I06 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



I also recall a dairy of cows in Cumberland I was asked to 

 test, eighteen in number. They were stancheled in a basement 

 tie-up with very little sunlight and practically no ventilation, 

 only a small door to enter and a half-sized window in one end, 

 and it was necessary to use a lantern to find the animals. Each 

 stood with its head up against a stone wall with no access to 

 air. On applying the test, ly of the herd responded with a 

 typical reaction and the i8th was condemned on physical con- 

 dition, she being one of the cases too bad to react. On post- 

 mortem all were found badly affected. It cannot be too strong- 

 ly emphasized that housing animals under such conditions is 

 sure to bring disease, destruction of herd and great loss to the 

 farmer. 



In 1898, Bang, of Copenhagen, one of the highest European 

 authorities, in his paper presented to the Congress for the 

 Study of Human and Animal Tuberculosis, at Paris, said that 

 numerous tests made in almost every civiHzed country had 

 demonstrated that in the majority of cases tuberculin is an 

 excellent means for diagnosing the existence or the non-exist- 

 ence of the disease, but giving us no positive information as to 

 the extent to which the disease has progressed. 



Nocard, of Paris, wrote also in 1898 as follows: "The degree 

 of certainty of the indications furnished may be stated in pre- 

 cise terms. The observation of a clear reaction to tuberculin is 

 unequivocal ; the animal is tuberculous. The pretended errors 

 imputed to the method are explained by the extreme sensitive- 

 ness of the reagent, which is capable of detecting the smallest 

 lesion. 



Direct experiments and observations collected by thousands 

 show that the tuberculin injections have no unfavorable effect. 

 With healthy animals the system is indifferent to the inocula- 

 tion ; with tuberculous animals it causes only slight changes, 

 which are not at all serious." 



These opinions of eminent authorities living in different 

 countries, after long experience of their own and after study- 

 ing the results of the many tests made in dift'erent parts of the 

 world, should have great weight; they are essentially the same 

 throughout. A similar conclusion was reached from experi- 

 ments made in the Bureau of Animal Industry in 1893. In the 

 extensively diseased herd of the Washington Soldiers' Home 

 60 animals were tested, all of which were afterwards slaugh- 



