EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 515 



A STUDY OF NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND THE TUBER- 

 CULIN TEST. 



CHARLES E. MARSHALL. 



Bulletin 159. — Bacteriological Department. 



At intervals this station will publish a series of bulletins relating to 

 experimental work with tuberculosis in cattle. This work was begun 

 in the year 1896 and is in progress at the present time. 



The work already done by investigators throughout the world in study- 

 ing this subject has become so exhaustive that to establish anything new 

 would hardly be anticipated and is not our primary purpose. This does 

 not mean that the knowledge already acquired is sufficient and satisfac- 

 tory or that the field is barren, but rather that those results following 

 immediately upon the discovery of the tubercle bacillus by Koch in 1882 

 and his tuberculin in 1890, with the valuable accumulations of scores of 

 other workers have left largely a work of detail and of mystery difficult 

 to solve. Moreover, it lies in our domain principally to verify what is 

 already at hand and to render it applicable to the farmers who are looking 

 for recommendations in the management of tuberculous animals. 



Recommendations must necessarily be slow in coming because much 

 time must first be consumed in establishing our knowledge to the satisfac- 

 tion of all interested. The element of doubt must be eliminated so far as 

 possible. There is already an abundance of literature before the public 

 to present the situation in its present true light, yet we must not seize 

 upon it too greedily and rush headlong into the destruction of property 

 as usually recommended, until we are justified in so doing by actual ex- 

 perience. Conservatism should prevail where radicalism has prevailed. 

 We are too apt in conveying a partial truth as a universal. The neglect 

 of errors should not be concealed through strategy, but should be pre- 

 sented as faithfully as the satisfactory results which our preconceived 

 notions are expecting. Our readers should know where to anticipate error 

 or failure to be successful. 



In discussing the matter of normal temperatures and the tuberculin 

 test, there may be reason for apologizing, since nearly every experiment 

 station in the Union has contributed its share in the tuberculin test to 

 the public, sometime in the past, in some cases, some years ago. Periodi- 

 cals in certain quarters have properly refused to publish anything farther 

 as regular tuberculin tests. We conclude from this that the tuberculin 

 test has been generally accepted. No one familiar with this test now 

 doubts its value; no one regards it as infallible; many, however, do differ 



