242 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



those that have to be rendered. This puts part of the burden 

 of expense on tlie owner, and deters many from asking for 

 a herd test because thej cannot afford it under the conditions 

 named. If the law could be changed so tlmt the State could 

 allow the owner to take what the butcher paid for hides and 

 carcasses, and the difference between this and the appraised 

 value of the animals could be paid from the Cattle Bureau 

 api^ropriation, it would permit of more work of this kind 

 being done, and make the Cattle Bureau a2')propriation go 

 farther. Under the present law, if the State agreed to have 

 the owner reimbursed the full appraised value of his cattle, 

 the total amount paid out would have to come out of the 

 Cattle Bureau appropriation, and all money received has to 

 go into the State treasury; this does not helj) the Cattle 

 Bureau appropriation, and the public gives the Chief of the 

 Cattle Bureau very little credit for what he turns in. 



Even under the onerous conditions imposed there was 

 more interest during the past year among owners in having 

 their herds cleaned up than has been shown for several years. 

 Thirty-five herds were tested, comprising 703 head of cattle, 

 of which 556 passed the test and 145 were killed; of these, 

 41 were rendered; the rest passed for beef to the credit of 

 the owner. Two pure-bred Holsteins are held for further 

 observation. In 1907 16 herds were tested, comprising 454 

 animals, of which 300 were released and 153 killed, 26 of 

 which were rendered. These figures show a gain in the 

 interest taken, and also in the proportion of healthy cattle 

 to diseased ones. One herd of 25 head in Shelburne was 

 cleaned up several years ago, and when tested last summer 

 there was not a single reaction. This farmer is a woman. 

 Another herd at Gardner, owned by the State, contained 86 

 head of cattle, only 1 of which reacted. 



Another method which may in time be perfected is one 

 for immunizing healthy cattle against tuberculosis. If the 

 22,000 cattle brought into Massachusetts each year from other 

 States, which are not released until they pass a tuberculin 

 test, could only be immunized in some way at the same time 

 that they are tested, before going out into the herds of the 



