Vol. XIII. X( 



THE AGRICULTURAL XEWS. 



293 



VETERINARY NOTES. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS REGARDING 



THE INTRADERMAL METHOD OF 



TUBERCULIN TESTING CATTLE. 



Tuberculosis appears tn he iuerca.sing ainoiigst livt? 

 .stock in Calitiirnia. Accordins^- U< Bulletin No. 248, 

 i.ssued by the University of Calitiirnia Press, vigorous 

 efforts are being made to eliminate the disease b}' 

 means of tlie tuberculin test and. what is of special 

 importance from the best Indian point of view, the 

 intradermal method of applyiny this te.st rather than 

 the subcutaneous is being successfidly used under the 

 hot climatic and other conditions obtaining in the 

 Southern States. 



The intraderniul iiiethml of tul.iTciiLiii testing cattle a.s 

 first iipplied In' the French investigators Moiw-su and Mantoii.v 

 and as used under California conditions by Ward, Baker, 

 Longley, and others has many aflvantage.s over the usual 

 method. Since the reaction to tuberculin when injected 

 intradermally depends upon a swelling at the point of injec- 

 tion and not on a ri.se of temperature, it i.s to be preferred to 

 the subcutaneous under all conditions that are liable to 

 modify the tuberculin temperature curve, such as unusual 

 surroiuidings, very hot weather, or fatigue from a long 

 journej-. It can be satisfactorily applied to young calves and 

 wild range cattle and is especially useful in testing cattle 

 during the hot season in the interior valleys of this state 

 under conditions that render the subcutaneous method of 

 testing unsatisfactory. It excels the subcutaneous meth<><l 

 in ec^inomj- of time, labour and materials. 



From mu- observations in applying 4,926 intradermal 

 tests, including retests, to 4,001 head of cattle, 1,614 of which 

 reacted, the results being checked liy 1,000 subcutaneous 

 tests and 341 autopsies, we conclude that under average dairy 

 conditions the intradermal eipiais the subcutaneous method 

 in accuracy, pro\ided a ■") pel' cent, or stronger, solution of 

 alcf>holic preci|)itated tulierculin is used and the test is per- 

 formed liy an experienced operator, ^^'e do not advocate the 

 .sulistitution of the intradermal for the subcutaneous method 

 by a veterinarian until he has licconie skilled in its use liy 

 practice and observation. The practitioner can easily accom- 

 plish this in the routine of his work by applying the two 

 tests simultaneously. Such a procedure cannot injure the 

 accepted subcutaneous method in any way, although it niav 

 modify the local intradermal swelling to some extetit. 



Tuberculous cattle usually react thermally, as well as 

 locally to intradermal injections, e\en when ver}' small doses 

 of tuberculin (1 to 10 milligrams) are used. If temperatures 

 are taken at two-hoitr intervals from the eighth to twentieth 

 hours following the intradermal injection it will be found 

 that most of the cattle which react locally A\-ill also react 

 thermally. 



Since neither the intradermal, the subcutaneous, nor 

 the ophthalmic method will detect every case of tuberculosis 

 when applied independently, the maximum number of 

 reactors can only be detected hy applying the combined 

 tests. This may be done by applying the intradermal and 

 subcutaneous tests simultaneously or by administering the 

 intradermal test alone and retesting all of the non-reactors 

 after an inteiwal of at least seven days. The ophthalmic test 

 may also be advantageously combined with either or both of 



these tests. The ophthalmic test alone is unsuitable for u.se- 

 under the average California dairy conditions, except when 

 only a few animals are to lie tested and they can be kept 

 confined under shelter. For official tuberculin testing where 

 a high tlegree of efficiency is necessary a combination of the- 

 three tests would be desirable. The intradermal method is 

 especially adapted to the testing of swine. 



FOODSTUFFS AND STORAGE. 



A New Bean. -The food value of Stiwlo'nun, pacliy- 

 loliiuiii lieans is dealt with in the Trinvlad <i.nd J'vhago ■ 

 Bulletin for Jidy 1914. A chemical exanunation showed 

 that these beans, which are marbled in appearance and are- 

 rather flat, and measure about 19 by 13 by 6-5 millimetres,, 

 do not contain poisonous .substances. This re.sult was con-- 

 firmed by feeding experiments -with guinea pigs. As regards 

 nutritive value, the .sample under consideration was found to- 

 be scimewhat superior in feeding value to French, Lima or 

 Java beans, and that like these beans its nutritive properties 

 are principally due to a high content of carbohydrates and 

 proteins. Owing chiefly to its low percentage f.f fat, its 

 value is considerably less than that of .soy beans. An inter 

 esting comparison was made between beans of Stizolohium 

 pachi/lobium and Stizolobium aterrimuni (Bengal bean), both 

 grown on the same estate in Trinidad in the same season. 

 The two species jdeld beans which are almost identical in 

 the tpiality and ipiantity of the constituent substances. But 

 the interesting point is brought out that the Stttololiiuin 

 jmcht/lohium bean is slightly preferable, principally on 

 account of its larger size. Since the skins or testas are of 

 a similar thickness, the larger beans give a meal containing 

 a smaller quantity of indigestible crube fibre, which is almost 

 entirely derived from the skin. This latter fact is of consider- 

 able commercial importance not only from a nutritive stand- 

 point, but also as regards the appearance and palatability of ' 

 the meal. It will lie remendiered that a sample of Stholuhium 

 aterrimum meal recently exanuned on the London corn 

 market was connnented on with regard to the speckly appear- 

 ance produced by the pieces of black testa, though the 

 product, on the whole, was very highly conunended. 



According to the Han'aiinn Forester and A</riculturist, 

 June 1914, to keep sweet potatoes in good condition they 

 nuist be well matured before digging, carefully handled, well 

 dried or cured, and kept at a uniform temperature after they 

 are cured. It is necessary in storing the tubers to have the 

 outsides perfectly clean. It would be interesting to carry 

 out experiments with a view to determining the value of" 

 fonnalin and other disinfectants in the storage of tubers in 

 the tropics. 



The process of drying bananas which constitutes an 

 industry of importance in Jamaica and Mexico is referred to 

 at some length in the Queensland Agricultural Journal for ■ 

 July 1914. It is stated that Queensland is concerned only 

 with the sun drying of bananas for which the climate is 

 particularly suitable. In parts of Mexico where the climate 

 is very dry, the ripe fruits are exposed to the sun till the skin. 

 begin.s to wrinkle. They are then pealed, and again exposed. 

 until an efflorescence of sugar appears on the surface. They^ 

 are then pressed in masses of 2') tt). each. 



