Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-29
FARM AND FIELD.
Science and Texas Where the Beef
Eater Of the Future VIII Look
for His Supplies.
The Hog Question DISGUISE d-New Use for
Old Tin Cans-The Credit system-Put-
ting Up Show Fruits.
science ana Texas.


cattle prove heir referred TO Texas in some
way or other, particularly at the North,
as ''Texas fever, '''' Texas murrian, -
and the like, but of late science has been
playing the wild with that notion, by
showing that there are really fewer dis
eases affecting the Texas cattle than
there are affecting the cattle of any
other section in all North America. The
diseases of cattle made out as peculiar to
Texas have been shown, by scientific in
vestigation, TO be common everywhere
and science has gone even further than
this TO the showing that there are other
and far more serious bovine diseases in
other portions of our common country
that are not known in the Lone Star
state at all.
As most conspicuous among these last
stands tuberculosis or consumption. Not
long ago the Massachusetts board of
health sprung a grand sensation by re-
porting, in substance, that Northern
cattle were largely subject to this dis
ease, and that the use of milk or beef of
cattle SO affected communica ted the dis
u
tanned that tuberculosis was peculiarly
bovine disease, and that consumption in
the human family was. possibly, entirely
traceable to that origin. So profound
was the sensation that certain cattlemen
in Massachusetts made arrangements for
beginning suit against the board of
health for damages. This, of course,
Elted to further scientific investigations.
DR.. Austin Peters. one of the most
thorough scientific veterinarians in
America, was placed in charge of the in
vestigation, and be laid his work on an
extensive herd at Medford, Mass, be-
longing to Mr.. Lane. His report has
been published in late issue OF the Mas
sachusetts Ploughman, and an an edito-
rial prefacing the report the editor of
the Ploughman says: 1.-The attention
of our readers Is called to the very i'm
portant statement elsewhere of DR..
Austin Peters upon the condition
of a herd of tuberculous
cows in Medford. Here is
case where, IN herd of thirty-one COWS,
stiaeemilk of which is daily sold for human
food, all of them except three show more
or less decided symptoms of tuberculosis;
and another herd of ten is mentioned at
birmingham where every one was in
fected. The important question for lis
to consider is how to arrest this evident
cause of disease. One-seventh of all
sthe deaths reported in this neighborhood
Fare caused by consumption; probably
considerable portion of these deaths
might be avoided by judiclous treatment
of tubercuious milk and beef: the ques-
ton for our veterinary surgeons and leg
sislators to answer is, how can this be
done?''
The editor of the Ploughman goes on
to state that ''the cattle commissioners
seem TO be acting with commendable
GOODNESS and prudence; they have au-
thority to order diseased cattle killed
when the disease is contagious, and thus
stamp out the cause of infection; but
ehere is a disease quite prevalent appa-
rrently, somewhat contagious also, but
the symptoms of which are not easily
recognized in the living animal, except
by an expert, and not always with GER
tainty till after death, even by an eX-
pert. -
The Ploughman editor further re-
marks that the killing or quarantining of
diseased and suspected animals is a very
expensive and troublesome operation,
and he can not see how anything can be
effected by it in this case. The only
remedy, in his opinion, TO prevent the
disease from being communicated from
the cattle TO mankind by eating tubercu-
lous beef, or using milk from tubercu-
lous cows. lies Ill the thorough cooking
of meat, and the scalding of milk for
fifteen minutes before using either as
food.' People who are using milk and
beef have the power OF immediate escape
from the danger and if they are alive to
the reality of the danger they will use it.
But the ignorant among the masses are
sure to slight this precRution to greater
or lesser extent, and therefore we would
suggest that "to protect large number
of ignorant and careless people who, in
spite of all the warnings that men of
science can utter, will continue to eat
half cooked beef steak and raw milk,
that the legislature should at
once provide for the inspection of all
beef cattle when killed and the condemn
ing of all tuberoulous beef to be de-
stroyed, or if used for human food at
all, to be used only i'll canning factories
where IL will be sure to be thoroughly
cooked. To avoid the danger from milk
all producers or dealers should be re-
CURED to scald their milk thoroughly be-
foie delivery to their customers, and the
VI 10 pAONiucu Will
funds TO enforce such law
Much of the report of DR.. Peters is
foreshadowed in the preceding 1t was
made to the consul for the purposed
prosecution He said he could really see
no plausible remedy so long as the tu-
berculcus beef or milk was used. Tu-
berculosis could be easily detected by
science, where existing in the animal,
but not otherwise until it had reached
the last stages. The disease was far
more prevalent shan lamen would sup
pose. He had, not long ago, examined
herd al Pennington, from which milk
was sold in Boston. and of the ten COWS
carefully and scientifically studied, the
entire lot was found to be more or less
infected. He had also examined cattle |
at Mattapan experiment station, in asso-
citation with Harold C. Ernest, A. NJ,
NJ. D., a noted Boston scientist, and
they together had found all the-co tu-
berculous (eighteen) save one, a cow
that had lately been brought from Rhode |
island. He had killed thirteen calves |
snd seven pigs which had been fed upon |
the milk of these cows for a period of |
from three to six months. Two pigs and |
six calves were tuberculous. Nine of |
the eighteen COWS had been killed and all |
proved TO be tuberculous. Tuberculous |
baoilli were found in the milk of six of |