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chill-room or cold store in which the meat is kept while awaiting the coming of buyers, has walls insulated by dead air spaces, or by other devices, and is kept cool by ice stored in proper receptacles so arranged that while the chilled air falls into the room below the moisture therefrom passes away without coming into contact with the meats. Great care is used in all cold store arrangements to prevent the cold air bearing moisture to the goods to be preserved, and so perfect are some of the cooling devices in use that not the slightest trace of moisture can be seen in the apartments where the goods are stored. In this room the ice is placed in a receptacle at one side. From the ice the cold air falls into a store room below, where it becomes slightly warmed by passing over the meats or other food placed there. The warm air rises through the open floor of the second chill-room, and thence through openings near the ceiling into the room where the ice is stored, to again make the round, as before. Arrangements are made so that the valves close in the openings near the ceiling the instant the door of either of the cold storage rooms is opened. The closing of the valves stops the current of warm air which but for this fall upon the ice and cause it to rapidly waste away. When the door is again closed the valve is opened and the circulation of air goes on as before.

17. "Describe the receiving of meat intended for sale in the market; the mode of selling and delivery."

Upon arrival of the train conveying the fresh meat the cars are run into a coldstorage establishment. The meat is carried into the cold-storage room, and remains there in a temperature of about 36° to 42° F. until wanted. As a rule the quarters are sold to retailers who come at an early hour in the morning, or who send in their orders in the afternoon of one day for the meats they want for the next morning. Wagons prepared for the purpose go about in the morning delivering the meats ordered by the retailers. In some cases hotel managers and others using large quantities of meat order one or two car-loads at a time, and keep the meat in cold-storage rooms until required for their daily business. Poultry and game are also kept in this way.

18. "What proportion does the dead meat now stand to the fat stock trade? Is the dead meat trade increasing and likely to increase?"

This question is in part answered by the reply to query No. 3. The traffic in fresh meats grew rapidly, but not steadily, almost from its inception. It must continue to increase, unless there shall be a revolution in trade affairs and in the desire of the people to obtain the best meats for the smallest outlay. During the last five years the growth of the trade in dressed beef has been as follows: From 1881 to 1882 the increase was 42.5 per cent. over the trade of 1880; in 1882 the gain was 50.3 per cent. over the traffic of 1881; in 1883 it was 127.5 per cent.; in 1884 it was only 23.6 per cent.; and in 1885 it was 25.2 per cent. The relation borne by the entire dressed beef trade of Chicago to the fat stock traffic of that city may be seen at a glance at the figures given in the second table sent herewith.

19. "What distances are live stock carried by rail, and are they taken out and fed on the journey? If so, how often?"

Cattle have been sent by rail from Oregon, on the Pacific coast, to New York, on the Atlantic sea-board. It is a law that cattle shall not be kept confined in cattle cars for a period longer than twenty-four hours without being unloaded for food, water, and rest. In the regions west of Chicago trains do not as a rule run at as high a rate of speed as trains maintain on railways east of Chicago. Such trains now run from 250 to 500 miles without stopping for feeding and resting the stock. 20. "What is the average cost of carrying a fat bullock per mile, by rail, for 100 miles and upward?"

From Kansas City to Chicago the distance is 500 miles, and the rate is $65 per car-load for cattle, nominally 20,000 pounds, but really often or nearly quite 24,000 pounds. From Chicago to New York the rate charged is $110, the distance being 1,005 miles. The average number of cattle in a car-load is 16, the range being from 12 fat and heavy cattle to 20 thin and small ones.

Very respectfully,

Hon. JAS. D. PORTER,

Assistant Secretary of State..

NORMAN J. COLMAN, Commissioner of Agriculture.

SOUTHERN CATTLE FEVER.

A very destructive outbreak of southern cattle fever occurred among cattle in the vicinity of Marshall, Mo., in September last, occasioned by the introduction of a herd of cattle from the southern coast of Texas. Col. S. P. Cunningham, an agent of the Bureau of Animal Industry, made an investigation as to the cause and extent of the outbreak, and reported the results of his investigations as follows, under date of October 9:

On reaching Marshall, Mo., I found that over 100 head of high-grade cattle had been infected and had died of southern cattle fever. The outbreak had been occasioned by the importation of 83 head of southern Texas cattle which had been shipped in July last from Kansas City, Mo., to Marshall. I found the history of the trouble as follows: On July 22, 88 head of cattle, purporting to be Kansas calves, were landed at the depot at Marshall. They were consigned to a Mr. Conway, a cattle trader of Saline, by a party from Kansas City stock-yards. Mr. Conway refused to receive them as his property, but under instructions of the consignor, a Mr. Dorsey, an agent of Hunter, Evans & Co., he held them for Dorsey, and secured pasture for them until he could sell. The pasture secured belonged to Mr. J. L. Coyle, upon which Mr. Coyle had then 66 head of high-grade Shorthorn native Missouri cattle. In this pasture were also placed a pair of scales for neighborhood weighing. Before September 1, Coyle sold 20 head of the Texas cattle to Mr. Wetlack, of Marshall, at $10 per head. In transferring these cattle he drove them through the streets of Marshall, and located them in suburbs near town. A number of cattle coming to Coyle's scales to be weighed passed over the pasture grazed upon by the Texas cattle, contracted splenic fever, and died. Coyle, who had 66 head of native cattle in pasture with the Texas consignment, lost 49 head. Citizens of Marshall, whose milch cows came on the trail from Coyle's to Wetlack's pasture, lost some thirty-odd head from the fever.

p. m.

This was the situation of affairs when I reached Marshall on Tuesday, October 5, at 10 o'clock a. m. Accompanied by Dr. Edwards, a veterinarian of Marshall, I at once proceeded to Coyle's pasture and held autopsies on animals that had recently died. Case No. 1 was a six months' old calf taken sick October 2. It was constipated and had high fever. Its ears drooped and its eyes were dull. There was straining with great efforts to pass urine, which failed. Death ensued October 4, at 7 o'clock The body was opened sixteen hours after death. The stomach was impacted with dry, hard food; liver inflamed, cuticle yellow and blood-shotten in spots; gallbladder full of madder-like particles; main bladder filled with serum; kidneys almost destroyed; urinic poison. Death was, no doubt, caused by this poison. In case No. 2, the first indications of disease, as reported to me, were high fever and constipation; dull eyes and drooping ears; listless movements, with desire for solitude. Salt, lime, and belladonna administered for five days seemed to check the disease. A recurrence followed, and death occurred seven hours before autopsy was made. The liver was found congested; the manifold contained dry impacted food. The kidneys were rotten, and gall-bladder filled with madder-like particles. The main bladder was distended with bloody urine. Case No. 3 was a ten-yearold cow. She was taken sick on the morning of October 1, and died early on the morning of the 5th. The autopsy was held at 2 o'clock p. m., of the same day. All the lesions were indicative of a perfect case of splenic fever. The spleen was plainly and heavily involved. It weighed 5 pounds, just double the weight of that of a healthy animal. The gall-bladder, kidneys, stomach, and bladder were each vitally involved. The gall-bladder was full of madder-like particles; kidneys surcharged with urinic poison; bladder distended with bloody urine; stomach hard, dry, and impacted. This case I unhesitatingly pronounced pure, unmitigated splenic, coast, or southern cattle fever.

I saw numbers of other cases in various stages of the disease. Having fully and satisfactorily identified the disease, I next undertook to ascertain the extent of the damage and trace the outbreak to its origin. I found that Mr. Coyle, up to October 6, had lost 49 head of high-grade Shorthorn cattle, and had 17 head still sick. Various citizens of Marshall had lost 43 head, and 15 were still suffering with the malady. I found that the 20 head of cattle from Texas, purchased by Mr. Wetlack, and held at Marshall, were southern Texas yearlings, and that the 63 head from this bunch were of the same class. I then visited Kansas City and found that the 83 head had been shipped to Hunter, Evans & Co., at that point, by William Butler, of Karnes County, Tex. The consignment reached Kansas City July 20; were held on sale in Kansas City stock-yards until July 22, when they were sold by Hunter, Evans & Co., through a Mr. Dorsey, salesman for said firm, to Mr. Conway, of Marshall, Mo., and were so billed on Hunter, Evans & Co.'s books. I found that Mr. Conway had never bought the cattle, although so billed to him-that he, as agent, received them from Mr. Dorsey (an under salesman of Hunter, Evans & Co.), and placed them in the Coyle pasture, where they remained until be sold 20 of them to Mr. Wetlack, for which he received $10 per head; 63 of the animals brought but $6.50 per head, and were sent to Saline County, Mo. I further found that Dorsey paid but $3.60 per head to Hunter, Evans & Co., for these cattle; took them to Kansas City stock-yards, and thus spread the disease. The facts deducible from this investigation are: First, 83 head of coast cattle, bearing the germs of a communicable disease, were, without delay, shipped from Karnes County, Tex., in midsummer, to the Kansas City stock-yards, and consigned to a commission firm for sale; second, an employé of said firm shipped the cattle from the above-named yards to Marshall, Mo., without a bill of health; third, from this shipment southern cattle fever was communicated to over 200 head of Missouri cattle, worth $25 per head; that up to to-day 125 head have died, entailing not only a heavy loss upon the owners, but rendering the pastures in the locality unremunerative and grain unsalable. These facts are submitted for your careful and earnest consideration.

In this connection I desire to state that I took charge of the cattle trail and shipment north of cattle from Texas on May 1, 1886. Since then, I have superintended the movement of 235,000 head of Texas cattle to northern ranges. During that time not one case of disease appeared in transit, and no splenic or coast fever was disseminated. All this work must prove nugatory if the central marts of trade are permitted to be made vehicles for the dissemination of disease.

Dr. T. A. Edwards, of Marshall, Mo., writing to Col. S. P. Cunningham, under date of October 15, gives the following history of this outbreak of southern cattle fever and the results of his investigations as to the cause of the disease:

On or about July 23, last, one of our cattle men received from Kansas City, Mo., a bunch of Texas calves, from five to fifteen months old. These little fellows were driven through town to a pasture 14 miles south, where they remained until July 31, when they were divided, and 20 of them again driven through Marshall and located in a pasture within the city limits. The other 63 head were taken 8 or 10 miles west of town. These animals were watered at the public tanks as they passed through the city. The man with whom they were first pastured had a herd of 60 or more of registered and high-grade cattle, which had access to the same pasture and pond of water as the Texas calves. About September 15 cattle in the pasture where the Texas cattle first stopped began to sicken and die, and the owner came to me with the request that I visit his cattle, hold a post-mortem on the two that had died, and prescribe for the 15 head then sick free of charge. This, of course, I refused to do. At this time I did not know that any Texas cattle had been shipped in. I did not see the sick herd until 35 or more of them had died, when, at the request of several of our stockmen, I held several post-mortems and examined many of the living, and pronounced the disease as that variously known as Texas, coast, or splenic fever. These cattle had no treatment and have continued to die until over 50 head have been lost, and the living continue to sicken. About September 22 the town cows that were exposed to this bunch of Texans, now pastured in the city limits, began to sicken and die, until only 3 or 4 now remain, and they are not well. One of the little Texas bulls, confined in the pasture in town, managed to creep through a small hole in the fence, and ran with the town cows about the commons, and thus succeeded in contaminating nearly every cow in town. Some time in August 15 head of fine beef steers were weighed on a pair of scales to which the calves had had access, and about the 28th of that month these cattle (which are now 9

miles north of this place with other beef cattle) began dying, and up to date 8 have succumbed. I do not know how many cattle west of here have died, but understand that all of the natives exposed in any way to the Texas bunch driven from here have been lost. None of the Texas lot have died. All of my examinations of the living sick animals, as well as the many autopsies I have made, have given me no room to doubt this malady as being what is known as southern coast, or Texas cattle fever, but I was in total darkness as to what the trouble really was-its true pathology, its cause, and its best treatment, until the 8th instant. At that time I carefully dissected a large, fat, red steer which had died a few hours previous. Do not understand me to assert that I have learned it all by this examination, for I simply learned then that previous examinations had taught me nothing. In some post-mortems the manifold was in a perfect normal condition; in others its contents were very hard and dry. In all I found the urine highly colored, and in some it looked as though it might be half blood. The kidneys, in some cases, seemed in a high state of congestion, and in others putrefaction was rapidly advancing. The liver was enlarged, congested, and engorged with bile. The gall-bladder was greatly distended, with a ropy, thick, dark matter, in some almost black, in others not so dark, yet in all lumpy and resembling thick molasses or soft soap. The spleen in the steer referred to was greatly enlarged and filled with semi-coagulated blood. The duodenum was engorged with duodenal matter, very heavily charged with bile. Such was the condition of things, roughly given, as they appeared to the natural eye; but not being satisfied with these examinations I decided to make a chemical and microscopical examination and send you the results. I took the weight of the spleen, which was 10 pounds. Then I placed in clean separate bottles a small piece of the spleen, liver, kidneys, and a small quantity of the bile and urine. These I brought home and analyzed chemically and microscopically, with the following results: Urine loaded with albumen; kidneys simply in a high state of inflammation, with an occasional spot of decay. A peculiarity of the spleen is that there seems nothing wrong with it save its enormous enlargement. It seems to be filled to its utmost capacity with semi-coagulated blood, which presents under the microscope nothing more than an engorgement, with both red and white blood globules, the red greatly predominating. The liver was enlarged, congested, and thoroughly saturated with bile. The bile was filled with serum. It was hard to determine which was the smaller ingredient, bile or serum. Now what must we conclude from this examination? Certainly that the trouble is not in the spleen, but in the liver or the portal circulation, and the trouble with the kidneys, spleen, and other organs is nothing more than we would expect from overtaxation, because of the liver not being able to do its part. In my opinion this disease is much like " dengue" (breakbone fever), or yellow fever in the human race, and, treated as such, I believe a great deal of good may be done.

In the latter part of September a number of letters were received from cattle growers in the vicinity of Middleburgh, Va., stating that a fatal disease was prevailing among cattle in that locality which it was feared was contagious pleuro-pneumonia. Dr. C. K. Dyer, an inspector of the Bureau of Animal Industry, was directed to make an examination of the afflicted animals and report the results of his investigation to the Department. His report bears date of October 1, and is as follows:

In my investigations of this outbreak I learned that on the 14th day of September Mr. E. T. Holton purchased, at the Chicago stock-yards, of Messrs. Wagoner & Bender (cattle brokers for Messrs. Conover & Herrick), 134 steers; that they were shipped from there and arrived at Summit Point three days after (September 17), and were then driven about 35 miles to the farms of the following-named gentlemen in this locality, viz: E. T. Holton, Fauquier County, 2 steers, both of which died in a few days; W. N. Tiffany, same county, 37 steers, 7 of which have since died and 3 are now sick; Hugh Tiffany, same county, 15 steers, 3 of which have died and 2 are now sick; Frank Ish, Loudoun County, 20 steers, of which 1 is sick; William Humphrey and Edgar Ish, both of Loudoun County, 30 steers each. Six animals on the above-mentioned farms were suffering with mild attacks of Texas fever, and would likely recover. No native cattle had been attacked.

An outbreak of southern cattle fever, notable for its destruction of valuable animals, occurred in the vicinity of Richmond, Va., during the latter part of September and the early part of October. W. H.

Harbaugh, resident veterinarian of Richmond, furnished the Department with the following history of the disease on October 9:

For a month past there have been numerous deaths in this vicinity among the cattle from what is commonly called "bloody murrain" or "red water." My business partner and myself have been consulted professionally in a few cases only. An outbreak occurred in the Westham herd of fine Jersey cattle, the property of Col. R. Snowden Andrews, at the Westham Granite Company's farm, about seven miles from Richmond, in Chesterfield County. I was called to the farm, and found a cow dying, and from the symptoms furnished me I suspected the nature of the trouble. I inserted the catheter and withdrew seven quarts of very dark-colored urine. This animal died within an hour after my arrival, while in a semi-comatose state. I was informed that a cow had died the day before showing similar symptoms. I prescribed treatment and left. About a week afterwards I was again called to the same farm, and when I arrived was informed that a cow had died about fifteen minutes before my arrival. This animal I discovered to be one from which I had removed the placenta on my former visit, she having had a premature birth. At that time she exhibited no symptoms of Texas fever. A few days afterwards (six days) I was again called, and found two of the cattle in a critical condition, one of which was the celebrated "Oxford Kate," which cost Colonel Andrews $3,250. I again examined the herd and found more affected. The temperature of the affected cattle ranged from 108° Fahrenheit (Oxford Kate) down to 104° Fahrenheit. The pulse ranged from 90 to 100. The animals lost flesh very rapidly; would stand with arched backs, staring eyes; would pass quantities of urine, varying in color in the different animals, from light red to black; would not stand long at a time, but preferred to lie down. Oxford Kate was loose in a box stall, and toward the last, when she was so weak that it was difficult for her to assume the standing posture, she would struggle from a bed of nice clean straw back to the paved floor, which was wet with urine, and lie there in preference. She died at 9.45 p. m. October 6. The post-mortem examination commenced the following morning at 8. As the hide was being removed the fat was observed to possess a peculiar glistening greenish tinge. Mr. Phillips, the foreman, very appropriately remarked: "It looks something like the greenish color in a copper boiler." In cutting through the inferior cervicle muscles to remove the side a most sickening odor was emitted. The cut surfaces were a very dark color. A noticeable absence of blood in all the vessels was not to be overlooked; ecchymosis was observed in the cavities of the heart. The lungs were normal, except a certain amount of hypostatic congestion of the right lung, which was easily accounted for, as she was lying on that side when she died. There was ecchymosis beneath the parietal and visceral pleura-a few spots only. The spleen was much thickened and elongated, and the greatest care had to be taken in tearing it loose from its attachment to the rumen and diaphragm, as it burst in several places, from which matter resembling" whipped" coagulated blood oozed out. The liver was enlarged and parts of it congested; when cut into it was of a dull, yellowish, coppery color; the cut surfaces, after being exposed for a few minutes, assumed a bright yellow color. The gall bladder was distended, with a thick, dark, semi-fluid granular looking matter, resembling much the dregs of a black strap " molasses barrel. The rumen contained less than the ordinary amount of ingesta; the walls of the viscus seemed normal. Nothing abnormal was noticed in connection with the reticulum. The omassum was normal; the ingesta between the leaves was moist. The abomassum contained very little ingesta, which was washed off to expose the mucous membrane; parts of the mucous membrane were dark colored; there were upon it many red and "angry" looking spots and numerous ulcers, which, to a person who has seen the ulcers in the nostrils of a glandered horse, could not help being struck with the similarity; many spots could be seen on the lamellar folds of the membrane; not a few large ragged-edged ulcers were observed in the pyloric portion; some were oblong and some were quadrilateral in outline, the edges dark colored and even blackened, and gave one the impression that the membrane had been removed in patches with a very dull instrument-"sawed out," as it were. The external appearance of the intestines was dark; they contained much blood of a very frothy nature and of a sero-sanguineous consistence; the mucous membrane was easily scraped off with the finger nail. The urinary bladder contained a sedimentary deposit of a dull leaden hue, nothing like the appearance of the claret-colored urine she had been passing previous to her death. On the mucous membrane were clusters of red-crested, papilla-like elevations. The kidneys were very dark-colored, much congested, the corticle substance friable, and upon close examination dark spots could be detected beneath the capsule. The right, always the largest, was more than a third larger than the left. The uterus contained a four months old fetus.

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