BIG PROBLEMS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 138, 15 June 1927, Page 19

BIG PROBLEMS

DISEASES IN CATTLE

WORK AT WALLACEVILLE

WHAT IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED

Few people in New Zealand appear to realise the valuable nature of the work which is being carried out by officers of the Department of Agriculture at the laboratory at Wallaceville. Most people have a hazy idea that such a place exists, but there is a regrettable ignorance of its activities. Possibly the Department is itself to blame for this ignorance, for apart ! from a few brief references in official publications—of which the average man steers clearlittle has been made available to the public. The laboratory, in fact, has been under a cloud of secrecy, and even farmers, for whose benefit it was established, have failed to make as much use of it as might reasonably be expected. The fact remains, however, that for twenty years or more the laboratory has been working at full pressure in an endeavour to solve the many problems which beset the man on the land, and tend to make the business of farming a somewhat precarious means of livelihood. Knowing something of the value of the work being carried out at Wallaceville, the writer paid a special visit to the laboratory, by permission of die Director-General of Agriculture (Dr. C. J. Reakes), and was at once struck by.the high standard of efficiency which has been attained. The officer in charge (Mr. Cyril Hopkirk) is a man with a real enthusiasm for his work, and he has under him a small but thoroughly efficient staff. Attached to the laboratory are about 120 acres of land, and of this area about 100 acres are in use. On the farm there is a small herd of cattle and a few sheep, and another feature is an up-to-date and well-stocked poultry run. The live stock also includes a large number of guinea pigs, about six hundred of which are annually sacrificed in the cause of science, and a few rats and mice, which are also used for the purpose of detecting the effects of certain bugs and parasites. While at the laboratory the writer was shown a number of guinea pigs which

had been experimented upon, and one little chap, doomed to go to his forefathers before the shades of evening fell, was making a last game fight against an inexorable fate. A rat was also being prepared for "treatment." His duty it was to test out the qualities of a certain honey, suspected of being poisonous, and for this purpose he was being starved in order that later he might take his fill—and, probably pay the penalty. ' TWO BRANCHES. There are two sides to the work that is being carried out at Wallaceville. Owing to the fact that at present there is no Institute of Dairying in New Zealand, much of the work that would in the ordinary course of events be carried out at such an institution is done at Wallaceville. This entails a considerable amount of extra work, but of this the laboratory will be relieved when the institute commences operations at Palmerston North. The main work of the Wallaceville laboratory is in dealing with the diseases of animals, and much valuable information has been gleaned in regard to the diseases .which affect cows. The main diseases which are having a big effect on the dairy industry in New Zealand are contagious mammitis, contagious abortion, and temporary sterility. In regard to contagious mammitis, continuous work has been going on at Wallaceville over a number of years, and good progress has been made. The organism which is the specific cause of contagious mammitis has been discovered, but so far it has not been found possible to set up the disease organically. Experiments are being carried on steadily, however, and a solution of the difficulty is confidently expected before long. Until that difficulty is overcome it is not possible to arrive at any definite cure for the condition, but the laboratory officials are working-on the lines that prevention is better than cure. It is a fact a herd that is well cared for does not suffer' to the same extent from contagious mammitis as a herd that is indifferently cared for. Herd hygiene is really the secret of prevention. Contagious mammitis affects about 2or per cent, of'the cows in the Dominion, and is costing the country many thousands of pounds a year. A COSTLY DISEASE. Contagious abortion is another disease which greatly affects cows of New Zealand, and in this connection also much valuable research work has been carried put at WallaceviUe.

In this disease, as well as in the case of contagious mammitis, prevention is the main consideration. It is a fact that practically every herd in New Zealand is affected, and the ravages of the disease are costing the dairy farmer many thousands of pounds annually. The only real remedy appears to lie in the direction of absolute cleanliness, but to bring this about involves such a multitude of precautionary measures which for the average farmer are altogether beyond his means. The ideal to strive for would be the establishment of an absolutely clean district, free altogether of contagious abortion, but unfortunately it is impossible to get farmers to pull together. One method of preventing the spread of the disease is the isolation of affected cows in hospital paddocks until such time as the discharge has stopped. It is a remarkable fact that very few cows abort more than once, and it is here that many New Zealand farmers make a big mistake. Instead of holding on to their own stock farmers restock, with the result that they have to put up again with the ravages of the disease. They overlook the fact that their old stock would serve them better sd far as reproduction is concerned. An interesting experiment is being carried- out at Wallaceville in connection with this disease. What is known as the clean herd is being kept on one side of the farm while the dirty herd is kept on the other. Both herds use the same milking shed, but as far as possible they are kept apart. The result of this experiment will be awaited with interest, as the precautions that are being taken are such as might be taken by any dairy farmer in New Zealand. Interesting reference to the means of preventing disease, is made in "Research and the Land," a recent publication dealing with agricultural research, and one extract from this will bear quotation:

Those who are fortunate enough to possess healthy' herds should make' it their business to prevent the introduction of the disease. At present there appears to be only, one certain method, viz., to avoid the purchase of new animals as far as possible, and not to admit any new animal to the herd until it has been ascertained by a blood test that it is free from the disease. It is true, however, that a healthy herd could probably be kept healthy by purchasing for introduction into the herd neither male nor female animals that have reached breeding age. This suggestion is based on the fact, ascertained by numerous blood tests of all the animals in infected herds, that with rare exceptions animals about a year old are free from the disease.

Another disease which affects the

dairy herds of New Zealand is temporary sterility in cows, and no reason for this disease has yet been arrived at. This disease is also very prevalent in New Zealand, and is costing the farmers and the country some hundreds of thousands of pounds every j'ear. SHEEP DISEASES. The laboratory at Wallaceville has been carrying out a number of experiments in regard to sheep diseases, and latterly special attention has been paid to fluke or liver rot, which has been causing great 'mortality in the Hawkes Bay district. It is stated that in one particular area, 5 per cent, of the sheep die from this disease, the nature of which is a gradual wearing away of sheep's liver. Poisons thus set up act very quickly, and it is estimated that an affected sheep will die within twelve months. The laboratory officials have been carrying out a large number of experiments in regard to this disease, and Mr. Hopkirk is confident that before very long he will arrive at a solution of the problem, which to the Hawkes Bay farmer is a very real one. Within the past few weeks Mr. Hopkirk has spent some time in the Hawkes Bay district, and has collected much data which will be of great use to him in his investiga-, tions. One discovery that has been made is that a plentiful supply of green feed will help the sheep to escape the ravages of the disease. Other problems affecting sheep which have been tackled at Wallaceville are those connected with lamb mortality in the South, anthritis, and lymphanitis. ROUTINE WORK. _ In addition.to dealing with specialised problems, the main of which have been outlined above, the laboratory is called upon to deal with a ni'mber of routine problems, submitted to it by farmers and others. Numerous blood samples, for instance, are tested each year, and numerous other articles forwarded for analysis. All this work is carried out without any charge. Altogether officers stationed at Wallaceville are kept busily engaged all the year round. In order to achieve success it is necessary that they should apply themselves closely to their work, and this often entails continuous working over a fairly long period of hours. If the work is arduous, however, they have the satisfaction of knowing that they are playing a big part in assisting the farmer to make | the most of his business. ____, •■ -.