PREVENTION OF TUBERCULOSIS 339 



means of impressing the farmer with the infectious nature 

 of the condition it would, however, be sometimes very 

 useful. 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries issued a Tubercu- 

 losis Order with an explanatory letter in 1909, to come into 

 force January 1, 1910. This Order was withdrawn owing 

 to the Milk Bill not being placed upon the Statute Book. 

 This Order is not, therefore, and has never been, in force, but it 

 is printed in the Appendix since it indicates the direction of 

 probable future legislation. 



To prevent the dangers of tuberculous milk the essential 

 step would appear to be to help and encourage the farmer to 

 eradicate tuberculosis from his herd. The farmer will not, 

 indeed frequently cannot, do this without State aid. Such aid 

 should be in the direction of free tuberculin and free veterinary 

 assistance. The writer is in agreement with Eastwood that 

 such assistance should not take the form of compensation for 

 cattle slaughtered as suffering from udder or advanced 

 tuberculosis. All such animals should certainly be slaughtered. 

 It might be reasonable and probably would be politic, if any 

 general scheme of prevention is inaugurated, to pay compensa- 

 tion for such animals for perhaps the first two or three years ; 

 but after that, if any cows with advanced tuberculosis are 

 found in cowsheds the owners should be fined. Any com- 

 pensation should be paid out of imperial rather than 

 local funds, otherwise the urban districts do not pay their 

 share. 



It would be a decided advantage if at least a few farms 

 supplying milk from non-tuberculous cows could be obtained 

 for each large urban area. The consumer should be educated 

 up to the appreciation of the value of such a supply, and be 

 prepared to pay a little more for such milk. This would 

 both encourage the farmer and stimulate others to go and do 

 likewise. 



Quite recently a valuable and authoritative report in 

 America has been issued upon the control of bovine tuber- 

 culosis. The American Veterinary Medical Association, 

 at its meeting in Chicago in September 1909, appointed 

 what they called the International Commission on the 

 Control of Bovine Tuberculosis. The following is the 



