PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 
31 
fortunate circumstance associated with its early advent into the 
state, is that it was first introduced by stock-raisers of intelligence 
and affluence, who, knowing its malignant character, grappled with 
it by practicing occission, thereby keeping it to a great extent in 
check. But being a subtle enemy who knows no bounds, it soon 
crept in among the animals of the lower classes, who depended 
largely upon the product of their cattle for their sustenance, 
and felt they could not afford to loose them; hence, whenever 
they found the malady among their stock, made haste to ex¬ 
change them for other and healthy animals. Many unscrupulous 
persons took advantage of this circumstance to speculate in 
diseased animals, and often realized handsomely by dealing them 
off to the unsophistocated farmer who never saw or perhaps heard 
of the disease until the stern, stubborn fact of having it among 
his own cattle was staring him in the face. This fact demon¬ 
strates the necessity for early legislative action, the only means 
by which we may hope to effect its eradication. Many and 
various were the means employed to effect a cure, the cow leech 
reaping a rich harvest by the preparation and administration of 
his favorite nostrum, and it is not uncommon to-day to meet that 
gentleman with his sure cure , which may be purchased at the farm¬ 
er’s own figures. But they soon learned, after paying liberally 
for the lesson, that they had an incurable malady to contend 
with, and began looking around for something more substantial, 
which was claimed to be found in the much lauded but reprehen¬ 
sible prophylactic European practice of inoculation. Words fail 
to portray the amount of injury resulting from that practice. 
As inspector of cattle, it has been our duty for the past few days 
to investigate the existence of the disease in and about Newark, 
N. J., and there is scarcely a stable where it has been practiced 
that we do not find more or less lung lesions in consequence, ren¬ 
dering eaeh inoculated animal a medium of contagion, from 
which the disease may be distransmitted. We feel it our duty to 
urge upon the Governor the necessity of taking some steps to 
prevent its further use. In 1861, the State Board of Agri¬ 
culture becoming alive to the importance of the subject, appealed 
to the Legislature to take some action toward having it and 
