TUBERCULOSIS COWS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13349, 6 April 1914, Page 8

TUBERCULOSIS COWS.

CHRISTCHURCH, last night. i Nineteen tuberculous cows m a herd of 45 is a startling percentage. It was found m the herd of the dairymen supplying the hospital with milk, and the cows were killed. The hospital authorities had stipulated m calling for ten-ders-that the herds must be free from tuberculosis. The matter cropped up at a meeting of the Social Democratic party held at St. Albans, when a gentleman, who stated that he was a dairy expert, said that a dairyman out of whose 45 cows 19 were iufected with tuberculosis was still supplying the hospital with milk. This gentleman expressed, the opinion that 60 per cent, of the cows m the Christchurch district were affected by the disease. Upon these remarks strong comment was passed from the platform. Mi' H. B 7 Sorensen, chairman of the hospital committee, said that the percentage of cows with tuberculosis was as stated, but the 19 had all been killed before the hospital was supplied. In consideration of this loss, the board agreed to give the dairyman a halfpenny more per gallon than he had entered for, and the |StVpl>ly had been so satisfactory that the coutract' ; had been held for another year. The hVrd was now perfectly clean. Mr Sorensen wa-s quite prepared to admit that other dairymen might have a. larger proportion of tuberculous cows than 19 ih 45. He said that, as an auctioneer, he had only too good reason to know (speaking of a few years ago), that there were any Amount of badlyinfected cows. Parliament denied tlie City Council power to supervise the milk trade fn the city. ______