302 AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION 



compensating for slaughter as for pleuro-pneumonia, 

 says that cattle and cows are being constantly con- 

 demned by the medical officers of the Lancashire 

 boroughs, and that the loss to either farmer or butcher 

 is now enormous, as inspection of slaughtered animals 

 has shown that at least one in five is affected with the 

 disease. In nearly all cases the disease cannot be 

 detected by ordinary inspection when the animal is 

 alive. 



" It is," says Mr Kay, " one of the greatest causes of 

 depression in Lancashire, more particularly in the dairy 

 districts." 



Mr Stratton thinks there are few herds now free from 

 it, and that the matter calls for urgent attention. 



Mr Wilson Fox states, in his Lancashire report, that 

 unhealthy and ill-constructed cattle sheds and byres, 

 with want of space and air, have contributed to the 

 spread of tuberculosis. Instead of 600 cubic feet of air, 

 in some cases a cow gets only 260 cubic feet, and there 

 are no means of isolating diseased animals. One witness 

 stated that, if the Dairy and Cow Sheds Act was put 

 into force in the Chorley district, seven-tenths of the 

 buildings would have to come down. The granting of 

 compensation, on compulsory slaughter, would be 

 equivalent to a reduction of 10 to 20 per cent, in the rent. 



Besides the direct and total loss, there is an indirect 

 loss in the price of animals sold off, when slightly affected. 

 The extent of the disease has been greater owing to 

 winter dairying, close and heated air, insufficient ventila- 

 tion, and overcrowding. 



Mr Patrick Wright, Professor of Agriculture at 

 Glasgow, thinks the prevalence of the disease is largely 

 due to ignorance of sanitary conditions. Many of the 

 byres in the country are hotbeds of disease and infection. 



Mr Speir is of opinion that infection is the chief cause, 

 in-breeding also contributory, and close confinement 

 being a third cause. The contamination is easy and 

 rapid in crowded, close buildings. 



In Wigtownshire, he estimates 75 per cent, of the 

 cows to be affected, and, having applied the tuberculin 



