82 BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS AND OTHER CATTLE DISEASES. 



Fig. 12 shows such a card filled out with descriptive matter, 

 etc. The amount of sketching required is very small. The 

 color of the animal, together with some distinctive peculiarity, 

 may be all that is necessary to record for purposes of identifi- 

 cation. Mutilations of the ears or the character and location 

 of brands may be readily indicated by a stroke of the pencil. 

 The insertion of the temporary and permanent numbers on 

 both the card and the temperature blank makes it possible to 

 keep an accurate record of the test history of every cow in a 

 herd. Such cards are carefully filed for use in subsequent 

 inspection of the herd. For instance, when rules or ordi- 

 nances require the testing of all animals admitted to a herd, 

 the identification system gives the inspector full knowledge of 

 the facts. The presence of a condemned animal, minus the 

 ear-tag, could be proven by comparison of the markings of the 

 cow with the sketches. Moak has devised a .slight modification 

 of the identification card as shown in Fig. 13. He is enabled 

 to file away the tuberculin test record on the card, which is 

 a feature particularly useful when a few cows are tested at a 

 time. 



Disposal of tubercular animals. In some states it may be 

 possible for dairymen to take advantage of partial indemnifica- 

 tion offered by the state to the owners of condemned animals. 

 n the early days of effort to exterminate bovine tuberculosis, 



any states adopted a policy of at least partially indemnifying 

 the owner for losses sustained in destroying animals. This 

 method in general failed to accomplish permanent benefit, 

 because sufficient funds were not appropriated to make the 

 work as thorough as the circumstances demanded. The right 

 of an owner of a tubercular animal to demand indemnification 

 for the loss occasioned by its slaughter on the ground of the 

 benefit to the public health, seems to be an open question. 

 The principle certainly is not recognized when carcasses are 

 condemned in abattoirs nor is a man in quarantine for the pub- 

 lic good compensated therefor. The owner of a herd, in tol- 

 erating the existence of the disease, is quite as responsible for 

 the losses from it as is the public. The practice of indemnifica- 

 tion certainly facilitates work in combating tuberculosis. 



