1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
555 
TUBERCULOSIS IN CATTLE. 
The Truth About Milk and Meat. 
Danger From Birds. —The present tu¬ 
berculosis scare in Illinois has started 
again the question as to the danger in 
milk from tuberculous cows. Governor 
Tanner, of Illinois, would have absolute 
authority given the Live Stock Commis¬ 
sioners of that State, so that they may, 
if they see fit, slaughter any cattle which 
respond to the tuberculin test. In con¬ 
nection with this discussion, the point 
has been raised that other animals be¬ 
side cows are responsible for the spread 
of consumption. It is believed that cats, 
and, to a less extent dogs, carry the 
germs of both consumption and diph¬ 
theria. English authorities state that 
the consumption of fish is chiefly respon¬ 
sible for propagation of leprosy. It is 
also claimed that caged birds are an 
active cause of the spread of the germs 
of consumption. All birds, including 
domestic fowls, are afflicted with con¬ 
sumption. Caged birds, and especially 
parrots and canaries, are said to be 
especially dangerous. The practice of 
allowing caged birds to place their beaks 
in contact with the lips is risky and dan¬ 
gerous. Consumption is said to be very 
prevalent among parrots, and some phy¬ 
sicians go so far as to say that canaries 
especially, should never be kept con¬ 
stantly, in rooms where people eat their 
food. 
Danger Exaggerated. —As to the 
milk from tuberculous cows, it is safe 
to say that the danger has been greatly 
exaggerated. Prof. Conn, 01 Connecti¬ 
cut, has made a careful study of condi¬ 
tions as they exist in Europe. He says 
that, during the last 40 years, the 
amount of milK that has been consumed 
has been increasing, especially in the 
United States and England. At the 
same time, there has been an enormous 
increase in the amount of tuberculosis 
in cattle. This has gone so far that, in 
Denmark, probably half the cows are 
afflicted with consumption. During the 
last 10 years, European nations have 
adopted the habit of sterilizing their 
milk before drinking it. In England 
and the United States, it is still used 
raw. 
If it were true that consumption is 
carried to man in the cow’s milk, in 
view of the above facts, it ought to be 
tihie that consumption is increasing in 
the United States and England very 
much faster than in Europe, where the 
milk has been sterilized. Instead of this 
being the case, during the past 50 years, 
the proportion of consumptive patients 
has decreased, above 40 per cent, both in 
England* and America. The decrease 
on the Continent of Europe has been 
just about the same. The rapid decrease 
dates from about 1884, when it was first 
learned that tuberculosis is a bacterial 
disease, and is contagious. When these 
facts were learned, scientific men began 
to know how to control the disease, and 
it has decreased; but the decrease has 
been as great in the countries where raw 
milk is used as where the milk was ster¬ 
ilized. 
At the same time, the disease has in¬ 
creased steadily among cattle. It can¬ 
not be said that there is no danger to 
man in drinking tuberculous milk. In 
Europe, it is generally acknowledged 
that this danger is confined to infants. 
Under ordinary circumstances, there is 
practically no danger of an adult taking 
tuberculosis by the use of raw milk. 
Probably, if one were to take milk from 
a single cow where the disease is in the 
udder, there would be danger, but in 
mixed milk from a herd, the danger 
from this source is practically nothing. 
Dr. Conn said that, in the great majority 
of cases, the disease is taken into the 
system through the lungs; except in 
very rare cases, it is not the germs that 
pass into the stomach and intestines, 
that produce the disease. 
Meat Inspection.—I n Europe, he 
said, carcasses are carefully inspected, 
but not all of them are condemned, even 
when evidences of tuberculosis are 
found. It is rare, he says, that the 
germs are found in the muscles. The 
fact that the animal has tuberculosis 
does not affect its muscles in the slight¬ 
est degree. In an animal with a very de¬ 
cided case of consumption, the muscles 
may be perfectly healthy, and just as 
good food as those from an animal 
known to be healthy in all respects. The 
European inspectors destroy carcasses 
where the disease is scattered all 
through the body. In other carcasses 
where the germs are found in a few 
glands only, parts of the carcass are 
freely sold. Other carcasses are placed 
on the market in what is called the 
“free bank,” with the statement *hat it 
is the meat of tuberculous animals. In 
Germany, many such carcasses are 
sold at a reduced price. The meat is 
bought by the poor people, who prefer 
it on account of its cheapness, for they 
know that the heat of cooking will de¬ 
stroy the germs which it contains. 
The general opinion in Europe is that 
there is no need of condemning the en¬ 
tire carcass unless the germs are found 
all through it. In this country, the 
whole carcass is destroyed. The general 
opinion in Europe seems to be that this 
is a wasteful process, and Dr. Conn says 
that this country alone, so far as he 
knows, has adopted the rule of destroy¬ 
ing totally the flesh of all animals that 
have even the slightest suspicion of the 
disease. These are the facts, and there 
can be no disputing them. It would 
seem, therefore, that the outbreak in Il¬ 
linois against tuberculosis is too radi¬ 
cal; they are making too much of a 
scarecrow of the danger from tubercu¬ 
lous meat and milk. Both common 
sense and science are on the side of a 
more conservative way of dealing with 
the disease. 
AILING ANIMALS. 
ANSWERS RY DR. F. L. KII7BORNK. 
Corns on a Horse. 
What would you do to cure corns on a 
horse? a. s. b. 
New York. 
Cut out the corn to the quick, or until 
the blood comes, but preserve as far as 
possible the bar between the heel and 
frog. Then rasp down the bearing sur¬ 
face of that heel so as to relieve it of 
any pressure on the shoe. Apply a bar- 
shoe, after which dress the sole with 
hot tar. Repeat the hot-tar dressing 
two or three times a week. Keep the 
horse standing during the day in one or 
two inches of wet clay. At night re¬ 
move to a dry stall, dry the hoof and 
apply an ointment of equal parts of pine 
tar and vaseline melted together. If the 
horse is being used daily so that he can¬ 
not stand in the clay, pack the foot at 
night with wet moss or an old wet 
sponge, retaining it with a bandage 
around the hoof if necessary. In the 
morning, remove the packing, dry the 
hoof and apply the tar and vaseline 
ointment as oefore. 
Have the horse re-shod at least as 
often as every four weeks to avoid the 
pressure of the shoe on the affected 
quarter. At each shoeing cut away the 
corn, as long as any bruised or blood¬ 
stained horn remains. Two or three 
shoeings, followed by the treatment, 
should remove any ordinary corn. Deep- 
seated corns may require more time. 
After a corn is entirely removed avoid 
paring away the frog or cutting out the 
bars, “opening of the heels,” or weaken¬ 
ing the sole by undue paring, all of 
which favor bruises, contracted heels 
and corns. 
Hernia in Colt; Warts. 
1. I have a colt about three months old 
that is ruptured just back of the navel; the 
hole is about two Inches long and one-half 
inch wide. 1 tried to put a bandage on, 
but it is impossible to keep it in place. 
Can the rupture be cured? 2. I have a 
three-year-old horse that has a wart on his 
left fore foot, between the hoof and ankle, 
on the outside of leg. -I was advised to 
tie a string around the wart and apply 
castor oil, but that did not cut it off. I 
then put on a small rubber band; the warl 
came off, but it grew out again and is as 
large as over, about the size of a walnut. 
Missouri. h. n. m. 
1. Many cases of small ventral or 
umbilical hernia in young foals recover 
with little or no treatment, so as en¬ 
tirely to disappear by the time the colt 
is a year or two old. For the present 1 
would advise simply blistering with am¬ 
monia liniment (equal parts strong 
aqua ammonia and virgin olive oil wel’ 
shaken together). Rub the liniment 
freely over the swelling, and if not 
well blistered by the first application 
repeat in five or six days. It may b- 
necessary to repeat the blistering sev 
eral times at intervals of a month. I 
this fail to reduce the hernia, write 
again after three or four months for di 
rections for applying a pad or the damn 
I suspect the cause of your failure witl 
the bandage was that you used inelastic 
bands. Only elastic bands should b^ 
used, and if properly applied will retain 
the pad or bandage in position. 
2. Use the rubber band again, and as 
soon as the wart sloughs off, cauterize 
the surface with a stick of nitrate of sil¬ 
ver, after which apply the following 
ointment: Sulphate of zinc, two drams: 
lard, one ounce; mix. The cord would 
have been successful in sloughing off 
the wart if you had tightened it daily. 
VETERINARY BRIEFS. 
Foot Rot in Cow.—See “Foot Rot in a 
Cow,” page 523, of The R. N.-Y. of July 15. 
Foot rot in cattle is sometimes contagious; 
and especially if neglected it often proves 
contagious. For a cow that split her teat 
on barbed wire: After each milking rub 
the caked quarter with hot castor oil or 
hot lard, rubbing it vigorously for 15 
or 20 minutes. The cut, if moist, should 
be dusted after each milking with anti- 
septas or other antiseptic powder; if dry 
apply benzoated oxide of zinc ointment. 
Thick-winded Horse.— A horse had the 
distemper recently. Tt has left: him thick- 
winded when he draws or travels fast. 
The glands of his neck back of the jaw¬ 
bone, below t lie ear, are enlarged. Blister 
the enlarged glands with biniodide of mer¬ 
cury ointment (biniodide of mercury, two 
drams, vaseline one ounce, mix). Repeat 
two or three times, if necessary, at in¬ 
tervals of four or five weeks. 
Inflammation of Eye.—A horse has an 
eye that waters in sunlight and has a white 
film growing over it. There is inflamma¬ 
tion of the eye, probably due to some in¬ 
jury. Bathe the eye frequently with cold 
water. If the horse is used in the sunlight 
the eye should be covered with a wet cloth 
or sponge, attached to the bridle. To re¬ 
move the white film from the eye, touch 
the surface over daily with a solution of 
three grains nitrate of silver in an ounce 
of soft water, using a camel's-hair brush 
or a soft feather. The wash should be 
kept in the dark. 
Wanted —Farmer over 40 ; experienced 
salesman to assist locally; also Special 
man with horse on salary, wagon fur¬ 
nished. Address American Silo-Seed Co., 
Buffalo, N. Y. —Adv 
Cream Separators 
De Laval “Alpha " and ‘‘Baby ” Separators. 
First—Best—Cheapest. All 8tyles—81zes 
Prices, $50 to $800. 
Save 110 per cow per year. Send for Catalogue. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO., 
Randolph and Canal 8treets, I 74 Cortlandt Stree , 
CHICAGO 1 NEW YORK. 
CUTTERS, CARRIERS and POWERS. 
SMALLEY MFG. CO., Manitowoc. Wis. 
g* | 1 Are Filled 
JmP 23) Quickly and 
Economically with '‘New Hero" 
ENSILAGE CUTTERS 
BECAUSE THEY 
EXCELL 
in rapid 
work, 
strength, dur¬ 
ability and 
simplicity. 
Two gears only 
on the coin- 
plate cutter. 
Sizes to suit 
oil needs. STRONCEST GUARANTEED. 
SOMETHING NEW: OJMifiiJsEil 
desired angle, and can be changed from one angle 
to another without stopping cutter. New 160 page 
catalogue mailed FREE. Tells all ubout Hero 
Ensilage and Fodder Cutters, Corn Buskers 
Sweep and Tread Powers, Feed Mills, Goodhue, 
Wind Mills, Shellers, Peck’s Corn Thresher, etc. 
APPLETON MfG. GO. Batavia, ills. 
CORN FODDER 
is equal in feeding value toe— 
the best hay when prepared by • 
The Ross 
ENSILAGE MACHINERY. 
Cuts ensilage, corn fodder, 
hay, &c., for feed, and straw for 
billing and bedding. Send for 
free catalogue No. IS 
The E. W. Ross Co., Springfield, 0 
Top Price Butter. 
The kind that a fancy private 
trade demands, is colored with 
Thatcher's Orange Butter Color — 
the color that does not contain 
any poison. Send for a sample. 
THATCHER MFG. CO., Potsdam, N.Y. 
Cost a Little More, But! 
A Sharpies Farm 
Cream Separator may 
cost just a very little 
more than others, but it’s 
worth many times more. 
A $75 machine that lasts 
but a year is over seven 
times as dear as a $100 
machine that lasts teE 
years That is why we 
build the best farm separator that 
money and brains will produce. 
Send for Catalogue No. 25. 
The Sharpies Co , P. M. SHARPLES, 
Canal * Washington Sts., West Chester, Pa. 
CHICAGO. U. 8 A. 
Branches : 
Toledo, O. Omaha, Neb. 
Dubuque, la. San Francisco, Cal. 
Dairymen, Don't You Know 
That you are losing cream and doing work 
That might be saved if you were using the 
IMPROVED U. S. SEPARATOR 
It has been proved often that it not only 
SKIMS THE CLEANEST, 
but is the Easiest to Operate and Clean, therefore 
IS THE BEST TO BUY. 
Write for our free illustrated catalogues for full information. 
VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
