466 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



You are hereby requested to notify the Board what steps you 

 take toward disinfecting your barn, and the date that the work 

 was completed. Please pay particular attention to this last 

 request. 



Yours truly, 



Austin Peters, Chairman. 



John M. Parker, Secretary. 



Leander F. Herrick. 



Maurice O'Connell. 



C. A. Dennen. 



This was not thought to be sufficient, however, and on the 

 12tli of April an agent was appointed to visit these owners 

 and report on the condition of the barns. In the mean time, 

 because of the amount of private testing that was being 

 done, the Legislature took the matter up, and a committee 

 was appointed to investigate the condition of the cows con- 

 demned in certain herds in the neighborhood of Dracut and 

 Lowell. This committee made a special report to the Leg- 

 islature on the matter ; in their report the majority of the 

 committee recommended that "all testinor of cattle with 

 tuberculin, when compensation is expected, be limited to the 

 Cattle Commissioners or their authorized agents. The Board 

 of Cattle Commissioners have already expended more than 

 $160,000 of the total appropriation of $250,000 made earlier 

 in the session. If they are compelled to kill all reacting 

 animals and allow full compensation for the diseased cattle, 

 the remainder of the appropriation will soon be exhausted. 

 There will then be no money for the prosecution of the 

 regular work of the commission, or the slaughter of those 

 animals reported by the local inspectors as suspicious cases, 

 and which are really the most dangerous animals to the 

 health and comfort of the general public. The commission- 

 ers are not allowed to exceed their appropriation, hence all 

 their work must stop when their money gives out." 



As a result of this recommendation, the following law 

 was passed and approved June 10, 1897 : — 



[Chapter 499 of the Acts of 1897-] 

 Section 1. No person having animals tested with tuberculin 

 shall be entitled to compensation from the treasury of the Com- 

 monwealth for any animals that react to the tuberculin test, unless 



