REPOET OF THE BUKEAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 19 



pleuro-pneumonia, or for any person or persons to deliver such affected live stock 

 to any transportation company. 



Your attention is also called to the rules and regulations prepared by the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture, by virtue of the authority conferred upon him by section 

 3 of the aforementioned act, and especially to the sixth, ninth, and twelfth rules., a 

 copy of said rules and regulations being herein inclosed. 



NORMAN J. COLMAN, 

 Commissioner of Agriculture. 



It will be seen that there was a special exception in regard to the 

 Union Stock Yards. There was no evidence that these yards had 

 ever been infected. An agreement was made with the managers that 

 no cattle were to be received from Cook County, and a guard was 

 also established to make certain that this agreement was carried out. 

 Under these conditions it appeared perfectly safe to allow the traffic 

 and interstate commerce passing through these yards to go on with- 

 out molestation. 



Under the same date similar notices were made in reference to 

 Westchester, New York, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, and Richmond 

 Counties in the State of New York ; and Baltimore, Howard, Car- 

 roll, and Prince George's Counties in the State of Maryland. 



To return to the work in Illinois : Beginning with April 20, every 

 bovine animal in the infected district was numbered by a metal tag 

 placed in the ear : this number was so recorded that by means of a 

 double index the animal could be easily located either by knowing 

 the number or the owner's name. Post-mortem examinations were 

 made of all cattle from this district which were slaughtered or which 

 died from natural causes. In this way nearly every herd affected 

 was soon located. As no animals in this district could be moved 

 without a permit, there was no serious difficulty in carrying out these 

 regulations. In addition to this, every herd in which the disease 

 was found, and every herd which was known to have been exposed 

 to it, were slaughtered in the presence of our inspectors. 



Every stable in which a diseased or suspicious animal was found 

 was disinfected in the most complete manner by a special corps of men 

 organized and instructed for this work. 



As a result of these thorough measures the extension of the plague 

 was soon checked, the last acute case being found on July 28, 1887. 

 There were, however, a considerable number of chronic cases found 

 after that time, and the object of the continued supervision was to 

 discover and slaughter all or these as the only sure precaution against 

 a new outbreak of the trouble: 



It was the intention to remove all quarantine restrictions in Illi- 

 nois by January 1, 1888, but the frequent discovery of lesions in the 

 lungs of slaughtered cows which, while not pathognomonic of pleuro- 

 pneumonia, might have been produced by it, led to the postponement 

 of this action. On December 29 an undoubted case of chronic pleuro- 

 pneumonia, with encysted lung tissue, was discovered. From an in- 

 quiry which I at once made as to how this case could have escaped 

 the general slaughter of exposed cattle that I supposed had been com- 

 pleted, I learned that about 300 cows in the infected district had been 

 allowed to remain, on the belief that they had not been exposed. It 

 was one of these animals, slaughtered by the desire of the owner, in 

 the presence of one of our inspectors, which revealed the existence of 

 disease. The remainder of the herd was at once slaughtered and the 

 stable thoroughly disinfected. The quarantine restrictions were con- 

 sequently extended until April 1, and in the meantime the remainder 



