antigen for complement-fixation tests of patients suspected of hydatid disease.

MISCELLANEOUS DIVISION.

The work of the Miscellaneous Division, under A. M. Farrington, chief, relates to the personnel of the bureau and to veterinary education.

BUREAU PERSONNEL.

The numerous changes due to war conditions have brought about a heavy increase in the correspondence and other work relative to civil-service examinations for positions in the bureau, appointments to such positions, promotions, demotions, transfers, removals, the furlough of employees on account of military service, the conduct of employees as to efficiency, the acceptance of outside employment, and other similar subjects.

At the beginning of the fiscal year the persons in the employ of the bureau numbered 4,211. During the year there were 2,136 additions, made up as follows: Appointments, 2,044; transfers from other branches of the Government service, 30; reinstatements, 62. During the same period there were 1,126 separations from the service, divided as follows: Resignations, 756; deaths, 32; removals for cause, 8; transfers to other bureaus or departments of the Government, 30; all other separations, 300. This last item includes terminations of appointments by limitation or for administrative reasons exclusive of separation for disciplinary reasons. At the end of the fiscal year the bureau personnel numbered 5,221, a net increase of 1,010 over the number a year before. The total number of employees who have left the bureau for military service up to the end of the fiscal year is 325.

During the year nine civil-service examinations were requested and subjects and weights were furnished to the Civil Service Commission.

For the first time in the history of the bureau, women have been appointed to assist in meat-inspection work at the packing houses because men were not available. This plan has proved to be so successful that steps have been taken to establish a civil-service register of women eligible for appointment to such positions in the future. Women also have been employed, under the direction of the Dairy Division, in creating an interest in the manufacture of cottage cheese for the purpose of conserving the food supply and bringing to the attention of the public the importance of dairy products as a source of food.

VETERINARY EDUCATION

The year 1918 has marked a distinct epoch in the education of veterinarians for the Government service. In consequence of the war a large number have been employed by the War Department in the veterinary corps of the Army. On the recommendation of the War Department, with the cooperation of the Department of Agriculture, the Civil Service Commission, and the committee on intelligence and education of the American Veterinary Medical Association, it was agreed, beginning with the 1918-19 session, to raise the entrance requirements of veterinary colleges to two years'

high-school work, or seven units. This is to apply to colleges on the "well-recognized" or "accredited" list, whose graduates will be eligible for appointment either in the War Department or in the Bureau of Animal Industry. In many quarters it was suggested that high-school graduation be required, but in view of all circumstances this was considered too much of an advance at present.

Another phase of veterinary education has been developed by agricultural colleges increasing the number of veterinarians on the faculty and giving instruction for two years that is similar and equal to the first two years at accredited veterinary colleges. The facilities for giving this teaching have been investigated by representatives of this bureau in each instance, and five State colleges have been added to the list of accredited agricultural colleges. The tendency at present seems to be to follow the lead established by medical and dental colleges in eliminating private colleges in favor of State colleges or colleges operated under ample endowment.

The attendance at veterinary colleges has been diminished materially, largely because of the war. The dean of one of these colleges reports that owing to war enlistments he has lost 50 per cent of his faculty and 66 per cent of his students. The number of freshmen enrolled in all veterinary colleges in the country for the session beginning with the fall of 1917 was 338 against 637 for the preceding year, a decline of more than 50 per cent. When it is considered that the enrollment for the 1916 session was 50 per cent less than formerly, it is easily realized that there has been a great reduction in the number of men who desire to take up the study of veterinary science. The combined attendance at all the veterinary colleges was 1,841 against 2,661 for the former year. The number of graduates was 93 more than in the preceding year, or 867 against 774, the reason for this increase being that the senior classes were larger than usual, many students taking advantage of the fact that they could graduate after three years' attendance.

During the year it was found that one college failed to comply with the rules, and this one was removed from the accredited list. No additions were made to this list during the year. The difficulty of procuring an adequate faculty and the prospect of a diminishing number of students have caused four colleges to discontinue their sessions. One of these has been for many years the largest veterinary college in the United States. The number of accredited veterinary colleges is 17 in the United States and 8 in foreign countries.

OFFICE OF HOG-CHOLERA CONTROL.

COOPERATIVE WORK FOR CONTROL OF HOG CHOLERA.

The work looking to the control of hog cholera has been continued through the Office of Hog-Cholera Control, in charge of O. B. Hess, along the general lines adopted in 1917. From a limited number of counties in 14 States it has been extended to State-wide efforts in 34 States, the work in 30 of these States consisting principally of control measures. In California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah, in addition to control work, a veterinarian has been assigned in each State with the extension division of the agricultural college whose entire time is given to educational activi

ties in the field. In Louisiana, South Dakota, New Mexico, and West Virginia the efforts are principally educational in character. The other States in which control work is being conducted are Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Missouri, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The total number of veterinarians engaged in the work has varied from 160 to 195. The number of investigations of reported outbreaks during the year was 38,046. The number of visits and interviews with farmers and stockmen was 371,792. The number of hogs treated during the year in connection with the work by bureau veterinarians, practicing veterinarians, and others cooperating was over 5,000,000.

The extension of the work involves the investigation of reported outbreaks of hog cholera, supervising and assisting in the treatment of infected herds, cleaning and disinfecting premises, establishing quarantine when necessary, and giving instruction and advice to farmers, stockmen, practicing veterinarians, and others concerning methods of prevention, treatment, and control of cholera.

DECREASE IN HOG LOSSES

The losses of hogs for the year ending March 30, 1918, were reduced to 3,002,018, as compared with 7,004,756 in 1914. These figures are equivalent to a loss of 119.9 per 1,000 in 1914 and 42.1 per 1,000 in 1918. The latter figure represents the lowest mortality rate in swine for 35 years, and present conditions as a whole point to a still greater reduction.

NCREASE IN STOCK ON FARMS.

An important phase of the work has been to assist in formulating and applying State and Federal rules and regulations for the immunization and handling at public stockyards of stocker hogs intended for feeding purposes on farms, in order that they may be returned to localities where feed is available without danger of spreading infection. These animals are subject to reinspection from time to time, thus assuring safety to the feeder while the hogs are being finished for market.

Taken altogether the hog-cholera control work has been the means of adding many millions of pounds annually to the Nation's supply of pork products and represents a saving many times greater than the cost of the work.

OFFICE OF VIRUS-SERUM CONTROL.

The preparation and importation of viruses, serums, antitoxins, etc., for the treatment of domestic animals are supervised and regulated under the virus-serum act of 1913 through the Office of VirusSerum Control, in charge of H. J. Shore. At the close of the fiscal year there were 82 firms licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain establishments for the preparation of such products for sale in interstate commerce. These licenses covered 141 different products. During the year 13 licenses were canceled. An increased

volume of products was prepared at licensed establishments, and the manufacturers made praiseworthy efforts to prepare these products in a more satisfactory manner.

The bureau has endeavored to bring about uniformity in the names of veterinary biologics as far as possible and also to have the management of licensed establishments clearly indicate on the labels of containers of the products the nature of the contents, the diseases or conditions for which the product is recommended, and simple, accurate statements concerning the dose in each instance.

HOG-CHOLERA VIRUS AND SERUM.

Virus and serum for use in the prevention of hog cholera form a large part of the volume of products supervised. The number of tests made to determine the purity of hog-cholera virus was 1,352. The number of tests made of batches of antihog-cholera serum was 5,368. There were inspected and admitted to the premises of licensed establishments 263,364 hogs and 2,814 calves, a total of 266,178 animals. There were rejected by bureau inspectors when presented for admission, including animals rejected on tuberculin test, 720 hogs and 7 calves.

The amount of hog-cholera virus collected for hyperimmunization was 66,157,939 cubic centimeters. The amount of hog-cholera virus collected for simultaneous use was 9,230,457 cubic centimeters. The amount of antihog-cholera serum collected was 271,402,530 cubic centimeters. Of the foregoing products, the following were destroyed when collected: Hog-cholera vírus for hyperimmunization, 4,414,191 cubic centimeters; hog-cholera virus for simultaneous use, 303,658 cubic centimeters; antihog-cholera serum, 2,488,661 cubic centimeters; loss by refining, 71,995 cubic centimeters.

Marked interest is being shown by manufacturers in the preparation of clear, sterile antihog-cholera serum as distinguished from the ordinary defibrinated blood serum. This product is now being prepared in large quantities by several licensed establishments.

EXPERIMENT STATION.

The work of the experiment station at Bethesda, Md., in charge of E. C. Schroeder, superintendent, relates mainly to the study of diseases of animals, and has consisted, as in previous years, of independent investigations, investigations in cooperation with other divisions of the bureau, and the provision of facilities for other divisions to make observations on domestic animals under normal farm and field conditions.

INFECTIOUS ABORTION DISEASE OF CATTLE

The insidious, chronic character of infectious abortion disease militates against the rapid discovery of the facts on which its control. and eventual eradication depend. During the year the earlier discoveries have been confirmed but no radically new ones made.

The available evidence regarding the habitat of the abortion bacillus indicates that it does not currently multiply or maintain itself elsewhere in the bodies of cattle than their udders and pregnant uteruses. In the nonpregnant uterus of an infected cow abortion bacilli persist from a few days to a few weeks after parturition or

an abortion. It has been proved that the bacilli may persist indefinitely in the udders of cows, and that their presence in this organ is associated in a large proportion of cases with their occurrence in the uterus and placenta at the time of parturition, even when the latter event is wholly unattended with physically observable symptoms of abortion disease. The only known and demonstrated sources of abortion bacilli which can be held accountable for the perpetuation and spread of the disease are the milk of cows with infected udders and the material passed from the vagina by infected cows shortly before, during, and shortly after either an abortion or a parturition.

By way of practical application of present knowledge of the disease the bureau advises that healthy cattle should not be exposed to the raw milk of cows which react to abortion tests, and reacting cows should invariably be removed to special maternity pens or stables some time before they calve, and kept there until all discharges from their vaginas have ceased. Cows which show even the remotest symptoms of a possibly approaching abortion should immediately be segregated. Abortion bacilli remain alive and virulent for remarkably long periods in aborted fetuses and afterbirth and discharges from the uteruses of infected cows.

TUBERCULOSIS,

Repeated tests were made of the potency and reliability of tuberculin manufactured and sold under Government licenses and permits. The tests proved that most of this product now on the market is satisfactory, and that the establishments which manufacture it may be divided into two kinds-those which produce tuberculin of constant potency and those which produce tuberculin of varying potency. As would naturally be expected, the tuberculin produced by the latter at times is below a reasonable standard.

Investigations on the control and eradication of tuberculosis among food animals continue in progress. The results obtained again emphasize that this destructive disease would decline materially in frequency if relatively simple precautions against its spread were more commonly and thoroughly understood and practiced by owners of live stock. The recurrence of the disease in cleaned herds, it seems, must be charged to other causes than insufficient disinfection. of infected stables, as very little disinfection, in addition to thorough cleaning, is required to make a stable from which tuberculous animals have been removed safe for healthy animals. Thorough cleaning has been shown to be of greater importance than the use of chemical germicides.

Studies regarding the possible spread of tuberculosis by small rodents, such as rats and mice, are being continued, and are giving interesting results which promise to be economically valuable. Mice which have ingested tuberculous material are especially to be suspected as possible spreaders of tuberculosis, as tubercle bacilli multiply enormously in their bodies and are freely scattered with their feces.

TUBERCLE BACILLIN MARKET CHEESE.

Tests on the occurrence of tubercle bacilli in cheese have shown that varieties of cheese which require some time to ripen before they are marketed rarely contain virulent pathogenic bacteria, while soft