Arizona republican., 1891-05-21
CATTLE INSPECTION.
All Praise Due Our Government for Ex-
 terminating PIeuro- PneumOnia.

terminating Pleuro-Pneumonia.
 So strict is the quarantine in the dis trict where the disease last appeared that it is impossible for any animal to carry the infection to other locali- ties. The quarantined district con- prises Kings and Queens counties, l.. l. No bovine which once enters the district is permitted to leave it again alive, and as there is no method of leaving except by ferry or Brooklyn bridge it is easy to enforce the ironclad regulation.
 A large force of inspectors under the auspices of both the national and state governments is engaged in the work of stamping out the disease.
 The moment case of pleuro-pneu- monia is discovered by an inspector the measures resorted to are prompt and eff fective. The disease manifests itself by a cough and difficulty in breathing. It is not, however, of the nature of pneu- monia in man, though the lungs are the organs affected. The disease is as in- fectious as smallpox and as distinctly specific and poisonous. Among cattle in districts where the disease has been more or less prevalent it is not so fatal as in newly infected districts. The mortality ranges from 40 to 90per cent. When an inspector detects a case another expert is sent at once to confirm the diagnosis, and within twelve hours of its discovery the victim is bought by the government and killed. The same day the entire herd of which the animal was member is appraised at full market value, paid for by Uncle Sam and promptly slaugh- tered Not more than twenty-four hours are allowed to elapse before every animal known to have been exposed to the disease is dead. The stable in which they were quartered is then thoroughly disinfected, and the further spread of the disease is rendered almost impossi- ble. In case the disease appears two or three times in the same stable, the gov ernment resorts to still more radical measures. It buys the stable, razes the building, thoroughly disinfects the soil on which it stood and then buries it be- heath four feet or more of earth.
 The infected district on Long Island is really limited to portion of Kings and a very small part of Queens counties. It includes much of East New York, and a narrow belt from Newtown creek along the county line almost to Greenpoint. In this district the government has bought and killed thousands of cattle since the quarantine was established in December, 1887. Since early last fall the disease has rapidly disappeared. There were no cases in November, and one in December was the last on record. The system of inspection will be kept up at least six months after the last case has been disposed of By that time all | danger of the reappearance of the dis ease it is believed will be passed. The distemper cannot be propagated in any other manner than by contagion, for it is never produced spontaneously in this country This has been abundantly proved by the experience in dealing with the disease in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Illinois, Missouri and other places.
 The battle against the disease has been waged systematically and relentlessly:; Whenever it has appeared in the west
 
 county in which it has manifested itself. Every head of cattle in herd, where one or more animals show symptoms of the malady, is taken possession of by the government inspectors. All the infected animals are promptly killed. The healthy animals are sold to a butcher for immediate slaughter after being ap- 1N,,,.s A z, his entire herd. This system has con- pletely exterminated the disease in the ! west.
 The present system of inspecting ez- port cattle is very thorough. Cattle are inspected by the government at the great western cattle marts, usually Kansas City and Chicago. They are tagged at those points. The record is so carefully kept that if an animal should manifest any infectious disease after reaching Flu rope it would be possible by the tag in it's ear to trace it direct to the ranch | from which it came on the western plains. It has also happened several times that ship which has suffered dis. aster at sea has been identified by the numbers on the tags of the cattle found floating in the water.
 The inspection of cattle before em bar1ation is done at the Union yards Sixtieth street and North river, at the Jersey City cattle yards and at the Oal Cliff: yards, Weehawken. Cattle are usually, allowed to rest two or three days after leaving the cars, and then the inspectors examine them.--New York Sun.