Report of State Veterinarian. 63 



to do the work. If eradication work is undertaken in the right 

 manner and carried forward unhampered, we may reasonably ex- 

 pect to clean it out of the dairy herds within four or five years. 

 At the beginning we must confine our principal efforts toward 

 cleaning up the dairy herds. This is deemed advisable for several 

 leasons. On account of the way in which they are handled tuber- 

 culosis is not apt to spread so rapidly among beef cattle. It does 

 not reduce the value of beef cattle as much as it does dairy cattle. 

 A tuberculous beef animal may be more profitably kept in quar- 

 antine for breeding purposes. Such an animal is used for breed- 

 ing as long as it does not go down with the disease. The additional 

 expense and trouble of thus keeping beef cattle in quarantine is 

 not very great. Meat inspection and a thorough cooking of the 

 meat protects the human family, from tuberculosis through beef 

 Cc\ttle, almost altogether. The danger to the human family being 

 largely eliminated, the losses from tuberculosis among beef cattle 

 are confined principally to the matter of financial profits. Under 

 present conditions, and until owners of beef herds show a disposi- 

 tion to co-operate with the State, the tuberculosis situation among 

 beef cattle men will be left to take care of itself. 



On the other hand, dairy cattle are, of necessity, kept confined 

 and in close contact with one another. Many instances are at 

 hand to show that, when a tuberculous animal is added to a dairy 

 herd, the disease spreads among the cattle and ruins the herd in 

 an incredibly short time. When a dairy cow is tuberculous she is 

 practically worthless. She is no longer useful for milk and her 

 carcass is worth very little for beef, even though it should be only 

 slightly diseased and pass meat inspection. To keep the dairy cow 

 in quarantine for breeding purposes will require a visit to a sepa- 

 rate lot twice a day to feed and milk her. Her milk must be steri- 

 lized before it can be safely fed to calves and pigs. The only profit 

 will be the calf. The additional expense and trouble of keeping 

 her in quarantine is so great that the calf, even if from a regist- 

 ered cow, is seldom worth the while. Furthermore, the State is 

 practically in its infancy in the dairy business. Hundreds of 

 farmers are going into the dairy business every year. A large 

 per cent of the newly founded herds are not yet tuberculous. In 

 many herds the disease is still limited and can be stamped out at 

 a small expense. It is absolutely essential that the beginners in 

 the dairy business should start with sound herds, and that the 

 State render every possible assistance in enabling them to do so. 

 Every effort should be made to go through the herds that are 



