REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 17 



eradicating the disease entirely from that territory. This would 

 require the slaughter of infected animals and would necessitate 

 reasonable indemnity for the animals slaughtered. The latter feature 

 undoubtedly would require large expenditures. 



The results accomplished in the District of Columbia afford an 

 example of what can be done where systematic local eradication is 

 undertaken. By means of repeated tuberculin testing, accompanied 

 by the slaughter of the reacting animals, tuberculosis among cattle in 

 the District has been reduced in a few years from nearly 19 per cent 

 to slightly over 1 per cent. The joining of areas freed of tuberculosis 

 in the manner proposed gradually should result in the elimination 

 of the disease from groups of counties and from entire States. 



Such an undertaking would be very similar to the plan of ex- 

 terminating cattle ticks in the South. This work was begun system- 

 atically in 1906 in certain restricted areas on the border of the in- 

 fested region. At first the opposition of the local people was almost 

 unanimous. Even the fact that the tick is the carrier of splenetic fever 

 was quite generally disbelieved. Persistent work in these few regions, 

 however, eventually produced good results. Gradually the people 

 were convinced that the tick is an evil ; that its eradication would be 

 advantageous; and that the cost would be small in comparison with 

 the benefits. The tick-eradication movement is now going forward 

 very rapidly. Furthermore, this activity was begun almost exclu- 

 sively at department expense. Last year the department spent ap- 

 proximately $100,000 in tick eradication, while local agencies, includ- 

 ing State and county governments, expended double that amount, or 

 $800,000. This indicates what can be done when the people con- 

 cerned appreciate the real significance and value of an undertaking. 



Such a plan should succeed against tuberculosis. It is a large 

 task. Its feasibility will have to be thoroughly established first, 

 as was the case with tick eradication. In the beginning the methods 

 for tick eradication were crude and cumbersome. Improvements 

 were made, however, until the present efficient system was developed. 

 These suggestions, if carried into effect, should assist in developing 

 a comprehensive plan for dealing with the tuberculosis situation 

 which will meet with approval and lead to ultimate success. The 

 department has recommended in the estimates for the next fiscal 

 year that an appropriation of $75,000 be made for the inauguration 

 of the work. 



