N—40934 
Modern research tool: electron microscope. 
The 318-acre tract on which the lab- 
oratory is located was deeded by the 
State of Iowa to the U.S. Government 
without cost. This site was chosen by a 
committee of national agricultural lead- 
ers, who studied proposals from 90 com- 
munities that wanted the research center. 
Ames—the home of Iowa State Uni- 
versity—was selected as the laboratory 
site in July 1956. Construction on the 
$16.5 million research center began in 
1958, and the buildings were turned over 
to the U.S. Government in May 1961. 
The master plan for the research center 
provides for expansion. 
Tradition of Service 
Veterinary agencies of the Department 
of Agriculture have conducted sound 
scientific research on national and regional 
animal-disease problems since — 1879. 
Now—as then—research workers seek 
N—40937 
Experiment using ultracentrifuge. 
fundamental scientific principles and de- 
velop practical applications of these 
principles. After Federal research find- 
ings are thoroughly tested, they are 
made available to all the people of the 
United States; many of the veterinary 
discoveries have been patented in the 
pubhe interest. 
The story of the eradication of Texas 
fever, a fatal disease of cattle, illustrates 
one of the many contributions of re- 
search to the American livestock indus- 
try. When the Bureau of Animal In- 
dustry was established as the veterinary 
arm of the Department of Agriculture in 
1884, Texas fever was prevalent through- 
out the south and was spreading north. 
One of BALI?’s first challenges was to find 
the cause of this disease. In_ 1893, 
the Government scientists announced a 
major medical discovery: Texas fever is 
caused by a blood parasite that is spread 
by a eattle tick. This knowledge—that 
an intermediate host could spread an 
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