No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 497 



So far as the commission had knowledge, the owners of cattle 

 in Dennis were desirous, at the time when the commission was 

 obliged to abandon its work, to have the animals in that town 

 examined. 



Examination of Animals quarantined by Inspectors. 



An important branch of the work of this commission in sup- 

 pressing tuberculosis is the examination of cattle quarantined 

 by the local inspectors as suspected of being tuberculous. 

 More or less of these animals are being constantly quarantined 

 by these inspectors throughout the year, but the great bulk of 

 them are usually so isolated, as the result of their regular 

 inspections. This year, as has alread} r been stated, the first 

 regular inspection was ordered to be begun the 1st of October. 

 The inspectors, however, as heretofore, were required to in- 

 spect and quarantine, at any time, all animals which they had 

 reason to suspect were affected with any contagious disease. 

 The quarantines placed by inspectors upon cattle supposed to 

 be tuberculous, since our last report, are from Dec. 15, l-s«>4, 

 to June 5, 1895, 1,776; from this last date to Dec. 15, 1895, 

 2,239, — a total of 4,015. Of the animals quarantined be- 

 tween Dec. 1, 1894, and June 5, 1895, all were subjected to 

 the tuberculin test, and 795 condemned as tuberculous. Post- 

 mortem examination disclosed the presence of the disease in 

 the case of 780 ; in 15 no lesions of the disease were found. 

 It will thus be seen that 43.9 per cent, of those ouarantined 

 were diseased. 



Under the provision of section 14 of chapter 496 of the Acts 

 of 1895, it is provided that, in the absence of written consent, 

 no Massachusetts animal shall be subjected to the tuberculin 

 test unless such animal has been already condemned as tuber- 

 culous, upon physical examination, by a competent veterina- 

 rian. Whenever, therefore, reports of quarantine are received 

 from inspectors who are not also veterinarians, a " competent" 

 man is at once sent to make a physical examination of sus- 

 pected animals. It has further been the practice of the Board 

 to obtain, if possible, from the owners of these animals, per- 

 mission in writing to apply the tuberculin test as a means of 

 reaching a final decision. This permission has been given in 

 all but four or five of the instances. In two of these, after a 



