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In the last annual report it was stated that 4,997 cows had been inspected during the period
1st July, 1908, to 16th January, 1909, and that 147, or 2*9 per cent., were found to have clinical
symptoms of disease of the udder. The proportion of tuberculous cows in 1909 shows improvement
when compared with the proportion in the antecedent period. The Council's veterinary
inspector has found that farmers are disposing of their older cows and this may have affected the
proportion of cows which were found to have tuberculous udders.
The Royal Commission on Tuberculosis issued in January, 1909, a Third Interim Report. The
opinion had already been expressed (Second Interim Report) that " a very considerable amount of
disease and loss of life, especially among infants and children, must be attributed to the consumption •
of cow's milk containing tubercle bacilli." If the udder be affected with tuberculosis, the milk contains
tubercle bacilli; but may the milk contain such bacilli when the udder presents no evidence of
disease ? The Commissioners answer this question affirmatively. They experimented with the milk
of tuberculous cows showing no sign of disease of the udder during life, and found that the milk contained
tubercle bacilli. They say " The presence of tubercle bacilli in the milk of cows clinically
recognisable as tuberculous confirms the opinion we expressed in our Second Interim Report that the
milk of such cows must be considered dangerous for human beings."
They further investigated the risk of contamination of milk with tubercle bacilli contained in
" dirt of various kinds from cows and the cowsheds," which as they say " is almost constantly present
in milk as it reaches the consumer." They report that " Cows suffering from extensive tuberculosis
of the lungs must discharge considerable numbers of bacilli from the air passages in the act of coughing,
and some of the bacilli thus expelled may find their way into the milk. But our experiments indicate
that the excrement of cows obviously suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs or alimentary canal must
be regarded as much more dangerous than the matter discharged from the mouth or nostrils. We
have found that even in the case of cows with slight tuberculous lesions tubercle bacilli in small
numbers are discharged in the faeces, while us regards cows clinically tuberculous our experiments
show that the faeces contain large numbers of living and virulent tubercle bacilli."

1The slaughter-houses within the jurisdiction of the City of London are not licensed by the London County Council.
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