342
MARKETS AND SLAUGHTER-HOUSES.
The annual report of the Officer performing the duties of the Colonial Veterinary Surgeon deals with this branch of the Board's work. From his report it will be observed that with the exception of a serious outbreak of a virulent communicable disease amongst the stock of animals on the Dairy Farm Company's premises at Pok-fu-lum, the health of the animals in the Colony, both in the public depôts and in the private sheds, was on the whole good.
The occurrence of Cattle Plague amongst the animals at Pok-fu-lum presents some features which deserve careful attention. On the 9th March the Chairman of the Dairy Farm Company reported to the Colonial Secretary that a number of their animals were suffering from a communicable disease of an influenza type, and on the 10th he described it as spreading amongst the animals on the farm with lightning-like rapidity. So far as I have been able to ascertain, cases of illness, ie, minor ailments had been fairly prevalent amongst the animals on this farm for some months previous to the occur- rence of the first case of rinderpest. However, there does not appear to be any connection between these cases of illness, which were mainly characterised by a marked increase in the animals' tempera- ture, and the subsequent cases of rinderpest. The rapidity with which a number of animals became ill is enough to throw doubt on the cause being the ordinary infection of one animal by another and forcibly suggests that the real causation of the disease in the first instance was a contaminated food supply. This source of causation is rendered more probable when there is very good reason to believe that cases of Cattle Plague were occurring in the neighbourhood of Cauton at about the same time. Unfortunately, it is not known for certain that the cattle disease, which was inore or less prevalent in in the neighbourhood of Canton, was Cattle Plague. Even if it was Cattle Plague, I have no reliable information that any cases there preceded those which first occurred in this Colony. It is, however, beyond question that bran is regularly imported here from a district not very far from Canton, and that this bran forms a very considerable part of the food supply of the milch cows in the Colony. These circumstances indicate pretty clearly the need which exists that the Dairymen in the Colony should exercise rigorous care in the purchase of the imported food stuffs which they give to their
animals.
During July and August four ships arrived from Hainan with 37, 21, 8, and 8, dead swine on board. There was a suspicion that death resulted from swine fever, but I am inclined to think that the beat of the sun and the manner in which the animals were packed one above the other in baskets, together with little or no fluid food during the passage was the real cause of the illness which resulted fatally. The circumstance that out of a very large number of these animals brought up by the same ships and that were in a very exhausted condition on being landed, only five died after landing, is enough of itself to throw doubt on the assertion that death resulted from the disease known as swine fever.
36 sheds capable of housing 1,266 head of cattle, 8 sheds capable of housing 260 head of goats, and 867 ens capable of housing 6,790 bead of swine were licensed during the year. The housing of these animals may now be fairly considered to be in a satisfactory condition.
I
The revenue derived during the year from the Animal Depôts or Markets was $10,452.86, from the slaughter-houses $42,750 and from the various food markets $69,458.51, making a total for the year of $122,661 37. The revenue derived from the food markets is collected by the Registrar General, to whom I am indebted for the figures given, but the Markets are managed by the Officers of the Board.
MORTALITY STATISTICS.
Inasmuch as these are now fully dealt with by the Medical Officer of Health in his annual report, I have asked him to append to it the tabular statements and diagrams which I have submitted to the Board with this report for a number of years past.
CEMETERIES.
The remarks made last year regarding the laying out of the public cemeteries for Chinese still hold good. However, it is to be hoped the Assistant Surveyor will be able soon after his arrival to take this very necessary work in hand.
The following interments have been made during the year in each of these cemeteries, viz.:-
Mount Davis,
Mount Caroline, Kau-lung, Shau-ki-wan,
Aberdeen..
Stanley,
Shek 0,
Total,....
639
414
328
238
161
56
11
1,847 interments.
The fees collected during the year amounted to $1,511.58.
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