96 The Lung Plague of Cattle. 



Other Measures. — Beside the above, we apply in the 

 cities all the rules above cited for the country concern- 

 ing pasturage, bull-licenses, reporting sickness, inspec- 

 tion, condemnation, appraisement, slaughter, indemnity, 

 disinfection, quarantine, disposal of fodder litter, ma- 

 nure, etc., and the registration of herds. 



I need only add that since its complete adoption our 

 progress has been most gratifying and we can now almost 

 claim a perfect immunity for New York city. 



But our safety as a State depends on the safety of our 

 neighbors, and we need to secure such action from the 

 separate infected States as shall banish the plague from 

 the Continent. With New York as a great centre of cat- 

 tle trade from the South as well as from the West we 

 must inevitably become infected anew unless we keep up 

 an expensive and vexatious system of quarantine against 

 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia 

 and District of Columbia. The disease is slowly spread- 

 ing south and west from Alexandria. I have a list of 20 

 herds infected in one line south of that city within the 

 past three years. The plague threatens to reach our 

 southern and western ranges whence it will be as impos- 

 sible to eradicate it as from the Russian steppes, Aus- 

 tralia and South Africa, and from which continuous ac- 

 cessions of infection will be thrown upon our Middle and 

 Eastern States, and shall we hesitate to call upon the 

 National Government to interfere ? This is a question of 

 incomparably more moment to the western and middle 

 States than to Delaware, Maryland or Virginia. To throw 

 the burden of the extinction of this disease on these 

 States is as impolitic as it is unjust. If ever there was a 

 question which in its future bearing affected the United 

 States as a whole it is this. 



It would be highly appropriate that the Agriculturists 

 of the different States, Western and Southern, as well a.s 

 Eastern, should petition Congress to take this matter up 



