ELIMINATION BETTER THAN SLAUGHTER 305 



the test, even after twelve months, diseased animals 

 may show no re-action, though it seems probable that 

 the majority show a repeated re-action even after a 

 short interval. " Intentional deception," says Mr Bang, 

 "could therefore be practised to no great extent, and 

 the cautious cattle buyer could hold his newly purchased 

 animals apart from the healthy ones until an additional 

 test has been made." 



The use of tuberculin is also, in his opinion, practically 

 without risk. 



The test cannot be treated as legal proof, or as 

 infallible, but it is " an excellent means for recognising 

 tuberculosis." 



As to remedies, Professor Bang condemns compulsory 

 slaughter as proposed in France, and unsuccessfully 

 attempted to be carried out in some of the United 

 States. The number of animals showing disease is too 

 great. The cost to the community, or the loss to the 

 stock owner would be too heavy. 



The Danish policy is to test the whole herd, to 

 separate the healthy from the unhealthy, to kill only 

 the evidently sick animals, to rear on sterilised milk 

 the calves of the re-acting cows which are only slightly 

 attacked, carefully withdrawing them from any chance 

 of infection, and to test the healthy section of the herd 

 once or twice yearly. 



It seems to be established that, except where the 

 parents are seriously affected with general tuberculosis, 

 pervading the blood and principal organs, the calves 

 are usually born healthy, and acquire the disease almost 

 entirely by infection. 



Co-operative dairies, otherwise of immense help to 

 agriculturists involve the risk of disseminating germs 

 of disease, unless the skim milk handed back to the 

 farmers for the use of calves is sterilised by sufficient 

 heating. - 



Mr Bang says : — " On farms where this method has 

 been used collected evidence shows that all the calves 

 were healthy, even where tuberculosis had widely spread 

 among the grown animals." 



U 



