18 



losis or prevent its eradication, or increase its presence" let us 

 see what Supervisor, milk producer and director in the Dairy- 

 men's Association Bellina has accomplished, irias he eradicated 

 tuberculosis or helped to eradicate it, even from his own herd? 

 Decidedly no. He has obstructed our efforts at eradication in 

 every possible way, retaining his diseased cows on his dairy 

 premises until forced to dispose of them, and he now retains 

 a nest egg of some seventy head of untested cattle and con- 

 demned reacters, which he does not find it convenient to round 

 up. Has Mr. Bellina prevented the eradication or increased the 

 presence of tuberculosis ? Decidedly yes ! The infected herd 

 just referred to has already caused a decided increase of tuber- 

 culosis in a neighboring dairy herd where the malady has been 

 steadily decreasing until Mr. Bellina's diseased animals were 

 placed alongside, with only a wire fence between the two herds, 

 and that defective. As far as Mr. Bellina's own dairy herd is 

 concerned he had this year (1917) more than five times as many 

 tuberculous cattle as he had in 1916. In another herd, one of the 

 largest in the Territory and originally one of the most infected, 

 we had succeeded, by testing every three months, in reducing 

 the number of tuberculosis animals from 34% in 1911 to 3% in 

 1915. When testing this herd for the third time in 1916 the 

 manager informed me that Mr. Bellina liad convinced him that 

 the losses would be much smaller if he tested but once a year ; and 

 that was all the law required, anyhow ! The herd was not tested 

 again until 13 months later. The percentage had increased to 

 22.34%. 



To further prove the fallacy of Mr. Bellina's advice the annual 

 percentages of tuberculoiis animals, from 1910 to 1917 inclusive, 

 in the said herd are appended : 



1910—1 test — 41.5 % tuberculous cattle 

 1911—1 " —34. % 

 1912—3 tests— 9.01% 

 1913_^ " _ 7.4 ^„ 



1914—4 " — 4.37% 



1915_4 - _ 3. % " - . 



1916—3 " — 4.07% 

 1917—1 test —22.54% 



These figures should prove conclusively that to leave tubercu- 

 lous animals in the herd for one year instead of weeding them 

 out every 3 months does not pay, especially when the question 

 is the eradication of the disease at the least cost to the Territory. 



In conclusion. Supervisor Bellina's attention is called to Ordi- 

 nance No. 17 of the City and County of Honolulu, approved 

 March 21, 1910, and still effective. This ordinance requires 

 the tuberculin testing of all dairy cows in the City and County 

 of Honolulu and adds that the Board of Supervisors shall pro- 

 vide for the testing of the cows without charge. All tuberculin 



