92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



lutely correct. There are some animals that are badly afflicted 

 with tuberculosis which do not react to the test, and there 

 may be some animals which do not have any taint of the disease 

 which do react. Allowing for this uncertainty, which, I am 

 told by competent veterinarians who have had experience, 

 affects from 3 to 5 per cent of the animals inspected, we must 

 give to inspection the full value of making it possible to have 

 a tuberculous free herd. 



From the point of view of the producer I think it is to our 

 highest interest to secure herds of this kind. Most of the 

 diseases of a bovine character are easily ascertainable by 

 external symptoms. This is particularly true of such diseases 

 as that known as the foot and mouth disease. On the other 

 hand, the tuberculous cow may give no external evidence 

 whatever of infection. In fact, she may appear to be as 

 healthy as any cow in the herd, and yet the disease has taken 

 hold of some of her vital organs and if left to itself will doubt- 

 less progress to a dangerous degree. 



It may be interesting to know what has happened to my 

 herd in nearly two years, and as a result of three tests by the 

 officials of the Bureau of Animal Industry. Naturally, I ex- 

 pected to have a herd free of reactors. Imagine my astonish- 

 ment, therefore, when, at the first inspection, 5 out of a total 

 of about 50 tested animals reacted; in other words, 10 per 

 cent. There are two possible reasons for this result, — first, 

 that some negligence or impurity of the serum had made the 

 test which was given the animal unreliable (in this case 

 the animals were suffering from tuberculosis at the time of 

 purchase, and the certificates were misleading); second, that 

 the animals had acquired the germ of tuberculosis at the 

 time of purchase, but the disease had not gone far enough to 

 produce a reaction. I eliminate as wholly improbable the 

 possibility of plugging, which is sometimes, I am told, prac- 

 ticed to deceive the purchasers of bovine animals. 



At the second inspection, which took place at the end of 

 about nine months, four additional animals reacted, and three 

 were quarantined as suspicious. At the end of two months 

 these three animals were again tested, and two reacted and 

 were condemned and one was found free of reaction. The total 



