218 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



next Congress may grant another appropriation to continue 

 the good work (for $500,000 will not suffice), and that be- 

 fore many years contagious pleuro-pneumonia may be a thing 

 of the past. If the United States Government does not do 

 the work, I have little faith that the individual States ever will. 



It is an ill wind, however, that blows nobody good, and 

 if this plague ever reaches the range cattle, it will make 

 beef raising profitable in New England once more. 



The Bureau of Animal Industry, of which mention has 

 been made, belongs to the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, and, in speaking of the value of veterinary 

 science to the State, this paper would be incomplete with- 

 out some account of it. 



This Bureau was established by act of Congress, May 

 29, 1884, and was organized the same year, with Dr. D. E. 

 Salmon as chief, and a number of veterinarians as his assist- 

 ants. He has since remained in charge, and the nation 

 would be fully repaid for all the Bureau has cost in the 

 work it has done in connection with contagious pleuro-pneu- 

 monia alone, even if it had done nothing more. But it has 

 investigated other diseases as well, and the annual report of 

 the chief makes a fair-sized volume, which is issued sep- 

 arately from the report of the Department of Agriculture. 

 This Bureau also has charge of the quarantine stations for 

 neat stock at our various seaport cities, where all neat cat- 

 tle imported into the United States must remain for ninety 

 days after landing, before being allowed to proceed to their 

 destinations. In case of any disease lurking among them, 

 it has ample time to develop before the cattle can carry it 

 into a healthy locality. 



These quarantine stations were established at the sugges- 

 tion of the Treasury Cattle Commission, appointed to in- 

 vestigate contagious pleuro-pneumonia, under the Secretary 

 of the Treasury, in 1881 ; but the Secretary concluded that 

 they should properly be in charge of the Department of 

 Agriculture, and they were transfeiTed to it in 1884, and 

 the Bureau of Animal Industry placed in charge, because it 

 consisted of veterinarians. 



These quarantine stations are of great value, although 

 they are not all that could be desired. They are quite a 



