No. 4.] RErORT OF CATTLE BUREAU. -319 



protects all our rights, and is a deterrent in case any irregu- 

 larities escape the vigilance of the authorities. 



Another change in the same section provides as follows : — 



Cattle returning' from out-of-State pastures or boarding places, 

 satisfactory as to sanitary conditions to the Chief of the Cattle 

 Bureau, will not be subjected to a tuberculin test if they have not 

 been out of the State over six months, provided they bear ear tags 

 furnished for this purjoose by the Massachusetts Cattle Bureau the 

 numbers of which have been forwarded to the office of the Bureau 

 prior to the cattle being sent out of the State. 



Under the old order abuses crept in and the department was 

 unable to correct them. A herd returning from out-of-State 

 pastures might or might not be the same cattle that left the 

 State ; it might be double or treble its original size ; it might 

 contain any number of cattle which had never been subjected 

 to inspection by this Bureau. All of these things were pos- 

 sible because of the lack of means of identification. As 

 amended, the regulation insists upon the use of the numbered 

 ear tag, with office record of the same, before the herd leaves 

 the State, and upon its return subjects all cattle not bearing 

 the official tag to the tuberculin test. 



Acting under the authority granted by chapter 90 of the 

 Revised Laws, I have ordered the annual inspection of neat 

 stock, other farm animals and premises, recpiired by law, to 

 be made between February 1 and March 15, instead of in the 

 fall months, as has been the custom. This change I believe 

 to be along a practical line. At the time of the fall inspection 

 the cattle are in many cases scattered in pastures, and thus 

 liable to escape that careful examination which the law con- 

 templates. Then, again, at that season of the year their phys- 

 ical condition is at its best, rendering the discovery of disease 

 more difficult. The change of date will allow the inspectors 

 to more completely cover the ground, will show the cattle in 

 their normal condition, and, what is very important, will 

 give the inspector a clear understanding of the conditions 

 under which they are housed. 



