Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-07-31
The Tuberculin Test.

| HAMMOND, Agrlcultural Euitor Oxroru Den
ocrat. Paris, Ne.
The Tuberculin Test.
EAST WATERFORD, MAINE, July 10, 1906
agricultural Editor Democrat.
"What do you think of the tuberculil
test?" | am asked by almost every maj
| meet since / have had my herd testet
and found nine out of thirteen diseased
| answer by first telling what did thinl
before had them tested. / thought /
nonsense, unjust and uncalled for, saw,
for the purpose of giving the veterina
rians, cattle commissioners and Others
some work to do and make high pay, S,
that they might live in luxury on Easy
Street, the greater part of the time do
ing nothing.
do not mean to say | thought there
was no such disease as tuberculosis, bu
did think that IL COW needed to bt
killed, an intelligent farmer would know
it without the test. had cow which
| bought twelve years ago which acted
wrong. In short time after / got hel
she began to run down and cough
which led me to think her diseased.
notified DR.. Bailey, who sent Com
missioner Daggett to investigate, and he
killed her on sight. Since that time
had seen no signs of disease of any kind
in my herd.
am patron of the Portland Cream
cry Co., and was approached by the col
lector, A. b. Farnum, one morning, with
an offer of two cents pound more fol
butter fat if would have my cows test
ed, and if | would not have them tested
| would get the market price as usual
Regarded this as a business proposition,
and being confident that every animal in
my herd was perfectly free from tuber-
culosis, l decided to have them tested,
which was done by G. w. Purcell OF
Biddeford. He found nine out of thir-
teen diseased, greatly to my disappoint,
ment.
Cattle Commissioner Deering of Saco
was notified at once, and arrived Mon
day, July 9th, and then ! found out
what could be done. l could keep the
cows if chose to, but could put no
product on the market in cream, milk or
butt neither could l sell one, under
the penalty in such cases. The cows
were simply quarantined at my expense.
All could say was, "Kill them, as they
are no good to me now. You have stop
ped my income, and the sooner they are
off my hands the better"
The killing began Monday afternoon,
much to my dissatisfaction, as in the
first one killed, as far as could be seen,
there were no signs of tuberculosis in
~ Tho oacnnA Eillad W. q
owned by my neighbor, Fred Knightly,
of whose twelve cows five had been
found diseased. This one was found
badly diseased when examined. And so
the killing went on. The fourteen cows
were killed and examined, and eleven of
them were found SO badly diseased that
it was plainly to be seen.
Finding so many in such terrible con-
dition, | have come to the conclusion
that the tuberculin did its work
finding the disease upon
which to react. Although invisible to
the eye, at some time in the future it
might have become as plain to be seen
as in any of them. There were three OF
mine that in my opinion would have
shown symptoms of the disease within a
year if they had lived that long, and |
believe the others less diseased had
taken it from those three or four.
Yes. | have radically changed my
mind in regard to the tuberculin test. |
can say am satisfied that it has been a
benefit to me, and would have been
more had used it sooner, when only
one or two might have been found
diseased. can only say that l didn't
know, but | know now, and have paid for
that we are not sure our cows
are free from tuberculosis without the
test. Mine were apparently healthy and
in good condition, my income from them
fifty dollars per month for the
past year. Does that indicate diseased
cows?
Yes, this is what l have got for my
cream, produced from handsome herd
of grade Jersey cows. The Portland
Creamery Co. has undoubtedly put this
on the market as sweet cream, as in
tend that every pound of my cream shall
be kept in condition to reach the cream
cry perfectly sweet, and l have heard no
complaint.
| can not afford and will not in the
future keep cow iu my possession that
will react under the tuberculin test.
IL any one could have told me and
the condition they were before they were
tested, and said that must keep them
and sell the cream, and use it in my
family, as | have done, ignorant of their
condition-and had offered me $4,000
TO do SO, it would have been no tempta-
ton to me.
Now YOU know what | think of the
tuberculin test, and think it right that
the board of health in every city through
out the world should prohibit the sale
of milk from uutested cows. And
hope the time is not far distant when it
will be made universal that according to
law every cow giving milk will have to
be tested often enough so that man
won't have to lose his whole herd as |
have.
thank the board of health of the city
of Portland, who indirectly are causing
the farmers to have their cows tested,
and also DIR. Purcell, who did the work
here, and Commissioner Deering, who
showed 4 great interest in explaining to
me the condition of affairs in connec-
tion with my case.
am no newspaper reporter and ask
nothing for this letter, but thinking it
may be of some good to the public,
give it to be published. There have
been about 200 cows tested already in
this vicinity, and eighteen, according to
the test, were found diseased. AS far
as know, the farmers are in favor of
the tuberculin test.
p. III. HOWE.