358 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



is the first time that this disease has obtained access to Mas- 

 sachusetts for tive years. The infected animals were brought 

 from Michigan by a Mr. Bias of Wellesley. He loaded 20 

 cows, with 13 young calves, at Midland, Mich., July 5, 

 arriving at Detroit Jul}^ G. The train being late, he un- 

 loaded the cattle at the stf)ck yards at Detroit for about an 

 hour to w^ater and rest the cows ; they were then reloaded, 

 and arrived at the stock yards at Suspension Bridge early in 

 the morning, Monday, July 7. The cattle rested there until 

 midnight Monday, when they were again reloaded, and were 

 not taken from the cars again until they arrived at Welles- 

 ley, Wednesday, July 9. July 16 some of them were noticed 

 to be ailing, and July 17 several were sick. Mr. Sias sent 

 for a veterinarian. Dr. Fowle of Necdham, who reported the 

 cases to the Cattle Bureau. The matter was investigated, 

 and a diagnosis of Texas fever was made July 19 by Dr. 

 Langdon Frothingham, after examining material brought to 

 him by Dr. M. Bunker, one of the agents of the Cattle 

 Bureau. Out of the lot of 20, 18 died. Before being taken 

 sick, a few of them were sold ; 1 went to Dover and 3 to 

 Framingham, all of Avhich died, beside 14 which died at 

 Mr. Bias's place in Wellesley. 



The United States Department of Agriculture requires 

 that separate pens at the stock yards shall be used for cattle 

 coming from quarantined districts in the south from those 

 used for northern cattle, and where the railroad company 

 violates these rules and regulations, the owners of cattle 

 have been able to recover damages. In this case the cattle 

 were unloaded twice, and it has not been clearly proved at 

 which place they were infected. The probabilities are that 

 the disease was acquired at the stock yards at Suspension 

 Bridge, as there are only four small pens there, and there 

 seems to have been no arrangement for using diflerent pens 

 for southern cattle than for northern cattle ; but as yet it 

 has not been decided what railroad company is responsible, 

 owing to the fact that the cattle were unloaded twice in 

 transit, and it is possible that they might have been infected 

 at either place. 



Southern cattle were unloaded at the yards at Suspension 



