102 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



I have been informed by medical men that a tuberculous 

 man, where the disease is generalized will consume as much food 

 as four or five hard-working men. I am informed that such a 

 man must do this in order to keep his weight; if he does not, he 

 breaks down at once and soon dies. If this is true in man, then 

 it must be true in the cow. If it is true, it will probably account 

 for the reason that many dairy cows do not pay for their keep. 

 I should like to have experiments carried on along these lines, 

 because they certainly would be of great value from an economic 

 standpoint. 



I am asked to exterminate tuberculosis and to do it quickly. 

 I am asked to do this without law or money. People do not un- 

 derstand what they ask, for before we can accomplish much we 

 must have laws and money. Other states have laws which pre- 

 vent cattle for breeding purposes and dairy purposes from com- 

 ing within their borders unless they are free from tuberculosis. 



Minneapolis will not receive milk, butter or cheese, unless 

 from cows which have passed the tuberculin test. The owners 

 of such stock must have the test in order to enjoy the markets of 

 such cities and states. They have tried miscellaneous testing 

 and have found that proposition ridiculous. They have learned 

 that if there is not proper disposition made of the reactors, and 

 if their premises are not properly disinfected, the work is abso- 

 lutely worthless. Again, if the Illinois dairyman should have his 

 cattle tested properly, and the proper disposition made of all 

 diseased ones, and if then he is determined to keep his cattle 

 healthy, can he do it? I say no. He is confronted by the fact 

 that Illinois is the dumping ground for diseased animals, and 

 when he desires to replenish his herd, and goes into the open 

 market, he is very likely to get some of Wisconsin's reactors, or 

 reactors that have been sold by some other farmers. If such 

 reacting cows had been tested recently, they would not again 

 react until three or four months after the first test with tuber- 

 culin. It would be useless to buy them subject to the test. Is 

 there any encouragement for such a man to sacrifice his herd 

 or a portion of it, when there is no hope of keeping his stock 

 healthy ? 



