No. 4.] CATTLE COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 517 



human health, and, if prejudicial, what arc the circumstances 

 and conditions with regard to the tuberculosis in the animal 

 which produce that effect upon man?" 



This commission, after nearly tire years of consideration 

 and investigation of this subject, at an expense of more than 

 $90,000, reported on April 10, 1895, and from this report 

 we quote the following : — 



The primary object of the commission, to learn the "effect of 

 food derived from tuberculous animals upon human health," was 

 obviously one that could not be attained by direct experiment upon 

 human beings. Yet it was upon this question that there had been 

 least accord among the witnesses, though they did agree in their 

 assurances that there was no valid evidence on the point to be had. 

 The commission undertook, therefore, these inquiries as to the effect 

 of tuberculous food upon the health of lower animals, in the expecta- 

 tion of obtaining information applicable to the case of a human sub- 

 ject. 



Dr. Martin selected for his experimental research a variety of ani- 

 mals which differed in their customary food material : pigs, guinea- 

 pigs and rabbits. The animals were fed with their usual food, with 

 the addition of some material (sometimes meat, — much in the sense 

 that a butcher might speak of meat, — sometimes milk, but always 

 uncooked) derived from a tuberculous animal. No particular exam- 

 ination for actual tubercle in the food material was made in the ex- 

 periments now being recorded, but some care was taken to avoid any 

 obvious mass of tubercle. 



Of each kind of animal thus fed, a certain percentage was found to 

 become tuberculous : of pigs, 36 per cent. (5 out of 14) ; of guinea- 

 pigs, 16 percent. (24 out of 145) ; of rabbits, 15 per cent. (2 out 

 of 13). 



The experiment comprised also a number of animals kept under 

 the same conditions as the rest (the pigs being members of the same 

 litter), and only differing from the other animals of the experiment 

 by receiving no material from a tuberculous animal in their food. 

 Of these "control" animals (numbering 5 pigs, 203 guinea-pigs and 

 8 rabbits), none became tuberculous. 



We cannot but regard these differential experiments as showing a 

 danger to a healthy animal from the introduction into its food of 

 material taken from a tuberculous animal. 



Further, Dr. Martin made experiments, not only with feeding 

 material "derived from tuberculous animals," but with material 

 containing tuberculous matter, recognized as such, and purposely 



