BUSH SICKNESS,

Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 22, 26 July 1910, Page 4

BUSH SICKNESS,

♦ «. IMPORTANT EXPERIMENT. CLAIMED TO HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. fBX TELEGRAPH — SPECIAL TO THBTOST.] AUCKLAND, This Day. Judging by the results of some experiments that have lately been conducted a remedy for the mysterious bush sickness has been discovered. Cattle over an immense area of country from Taupo to Tauranga are liable to the disease, and it is Tampant at Mamaku nc-ar Eotorua. Mr. O. H. Clinkard, who has a large holding at Mamaku, resolved to try to meet the evil by feeding, bran to his dairy cows, and for his first experiment he claims complete succeed. Mr. Clinkard set to work on the basis of a statement by the Uhief (iovcrnmenu Veterinarian. Mr. i^akes, that the soil is dencieno m phobpliai.es. He decided to endeavour to su^piy this element in an artificial manner, 4 nd knowing tnat brau as rich m paoppuares he ordeied a quan tity of tins teed and supplied it to tmee dairy cows. Ihese cow* had previously be&n attacked by bush sicKness after having been on tiie affected pastures for twelve months. 'ihey haa therefore Ueea tiansierred to a nee d.strict, and after recovering there had been, bougho back to Mamaku. They had been back about five months, when one oi the animals became se.ously aiiected with the complaint and another became slightiy alteeted. Then h was that Air. Clinkard began to try the bran cure. He supplied a ration ot 2lb to 3ib of bran per cow per day. The worst affected, cow entirely recovered within a week, the second animal threw oft dll symptoms, and the third did not ctevfelop any wgns of illne.«s. As a further .test ot this remedy Mr Clinkard memions that at the time he bent away thiee cows he also sent away a team of working bullocks which hud not been on. th«, alfected ground as long as the cowa. They remained in the disease-free distriot as long as th» cows and came back on the aiiecttd area on the same day v being in exactly the same pasture as the cows. When the bullocks were- on the affected area again foT six months they all developed the sickness and had to be once more sent away. These bulocks did not receive bran. I& is admitted that cows are more susce{> tiblo to the bush sickness than bullocks yet the cows which received the ration of bran entirely escaped the complaint. Air. Clinkard is so convinced that ithe deficiency of phosphate in the pasture can be easily and economically supplied by providing the stock with bran that ho is making an offer Jo the Department of Agriculture to keep his herd on the affected pastures for the coming season and will supply them for a sufficient period, th© only condition being that should he suffer loss through failure of the experiment he should receive some compensation f.or any actual loss. In forest 'districts where cultivation is impossible until the stumps d-?cay and where surface dressing with phosphate manures would be expensive, the supply of phosphate through such a feed as bran is affirmed to bt, commercially economical. It tends to increase the milk supply and moreover, regular artificial feeding saves the necessity of driving in the cows and the actual cost of -the bran is more than repaid by increased 1 returns, apart from, the avoidance of the very toublesome and dangeous so-called disease. What the success of such a method would mean may be gauged from the fact that between Taupo and Tauranga there is an immense area of affected country — over a million acres.

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