202 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



For the yeav ending Nov. 30, 1908, 941 horses or mules 

 died or were killed with glanders or farcy in Massachusetts, 

 including Boston. At first glance this looks like a very ma- 

 terial increase for the entire State, but an analysis of the 

 figures does not show this to be the fact. 



The veterinarian of the Boston board of health reports 

 389 cases for the city of Boston ; then there were at least 30 

 horses killed in outside cities and towns shortly after being- 

 purchased in Boston, either at some of the fake sales stables 

 or at some of the weekly auctions of second-hand horses, and 

 these animals by rights should be credited to Boston. There 

 were also 21 horses or ponies killed at Revere during the 

 summer which cannot fairly be credited to Massachusetts, as 

 they belonged to a Wild West show from Oklahoma, and 

 were never allowed off the grounds upon which the exhibition 

 was given during their stay in this Commonwealth. Adding 

 the 389 reported by the veterinarian of the Boston board of 

 health, the 30 that were killed in other cities or towns after 

 being purchased in Boston and 21 from Oklahoma together 

 makes 440 to be deducted from the total of 941, leaving only 

 about 500 as rightfully to he credited to the State at large. 



Previous to 1908 the highest number of cases of glanders 

 or farcy recorded in Massachusetts was in 1903, when there 

 were 860 cases, of which only 250 were reported by the vet- 

 erinarian of the city of Boston, and 610 occurred outside. 

 At that time the number of Boston cases was but about 29 

 per cent of the total, not adding horses that may have been 

 bought in Boston to those reported by the veterinarian of the 

 Boston board of health. Now, counting in horses killed soon 

 after being bought in Boston with those reported by the 

 veterinarian of the Boston board of health, over 46 per cent 

 of the cases should be credited to Boston. 



The total increase in the number of cases outside of Boston 

 in the year ending Nov. 30, 1908, over the previous year, 

 after deducting the Oklahoma horses, was 128, for which the 

 increase in cities and towns in close proximity to Boston more 

 than compensates, the combined increase in Everett, Chelsea, 

 Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Belmont, Watertown, Wal- 



