FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL CONVENTION 163 



their most severe outbreak, in which animals were affctcted a-: 

 follows : 



3,336,-369 cattle 

 1,602,227 sheep 

 2,555,371 hogs 

 53,674 goats 



That was perhaps the msot severe outbreak they have ever ex- 

 perienced. I have data here that I have not time to read, show- 

 ing the extent of the disease in foreign countries during the past 

 several years. Our government receives reports regularly from 

 foreign consuls in regard to the existence of disease. I wrote to 

 W^ashington a few days ago and asked for a synopsis of these 

 reports, in order to know the conditions in Europe at the pres- 

 ent time. . I have received that report and would like to read it 

 this morning, if we had the time. 



We have had several outbreaks of foot and mouth disease 

 m the United States. The first occurred in 1870, when we had 

 an invasion of the disease from Canada. There were only a few 

 cattle affected. They were not slaughtered in this instance, for 

 it was a very limited outbreak, and it was in the hills of North- 

 ern New York, where the winters are very severe and where 

 there were but few railroads and but little cattle traffic. The dis- 

 ease burned itself out under these conditions during the long, 

 cold winter. 



In 1880 we had the disease again in a lot of cattle that came 

 to this country, but it was not allowed to spread beyond the orig- 

 inally infected herds. 



In 1884 there were some infected cattle imported at Port- 

 land, Maine. In this outbreak the disease extended to only two 

 or three farms outside of the quarantine station. There were 

 few cattle there at that time and no movement of stock. A rigid 

 quarantine was enforced, but no cattle slaughtered, and an out- 

 break in a similar community could be handled that w^ay. But 

 today those conditions do not exist in many places. Another 

 outbreak occurred in New England in 1902, extending to Ver- 



