230 BOAKD OF AGEICULTURE. 



the appearances on the liver, in the mesentery and in the 

 lungs. He described to me the appearance of tuberculosis. 

 I have no doubt that he told me the truth, for he did not 

 know the object of my inquiry ; and when he told me that 

 one-fourth of the old cattle that he slaughtered, the meat 

 of which he brought to our homes for our food, were affected 

 by a disease of this kind, which undoubtedly was tubercu- 

 losis, if that is a fact, it is a serious matter to every one 

 who consumes the meat he brings. And if this was his 

 experience as a butcher, can it be possible that his experience 

 is exceptional and that the other butchers of the State do 

 not meet with a like experience ? Now, it is a fact in relation 

 to this disease that it affects old cattle, that young cattle are 

 apparently exempt from it ; but, as Dr. Winchester has told 

 us, this fatality among young stock is due probably to tuber- 

 culosis, and I have no sort of doubt that when this subject 

 is investigated the result will be that the cattle that are 

 slaughtered for food will be inspected before or after being 

 slaughtered, as they are to-day in Germany. 



Mr. Myrick. Dr. Winchester said he could do a good 

 deal for those calves ; will he please tell us what he can do 

 and what he cannot do for them ? That is the point I want 

 to bring out. 



Dr. Winchester. Young calves are seldom affected 

 with tuberculosis ; but speaking, as Dr. Lynde did, of 

 tuberculosis, I will guarantee that at least twenty-five per 

 cent, of the herds in Eastern Massachusetts are diseased 

 with tuberculosis. 



Mr. Smith. I am unwilling to have the statement go out 

 to the public that one-fourth of our cattle in any portion of 

 our State have this disease. I have been conferring with 

 our Franklin County butcher, Mr. Felton, of Greenfield, 

 who kills 1,200 head of cattle a year, and I would like to 

 have him state what has been his experience in regard to 

 this disease and any other disease which beef cattle may 

 have . 



Mr. Felton. I shall need but a few moments to give 

 you all the experience I have had. For eleven years a part 

 of my business has been that of butchering cattle, and I have, 

 also, as a fanner, had experience in fattening in summer a 



