Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-23

Secretary Wilson Makes the ION
With nr Sn lu.nu

Secretary Wilson of the Departme-. of
Agriculture has just made thoroug. In
spection OF the laboratories of the bu, eau
OF animal industry. connected with the de-
partment. The laboratories are the ones
IN which the practical work of the bt.,eau
IS carried on. where the tests and exseri-
ments are made for the detection and 1tre-
venticn of diseases In all kinds Of amin HIS.
ana are ackrov lodged TO be far above W.
thing of the kind in connection with ny
government in the world.
The building in which the labora, ,ries
are situated contains many specimens and
parasites from all parts of the world In
the line OF the work carried on there. DIR.
the Secretary. and explained everything 10
nim. He was greatly interested in what
ne saw, and stated, when the inspection
Vas ended, he would ask Congress for adj
ditlonal appropriations to carry ors the
work properly, and to construct az fire.
PROOF building for the laboratories The
one In which they are located now: is of
frame, ana many of the objects coISained
IN III could not be replaced IL a fire-Should
break out The bureau has far ouSgrown
It's present surroundings and th.s new
building is deemed necessary
Dr: Novgaard OF the bureau les; .cday TO
continue experiments in Texas IL, regard
10 the prevention of the cattle diseas.,
known as Texas fever. which annually
costs the raisers of this country hundreds of
thousands of dollars. The Secretary has
beeen greatly troubled lately with rapor.s
OF violations Of the regulations I'm regard TO
prlnging infected cattle into the northern
territory. He occupies much the same posi-
tlon IN regard to the quarantine law
against Texas fever that Surgeon General
Wyman does to the yellow fever epidemic.
hestrictioas arg placed on the southern
cattle raisers where the shipment OF their
cattle north is concerned on account of the
Fever, which infects animals only in a
certain area of the south. Ii is allowed
Tor the animals to be shipped north i'm sel,-
arate can. to be placed in separate pens i'm
the stock yards, and to be killed in a short
Tine Inc raisers. however. obtain the bet
ter prices when the cattle are snioned 10
be fed. instead of killed for market and
the uhscrupul1as among them take ad-
vantage of the inability to prevent the
violation of the quarantine regulations and
snip their cattle where they mix with
cthers. and infection follows
The Secretary was much Interested in the
work of preparing the ',blackleg'' doses
Tor cattle afflicted with the disease The
parts afflicted are taken from dead animals
ara ground up. when the stuff is subjected
10 chemical process and injected into the
tlood OF animals, which has the effect of
preventing the appearance of the disease
The germs of the disease are most yirulent
and the Secretary related a case of where
at his own home he buried a calf in a yard
which had died from the '.blackieg' Two
cows were ssdmitted to the yard and DEED
from the disease evidently having died
from the germs transmitted from the dead
animal The first month the medicine was
turned out 5oy the department % 900 doses
were distributed to cattle raisers. and the
distributor has been going On since.
other experiments carried on in the lab
oratories extracted the interest of the Sec
rotary, am he expressed himself as being
fully satisfied with what he saw. The mat
ter of "diI-ping' the cattle for the preven-
ton of transmission of Texas fever was
especially interesting to him.