54 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



ever valuable breeding animals have been condemned, their owner 

 has been given full and careful instruction as to handling them and 

 breeding them in such a way as to protect his herd and still get the 

 use of his diseased animals. It has been the rule in this work to 

 protect those who were unfortunate enough to own diseased cattle 

 from undue notoriety. Among those who have had their herds 

 tested there is practically nothing but good will. 



LEGISLATION. 



As the law stands, very little can be done by way of controlling 

 tuberculosis. All the work, so far, has been of a desultory nature, 

 this department making tests whenever there was an opportunity. 

 The requests for the test have, of necessity, been voluntary. No at- 

 tempt has been made to force the test on anybody, there being no 

 authority to do so. The voluntary requests for the test have been 

 comparatively few. The reason is very apparent. As the law stands, 

 all that can be done is to test a herd and place the diseased animals 

 in quarantine. The doubtful authority to permit their shipment 

 to market for immediate slaughter has been exercised. Even with 

 this, the owner, of dairy cows especially, gets almost nothing for 

 them. The loss is so great that it would be the financial ruin of 

 many who own tuberculous herds to have them tested under the 

 present law. In the last Legislature bills adding the word "tuber- 

 culosis" to the statutes were defeated by the Senate committee on 

 agriculture. The effect of the law, if it had been so amended, would 

 have been to pay an indemnity for cattle condemned on account of 

 tuberculosis, as is now done in case of horses condemned on ac- 

 count of glanders. It is well known that the majority of the dairy- 

 men of the State are willing to have their herds tested, and. are 

 anxious, once for all, to get clear of all tuberculosis in their herds. 

 This they can not do now without facing financial ruin. The law 

 must be amended to provide for indemnity before any effective work 

 can be done. The policy of coersion is a doubtful one. It seems 

 wise to arrange the law so as to provide for indemnity and let the 

 requests for the test remain voluntary for at least two years. It 

 is reasonably certain that a majority of the dairymen, under such 

 conditions, would have their herds free from tuberculosis within 

 two years. Then the public, by making a little inquiry, could at 

 least get dairy products that are wholesome. The few, however, 

 who would neglect to clean up their herds and continue to sell dis- 

 eased milk, would remain a menace to milk consumers and a dis- 



