FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF

ANIMAL INDUSTRY.

REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU.

MEAT INSPECTION.

It has still been impossible to inspect all the animals slaughtered in the United States for human food, the meat of which is to be shipped in the channels of interstate or foreign commerce. The force engaged in this inspection has been enlarged from time to time in recent years and the number of animals inspected has increased each year. During the past year all of the beef exported to Europe and the greater part of the pork and other meat products exported have been inspected in accordance with the law. There has, however, been a large amount of meat slaughtered for the interstate trade which it has been impossible to inspect with the appropriation at the disposal of this Bureau. This is a very important matter, and every effort should be made to secure the inspection of all the animals which the law contemplated should be inspected, as otherwise there is a tendency to take doubtful or suspicious animals for slaughter to abattoirs where inspection has not yet been established.

The progress during the year has been satisfactory, and if the appropriation is increased so as to allow a continued development of the inspection service at the same rate, it will not be many years before the intent of the law is entirely accomplished. The meatinspection force is now a very competent and efficient one. The inspectors and assistant inspectors are veterinarians, many of whom have passed a rigid examination under the Civil Service Commission, and the greater part of the nonprofessional members of the force. have had such long experience that their services are extremely valuable. The persons obtained by certification from the eligible list of the Civil Service Commission have, as a rule, been more competent and efficient than those obtained before the force was brought within the classified service, and it has been possible to maintain much better discipline than was the case when a considerable proportion of the force believed that they had influence which made them more or less independent of the head of the Department and the Chief of the Bureau.

The work of meat inspection was in operation at 128 abattoirs and packing houses, located in 33 cities.

Following is a table showing the number of ante-mortem inspections made in the stock yards and at abattoirs, with the number of animals condemned at the abattoirs and the number rejected in the stock yards. The animals rejected in the stock yards are tagged and held subject to future disposition, either slaughter, shipment to the country for stocking purposes, or release when in proper condition for food.

Below is a statement showing the number of post-mortem inspections made at the abattoirs where inspection was maintained, and the number made on animals rejected in the stock yards and slaughtered at various places, with the number of carcasses and parts condemned as unfit for human consumption. The rigid character of the antemortem inspection in the stock yards is evidenced by the fact that on the post-mortem examination of rejected animals the greater part is passed as fit for food.

1 Includes 3,243 condemned on microscopic examination.

2 Includes 10,082 condemned on microscopic examination.

In addition to the above, there were killed by city inspectors 641 cattle, 1,527 sheep, 40 calves, and 2,081 hogs that had been rejected in the stock yards by officers of the Bureau of Animal Industry.

The meat-inspection tag or other mark of identification was affixed to 14,510,662 quarters and 863,248 pieces of beef, 5,161,927 carcasses of sheep, 231,879 carcasses of calves, 524,556 carcasses of hogs, and 314,947 sacks and pieces of pork.

The meat-inspection stamp was placed on 4,692,069 packages of beef products, 3,711 of mutton, and 7,463,259 of hog products, including 120,328 containing microscopically examined pork.

The number of certificates of inspection for exported products. issued was 21,825 for meat products which had undergone the ordinary inspection and 7,560 for pork microscopically examined, in addition to the regular inspection. These certificates covered the shipment of 1,128,717 quarters and 20,259 pieces of fresh beef, 1,249 carcasses of sheep, 3,721 carcasses of hogs, 519,017 packages of beef, 3,711 packages of mutton, and 411,948 packages of pork, of which 119,549 contained pork which had been microscopically examined.

There were sealed 12,664 cars containing inspected meat for shipment to packing houses and other places.

The cost of this work was $385,796.36, which, while including all the expenses incident to the work, makes an average of 0.91 cent for each ante-mortem inspection.

For the purpose of comparison the following table is given:

Table showing the number of animals inspected before slaughter for abattoirs having inspection.

In the microscopic examination for trichinæ 1,881,309 specimens. were examined-550,291 from carcasses and 1,331,018 from pieces. The number of samples found infected was 13,325, of which 3,243 were from carcasses and 10,082 from pieces of pork.

The following table shows the exports of microscopically inspected. pork, 1892-1897:

The number of pounds exported was 43,572,355, of which only 1,001,783 pounds went to countries not requiring a certificate of microscopic inspection.

The cost of this inspection was $111,669.30, an average per specimen examined of 5.94 cents, or an average of 0.256 cent for each pound of microscopically examined meat exported.

INSPECTION OF VESSELS AND EXPORT ANIMALS.

The number of inspections of domestic cattle for export was 845,116; number tagged, 410,379; number rejected, 1,565; number of inspections of domestic sheep, 348,108; number rejected, 189. The number of Canadian cattle inspected was 13,136; number rejected, 12; Canadian sheep inspected, 23,289; rejected, 72.

The number of domestic animals exported under the supervision of inspectors consisted of 390,554 cattle (5,501 shipped from Chicago by way of Montreal), 184,596 sheep (2,231 from Chicago by way of Montreal), 22,623 horses, and 100 mules. Canadian animals were exported from United States ports as follows: 13,124 cattle, 23,217 sheep, and 6,185 horses.

The number of certificates issued for cattle was 1,563; the number of clearances of vessels was 954.

Following is a statement showing the number of cattle and sheep inspected at time of landing by the inspectors of the Bureau stationed in Great Britain, and the number and percentage of losses in transit: Inspection of cattle and sheep in Great Britain and losses in transit.

The percentage of loss in export animals during the year has been moderately low, although not so low as in some previous years. In 1894 the percentage of loss of cattle was 0.37; in 1895 it was 0.62, and in 1896 0.32. The loss of sheep in 1894 was 1.29; in 1895, 2.7; in 1896, 1.16. We can never expect a uniformly low rate on account of the great variation in conditions of the weather.

The cost of the inspection of export animals, the Texas fever work, and the inspection of animals imported from Mexico was $102,555.16. If it may be assumed that half of this amount is properly chargeable to the export work, the cost of inspecting the 575,150 domestic cattle and sheep exported would be $51,277.58, or 8.9 cents per head. The number of inspections made on these animals in this country was 1,193,224 and in Great Britain 534,213, making a total of 1,727,437, the average cost of each inspection being 2.97 cents.

Following is a statement showing the inspection of domestic cattle and sheep for export and the number exported for 1897 and previous years:

Extent of inspection of cattle and sheep for export.

The number of animals imported from Mexico and inspected at the ports of entry along the boundary line was as follows: 292,479 cattle, 43,393 sheep, 12 hogs, and 171 goats.

The number imported from Canada and inspected at northern boundary ports, and not subject to quarantine, consisted of 42,953 cattle, 331,137 sheep, 212 swine, 2,635 horses, 9 mules, and 1 goat. Below is a statement of the imported animals which were quarantined for the prescribed period at the different quarantine stations:

There were also 14 goats and 18 camels at the Garfield station, making a total of 678 animals quarantined.

SOUTHERN CATTLE INSPECTION.

During the quarantine season of 1896 there were received and yarded in the quarantine divisions of the various stock yards 42,869 cars, containing 1,154,235 cattle; 43,529 cars were cleaned and disinfected.