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fore most important that this should be widely known, especially in this
district where large quantities of meat are sold.
I will add a few more extracts from the same report.
" We have obtained ample evidence that food derived from tuberculous
" animals can produce tuberculosis in healthy animals."
" Tuberculous disease is observed most frequently in cattle and in swine.
" It is found far more frequently in cattle (full grown) than in calves, and
" with much greater frequency in cows kept in town cow-houses."
" There is always a difficulty in making sure of the absence of tuberculous
" matter from any part of a carcase that shows evidence of tubercle
" elsewhere."
" The milk of cows with tuberculosis of the udder possesses a virulence
" which may be described as extraordinary."
" It should be noted that this affection of the udder is not peculiar to
" tuberculosis in an advanced stage, but may be found also in mild cases."
" Ordinary processes of cooking applied to meat which has got contami"
nated on its surface are probably sufficient to destroy the harmful quality.
" They would not avail to render wholesome any piece of meat that con"
tained tuberculous matter in its deeper parts. In regard to milk we are
" aware of the preference by English people for drinking cow's milk raw, a
" practice attended by danger, on account of possible contamination by
" pathogenic organisms. The boiling of milk, even for a moment, would
" probably be sufficient to remove the very dangerous quality of tuberculous
" milk."
And from Professor Brown's further report I may quote :—
" Tuberculous animals might be removed to slaughter-houses reserved
" for the purpose, in which proper means might be provided for destroying or
" sterilising meat as might be necessary, without any risk of contaminating the
' carcases of healthy animals."
" It was allowed by witnesses for the meat trade that obviously bad meat
" from tuberculous animals should be destroyed without hesitation "; and
they also " admitted the risk of the infection of meat, not only of the
" tuberculous carcase, but also of other animals in the same slaughter-house
by the agency of knives, &c."
These facts show the great importance of precautionary measures by
competent supervision of animals before and during slaughtering.
Tn connection with this I may mention that Professor Joseph Coates, of