226 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



forth a litter of pigs in a shed which forms a part of the inclosure, and 

 "hose were doing well. Two calves were sucking mothers under the 

 'nfluence of the disease but were themselves in good health. 



At Pribbernow's only 8 per cent, of the animals had been attacked, 

 and among a lot of 54 yearlings running with the other cattle there was 

 not one case of disease. 



At Beard's, in a herd of 75, the first animal was lame a week before 

 'jhe second was affected; and then another week passed before the 

 others showed any symptoms. Here only G per cent, of the cattle on 

 -he farm were attacked, and one died within twenty hours from the ap- 

 pearance of the first symptoms. 



At Kirksville the proportion of animals that suffered was not defi- 

 nitely ascertained, but there was no evidence of contagion, and sheep 

 running with the affected cattle remained healthy. 



In Illinois, on tbe Fauncc farm, the horses suffered from an eruption 

 n the mou tb. The exact nature of this disease it was impossible to 

 ascertain at the time of my visit. It may be remarked, however, that 

 horses seldom suffer from foot-and-mouth disease ; and that this is the 

 only case which came under my notice on any of the affected farms 

 \here any other animals than cattle showed symptoms that were even 

 suspected to be in any way connected with the disease among the cattle. 

 In this instance the eruption in the horses' mouths could not have re- 

 sembled foot-and-mouth disease very closely, for it remained at least 

 ux weeks, or three times the period of the latter disease. Here the 

 neighbors' hogs which were running around the farm failed to contract 

 any disease or to carry it to other farms. 



At Mr. Mason's there was still more striking evidence to show that 

 lie disease was very different from epizootic aphtha. One hundred hogs 

 and 40 sheep had been exposed, and not one suffered. Only 17 bovine 

 animals out of 120, or about 15 per cent., showed any signs of the dis- 

 ease. At Keating's, 60 sheep and a number of hogs were exposed but 

 all remained well. At Dubroc's, goats were exposed without suffering. 



The disease, therefore, did not resemble<oot-and-mouth disease cither 

 in the proportion of the animals attacked or its rate of extension, or in 

 attacking other species of animals than cattle. 



Occurrence at the same time on ividely separated farms. — If fbot-and- 

 nouth disease had been introduced into the heart of the country in any 

 of the extraordinary ways which were offered to explain its appearance, 

 we surely cannot conceive of its being brought to so many widely sep- 

 arated points at about the same time, especially where there had been 

 no communication between these places. In Kansas there were the 

 .'Keith, Goodrich, and Beard herds which might be grouped together; 

 14 miles from these was the Pribbernow herd; 20 miles from any of 

 Ihese was the cow at Hall's Summit; across another space of 15 

 niles was the O'Toole herd ; then it was necessary to travel nearly 200 

 miles to reach the Osborne County cases. Again, the same disease un- 

 doubtedly existed at several points in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri. 

 There had been no communication between these places, and if wo 

 assumed that they were the result of a foreign contagion it was neccs- 

 >aiy to conclude that a considerable number of independent introduc- 

 tions of this had occurred at very nearly the same time. This assump- 

 tion, in view of the difficulties in the way of introducing a contagion to 

 ,he interior of the country, and the impossibility of tracing such intro- 

 duction at this time, was so improbable that it could scarcely be ad- 

 mitted even if all other evidence had pointed to foot-and-mouth disease. 



