SCIENTIFIC WORK OF HARRY LUMAN RUSSELL 13 



ciate their bearing. Those without such a background must 

 accept them 011 faith. The natural and proper conservatism 

 of the farmer leads him to accept new facts only after their 

 value has been demonstrated. Yet delay in their acceptance 

 may often mean great loss and irreparable damage. This 

 fact is well illustrated by bovine tuberculosis. 



The lack of recognition of the importance of bovine tuber- 

 culosis by the farmer has enabled the disease to gain greater 

 and greater headway. In 1894 great areas of our country 

 were free from the disease which now exists in every locality 

 and is still spreading, due to the fact that the importance 

 of the truths pointed out twenty-five years ago is not yet 

 realized by the great mass of farmers. 



If the breeders and the farmers of the state and of the 

 country had accepted and followed the advice given in the 

 first papers published 011 bovine tuberculosis by the Wisconsin 

 College of Agriculture, the conditions today would be far 

 different. It was recognized that the pure bred herds were 

 the chief centers from which the disease was being dissem- 

 inated. It was recognized that a healthy herd would be a 

 great asset to its owner. But few of the breeders of the state 

 saw fit to follow the advice. Those who did have never re- 

 gretted it. 



The knowledge that was obtained concerning the conditions 

 that existed in the state with reference to bovine tuberculosis 

 made possible the formulation of a campaign against it. 

 Briefly, this consisted of an educational propaganda which 

 should bring to the farmer evidence of the economic im- 

 portance of the disease, which should acquaint him with the 

 tuberculin test and its value in keeping tuberculosis out of 

 his herd or in eliminating it therefrom. 



It was recognized that by far the greater part of the dairy 

 herds of the state were free from the disease, especially in 

 the more newly settled regions of the state, that the important 

 and immediate thing was not the elimination of the disease 

 from the infected herds, but the prevention of its introduction 

 into healthy herds. In furtherance of the plan of action, 

 animals that had reacted to the tuberculin test were slaugh- 



