No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 107 



driven away. Many tubercular herds have been forced to rough it in 

 aiiy banis, in open sheds or even in the unprotected field in the barren 

 hope that such trealnicnt might harden them to withstand the at- 

 tacks of the tubercle bacillus. These attemps have been made for 

 years; they have not succeeded. 



"Tuberculosis has, however, been eradicated from thousands of 

 herds by the application of measures that logically follow the ac- 

 ceptance of the absolutely proven and all-important fact that tuber- 

 culosis is a contagious disease. 



^'Since tuberculosis is a contagious disease and is propagated by 

 contact of tubercular with healthy cattle, and by the products and 

 places contaminated by tubercular cattle the way to eradicate this 

 disease is clear. Kemove healthy cattle from contact with those 

 that are tubercular and with their (quarters, heat the milk of cow^s in 

 the visible stages of tuberculosis, prevent the sale and distribution of 

 cows suffering with tuberculosis, and the thing is done. 



"The principle is simple, easy to grasp and is promising. Fortu- 

 nately we do not have to theorize as to its value. It has been put 

 into practical operation on an enormous scale in manj- parts of the 

 world, and has been the means of actually repressing this disease. 

 The first thing is to show cattle owners the facts, to teach them 

 what tuberculosis is, what it has done, what it will do if unrestrained, 

 how it spreads and the measures that are effective against it. I 

 know that farmers are, as a rule, very anxious to rid their herds of 

 tuberculosis just as soon as they know that the disease is present, 

 and know what it is and what it means to them. But the procedure 

 is expensive and unless the State will bear a part of the burden it is 

 too much to expect farmers to sacrifice their cattle, their sole in- 

 come producing property, in man}- instances, for the good of the 

 public. So a common and perhaps natural thing to do is to sell all 

 suspicious animals, and by preference to a dealer who will take them 

 away out of the neighborhood and, if possible, to another State. In 

 this way the individual avoids loss from the death of cattle on his 

 hands, but by so doing he scatters the disease. This danger is in- 

 creasing, and from the fact that breeders are becoming better able 

 to recognize tubercular cattle and are more anxious to get rid of 

 them. Hence, cattle buyers are each year exposed to more risks 

 unless they know the origin of the cattle they buy or know that they 

 have been properly inspected. 



''Some States are expending great effort and large appropriations 

 in a successful effort to eradicate tuberculosis. These States cannot 

 be expected to permit other States not so careful to ship their tuber- 

 cular cattle to them without restriction. 



''This is a very great and pressing danger and is of especial im- 

 portance to the States of the east — the States that import the lar- 



