§ Sir V. WARRENDERasked the Minister of Agriculture what was the source of infection of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at Grantham last week; and whether he has any information regarding this case other than has appeared in the Press?
§ Mr. BUXTONThe actual source of infection in the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at Grantham, which was confirmed on the 17th May, has not yet been discovered. The owner of the infected premises is a butcher, and he may have bought cattle in the incubative stages of the disease, and killed them before they showed symptoms of the disease and at a time when they might still be infective. Blood and offal from the slaughter-house were placed on the land on which the infected cattle grazed and may have infected them. Stock on farms from which came the animals recently slaughtered, are being examined by inspectors of the Department in an attempt to find the true origin of this outbreak.