122 RURAL VETERINARY SECRETS 



are not tuberculous, but which show an elevation of temperature as 

 a result of (1) advanced pregnancy; (2) the excitement of oestrum; 

 (3j concurrent diseases, as inflammation of the lungs, intestines, 

 uterus, udder, or other parts, abortion, retention of afterbirth, in- 

 digestion, etc ; (4) inclosure in a hot, stuffy stable, especially in 

 summer, or exposure to cold drafts or rains; or (5) any change in 

 the method of feeding, watering, or stabling of the animal during 

 the test. 



Notwithstandnig all these possibilities of error, the results of 

 thousands of tests show that in less than 3 per cent of the cases 

 tested do these failures actually occur. In the first class, the chances 

 of error are decidedly reduced by the skilled veterinarian by making 

 careful physical examination and diagnosing these advanced cases, 

 and by the injection of double or triple doses into all recently tested 

 cattle, with the taking of the "after" temperatures beginning two 

 hours following the injection and continuing hourly for twenty 

 hours. The second class : Errors are avoided by eliminating those 

 cases from the test that are nearing parturition or are in heat, or 

 show evidence of the previously mentioned diseases, or exhibit tem- 

 peratures sufficiently high to make them unreliable for use as nor- 

 mal. Then, in reading "after" temperatures it is advisable not to 

 recognize as a reaction an elevation of temperatures less than 2° F., 

 or one which at the same time does not go above 103.8° F., and the 

 temperatures reaction must likewise have the characteristic rainbow 

 curve. (Those cases which approximate, but do not reach this 

 standard should be considered as suspicious and held for a retest 

 six weeks later.) In addition, a satisfactory tuberculin must be 

 used, also an accurate thermometer and a reliable syringe in order 

 that a sufficient dose of tuberculin may be given. Finally, the num- 

 ber of apparent errors or the tuberculm test will be greatly dimin- 

 ished if a careful post mortem examination is made, giving especial 

 attention to the lymph glands. 



This low percentage of failures being the case, cattle owners 

 should welcome the tuberculin test, not only for their own interest, 

 but for the welfare of the public as 'well. Where this method of 

 diagnosing the disease has been adopted, tuberculosis is gradually 

 being eradicated, while it is spreading rapidly and becoming widely 

 disseminated in those districts where the tuberculin test has not 

 been employed. Without its use the disease cannot be controlled 

 and the cattle owner is confronted with serious and continuous 

 losses; with its use the disease can be eradicated from the herd; a 

 clean herd established and the danger of its spread to man removed. 

 Tuberculin may, therefore, be considered a most beneficial discov- 

 ery for the stock raiser. Strange to say, many of these men have 



