No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRlCtTLTtJRE. lOl 



While this matter very obviously comes under the direct control and regu- 

 lation of local boards of health, as well as the rules and regulations of the 

 State Department of Health, the Dairy and Food Bureau will always be glad 

 to co-operate in the laudable work of improving milk supplies. Only a com- 

 paratively few years ago, but little if any attention was bestowed upon the 

 matter of clean and wholesome food for cows. The sale of swill for feeding 

 cows had attained large proportions, while other questionable food was not 

 only supplied by home dealers but many carloads of objectionable and un- 

 wholesome feed were brought here from far-distant shipping points. The 

 writer knows of at least one instance where the material delivered to a dairy- 

 man was completely rotten, the carload of a stinking, unhealthful mass of 

 s.o-called feed for cattle being sold for less than freight charges and used for 

 manure. Under the present improved conditions of dairying, cattle feed cannot 

 be too good in quality, nor selected with too much care. 



ERADICATING TUBERCULOUS COWS FROM HERDS. 



The correspondence of the Dairy and Food Division has indicated more fully 

 than ever before the trend towards the production of milk that is absolutely 

 free fiom danger, so far as the bacilli of tuberculous cows is concerned. 

 The dairymen are demanding a thorough inspection of their herds, and are 

 anxious to weed out the diseased animals, not only for their own protection, 

 but for the public good. The State Livestock Sanitary Board is in charge 

 of such inspections, and there is no doubt as to the immense amount of good 

 which their work has accomplished in behalf of humanity through the eradi- 

 cation of tuberculosis in some of the best herds in the State. 



The Dairy and Food Division has united and co-operated in the difficult 

 task of stamping out the disease from the dairy herds of Pennsylvania in 

 every practicable manner, realizing the danger of infection, and also knowing 

 that in many instances the physical appearance of the diseased animal is 

 fully equal to the appearance of the average dairy cow that is entirely exempt 

 from the disease. There is positive danger to public health so long as cows 

 which react, whether strongly or otherwise, to the tuberculin test, are allowed 

 to furnish milk, cream and butter for human consumption. 



As the State Livestock Sanitary Board has tested thousands of animals 

 with tuberculin, veterinarians are not in the least doubtful as to its value for 

 a correct diagnosis, as it is almost infallible, although it may not always indi- 

 cate to what extent the animal may be affected. Perhaps one of the most un- 

 pleasant features in connection with the consideration of the subject is the 

 truth that a dangerously tuberculous cow, long after she has become dangerous, 

 may continue to look and act like a healthy animal. The legislature of Penn- 

 sylvania is entitled to unstinted praise for the noble services and financial 

 support rendered in behalf of this good work. 



GUARDING ANIMAL PRODUCTS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



In view of the fact that it is said that over forty-five per cent, of the food 

 consumption of the better classes in the United States consists of animal prod- 

 ucts, it is at once self-evident that its strict surveillance and inspection is of 

 the greatest value and importance to the American people. That this laudable 

 work is now being effectually done in Pennsylvania, speaks volumes of praise 

 for the Commonwealth, and that its beneficient effects are already visible 

 throughout the State is a statement that can readily be confirmed even by a 

 casual examination. 



The enactment of additional legislation covering the subject of animal prod- 

 ucts, and placing certain duties and responsibilities upon the officers of the 

 State Livestock Sanitary Board, governing their sale, has brought about an 

 era of improved food supplies that is greatly appreciated by the public. 

 Although there was only a partial acquiescence to the new conditions at the 

 outstart, and an indefinite or misleading interpretation of the law, the aver- 

 age butcher and dealer has learned that the authorities sworn to enforce these 

 excellent laws are deeply in earnest, and that they must fully comply with 

 the new regulations. 



While the Dairy and Food Division also has powers in certain directions so 

 far as the sale of meat products are concerned, there is a hearty and con- 

 stant co-operation between the two bodies, and as both are working for the 

 general welfare of the people, the consumer receives double protection against 

 the sale of chemically preserved and decomposed meats. 



Prof. H. P. Armsby, of the Pennsylvania State Experimental Station, re- 

 ports that in Pennsylvania alone, the value of the animals slaughtered for 

 food have an aggregate value of twenty and one-half million dollars, in ad- 

 dition to the millions of dollars worth of dressed meats that are imported. 

 About sixteen million dollars worth of eggs and poultry are also consumed 

 annually. 



