SECRETARY'S REPORT. 75 



noimced" diseased while living. Another was killed for beef 

 and reported well. The same Board have examined post 

 mortem, seventeen other animals exposed directly and indirectly 

 to oxen in the " big team," and many had been " pronounced " 

 diseased, but every one was sound. These oxen were ex])osed 

 on December 19th, 1859, and according to the appearances found 

 in Leonard Stoddard's herd and others, the disease if it existed 

 should have been in the advanced stage, consequently well 

 marked and of course easily described. There was sufficient 

 time also to have communicated the disease to others before 

 the slaughtering. Therefore if there had been any disease, we 

 should have been likely to have found it well described, and 

 there would probably have been many deaths. We can see no 

 good reason why forty-eight head of oxen should have been 

 exposed and many " pronounced " diseased without a single 

 death or evidence of communication to other cattle, when the 

 disease at the same time in the same neighborhood with less 

 exposure was carrying off some twenty-five per cent, by death. 



It may very pertinently and properly be asked why, if these 

 Doane oxen gave the disease to Olmstead's herd, they did not 

 communicate it to the " big team" ? It will be borne in mind 

 that they entered Olm&tead's herd twenty-one days previous to 

 their appearance in the " big team," and if they gave it to 

 Olmstead's herd, this must have taken place more than sixteen 

 days before working in the team because they then left Olm- 

 stead's. But other circumstances are still stronger against 

 their giving it to the " big team." Five days from the time they 

 first entered Olmstead's herd, they left and went into Doane's 

 herd of ten head on the 3d of December, and there remained 

 until the general slaughter, and not one of Doane's animals was 

 sick or died. In corroboration of what has been said, we will 

 state that these oxen were killed in Doane's herd, and the 

 disease was accurately described. 



A cow was killed that showed hypertrophy and thickened 

 tissue ; a case of pure pneumonia. The Board have been 

 shown thickened tissue, or what was in other animals i)ro- 

 nounced thickened tissue, but could see no disease in it. 



The stags were in Olmstead's diseased herd. " Two weeks 

 after these oxen left Olmstead's herd, one of his (Olmstead's) 

 animals commenced coughing," &c. This was two days before 



