90 THE STATE AS FARMER 



not begin, at the abattoir. Killing is not only 

 a source of wholesome food : it is the final 

 touch given to the most scientific farming 

 in several directions. It eliminates the cow 

 that is disgraced in the milk records and the 

 worthless fowl detected by the trap nest : 

 in a separate department it stamps out the 

 tuberculous animal steadily, persistently, and 

 without considering the financial loss. It used 

 to be a systematic operation in Germany 

 to sterilise diseased meat and sell it to the 

 poor, and there was just a hint here and there 

 that such disgusting methods might be adopted 

 here. I think we stopped even the inclination 

 to do this thing, but if we were pressed for 

 food the idea might be broached again. It is, 

 therefore, of the very highest importance to 

 go unflinchingly through the campaign against 

 disease, sparing neither expense nor pains to 

 obtain a clean bill of health. The control 

 of the State in all the stages of the growth 

 of meat is, in my opinion, imperative, in 

 order that the highest skill and medical 

 guidance may be devoted to the prevention, 

 rather than to the condemnation, of disease. 

 Is it necessary to compare a series of 



