7 HE IRRIGATION AGE. 



KEEPING OUT DISEASED LIVE 

 STOCK. 



During the past three years, according to 

 reports received at the department of ag- 

 riculture, the dreaded foot and mouth dis- 

 ease has been raging among the livestock 

 in almost every country in Europe. The 

 officials of the department are vigilant and 

 are closely watching every report from 

 abroad regarding the extent of the malady 

 or to what degree it has abated. Nothing 

 favorable has been heard for some tim 

 and the officials have refused to admit 

 cattle, sheep or swine from abroad, except 

 from the British Isles; The live stock 

 interests of tins country must not only be 

 protected, but when it is considered that 

 we have an export trade in cattle of some 

 thirty or forty million dollars, the work of 

 the agricultural officials is to be com- 

 mended. 



Secretary Wilson recently has entered 

 into an agreement with the Canadian min- 

 ister of agriculture whereby Canada is to 

 station a first-class veterinarian in Eng- 

 land, who is to test all cattle intended to 

 be shipped to this country through Can- 

 ada. These tests are made with a view to 

 ascertaining what animals are afflicted 



with tuberculosis so as to protect our own 

 interests. 



According to an American official, only 

 10 per cent of our cattle have tuberculosis, 

 while those of Great Britain have reach e,d 

 the enormous proportion of 40 per cent 

 The department desired to protect the 

 United States as much as possible apd had 

 taken steps to establish a quarantine 

 against cattle coming from Canada and 

 England, but the Canadian government 

 entered strenuous protest. The Canadian 

 minister of agriculture had said to Secre- 

 ^tary Wilson that he saw no reason why 

 Canadian cattle could and should not be 

 admitted to this country without the teat 

 for tuberculosis at the border. The de- 

 partment of agriculture would not listen 

 to this, but made a counter-proposition by 

 which the Canadian government would 

 aend an expert to England, who, after 

 careful examination of all cattle intende.d 

 for the United States and which were to 

 come by way of Canada, finding such to be 

 free of tuberculosis, would make the pro- 

 per certification to that effect; then the 

 United States would allow thenj to come in 

 to this country. 



