EMBARGO ON BRITISH STOCK.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20920, 29 July 1933, Page 16

EMBARGO ON BRITISH STOCK.

', lu TILE EDITOR CK THE I'KES-i. '! Sir,—l have been very much inter- ; j estcd in the correspondence carried on \I by "Straggler." "Woodbine,'-' and i I "Riverslcy." and I sympathise with -1 "Woodbine." After reading his letters 'il understand that he has recently ' I found out that his herd requires a bit ' of fresh blood in it. but he has over- >! looked the fact that he could improve Li his herd if he went down to South- ■! land and bought a good bull, or if that ■ < would take him too far from home, t : why not go up to Lincoln College and > | get a fiood sire there. When he has ' I reached the end of his resources in i New Zealand it will be time enough . then to talk about importing cattle ■ from Britain. - Docs "Woodbine" realise that if he ■ was allowed to import cattle to im- ■ i prove his herd, he is asking farmers j who have herds which it has taken 11 years to build up, to run the risk of •! infection, which they are not prepared Mto do. Foot-and-mouth disease is not !I a disease to make light of, as any- •! one who has a knowledge of the disi ease knows, and if once New Zealand j had this disease to fight we would find that h would be far more serious than the present slump in prices. I j I would like "Woodbine" to note this. "11 agree with him when he says that » the disease is not very deadly, but does [ he know that if a cow takes foot-and- . mouth disease she is reduced to a . skeleton and is useless for milking, so , that if "Woodbine" had this disease , in his herd and allowed it "to rip" as he. suggests, 7 per cent, would die j and the rest of his herd would produce '. no milk, so they might as well be ■ dead. ; Ido not intend to enter further into . the discussion, but I challenge "Wood- ; bine" to deny this fact. He ought to . study the history of the disease in Bri- ; tain before he writes anv more.—■ ! Yours, etc.. ' i CALEDONIAN.