No attempts have previously been made to compile statistics on livestock production on the royal domains during the 16th century. Farming was of great importance and in Bishop Peder Månsson's book on farming, cattle-breeding plays an important role and passages are included concerning cattle-diseases and their treatment. The account books of the bailiffs also cover the royal domains. They contain detailed information about all economic transactions and everyday life on the estate. The estates were not just centers for local administration, they also offered the farmers an opportunity to acquaint themselves with new breeds and farming techniques. It is easy to imagine the surprise of the local farmers when the bailiff in 1557 brought two peacocks from Sweden to the estate Ulfsby in Satakunda. In 1560 a serious cattle-disese broke out in Pemar, and on the estate of Nyby one ox, eleven bull calves, four cows, nine heifers, six goats, six lambs and seventy-one pigs died. It is the only time a disease is mentioned in the accounts, but it is possible indirectly to trace serious diseases by comparing the number of slaughtered animals with the total mortality....