10 



which is encountered in the Colonies in dealing with infectious and conta- 

 gious diseases in cattle, and one which must be kept constantly in view in 

 proposing anj measure for staying the spread of these diseases. 



Introduction and spread of Pleuro-pneumotiia in Australia, and the losses 



caused hy it. 



Pleuro-pneumonia was introduced by a cow brought from England by Mr. 

 Boadle, of the Plenty District, in Victoria, and landed in Melbourne in 1858. 



When the disease was first discovered among Boadle's cattle, steps were 

 promptly taken to eradicate it. All the cattle on the farm were paid for by 

 private subscription and destroyed, and the farm placed in quarantine. 

 Unfortunately, however, the quarantine was not strictly maintained, and a 

 greedy, ignorant neighbour, who owned several teams of working bullocks, 

 which he usually employed in carrying on the roads, seeing the good grass in 

 the infected paddocks, put his cattle into them during the night, and removed 

 them at daybreak. They soon became infected ; and as he shortly after sent 

 his teams on the roads, on a trip right to the border of the Colony, they 

 spread the disease in all directions as they went. His other cattle again mixed 

 with his neighbours', and thus set it afloat around his own farm. 



In this way the disease soon spread to the other Colonies, and it is now 

 more or less prevalent in them all, and likely to be so, without fresh legislation ; 

 for travelling stock are so frequently affected, that no sooner has a fresh race 

 of animals grown up, which have neither had the disease nor been inoculated, 

 than they are infected by cattle travelling through their runs. 



Tlie losses caused by the disease during the thirteen years it has prevailed 

 (it did not spread to any great extent till 1860) cannot be estimated at less 

 than 30 to 40 per cent, of the whole number of cattle — that is, about 

 1,404,097 head, which, at (say) only £6 a head, makes the total loss to the 

 Colonies, through this disease, amount to about £8,500,000. 



Steps taken to eradicate the disease, and their result. 



On its being discovered that the infection had spread beyond Boadle's 

 farm, an Act was passed by the Victorian Parliament, empowering the 

 Government to destroy diseased stock, and quarantine those which were 

 infected. They did so for a time ; but, as it was soon discovered that the 

 disease had obtained too firm a footing to be eradicated, the Grovernment 

 shortly ceased to take any further action with respect to it, and the Act was 

 allowed to lapse. 



In the meantime the neighbouring Colonies had passed Cattle Disease 

 Prevention Acts, and issued proclamations prohibiting the introduction of 

 cattle from Victoiia; but the attempt was futile, for, as has been already 

 said, it was found to be quite impossible to establish a thorough quarantine, 

 and the infection very shortly spread to all the adjoining Colonies. There, 

 too, attempts were made to stop the disease by destruction and quarantine 

 of the infected stock, but with the same result, for they failed and soon were 

 discontinued, after a great number of cattle had been destroyed and large 

 sums of money wasted in the payment of expenses and compensation. 



Inoculation for Pleuro-pneumonia, and the result. 



Upon the failure of these attempts to stamp out pleuro-pneumonia, which 

 was caused, as has been explained, through the impossibility of maintaining a 

 perfect quarantine, stock-owners began to look round for some other means 

 of combating the disease. They saw at once that their cattle were too wild, 

 and of comparatively too little value to be doctored ; they therefore turned to 

 inoculation, which was recommended by Mr. Cleote, of Zandoliet, Cape 



