88 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



come diseased. Another good example is in the handling of the 

 Missouri Experiment Station dairy cattle. Even under the eyes 

 of trained veterinarians it is necessary to test all animals added 

 to this herd to make sure that tuberculosis is not getting started 

 among the cows. When new animals are purchased to be added 

 to the herd it is not considered sufficient for them to pass an or- 

 dinary examination by the herdsman and the veterinarians in 

 charge of the Station, but it is the invariable rule to apply the 

 tuberculin test to all new stock. Two years ago, in a small lot of 

 cows to be added to the herd, one fine looking, high-priced regis- 

 tered Holstein cow reacted to the test. Instead of adding this ap- 

 parently healthy but diseased cow to the herd and allowing her to 

 spread tuberculosis among the cattle therein, she was slaughtered. 

 Post-mortem examination revealed the presence of tuberculosis. 

 A test of the entire lot of dairy cattle at the Experiment Station 

 in May, 1906, showed the presence of no tuberculosis. In the fall 

 of 1906 some Ayrshire cows were purchased in New York state 

 and brought to Columbia. Before putting them into the herd they 

 were tested with tuberculin, and one of these cows reacted to the 

 test. Another example showing about what misfortune is liable 

 to happen to the average dairyman over the State is one in which 

 an ex-member of the State Board of Agriculture, and a man of 

 average intelligence, met with some severe losses. Notwithstand- 

 ing that he had long experience with dairy cattle and was a good 

 judge of cows, he made a fatal error in buying up cows for his 

 dairy herd. Although using his best judgment and paying liberal 

 prices for apparently healthy cows, he did not prevent the intro- 

 duction of tuberculosis into his herd. A test of his herd on March 

 16 and 17, 1906, showed the presence of 27 tuberculous animals 

 in a herd of 78 cattle. About 20 head of these cows were giving 

 milk at the time of the test. A post-mortem was forthwith made 

 on one of the cows which showed the most doubtful re-action, 

 which demonstrated the presence of the disease. Later in the sum- 

 mer another cow, which was at the point of death with tuberculosis, 

 was slaughtered and found to be badly diseased. Specimens from 

 both cows are being preserved at the Missouri Experiment Station. 

 Of the 20 cows which re-acted to the test five were showing well- 

 marked s>Tnptoms of disease ; 15 were not yet sufficiently advanced 

 to create suspicion and might have been sold as healthy cattle. 

 Although a notice quarantining all of the diseased cows was served 

 upon the owner, he has continued from March 17, 1906, up to the 

 present time to ship their milk to the city of St. Louis, where it 



