Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-12-05
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

Extirpation of the Dreaded Pleuro-Pneu.
monia from the Western States.
The Department of Agriculture has continued,
with good measure of success, its efforts to de-
yelop the processes, enlarge the results and aug
ment the profits of American husbandry. It has
collected and distributed practical information,
introduced and tested new plants, checked the
spread OF contagious disease of farm animals re-
sisted the advance of noxious insects and de-
structive fungus growths and sought to secure to
agricultural labor the highest reward of effort,
the fullest immunity from loss It's records of the
year show that the season of 1888 has been one of
medium production. generous supply of the
demands of consumption has been assured, and
surplus TOR expectation, moderate in certain
products and bountiful in Others will prove
benefaction alike to buyer and grower.
Four years ago it was found that the great cat
tie industry OF the country was endangered
and those engaged in 1t were alarmed at the
rapid extension of the European luna plague of
pleuro-pneumonia. Serious outbreaks existed
nessee; animals affected were held in quaran-
tine. Five counties in New York and from one
to foul counties in each of the states of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland
were almost equally affected. With this great
danger upon us and with the contagion already
In the channels 5lneas OF commerce with the
alredy being caused by it, and when
only prompt and energetic action could be
successful there were in none of these states any
laws authorizing this department. to eradicate
the malady or giving the state officials power to
cooperate with it for this purpose. The depart
ment even lacked both the requisite appropria
ton and authority. By securing state co-opera-
ton in connection with authority from Congress,
the work of eradication has been pressed sue
cesstully and this dreaded disease has been ex-
tirpated from the Western States and also from
the Eastern States with the exception of few
restricted areas which are still under supervision
The danger has thus been removed and trade
and commerce have been freed from the vexa-
tious state restrictions which were deemed neces-
sary for time.
During the past four years the process of diffu-
sion, as applied to the manufacture of sugar
from sorghum and sugar cane, has been intro
duced into this country and fully perfected by
the experiments carried on by the Department
of Agriculture. This process is now universally
considered to be the best economical one, and 1t
10 through it that the sorghum sugar industry
has been established upon firm basis and the
road to It's future success opened. The adoption
OF this diffusion process is also extending in
Louisiana and other sugar producing parts of
the country, and will doubtless soon be the only
method employed for the extraction of sugar
from the cane.
An exhaustive study has ALSO within the same
period, been undertaken of the subject of food
adulteration and the best analytical methods for
detecting 1t. part of the results of this work
has already been published by the department