BLACKLEG IN CATTLE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12477, 12 April 1906, Page 2

BLACKLEG IN CATTLE.

THE EPIDEMIC IN TARANAKI.

(SPICIAI, TO " THE PKESS. ,, ) WELLINGTON, April 10. The eettlere in Taranaki, the principal dairying district in New Zealand, are greatly alarmed at the spread of blackleg amongst their calves, and they are now asking the Government to appoint a Commission to enquire into it, with a view to minimising the epidemic. During a recent visit to the district I made many enquiries es to the spread of this disease, and found that it had this eeason made its appearance on many farms that hitherto were free from it. Some of the settlers blamed the alleged faulty inoculation for the increase in the disease, but so far as I could ascertain there was no direct proof that there lad been any faulty inoculation. Tie fact of the matter is that the disease has obtained a strong hold in the district, and it will be difficult to etemp it out. Regulations quarantining the affected area were gazetted and enforced to a ceitain extent, but as Mr Gilroth stated in his last annual report, it is not to be expected that by issuing regulations they will ever completely stamp out blackleg in the Taranaki district. The spores of the microbes are most resistant to all ordinary, and even many extraordinary, germicidal influences, and are capable of persisting in any soil for years, so that it will be necessary for a considerable period to vaccinate the young cattle on forms where the disease has already appeared. One very shrewd settler with whom I diecuesed the subject, etated I?hat in many cases the oalvos died through improper feeding, the necessary nutritive qualities) having been nearly all extracted fronn the milk by the cream eeparators. The position is a very serious one for the Tananalci dadry farmer and for tho district as a whole, especially in view of the extraordinary high prices tlafc many of the dairy farmers have given for their land. The prevalence of contagious abortion amongst cows ip another serioW matter for the Taranaki dairy farmer. **