56 a EXrERBIENT STATION. [Jan. 



Correspondence. 



From the preceding paragraph it is evident that a Large 

 amount of correspondence is necessary in connection with the 

 diagnosis work. Each letter has to be of a personal nature, as 

 hardly any two cases are exactly alike. In addition, many 

 letters are received asking for information and advice relative 

 to the treatment of diseases of the different species of farm 

 animals. Conferences with stockmen from different localities 

 frequently follow correspondence. 



Control Work. 



Nearly all of the more serious contagious and infectious 

 diseases of farm animals are placed by law under the control 

 of the Division of Animal Industry of the Department of Con- 

 servation. Among them may be noted bovine tuberculosis, 

 glanders and mange of horses, hog cholera and others. There 

 are some, however, belonging to the class, such as fowl 

 cholera, fowl typhoid and bacillary white diarrhea, that do not 

 engage the attention of the Division of Animal Industry. 



Under an act of the Legislature passed in 1919 this depart- 

 ment was given a small appropriation for the purpose of testing 

 poultry for the elimination of disease. The entire amount ap- 

 propriated, S3,000, has been expended in testing fowls for the 

 diagnosis and control of bacillary white diarrhea. The act 

 provides that a fee not to exceed 7 cents per bird may be 

 charged for each bird tested. From Dec. 1, 1919, to Dec. 1, 

 1920, there were tested 19,982 birds, with receipts of $1,398.74. 

 In addition to these receipts the department provided 12,810 

 leg bands for identification of birds from which blood samples 

 were taken, for which the owners paid $64.05, making the 

 total receipts $1,462.79. Deducting this amount from the 

 amount of the appropriation, we have $1,537.21 as the total 

 cost to the Commonwealth for this particular line of work. 



Under the existing conditions of high cost of materials, travel, 

 maintenance, etc., $3,000 was hardly sufficient to carry on the 

 work to the satisfaction of all parties interested. In fact, it 

 became necessary to suspend operations through the three 



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