PLEURO-PNEUMONIA. 
27 
the sake of the comparatively insignificant sum of eight or nine hundred dollars. 
Accordingly the cattle were killed on the last week of November, and all found 
perfectly healthy. Had it not been done the community would have been full of 
apjwehensiou. The law in relation to the disposal of exposed cattle found per¬ 
fectly healthy was so worded that an insignificant amount was realized from the 
sale thereof. 
The following concise statement will sufficiently explain the main features 
iu the progress of the disease in this State during the past year. 
In March, 1861, Mr. J. F. Eaton purchased a yoke of cattle of a person at 
Brighton who had the same day bought them of a driver from North Hampton 
N. H., named Jonathan Filbrick. A gentleman in search of a pair of oxen had 
previously declined to take these on account of their unhealthy appearance. Soon 
after Mr. Eaton had put these cattle to work on his farm one became sick, then 
the other, then a bull stalled next to the oxen. All of these died of a loathsome 
disease. Very soon his cows, one after another, were attacked. Several died and 
some were killed to put them out of misery. Those that apparently recovered 
were afterwards found to have the disease encysted or covered over for a time. 
In August Mr. Eaton sold ei'jht cows to Mr. John Holbrook, of Randolph, two of 
them at the low price of five dollars each. Finding it difficult to get these two 
home Mr. H. bargained with an Irishman to take two weary cattle on the road 
for the sum of ten dollars. The cash not being on hand, the verbal promise to 
pay was taken, but as one cow was nearly dead when the purchaser found her, 
and as the other died shortly after the purchase, only fifty cents were realized 
out of this shrewd bargain. The other six cows, after remaining a few days in 
a field with a cow and a calf previously belonging to Mr. Holbrook, were sold to 
Mr. Loriug Tirrell, of Weymouth, for a sum less than that paid Eaton by Hol¬ 
brook for them. Before reachiug home Mr. Tirrell found that two of the cows 
were sick, aud on his arrival he tied the two up in a'barn with a cow he had 
kept for about a year to supply his family with milk. The three were after¬ 
wards turned out to pasture together, where they all died. Three of the remain¬ 
ing were killed for beef, aud the remaining one was sold. The latter was traced 
out, bought and killed and found not diseased. This ended,—through the mere 
circumstance that this cow sold had not become infected,—the progress of the 
disease in that direction. 
The cow which Mr. Holbrook had at the time the six before mentioned were 
in his pasture and which was never suspected until killed of being diseased, was 
sold to O. C. Barnes, of Squantum, who at that time had a milk herd of thirteen 
cows. Three of these were soon after sold for beef. Iu November one of his cows 
was taken sick and died. About the first of December, another was taken away 
by Fillbrook, the butcher, who saw the lungs of the one that died. Mr. Fillbrook 
had at that time iu his barn thirty or more milch cows. The cow from Barnes’, 
while on the way to the slaughter-house, accideutly went into the barn among 
these cows. When killed the lungs of this cow were found so diseased that the 
carcass was sent to Ward’s factory. In a short time thereafter several of Mr. 
Filibrook’s cows became sick. He killed nearly all of them, and such as were 
healthy went for beef. Eight, however, of the carcasses could not be used and 
were sent to Ward’s. Seven of 0. C. Barnes’ herd proved to be diseased. From 
this point the disease was carried in various directions, and was only stopped 
