Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-12-11
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md feeding cattle were taken there
from into Western Pennsylvania
and also in several counties in
Western New York, | think a brief
article will be read with interest by
many Of the Tribune readers. Be
fore speaking Of the disease | desire
to say great praise is due to DR..
Leonard Pearson, State veterinarian
of Pennsylvania, and also Commls
sioner Pearson, of the State OF New
York, for the very prompt manner
in which they have set their inspec-
tors at work ferreting out the
source and distribution OF cattle
that left the Buffalo yards. DR..
Melvin, chief Of the Animal Hus-
bandry Department, at Washing,
ton. has furnished Federal aid, and
there is no possible danger OF this
disease ever extending over any
great area in this country, as prac-
tically ever State in the Union now
has fairly well organized depart
ment of agriculture, and upon Its
first appearance it will be checked
Thus there are no valid reasons for
cattle owners to 60 into Mysteries
over it, nor for the city people to
| fear that they are going to be sent
to early graves by reason OF eating
the flesh or drinking the milk that
comes from this country. Neither
foot-and-mouth disease nor any
other highly infectious disease, 1t
is safe to say, will ever in this coun-
try cause the losses that England
and continental Europe sustained
in wears gone by, as the true ma
ture of such diseases is well known,
and the farmers of America are
now and always will be too much
on the alert for any disease to get
much of start before they will
seek veterinary aid and State aid
and keep it localized until it can be
stamped out. Yet, with all this
in view, as it is now known that
this disease is in this country, and
there are likely to be future out
breaks of it, it becomes all live stock
owners to know what it is, it's orr
gin and it's symptoms.
Scientific investigation has not
as vet determined under what con-
ditions the germ or virus may de-
velop. In fact, it is not as yet
known whether it is microbe or a
poison or virus which develops in
certain soils. In the winter OF
| 10000 there was an outbreak OF
lit in Massachusetts and Vermont.
In one case it was thought to have
been brought to section in Mas
sachusetts by foreign hides. per-
sonally went to investigate in Yer
mont and could find no evidence
of the infection coming from any
source at all. In 1883 personally
knew of an outbreak in the State
of New York on farm where no
strange cattle had been brought in
several months. 1t was duly
stamped out. Thus l have no hes
litation in saying there is liability
of an outbreak anywhere and at
and time, and the thing for the
Farmers to do is to be on the alert
and to waste no time in seeking
veterinary aid. While it has been
known for over two centuries IN
| Holland and other countries of Eu-
rope, it was as late as 1889 before
Great Britain suffered severely
from the scourge, for scourge it is
when farm once becomes infected
with it. All of the cloven hoofed
animals are more susceptible to the
contagion than the horse or the
animals having several toes. This is
no doubt due to the germ or virus
being conveyed by moist soil or
filth containing it up between the
biurcated foot to the skin just
above the foot, which is the point
of incubation when it is moist or
perhaps a little sore or tender. A
postule is soon formed which pro-
ducaS violent itching. The ami
NAL ticks it to get relief and the
mouth becomes affected and bis
tiers and pustules soon appear.
The whole system becomes more or
LESS fevered. The animal is unable
to eat any solid food, and unless it
| is furnished nourishment in liqui d
form will likely starve before the
disease will run it's course as an
eruptive fever, which lasts from 10
to Is days. If the animal survives,
it is practically immune from the
disease ever afterward. In ex-
tremely bad cases where nothing is
done to alleviate the disease the
hoofs sometimes drop on.
The milk of all COWS suffering
from this disease is wholly unfit to
use for either human or animal
food; also the flesh is unfit for hui
man food, yet the danger of con-
veying the disease to the human
by the use of either the milk or
flesh is extremely doubtful. There
are on record few cases where it