Report on the Health of Animals of the Farm. 209 
in this country ; cases have recently been found among the 
home stock in the Metropolitan Cattle Market on more than 
one occasion. 
Plcuro-Pnnimonia. — The most active centres for the spread of 
this disease have always been the large town dairies and the 
most frequented lines of cattle traffic ; and this seems to hold 
good in 1876 as in former years. 
That it has not prevailed to any extent in the country is 
shown by the smallness of the sums which have been reported 
at Meetings of Quarter Sessions, as having been paid in com- 
pensation for animals slaughtered on account of this disease.* 
It is gratifying to learn that some of our best feeding and 
grazing districts, in which this malady has prevailed in former 
years, can now show almost a clean bill of health. In Norfolk 
only a few cases were reported during three months ; and during 
the same period there were only two fresh cases in Oxfordshire. 
In Cumberland, a few fresh outbreaks occurred in the autumn, 
but they were not of an extensive character ; and the strict 
enforcement of existing regulations was sufficient to check their 
progress. 
During last Session of Parliament an Act was passed render- 
ing the slaughter of cattle affected with pleuro-pneumonia com- 
pulsory in Ireland. This Act will, no doubt, tend in a very 
great measure to counteract whatever injurious influence may 
be attributable to the Irish cattle-trade as a means of spreading 
the disease. Although the system of inspection adopted at 
the ports of embarkation no doubt prevented actually diseased 
animals from being shipped to us from Ireland, we had no 
guarantee that the Irish cattle crossing the Channel had not 
been in contact with diseased animals, or even that they had 
not come out of an infected herd. The compensation now 
given for the diseased animals slaughtered on account of pleuro- 
* I do not feel satisfied that slaughter of affected animals will stamp out cases 
of pleuro-pneumonia, although it may lessen the spread of the disease when 
outbreaks occur. The Veterinary Department of the Privy Council report that 
in Great Britain, during the week ending 24th March, pleuro-pneumonia had been 
reported upon in 127 places, 89 beasts had been slaughtered, and 5 had died. 
In the West Riding of the County of York, between March 1874 and March 1875, 
the cases reported were 426 ; of which 397 were slaughtered by the Local Authority, 
6 were slaughtered by the owner, and 23 died. Between March 1875 and March 
1876, 410 cattle were attacked, 401 were slaughtered by order of the Local 
Authority, 1 by the owner, and 8 died. Between March 1876 and March 1877, 
249 cattle were attacked, 237 slaughtered by order of the Local Authority, 2 by 
the owner, and 10 died. The accounts of the West Riding, being made up from 
September in each year, do not exactly show the cost of the slaughter for the 
same period as are included in the record of the outbreaks, but the expenses 
incurred by the ratepayers of the West Riding for the three years ending September 
1876 were, respectively, 4856Z. 8s. Wd., 35171. 3s. 10d., 4246Z. 12s. 5d. ; a total of 
12,6202. 5s. Gd., and 1040 cattle were slaughtered by order. — J. D. D. 
VOL. XIII. — S. S. P 
