REPORT OF CATTLE COMMISSIONERS. 293 



of the Commissioners have been more freely sought for, for the 

 purposes of investigation and this has brought the Commission- 

 ers into new sections of the State; sections where tubercuHn 

 had never been used. 



This has raised the percentage of diseased cattle over what 

 it would have been had we confined ourselves to the old law 

 and only worked in sections where the dairymen were more ac- 

 quainted with the use of tuberculin and where cattle to quite 

 an extent had been tested for a number of years and the dis- 

 ease practically cleaned out. 



It was shown in the last report that the city of Portland milk 

 and cream supply had been greatly improved by the testing of 

 the herds furnishing the same, for three consecutive years. 

 The first test showed 6% diseased and the third test showed 

 about 2%. 



In the testing of the Turner Center Creamery herds, we give 

 Mr. Bradford's statement as follows : 



"Three hunch-ed fifty-four of our patrons have had their 

 herds tested, 3,185 cows in all, of which number loi reacted un- 

 der the test and were destroyed. This is about three percent., 

 or in other words, an average of one diseased cow for every 

 three herds of eleven cows each. A few of these herds have 

 been tested annually for the second and some for the third 

 time, and no diseased animals have been reported in such cases. 

 This speaks well for the tuberculin test and for the efftciency 

 with which it had been administered by the Cattle Commis- 

 sioners and their authorized veterinarians." 



This seems to us to be fairly conclusive evidence that bovine 

 tuberculosis can be practically stamped out of our dairy herds, 

 by faithful and persistent work. 



To show how the matter stands in sections where no testing 

 has been done, we call your attention to the town of Sanford. 

 It has a population of about 11,000 and it requires about 550 

 cows to furnish its milk and cream supply. These cattle have 

 practically all Ijeen tested within the last year. There had 

 been but one herd tested in the town to our knowledge up to 

 the time that the testing commenced in October, 1909, and that 

 herd was practically all condemned. The result of the work 

 done will show the difference in percentage of diseased ani- 

 mals between sections where no work has been done and sec- 



