404 
THE TUBERCULIN TEST IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
ofer to man or cattle, in the condition it was at the time of ex- 
am in at ion. 
Of the 150 cows examined, 134 were faintly tuberculous, or 
about 90 per cent. This indicates that about 75 per cent, of the 
bovine milking machines, tied to a chain six months, sometimes 
for twelve in a year, and forced “ for all there is in them ” to 
supply the demands of onr cities, must be tuberculous. 
The “ war cry ” that bovine tuberculosis is the chief, or even 
an essential, cause of human tuberculosis is, “ No bacilhis^ no 
tubercnlosisy That is one of those dangerous half-truths which 
are sometimes more misieading than serious errors. The whole 
truth is^ 110 constitutional predisposing zveaknesses^ no enervating 
manner of life^ proper ventilation and healthy exercise^—no tu- 
berculosis^ let the bacilli be present or not. 
A most important lesson to be derived from the 7 tubercu¬ 
lous cows which did not react is the practical impossibility of 
relying on the tuberculin test, even when combined with physi¬ 
cal examination, in the purchase of cows, that they will be free 
from the disease. The majority of those 7 cattle, while none 
were dangerous at the time of slaughter, would eventually de¬ 
velop general tuberculosis, and, if only one such be present, be¬ 
come the centre of infection for an otherwise free stable of cows 
so far as tuberculosis is concerned, as previously stated. 
The chief work for the State would and should be to place 
the sanitary care of all cow stables in the control of the Cattle 
Commission, and to have a quarterly revision of the cows by 
competent district veterinarians, and the stables kept up to a 
certain degree of cleanliness. All animals suspicions on physi¬ 
cal examination might, or should, then be treated according to 
a common-sense law. The method of quarantine, as I have seen 
it practised, is practically valueless, save in preventing the sale 
of animals. Suspected or tested animals have been left in the 
same stable with other cattle, taken care of by the same men, 
and their manure tracked all over the stable and premises, as of 
old. While not absolute as a test, as shown, still tuberculin is a 
valuable test, most especially to the breeder of fancy stock, and 
even the farmer should not neglect it if there is any possibility 
of raising his calves, or selling them to be raised. All react¬ 
ing ” animals should certainly be excluded from breeding. For 
all other purposes I do not consider tuberculin either a suffi¬ 
ciently reliable or necessary “ test,” when common-sense is ap¬ 
plied to the use of such animals as milk-producers or for flesh- 
consumption. 
