Biological Papers. I45 



certainly a like proportionate increase in the subsequent years, 

 especially since the new law by which the inspection has been 

 extended, and since nothihg has been done to eradicate the 

 disease. 



The total number slaughtered during the three years was 

 113,630,682, thus making a smaller percentage than in any 

 other country. 



As many as 72,000 hogs have come into the Chicago stock- 

 yards in a single day and been offered for sale. A tuberculous 

 hog looks absolutely no different from a healthful animal. 

 After these hogs have been bought, individual packers some- 

 times purchasing more than 15,000 on a single day ; no farmer 

 would be able to pick out his own hogs after they have been 

 mixed together, let alone picking them out after they have 

 been slaughtered and their hair removed. Packers thus buy 

 tuberculous animals unconsciously, and if conditions are not 

 changed they will continue to so do. 



At the present time the general per cent, for the entire 

 country is less than three in the hogs slaughtered where gov- 

 ernment inspection exists. A conservative estimate, based 

 upon these facts and upon the - experiment which I carried 

 out, is that less than six per cent, of the farms of this country 

 are sending all the tuberculous animals to market. Less than 

 six per cent, of the farms are thus likewise responsible for 

 all the tuberculous dairy products. 



One simple thing will be the means of ascertaining the lo- 

 cation of all of the small yet dangerous six per cent, of farms 

 having tuberculous animals upon them — and that is to se- 

 curely tag all hogs sent to market with tags that will remain 

 until they have been inspected by the federal inspector. 



I propose a letter from each state suffixing or prefixing a 

 number for each county in each state, the combination be- 

 ing the numerator of a fraction; the denominator be^'ng a 

 number given to the individual farmers in each state, as 



a 26 27 d ^ 



PTP' 



833' 1005 



But what shall be done after discovering the location of the 

 tuberculous farms? 



In the past irrational and radical people, so-called scien- 

 tists, too, have advocated going to the farm and slaughtering 

 all of the tuberculous animals, if need be, at the owner's ex- 

 pense, for they are a menace to the public health and he has 

 -10 



