40 TUBERCULIN, ITS HISTORY, PREPARATION AND USE. 



Although there are some authentic cases of Tuberculosis in 

 the early stages in human beings that have completely recovered 

 after treatment, generally speaking tuberculin, as a cure, has. 

 not come up to expectations, but it has been definitely proved,, 

 by means of thousands of experiments in every part of the world,, 

 that tuberculin is capable of detecting the existence of tuber- 

 culosis in cattle even in the very earliest stages of the disease. 



During the last three years the somewhat exhaustive ex- 

 perimental investigations conducted at or in connection with the 

 Queensland Stock Institute have shown that when the tuber- 

 culin test is applied with judicious care, it is practically in- 

 fallible ; moreover, it has proved itself of such incalcuable benefit 

 to stockowners, and is so very easy of application when the- 

 details are understood, that the following description of its. 

 nature and use will, I trust, be found acceptable to all interested 

 in cattle, from the breeder of stud animals to the dairy farmer. 



By means of this information, a stockowner should be in a. 

 position to test his own cattle ; but it is advisable, first of all, to- 

 receive some practical instruction and see the test several times 

 applied by one of the officers attached to the Queensland Stock 

 Institute. 



Up till 1893, tuberculin was only prepared in Koch's. 

 Laboratory, in Berlin, but when the nature of its composition 

 became known, and it was pointed out by Nocard and Roux, ot 

 the Pasteur Institute, that tuberculin must ultimately come 

 into general use for detecting tuberculosis in cattle, it was not. 

 long before this agent was prepared in several other institutions. 

 At the present time tuberculin is prepared on a very extensive 

 scale, specially for diagnostic purposes, by the following institu- 

 tions : — Koch's Laboratory, in Berlin ; Pasteur Institute, in 

 Paris ; Bang's Laboratory, in Copenhagen ; Royal Veterinary. 

 College and the Institute of Preventive Medicine, in London ;, 

 Bacteriological Laboratory of the Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 Washington, U.S.A., and Boardof Health Laboratory, New York;, 

 while in the Southern Hemisphere, the Stock Institute in Brisbane 

 claims to be the first and only place where standardised tuber- 

 culin is prepared, practically speaking, on a scale to meet the; 

 demands of all Australia, 



