156 AGRICULTURE OF MAIN^. 



conditions that were tolerable a few years ago are condemned 

 today, and that dirty milk may produce worse results than giving 

 a bad flavor to butter. 



What has this knowledge of bacteria shown us in regard to 

 the milk supply of our towns and cities? 



I St. It may now be regarded as an established fact that tuber- 

 culosis can be conveyed through milk from the bovine to the 

 human race. All recent investigations point in that direction. 

 The latest literature is unanimous on this subject. But even if 

 I concede that the case is not proven, no one will dispute the 

 assertion that the circumstantial evidence is so strong that we 

 can afford to take no chances, especially where human life is at 

 stake. Therefore whether we regard the tranmissibility of 

 tuberculosis from bovines to humans as proven or not, the only 

 logical and safe position is that we should adopt the best means 

 available for keeping tuberculosis out of our herds. This means 

 that all cows producing market milk should be tuberculin 

 tested. 



Such a test will not only make the milk supply more safe 

 from the consumer's standpoint but it will have a direct personal 

 benefit to the producer. (And this point has not been suffi- 

 ciently explained to milk producers. In many respects their 

 interests and those of the consumer are identical and a benefit 

 to one results in benefit to the other.) On the advantage of 

 the tuberculin test to the farmer I quote from the most recent 

 authoritative utterance I find — a bulletin of the North Dakota 

 Experiment Station of last July. "In dairy herds which harbor 

 the disease it sooner or later will lead to a notable decrease in the 

 production of milk; under its influence abortions often occur, 

 while many cows ultimately succumb to it. * * * Tuber- 

 culosis either through death of animals or even by interfering 

 with their reproductive functions constitutes a formidable 

 enemy to animal husbandry. * * * In every herd, with the 

 possible exception of range cattle, a tuberculin test should be 

 made not less than once a year. * * * 'pj^g annual tuber- 

 culin test advocated is based upon the same principles of econ- 

 omy as the purchase of an insurance policy, and it has the 

 advantage of being comparatively inexpensive." 



2d. It is now absolutely proven that typhoid and scarlet fever 

 and some other ailments are due to specific germs, and that many 



