166 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



was best to advise the slaughter of tlie entire flock and the disinfection 

 of the premises. Tlie f,olh)wing sjiring might safely permit of the 

 introduction of a ncAV flock. 



We wished to avail ourselves of the opportunity offered to acquire 

 some data on the subject of tuberculosis in birds. It was, accordingly, 



arranged with Mr. K to have all his chickens slaughtered and 



picked ready for market, resendng only about 20 of those visibly af- 

 fected with the disease. We then agreed to make a careful autopsy of 

 each bird and let the healthy ones pass for food. Mr. H. L. Kempster 

 of the poultry department was invited to join us in the examination, 

 and in the succeeding work. His experience as a poultryman was of 

 great value to us in these studies, and he has our thanks for his kind 

 ciooperation. 



In attempting to decide what standard might be used in determining 

 the safety of these carcasses for food, we had only the U. S. Goveru- 

 ment meat inspection regulations to guide us. These regulations relate 

 to the inspection of mammals only, chiefly cattle and swine, and we 

 decided that we were dealing witli an entirely different proposition. 

 To be sure, any standard lOf inspection of tuberculous chickens must 

 be arbitrary until it can be based on a wider knowledge of the disease 

 than we now possess. We, therefore, decided to pass only those show- 

 ing no lesions tahatever. Assuming that avian tuberculosis is infecti- 

 ous to humans, one can readily see the danger in dressing tlie carcass 

 of a tubercular bird especially to the housewife. The tubercle bacteria 

 are exceedingly numerous in avian tubercles, and the hands of the 

 operator might easily become badly contaminated, followed by the con- 

 tamination of the lips or food substances, or utensils that might reach 

 the mouth before the intervention of any sterilizing process. 



Out of 143 birds examined, 48 were found diseased. The following 

 tabulation shows the distribution of the gross lesions detected in a moi^e 

 or less hasty examination : 



Liver only, 18 cases, 37.5 per cent. 



Intestine only. 13 cases, 27.0Si/:{ per cent. 



Liver and intestine, 7 cases, 14.58 1-7 per cent. 



Liver and spleen, 5 cases, 10.41% ])er cent. 



Intestine, liver and spleen, 3 cases, G.25 per cent. 



Intestine and spleen, 1 case, 2.08i/;5 per cent. 



Spleen only, 1 case, 2.08% per cent. 



Fiorty -eight cases, 100.00 per cent. 



Of tlie 48 cases: 



The liver was involved in 33 cases or 09 1-12 per cent. 



The intesiine was involved in 24 cases or 50 per cent. 



The spleen was involved in 10 cases or 20 5 \)0v cent. 



It does not follow from these tabulations that (liere were not other 

 tissues affecttd. We know that the mesentery was afi'ected in many 

 cases. The viscera were removed through as small a \ont about the 

 cloaca as jiossible, consequently the lungs and kidneys were not seen. 



The passing of any of the birds without a more extended examina- 

 tion of the organs may be open to criticism. We will not discuss that. 

 It is of interest to note that the birds were nearly all in vei-y good 

 condition, even fat. Only two or three showed active ,ovaries. 



About the second week in February, we received 19 cliickens that 



