A COUNTRYMAN Looks Back, published in 1973 by Taylor & Sons, Minety, Wiltshire, gives a vivid account of life in a Wiltshire village in times of peace and war. I found author Mr Manners' chapter on TT milk production of particular interest.

He states that for many years a disease, bovine tuberculosis, had been rife among milking herds. Having held an accredited milk producer's licence since 1937, Mr Manners decided to have his herd privately tuberculin tested in 1951.

The tested showed that at least half his animals were 'reactor', or positive for infection. He sold every animal on his farm, keeping his land free from cattle for at least three months. He knocked out all wooden partitions and structures with which the cows had been in contact, disinfected the premises and erected new tubular cow ties and water bowls.

Having got his house in order, he replaced the herd with tuberculin tested cattle from an area in Scotland which was already scheduled as clean and 100 per cent eradicated of the disease.

In short, Mr Manners states that he never felt safe buying tuberculin tested cattle from a local market where they could have come into contact with untreated animals.

So he continued to make up his own herd to about 25 by direct buying from two local farmers and building up his herd of tuberculin tested cattle to about 40 by rearing his own calves.

The point is that in 1951, Mr Manners and two other local farmers managed with logic, hygiene and careful management to eradicate TB from their dairy herds.

Since then, over 20,000 badgers have been killed, ancient setts have been decimated, and badgers have been held up as a scapegoat for a problem that as Mr Manners' account proved had nothing to do with them.

Are Mr Manners' answers to bovine tuberculosis too true, too simple, too embarrassing or too inconvenient?

JANET HALL

North Home Road

Cirencester