492 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



killed as tuberculous; "that, whenever any cattle con- 

 demned as afflicted with the disease of tuberculosis are killed 

 under the provisions of this section, the full value thereof, 

 at the time of condemnation, not exceeding the sum of sixty 

 dollars for any one animal, shall be paid to the owner thereof 

 out of the treasury of the Commonwealth, if such animal has 

 been owned within the State six months continuously prior 

 to its being killed ; provided such person shall not have, 

 prior thereto, in the judgment of the Cattle Commissioners, 

 by wilful act or neglect, contributed to the spread of tuber- 

 culosis ; but such decision on the part of the commissioners 

 shall not deprive the owner of the right of arbitration as 

 hereinafter provided." (Section 45, chapter 491, Acts of 

 1894, as amended by section 10, chapter 496, Acts of 1895.) 



This is a very delicate question, and one requiring to be 

 handled with the greatest care. In many instances it is 

 found that from some localities certain names appear upon 

 our books more frequently than any other persons, seeming 

 as though special individuals found it profitable to buy 

 suspicious cows and sell them to the State at an advance on 

 the purchase price. 



Then, again, certain farmers last spring employed veter- 

 inarians to test cattle, with the idea, in many instances, of 

 selling unprofitable cows to the State, and using the money 

 to buy new ones that had not been over grained and milked 

 out, leading to passage of act to prevent owners receiving 

 compensation for cows, etc. 



No person having animals tested with tuberculin shall be entitled 

 to compensation from the treasury of the Commonwealth for any 

 animals that react to the tuberculin test, unless such testing be 

 done by the State Board of Cattle Commissioners, or their author- 

 ized agents acting as such at the time of the test ; and such test- 

 ing shall be subject to the supervision and control of the State 

 Board of Cattle Commissioners. 



Furthermore, local inspectors quarantine cows on suspicion 

 that show no physical evidence of disease, which react to 

 tuberculin, are killed and found to have some slight lesion. 

 The owner puts a new cow in place of the old one, that may 

 not be free from tuberculosis, or, if she is, may in six months 



