East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-01-06
FEDERAL HELP
!. CLEANED FL0CKS
ANIMAL INDUSTRY MEN
ALMOST WIPE OUT SCABIES
Two Years Campaign Has Wiped Out
97 Per Cent of Dreaded Disease
Federal Men Have Inspected Every
Sheep In State More Than Twice
Shcepmen's Corporation Helped in
Work-State Inspector COmpli-
mented.

During the year 1908, total of A.
440,569 sheep were inspected by the
federal inspectors working under the
direction of DR.. S. w. Mcclure, chief
OF the bureau of animal industry in
the northwest. AS there are only
about two million sheep in the state,
it will be seen that the sheep have
all been inspected at least twice and
some of them more than that.
The last inspection has been made
since October /, and during that time
more than a million and half sheep
have been inspected. OF this num-
ber but 1875 sheep were found to be
infected with scabies and these have
all been dipped twice since that time.
BY 1875 infected sheep 1t is not
meant that that many individual sheep
actually had the disease, for when
one sheep in the band is found to
have the disease, the entire band Is
declared to be infected and is sub
ject to the double dipping regulation.
1t is therefore more than probable
that the actual number of diseased
sheep is not more than 100
1t was just two years ago today that
DR.. Mcclure and his assistants under
took to eradicate scabbies from among
the sheep of the state. The first in
spection showed that 31S,252 sheep
were infected which compared with
the insignificant number found this
fall, shows that the work has been
thorough. All infected stuff has been
dipped twice under federal supervi-
sion. -,fsfl8
Practically all of the cases of scab-
bies found this time were in the.
southern part of Malheur and Lake
able to account for this, but he hopes
to find that the disease has been COM
pletely eliminated there also when the
next inspection is made in February.
DR.. Mcclure says the sheepmen of
the state have co-operated with his
department to the fullest extent in the
war on the sheep diseases and he is
particularly loud in his praises of the
services rendered by the state board of
sheep commissioners and the state
sheep inspector. He says a large
share of the credit for the cleaning
board and Inspector Lytle for Coop
Grating TO the greatest possible extent
and renoering aid in every way pos
sible.
The flocks of the state are In much |
better condition now than they have |
ever been since the state was settled,
according to DR.. Mcclure, and he feels
confident that the general inspection |
to be made in February will be the |
last that he will have to make.
The bureau of animal industry now
has the situation well in hand and he
believes 1t will not be able to Keep
the flocks of the state free from dis
ease. Federal inspectors are station
ed in Oregon as follows: One each at
Lakeview, Eugene, Albany, Portland,
Heppner and McDermott, while there
are four at Pendleton.
According to DR.. Mcclure, sheep are
being cleaned up In every part of the
union. Most of the states have similar
laws to those In Oregon and the same
reports as to conditions are being
made. Idaho, Nevada and Utah are
practically as clean as Oregon, and
while Washington has no state law
compelling the dipping at present, dip
ping under federal supervision is be-
ing permitted and much progress is
being made. California had an an
nual dipping last fall, so that the
sheep of that state are in better con-
dtion than they have been before.