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 REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Special Committee of the Assembly 
 
 APPOINTED TO 
 
 INVESTIGATE TUBERCULOSIS AND OTHER 
 DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 
 
 TRANSMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE FEBRUARY 1, 1900. 
 
 if ALBANY: 
 
 JAMBS B. LYON, STATE PRINTER. 
 ! %j ' ' 1900. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003482803 
 
REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Special Comiiiittee of the Assembly, 
 
 APPOINTED TO 
 
 INVESTIGATE TUBERCULOSIS AND OTHER 
 DISEASES OP ANIMALS. 
 
 TRANSMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE FEBRUARY 1, 1900. 
 
 ALBANY: 
 
 JAMES B. LYON, STATE PRINTER. 
 
 1900. 
 
A/7 3 
 
 CS. UlH 5" -5" 
 
State of New York. 
 
 No. 43. 
 
 IN ASSEMBLY, 
 
 Febbuakx 1, 190(h 
 
 REPORT 
 
 ASSEMBLY SPECIAL INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE ON 
 TUBEECULOSIS AND OTHEE DISEASES OF ANIMALS. 
 
 Hon. S. F. Nixon, Speaker of the Assembly: 
 
 Sir:— The Assembly for the year 1899, adopted the following 
 
 resolution : 
 
 Eesolved, That the Speaker of the Assembly is hereby author- 
 ized to appoint three members of the Assembly as a committee 
 to investigate the operation of the present laws in relation to 
 the disease of tuberculosis and other contagious diseases in ani- 
 mals, and infections in animal products, and to ascertain the 
 best means for the prevention of the spread of such disease,. and 
 to report on or before the 1st day of February, 1900, the result 
 of their investigations and recommend such legislation as is 
 needed for the suppression of such diseases. 
 
 Such committee shall have the power to prosecute its inquiries 
 in every direction necessary to arrive at a full and accurate 
 knowledge of the subject under investigation. The expenses of 
 such investigation shall not exceed the sum of $2,500, which 
 
4 [Assembly 
 
 shall be paid out of the appropriation for contingent expenses 
 of the Legislature. 
 
 Pursuant to this resolution the undersigned were appointed 
 the committee required by its terms. The committee has exam- 
 ined more than 60 witnesses during the investigation, about one- 
 half of which were experts, the remainder leading farmers. We 
 have had hearings at Albany, Syracuse, Owego, Buffalo and 
 Batavia in this State. We have twice inspected the Buffalo 
 stock yards. 
 
 At Owego we had before us Dr. Leonard Pearson of Philadel- 
 phia, B. S., and V. M. B., State Veterinarian of Pennsylvania and 
 Dean of the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Univer- 
 sity of Pennsylvania. He gave us the law, methods and expenses 
 of . Pennsylvania employed to eradicate bovine tuberculosis. 
 
 The committee also visited New Brunswick, N. J., and. had 
 before them Hon. Franklin Dye, Secretary of both the State Board 
 of Agriculture and the State Tuberculosis Commission, and Dr. 
 Julius Nelson, Professor of Biology at Rutgers and Biologist of 
 the State Agricultural College Experiment Station. 
 
 The committee also visited Boston, Mass., and took the evi- 
 dence of Dr. Theobald Smith, Professor of Comparative Pathol- 
 ogy in Harvard Medical School and Pathologist of the State 
 Board of Health, Dr. Austin Peters, chairman of the Massa- 
 chusetts Board of Cattle Commissioners, and several other mem- 
 bers of the State Board. Thus we have the laws, methods, ex- 
 penses and results of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts 
 and New York. 
 
 Very much of the evidence from noted experts has never been 
 in print, and We feel that we have in our possession at present 
 much of the latest scientific thought on this question. 
 
No. 43.] 5 
 
 The committee is under special obligations to the witnesses 
 who are not residents of this State for their assistance in fur- 
 nishing the committee much valuable evidence. It is also worthy 
 of note that of the large number of witnesses subpoenaed in 
 New York, all responded to summons except one, who furnished 
 a subordinate in his office to give evidence. The committee is 
 also under obligations to their Secretary E. A. Callahan of the 
 " Country Gentlemen " for valuable aid in collecting evidence. 
 
 In addition to the large amount of evidence taken by the com- 
 mittee, we have in our possession the laws governing bovine 
 tuberculosis either in full or in synopsis, now in force in Ger- 
 many, France, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, 
 Australia, United States and 16 of the United States, together 
 with a large number of reports, bulletins, etc., from these States. 
 We also have in our possession the report of the " Koyal Com- 
 mission of England " of 1898. This commission took evidence 
 for two years in England, Wales, Belgium, Germany and Den- 
 mark. 
 
 The resolution authorized the committee to investigate not 
 only bovine tuberculosis, but all contagious and infectious ani- 
 mal diseases, and infections in animal products, but the time 
 and funds at our command were insufficient to go farther than 
 the investigation of two or three of those contagious diseases 
 from which the farmers of this State are sustaining the greatest 
 loss. The three principal diseases investigated were, bovine 
 tuberculosis, abortion in cows and sheep scab. 
 
 Under the present law the owner of cattle slaughtered by the 
 State receives one-half the appraised value of the animal, if dis- 
 eased, and full' value if found to be sound upon post-mortem 
 examination. The same veterinarian makes the examination be- 
 
6 [Assembly 
 
 fore and after slaughter. It has been claimed by many farmers 
 that in his desire to make both examinations agree, many sound 
 animals have been pronounced tuberculosis, and the owner has 
 thereby been defrauded out of one-half of the value of such ani- 
 mals. The committee determined to witness the slaughter of 
 at least one herd for the purpose of knowing the truth of these 
 charges, and was present at the slaughter of 21 cows at Syracuse, 
 early in July. As a herd they were badly diseased. Two from the 
 herd died with tuberculosis during the previous winter, and about 
 one-third of the herd had failed to breed for two years. They 
 have been kept in a stable well adapted to spread and hasten 
 the disease. Before the slaughter the committee had been pro- 
 vided" with glass jars, the number of each cow slaughtered was 
 pasted on the side of the jar. The services of Dr. James Law 
 of Cornell University had been procured by the committee, and 
 as the diseased part of each cow was found by the veterinarian 
 in charge for the State, it was placed on a table. After exami- 
 nation by Dr. Law it was placed in a jar, sealed and turned over 
 to Dr. William H. May, City Bacteriologist to be put in cultures 
 and examined under a microscope. Where slight disease was 
 found all of the diseased part was put in a jar. Later the veteri- 
 narian acting for the State testified that all of the cattle slaugh- 
 tered had tuberculosis. Dr. May testified as follows : 
 
 Q. Doctor, the investigating committee of the Assembly left 
 with you sample of affected parts of the Brown herd, slaugh- 
 tered by the State here a few weeks ago? A. They did. 
 
 Q. You have examined those specimens? A. I have examined 
 six of them fully, and the whole 21 in part. ' 
 
 Q. What did you find, doctor, in the diseased parts? A. Of 
 the six selected specimens do you mean, or all of them — I found 
 
No. 43.] 7 
 
 on examining that of the 21, I found 20 of them were fit for 
 examination; that is to say they were in such condition that they 
 could be examined. One of them, I think the /lumber was 105, 
 that was dried up, and shrunk and not in a fit state for a micro- 
 scopical or any other examination, it was so small, and you 
 might say, gone to pieces; dried and shrunken and not fit to be 
 examined, couldn't do anything with it; that was the number 
 that I had — the remaining 20 I found tubercle bacilli in 19 out 
 of the 20— *he odd one, the twentieth one was 109, a piece of 
 intestine — I did not find any evidence of disease in that at all. 
 
 Q. Your examination was sufficiently thorough so you should 
 be able to determine? A. It was; yes. 
 
 Q. As to the whole 21? A. Yes. 
 
 Upon the evidence given by the veterinarian the owner of these 
 cattle would receive one-half the appraised value for all of them; 
 but upon the evidence of Dr. May, the owner should receive full 
 value for one or possibly two of the number. Specimens from 
 six different cows taken from different parts were chemically 
 treated by Dr. May and placed in glasses to be used by the 
 stereoscopist in educational work. The illustration as thrown 
 upon the canvass is the diseased part itself, and is made to last 
 many years. These slides are the property of the State, and are 
 now in the hands of F. E. Dawley, Director of Farmers' In- 
 stitutes. « 
 
 While in New Jersey the committee saw a herd of cows that 
 were condemned six years ago under the tuberculin test. They 
 were owned by the State at the Experimental Station. They 
 were put in barns built for that purpose, and have since been 
 kept in strict quarantine. There had been in all 14 different 
 cows in this barn, but only four remained at the time of our visit. 
 
8 [Assembly 
 
 They nave been kept for experimental purposes and occasionally 
 one has been slaughtered. The experiment has been under the 
 supervision of Dr. Julius'Nelson. He said that some of the cows 
 had received the tuberculin test 17 times. He has been trying 
 to determine among other thing the effect of tuberculin. Some 
 times the test had been applied several times in a few weeks; 
 at other times the test had not been applied for nearly two years. 
 Evidence derived, from these experiments will often be referred 
 to in this report. 
 
 Tuberculosis has caused the death of man and animal for cen- 
 turies, and so much has been written upon the subject that it 
 is needless for the committee to report on symptoms, and many 
 other phases of this disease. Not until recent years has so much 
 attention been paid to this disease in cattle. When the farmer 
 found one of his eows drooping, she was either slaughtered or 
 allowed to die, and nothing more was thought of it. After the 
 discovery of the tubercle bacilli as the cause of the disease, the 
 discovery was claimed to be made by some that the bacilli 
 in man and animal were identical, and the death of infants, 
 especially when brought up upon cow's milk, and occasion- 
 ally the conditions connected with the death from consumption 
 of an adult, lead physicians to believe that the disease could be 
 communicated from animal to man. For this reason several 
 States, have made appropriations for investigations and passed 
 laws for the purpose of endeavoring to exterminate bovine tuber- 
 culosis. This State was among the first to take such action, and 
 since 1892 the work has been under State control. 
 
 v THE LAW IN THIS AND OTHER STATES. 
 
 The State Board of Health of New York consists of nine mem- 
 bers, required to meet at Albany at least four times a year, and 
 
No. 43.] 9 
 
 to serve without pay. Under the present law, they select two 
 of their number as a " Tuberculosis Committee." This com- 
 mittee has charge of the work of exterminating tuberculosis in 
 cattle and glanders in horses in this State. The care of all other 
 animal diseases is placed with the Department of Agriculture. 
 Each member of the committee receives a salary of $3,000 a year 
 and necessary expenses. And each carry on a private practice. 
 In addition to their salaries, the State pays a stenographer and 
 the veterinarians who make all examinations for the committee. 
 After cattle had been condemned, the committee require an 
 agreement or contract to be signed by the owner of the animals, 
 which he was not previously aware of. A good many farmers 
 feel that this agreement as required by the tuberculosis com- 
 mittee interferes with their rights and claim against the State, 
 and therefore in some instances they refuse to sign it. The com- 
 mittee thereupon refuse to notify the Comptroller that such 
 cattle have been condemned. By reason of this an appraiser is 
 not appointed, and some herds have been held in quarantine for 
 long periods. Since the law controlling this work was first en- 
 acted, the farmer has had difficulty in obtaining indemnity from 
 
 i 
 
 the State, and in many instances he has preferred to surrender 
 his claim against the State rather than to follow through the 
 long tedious process necessary to secure it. At one time he was 
 compelled to send his claim to the Court of Claims, which re- 
 quired the attendance of an attorney, and unless his claim was 
 considerable, the fees would be equal to the amount received. 
 Lately the appropriation for the committee has been small, and 
 they have used practically all of it for their own salaries and 
 expenses, and the farmer if he receives his indemnity gets it by 
 the same being incorporated in the Supplemental Supply bill. 
 
10 , [Assembly 
 
 Last year all indemnities paid were obtained in this manner, and 
 the total amount paid by the State was only '$2,415. The State 
 pays one-half the appraised value for all animals found to be 
 diseased on post-mortem examination; and full appraised value 
 for all animals .found to be sound upon similar examination. 
 The maximum appraisal is $60 for thoroughbred animals and 
 $40 for all others. 
 
 TUBEECULOSIS COMMITTEE AND DEPAETMENT OP 
 
 AGEICULTUBE. 
 
 The work of the Tuberculosis Committee and Department of 
 
 Agriculture often come in conflict with each other. This joint 
 
 jurisdiction is expensive and is a serious menace to- the interests 
 
 of the dairymen. On this subject the Governor in his last annual 
 
 message, under the head of the Department of Agriculture, said: — 
 
 " To some extent the work of this department is duplicated or 
 
 clashes with that of the State Board of Health. The Assembly 
 
 Committee appointed to consider the subject of tuberculosis in 
 
 cattle will deal with this matter, at least in part, in their report 
 
 to the Legislature." An illustration will be given. On January 
 
 27, 1899, a veterinarian acting for the committee examined about 
 
 90 heads of cattle for George Parsons of Berkshire, N. Y., and 
 
 condemned, under the tuberculin test, 38. These animals were 
 
 accordingly placed in quarantine by them. Soon after this date 
 
 Dr. Smith, secretary of the committee, sent to Mr. Parsons the, 
 
 following letter or agreement for his signature and return : — 
 
 Dr. Frederick W. Smith, Secretary Tuberculosis Committee 
 Syracuse, N. Y.: 
 
 My Dear Doctor:— On. the 27th of January, Dr. acting 
 
 under your direction, tested my herd of cattle for tuberculosis, 
 and has given me notice that a number of them have that disease. 
 
No. 43.] 11 
 
 He has notified me that they must be maintained in strict quar- 
 antine. I hereby ask that you have these cattle appraised and 
 slaughtered as provided by the public health law, and if they are 
 appraised and slaughtered I will not ask for the payment of the 
 award due me out of the appropriation made your committee for 
 the present fiscal year. ".Neither will I assign or transfer, my 
 claim to others. I will not ask for or expect indemnity for the 
 loss, of my cattle unless a new appropriation is granted by the 
 present or some succeeding legislature." 
 
 Mr. Parsons took counsel from several lawyers, and was in 
 every instance advised not to sign this agreement. He person- 
 ally felt that by doing so he would surrender some of his rights. 
 On account of his refusal to sign the agreement, the secretary 
 of the committee refused to notify the Comptroller that such a 
 herd had been condemned, and there has not been an appraiser 
 appointed up to this date. Soon after the cattle were condemned, - 
 the Commissioner of Agriculture received official notice from the 
 tuberculosis committee that such a herd had been condemned, 
 and it was his duty under the law to forbid the sale of milk from - 
 this herd. The legislature of 1899 refused to make an appro- 
 priation for the salaries and expenses of the tuberculosis commit- 
 tee pending this investigation. On April 29th, the day after the 
 adjournment of the legislature, Dr. Smith wrote Mr. Parsons as 
 follows : 
 
 " Sybacuse, N. Y., April 2$, 1899. 
 Me. Gboeqb Pabsons, BerkaMfe, N. T.: 
 
 Dear Sir: — We have just been informed that the legislature 
 which has just adjourned failed to make any appropriation for 
 carrying out the provisions of the publie health law relating to 
 bovine tuberculosis, or the payment of awards for eattle con- 
 
12 [ASSBMBI/T 
 
 demned. Because of this, I desire to inform you that the future 
 disposition of your herd must depend upon the action and permis- 
 sion granted you by the local Board of Health having jurisdic- 
 
 tion. 
 
 Yours very respectfully, 
 
 F. W. SMITH, M. D., 
 
 Secretary Tuberculosis Committee." 
 
 Mr. Parsons thereupon asked for a meeting of the local Board 
 of Health, but after consulting several members of the board, 
 they decided that if the state had raised the quarantine upon the 
 disposition of the herd, that they had no further jurisdiction in 
 the matter, and so informed him. The condition of his herd, 
 after this action was this — He was permitted to sell his con- 
 demned cattle, but could not jaell the milk or products therefrom. 
 Mr. Parsons then took steps to have the products from his dairy 
 removed from quarantine. The Commissioner of Agriculture 
 said that he had authority under the law to have the herd exam- 
 ined and remove from quarantine the milk from any cows that 
 failed to respond to the test. The herd was re-tested on June 
 30th, by two of the leading veterinarians of this state, one of 
 them being the same man who made the first test. Thirty-three 
 cows were examined at this time that had been previously con- 
 demned in January. Of this number twenty-one responded to 
 the test ; four were not in a fit condition for examination. The re- 
 maining eight did not respond to the test and were removed from 
 quarantine. Mr. Parsons has considered since that time that he 
 had permission to sell any or all of the twenty-five animals origi- 
 nally condemned, but has been unable to sell the milk or products 
 from them. Another illustration follows: — In August, 1899, Dr. 
 Thomas F. O'Dea of Saugerties, wrote Dr. F. W. Smith, Secretary 
 
No. 43.] , 13 
 
 l 
 
 of the Tuberculosis Committee, Hon. Charles A. Wieting, Com- 
 missioner of Agriculture, and Dr. Baxter Smelzer, Secretary of 
 the State Board of Health, relative to the testing of some sheep 
 with tuberculin. He first wrote Dr. Smith and was referred by 
 him to Mr. Wieting, Mr. Wieting referred him tp Dr. Smelzer, 
 
 i 
 
 and by Dr. Smelzer he was told to consult Dr. Smith again. This 
 well illustrates the confusion caused by the joint jurisdiction of 
 these two departments. In all of the states visited by the com- 
 mittee, bovine tuberculosis is under control of Agricultural 
 boards. 
 
 In Pennsylvania, the control of contagious diseases among do- 
 mestic animals is carried on by a State Live Stock Sanitary 
 Board. All animals admitted to the state are first submitted to 
 the tuberculin test or are kept in strict quarantine after entering 
 the state, until they are tested there. No herds are tested except on 
 application of the owner, and then only where disease is suspected. 
 All reacting animals are condemned and slaughtered. The limit 
 of compensation i^o the owner is $25 for unregistered cattle and 
 $50 for registered cattle. The average payments are about 
 $24.50 for both classes. The appraisal is usually made by the 
 inspector and always at the time of the examination; the cattle 
 are slaughtered at that time, the place at once disinfected and 
 the owner allowed to go on with his business. 
 
 New Jersey has a commission of seven. The commission on 
 application from an owner of cattle, the State Board of Health, 
 or the State Dairy Commissioner, will make an examination of 
 suspected herds. They are appraised at market value before 
 examination, the owner receiving compensation at the rate of 
 three-fourths of their valuation, not exceeding $40. Those found 
 diseased are slaughtered at least within a day or two after being 
 condemned. 
 
14 [Assembly ( 
 
 Massachusetts .was the first state to take up the. work. The 
 laws of that state have passed through several evolutions. For 
 some time they employed the tuberculin test and slaughtered all 
 re-acting animals. Three years ago the state expended two hun- 
 dred and forty thousand dollars to eradicate bovine tuberculosis, 
 there being but two hundred and twelve thousand cattle in the 
 state the appropriation was more than one dollar per head. A 
 like per cent in this state would call for an appropriation in a 
 single year of nearly three million dollars. Farmers rebelled 
 against this slaughter to such an extent that the next legisla- 
 ture did not make an appropriation for this work. An unsuc- 
 cessf ul attempt was made to repeal the law. The next year a law 
 was enacted under which the work is carried on at the present 
 time. The state does not. condemn and slaughter animals except 
 those than can be found by physical examination diseased. The 
 maximum indemnity paid is $40 for each animal. The appraisal 
 is made and animal slaughtered at or near the time they are con- 
 demned. If held more than ten days in quarantine, the state 
 pays the expenses attendant on such quarantine. If the owner 
 desires the remainder of his herd examined with tuberculin^an 
 agreement is entered into between the owner and the state^ be- 
 fore examination is made, and the state assists him in his efforts 
 to eradicate this disease from h;s herd. The state maintains a 
 quarantine against the importation of all cattle, unless accom- 
 panied by a bill of health. There is supposed to be a physical 
 examination of all cattle and inspection of the stables in the state 
 each year. Relative to the efficiency of this law, Dr. Samuel W. 
 Abbott who has been secretary of the State Board of Health 
 during the past nineteen years testified as follows: 
 
No. 43.] 15 
 
 " Q. Do you think public health is properly guarded by having 
 tuberculosis, bovine tuberculosis, under the management of the 
 Cattle Commission? 
 
 " A. I should think so as far as that subject is concerned, cer- 
 tainly — I think it is one of those questions of evolution. We have 
 been going through a process of evolution in Massachusetts in 
 regard to cattle inspectors and the whole subject. The present 
 board seem to be taking hold of the subject in better shape than 
 it has been for some time. I haven't looked over this law, and 
 don't know all the points in it as well as I ought to know it. It 
 seems to me they have settled down to a more satisfactory way of 
 working, than it has been for some time." 
 
 The bill recommended by the Royal Commission of England 
 does not provide for government inspection of live animals. They 
 recommend that all animals to be used as human food shall be 
 slaughtered under inspection at the public slaughter houses. If 
 slaughtered in other countries they must be examined by the pub- 
 lic slaughter houses before being placed on the market. On the 
 subject of the inspection of milk put on the market they say : "We 
 recommend that notification of every disease in the udder shall be 
 made compulsory under penalty, on the owner of all cows, 
 whether in private dairies or those of which the milk is offered 
 for sale. We also recommend that powers shall "be given to local 
 authorities to take samples and make analyses from time to time 
 of the milk produced or sold in their districts, and that milk ven- 
 ders shall be required to supply sufficient information as to the 
 sources from which their milk is derived." 
 
 It will thus be seen that the government only has control of the 
 meat and milk of animals when placed on the market. 
 
16 [Assembly 
 
 TRANSMISSIBILITY. 
 
 It is generally believed that tuberculosis can be transmitted 
 from animal to man and from man to animal. This has been so 
 generally accepted that many seem to believe that a large major- 
 ity of the people who die with consumption take the disease from 
 cattle, either through milk or meat. In a paper read before the 
 investigating committee by an eminent doctor and state official 
 he said: 
 
 " I have been requested to present to this conference a short 
 paper reviewing somewhat the work of the New York State 
 Board of Health, in protecting the life and health of the public 
 from the danger of infection from tuberculosis, which is now 
 recognized by all sanitarians to be derived largely from the use 
 of food products from tuberculosis cattle." 
 
 Such sweeping statements have led the consuming public to 
 believe a great error. The evidence taken by the committee would 
 indicate that very rarely, if ever, does a person contract tuber- 
 culosis from the meat or milk of animals. The committee have 
 perhaps spent more time on this one branch of the subject than 
 any other. 
 
 At the first hearing Dr. Edward Moore, of Albany, member of 
 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, England, read an ex- 
 haustive paper in which he held that the tubercle bacilli in man 
 and animal were not identical, and that the disease is not trans- 
 missible from animal to man, or from man to animal. If this 
 could be proved, the question would at once resolve itself into 
 a question of loss to the farmer only. On this point Dr. Moore 
 says: 
 
 " If we have succeeded in purging the bovine of responsibility 
 for human tuberculosis, we have severed the relation supposed to 
 exist and which gave origin to. the title of this paper. People 
 
No. 43.] 17 
 
 everywhere will feel relieved. Cattle owners will vie with the 
 cow milk. drinkers, and the beef eaters in their appreciation of 
 the fact that their minds are now freed from the terrible menace 
 that has heretofore haunted them. The cattle industry will re- 
 ceive new impetus. Physicians will have to educate consump- 
 tives to appreciate the necessary precaution they should take, 
 nay, must take, for the protection of their fellow being, and 
 healthy people must be made to understand in what ways tuber- 
 ous subjects are dangerous to them. The imperative need is 
 for measures of protection of human from human. Such educa- 
 tion will cut down the death rate more rapidly than medical 
 treatment. The establishment of hospitals and retreats for the 
 treatment and isolation of consumptives js the best step physi- 
 cians have yet taken for the prevention of the spread of this dis- 
 ease. We are now raising one foot to step up on to the firmer 
 ground of the 20th century, where no erring footsteps have yet 
 been taken. In the few days left us ere we reach that new tryst- 
 ing place, let us bend our energies to the great task leaving for- 
 ever behind us old prejudices, theories we were taught to accept, 
 but which have not proved trusty; deductions arrived at from 
 experiments well intended, but which are nullified by better 
 evidence now before' us. Let us not look at things as they have 
 been pictured, but strive to see them exactly as they are. If we 
 have failed to convince you, we have at least, pointed the way 
 for future investigation and given the earnest of the verdict 
 that is to follow whether you render it to-day or to-morrow." 
 
 Of the large number of experts examined who believed the dis- 
 ease was so transmissible, only a few have been able to cite defi- 
 nite cases; and in most of the cases cited, there were only local 
 lesions resulting from the bacilli, and that by inoculation. 
 2 
 
18 [Assembly 
 
 Theobald Smith, M.'D., of Harvard University, has been mak- 
 ing experiments for several years on the identity of the bacilli 
 in man and animal. As an authority on this subject, he is of the 
 highest standing. He says : 
 •—■'tj. Will you please state what you found in relation to bovine 
 tuberculosis, as being communicated to man? 
 
 A. I have found in the study of cultures of tubercle bacilli — 
 those isolated human sputum in case of tuberculosis and those 
 from tuberculous tissues of cattle, that there are certain differ- 
 ences which could be quite easily recognized by various laboratory 
 methods. This study of comparing tubercle bacilli from man 
 and domestic animals is still going on, and at present the position 
 which I took several years ago that certain differences between 
 bovine and human bacilli do exist has not been changed." 
 
 Q. Have you found tubercle bacilli in man and bovine identical 
 in any instance? 
 
 A. Not thus far. 
 
 Q. Do you consider bovine tuberculosis a great menace to pub- 
 lic health? 
 
 A. I do not consider it a great menace unless the inferences 
 deducible from my studies are wrong. I think that we must ac- 
 cept the evidence brought forward, that cases of human tubercu- 
 losis do sometimes originate from cattle, until our information 
 concerning the permanency or changeability of the characters of 
 tubercle bacilli is on a firmer basis. 
 
 Q. Do you think from experience or reports of human con- 
 sumption, that such a case is probable where the identity of the 
 bacilli could be lost? 
 
 A. It is probable. It seems to me that a passage of tubercle 
 bacilli is possible from animal to man, but we are quite in the 
 
tfoi 43.] 19 
 
 dark how often it takes place, and what are the particular cir- 
 cumstances that may favor or prevent the infection from taking 
 place. 
 
 Q. If I understand you correctly you consider that these ques- 
 tions are still unsettled? 
 
 A. I do. But on general principles, I believe that the danger 
 has been over-estimated. 
 
 Dr. James Law, Director of the State Veterinary College at 
 Ithaca, N. Y., is among the number that may be considered high 
 authority; he believes that the disease can be transmitted from 
 animal to man in some instances. 
 
 The committee found in the state institutions where for many 
 years, the milk furnished the inmates has been from tuberculous 
 •cows, that in every instance the percentage of deaths from con- 
 sumption has been gradually decreasing. In at least one such in- 
 stitution having about one thousand three hundred inmates, the 
 ■cows furnishing milk for such institution have been occasionally 
 dying from this disease for ten or twelve years. All milk pro- 
 duced from these cows was consumed by inmates as milk, yet the 
 report shows the same decrease here as in other institutions. 
 
 In the state of Massachusetts the records have been well kept 
 for half a century. In 1855, forty-two persons out of every ten 
 thousand population died with consumption; in 1898, only nine- 
 teen in every ten thousand. This decrease has been steadyand 
 gradual. 
 
 Dr. Austin Peters, president of the Board of Cattle Commis- 
 sioners, testified that about twenty per cent of the cows of that 
 state showed tuberculosis by tuberculin test, which was less thair 
 formerly. Considering the large number of people and the num- 
 ber of years covered by this record, it seems to prove that the 
 
20 [Assemble 
 
 number of persons who die from consumption contracted from 
 the meat or milk of animals, in that state, where one-fifth of the 
 cattle are diseased, is very small. 
 
 According to the report of the State Board of Health about 
 thirteen thousand people die of consumption in New York every 
 year. This number remains about the same, which gradually re- 
 duces the per cent, to the extent of the increase of population. 
 It must be admitted that as these people visit every public place 
 known, that thirteen thousand consumptives give off enough 
 bacilli to infect every person in the state during the year with- 
 out the aid of a single bovine. 
 
 In the report of the Royal Commission they find that the per- 
 centage of death from human consumption has been steadily fall- 
 ing during the past fifty years. The percentage of decrease be- 
 ing 39.1 during that time. The following from their report will 
 show the percentage of tuberculous meat passed in Saxony as fit 
 for human food : 
 
 " We bear in view the remarkable returns of the results of 
 rigid but discriminating inspection in 29 towns in Saxony during 
 the year 1895. Meat inspectors at the public abattoirs in these 
 towns are all qualified veterinary surgeons. Tuberculosis was 
 found to exist in 22,758 carcasses — being 27.48 per cent, of the 
 whole number slaughtered. The whole of these according to 
 the practice of some authorities in this country would have been 
 confiscated and destroyed without compensation. But in Saxony 
 they were dealt with as follows: Of the total number 22,758 
 carcasses showing tuberculous lesions, 21,062 or 92£ per cent, 
 were passed as fit for food; 1,256 carcasses or about 5£ per cent. 
 were disposed of in the Friebank as inferior meat, at a fixed 
 cheap rate; and the remainder 440 carcasses or 2 per cent, of the 
 
No. 43.] 21 
 
 whole number, pronounced tuberculous, in a greater or less de- 
 gree were condemned as unfit for food and destroyed." 
 
 The consuming public have been lead to believe that a large 
 portion of the milk- consumed, contains the tubercle bacilli. The 
 evidence taken by the committee would go to show that this 
 rarely occurs. Dr. V. A. Moore, M. D., V. S.,. Professor of Com- 
 parative Pathology and Bacteriology N. Y. State Veterinary Col- 
 lege, Cornell University, New York, testified on this point as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 Q. How many times did you find the tubercule bacilli? 
 
 A. I never found it — oh, a very few times— and I could not be 
 positive as to the number, but in microscopic investigations, I 
 found it in three or four. animals, but they were advanced cases 
 of tuberculosis. 
 
 Q. Those were the only ones that you have found the tubercle 
 bacilli in, to absolutely exist, that is, to your satisfaction? , 
 
 A. To my satisfaction, the only ones in which I have come to 
 know it to be present by personal work. 
 
 Q. What conditions were the animals in you got the milk from? 
 
 A. Well, they were poor; that is, they were such animals that 
 
 an ordinary practitioner would diagnose as diseased, if not tuber- 
 
 'V # ■ 
 
 colons, without any difficulty, without the tuberculin. 
 
 Dr. William H. May, Bacteriologist for the Board of Health of 
 the city of Syracuse, and also lecturer and demonstrator of path- 
 ology and bacteriology in the College of Medicine of Syracuse 
 University, also testified as below : 
 
 Q. What I wanted to bring out was, whether the animal in 
 the stages spoken of, whether there would be any connection 
 with the circulation, and so of the milk to convey the disease? 
 
 A. Well, of course, so far as we know about that to-day, an 
 animal may have tuberculosis and may have it in a very advanced 
 
22 [Assembly 
 
 stage, and yet give perfectly healthful milk; but if the udder 
 glands are infected ever so slightly, tubercle bacilli have been 
 found in the milk. 
 
 Q. Have you ever discovered this in your own work, in the 
 milk?' 
 
 A. I have in two cases found tubercle bacilli in the milk} but 
 I have looked for them ever so many times and never found them. 
 And recently I have given it up as a bad job and used other 
 means. 
 
 The expert in his laboratory sees the bacilli multiplying at the 
 rate of 16,500,000 from a single germ in twenty-four hours, and if 
 this ratio of increase should be carried on for five days, it would 
 make a mass that would completely fill as large a space as is 
 occupied by all the oceans on the earth surface, supposing them 
 to have an average depth of one mile. He seems almost led 
 to believe that the whole human race is soon to pass to the un- 
 known from this infection. The dairyman looks at this picture 
 , from a different standpoint. He is told by the veterinary that 
 every animal from the mouse to the elephant Is subject to tuber- 
 culosis. He sees the tuberculous mother fondling her children, 
 and the children. playing daily with tuberculous cats and other 
 animal pets; the dairymen many times daily associated with 
 tuberculous cows, and all mankind often exposed in many ways 
 to both human and bovine infection; and notwithstanding this 
 the per cent of deaths from consumption annually grows less. 
 While the honest farmer does not desire to sell diseased meat 
 and milk to the consumer, he does feel that it should be well 
 established that his herd is responsible for successful infection 
 of man, before his property should be destroyed and his business 
 ruined. 
 
No. 43.] 23 
 
 QUARANTINE. 
 
 Several of the states that have made appropriations to eradi- 
 cate or hold in control bovine tuberculosis have passed laws 
 requiring all cattle kept for breeding purposes when brought into 
 the state, to be accompanied by a certificate that they have suc- 
 cessfully passed the tuberculin test; or they are held in quaran- 
 tine after arrival until they have been so tested. A bill of a 
 similar nature was introduced in each branch of the Legislature 
 of this state last winter, but failed to pass. 
 
 Pennsylvania has a state law which is claimed to work well 
 but there is sufficient evidence that it has been often violated. 
 
 In New Jersey the law is untried, as it only took effect No- 
 vember 1, 1899. The state officials testified they would prefer 
 free trade among the states, but as bordering states have such a 
 law, they felt compelled to pass it for their own protection. 
 
 Nearly the same law has been in existence in Massachusetts 
 for some years. The president of the commission in that state 
 testified in part as follows : — " A great deal of trouble comes out 
 of the fact that the tests are not carefully and honestly made." 
 
 Q. Do you think a reliable test could be made of milch cows 
 or breeding animals that have been in a car a number of days or 
 even for a day or so, do you think they would be in a fit condi- 
 tion, to make a reliable test, without remaining off the car and 
 being fed and getting in a normal condition first? 
 
 A. I don't think you could get a reliable test under those cir- 
 cumstances. I think the experience of the men at Brighton, 
 shows that. I think 1894 or 1895 was the first time they required 
 cows brought into Massachusetts from without the state to be 
 tested, and held in quarantine. I think they had one hundred 
 cows- react that winter, and when they killed them there were 
 
24 [Assembly 
 
 tw v enty healthy cows out of the hundred, showing the test wasn't 
 a reliable one. The animals had not had time to rest and get in 
 a normal condition. Our rule is now, if cattle are brought in 
 here without being tested they are not tested until the.nextweek 
 but are quarantined, and held until the end of the week, say five 
 to seven days, arranged so they can be put on the market the end 
 of the following week. I don't think they make any mistakes 
 that way. But where they test as soon as unloaded, I think a 
 great many mistakes are made. 
 
 Q. Although you find difficulty in administering x the law for 
 quarantining cattle, would you advise giving that up? 
 
 A. We are in hopes we can get it working satisfactorily in 
 time; the only way for us to do is to say that we will not accept 
 the work of certain men and weed out those who are not honest, 
 until we have enough honest men to do the work, if it is a pos- 
 sible thing. 
 
 Twenty-four thousand six hundred forty-two car-loads of cattle 
 were unloaded at the stock yards at Buffalo during the year 
 1899, about 9 per cent, for breeding and dairy purposes. In all 
 the states having a quarantine law against importation, a large 
 per cent, of the cattle imported are examined after entry into 
 the state. To get a fair test of these cattle would require their 
 being held at Buffalo and other points of entry for about one 
 week to get them in fit condition for examination with tubercu- 
 lin. 
 
 Dr. Nelson in his experiments found that two repeated tests 
 with tuberculin within a few days had such an effect upon the 
 animal examined, that she would not respond to a third test fol- 
 lowing soon after the second, even though she had responded to 
 the first and second test. To this evidence a large number of 
 
No. 43.] 25 
 
 veterinarians agree. It seems therefore that if a farmer desires 
 to sell cattle for transportation into a state having a quaran- 
 tine law, he could easily inject tuberculin twice within a few 
 days, then call a veterinarian, and if he were' strictly honest, he 
 would find no response, and a bill of health would be given. 
 Thus the law could be evaded. From indications we fear that 
 giving bribes for a bill of health has sometimes been practiced. 
 Until other states have been able to execute this law in a 
 successful manner it seems to the committee that it would be 
 advisable for this state to adopt some other method to keep 
 diseased cattle from the state rather than to adopt the so-called 
 quarantine laws of the 1 states "about us. We believe that the 
 benefits derived from such a law would not be sufficient to war- 
 rant the delay and enormous expense to properly execute it. 
 
 TUBERCULIN TEST. 
 
 The following quotations are taken from an address by Dr. 
 James Law, before the students of the New York State Veteri- 
 nary College: 
 
 " Much has been said and written against the tuberculin test 
 by those who never used it, and who are therefore utterly incom- 
 petent either to endorse or condemn it, but for those who aim at 
 the prompt and thorough eradication of the infection from a 
 herd, and at the securing at once of a guarantee of progeny, beef 
 and dairy products, no resort can as regards its eflScacy be at all 
 compared with the tuberculin test. k 
 
 "Tuberculin is a sterile solution of the products of the artificial 
 culture of the tubercle bacillus. In its' preparation it has been 
 treated to a boiling temperature which is as fatal to the tubercle 
 bacillus in liquid medium as it is to a hen's egg. But this is not 
 all; even the dead bacilli have been separated from the liquid 
 
2G [Assembly 
 
 by passing it through a porcelain filter. The warming liquid 
 (tuberculin) is absolutely sterile, and can plant and propagate 
 neither the tubercle bacillus nor any other living thing. It can 
 poison if given in excessive doses, as alcohol can poison, but it 
 can no more produce the germ of tubercle where that does not 
 exist than can distilled alcohol plant the yeast germ and start 
 a new vinous fermentation. The insane fear of tuberculin is the 
 fruit of an ignorance of its true nature and of a blind prejudice 
 which withholds its victim from informing himself on the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 " The value of the agent consists in this, that the hypodermic 
 injection of an appropriate dose in a tuberculous animal however 
 lightly affected, produced in the course of the succeeding twenty- 
 four hours a rise of body temperature and other indications of 
 fever. The gradual rise and fall of the temperature in the, ab- 
 sence of any other diseased or physiological "condition which 
 would bring this about is the most reliable of all symptons of the 
 presence of the disease. Upon the sound animal system such a 
 dose of tuberculin produces no appreciable effect. 
 
 " It is important, however, that I should not be misunderstood 
 in this matter. The man who will use tuberculin without' due 
 caution and without due consideration as to the condition and 
 environment of the animal, and who blindly condemns on any 
 rise of temperature will almost certainly condemn non-tuber- 
 culous animals and bring the tuberculous test into discredit. The 
 intelligent use of the test demands an intimate knowledge of 
 the kind of animal tested, both in a healthy and diseased condi- 
 tion and a careful scrutiny before and during the test." 
 
 Dr. Law also gives these rules governing the use of tuber- 
 culin : — 
 
No. 43.] 27 
 
 " 1st. The subject must be in good general health. 
 
 "2nd. The subject must not be within three weeks of parturi- 
 tion nor about to abort. In many cases, though not in all, as 
 preparations are made for calving, the systen^ becomes unduly 
 susceptible to the presence of tuberculin and that agent will 
 cause a rise of temperature, though no tuberculosis is present. 
 Unless this source of error is carefully guarded against the most 
 valuable cows in the herd may be condemned unjustly. 
 
 " 4th. The tested animals must not be exposed to a hot sun in a 
 closed area. In excess this will cause heat apoplexy, and the 
 fever heat which ushers this in may easily be mistaken for the 
 indications of tuberculosis. 
 
 " 5th. The cattle taken from the pasture must not be enclosed 
 in a hot, stuffy stable. 
 
 ".6th. Exposure to cold draughts between open doors and win- 
 dows or wet or chilly blasts out of doors should be carefully 
 guarded, against. 
 
 " 7th. Heavy cows unaccustomed, to stand on hard boards may 
 have a rise. of temperature, in connection with resulting tender- 
 ness of the feet. One must avoid hard floors on the day of the 
 test or make examinations of the feet and allow for attendant 
 fever. 
 
 " 8th. Omission of the previous milking or a change of milker 
 and consequent retention of part of the milk, will raise the tem- 
 perature of a nervous cow, and in careless hands secure an erro- 
 neous condemnation. 
 
 " 9thi Privation of water at regular time will often cause rise 
 of temperature, especially when on the dry feeding of winter. I 
 have seen a general rise of two degrees and upwards from the 
 delay of watering for a single hour, while after watering the 
 
28 [Assembly 
 
 temperature went down to the normal and remained so. Water 
 ■always tends to a temporary lowering of temperature, but in the 
 .presence of tuberculosis it soon rises again. 
 
 " 10th. Change of food is liable to produce a slight indigestion 
 •and rise of temperature. This should be avoided as far as pos- 
 sible, and when a herd is taken from pasture for the test it should 
 *ave grass, ensilage or other succulent food. 
 
 " These are examples of the sources of fallacy which attend on 
 4he reckless and unintelligent use of tuberculin. 
 
 " 11th. An animal with advanced tuberculosis sometimes fails 
 to react." 
 
 In the evidence given on this subject by Dr. Julius Nelson of 
 2Tew Jersey, he said that he had generally accepted these rules 
 •as given by Dr. l^aw, and would add the following, taken from 
 his evidence: 
 
 Q. I want to askyou, doctor, if you think strictly warm weather 
 lias an influence on the normal condition of an animal? 
 , A. Upon the normal condition of some animals. 
 
 Q. You would not think it as safe to condemn an animal in hot 
 -weather as under a moderate temperature? 
 
 A. No, it is not as safe if a hot wave happens to coincide with 
 -or follow an injection the next day. 
 
 Q. Then you prefer not to test an animal during the hot 
 -months? 
 
 A. Not for practical purposes; there is a certain time, for in- 
 stance in April, when the first hot days of spring come, cows get 
 a fever, a spring fever, and that same air temperature in the fall 
 would not affect them, but in the spring it does; or extra hot 
 -waves in July or August are also very bad. 
 
 Q. Then, doctor, it is a mere matter of judgment in the use of 
 4he tuberculin test? 
 
No. 43.] 29 
 
 A. Yes, sir; I have no fixed rule. 
 
 Q. Is it a knowledge you can impart to another? 
 
 A. I don't know. I think after studying the subject more and" 
 if I had experience with a large number of animals I could make- 
 a formula that could be used by another. 
 
 Q. The accuracy of tuberculin depends more on a man's judg- 
 ment than otherwise? 
 
 A. The accuracy of tuberculin is correct up to a certain point,, 
 but to get more accurate results requires all this careful work;: 
 we get up to 90 per cent., but to get to 95 per cent, is very diffi- 
 cult; we don't know as we will ever get to 100 per cent, of" 
 accuracy. 
 
 This evidence from such high authority would indicate that it 
 was little less than criminal to place, this poison in the hands of" 
 a man who has little knowledge of its use, and clothed with au- 
 thority under the law of the state to enter any farm, take posses- 
 sion of the herd, inject the tuberculin and condemn and place i»< 
 quarantine all animals showing a rifee of temperature of two or- 
 more degrees. The committee have found many instances in the^ 
 testing of cattle with tuberculin where the foregoing rules were- 
 apparently entirely ignored. 
 
 About July 1,- 1899, thirty-three cows in one herd were exam- 
 ined by the tuberculin test under the following conditions, as- 
 sworn to by the owner : They were all in milk, were taken from 
 the pasture at night, milked, the initial temperatures taken and 
 the tuberculin injected. About midnight the herd were turned' 
 in a small pasture, where feed Was very short and no water; the- 
 next morning they were put in the barn and remained there dur- 
 ing the day. The temperatures of each cow were taken every 
 hour. They had dry hay only for food, and no water during the- 
 
30 [Assembly 
 
 entire test, covering a period of twenty-four hours. Under these 
 conditions twenty-five cows were condemned and retained in 
 quarantine. Six of the cows showed a rise of temperature of 
 three degrees -or less; and two of them two degrees or less. 
 
 It has been the practice in this state to take but a single so- 
 called initial temperature. The evidence before the committee 
 would indicate that this is not sufficient to perform the most per- 
 fect work. 
 
 The usual method of applying tuberculin in this state is as fol- 
 lows : The temperature of each animal is taken about six o'clock 
 in the evening; at this time each animal is marked by placing a 
 numbered metal tag in the ear. About thirty drops of tubercu- 
 lin is injected through the skin of the neck or shoulder of each 
 animal weighing about one thousand pounds; after about eight' 
 hours, the temperatures are again taken of each animal every two 
 hours oftener during the following day. No definite rule is fixed 
 as "to the minimum rise of temperature required to condemn an 
 animal, but usually one showing a rise of two or more degrees 
 above the first or initial temperature is condemned as tubercu- 
 lous. Animals often show a temperature of two to four degrees 
 above normal from other causes than tuberculin. It is the prac- 
 tice therefore in other states, and undoubtedly a much safer plan 
 for the temperature to be taken several times during the after- 
 noon previous to the injection of tuberculin, or else the hours 
 immediately following the injection of tuberculin, that a line of 
 temperatures may be established. v In Canada five temperatures 
 are taken before the injection of tuberculin. The so-called nor- 
 mal temperature of some cows is a half to two degrees higher 
 than that of others. It is also a little higher in the evening than 
 in the morning in some animals. But if all the conditions are 
 
No. 43.] 31 
 
 normal the temperature of the same animal should be about the 
 same at the same hour in the day. , 
 
 Under an order passed by the Board of Health of the city of 
 Syracuse, in the fall of 1898, all cows furnishing milk for the city 
 were required to be tested with tuberculin. Under this order 
 over four thousand cows were so examined, and only about four 
 per cent, responded to the test. Five dairymen furnishing milk 
 for the city were examined by the committee. One testified to 
 the loss of one cow dhring the night after the injection, due ap- 
 parently to the effect of the tuberculin — and the shrinkage in 
 milk of the whole dairy for a day or two. Another testified that 
 one cow was very sick the night after the injection — the usual 
 number of quarts of milk from the herd per day was three hun- 
 dred and fifty — the shrinkage the first day after the test was 
 eighty, and the second day twenty-five quarts. Some had swell- 
 ings at the point of injection, and were made stiff in the should- 
 ers. Others testified to the bad effect of tuberculin on their 
 herds to a greater or less extent. , It is fair to say that the dairy- 
 men in this case were allowed to select their own veterinarians, 
 only they must be properly licensed. The investigating com- 
 miTttC* d^es not find that these bad results come from the proper 
 use of good tuberculin, but from its use by incompetent men. 
 The evil results to the dairymen of this state are, however, alike 
 from either cause. The use of tuberculin in the most skillful 
 hands will not detect the difference between an animal having a 
 single encysted tubercle, and an animal well advanced with the 
 disease. Cows in the advanced stages of the disease very often 
 fail to respond to the test; and in some instances we find that 
 cows which would be most apt to spread contagion to their fel- 
 lows, or if possible to the human family, have been given a 
 clean bill of health by the veterinarian making the examination. 
 
32 [Assembly 
 
 It is difficult to determine the exact percentage of cattle that 
 respond to the tuberculin test in the entire state. Most of the 
 examinations made have been those of herds that have been 
 known or supposed to be diseased. 
 
 In 1894, all of the cattle in a portion of the counties of Schenec- 
 tady and Saratoga were examined with tuberculin; of the whole 
 number examined (947), 71 cows were found to be diseased — a 
 fraction over 7 per cent. About 4 per cent, of the 4,200 cows 
 examined in the vicinity of Syracuse a year ago responded to the 
 test. Other evidence would go to shoW that the percentage of 
 cows that would respond to the tuberculin test in the entire 
 state would probably not exceed 6 or 7 per cent. 
 
 Some men have held that the use of tuberculin was oftentimes 
 the cause of tuberculosis. As already quoted from Dr. Law this 
 is impossible with properly prepared tuberculin. It is, however, 
 believed by a good many that its use upon animals but slightly 
 diseased, the germ being in a latent condition, has a tendency to 
 rouse the germ and bring it into active life, thereby hastening 
 the development of the disease. Upon this point, we quote again 
 from Dr. Law on the effect of tuberculin. He says: "That it 
 arouses into temporary activity the tuberculosis already existing 
 in the unsound animal is true. Were it not so it would be use- 
 less as a diagnostic agent. But if the state stands ready to 
 destroy and pay for the diseased, there can be no possible objec- 
 tion to the temporary aggravation which leads to the purifica- 
 tion of the herd." 
 
 » 
 
 Dairymen of the highest standing in this state and with large 
 
 experience with tuberculin have said, that its use upon animals 
 but slightly diseased had unquestionably hastened its develop- 
 ment, and they believe that many animals which would have 
 
No. 43.] 33 
 
 been valuable for breeding and milk producing to old age, have 
 been sacrificed on this account. ' 
 
 The committee finds that properly prepared tuberculin in the 
 hands of skilled veterinarians is almost infallible as a diagnostic 
 agent — but that its general use should not be forced upon the 
 dairymen of the state, where all animals that respond to its use 
 are compelled to be quarantined and slaughtered. 
 
 INDEMNITY. 
 The committee has already noted that in all of the states where 
 
 the examination, quarantine and slaughter of tuberculous ani- 
 mals is under state control, an indemnity is* paid to the owner of 
 from one-half to the full value of the animal^ destroyed. The 
 principle of indemnity is held by some to be wrong, but be that<as 
 it may, if the state seeks to rid or hold in check the herds within 
 its borders, of this disease, some remuneration must be paid to 
 the owners of the condemned cattle, otherwise the aim of the 
 state willbe defeated, and instead of eradicating the disease it 
 will be more likely to spread. The dairyman who is watchful 
 over his herd will in most instances detect an animal that is 
 drooping before the state authorities would be apprised of the 
 fact. Two dairymen testified before the committee at Owego, 
 substantially, as follows : " They had each detected a cow in 
 their herds that was drooping and from the symptoms thought 
 perhaps the cow was tuberculous. The state committee was no- 
 tified and the veterinarian sent to examine the herd in both in- 
 stances. The result of the examination by the tuberculin test 
 was, that in each herd one animal was condemned, but the sus- 
 pected animal was given a, clean bill of health. In each case the 
 suspected animal had to be destroyed within a few months after, 
 3 
 
34 [Assembly 
 
 and proved upon post-mortem examination to have generalized 
 tuberculosis. If the owner felt that these and possibly other 
 animals in his flock were to be destroyed without remuneration, 
 many times these diseased animals would be placed upon the 
 market and the infection thereby distributed to other and possi- 
 bly uninfected herds. 
 
 The indemnity should be such that the owner would be willing 
 to have diseased animals destroyed, but not high enough to make 
 it an inducement for him to sell diseased animals to the state. 
 
 The question for the state to determine is, shall it continue the . 
 policy of examination and destruction of tuberculous cattle, and 
 if so, in what way and to what extent shall the work be per-, 
 formed? The present policy of the state to examine certain 
 herds in distant portions of, the state with tuberculin and destroy 
 all that show disease by this critical test, and leave their places 
 to be filled by possibly other tuberculous animals, is not reducing 
 the number of tuberculous animals in the state. As one has well 
 illustrated, it is like removing quack grass from a small spot 
 here and there in a large field — the bare spot is in a little time as 
 thickly covered by the weed as before, and no benefit has been 
 derived from the work. 
 
 There are about 2,500,000 cattle in this .state at the present 
 time. If 7 per cent of these were found upon examination to be 
 diseased and destroyed, the indemnities required to pay the 
 awards at $20 per head would be three and one half million dol- 
 lars. Add to this the same amount of loss which the owners 
 must sustain under the present law, and we have a total loss 
 in stock value of - seven million dollars. To this must be added 
 the expense of the examination and destruction of the con- 
 demned cattle, and the loss to the owners sustained by the loss 
 
No. 43.] 35 
 
 of income from their herds, and higher price of dairy products 
 that must be paid by consumers, because of scanty supply for 
 some years, and you have an amount almost beyond computa- 
 tion. 
 
 It is believed by all that the disease can be communicated 
 from animal to animal and possibly from man to animal, there- 
 fore if the disease could be entirely removed from the cattle in 
 this state, it would be but a short time before they would again 
 be infected. " The idea that tuberculosis can ever be entirely . 
 eradicated from the bovine race seems absurd. To be able to 
 reduce it to the minimum is the duty and should be the aim of 
 the state. Other states that have adopted radical measures for 
 its extermination have abandoned them in a few years for more 
 conservative methods. Instead of covering only spots of the 
 state with the examination by the tuberculin test they have 
 adopted an examination and destruction by physical test cover- 
 ing large portions or all of the state. By this means they have 
 removed the animals that would spread contagion, and which 
 would be liable to be dangerous to public health. 
 
 Such should be the policy of this state. 
 
 SANITATION. 
 The Commissioner of Agriculture has authority under the 
 present law to inspect stables where dairy cows are kept, their 
 water supply, etc., and compel them to be placed in a sanitary 
 condition when danger to public health demands it. The com- 
 mittee would recommend that a sufficient appropriation should 
 be made for the department of agriculture that this work may 
 be extended and more thoroughly carried on. The eradication of 
 this disease from the herds of this state can be more effectually 
 and economically brought about by these methods than any 
 
36 [Assembly 
 
 other. The highest authority before the committee testified that 
 the tubercle bacilli are destroyed by a few hours of bright sun- 
 light, and that moderate sunlight would destroy it in a few 
 days; or that it would live a long period in dark damp places. 
 Freezing does not destroy it, but heating to the temperature of 
 175 degrees Fahrenheit will destroy the bacilli. 
 
 The decrease in the percentage of deaths from human consump- 
 tion already referred to in this report, has not been brought 
 about by the discovery of any remedy for the disease, but by more 
 sufficient clothing, more sunlight in the home and better san- 
 itary conditions generally. What has been done for the human 
 family in this direction can as surely be accomplished in the 
 bovine race by the same methods. 
 
 In Massachusetts all stables are inspected every year, and the 
 inspectors have the authority to compel dairymen to place them 
 in a sanitary condition by furnishing the required number of 
 cubic feet of air space for each animal, sufficient sunlight .and 
 proper ventilation. This law is not enforced in a manner to 
 make it a hardship to the dairymen, but as each is to build a new 
 stable or repair it, he is furnished with information necessary 
 to place it in the most sanitary condition under scientific 
 methods. Dr. Peters testified that great improvement had been 
 made in the condition of the stables in that state since working 
 under this law. Occasionally a stable built under the most 
 approved methods has been the home of tuberculous animals, 
 but such is not the rule. 
 
 Dr. Law examined a herd of about two hundred animals in 
 this state in 1885 that were owned by the state, and furnishing 
 milk for one of the state institutions. It was said that they 
 had been kept in a brick stable, the animals standing in two 
 
No. 43.] 37 
 
 rows facing each other, with too limited air space for each an- 
 imal and with very poor ventilation. The destruction of the 
 whole herd was finally deemed necessary, and upon post-mortem 
 examination every one of the animals was found to be more or 
 less, tuberculous. The committee have found other instances in 
 taking evidence that have been nearly or quite parallel to this. 
 The cattle of the western ranch are almost entirely free from the 
 disease. The evidence therefore seems very abundant that the 
 state can better use its funds along the lines of educational work 
 and requiring better sanitary conditions in the stables rather 
 than following the present policy of destroying all animals show- 
 ing a re-action under the tuberculin test. 
 
 The committee recommend the passage of a bill carrying out 
 the following recommendations: — 
 
 1st. That the present Tuberculosis Committee be abolished 
 and that the work of the protection of the herds of this state from 
 the infection of tuberculosis, and the examination and destruc- 
 tion of glandered horses be placed with the Commissioner of 
 Agriculture. 
 
 2nd. That the Commissioner of Agriculture shall appoint a 
 farmer well acquainted with the value of cattle who shall be 
 known as the State Appraiser of condemned cattle, whose duty 
 is shall be to accompany and assist the veterinarian in making 
 examinations of suspected herds and appraise those condemned. 
 
 3rd. That the state can only force the condemnation, quaran- 
 tine and slaughter of such animals as are found to be tubercu- 
 lous by physical examination. But if a dairyman elects to have 
 his herd tested with tuberculin and will enter into an agreement 
 with the state before such examination shall be made, that he 
 will disinfect his premises, and either slaughter or hold in strict 
 
38 [Assembly 
 
 quarantine all of the re-acting animals and their products, that 
 the state will assist him in his efforts td entirely rid his herd of 
 the disease. 
 
 4th. That the appraisal of condemned animals shall be made 
 at the time or imihediately following the examination. 
 
 5th. That the state shall pay the owner of all cattle 
 slaughtered under the provisions of this act, known to hare 
 been owned in this state at least one year, one-half of the ap- 
 praised value for all cattle found to be tuberculous; and full 
 appraised value for all cattle found to be non-tuberculous upon 
 post-mortem examination. 
 
 6th. The owner of condemned cattle shall be paid by the State 
 Treasurer out of any money appropriated for that purpose, the 
 amount of the certificate of indemnity as approved by the State 
 Appraiser, the Commissioner of Agriculture and the State 
 Comptroller. 
 
 7th. That no cattle shall be examined and condemned under 
 this act after the money appropriated for the indemnifying of 
 owners of such, cattle shall have been exhausted until another 
 appropriation shall have been made. 
 
 ABORTION IN COWS. 
 
 The contagious abortion in cows probably causes greater loss 
 to the dairymen of this state than all the other diseases com- 
 bined. One dairyman reported his loss as over $500 in the past 
 five years from this cause. The disease is supposed to be caused 
 by a so-called germ, but its history is unknown, and there is no 
 known remedy. A bill has been before the legislature the past 
 two years making an appropriation for a study of the cause and 
 remedy for the disease, but' it has failed to receive legislative ap- 
 
No. 43.] 39 
 
 proval. The dairymen urgently request that sufficient means 
 shall be placed in the hands of some competent person to in- 
 vestigate until the cause shall be discovered and a remedy 
 found. 
 
 The committee, therefore, recommend the passage of a bill 
 making an appropriation sufficient to conduct a thorough in- 
 vestigation of the cause and a remedy for the disease, and that 
 such appropriation shall be placed in the hands of the Director 
 of the State Veterinary College. 
 
 SHEEP SCAB. 
 
 Soon after the appointment of this committee, the chairman 
 was notified by the Commissioner of Agriculture, that several 
 complaints bad come to him~ from sheep feeders in the western 
 part of this State. That lambs purchased from the stock yards 
 at Buffalo during the past two years had been afflicted with this 
 disease to such an extent as to render their purchase extremely 
 hazardous. The Commissioner requested an investigation of the 
 subject by this committee. Some members of the committee 
 have twice visited the stock yards for personal inspection. The 
 committee also held hearings in Buffalo and Batavia, where fif- 
 teen witnesses were examined on the subject. The cause of this 
 disease is a small mite scarcely seen by the naked eye, which in 
 time burrows under the skin forming a sore which is later cov- 
 ered by a thick scab; the wool drops off, and a general unthrifty 
 condition follows. Properly dipping the sheep in a solution of 
 lime and sulphur, tobacco and sulphur or some of the so-called 
 carbolic dips, will kill the mite and so destroy the disease. 
 
 Formerly there had been a small private dip at the yards,, but 
 it was entirely inadequate for general use. During the past 
 
40 [Assemble 
 
 summer a large dip was built, said to be sufficient to accommo- 
 date ten thousand sheep a day. When the committee visited the 
 yards the second time, the dip was in operation. Results from 
 the dip there during the fall have not been entirely satisfactory. 
 
 The inspection of stock brought into this State is under the 
 direction of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States, 
 of which Dr. D. E. Salmon is chief. There are thirty-two in- 
 spectors stationed at Buffalo, of which Dr. 0. H. Zink is chief. 
 About one-half of them are employed in the examination of 
 dressed meat for foreign shipment. The remainder inspect the 
 live stock. About seventy-five thousand lambs are purchased 
 at the Buffalo yards every year and taken out upon the farms 
 for fattening. If the sheep have sheep seab when purchased in 
 the west, the inspectors should be able to discover the disease; 
 but if the infection occurs in transit from the cars or at the yards, 
 he could not discover it. In the latter case a single dipping in 
 a proper manner would destroy the mite and render the sheep 
 safe for purchase. If the disease had progressed far enough to 
 form a scab under which the mite had burrowed, a single dip- 
 ping would not destroy it. In such instances if the sheep sue-' 
 cessfully pass the inspector, the only salvation to the farmer is 
 a dip at the farm where the operation must be frequently re- 
 peated. This is quite expensive. 
 
 On the condition of the yards and their former treatment we 
 quote a letter from Dr. Salmon: 
 
 • August 4, 1899. 
 Hon. D. P. Witter, Biehford, Tioga County, N. Y.: 
 
 Dear Sir. — I beg to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of 
 your letter and telegram, and regret very much that I shall be 
 unable to meet you at Owego. I have asked our inspector at 
 
No. 43.] 41 
 
 Buffalo, Dr. C. H. Zink, to be at Owego on the 9th to give you 
 information concerning our method of inspecting sheep and deal- 
 ing with contagious diseases. 
 
 I desire to say for the department that we are always glad 
 to co-operate with State authorities, doing all we can under the 
 federal laws, and supplementing such action by any authority 
 that may be given us under State laws. 
 
 There has not been a very effective control of sheep scab in 
 the past, but this department is making more comprehensive 
 regulations and enforcing them more rigidly, and so far as inter- 
 state traffic is concerned, we shall endeavor to handle it as 
 thoroughly as possible without making the service unreasonably 
 burdensome to shippers. What we need for the protection of 
 New York State is some State legislation which will prohibit 
 the shipment of diseased or exposed sheep from the various stock 
 yards to points within the State. Most of the stock yards are 
 infected with scab, and it is rare that any sheep go through 
 them without becoming contaminated. Consequently, not only 
 the sheep which show symptoms of disease, but all sheep which 
 go into the country for feeding should be dipped in an efficient 
 preparation for destroying the scab mite. The department is 
 now insisting upon all diseased sheep being dipped in either a 
 tobacco-and-sulphur or a lime-and-sulphur dip, before they are 
 shipped from one State into another. If the same regulation 
 were applied to shipments without your State, I think the dis- 
 semination of this contagion would be for the most part pre- 
 vented. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 (Signed) D. E. SALMON, 
 
 Chief of Bureau. 
 
42 [Assembly 
 
 When the committee visited the yards the latter part of Sep- 
 tember, we found they had not been disinfected since June. 
 Some of them were not in a very cleanly condition. Several car- 
 loads at this time had already been purchased by the farmers, 
 the lambs dipped and taken out upon the farms for feeding. 
 
 In a letter from Dr. Zink, dated Buffalo, January 10, 1900, in 
 part, he says: "In accordance with the Bureau regulations gov- 
 erning the movements of the interstate shipments, and the re- 
 quest of the New York State Commissioner of Agriculture to 
 apply similar restrictions to intrastate shipments, since August 
 10, 1899, 24,240 sheep intended for feeding or breeding purposes 
 have been dipped; 8,360 were shipped to other States; 15,882 to 
 points within New York State. 
 
 " Referring to your criticism, it may be' stated that owners were 
 requested to notify this office of any outbreak of scabies or ill 
 effects which might follow among the dipped sheep." 
 
 Three direct complaints were received from among 115 lots. 
 
 Dr. Zink adds that of the three complaints noted, probably 
 two of them were not infected at the sheep yards. However, we 
 have evidence from other reliable feeders that their sheep had 
 developed the disease this fall as badly as before. Objection 
 was urged by some of the feeders that the solution in the vat 
 was not properly heated, which made it more liable to be in- 
 effective. On that point Dr. Zink says: 
 
 " It is true, as stated in your letter, that in the beginning of 
 the season the ooze was not heated. It was hoped that in the 
 exigency, due to unavoidable delay in equipping the steam 
 plant, extra attention to the thoroughness of immersion and 
 strength of ooze would sufficiently mitigate danger from lack of 
 artificial heat. Subsequently the ooze was maintained at the 
 temperature considered most effective." 
 
No. 43.] 43 
 
 On the disinfection of the yards during the latter part of the 
 season, and other work of the Department, we further quote 
 from Dr. Zink: 
 
 " The disinfection of the pens had not theretofore been satis- 
 factory to me. In compliance with my suggestion the following 
 approved method was adopted: Remove all litter and manure. 
 Wash the water-troughs with water until clean. Saturate the 
 entire interior surface of the floor, fencing and racks with the 
 solution made by dissolving four ounces of chloride of lime to 
 one gallon of water. 
 
 "Beginning December 1, 1899, dipping was discontinued be- 
 cause of the prevalence of freezing weather. Since that time 
 every other possible precaution has been taken to protect buyers. 
 No scabby sheep have been permitted to leave the yards, except 
 for immediate slaughter in Buffalo. Every commission dealer 
 agreed to notify of intended shipments to feeders, which latter 
 have been examined carefully in a manner exactly similar to that 
 required for export sheep. 
 
 " I have not succeeded in obtaining clean and disinfected cars 
 in all cases, not because I have not tried, but because I have not 
 the authority to compel the railroads to furnish them. To re- 
 quire the railroads to conform with what is now merely a re- 
 quest would entail a heavy expense and serious delay. More 
 rolling stock, sidings, etc., would be required. It is an exceed- 
 ingly complex problem, of which the cleaning and disinfecting 
 itself is the simplest part." 
 
 We believe thatwe can report aconsiderableimprovement in the 
 efforts made to protect the sheep feeders in this State. With 
 the means at hand it would seem that the work of inspection and 
 disinfection had been more thoroughly done than formerly. 
 
44 [Assemble 
 
 Dr. Salmon wrote me at the beginning that he did not think 
 he had authority sufficient to perform all the work necessary, and 
 requested an amendment to the State law granting him the 
 right, in the case of all contagious and infectious diseases that 
 was granted under the law approved April 14, 1887, which was 
 intended for the eradication of pleuropneumonia. He says in-a 
 letter dated January 17, 1900, that an intimation from the Gov- 
 ernor to him, that he would like the provisions of the act of 
 1887, just referred to, enforced in regard to all contagious 
 animal diseases, would be sufficient; and the attention of the 
 Governor has been called to this fact. 
 
 Several prominent sheep men in this State have objected to the 
 lime and sulphur dip recommended by Dr. Salmon because of its 
 injury to the wool. They have found the carbolic dips effectual 
 when properly applied, and find no injury to the sheep or wool 
 from their use. On the subject of the lime and sulphur dip, and 
 the reasons for its use, Dr. Salmon says: 
 
 " I favor the lime and sulphur for two reasons. First, it 'is 
 the cheapest dip that can be made, and, secondly, it is the most 
 efficient and lasting in its effects. The lime and sulphur com- 
 bination is deposited upon the wool and remains there a long 
 time, forming, with the oily matter, an ointment which is de- 
 structive to young mites that hatch out after the dipping. It 
 is somewhat injurious to the wool, but if properly made it is not 
 very objectionable on this account. The carbolic dips are less 
 efficient and cause a much greater loss in the condition, of the 
 sheep, probably enough to counterbalance any difference that 
 there may be in the effect upon the wool. 
 
 " The difficulty in stockyard work is that sheep can only be 
 treated once, and that nearly all dips must be used twice in 
 
'I 
 No. 43.] . 45 
 
 order to get anything like satisfactory results, The lime and 
 sulphur — to put the Sediment consisting of a pasty mass of lime 
 and sulphur into the vats, where it becomes plastered over the 
 wool, and is much more active than the soluble constituents — 
 in using this dip we require that the sediment should all be 
 allowed to subside and only the clear liquid run off into the 
 dipping vat." 
 
 The intentions of the Department at Washington can best be 
 given by quoting from the letter, of recent date referred to from 
 Dr. Salmon: 
 
 " I note what you say in regard to your personal inspection ' 
 of the stockyards at Buffalo, and beg to explain that until re- 
 cently we have not attempted to cause the disinfection of sheep 
 yards. I propose now to have them thoroughly disinfected, so that 
 when we begin the dipping in the spring we shall dip everything 
 that is diseased and exposed in- the recognized sheep dips, and 
 allow the other either to go without dipping or to be dipped in 
 such mixture as the owners prefer." 
 
 From the evidence given it will be seen that another year must 
 elapse before it ean be determined what the results of the De- 
 partment in its efforts to guard the sheep feeders shall be. The 
 committee believe that considerable good has already been ac- 
 complished and trust that all the sheep feeders can reasonably 
 ask for will soon be accomplished. In the meantime we recom- 
 mend that the Commissioner of Agriculture keep himself in- 
 formed upon the progress of the work. 
 
 f 
 
 FUNDS. 
 The amount appropriated for the use of the committee was 
 $2 500. The total expenses of the committee, assistants and wit- 
 nesses, some cf whom traveled long distances, is about $700. 
 
46 [Assembly, No. 43.] 
 
 The remainder of the money used has been for salaries of ste- 
 nographer and other assistants. The total 'amount used by the 
 committee is not yet known, but will be somewhat less than the 
 amount appropriated. 
 
 D. P. WITTER, 
 ALBERT T. FANCHER, 
 NELSON H. HENRY, M. D., 
 ANTHONY P. BARRETT. 
 
Cornell University Library 
 SF 781.N7 
 
 Report.Transmitted to the Legislature Fe 
 
 3 1924 003 482 803