The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-05-16
FARM AND GARDEN.
tuberculosis.
WHAT A PRACTICAL NEW YORK FARMER
HAS TO SAY.


lengthy communication to the Jersey
Bulletin on the subject of tuberculosis,
which contains so much common sense
that we give it large space this week.
l notice a statement in The Jersey
Bulletin of March 2lst, as follows:
About 10000 cattle have been tested
for tuberculosis by the New York state
inspectors, during 1893, and CSC pro-
nounced diseased and slaughtered. That
is per cent"
This paragraph is misleading for the
reason that it does not state how the
cattle were tested There are two ways
of testing cattle for tuberculosis that
were practiced by our state inspectors
during 1898. One, called physical
examination" in which the history Of
the herd is considered, the surface
lymphatic glands examined, the breath
ing noted to detect lung rales, etc.
The other called "lymph test" in
which a small quantity of Koch's lymph
is hypodermically injected into the ami
NAL and its temperature taken at stated
times.
Tuberculosis has long been regarded
and before the discovery of Koch's
lymph it was impossible to get trust
worthy clinical diagnosis of the disease
in its incipient or glandular stage.
Medical authorities tell us that elastic
tissue or bacili in the sputa are the
only infallibe indications of the disease
in the human subject, and as these can
only be present in the secondary or
pulmonary stage of the disease, we can
readily see how difficult, in fact how
impossible it is, to get reliable dag
nosis of the disease in its incipient
stages in cattle. A practical illustra-
ton of this fact was given in the exam
ination of Vice-President Morton's
herd of some fifty animals. DR.. Faust,
very able veterinarian, examined the
herd physically and pronounced it free
from disease. He Immediately after
ward tested it with lymph and found
nineteen animals that were diseased.
l could give dozen similar cases that
have come under my own observation,
but the above will be sufficient to con-
vince any person of intelligence that
physical examination can only de-
tect the disease in its advanced or pull
monary stage. 1t follows then, that all
of the 10000 cattle that were so ex-
amined might have had the disease in
its glandular form. AT least the physi-
cal examination furnishes no evidence
to the contrary.
On the other hand, we see frightful
mortality in many herds from the raw
ages of this disease. Why?
The key to the whole situation is to
be found in a simple little experiment
made by the eminent DR.. Koch. Two
rabbits were inoculated with the bacillus
germs. One was confined in close,
damp, dark cellar, and developed and
died of the disease in very short time.
The other was given its liberty in the
sunshine and fresh air, and never suf-
fered from the disease.
There you have the whole story in a
nutshell. The tubercule germ is every
where. Consumptives have been
throwing them off in the sputa for CEN
turtles at the rate of 2,000,000,000 to
1900, 100000 germs daily for each con-
sumptive, to say nothing of the other
agencies which multiply and spread
them. There is no escape from them.
Mankind and animals are constantly
taking them into their systems, and the
white corpuscles of the blood are con-
stantly eradicating them. The same
person or animal may be affected with
the germs to-day, and in months
time or less be entirely free from them.
Occasionally, alas too often, person,
an animal or an entire herd, is sub
jected to conditions similar to those
given the rabbit in the cellar, and
nn
the other hand, the experiment shows
that no animal, otherwise healthy, ever
dies of tuberculosis so long as it receives
proper care.
am not aware that there is any re-
port showing the number of cattle that
were injected with lymph by our state
inspectors in 1898, but as near as can
learn from other sources, the number
so tested was less than 800. Assum-
ing this to be correct, it will be seen
that over 10 per cent, instead of 4
per cent of the cattle so tested were
found to be diseased and slaughtered.
This does not take into account the
cattle that were found to be diseased,
that are now held in quarantine, which
would increase the number to so per
cent. Taking all the conditions of
these tests into consideration, they
seem to show beyond all cavil that al
least one-fourth of all the cattle in the
state of New York are more or less
affected with tuberculosis. If this is
the condition in New York, why not in
the other states? Why not the world
over? This showing would be simply
appalling if we accept as true the popu
lar belief in regard to this disease, i. e.
that it is highly contagious, and always
terminates fatally in two or three years
We hear great deal about stamp
ing out" tuberculosis. Our state boarC
of health proposes to stamp it out by al
indiscriminate slaughter of all the cat
tie which are condemned by the lymph
test. But pray, what reason have VI
to believe that killing cattle will staml
it out, so long as 80 many othe
agencies are allowed to scatter count
less billions of the germs of the diseas,
broadcast? They may kill half the cat
tie in the state to-day, and in year
half the remainder will be affected, an
so on until the last animal is slaughtered
The effort to " stamp out tuberculosis
H. b;1l,pn, 10