104 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Many good breeders prefer to separate the milk at home and sell 

 only their cream. In this way they can escape the danger of bringing 

 new and expensive diseases to their own premises. 



The Blakeslee pasteurizer does its work in a clean, efficient manner 

 while many of the improvised methods are unsatisfactory. If the 

 milk is heated to 180 °F. with the Blakeslee, run into clean vessels, 

 taken home in clean cans, placed immediately in cold water and fed 

 out of clean pans when properly cooled, there will be no trouble. 

 Milk that is too hot, too cold, or putrid, may cause digestive dis- 

 turbances, especially in pigs. Faulty feeding of this kind can be 

 overcome by a little care. In no case will the loss equal that caused 

 by feeding unheated milk which may have been infected with tuber- 

 culosis, foot-and-mouth disease, etc. 



The great question of how to handle tuberculosis is still in an un- 

 settled condition. Practically speaking there has been no changes 

 made in the last year in reference to eradicating or controlling the 

 disease. During the first part of the year there was no money obtain- 

 able for paying indemnity on animals destroyed when they had been 

 condemned as tuberculous. As soon as foot-and-mouth disease oc- 

 curred in the State practically all testing for tuberculosis was 

 stopped, for two reasons : It was thought that the disease might pos- 

 sibly be spread by those making the tuberculin test and the money 

 available for controlling tuberculosis was much more needed in the 

 eradication of foot-and-mouth disease. For these reasons there has 

 been very little testing for tuberculosis done since the middle of 

 October, 1914. In the herds that were tested during the past year the 

 disease was not as extensive as in previous years. It is believed that 

 some changes might be made in reference to handling inter-state 

 cattle; the present law requires the tuberculin test on all animals 

 over six months of age that are brought into the State for any pur- 

 pose other than for immediate slaughter. 



During the past year the State tested a great many young cattle in 

 Lancaster and Pittsburgh. These animals came from Canada and 

 the West. The percentage of reactions in such animals was very low, 

 practically all the condemnations were from the dairy breeds from 

 the State of New York. A reasonable degree of safety might be ob- 

 tained by requiring a tuberculin test on no animals under one year 

 or one and one-half years of age, allow owners the privilege of pur- 

 chasing young animals on a test if they desire to do so. It would not 

 be considered safe to allow dairy cattle to be brought in indis- 

 criminately at present without enforcing the physical examination 

 and a tuberculin test, but in a majority of cases the diseased animals 

 are found in mature dairy cattle. Tuberculin tests are not urged or 

 forced upon native herd owners and in no case can they be paid an in- 

 demnity for reacting cattle unless they are willing to comply with 

 the requirements of the State Livestock Sanitary Board. They are 

 required to sign an agreement before the test is applied that in case 

 tuberculous animals are found they will have them isolated or des- 

 troyed promptly ; that the stable will be promptly and properly dis- 

 infected and that they will purchase no new animals and place them 

 in the herd until they have been tested and examined by a person aiu- 

 thorized by the State. These restrictions make it impossible for 

 dealers to obtain an indemnity from the State. Even with the re- 

 strictions as rigid as they have been, the applications for tuberculin 



