Setter's Column.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXII, Issue 307, 26 January 1894, Page 3

Setter's Column.

, XFW ZEALA2H) DEPABTMENT OF AGRICULj TORE.

JQM&J).. RITCHIE, Secretary, LEA3MaTS; FOEFAiRICEBS, ?4To. 8.

The following i ate rim report; on mortality amongst sheep on the west coast of the North Island is. published for the information of sheepowners. JOHS D. BJTCHIE, December 20, 1893. Mortality- amongst iSheep on the west coast of the North Island. Inters report by J, B. Charlton, M.R.C.V.B , Government Veterinarian. ' ■'■'-'■'■ '■■■■ Sheep in very considerable numbers hare bpen dying on the: farms along tbis ooast, chiefly from a disease described by my predecessor, Mr MeClean, M.80.V.5., as Yellow Atrophy of the Liver. During the pa*t ten days many farms have been vi»<ited : the living: sheep, the pastures, water, <ftc, hare received special attention ; add every organ ■.ami tissue of the body havp been subjected to close' Sdrutitiy-*-the micro«cope being much in reqiiipitiion. Many autopsies 4 have been held, the content* of the 'stomachy etc., being careful ly examined . The ' jfo'thblngV , ! etiology, therapeutics, etc., of thisi disease will be minutely dealt 'with on a future ooeamoti/ In the mean. time, as the matter is bne of such great import to the settlers, it has been thought advisable to mention a few of the most marked and easily detected,, symptoms, and to indicate very roughly and briefly the cause, and treatment, curative and prevcn. tive. ■.. . ... ..' . ■ V. : , %, . . : . „ (a.) iSymp<<ww.~Snatohing movement of the right £ore, limb after rest, with occasional lameness ;;■ drooping of both enf|^a^|rß^,.9i|ly when at rest, afterwards constantly j a watery difclißrffe from the eyes, and a pecuHj* and striking expresßion of face j (Jiaincltotfion io mov? , and apparent h\m)itf to briffg" tbe Wd legs %• ward, the feet ; aeeming „ fco $c . (put down almost from whence they were lilted. jTbe nose $j. protruded,: the breathing becomes laboured; the wool otiVw mftty' J^iledf^out ; f and tne flWp, having usually selected a j quiet or shaded place, sinks iand expires. Frequently from thirty-*?* $> forty-eight hours > between ' Ifce early-marked sy mpto ms and dea^, though often the time ia mucb shbrteh, and a sheep will* be found sometimes dying or dead which bad previously shown no marked feigns %fNllrVess. Cause. — In all paddocks where these deaths occur it has been found that there :is present in enormous excess food in which -« the : albuminoid ratio must be probably 1:3 5. So] great indeed, is Abft profusion in which Trifqlia ,ar© found l 5 thai; a sheep may almost lie down and ; obtain all; it cat) consume without moving. That sheep will suffer from acute and .extensive degenerative, changes in the liver wben # kept under such conditions, especially so in a climate like this, h surely au indisputable and well-known fact. * ; .. „ . : ... •: ■-:■ Ti . , •.. • ■ Treatment. —The sheep should be 'removed to a paddock in which there is not a great profusion of food, and in which. they will partake of exercise in search of food. Food must be at their disposal in such variety as will insure the presence of the well-known ingredients which are absolutely essential to the maintenance of a proper nutritive balance. Beyond this a dose of laxative medicine, and a convenient supply of water in which a little chlorate of potash, may be dissolved, will .jbe^ the, only treatment necessary. WBien change of pasture cannot be effected, the affected flock should be quietly driven, into a stockyard, or in to. sheep-pens where such are available, each night, and only I allowed on the pasture by day. Care mast be taken, however, to avoia* overcrowding in tbe pens. Addendum. (b ) Settlers must carefully note that this is not the condition in wnicK sheep pine more or less slowly away, becoming emaciated, and in some instances loosing their sight; the eyes sometimes sloughiug prior to death. Sheep kepi on pasture exclusively consisting of Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanattu), which is nothing more or less than an obnoxious weed, and cocksfoot • {Dactylis glomerata), cannot possibly remain in perfect health for any prolonged period ; and, though the Bbtep'a eye is peculiarly susceptible to tbe uitiaeoce of atmospheric and other conditions, yet there is no doubt that it is rendered especially so when the sheep are. kept on a diet such as indicated above. Cooksfoot, of cotirse, has excellent qualities when young, ao^ ; roixed in proper proportions with, vother suitable grasses; hut when.it ' tyfte/ and forms almost the only article of diet in a pasture, health- cannot he maintained. Of the extraordinary influence of improper food upon the eyes, the experiments of Chdssat, Letellier, Majendie, and others leave no doubt: repeated experiments proving with absolute certainty that a particular diet when persisted in produced opacity, nlceration, and ruptnre of the cornea, with escape of the humours of the eye, and total blindness. (It has been found that some of settlers regard the two conditions, (a) and f b), as identical). ■ J, B. Chabltok, M.RC.V.B., M.P.S., &c., December,lsth, 188 p. „r .