The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-12-06

mers' prosperity are those presented
by deposits in banks in typical agri
cultural states. The secretary select:
for this illustration Iowa, Kansas ant
Mississippi. Taking all kinds of banks
national, state, private and savings
the deposits increased from June 80
1896, to October 81, 1904, in Iowa, l64
per cent, in Kansas PIG per ZEN and
: in Mississippi 301 per cent-in the
. United States 81 per cent. A similar
favorable comparison may be made as
to the number OF depositors.
3 The secretary concludes that the
farmers rate of financial progress
need fear no comparison with that OF
any other class of producers.
Weather Bureau Forecasts.
The regular forecasts of the wea-
Their bureau for SO and 4S hours in adj
vance have been made daily through
out the year, besides special warnings
of gales, cold waves, frosts, heavy
SHOWS, floods, etc., which have been is
sued for the benefit of commercial
and agricultural interests. Forecasts
are issued, moreover, for the first
three days out of steamers bound for
European ports. The river and flood
service and several opportunities to
demonstrate it's usefulness and grow
ing efficiency and owing to the adj
vices and warnings Of the bureau the
dangers of the great ice gorges in the
~Susquehanna, Allegheny and Ohio
rivers were much minimized.
The national weather and crop bull
letin were issued from 143 section
centers. Besides the extensive distr1-
button of the forecast cards, over
5000 railroad stations have been
| equipped with bulletins, and the bu-
reau has availed itself extensively OF
the rural free delivery and the rural
telephone system, so that forecasts
are quickly disseminated throughout
a large territory at a minimum OF ex-
pense.
While expressing the hope that the
time will come when it will be posi-
BILE to forecast weather for coming
seasons, that time has not yet arrived
and the secretary utters a warming ON
the subject.
During the year arrangements were,
perfected for a generous increase in
the number of daily telegraphic wea-
Their reports, and the secretary re-
ports several submarine cables Laid.
The weather bureau has now Is sta
tions completely equipped, while $50
steel towers, with improved equip
ment for displaying storm warnings,
are now installed along the shores OF
the Great Lakes and the Atlantic and
Pacific s%eacoasts.
Inspection of Animals.
Besides safeguarding the livestock
industry at home, the department is
fostering the foreign trade. TIE total
export of animal products in the past
fiscal veal exceeded 1928, 600. 900. The
total inspections for export trade
were: For cattle, 790,496; for sheep,
534,S5O, and for horses, 1928. There
was a great increase in the number
OF cattle and sheep exported, but a
considerable reduction in the number
OF horses.
Inspection of animals and their pro.
ducts was maintained at 81 establish
ments in cities; OF antemortem in
spection about $4,000, 900 were made,
and of postmortem 100000, 900, an in.
crease in both cases over the previous
year. The microscopic inspection OF
pork is restricted to that destined to
countries requiring it, and the number
OF ~carcasses inspected in 1904 was
81, 445, of which 2,643 were found 20
be trichinous.
The secretary devotes considerable
space to reporting on the successful
conflict waged against cattle scab and
mango by the bureau of animal indus |
try, with the cooperation of the state
authorities. During the first nine
months of the year, in "a states and
territories, nearly 100000 head were
inspected and 168, 203 were found at
fected by the disease, while 800, 900
were found to have been exposed to it.
The total number of cattle dipped dur
ing this period exceeded 100000.
Experiments recently reported upon
by the bureau of animal industry show
conclusively that it is an error to
conclude that cattle cannot be in
fected with human tuberculosis. The
secretary urges the necessity of a
rigid enforcement OF the public regu-