No. 4.] REPORT OF CATTLE BUREAU. 341 



killed, iu those cases where, in the opinion of the Chief of the 

 Cattle Bureau, the public interests require it. 



This order shall take effect upon its approval by the Governor 

 and Council. 



Austin Peters, 



Chief of Cattle Bureau. 

 Approved in Council, Dec. 5, 1002. 

 E. F. Hamlin, 



Executive Secretary. 



Agents of the United States Bureau of Animal Industry 

 were appointed as agents of the Cattle Biu'eau of the Massa- 

 chusetts State Board of Agriculture, in order to give them 

 the necessary authority to carry out measures required for 

 stamping out the. disease. 



The slaughter of diseased and exposed animals for stamp- 

 ing out foot and mouth disease is an unusually radical way 

 of dealing with this malady, and the only excuse for it is 

 on account of the financial and commercial interests in- 

 volved. The United States Secretary of Agriculture issued 

 an order December 27, forbidding the export of cattle, sheep, 

 other ruminants or swine from the port of Boston until fur- 

 ther orders. As large numbers of cattle and sheep were 

 shipped from this port, the loss to the railroad and steam- 

 ship companies has been very heavy. It is estimated that 

 it has cost Boston $100,000 a day in loss of business. Fur- 

 thermore, the presence of the disease in ISTew England is a 

 menace to the live stock interests of the country, in case it 

 should spread to other States ; and for this reason more vig- 

 orous measures have been adopted for its eradication than 

 would otherwise be warranted. 



It is not usually a fatal disease ; very many animals 

 recover, and are restored to their original value. If the 

 premises where the diseased animals are can be kept under 

 quarantine until the last case recovers, and the buildings 

 and materials contained in them have been thoroughly disin- 

 fected, that usually seems to be sufficient to stay the ravages 

 of this plague. But in order to expedite matters, for the 

 sake of allowing New England ports to be opened for the 

 export of animals again, and for the purpose of being able 

 to declare this country free of foot and mouth disease, in 



