No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 555 



A change of cows has been made twice, with cessation of the 

 trouble for some weeks or months, and then a recurrence of the 

 trouble. 



The young cow of which Mr. Hancock spoke as having had the 

 trouble lately, has been put in the next pasture, since which time 

 there has been no trouble with her. He has still the old cow in 

 the pasture, but he is raising calves on her, so does not know 

 how her milk now is. I asked him to save some of her milk, try 

 it and report to you. The pasture is a good pasture of the kind, 

 not ver}' rich nor very much run out ; has been used for seventy 

 years by this family, and is a part of the location upon which the 

 settlers built when the land was bought from the Indians by Wil- 

 liam or Thomas May hew. There are from seventy to one hundred 

 acres in it. I drove over and around it, but saw no growth or 

 weed which would give me any clue to the trouble, with the pos- 

 sible exception of a strip of land bordering upon a pond, into 

 which the sea breaks, but that is not open, upon which a blue grass 

 grows, and which had been pretty well eaten down, but whether 

 by the cows alone or by the sheep, I could not say. 



The water supply is fresh and brackish ; there are water holes 

 around the fences, one or two close to this pond, the others one- 

 quarter of a mile away, and then some not so far. Water at barn 

 good and free from taste ; drainage away from well. Samples of 

 both cows' milk and of pasture and barn water were taken and 

 sent to Dr. Frothiugham ; also Mr. Hancock's letter to you, with a 

 request to report to you. 



My idea of the trouble is that it is all within the pasture, as 

 when changed from the pasture the milk is all right, also when in 

 the barn. Cows are healthy and bag of old cow OK. Young cow 

 I did not see, as she was some distance away. 



I suggested to the owner that he watch his cow as to feeding 

 grounds, and also tramp the pasture to find any weeds. No 

 swamp, no brush in field to cause trouble or for her to browse on. 

 Yours very trul}^, Madison Bunkek. 



A few days later Dr. Frothingham reported upon the 

 s|)ecimens brought by Dr. Bunker as follows : — 



Boston, Aug. 13, 1897. 



C. C, 77. — Milk and Water from Freeman Hancock, Mariha^s Vineyard. 



From the report received, it seems more than probable that the 



trouble with Mr. Freeman's cows is referable to some poisonous 



substance existing in the old pasture. That this substance is of 



