EDITORIAL. 
61 
interesting facts in connection with the controversy. It reads 
as follows: 
London, England, Feb. 21, 1893. 
Dr. J. F. Ryder, Foreign Correspondent Alumni Association of the A. V. C7. 
Liverpool , England: 
My Dear Sir :—In reply to your letter requesting a line from me in reference 
to our work in London, and anything else that I thought would be interesting 
to the Alumni Association of the American Veterinary College, I take pleasure 
in sending you the following, with a hope that some portion of it may interest 
some of the members. 
For several years previous to 1890, the U. S. Department of Agriculture 
received several reports from the English^ authorities stating that cattle affected 
with contagious pleuro-pneumonia, were being landed at the ports of this country.. 
Previous to 1878, American cattle were admitted to this country, and 
allowed to enter the interior without restraint, but owing to the prevalence of 
contagious pleuro-pneumonia in the United States at the time, a law was passed 
by the Parliament of 1878 that compelled all cattle from the United States to 
be landed at ports designed and arranged for their reception, and to be 
slaughtered at these ports within ten days after their arrival, also that not a 
single live animal was to be allowed to leave any of these ports. 
Owing to the passage of this law, which reduces the price of American 
cattle landed in this country from ten to fifteen dollars per head, and to pre¬ 
vent the spread of that insidious disease, contagious pleuro-pneumonia, to the 
vast cattle ranges of the West, led Dr. D. E. Salmon, the efficient and worthy 
chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, to make a vigorous attack on this 
disease, by having very stringent laws passed by Congress, whereby the move¬ 
ment of cattle throughout the United States could be controlled, and the disease 
eradicated. 
Through the manner of work outlined by Dr. Salmon, the veterinarians con¬ 
nected with the U. S. Department of Agriculture were successful in eradicating 
contagious pleuro-pneumonia from several sections of the United States; and 
reports still continuing to be received from England “that contagious pleuro¬ 
pneumonia was being landed here,” caused the authorities of the United States 
to doubt the accuracy of the diagnosis of the English veterinarians and so Drs. 
Melvin, Ryder and Wray, were sent to this country and stationed at the ports 
of Liverpool, Glasgow and London respectively, for the purpose of ascertaining 
what form of palmonary disease the English veterinarians were calling contagious, 
also if any contagious disease was landed in this country from the United States 
to immediately report its charater, with a description of the animal affected, so 
that the proper measures could be adopted for the eradication of such disease. 
The American inspectors arrived at their respective ports and commenced 
work on August 31st, 1890. 
The system of inspection by the English authorities consisted, at that time, 
of standing on the pier and watching the cattle as they ran off the ship, if any 
animal appeared sick or lame, he was immediately singled out from the herd and 
driven off by himself for a future and more critical inspection. Very often a 
