64 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
that they alone can get rid of the disease after it is once in 
the herd. 
When the question comes to each farmer as to the proper 
method to be pursued on his farm there must, of course, be left 
much room for individual conditions. The isolation method 
adopted by Prof. Bang is evidently adapted to a large herd, 
but not toa small one. Ifa farmer has half a dozen cows, one 
of which is tuberculous, it is manifestly an absurdity to adopt 
the isolation method for the one cow. It would be much 
cheaper to slaughter the animal outright. Thus in all cases 
the farmer must choose the most feasible method for his condi- 
tions. But he must remember that the only method by which 
he can preserve his herd is not to allow any animal that reacts 
to tuberculin to associate with his perfectly sound animals. If 
he has such reacting animals in his herd, whether the herd be 
large or small, he must suffer loss, and he must himself decide 
whether he chooses the loss from immediate slaughter, or the 
slight expense of isolation, or the greater and more lasting 
expense of the spread of the disease through his herd from the 
reacting animal as a starting point. 
The practical difficulty in the way of eradicating tubercu- 
losis by this simple method is in the lack of interest on the part 
of the farmer. While some of our agricultural communities 
have become quite agitated over the matter, the great bulk of 
farmers are not interested in it and have no desire to do any- 
thing in the matter. They do not want any legislation, nor do 
they want any extension of the tuberculin test. They do not 
appreciate the gravity of the matter to themselves; they do 
not feel that the disease is threatening agriculture, especially 
if it has not happened to attack their herd. As long as such 
lack of interest is found among our agricultural communities 
it is hardly possible to hope for any successful combat against 
this serious menace. For that purpose, probably the most 
important thing that can be done at the present time is to 
edueate our farmers as to the condition of things. If the 
farmer can be brought to understand thoroughly that this 
disease is one that threatens him, that it is increasing in our 
midst, that it means a great financial loss to hem, that it is 
bidding fair seriously to injure the dairy industry —if the 
farmer can once be brought to understand thoroughly these 
facts which have now become sadly demonstrated in the agri- 
cultural communities of Europe, then he will be ready to accept 
the simple methods of combating the disease which are being 
