540 
CATTLE PLAGUE. 
The most noticeable fact in regard to cattle plague which 
we have to record is the discovery of infected animals in no 
less than three imported cargoes of Russian cattle within a 
few days of each other. 
The first of these was a cargo of twenty-five Russian cattle 
from the port of Cronstadt landed at Deptford on Wednesday, 
July 17th. At the time of landing nothing particular was 
noticed in the condition of the animals; but it must be re¬ 
membered that after a long voyage cattle naturally wear an 
aspect of lassitude; and, further, that Russian cattle do not 
commonly suffer so acutely from rinderpest as English beasts 
do. However, on the following morning, when the inspector 
arrived for the purpose of making a further examination of 
the animals, one of them lay dead, and on a post-mortem ex¬ 
amination the characteristic lesions of cattle plague were 
detected. The slaughter of the rest of the cargo was at once 
commenced, but before it was completed the disease had 
begun to manifest itself among the remaining animals. On 
Friday morning, July 19th, the thermometer test showed 
that several of them gave evidence of a rise of temperature; 
in three of them the index stood at 105 ! 
In consequence of this introduction of cattle plague, im¬ 
portation of animals from Russia was at once prohibited by 
Order of Council, a copy of which will be found in another 
part of our Journal. 
Notwithstanding, however, the promptness with which the 
Government acted, it was too late to prevent the arrival of 
another vessel, which was known to be at sea with Russian 
cattle on board. This vessel, the “ Binschie,” also from 
Cronstadt, made the port of Leith during the night of July 
21st, having a cargo of forty-eight beasts. On examination 
by the inspector, before the animals were landed, three were 
found to be suffering from cattle plague. These, w r ith the 
healthy, were all slaughtered on board as quickly as possible, 
and so disposed of as to limit the risk of the introduction of 
the disease to a minimum. 
Nor were these the only cases of diseased Russian cattle 
which have reached this country. 
The ef Brigadier 55 steam-ship arrived at about three 
o’clock in the morning of July 22nd at Newcastle-on-Tyne 
from Hamburg , bringing seventy German and eight Russian 
cattle from that port. One of the Russian beasts was ill at 
the time the cargo was discharged, and died in about foiu 
