CHAPTER XIII. 



TUBERCULOSIS. 



Tuberculosis is one of the most widely- 

 spread contagious diseases of any of the do- 

 mestic animals and this is very forcibly 

 brought to mind from the large number of 

 carcasses and parts of carcasses that are con- 

 demned each year at the different abattoirs. 

 The percentage of tuberculosis is much greater 

 in dairy cattle than it is in beef cattle and 

 this can be explained in this way. Dairy cows 

 have the added work of producing milk and 

 in addition to this they must furnish nourish- 

 ment during several months of the year for 

 the unborn young which is developing. This 

 would necessarily lower the resistance of the 

 dairy cow much more than that of the beef 

 animal. The loss in the United States in a 

 single year amounts to many millions of dol- 

 lars, but the greatest factor to be thought of 

 is the fact that it can be and is transmitted 

 to human beings. The percentage of tubercu- 

 losis among milk cows will be about ten per 



cent. 



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