No. 123.] DAIl^YIXG AND ANIMAL TirSBANDRY. 27 



tion work. These States have 11,545 fully accredited herds 

 with 266,973 cattle, and 96,585 herds containing 1,049,344 

 cattle have passed one clean test. 



The most prominent feature of the Federal movement is the "Tuber- 

 culosis-free accredited herd" plan, upon which plan the movement largely 

 depends for its endorsement by the cattle-owning public. Under this plan 

 certain indemnit}'' is paid foT reacting cattle which are slaughtered, the 

 o\\Tiers of which have submitted their herds for official tests applied under 

 Federal or State supervision. This payment of indemnity, however, is 

 contingent upon a like indemnity being paid by the State wherein the 

 cattle are owned. Under existing Massachusetts law, indemnity can be 

 paid by the Commonwealth only for cattle which are condemned by 

 Division of Animal Industry officials, such condemnation to occur as a 

 result of physical examination, the use of tuberculin as a diagnostic agent 

 being in most cases prohibited. As the majority of cattle reacting to a 

 tuberculin test are not cases that can be readily condemned by physical 

 examination, indemnity for such reactors cannot be paid by the State, 

 and for that reason alone no Federal indemnity is available. The Massa- 

 chusetts cattle owTier, therefore, who desires to eradicate tuberculosis from 

 his herd by slaughter of the reactors to an official test, finds himself denied 

 both State and Federal indemnity as partial reimbursement for his losses, 

 and consequently the work of eradication by the "tuberculosis-free ac- 

 credited herd" plan has not progressed in this State to the extent it has in 

 most other States of the Union, or to the extent it would if Massachusetts 

 laws were more favorable to its progress. 



Unaided by State or Federal funds 41 Massachusetts herds, 

 with 1,436 cattle, have become accredited. There are many 

 cattle owners who are eager to take up this voluntary eradica- 

 tion work as soon as the State of Massachusetts makes it pos- 

 sible to secure a portion of the Federal appropriation. 



The near-by States are doing an increasing amount of the 

 eradication work, which is drawing buyers of cattle to them 

 for tuberculosis-free cattle. Dairymen are eagerly looking for 

 the time when they may have the opportunity of beginning 

 bovine tuberculosis eradication through encouragement from 

 the State and Federal governments. 



Poultry Situatiox. 



Present Poultry Population. — According to the 1920 United 

 States census report there was a decrease in poultry and eggs 

 in Massachusetts from 1909 to 1919. Following are the census 

 figures for these two years : — 



