512 THE CONTROL OF THE MILK SUPPLY 



The consensus of unprejudiced opinion is that it is harmless to 

 cattle, even when tubercle is present. 



The dose varies with the size and age. As issued by the 

 Department of Agriculture in Canada, it is ready for use, with 

 doses marked on the bottle, viz. : twenty drops for calves, forty for 

 small or medium-sized animals, sixty for larger, and eighty drops 

 for very large ones. 



When second tests are considered necessary, at least ninety days 

 should elapse, and the doses be slightly increased. Second tests, 

 however, are quite unreliable and often deceptive. 



How to deal with a diseased herd. — When tuberculosis is dis- 

 covered in a herd, immediately remove the diseased ones from the 

 healthy to an isolated stable, or a part of the byre may be parti- 

 tioned off by close boards as far as possible from the rest of the herd. 



In the case of low-priced cattle the owner will best serve his 

 own interests by slaughtering them at once. When they are 

 especially valuable and in calf, the experiments of Professor Bang 

 and others show that the calf may be saved by removing it as soon 

 as born, and before the cow has licked it, or it has been suckled 

 by its diseased mother. By placing it in an uninfected building 

 and feeding it on milk from tested cows it will, in all probability, 

 grow up free from tuberculosis. The herd should be tested every 

 six months, and those which react likewise removed till all trace 

 of it disappears.! 



Disinfection of premises. — Most careful and complete dis- 

 infection of buildings and yards in which diseased cattle have been 

 kept should be employed to rid them of disease germs. In doing 

 this, before sweeping, sprinkle the floors and walls thoroughly with 

 water to prevent dust rising, and remove drinking troughs, feed- 

 boxes, and stall divisions. The floors must be specially scrubbed, 

 the walls, ceilings, and partitions should be carefully washed, and 

 all freely sprayed with a disinfectant solution, such as carbolic acid 

 (one pint of crude acid to four gallons of water) or lime-wash. It 

 may be applied by a whitewash brush or a spraying pump, care 

 being taken to see that every corner, crack, and joint is thoroughly 

 penetrated by it. The cleansing and disinfection should extend to 

 drinking troughs and fences of the farmyard to make disinfection 

 complete. 



^ For a full discussion of this question see paper by Professor Sheridan 

 Del^pine entitled, " How can the Tuberculin Test be utilised for the stamping 

 out of Bovine Tuberculosis." — Trans. British Congress on Tuberculosis^ 1901, 

 vol ii., pp. 235-278. 



