No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 513 



foothold among neat stock everywhere, and that it is appar- 

 ently gaining ground. 



In the report, made in 1895, of the Royal Commission of 

 Great Britain, to inquire into the effect of food derived from 

 tuberculous animals on human health, after citing the above 

 statistics relating to the Copenhagen and Berlin slaughter 

 houses, we find the following : — 



There do not exist for the United Kingdom any records with which 

 these can be compared. At Copenhagen and Berlin all the meat fur- 

 nished to the towns is submitted to the inspection of experts. But 

 we have reason to think that the facts about tuberculous animals 

 would exhibit a broad resemblance to the foregoing if such records 

 could be obtained ; not more different in degree, that is, than the 

 difference seen between the Copenhagen aud Berlin records, or 

 than would be explained by variations in the practice of dealiug with 

 food animals in one and another country. Such few data as are to 

 be had for the United Kingdom confirm this view. Three hundred 

 milch cows had to be slaughtered in Edinburgh in 1890 on account 

 of the appeai-ance of epidemic pleuro-pneumonia there, and their 

 carcasses were examined as to the presence or absence of tubercu- 

 lous matter in them. Of the 300, 120, or 40 per cent., were found 

 to be tuberculous, the percentage varying between 12 and 83, accord- 

 ing as they came from one or another cow house. In Edinburgh, 

 again, out of 27,769 cattle bought for slaughter at the public abat- 

 toir in 1890, 179, or .65 per cent., were condemned as being tuber- 

 culous, this percentage having risen from .16 in 1887, when the 

 system of examining for tubercle was begun there. Five pigs were 

 condemned in 1890, out of 4,973, and no calves out of 5,160; no 

 record is given about sheep. 



The Use of Milk and Meat coming from Tuberculous 



Animals. 



In the report of this Board for 1894 there will be found on 

 pages 31 to 37 a discussion of the dangers to the public health 

 through the use as food of the flesh and milk of tuberculous 

 animals ; and numerous statistics are there cited, tending to 

 show that the use of these products is attended with a consider- 

 able amount of danger. While there may be a considerable 

 difference of opinion as to the actual extent of the danger, or as 

 to whether the disease in any particular case can be proved to 



