58 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



ascertain the facts, we condemned, in our tests of about 3,882 head up 

 to December 1, 1908, only three animals in which lesions of tuberculosis 

 plainly visible to the naked eye were not found. As best we can as- 

 certain, we have passed only one animal for sound that should possibly 

 have been condemned. We are taking every precaution to avoid errors, 

 either in condemning sound animals or leaving tuberculous animals in 

 the herd. All animals which react to the* test are tagged with an ear 

 tag bearing the words "Missouri Condemned, Tuberculosis," and a serial 

 number. We offer to retest extremely valuable animals, if the owner de- 

 sires it, before finally condemning them. We repeatedly retest every 

 herd from which any diseased animals are removed; until we are sure 

 that no diseased animal is left. As a rule, the second test shows the 

 herd to be sound. 



At present the indications are that the amount of tuberculosis eradi- 

 cation work which we do will be limited only by the small force of 

 deputies our funds will permit us to employ. If we had an adequate 

 force of men the matter of completely eradicating tuberculosis from 

 among our cattle and hogs would be disposed of in an incredibly short 

 time. The expenditure of a large amount of money in this work by the 

 State would be justified merely for the purpose of stopping the spread 

 of tuberculosis among live stock. However, when properly considered, 

 this is a very small part of the total benefits to be derived. There are 

 two other sources of even greater benefits, viz. : ( 1 ) The prevention 

 of the infection of the human family through milk and meat, and (2) 

 The education of the human family as to the essential principles govern- 

 ing the spread of tuberculosis. 



Practically all scientists agree that bovine tuberculosis is trans- 

 missible to the human. 



Circumstantial evidence supporting this view is overwhelming. My 

 own tests, followed in many cases with post mortem examinations of the 

 condemned tuberculous cattle, show that as a general rule the milk and 

 butter consumed in our towns and cities is contaminated with tubercu- 

 losis. The loss of human life in our cities from bovine infection is be- 

 yond doubt very heavy, and the responsibility of stopping it promptly 

 rests on the State Board of Agriculture. 



With proper education the spread of tuberculosis in the human 

 family can be stopped as promptly and successfully as we are actually 

 stopping it among herds of cattle. There is no doubt that all necessary 

 scientific information is now at hand, which, if properly applied, will 

 stop all tuberculosis of men and animals. The education of the public 

 then, becomes a matter of utmost importance. There is no other chan- 

 nel of education of the public as effectual as post mortem demonstration 



