Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1920-04-24
DAIRYMEN PLEASED,

DAIRYmEN PLEASED
Legislature Passed Bill For Th,
Eradication Of Tuberculosis
$500, 900 Is APPROPRIATED D
The farmers and dairymen here arr
overjoyed at the passage of the bill by
the Legislature on Monday last, appro'
priating $50. ZOO, for the eradication Of
tuberculosis among cattle. The U. s.
Government, through the Bureau Of
Animal Industry will appropriate an
equal amount making a total of $780,.
600, available to the State Live Stock
Sanitary Board of this state with which
to begin this work.
Under the provisions of the law the
matter of having the cattle tested
for the disease is entirely voluntary on
the part Of the owner, but all cattle
owners taking advantage of the law,
will be compelled to comply with the
state and the national laws governing
the work. and all cattle re-acting from
the test must be killed, and in no case
can another cow be brought into the
herd without first having passed the
tuberculin test. Another good feature
Of the bill is the clause prohibiting the
bringing of all cattle into the state
that have not been tuberculin tested,
this state has for many years been a
dumping ground" tor the diseased
and re-acting cattle from Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and Maryland and to such
an extent has the nefarious business
been carried on, that it is safe to say
that at least 5O% of the cattle in this
county are tubercular.
There has for many years past been
sufficient law to stop the practice but
until now there has been no funds avail
able to prosecute the work, the Chief
of the Live Stock Sanitary Board, be
ing merely paid nominal sum of $40
per day tor each day he was employed.
1t is now hoped that there will be an
active energetic, conscientious man,
appointed to the administration end of
the project and that the work will be
carried on fearlessly. The majority of
the dairymen here are hoping for the
appointment of DR.. W. H. Ewes, of
Wilmington, to the Office.
Under the law the farmers will be in.
demnified for the cattle killed. the cat
tie being appraised jointly by one repre-
sentative from the State Board, one
from the Government Board, and one
local representative, and the maximum
sum TO be paid for cattle re-acting from
the test, will be $125 for grade cattle,
and $50 for pure bred cattle. The SAL
wage in all cases will be allowed to the
owner of the cattle. There is also pro-
visions in the law prohibiting dealers
from taking advantage of the law, as
all cattle tested must be owned by
bonafide dairyman, and must have been
in his possession for certain length Of
time and other provisions protect the
state from being ''gouged" by unfair
methods.
Another great evil which will be cor
rected by the enforcement of the new
law, will be the gradual eradication of
tuberculosis among hCgs and while no
attention has been paid to this in the
past, few people realize the extent that
this disease has advanced among hogs.
There has for many years been hum
dreds of hogs killed here which were
affected with the disease. This has no
doubt been caused by the hogs being
allowed to run in the barn yards and
pick up the droppings from the affected
cows. One butcher in Delaware is re-
sponsible for the statement that rs per
cent. of the hogs slaughtered by him
during the past winter have been
tubercular. This man kills hundreds of
hogs in his business every year, and all
are sold in this state for food. It
is also a very noticeable fact that on
the farms where the four Accredited
Herds of this community are kept,
that there has been absolutely no hogs
affected with the disease since the
herds have been put under government
SUPERVISION. This phase of the work
will prove Of incalcuable value to the
county as beside producing better and
cleaner milk, the dairymen can also
produce better and cleaner pork.
The dairymen are ready to have the
work begun as soon as possible and to
get the disease eradicated, the plan will
mean much loss to many Of them and
will be the cause of many cows being
killed. but the sooner the work begins
the sooner it will be ended is the wav
the majority of them feel about the
matter. The work will be done under
the supervision and laws Of the U. S.
Department of Animal Industry. and
each owner taking advantage of the
nlan must have his cattle tested at least
three times, at intervals of not more
than one year. then after complying
with the requirements Of the Bureau,
certificate will be furnished declaring
the herd as being Accredited.