116 



BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE- 



wry. Our New England farmers speak of it as something 

 belonging to their day and generation, and as an ever- 

 increasing evil. It should, I think, be classed with those 

 maladies that I have termed diseases of association, or civil- 

 ization, though, as already said, abortion must not be looked 

 upon as a disease per se, — that is, it is due to causes which 

 gi-adually find their origin in the long continued cohabitation 

 of the same locality by animals of the same species, until 

 special — unknown — conditions are produced which favor, 

 or lead, to the development of specific infectious germs. 

 That enzootic abortion can cause most serious losses to the 

 cattle interests of our country is most efiectually shown by 

 the N. y. Commissioners' report. 



From various townships they collected statistics of 35,- 

 919 cows reported as having been pregnant; of these, 2,- 

 057, or .057 per cent, aborted. 



The per cent, of abortions among the cattle of 14 town- 

 ships was 0.06. The average number of cattle aborting in 

 each, 22 ; the average number of afiected herds, 29 ; of non- 

 aflfected herds, 19. 



I would here state that Mr. Sturgis, of the Wyoming 

 Stock Growers' Association, recently wrote me that while 

 from their manner of raising cattle it was impossible to 

 gather statisti*^", still it could not exist to any alarming ex- 

 tent, as no complaints had been caused by it among range 

 cattle. 



The report alluded to further says, — with regard to the 

 period of pregnancy at which abortions were noticed to have 

 occurred : — 



In the first month, aborted, 



In the second month, aborted, 

 In the third month, aborted. 

 In the fourth month, aborted. 

 In the fifth month, aborted, . 

 In the sixth month, aborted, 

 In the seventh month, aborted, 

 In the eighth month, aborted, 

 In the ninth month, aborted, 



1 

 10 

 66 

 106 

 198 

 341 

 360 

 238 



These figures agree with the observations of the most 

 eompetent veterinarians, who look upon the seventh and 



