398 BOARD OF AGEICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



While the commission, by destroying tuberculous animals, 

 are removing the sources of contagion, and thus to a greater 

 or less extent removing the dangers of causing consumption 

 among human beings, from the very fiict that this same disease 

 exists in human beings, where the same methods cannot be pur- 

 sued, no system for eradicating the disease can be perfect 

 unless the other element in producing this disease is also con- 

 sidered and dealt with ; that is, not only should the animals 

 which are aiHicted with this disease be destroyed, but methods 

 should be adopted which shall reduce to a minimum the number 

 of animals which are in the receptive condition. 



Experience has shown that sound, healthy cattle may l)e in 

 the presence of the germ without contracting the disease ; 

 whereas other animals, subjected to the same conditions and 

 presumably not subjected to any greater amount of this conta- 

 gious principle, have become well-marked cases of tuberculosis. 

 The reason for this is plain that it is due to the condition of the 

 animal exposed to the contagion. If, therefore, greater care is 

 taken to preserve the general vigor of neat stock, it will have a 

 very material effect upon the percentage of tuberculous animals 

 throughout the Commonwealth. It must be remembered in 

 this connection that, scientifically speaking, tuberculosis or 

 consumption is, except in possibly extremely rare cases, not 

 directly inherited. Theoretically speaking, therefore, every 

 animal which is born, if the conditions are otherwise equal, is 

 given an equal opportunity of escaping this disease ; but the 

 great difficulty with this is, that if the calves are born from 

 tuberculous parents two conditions are apt to be present : first, 

 that their orijanisms lack visfor, because the constitution of the 

 parents has been sapped by the presence of this disease in 

 them ; and, second, because from the moment of their birth, 

 when weak, not only from their inherited condition, but from 

 the mere fact of their tender age, they are exposed to the 

 influence of the contagious germs present in the body of the 

 mother ; hence it is that such a large number of cases of tuber- 

 culosis are apparently inherited, and hence the danger of 

 breeding: from tuberculous stock. 



Another large class of tuberculous patients comes from the 

 treatment of animals in dairies, due to not observing proper sani- 

 tary arrangements ; not taking sufficient care as to the quality 



