184 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



ance and other experts that the Weather Bureau service is 

 worth more than $20,000,000 annually to the agricultural 

 and other industries of the United States. 



Bureau of Animal Industry. 



The Bureau of Animal Industry is of great importance 

 not only to the farmers of the United States but to the large 

 class of consumers. One of its most valuable functions is the 

 inspection of meat. Two-thirds of the annual appropriation 

 is expended in this service. In the past year the inspection 

 of cattle, sheep, calves and hogs and their products was 

 conducted at 154 abattoirs and packing houses in 49 cities. 

 There was an increase of 2,789,338 in the total number of 

 inspections made. The value of this work is illustrated by 

 the reduction in insurance rates on exported cattle from 8 

 per cent to less than one-half of 1 per cent. .The Bureau 

 has made compulsory the sanitary equipment of all ships 

 carrying cattle abroad, which has reduced to a minimum the 

 danger of sickness and death en route. More than two and 

 a half millions is saved annually by this reduction of insur- 

 ance rates, which is twice the amount annually appropriated 

 for the maintenance of the Bureau. 



The Bureau is continuing its inspection of all southern 

 cattle, with a view to controlling Texas fever. 



The officials have inspected 11, 18 G, 661 sheep, in order to 

 prevent the shipment of sheep afflicted with scabies or that 

 have been exposed to that disease, and 1,017,162 were 

 dipped under the supervision of the Bureau inspectors. 



Large quantities of tuberculin have been shipped through- 

 out the country, and a large amount of mallcin sent to 

 the War Department and State officials. About 55,000 

 doses of tuberculin were sent in the last your to 33 dif- 

 ferent States, and 12,000 doses of mallcin to 25 different 

 States. 



An elaborate experiment was conducted in the laboratory 

 of the Bureau for the purpose of establishing the presence 

 or absence of tubercle bacilli in the milk of tuberculous 

 cows, in order to demonstrate the infectiousness of milk in 

 tuberculous cows. This experiment lasted ninety days, and 



