Fresh cows are 

 bought at the stock yards. The stable is six feet high, with the cows tied three feet 

 apart along each side, with an alley three feet wide passing along between the rows. 

 No special provision is made for ventilation more than that from the doors at ea< hend 

 of the alley. John Dietzen, Broadway, has twelve cows, and states that he has never 

 lost one. He also turns them upon the commons. I found them healthy, upon exam- 

 ination. He feeds his cows upon brewers' grains, wheat, bran, and hay. The cows are 

 tied three feet apart, with a passage-way behind them two feet wide. Ventilation is 

 provided by a window, eight by ten inches, in front of each cow. 



