No. 4.] REPORT OF CATTLE BUREAU. 283 



local inspectors shall be killed, where the public good re- 

 (jiiires it, without appraisal or })a} lucnt ; or else more money 

 should be ai)proi)riatc'd. A cow so badly diseased with 

 tuberculosis as to be a menace to the public health or a 

 source of danger to other cattle is in reality a worthless 

 piece of prt)i)orty ; and there seems to be no more reason 

 for paj^ing for such an animal than there is for paying for a 

 horse Avith glanders, for which the owner receives nothing 

 when it is killed under the provisions of the sanitary laws 

 of the State. 



While the present law remains in force, the larger part of 

 the appropriations of the Cattle Bureau will be recjuired to 

 pay for tuberculous cattle quarantined by the local inspec- 

 tors, and to emplo^^ agents to examine, appraise and kill 

 them, leaving only a small part of the appropriations for 

 doing other Avork. The only other way in which to make 

 more headway and do any permanent work under the present 

 requirements would be to have appropriations sufficiently 

 large to take care of all the bad cases of bovine tuberculosis, 

 and leave a large enough margin with which to properly 

 carry out the other duties required of the Cattle Bureau. 



While it is a partial protection to the health of milk and 

 meat consumers to kill badly diseased animals within the 

 limits of the State, yet it does not afford any protection to 

 those using milk from herds in adjoining States, many of 

 which are kept in localities where bovine tuberculosis may 

 prevail as extensively as it does in Massachusetts. 



A remedy for this might be to license all milk producers 

 furnishing a public milk supply to people in this State, 

 whether the farms were in Massachusetts or elsewhere ; and 

 to refuse licenses to all persons who did not comply with 

 proper requirements for the health of their herds and the 

 cleanliness and sanitar}" condition of their surroundings. 



Whatever course may be pursued in the future, it seems 

 best to continue the requirement of a tuberculin test on all 

 cattle brought into this State for dairy or breeding purposes 

 from other States ; as a continual su})ply of healthy cattle 

 from outside Avill tend to diminish the prevalence of the 

 disease in this Commonwealth, and give those who realize 



