280 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



Attention must be paid to the watering during the test, espe- 

 cially while the temperatures are being taken after injection. If an 

 animal drinks a large amount of cold water, the temperature will 

 be lowered. It is possible to have fever produced by the tuberculin, 

 and due to the drinking of a large amount of cold water, the tem- 

 perature so lowered that the fever will not be detected. This may 

 lead to incorrectness in interpreting the temperatures and a cow 

 may be passed as healthy, when in reality she is diseased. If the 

 water can be warmed, it can be given in any amount. If cold 

 water must be used and the animals are generally watered during 

 the morning, when temperatures are being taken, a pailful may 

 be given to each animal at periods of an hour or so ; preferably im- 

 mediately after a reading has been taken. The small quantity will 

 not affect the temperature. Care should also be taken that none 

 of the preliminary temperatures are lowered by the watering. 



What Animals Should Not Be Tested? The temperatures be- 

 fore injection not only serve to show the normal temperatures of 

 each animal, but whether any have a fever, due to some cause or 

 other. Such animals should not be injected because it cannot be 

 told with certainty whether the fever on the second day is due to 

 the same cause or to the tuberculin. As a rule, the following ani- 

 mals should not be tested : 



1. Those soon to calve. 2. Those that have just calved, espec- 

 ially when the afterbirth was not discharged in a normal manner. 3. 

 Animals in heat. 4. Animals suffering from garget (mammitis), 

 or inflammation in other parts of the body. 5. Animals that have 

 aborted within a short time. 6. Those that show a single tempera- 

 ture before inoculation of 103.5 degrees F. or above. Calves and 

 fat stock may have a normal temperature of 103 to 103.5 and may 

 be tested if all of the temperatures are uniformly high. It is not 

 considered wise to test calves under three montns old. 



If it is desirable that the animals in the classes just enumerated 

 be tested with the remainder of the herd, it may be done, but if 

 any show a reaction, it is usually advisable to hold them for a re- 

 test. If no reaction occurs, the test is as reliable in the case of such 

 animals as in any. Animals with an abnormal temperature should 

 not be tested under any condition. 



When Is the Best Time to Test? The most convenient time 

 to test the herd is while the cattle are in the stable, shortly after 

 they are put up for the fall, or in the spring. It can be done at any 

 time during the winter, but not so conveniently in very cold weather. 



During the summer the cattle must be taken out of the pasture 

 and kept in the stable. This causes them to become uneasy. During 

 very hot weather, the temperature of the cattle may be high and may 

 lead to errors. If it is necessary to test during the summer, it can be 

 done, but the work can be done more satisfactorily during the fall 

 and winter. 



How Are the Temperatures Interjyreted? The average of the 

 temperatures before injection is determined and if the highest tem- 

 perature after the injection is 2 degrees F. or more above the aver- 



