Tuberculosis. 151 



genera of animals are placed under the supervision of the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture. The inspector under both central 

 authorities ought to be a veterinarj^ comparative pathologist ac- 

 quainted with the whole range of animal diseases in order to deal 

 with one — say tuberculosis — to the exclusion of other affections, 

 and yet when he meets with another contagious disease he is help- 

 less to do anything in the matter, and so are his superiors ; appli- 

 cation must be made to another department, which must send its 

 own inspectors, though an entirely capable government employe 

 is already on the ground, and an entirely new set of machiner}- 

 must be set in motion to accomplish what could have been done 

 far more promptly, effectively and cheaply by the inspector and 

 bureau which were already in the field. Two bureaus with their 

 officers and records are delegated to do work which naturally 

 belongs in one, and delay, inefficiency and unnecessary outlay can 

 be the only results of such an extraordinary distribution of 

 functions. 



B. Delay in Killing the Diseased. 



When an animal is condemned as tuberculous, it is not in the 

 power of the inspector to at once suppress the danger, by seeing 

 to the destruction of the beast ; he must report to his superior in 

 Albany and recive his order before he can go a step farther. The 

 enforced delay hinders him from attending to other cases promptly 

 and greath' enhances the cost of the work. By employing trust- 

 worth}' inspectors only, allowing them to dispose of the sick and 

 dangerous at once, and having their reports checked by the affi- 

 davits of the owners and appraisers, the work can be rendered far 

 more effective and economical. 



C. No Provision for Approved Appraisers. 



The law says the condemned animals shall be appraised, but fails 

 to say how, and in the past the owner of the stock had to chose his 

 own appraisers and the claims based on such appraisements 

 naturally came up for liquidation under a cloud of discredit as hav- 

 ing'been made by men acting in the intere.st of the stockowner. 

 No wonder that in some cases the loser of a tuberculous animal 



