ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 15 
animals which are liable to be transmitted to man, as well as 
experimental enquiries concerning all hygienic matters from a 
biological aspect. The need for biological investigation is im- 
perative owing to the giant growth of bacteriology, and its ever 
increasing importance in public health, The control which the 
Board exercises over milk and meat supplies, diseased animals, 
noxious trades, etc., renders such investigations indispensable to 
the Department. The following brief notes indicate the nature 
of the principal investigations undertaken during 1895. 
Tuberculosis—It is the custom of the veterinary staff to submit 
specimens for examination where suspicion of tuberculosis exists, 
Milk from diseased udders of cows, portions of carcases of animals, 
etc., in which the signs of disease are indefinite, are subjected to 
rigid microscopical scrutiny. The demonstration of Bacillus tuber- 
culosis in such specimens is followed by seizure and destruction, 
and a source of infection for human beings is thus removed. 
In connection with the work on tuberculosis, a series of examina- 
tions has been made of cattle which to all outward appearances, 
were in perfect health. When slaughtered the carcases presented 
every appearance of prime marketable beef. Signs of disease were 
only to be found in the internal organs, and in every case examined 
the disease proved to be tuberculosis. The results of the examina- 
tions show the insidious nature of the disease in animals. It may 
be present for years without presenting any external evidences of 
its existence. Experiments with tuberculin as a diagnostic agent 
for tuberculosis in cattle were attended with satisfactory results, 
and the conclusion was arrived at that this substance is capable 
_ of rendering valuable aid in the detection of the disease. 
Anthrax.—The work on this subject has consisted of the ex- 
amination of specimens forwarded by stock inspectors from various 
parts of the Colony in which this disease is prevalent amongst 
sheep. Where the first cases in a flock are not distinctive, the 
microscopic demonstration of the bacillus of anthrax renders im- 
portant service in giving certainty of diagnosis and precision in 
efforts to check the disease. 
