138 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



terrible retribution. It is a well-known fact that 

 the disease is comparatively rare among cattle kept 

 in the open air, as, for example, in Jersey and Fin- 

 land.'' The cattle in both these places are almost 

 wholly exempt from the disease. That this exemp- 

 tion is not due to any inbred immunity is seen from 

 the fact that they are just as susceptible as any 

 others when brought within the area of infection, 

 and placed under the conditions which prevail where 

 the disease is common." As Oliver Wendell Holmes 

 says : — 



" God lent his creatures light and air, 

 And waters open to the skies ; 

 Man locks him in a stifling lair 

 And wonders why his brother dies." 



It is probable, also, that a certain number of cases 

 are due to the infection of calves by ingestion, through 

 being fed upon tuberculous milk. At least, the 

 Royal Commission of 1895 came to that conclusion 

 and recommended that all milk should be boiled 

 before being given to calves.'^ Finally, it has been 

 suggested by a writer in the New York Times,^^ that 

 one important factor in the production of tubercu- 

 losis among dairy cattle is the breeding of young 

 and immature animals. It is common to permit 

 early breeding, the average age at first breeding 

 being from two to two and a half years, whereas it 

 ought not to be permitted before the cow is fully 



