Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-08-17
DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR
OUR RURAL READERS.
How Successful Farmers Operate This
Department Of the Farm--A Few
Hints as to the Care of Live stock
and Poultry.
The Fight Against tuberculosis.

Inc rlght Against Tuberculosis.
]. H. Monrad, in an article in Coun-
try Gentleman, says:
We have had quite a little stir-up
in Illinois, and the daily papers of Chi
cago have had scare-headed articles
strong enough to prevent timid read
ers from touching milk again. unless
they can afford to buy Curriers' or Cor
don Walkers certified sanitary milk.
At VOLTS slaughtering-house a lot
Of cows were killed, having reacted to
the tuberculin test, and all found more
or less tuberculous. 1t is said these
At Kankakee 81 and at Lincoln % per
cent were found to be diseased, and
these figures were made the basis for
the Scare" Intelligent readers need
not be told that these percentages do
not represent the average condition
among our Illinois cows. and that a
guess Of even 20 per cent would be too
| high. 1t seems, however that the scare
has done some good, as 1t has aroused
an interest in the matter, so that even
Gov. Tanner acknowledged the need
or large appropriation and the neces-
| slty OF prohibiting the importation OF
| animals reacting to the test. Another
result is the formation of a society for
prevention of consumption, not only
| for medical men and veterinarians, but
| for anyone interested. According to
| the daily press, among the objects Of
the society will be urging appropria-
lions of $4,000, $50, 900 and 1000 dur
Ing three years, and empowering the
| livestock commission to test all cows
| without consent Of owners and to COM
| pensate them for those reacting and
killed; also to recommend a city Or
dinance for Chicago, providing veter-
| mary staff to inspect the dairy herds
supplying milk for the city.
We have in Illinois, in round num-
bers, one million milch cows, and even
II the testing does not exceed 10 cents
per head, it would cost 500, 900 to test
them all. But the fact is, that eradca-
ton Is not to be hoped for unless all
animals Qncluding cats and dogs) are
also tested and the reacting ones con-
demned, and this would more than
double the expense. Then, again, as
Stunning that 20 per cent of the cattle
reacted, the consumption fund would
have to be somewhere about five mil
lion dollars! Leaving out the difficulty
OF getting enough competent and re-
liable veterinarians without which the
| test becomes a delusion and a snare).
such a wholesale eradication is evil
IDENTIFY impracticable. How far would
100000, or even $25O,0O0, go in such a
campaign? The state of New York
and others have found that out, the re-
suit being the killing of valuable
breeding animals in testing a few herds
here and there, and nothing effective
being done.
Practical men Especially politicians
have found that life must be more or
less OF a compromise. Thus, in the
matter of tuberculous meat, even such
| authorities as DR.. Salmon is willing to
compromise, and allow cattle slightly
affected to go on the market The fact
is, that the danger is not nearly as
great as represented. When scientists
show that tuberculous milk injected
into animals gives them the disease.
we must remember that we do not take
our milk that way, and that millions of
germs pass our bodies without harm,
being eliminated in the excrements.
And if meat but slightly infected is
allowed because of its being cooked, it
is absurd to kill good milch COW, re-
acting to the test but otherwise
healthy, when we have the simple rem
edy of boiling the milk, or even heat
ing to 1856 degrees F., which is much
safer than with meat which, when
rare, has hardly been exposed to that
temperature. Surely there is no need
OF discarding this valuable drink (and
food) when the consumers have such a
simple safety guard at their disposal.
In England, Sweden and Germany, DR..
Bangs (of Denmark plan for fighting
tuberculosis in mich cows is gaining
favor, and the sooner we follow that
lead the better for all.
The present Danish law provides free
testing of the herds, the owners of
which agree to keep the reacting ami
mails separate, while those sick enough
for the veterinarians to discover with
out the test are killed. But 1t also
makes compulsory the pasteurization
Of all skim milk. and buttermilk, as
well as whey, returned from the cream
cries to the patrons, and the cremation
of the Shiny residue in the separators.
This is all. The Copenhagen Milk Sup
ply Company long ago voluntarily put
all the herds and stables Of their milk
shippers under veterinary inspection,
and the more that we can get done
voluntarily, the better 1t is for all. ..
American Live Stock Exhibits at Paris
The Washington correspondent OF
Farmers Review writes: The various
chiefs of the department of agricul-
| ture are getting down to work in
preparation for the agricultural ex-
hibits at the Paris Exposition. Word
has been received that the live stock
section will be restricted to the show
ing Of horses and poultry and that cat
tie will be shut out and the exhibits
confined to breeding animals. This is
exactly what the farmers of this coun-
| try will not want. 1t is not probable
that Americans would care IN take