158 AGRICULTURAL BACTERIOLOGY 



in the case of the young. The bovine tubercle bacillus has 

 been found but infrequently, as compared to the human 

 tubercle bacillus, in people over sixteen years of age. 



The. organisms are able to penetrate the tissues of the 

 throat, especially the tonsils, from which they pass to the 

 lymph-glands of the neck. The bacilli may also pass 

 through the intestinal wall, producing tuberculosis of the 

 abdominal cavity. The methods for safeguarding the 

 wholesomeness of milk will be discussed in connection with 

 methods used to preserve it. 



Septic sore throat and garget. Inflammation of the 

 udder is of frequent occurrence in cattle. The more seri- 

 ous cases are due to the invasion of the udder by bacteria, 

 the development of which is not restrained by the germi- 

 cidal action of the fluids of the udder. A considerable 

 number of kinds of bacteria have been found associated 

 with such troubles. It is probable that the majority of 

 them are incapable of causing harm in persons consuming 

 the milk. A more serious form of garget is believed to be 

 due to organisms that come from cases of septic sore throat 

 in man. It is supposed that the contaminated hands of the 

 milker serve to carry the bacteria on to the teats. They 

 invade the udder through the milk ducts. The inflamma- 

 tion caused by their presence may be so slight as not to at- 

 tract attention, and yet the milk may produce widespread 

 epidemics of throat trouble. All cases of udder inflamma- 

 tion should be considered as potentially dangerous, and the 

 milk rejected. 



In the case of certain diseases of milk-producing animals 

 the organism is present in the milk at the time of its with- 

 drawal from the udder, not only from animals that have 

 the disease but from animals that are apparently in normal 

 health. Malta fever, a disease of goats, and contagious 

 abortion of cattle, are examples. In the case of the latter 



