July, 1911.] 



45 



Live Stock. 



traced to these sources, but these out- 

 breaks have been speedily suppressed by 

 stringent measures, and the country 

 has remained free from rinderpest until 

 another importation of the infection. 

 Japan suffered its heaviest losses from 

 rinderpest in 1896, for which year about 

 7,000 deaths are recorded. This infection 

 was stamped out during the same year, 

 and no new cases appeared until 1899. 

 Since then the disease has appeared 

 from time to time through importations 

 received from the mainland, but it has 

 never seriously menaced the livestock 

 industry. At the present time Japan is 

 entirely free from rinderpest, and to 

 prevent the importation of contagious 

 and infectious animal diseases the 

 Government has installed quarantine 

 stations at the principal ports, and has 

 issued stringent regulations governing 

 the inspection and quarantine of animals 

 received from foreign countries. 



Quarantine Stations. 



One of the quarantine stations, that 

 at Yokohama, was visited- It is small, 

 accommodating only abou^ 50 animals, 

 but as practically no animals except 

 those for breeding purposes are im- 

 ported at Yokohama, it is of sufficient 

 size for that port. The quarantine 

 station is located about 5 miles from 

 tne central part of the city and is situ- 

 ated on a small inlet so that live stock 

 can be transported directly from the 

 steamers to the place of quarantine. 



The entire station occupies about 

 thvee-tenths of a hectare of ground, and 

 is surrounded by a tight board fence 

 about 3 meters in height, In the centre 

 of this area is a building of two stories 

 which is used by the quarantine officials 

 as an office. Around this central struc- 

 ture are several other buildings used for 

 the detention of animals. These build- 

 ings are constructed along sanitary lines 

 having concrete floors and electric lights. 

 They are well ventilated and offer ample 

 room and comfortable accommodation 

 to the animals. Some of these buildings, 

 those used for the detention of animals 

 which may have been exposed to any of 

 the diseases which are most commonly 

 transmitted by flies, are provided with 

 double screen doors and windows. In 

 addition to these structures there is a 

 small building located in one corner of 

 the grounds for the isolation of suspected 

 cases of disease, and another similar 

 building which is used exclusively for 

 post-mortem work. Bovines and other 

 animals susceptible to rinderpest, im- 

 ported from foreign countries where 

 rinderpest is known to exist, are held at 

 this quarantine station for twenty days 



after their arrival. In case rinderpest 

 develops among any of the imported 

 animals during the period of quarantine 

 the entire herd is slaughtered and with- 

 out indemnity to the owner. These 

 regulations do not apply, however, to 

 cattle imported for slaughter, as these 

 are held in quarantine for two weeks 

 only, after which time they are required 

 to be slaughtered within three days. 



Slaughter-houses and Meat 

 Inspection. 



The cattle dealers and butchers are 

 required to furnish men for slaughtering 

 their auimals, and they are charged a 

 moderate sum for the use of the abattoir 

 (for cattle and horses, 1 yen* per head, 

 and for hogs, 25 sen). The buildings 

 connected with the Government abattoir 

 at Tokyo cover about one-fifth of a 

 hectare of ground which is inclosed by a 

 board fence. On two sides of this en- 

 closure are sheds for tying animals 

 which are awaiting entrance to the 

 slaughter-house. The hours for slaugh- 

 tering are from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. There 

 is daily inspection before killing com- 

 mences of the clothing worn by the 

 men working at the slaughter-house and 

 of all baskets and other utensils. 



The Government inspection of meat 

 consists of a careful ante-mortem inspec- 

 tion of the animals and a thorough 

 post-mortem examination of the carcass. 

 The ante-mortem inspection is conducted 

 in a shed which is near the entrance of 

 the main building and equipped with 

 scales for weighing the animals. Near 

 this shed is a building used as an office 

 for the veterinarians and police officers 

 in charge, and at one end of this latter 

 structure is a laboratory sufficiently 

 equipped to enable the veterinarians to 

 make a microscopical examination of 

 the abnormal tissues revealed by the 

 post-mortem examination. This labor- 

 atory is supplied with glass jars and 

 preservatives for the collection of in- 

 teresting pathological specimens which 

 are occasionally encountered. 



The main structure, where the butcher- 

 ing is performed, has /a concrete floor 

 with deep grooves running in two 

 directions so that the fluids are carried 

 into the main gutters without spread- 

 ing over a large area of the floor. The 

 walls to the height of 1J meters are 

 enamelled tile. About one-third of this 

 building is partitioned off for the 

 dressing of cattle. These are' skinned on 

 the floor, and then by means of men and 

 tackles, are hoisted to a track where 

 they are eviscerated, A post-mortem 

 exami nation is made in this roo m, and 



* I yen = P 1 ; 25 sen = 25 centavos. 



