Academic Affairs. College Of Natural Science, Forestry And Agriculture. Animal And Veterinary Sciences (University Of Maine) Records
Scope and Contents
The records mainly contain textual information created and curated by the University of Maine Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences (also known as the Department of Bacteriology and Veterinary Sciences and Department of Bacteriology), but there are photographs from Pullorium disease testing.
The record series Conference Proceedings & Publications includes copies of various conference proceedings regarding pullorum and avian diseases, material on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Poultry Improvement Plan, Maine’s contribution to the Plan, lists of approved flocks, American Rabbit Breeder Association yearbooks and programs, various articles regarding rabbits, Roscoe F. Cuozzo’s thesis on the study rabbits, and various miscellaneous brochures and reports.
The record series Disease Record Cards contains pullorum disease records for various flocks of birds across Maine.
The record series Hatchery Station Testing Records contains copies of Sanitation Reports that include the results of various tests of air quality samples for bacteria and molds.
The record series Mycoplasma Synovia Test Records contains the results of various tests.
The record series Pleuropneumonia Like Organism (PPLO) Test Records contains the results of various tests.
The record series Pullorium Disease Testing Summaries includes summary reports of various pullorium disease and “white diarrhea work” carried out by the Maine Extension Service (now known as the Cooperative Extension Service) and the University of Maine’s Department of Bacteriology. Also, photographs of Pullorum Testing and copies of Extension Service brochures describing research.
The record series Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Testing Records contains results of tests carried out at farms across Maine.
The record series Department of Poultry Science Records contains miscellaneous material created and curated by University of Maine professors of poultry science Richard W. Gerry, Paul C. Harris, and Robert O. Hawes, including copies of publications on the history of the poultry industry in Maine and poultry research conducted at the University of Maine. Also, includes material regarding the poultry research plant and the dedication of a new animal science center on the University campus, which would be named the J. Franklin Witter Animal Science Center.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1908-1980
- Creation: 1867-2014
Creator
- University of Maine. Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences (Organization)
- Gerry, Richard W. (Person)
- University of Maine. Department of Poultry Science (Organization)
- Maine Agricultural Experiment Station (Organization)
- Pearl, Raymond (Person)
- Harris, Paul C. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval. Personal identifiable and sensitive information will be redacted before release.
Conditions Governing Use
Information on literary rights available in the Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department.
Biographical / Historical
Much of the material in this record group is related to testing animals for diseases, particularly pullorum disease which is an infectious poultry disease caused by the bacterium salmonella pullorum. Pullorum testing began in Maine in 1921 under the supervision of Maine Extension Service (now known as the Cooperative Extension Service) poultry specialist O. M. Wilbur. Working alongside the Extension Service were faculty and staff from the University of Maine’s Department of Bacteriology and Veterinary Sciences (part of the College of Agriculture), including Dr. F.L. Russell and Florence Chandler.
In 1922, Elmer Reeve Hitchner was appointed associate professor of bacteriology. The Department of Bacteriology and Veterinary Sciences first officially tested for pullorum disease on September 30, 1930 and produced accredited lists for flocks tested that didn’t have the disease. In 1933, the Department was renamed the Department of Bacteriology and Hitchner was appointed department chair.
In 1938, Maine adopted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Poultry Improvement Plan. The University of Maine was the official state agency for the administration of the plan and through its Pullorum-Typoid Testing Service was responsible for testing flocks for thypoid and pullorum diseases.
Professor Hitchner would oversee the Pullorum-Typoid Testing Service until his retirement in 1959 (Hitchner Hall is named in his honor), at which point the Service was placed under the supervision of Dr. John Franklin Witter, Head of the Department of Animal Pathology who had come to the University in 1932 as a professor in animal industry. Dr. Harold L. Chute, professor of animal pathology was appointed program director; a position he would hold until 1969 when he became the University’s Director of Development.
Roscoe F. Cuozzo was appointed the director of pullorium laboratories in 1965. Cuozzo was also the director of the American Rabbit Breeder Association and was employed by the Extension Service as their rabbit consultant and hatchery inspector (1939-1943).
In the 1968-1969 academic year the department was renamed the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, with Stanley D. Musgrave appointed as its chair. Dr. John Franklin Witter retired as professor of animal pathology in 1971 with Witter Farm named in his honor. In 1986, Donald D. Stimpson replaced Musgrave as department chair. Donald D. Stimpson (1986-1990) and Robert G. Hawes (1991-1996) both served as chairs of the department.
By the 1997-1998 academic year the Animal and Veterinary Sciences was a program in the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering with Charles R. Wallace as its chair. In 2003, Martin R. Stokes with appointed chair. For the 2013-2014 academic year, the Animal and Veterinary Sciences program was no longer its own department, and was instead part of the School of Food and Agriculture.
Also in this record group is material related to poultry science, which has been studied at the University of Maine since the 1880's. The Department of Animal Science which included poultry science was established in 1893 with Professor G.M. Gowell as its head. The poultry plant was built in 1897 under Gowell's direction. Starting in 1907, Dr. Raymond Pearl carried out extensive research on eggs using egg production data from the plant. In 1908, Poultry Science became a part of the newly organized Department of Biology with Pearl as its head. Pearl was assisted by Dr. Frank M. Surface and Dr. Maynie R. Curtis. The College of Agriclture's Department of Poultry Science was established in 1929 with Professor J.R. Smyth its head. In 1948, Dr. Richard W. Gerry joined the department and would stay at the University until his retirement in 1984. The Department of Poultry Husbandry became the Department of Poultry Science under the direction of Gerry and Francis Howe Bird in 1961. By 1969 the department was renamed the Animal and Veterinary Sciences Department and was in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.
Extent
8 boxes
5 boxes (Card boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The Records Group is broken down intellectually into the following record series: 1. Conference Proceedings & Publications, 2. Disease Record Cards, 3. Hatchery Station Testing Records, 4. Mycoplasma Synovia Test Records, 5. Pleuropneumonia Like Organism (PPLO) Test Records, 6. Pullorium Disease Testing Summaries, 7. Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Testing Records, and 8. Department of Poultry Science Records. Physically the boxes are arranged by subject. Some file names and dates were changed to make them more meaningful and to correct errors. Material was separated and divided into multiple sub-folders where necessary. Material was rehoused into archival quality storage.
Accruals
Accruals from the School of Food and Agriculture which features an Animal and Veterinary Sciences program are anticipated.
Processing Information
Boxes 1-12 were processed by Matthew Revitt and student worker Julia Haberstick, July-August 2018 and Box 13 was processed in December, 2021 by Matthew Revitt, Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department. Processing involved a collection survey and intellectual arrangement into series and the creation of this finding aid. Material was rehoused into appropriate archival folders and the boxes and folders numbered and titled using information from ArchivesSpace.
- Title
- University Of Maine. Animal And Veterinary Sciences Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Matthew Revitt
- Date
- August 5, 2018
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Edition statement
- Updated in December 2021 to include Box 13
Repository Details
Part of the Raymond H. Fogler Library University Archives Repository
5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library
University of Maine
Orono ME 04469-5729 United States
207-581-1686