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of the University of Edinburgh made an address on the subject of 

 the tuberculous cow and what to do with it. from which I shall 

 c|uote a few sentences merely to illustrate that what they are be- 

 i^inning- to think about in England has been not alone thought 

 about but carried into efl'cct in this comnuuiity, at least. 



Prof. Dewar starts by discussing the vastly improved conditions 

 of animal life and the prevention of animal diseases during recent 

 years, but recalls that these, though very desirable and l)eneficent 

 in themselves, are nevertheless merely the means to an end. It is 

 in the relation which these questions bear to the improvement of 

 the health of the community and in their preservation of human 

 life that they mainly derive their importance. The prevalence of 

 tuberculosis among the herds in Great Britain is admitted and 

 while the dangers arising from the use of meat and milk from 

 tuberculous animals is acknowledged to be less than was at one 

 time believed, few, if any, will dispute their existence "and in the 

 case of children and delicate or weakly individuals using raw 

 milk the risk is a terribly real one." 



Regarding the inaj:tion of the Government in connection there- 

 with he says: "For more than twenty years now (since Aug. 12, 

 1889, ) the supervision of the health of the live stock of the farm 

 has been committed to the care of a special Government Depart- 

 ment and although that department has looked quietly on while 

 tuberculosis was killing not only its thousands, but its tens of thou- 

 sands annually without so much as moving a finger to prevent the 

 spread of tlie disease, that is no reason why the department should 

 not begin to move at last and do something by way of honest en- 

 deavor for the protection and improvement of the health of the 

 live stock of the country. Perhaps our profession is not altogether 

 guiltless in that it has not done more to educate the public regard- 

 ing the terribly serious nature and the extent of the disease. We 

 ought to insist, in season and out of season, that something should 

 be done, that some attempt should be made to arrest the progress 

 of this terrible scourge." 



That is what the Division of Animal Industry has done for five 

 3^ears past and that is why we stand today where we do. thanks 

 to the unfailing approval and backing of the board. 



Prof. Dewar goes on to say that on June 14th this vcar the 

 .'Scottish Chamber of Agriculture held a conference at Perth, at 

 which a resolution "was stated to have been unanimously passed." 

 demanding Government compensation for the tuberculous dairv 

 cow, i. e., that instead of merely ordering the cow out of the byre, 

 she should be condemned to be slaughtered, and com]-)ensation paid 

 for her. Whether this "demand" bore any fruits is not known 

 but the fact remains that the idea was a good one. as has been 

 demonstrated here. To leave a tuberculous animal alive is simply 

 to leave a center of infection, as isolation or segregation is an im- 

 possibility except in a government quarantine statiou. 



That we succeeded in exterminating nertrlv one thousand tuber- 



