Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-14

DR.. E. C. Schroeder.
After an experience Of sixteen years
with tuberculin and testing many thou
sands of both healthy and tuberculous
cattle, the Department OF Agriculture has
reached the conclusion that the tuber-
culin test is not only the only one which
may be relied on for determining the
presence of tuberculosis in dairy herd,
but that il is absolutely harmless to
healthy animals even in doses many
times the strength necessary to detect
the disease in infected subjects.
In view of the effort that is being made
by the Department of Agriculture to
clean up the dairy herds of the District a
report on the subject by DR.. +. c.
Schroeder of the Washington experiment
station, made to the Secretary of Agric.tl-
ture, is more than commonly timely and
interesting. DR. Schroeder calls attention
to the fact that the germ Of tuberculosis
Is well known and that every case Of tu-
berculosis, whether in human beings or
in cattle, has to spring from some pre-
vious case.
Must Be Parent Germ.
There are certain factors of darkness
and danpneEs that favor the growth of
the germ and prolohg it's life after 1t has
been thrown out from an animal body,
but the germ has to be there or there is
no case of tuberculosis. He says that 1t
Is just as futile to expect cornStalk TO
spring from barren and unseeded ground
as to look for a case of tuberculosis if
there has not been a parent germ to
Yrn ia E>ny this when a
herd of cattle is cleared of the disease
they stay clear till there is fresh infection
imported from the outside. 1t is this
cleanins-up process that is in progress in
the District now, and when the barns are
disinfected there can be 10 more tuber-
c,Ilosis unless 1t is imported
The experiences of the department with
tuberculosis in cattle as detailed by DR..
Schroeder cover long term of wears.
He says that the worst feature OF the
disea sc is that 1t Is almost Impossible to
detect It from an outside examination till
the animal is In the last stages, and that
1t may have been spreading infection
broadcast for two years previous. His
were proved to have the disease and
that looked decidedly better than the
average dairy cattle. Tuberculosis among
dairy herds is more prevalent in some
parts Of the country than others, but it
may be said that the average for the
United States is % per cent. and this Is
a good deal lower than among the Euro
pean herds.
justified by Results.
Besides the danger Of injecting human
beings that is always present in milk
from a tuberculous herd the cattle them
selves are much less productive. One
farmer who had his herd cleaned up by
the department found that he had %
per cent tuberculous. some of the ami
mails being those he had reckoned as his
best. He was game and discarded them
all, cleaned up his place and filled the
gaps in his herd with tuberculin tested
animals At the end Of five Years he re-
ported to the department that he had
never before done so we'll al such small
expense as he had done since the clean
up, and that he considered the money it
had cost a good investment.
There was test made of 12.72O dairy
cattle in one nf the most densely popu
lated states and ::3 - per cent were
found to DE tubeI'culous. The cattle test
Ell belonged to 6s3 different herds. Th>re
was another test made III another part
of the country on LBS dairy cattle, OF
which 1851 per cent were infected- It
has been estimated from tests made by
the ny gienic laboratory in this city that
5l@ per cent OF the milk OF the market
is infected with tuberculosis.
Tuberculin has been used at the va
rious experiment stations OF the bureau
of animal industry. and has been given
human beings. dairy cattle. dogs.
monkeys and other animals in doses far
in excess Of the amount used in making
the tuberculin tests. In every one of
these cases the healthy animals did not
suffer from the incubation. and all of
those which showed the characteristics
reaction proved to be tuberculous.
Two Methods of Safety.
There are only two methods whereby
the public can be protected from tuber-
cuIous milk. one being the cleaning up of
the herd which furnishes it, and the
other Is in pasteurizing all of the milk
that is used in the raw state Pasteuriza-
ton means heating the milk to a low
digestible and tasting qualities. for
period long enough to kill all of the
germs that are in it. The best tempera-
ture for this is 40 degrees Fahrenheit,
which if kept up for twenty minutes
thoroughly sterilizes the milk
A. heat of 100 degrees applied for ten
minutes accomplishes the same result.
but this is the highest degree to which
good qualities. The report says that I'M
Fortunately most of the so-called pas
teuriZed milk is heated to a much higher
degree for much shorter period, and
this milk is not fit to drink. but frequent
ly is not cleared of disease germs
The report states that the only way of
protect ting the public against unscrupulous
law stating on the package the tenn
perat ureS to which the milk has been