AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. »'>M 



accounted for by her exposure to wet and cold, while her dam un- 

 housed every night. During the first part of October, before the 

 heifer was found sick in the pasture, we had two or three long 

 cold rains, and when the heifer was brought to the barn she was 

 evidently suffering from a severe cold that doubtless hastened her 

 decline. 



We are frequently asked if there is danger that we will have 

 more cases of the same kind. There can be but one answer to this 

 question. We are liable to at any time, and the same possibility 

 exists in relation to every herd of cattle in the State, though we 

 do not regard this danger as very serious. But in one respect^the 

 College herd has the advantage of most other herds in the State, 

 as these animals have been subjected to a rigid examination and 

 pronounced sound, while a similar examination of all the cattle in 

 the State would doubtless reveal some cases of tuberculosis that 

 are not even suspected at present. 



The idea seems to prevail that there is especial danger from 

 tuberculous cattle, and on that account extraordinary efforts should 

 be made to exterminate bovine tuberculosis. But the fact is we 

 have little reason to suppose that much progress will be "made in 

 suppressing consumption and kindred tuberculous diseases so long 

 as our efforts are confined to killing off diseased cattle.'* Indeed 

 if it were possible to go through this State and all states and 

 countries and kill all the cattle effected with any form of tuber- 

 culosis, but very little real progress would be made in stamping 

 out the disease. If the disease were confined to cattle, this would 

 be the very course to pursue. But this is only one of the meas- 

 ures to be adopted, and by no means the most important, in order 

 to make any real progress in ridding ourselves of this [deadly 

 disease. Great stress is laid upon the fact that diseased cattle 

 may convey tuberculosis to man ; while the more important fact 

 that consumptive men, by means of their sputum, which they 

 spread broadcast wherever they go, may, and doubtless do, give 

 tuberculosis to other men and cattle is often disregarded. Almost 

 no effort is made to limit the danger from this source, which is 

 regarded by the best informed as by far the most important means 

 for the spread of tuberculosis. 



In recent years great advance has been made in the knowledge 

 of the cause of tuberculosis and the means by which it is spread ; 

 but it seems to me that boards of health and physicians are slow 

 in putting this knowledge into practice in limiting the spread of 

 disease. Persons affected with scarlet fever are kept carefully 



