140 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



city of Portland may have the benefit of it. I am of the opinion 

 that the farmer should be paid the full value of his animals, on 

 a reasonable valuation. I think the State ought to appropriate 

 money enough so that they can pay for the testing of the 

 animals, and they should pay the estimated value of the cow on 

 a fair valuation. It seems to me the Cattle Commission ought 

 to have done more than they have been doing. 



Mr. Beal. The paper by Mr. Deering has been very inter- 

 esting and instructive. Dr. Purcell has opened up a question 

 as to whether the Cattle Commissioners have done all they ought 

 to do or not, and I do not want that left just as he left it. The 

 Cattle Commissioners have done all that it was possible to do 

 with the appropriation given them by the legislature. They 

 have stood willing and ready to do much more, to carry it much 

 farther, if the legislature would pay the bills. We have done 

 all they authorized us to do, all they appropriated money for, 

 and have run the State in debt. The fact is, there are two laws, 

 one compels the Cattle Commissioners to do certain work when 

 in their judgment it is essential to do it, and the other is the 

 law that appropriates the money to do it, and if the money is 

 not sufficient the legislature is always supposed to make up the 

 deficiency. The gentleman asked IMr. Deering a question as to 

 whether the time was ripe for the general testing of all trans- 

 ferable cattle. The transferring of cattle within the borders 

 of tFe State is one thing, the transferring of cattle from this to 

 any other state or territory is another. No one can bring cattle 

 into the State today without a permit from one of the three 

 cattle commissioners, and if brought in, then the law is that they 

 shall remain upon the owner's premises 30 days in quarantine, 

 during which time the commissioners shall cause the animals 

 to be tested and if found tuberculous they shall be destroyed 

 without compensation. If not, the animal is at liberty to pass. 

 Now the advantage of testing grade cattle is not of that partic- 

 ular consequence within the State of Maine as is the testing of 

 full blood cattle. Full blood cattle are kept more for breeding 

 purposes, more to form the head of herds. It was for that 

 purpose that the full blood law was put into eflFect, so that the 

 disease could not be disseminated from the animal that the man 

 puts at the head of his herd, expecting to improve his herd. Of 



