It was therefore evident that active measures should be taken to reestablish and extend foreign markets for the surplus butter and cheese produced in the United States, and early in the year a definite recommendation was made from this office for preliminary work in this direction.

Arrangements were begun in March for making experimental exports to foreign markets of carefully selected butter from creameries in the large butter-producing sections of the United States. These shipments commenced in May, and were made every three weeks until near the close of the calendar year 1897. The trial exports thus made were from the port of New York to the London market via Southampton.

Without anticipating the results of the season's trials, or the report to be made thereon, it can be readily asserted that English merchants of reputation and influence have been better convinced than ever before of the high quality of butter obtainable in different parts of this country, and the practicability of placing it in British markets from ten to fourteen days after churning, and without appreciable deterioration. The terminal facilities and the accommodations for refrigerated storage during ocean transit are not yet what is desired in kind or capacity, but it is evident that if the commercial demands increase and remain sufficiently constant the transportation facilities will become adequate and satisfactory.

These trial exports serve the double purpose of obtaining useful information for our own people, as producers and sellers, and of diffusing desirable information among prospective customers. A very widespread interest in this matter has been developed in this country, as shown by the comments of the public press and the voluminous correspondence already resulting. The probable benefit in extending the foreign market for American butter seems to make it desirable to repeat the trials another year, with an enlarged field of operations.

EXTENSION OF MEAT INSPECTION.

The most pressing work of this Bureau for the coming year is the extension of the meat inspection to abattoirs engaged in an interstate business which have not yet been included in the service. Until all the establishments which kill for shipment to other States have been included the object of the law in preventing the sale of diseased carcasses for human food will not be accomplished, and there will be a discrimination in favor of those which have received the inspection and against those which have not been able to obtain it. There is also a demand for increased microscopic inspection, which is necessary to permit the marketing of American pork products in the principal countries of continental Europe. The exports of these products fluctuate largely from year to year, according to the condition of the market, and consequently it is impossible to foresee the expenditure

which will be necessary to properly provide for the trade. There should either be an emergency fund which can be drawn upon for this purpose or the Department should be authorized to charge a reasonable sum, say 5 cents per specimen, for the microscopic inspection, and the sum so collected should become additional to the appropriation, so that any demands made might be complied with. While I believe the general inspection of meats for sanitary purposes should be made by the Government without charge to the slaughterers, the microscopic inspection is to a great extent a commercial inspection, and the cost of it could be more legitimately assessed against the trade which it benefits. If the packers pay the cost of the inspection, there would be no longer any reason for declining to grant it to all who apply for it, and the inspection could be applied to as small pieces of pork as was deemed advisable. At present the inspection is demanded of pieces weighing only from 1 to 3 pounds, and on account of the cost of inspecting such small pieces a limit of weight has been set (5 pounds), which is more or less unsatisfactory to the trade. The inspection of export animals must be continued in order to certify to their healthfulness and maintain the market which has been secured for them in other countries. At present our live animals are shut out of most of the countries of continental Europe, and it is only by inspection and certifying to their healthfulness that we can hope to have these markets reopened.

INSPECTION AND QUARANTINE OF IMPORTED ANIMALS.

The inspection and quarantine of imported animals must also be continued, in order to prevent the introduction of contagious diseases. While much progress has been made in the control of contagious diseases in the European countries from which our stockmen import live animals, most of these countries are now affected with either pleuropneumonia or foot-and-mouth disease, or both. The prospects are that there will be more importations from Europe during the coming year than for several years past, and consequently the expense of this inspection may be somewhat increased.

CATTLE AFFECTED WITH TEXAS FEVER.

The inspection and quarantine of cattle from the Texas fever district is an extremely important branch of the service, and it needs constant attention to prevent the infection of the central stock yards and the widespread dissemination of the contagion. When we consider that the quarantine line separating the infected from the uninfected district of the country extends from the Atlantic Coast on the east to the Pacific on the west, and is over 4,000 miles in length, the difficulty of preventing violations of the regulations and the unlawful movement of infected stock can be appreciated. During the present year there have been more violations of the quarantine than for sev

eral years, owing, no doubt, to the increased demand for stock cattle. It will be necessary to take increased precautions during the next year to prevent the movement of cattle contrary to the regulations, or great damage to the domestic and export trade and a heavy loss of stock will result. The force during the present year is not sufficient to properly guard the line.

Experiments have been in progress for several years to destroy the ticks on Southern cattle by dipping them in a suitable mixture for this purpose. If the ticks could be easily and cheaply destroyed, the cattle would be freed from the danger of spreading infection. It has been very difficult to find a substance which would destroy the ticks without injuring the cattle. It is thought, however, that an agent has been found in the petroleum product known as paraffin oil, which will accomplish this satisfactorily. At all events, recent experiments have been much more favorable than those previously made, and the hopes of stockmen have been raised accordingly. If this plan of disinfecting the cattle proves successful, it will do away with most of the reasons for violating the quarantine and will no doubt save the stock raisers of the Southern States much loss and embarrassment in shipping which they now endure.

To properly apply this discovery for the benefit of the cattle industry of the whole country, dipping stations should be established by this Department at convenient points, and these should be operated under official supervision in accordance with stringent regulations. By adopting such a plan the dissemination of the disease will be prevented without any hardship to the cattle growers of the infected district. This service will require a larger number of inspectors than are now employed, but the benefit to the country, particularly to the Southern States, will be so great, amounting to many millions of dollars, that there should be no hesitation in putting it into operation.

ERADICATION OF SCABIES, HOG CHOLERA, ÁND TUBERCULOSIS. Measures for controlling and eradicating the disease known as scab, or scabies, in sheep have been in operation for the past year, though they must be strengthened and made to apply more generally before the prevalence of the disease can be materially reduced. Experiments are being made with different sheep dips for the purpose of determining which is most efficacious and at the same time least injurious to the animal. Experiments are also being made to determine the best methods of treating and controlling hog cholera and tuberculosis. The losses from these diseases are extremely serious, and every effort should be made to reduce them. In order to accomplish this, it is plain that the Department must exercise fuller control over the movements of animals from one part of the country to another, and prevent the dissemination of contagion by stock cars in which diseased animals have been transported. It is probable that

more legislation should be enacted, giving the Department greater power in the stock yards that are used for interstate shipments, and that more positive authority should be granted for compelling the disinfection of cars and stock pens.

VACCINE FOR BLACKLEG.

The preparation and distribution of vaccine for blackleg has recently been undertaken, and a large number of applications for it have been received (amounting at this writing to over 30,000 doses) from stockmen whose animals have suffered from this disease. It appears that in considerable sections of the country the herds of cattle, particularly of important breeds, suffer to the extent of from 10 to 15 per cent of their number annually. It is believed from the reports of vaccinations in other countries that this loss may be reduced to less than 1 per cent.

The manufacture and distribution of tuberculin and mallein for the use of State authorities who cooperate with this Department in the control of contagious diseases should be continued. The tuberculin prepared here has proved to be reliable, and the fact that it can be obtained of the Department by State authorities has made it possible to continue the measures for suppressing tuberculosis where otherwise the expense would have made it almost impossible. It is probable that still greater quantities of tuberculin will be required for the coming year than were used during the past.

NEED OF AN EXPERIMENT STATION.

The work of this Bureau requires the use of an experiment station where a considerable number of experimental animals can be constantly kept. This is needed partly for the diagnosis of diseases met with in the inspection of meat and in the investigation of outbreaks of disease in various parts of the country, and also in the investigation of the nature of diseases and the best methods of treating them. The station which has heretofore been occupied by the Bureau has become insufficient for the purpose, and a change has therefore been made to a point farther from the city, and where more land can be obtained. The importance of continuing such investigations and of pressing them forward as rapidly as possible can not be overestimated, and no doubt the necessity for such work will continue for many years to come. I would therefore recommend that Congress be requested to authorize the purchase of suitable grounds for such an experiment station, and thus avoid the necessity of moving from place to place and abandoning the improvements which must necessarily be made where this work is being conducted.

PROPOSED WORK IN THE DAIRY DIVISION.

In the Dairy Division it is proposed that a special inquiry shall be made of mechanical aids to dairying, with a view of putting that

division in possession of complete, definite, descriptive information on this subject; also an inquiry in cooperation with other divisions as to the composition and healthfulness of the various materials used in this country as preservatives of milk and milk products; also an inquiry into the economy of creamery and factory management, including the utilization of waste products, with a view to devising methods for reducing the cost per pound in making butter and cheese. It is proposed to continue the efforts to develop the foreign markets for American dairy products, and it is recommended that Congress be requested to give authority to the Department to apply the funds received from the sale of dairy products shipped abroad by the Dairy Division to the purchase of material for other shipments. In this way, without increasing the expenditures, a very much larger quantity could be purchased and sent abroad during the year.

INSPECTION TO INCLUDE BUTTER, CHEESE, CONDENSED MILK, ETC. It is suggested that an extension of the system of Government inspection and certification at present applied to meats and meat products for export, to include butter, cheese, and condensed milk, would be advisable and may perhaps be necessary in order to maintain the standing of our products in foreign markets. If a trade in pure butter or pure cheese is built up under existing conditions it may at any time be ruined through the shipment by unscrupulous persons of adulterated products or those which have been preserved with agents generally considered harmful. No doubt a certification limited to products which would grade above a certain fixed and arbitrary standard would be a great benefit and aid in building up and maintaining a greatly increased trade in such products.

INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS NECESSARY.

The Bureau has entered upon these various lines of work in most cases by specific direction of Congress and in others under instructions from the Secretary of Agriculture. The value of this work to the country and its urgency need not be enlarged upon, but it is evident that as the work develops and extends increased appropriations are necessary. The increase of the meat inspection alone from less than 4,000,000 animals in 1892 to 26,500,000 in 1897 means an enormous increase in the amount of work that is done and in the force required.

The appropriation, however, is less now than it was in 1892. It is not in the meat inspection alone that the work has increased, but in every other line that has been referred to. It is essential, therefore, for the proper conduct of the work that the appropriation be restored to the amount which was formerly given, and I would recommend that it be fixed at $800,000, in addition to the statutory roll, for the year ending June 30, 1899.