266 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. Bartholomew. In regard to the question one gen- 

 tleman asked relative to the feeding of the meat of diseased 

 hoo's, I wish to say that we have within the last six months 

 had quite a number of cases of hog cholera in several of the 

 adjoining towns, and in every one of those cases we traced 

 the disease directly to hogs, or the refuse of hogs, brought 

 into the State by the Boston & Albany Railroad. A butcher 

 in the town where I reside has recently lost some eleven hogs 

 by hog cholera. Professor Stockbridge decided it to be hog 

 cholera. Wishing to ascertain the facts about the case, I 

 asked the man a few days ago how hog cholera came among 

 his hogs. He said he did not know. I asked him, " Have 

 you had your pork from the West ? " He says, ' ' Yes, I have 

 been constantly using it." " Well, has the waste from your 

 house been fed to the hogs?" " No," he says, " I think not. 

 But," says he, " now I think of it, I will tell you that when 

 I came in with my cart and found a piece of meat that had 

 become naturally a little dirty and unsightly, I have thrown . 

 it down into the hog pen and those hogs have eaten it." I 

 believe that in the State of JNIassachusetts there cannot, be 

 found a case of hog cholera that cannot be traced directly 

 either to the use of the meat of Western hogs or to hogs ob- 

 tained from the West. 



Mr. Root. I have no desire to prolong the discussion of 

 this question, but I desire to add a single word to what has 

 been said by the gentleman from Greenfield and the gentle- 

 man who has just taken his seat. I am sorry that we have 

 none of our veterinary surgeons here to-day who were here 

 yesterday and the day before, but we have abundance of 

 evidence that this disease is conveyed by meat. In the 

 winter of 1885 there were many cases of diseased hogs. 

 The attention of the Cattle Commissioners was called to the 

 matter, and a hearing was had before a committee of the 

 Legislature, with a view to legislation which would enable 

 the Commissioners to more completely control such cases. 

 In the investigation at that time there were some very pecu- 

 liar and very interesting cases stated. I will state one fact 

 which was mentioned to me hy the Cattle Commissioners, 

 which may illustrate the very peculiar way in which this 

 disease is communicated. 



