ERGOTISM AMONG CATTLE IN KANSAS. 



Hou. George B. Loring, 



Commissioner of Agriculture : 



Sir : In obedience to your telegram of the 5tli of March, requesting 

 me to go to N^eosho Falls, Kans., and there to investigate a disease 

 among cattle, I forthwith prepared jnyseU and left on the 6th, arriving 

 at Neosho Falls in the afternoon of the 8th. On my way to J^eosho 

 Falls I was delayed oV^ernight at Burlington, Kans. On the same eve- 

 ning I read a report in the Kansas Cit^' Journal of a meeting which had 

 been held at Xeosho Falls on the evening of the Gth attended by his 

 excellency Governor G. W. Glick, Lieut.-Gov. D. W. Finney, who, in 

 company with other State ofldcials, Dr. A. A. Holcombe, D. Y. S., of 

 Leavenworth, Dr. Wilhite, of Emporia, and a number of stockmen, had 

 by special train proceeded to ISTeosho Falls, and investigated the dis- 

 ease among cattle in Woodson and Coffey Counties, and upon the au- 

 thority of Drs. Holcombe and Wilhite said disease was pronounced to 

 be the contagious foot-and-mouth disease. At the meeting in the eve- 

 ning a quarantine committee was appointed, with Lieutenant Governor 

 Finney as the chairman. This committee was instructed to quarantine 

 all infected cattle and premises, to guard against further diffusion of the 

 dread disease. Upon reading this article I was greatly surprised and 

 alarmed. I had no reason to doubt the correctness of the diaguosis by 

 Dr. Holcombe, whom I knew from personal knowledge to be a very com- 

 pete n t veteri uari an . 



On my arrival at ISTeosho Falls, Woodson County, late in the after- 

 noon of the 8th, [ was met by Lieutenant-Governor Finney and Dr. 

 Holcombe, who immediately procured a conveyance and accompanied 

 me to the residence and farm of Mr. Daniel Keith, situated in the south- 

 east corner of Coffey County, 5 miles north of Neosho Falls. Here I 

 was conducted to a small pen or inclosure which contained 12 head 

 of yearling calve*. This pen measured about 40 by Oi) feet, and was in- 

 closed on two sides by a rail fence, by a ha3' rack and corn crib on the 

 west side, and horse stable and corn crib on the east. The pen was 

 well bedded with hay and straw. On entering the inclosure 1 walked 

 along the hay rack and gave the hay a hasty examination, but found it 

 clean, bright, and sweet, it being wild hay made on bottom lands. I 

 also looked for ergot among the gr.issws \vlii(;h composed the ay, but 

 discovered only two or three heads of wild rye which were ergoti/ed ; 



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