168 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



dred and fifty feet from the regular barns in wliicli (he milking herd 

 was kept and then tested with tuberculin.* 



*I do not consider this i)lan tlie best method for handling newly 

 purchased animals as Ihere is a cliance of reinfecting the herd. 1( 

 appears to me that it would be far better if a regular quarantine 

 barn could be maintained at least one hundred yards from the main 

 buildings and all recently purchased animals be kept therein for a 

 period of three months before entering the herd. This plan would 

 permit of a tuberculin test at the time of ])urchase as well as another 

 test just prior to entering the herd. In this manner it would be pos- 

 sible for one to detect any animals that were "plugged" by a dis- 

 honest dealer. 



In the Spring of 1905, approximately one year from the first test, 

 the herd was again tuberculin tested. Conditions arose which made 

 a tuberculin test six months following the initial test, as originally 

 planned, impossible. The results obtained were as follows: 



Date of test, June, 1905. 



Number of animals tested 120 



Number of animals reacted, 13 



Percentage of animals reacting 10.8 



It Avas generally customary to apply the tuberculin test during the 

 cool months of the Fall and Spring. 



The tuberculin test in November of the year 1905, which was ap- 

 proximately five months from the preceding test, resulted as follows: 



Number of animals tested, 137 



Number of animals reacted, 7 



Percentage of animals reacting, 5.1 



The tuberculin tests following the date above mentioned up to the 

 present time gave the following percentages of reaction: 



Results of TiibercuUn Tests, 1906. 



Date of test, April. 



Number of animals tested, 154 



Number of animals reacted, 13 



Percentages of reacting animals, 8.4 



Date of test, November, 



Number of animals tested, 137 



Number of animals reacted, 5 



Percentage of reacting animals, 3.6 



You will note that the percentage of reactions obtained in April 

 1906, was 3.3 per cent, higher than those obtained in November 1905. 

 The only explanation I can offer for this is the fact that during the 

 winter months the animals were more closely stabled and were fre- 

 quently changed from one stable to another. Again, there were a 

 number of newly purchased animals entered into the herd during the 

 Winter which had only been tested at the time of purchase, and 



