No. 4.] WORK OF CATTLE COMMISSION. 221 



Brookfield that calf came in contact with some two or three 

 large herds of cattle, and these exposed animals soon after 

 came in contact with the cattle of quite a large section of 

 country in and around the Brookfields. The disease devel- 

 oped rapidly, produced great losses at once, and the people 

 became very much alarmed. The inhal>itants of Brooktield 

 petitioned the Legislature for some sort of legislation which 

 would enable the city or town to control the disease, and 

 this petition was most thoroughly backed up and supported 

 by the Board of Agriculture. The result was that in April 

 the old orio-inal cattle commission law, or the old orii^inal law 

 for the suppression of contagious diseases among cattle, was 

 passed, and a small appropriation made to pay the expense ; 

 and, if I remember rightly, Paoli Lathrop of South Hadley, 

 Dr. G. B. Lorino- of Salem and Amasa Walker of Brook- 

 field were appointed as these commissioners. Immediately 

 on receiving their commission they made a survey of the 

 field which was infected with the disease, and were appalled 

 to find the condition that existed. They saw at once that 

 under the provisions of the law as it was passed it was utterly 

 impossible for them to combat the disease. As you doubt- 

 less remember, the law was that a herd that had become con- 

 taminated with the disease, where a single animal was sick, 

 whatever was the condition of the remainder of the herd, 

 that whole herd should be slaughtered. Remember this was 

 the stamp-out policy; it was the only true one. The whole 

 herd should be slaughtered, and the State would pay for all 

 the well animals, all found healthy after killing. The commis- 

 sioners found that the appropriation was not large enough 

 for them to begin to do the Avork. Rather than have it stop, 

 some members of the Board of Agriculture contributed 

 largely to provide money that the work might go on. The 

 old Massachusetts Society agreed to pay two thousand dol- 

 lars for the same purpose, but as the commissioners worked, 

 the thing enlarged and enlarged until they found it was 

 clearly beyond any possibility of private individuals paying 

 the expense of stamping the disease out, and therefore a 

 special session of the Legislature was called, which met in 

 the same season, in the month of May, and a much larger 

 appropriation was made, and then the work went on. 



