The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-01-05


Eight COWS, a bull and two calves, were
condemned and destroyed at an appraisal
of 1895. The whole number tested was
about 200. 1t is y significant and lmper1-
ant fact bearing upon the amount OF
per centags- of tuberculosis in this staue,
chat out of the large number of 700 COWS
tested with tuberculin less than 20 AMI
mails were condemned and destroyed.
Another fact in connection with these
cases was that the major part Of the COWS
condemned were found in two berus
where some previous case had Deen
brought among them and allowed to
regain until they had "leavened the
whole lump"
| 1t is now IN accepted and unohallenged
fact that Maine has less tuberculosis
among her bovine population than any
other New England state, but unless tine
! same wRtchful care is exercised in the
| future, what We have will increase and
| furnish seed for an abundant harvest.
The com mission belivaves that the near
future will disclose the fact that no milk
| can be sold in open market in this state,
unless certified to by proper authorities
| that it is from tested herds and no man
will buy cow for his Gown use unless
| she has been tested. Eternal vigilance Is
| the price of health as well as liberty. All
| intelligent communities are awaking TO
the Importance of having their milk sup
ply free from the bacillus Of tn berculosis.
| This is not case Of dollars and cents, it
is o case of life and death. Thers ia now
a conoensus of opinion among the best
authorities, that tuberculin is the surest
and about the only reliable test yet dis.
covered to decide those earlier stages OF
the disease which are almost impossi Bile
to discover by the most expert physical
examination such az we have always had
to rely upon In the past
| In cpyara1 cpcaa tha mast SAHS0n several
herds have beeE tested at the states sx-
psnse wherever we could make out even
a single case of tuberculosis by physical
examination; SO as to make sure there
were no animals lef behind that re-
CURED tuberculin tesSs to disclose their
diseased condition. In large herd OF
| Jerseys, where one cow was unmls6aKa-
| bly, diseased, we found two others that
could by no poss Utility have been made
| out except by the crucial test; and again
| in another large herd, the one originally
discovered proved to be the only one dis
eased, all the Others failing to react.
| Isolated cases are constantly coming TO
our notice, where it is known the animal
had recently been kept among large
herdssof COWS, which certainly ought to
be inspected and this proved to be the
4 case in thoroughbred bull condemned
at l4ivermore Falls r. in February last,
| that proved upon post mortem TO be
thoroughly diseased. In this case our at
tention was drawn to the fact that this
bull had been recently standing in
large herd, and upon inspecting the
whole herd three other cases were dis
covered and destroyed. If this policy is
4 to be pursued in the future, the demands
upon our board will be largely increased,
| as there are other cases now pending
where no doubt the same course should
be pursued, but can only be done at an
| xuhi ch tho EpraaQpE
preparation is entirely inadequate to al
low, but we prefer to state the.cold Efacts
| for thu consideration of the incoming leg
| isIative bodies, rather than to continue
| to urge upon them what We believe
prime necessities for financial support
| that has already been too long delayed.
While Massachusetts, has an annual APP
preparation Of $500, 900, Maine has but one
| sixtieBh part of this amount, and while 1t
| is now we'll known there is much
larger percentage of disease in the form
| er state, there is no such amount OF
| difference as the money appropriated
| would ind icate.
Massachusetts, appropriated $3.50. 600 In
'94; $3.50, 900 in '95; and $500, 600 in '96.
Under the head Eof "Anthraooid Aztec
ton, Charlton; among other things the
| report says: Under no circumstances
should the milk of animals suffering
from Anthracoid disease. be used as food
for man or other animals. The rarity
of this disease however in this state, rem
| ders the danger from milk OF infinitss1-
| NAL Importance as compared with Ghe
milk from tubercuioHs animals, and we
have had several casesathat developed the
wisdom of applying tuberculln teses
whers any valid suspicion attached to a
herd, whose whole product was being
| sold in open emarket A case in point
was found in one of the Old Orchard
| herds, in which eight out of IL animals
| were proven diseased. This herd was
tested by quust of the chairman OF the
long III mo his own supply from that herd
| Autopsy proved advanced stage OF dis
ease. 0utwardly they appeared in good
physical condition and yielded an aver
aye supply of milk. One of the Kittery
herds was approximately In the same
condition. These two were the only ones
| in which was found more than single
COW affected. These cases were among
Some six or eight other instances where
we discovered more than isolated cases.
1t is a significant fact, that in the his
tory of all Of these herds, the same fact
was disclosed, of tracing their exposure
to the disease TO some previous case
brought into them and allowed to re-
main till other cases developed. We
NAV fairly decide the small number
found diseased in these mich herds to be
much better indication of the true
percentage of tuberculosis to be found
in Maine, than the few herds discovered
at the close of the year, when we
consider that new animals were being
constantly brought into such herds to
keep up the supply of milk contracted
to be delivered, together with the fact
that many large herds, have also been
tested with tuberoulin, during the year.
in which not single case OF tubercu-
| losis has been discovered.
| The report closes by quoting from
newspaper accounts of direc5 evidences of
people becoming affected with tuEercu-
losis through the uss of diseased milk.
.our Newspaper for the Coming Year
The Portland Sunday Times may be
| ohtaincd il, connection With the PRESS