534 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



submitted to microscopic examination, it "would not result in 

 the detection in all cases of the presence of the* germ. The 

 only other method of detecting the germ is by the inoculation 

 of the lower animals, such as guinea-pigs, with the suspected 

 meat or milk; but this is impracticable, for the reason that, be- 

 fore the result can be obtained, the meat or milk has long since 

 ceased to be wholesome. We must, therefore, if any steps are 

 to be taken, endeavor to prevent the contagious principle enter- 

 ing the meat or milk consumed by the public through the puri- 

 fication of it at the source of supply. 



The milk and meat supply of this State comes to us from 

 two sources, — that derived from animals located within the 

 Commonwealth and that derived from animals without its bor- 

 ders. The commission has no statistics at its command from 

 which it is able to determine the relative proportion of the 

 product from these two sources. So far as the meat product 

 is concerned, in the opinion of this commission and generally 

 of those who have given the matter a special study, while the 

 meat is a source of danger, it is not as important a source as 

 the milk. 



In the case of meat, a large proportion of that which comes 

 from without the State comes from laro;e slaughtering estab- 

 lishmcnts which are under the supervision of the inspectors 

 who work under the authority of the Bureau of Animal Indus- 

 try of the United States Department of Agriculture ;* and, so 

 far as it is derived from within this State, it is made subject to 

 examination by inspectors appointed by cities and towns ; so 

 that, regarding the product coming from our own licensed 

 slaughter houses, it may be fairly well relied upon as being 

 free from tuberculous taint. 



It should be stated that slaughter houses still exist, in por- 

 tions of the Commonwealth, which have failed to obtain the 



* In this connection, a remark made by the Secretary of Agriculture, in his recent 

 report to the President of the United States, is not without value for us. He says : 

 " Meat and animal inspection must become of great sanitary value to consumers at 

 home and to interstate and foreign commerce, provided State and municipal authorities 

 intelligently and diligently co-operate with those of the national government. If such 

 co-operation fails, then the people of the great killing centres become the consumers of 

 all rejected animals and meats. The protection of domestic health will be much 

 improved when each purchaser of meats demands and insists upon that which has 

 been governmentally inspected and certified." 



