The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-02-17
BY TELEGRAPH TO THE HERALD


plague. the i'll effects of smutty corn in the feed of
farm animals. and the spenic periodic fever Of
cattle. He has just received an article from the Lon
don Times showing that the suspected cattle landed
at Liverpool on the Ontario a Dominion steamship
plying between Portland and England, came from
the West and is this fact which gives the subject
the spread of the contagion in the United States
additional interest. This matter of so much in
terest in 1870 that Congress ordered the printing of
900 extra copies of the Agricultural Commissioners
report Now with the probability of the cattle trade
suffering great drawback by the scheduling of this
country in England against the importation of
horned stock, Congress will not give the subject of
discriminating the disease the slightest attention.
CONCLUSIONS THE LUNG PLAGUE.
In his report in 1869 Professor Gamgee says that
the conclusions that are warranted by the Acts he
had cleaned folows:-
F1rst-That the lung plague in cattle exists on
Long Island, where it has prevailed for many years.
that it is not uncommon in New Jersey; had at
various times appeared in New York State continues
be prevalent in several counties of Pennsylvania
especially in Delaware and Bucks; has injured the
farmers of Maryland the dairymen around Washing
ton and has penetrated into Virginia.
Second-That the disease travels wherever sick cat
tie are introduced and that the great cattle rearing
States of the West which may not at present be
tirey free from the disease have been protected by
the fact that they sell rather than buy and import
horned stock.
Thiyd-There no proper restrictions the sale
of infected stock and in another year two, unless
definite and immediate action should be taken,
the disease is likely to find its way into many
parts of the country that its eradication will be
almost impossible.
1t appears that the veterinary surgeon Of the Ca
madam government who recently visited the United
States went to the localities mentioned in Professor
Gamgec's report, and that the same information
which he obtained was also furnished the Secretary
of State who teegraphed to Minister WEIGH that the
disease among cattle suspected to be pleuro pneu-
mona confined to the localities where it has pre-
vailed more or less for many years.
CHARACTER OF THE DISEASE.
There is doubt in the mind of Professor Gamgee
that the dairy cows contaminated with the disease
seldom leave the localities where they afflicted
yet its presence is always to be feared no matter
how great may be the precautions taken to prevent
its spreading He says 1t is latent and insidous
that only the experienced veterinary surgeon can
trace its progress. Hence. like the prevalence Of
smallpox in community, everybody fears he may
be subject to the coptagon. and no one feels per-
fectly until the last disappears and
Of health ensues.
DUTY OF CONGRESS.
Professor Gamgee thinks that Congress ought to
make appropriation sufficient to- enable a COM
mittee of their body to proceed at to discover
the presence Of pleuro-pneumonia in every part Of
the country where it is reported or suspected and
stamp out. Unless this is done there is proba-
bity of the fears of the Canadian British govern
ents being allayed aud the trade in live cattle must
necessarily be suspended.
THE SENATE INVESTIGATION.
Senator Paddock. chairman of the Senate Com
nttee on Agriculture has called special meeting Of
the committee for to take action upon the
resolution passed by the Senate last Friday authorz
ing the committee to send for persons and
papers to ascertain. If lung disease infects cattle
in any part of the country. Senator Paddock
says that his information is to the effect that there
is not trace of it in the West, and that the only
place where it is known to exist at present Is in the
vicinity of New York. where its cause can be traced
to the bad manner in which the dairy cows are
kept. 1t is the intention of the committee to sum-
mon witnesses from Chicago and other points, and
as soon as possible establish in the cearest
that there is unnecessary alarm in England in
regard to the importation of American horned CATTLE
AN OLD SHIPPER ON THE CAUSES OF THE
pLAGuE-cRuELTY AND NEGLECT MANIFESTED
ON THE JOURNEY OVERLAND ON THE CARS
AN AMENDMENT TO THE LAW SUGGESTED.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb Is. 1879.
To THE EDIroP OF THE HERALp:-
see by most every paper take up something in
regard to diseased cattle and your paper has the
largest
give my opinion on the subject to the public for
what it is worth. recollect ten years ago. or. will
say before the war. cattle loaded at Chicago
ST. Louis and every man that was shipping
stock thought two hundred miles too
far to carry cattle without food water and rest and
would complain If they had to keep their stock ON
the cars for longer time than necessary to go that
distance But now the big shippers want to run
their stock from st. Louis and Chicago to New York.
unloading for rest. food and water often but once
and never more than twice. and then only for
hour or two at a time which is much less than the
In the last two years that have been carried far
without loading that they went into Jour market
bruised. sick and almost dead.
DIsEAsE IN THE WEST
know of no disease among the cattle in the West
at present but by the Eastern papers that the
were investigated you would And that the disease is
caused from the circumstances above stated. The
e.; cattle Good The condsioS Sns wen the Shippers
get them the starving and neglect commences,
with the natural results. In the manner in
DAYS from st. Louis and Chicago to New York. and
the cattle not of the during that time to ex-
and reloaded within one hour Now is it reasonable
to expect that stock used in this way will he in any
other condition than sickiy aud bruised and not fit
FOR market II cattle had been shipped and treated
in this way in my time we could have found no one
to buy them from us.
carried too fast: they not unouded and rested
sufficiently; they should be taken Off every 200 or
225 miles furthest and rested from seven to ten
hours and well fed aud waiered they should in no
case be on the to exceed twenty-four hours,
which would make about forty hours In all from
The cattle would then feel much better and
/ know they would be healthier and not
bruised up so badly l know of cattle being on tho
cars forty-ive 90 fty hours without food water or
rcst aud when they reach unloading place Mt least
half would be down and badly tramplcd and bruised.
1 L. tfa mt To