546 
JOHN M. PARKER. 
Ill Massachusetts during the year 1895 there were 1549 
cattle tested by private request, representing 109 entire herds. 
Of this number 433 or 27.95 cent, were condemned. In 1896 
there were 2021 cows tested by private request, representing 281 
entire herds ; of this number 1098 or 54.32 per cent, were con¬ 
demned. This year up to July full returns had been received 
from 1810 cows, representing 153 entire herds ; of this number 
911 or 52.54 per cent, were condemned. This percentage in¬ 
cludes 4 herds recently cleaned up in the western part of the 
State. These four herds include 96 animals, only 3 reacting, 
making a percentage of 3.1. It will be interesting to see how 
these tests stand a year from now. 
This work is different from the work of the local inspection, 
in that the inspectors only pick out such animals as show some 
physical evidence of disease, while this work represents the 
testing of entire herds scattered at haphazard over the Common¬ 
wealth. If this is taken, then, as any sort of guide to the num¬ 
ber of diseased cows in the State, then there are roughly over 
half of the milk cows in the State that would react to tuberculin. 
During the present year the average price actually paid for 
cattle condemned for tuberculosis has been $35.80 per animal* 
The number of meat cattle over one year old assessed in the 
Commonwealth in 1896, was 212,601, and probably about 17-20 
of these were milk cows. It does not require much calculation 
then to find out that if all cows were tested and all those react¬ 
ing were killed off, it would cost the State about three and one- 
half million dollars to pay for the cows killed, not to mention 
the cost of the executive portion of the work. The authorities 
in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have placed themselves on rec¬ 
ord as being of the opinion that from the enormous cost of the 
work the testing of every cow in their various districts is im¬ 
practical. Massachusetts is of the same opinion. She believes 
that the danger to man from bovine tuberculosis can be lessened 
by the adoption of broader methods in control work. For 
example, I believe that the entire work would be benefitted 
both as to expedition and thoroughness if the State was divided 
