224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



came with the certificate of the Cattle Commission that they 

 were perfectly health}'. Then we went to work on the 

 lines where it had started amono- our herds in this section 

 from around Brighton. A Texan coming directly from the 

 plains, to all appearance perfectly healthy, perfectly healthy 

 by post-mortem examination, coming in contact with native 

 cattle, or the native cattle passing over the ground where 

 the Texan had walked, or confined where a Texan had been 

 placed, would l)e almost sure to develop the disease, and 

 more than eighty-eight per cent of those diseased cattle died. 

 We found that the Texan gave the disease to the native 

 cattle, but the native cattle could not give the disease to the 

 other natives ; therefore the thing we had to do was simply 

 to shut out the Texans, and if we could do that then we 

 would be all right. That we did, l)ut there were so many 

 cattle on the line coming through that we had the disease in 

 1869 and 1870. Then we got complete control of it. There 

 was no more disease until 1873, and in 1873 and 1874 the 

 disease made its ap})earance again, and we discovered that 

 durino- this interim the lines of railroad had been extended in 

 the far West clear down until they struck the Texas line, and 

 those cattle could be shipj)ed from Texas, confined in the cars 

 and cattle yards, and they did not come in contact with the 

 native cattle until they came into Massachusetts, when the}' 

 brought the disease to various places, and we had the plague 

 again. If I remember rightly, the last we had to do with 

 that disease was in 1876, when we had the law passed by 

 which we could shut the cattle out eftcctually. The law was 

 passed that no Texan cattle should be received into the 

 State of Massachusetts between the first day of ]\Ia}' and the 

 first day of November. It was a little crooked, as a matter 

 of law, but, however, they were eftectually shut out, and 

 this provision was made, that if we caught any of them, they 

 should not be driven on any' street in Massachusetts, tiiey 

 should not be put into any pasture in Massachusetts, ))ut 

 taken from the cars and slaughtered where they landed. 

 We have not had a case of Spanish fever since, not one. So 

 much for that. The State was a very great loser by that 

 disease, but the fact that was learned by the Cattle Commis- 

 sioners was taken advantage of, and the thing was cleaned up. 



