No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 591 



to the vacancy September 30. He was confirmed the Thurs- 

 day following and qualified October 2G, attending- a meeting 

 of the Board on that date for the first time. 



The term of Mr. L. F. Herrick also expired m September, 

 and he was reappointed. 



The office of secretary being vacated by Dr. Lyman's re- 

 tirement, Commissioner L. F. Herrick was elected to the 

 vacancy. Dr. Frederick H. Osgood of Brookline tendered 

 his resignation as a member of the Board November 30, and 

 it was accepted by the acting governor December 7. 



The acting governor appointed Dr. Austin Peters of 

 Jamaica Plain a member of the Board, to fill the vacancy 

 thus caused, December 10. He was confirmed December 

 17 and qualified December 19. He attended a meeting of 

 the Board on that day. 



Dr. Osgood's retirement leaving the chairmanship of the 

 Board vacant, Dr. Peters was elected chairman, and, Mr. 

 Herrick declining to continue in the position of secretary, 

 Dr. Parker was elected to that vacancy. Both these elec- 

 tions were unanimous. 



At the beginning of the year the Board found itself with 

 several hundred animals in quarantine, at the expense of the 

 State, and without funds to defray the expense incident to 

 testing them and destroying those found diseased. While 

 the Legislature made an early appropriation of $50,000 for 

 these expenses, the inspectors throughout the State, who are 

 independent public officers, were constantly quarantining 

 more suspected animals ; so that, while the Board was able 

 to dispose of a considerable portion of the cases, it was not 

 until the regular appropriation was made, June 5, that it 

 was possible to entirely clear away this accumulation of 

 work. At this time the quarantine expense on animals thus 

 held amounted to $28,223.43. 



To obviate the recurrence of this condition of affairs, the 

 Legislature passed the following, which was approved June 

 2, 1896: — 



If the sum hereby appropriated shall be expended before the 

 first day of January in the year eighteen hundred and ninety- 

 seven, the auditor shall immediately certify that fact to the Board 

 of Cattle Commissioners. Upon receipt of such certification, 



