506 BOARD OF AGlilCULTUKE. [Pub. Doc. 



for examination. The carcass presented the appearance de- 

 scribed in Mr. Whitney's letter ; the principal lesion seemed 

 to be a swelling under the skin of the neck and into adjoin- 

 ing muscles. Specimens from the neck were removed by 

 Dr. Frothingham for microscopic examination, who reported 

 March 14 that the heifer died of symptomatic anthrax. 



At the time of the visit of the chairman of the Board and 

 Dr. Frothingham the other cattle were examined. There 

 were ten or a dozen cows, a few yearlings and two-year-olds 

 left, but all seemed healthy, and the temperatures were taken 

 and none were found to be feverish. 



This is a disease peculiar to young cattle, and none of the 

 mature ones showed symptoms of sickness at any time. 



After receiving Dr. Frothingham's report, Mr. Wright 

 was written to, as follows : — 



Boston, March 14, 1899. 

 Mr. John Wright, Ashburnham, Mass. 



Dear Sir : — Dr. Frothhigham informs nie that your young 

 cattle have died of symptomatic anthrax, which is caused by a 

 spore-producing bacterium. These spores are little seeds in the 

 germ that produce the disease, and if they get into the system of 

 another j'oung animal through a cut or scratch it is likely to cause 

 the trouble to appear in that one. As these spores are very 

 small and easily spread around, and retain their life for some 

 time, Dr. Frothingham recommends that you be very particular 

 about disinfecting the stable where the sick cattle were, also that 

 there is danger of its spreading through dragging a dead animal 

 along the ground; and that it would be well, if you have not 

 already done so, to carefully burn the dead animals and sprinkle 

 chloride of lime along the ground where their carcasses may have 

 been drawn, also put chloride of lime in the hen house where the 

 carcass lay that we saw Saturday, or else soak the ground in the 

 hen house thoroughly with a solution of corrosive sublimate, one 

 to one thousand parts, and also avoid having the young cattle 

 go where the carcasses of the dead ones have been dragged over 

 the ground. 



It is not unlikely that, last season having been an unusually wet 

 one, these germs grew and produced spores which got on some of 

 the hay which has been cut on low-ljing, swamp}^ ground, and 

 that they have retained their life until the hay was fed this winter. 

 Of course this is not certain, but a mere suggestion. If there 

 should be any hay that you are at all suspicious of, as having 



