NEW SOUTH WALES.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 857, 13 July 1867, Page 3

NEW SOUTH WALES.

LATEST REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF . SCAB. Sib,— l have the honor to report that the sheep in this Colony are now entirely free from scab; and as this result has been fortunately attained, it may be both interesting and instructive to recur briefly to the origin and extent. of the disease, and to review the measures adopted by the owners in cleansing their infected sheep, and the success with which they were attended, as well as to consider what steps should be adopted for the future protection of our flocks, . OBIGIN OF THE OUTBBEAK. The origin of the disease in this instance, although not positively proved, has been very clearly settled by circumstantial evidence ; for the infection of the flocks on the Namoi and Bogan, in which scab was first discovered, has been traced beyond dispute to some culls of fat flocks taken there from Sydney to Maitland in the end of 1862. These culls, again, which had been drafted out from time to time by the carcass butchers, and sold by them in small flocks as store sheep, must have been infected either by some of the Victorian sheep, which were, then largely imported for slaughter (the culls from which formed a large portion of those taken up the country), or by infected sheep imported for breeding purposes, and sent out, as they sometimes were, to paddocks in the neighbourhood of Windsor and Bickmond, where they might have come in contact with the butchers' culls. In either way it is now known that there were many opportunities by which the disease might nave been introduced j for scab has for years been so rife in Victoria as to render it impossible for sheep to have been brought fVoxn Melbourne in the numbers they were in 1862, without some of them being scabby ; and in the early part of 1864, several instances were met with of breeding, sheep which had been imported during the previous year from the neighbouring Colonies, and from Europe, haying been landed diseased. There can, therefore, be no doubt that the infection was imported, and most probably by the sheep brought from Melbourne for slaughter; for although very great laxity prevailed in the inspection arid dressing of sheep imported for breeding purposes, it is believed that they were generally inspected, while those intended

f6% slaughter seldom were^soan-Sy^e^-^ j and never in Newcastle, Vhere they wko landed in considerable numbers; from 'the- 1 (-, vessels engaged in the coal trade between' v' that port aha Melbourne. ■•■ • •;: ■"-'■'• '■■.' ■;•','. EXTENT OF OUTBBEAK. . C ', „ As will be seen, by the taTbulated |ie- -C, port herewith, marked .No. ; i,'thi as^ii?-V ; ; ' tamed and estimated numbers of. v sfi|e]j ; )' infected during this outbreak ambWel to 350,000 ; of which, 143,191 we^Walt;. ; . with or were accounted for previous jo '•"'""" the Act' of 1863 coming into force,- and 206,809 under that Act. . Nearly all these . sheep were infected when it was discovered that the scab had broken out ; and '.al- ,; T though if may at first appear strange'%at , \-[ the disease could have spread to such an; extent before being detected, it will not do so, when it is considered that our flocks had been so long free from the disease ' that owners were completely off their : guard, and few of them even knew scab,. "', or could recognize it when they saw it. The season, too* was altogether in' favour . ' of the development of the disease; for ' through its severity, not . only were the sheep in the state most susceptible of the infection, but stragglers from the infected travelling flocks. — especially from that which was taken to the N.amoi — were dropped on every run through which they' passed ; and the owners on these stations, attributing their miserable appearance solely to starvation, did not destroy them, as they ought to have done.. '. , : ': MEABUBES ADOPTED IN CLEANSING-/ AND\-: " BEsui,T. . :.'. " '. ,-.'.;■;.- \v :<1 " If. sheep-ov^.ers .geneja^r' , werftp.it|^.#g loss_in. detectingHhe toea^Ttfcbse or ment^-' who were so, u^olrtunate^lrto have their ■ sheep infected were still more -so in cleansing them ; and as will be seen on reference . to Beport No. 2 (where the details of the dressings are given in. each case), many . different sorts of medicaments were tried for that purpose, but so frequently without success that, what with the expenses of medicines, and the . cost . of applying .. them, joined with the losses otherwise, consequent on the disease remaining: on these stations, it would, in many, cases, have paid the owners better had the sheep - been destroyed by Government, and the ,\ old rate of compensation (4s. a sheep) been : paid for them. ' . It unfortunately, happened that, : some . short .time previous to the scab breaking . out among our flocks, a number of experiments had been made at . Melbourne on the efficacy of different specifics for the cure of scab, and the result was that the. owners of several of these, specifics 'ab? tamed testimonials that their preparations , . were cures for . the scab. Among others, Hayes specific and Allen's were recommended in this wayi and upon, the faith of these recommendations, many of our sheep-owners were induced to purchase and use large quantities of both these specifics with anything but success. By .: the abstract of the results of the dressings appended to Beport ISTo. 2, (which are compiled from the Inspectors' Beports) it . will be seen that Allen's specific, with - which there were 80,021 sheep dressed, ■■ proved a total failure, and Hayes,' with which 87,186 were dipped, only succeeded I with 6,225. This, from all accounts/has . also, in a great measure,, been the experience of victoria, where these specifics were at one time very largely used. Other owners tried arsenic, and arsenic and tobacco ; arid where the sheep could be placed upon a clean run . after being dipped, the dressing was generally successful ; but the losses in bad weather with , this poison were very, severe ; as many as 30, 40, and even 80 percent, having died after dressing, in. some flocks. Where the sheep were not taken to fresh grounds, on being dipped, this medicament was. generally a failure. The abstract of the dres- . sings- shews that of 18,555 which were, dressed with arsenic, 9,284 were cured, while the balance, 9,271, had to be dipped with tobacco and sulphur. Some owners, again, used tobacco and sulphur from the first, and with ordinary care effected a thorough cure. As these succeeded, the owners who had used other . remedies and failed, also tried tobacco and sulphur, and they, too, at last made a permanent cure; till, as will be seen by the abstract of dressings appended to Beport No. 2, 184,270, or nearly 93 per cent, of the whole, were cleansed with these ingredients. They have no doubt failed in some instances, but, as the result has shewn, entirely through the want of knowledge or care ; and so well has the efficacy of this dressing been established throughout the three Colonies, that its want of success is at once put down to a failure in its preparation or application. Its efficacy is now a thoroughly established fact. By the abstract appended to the Beport No. 2, it will be seen that the licensed sheep have been cleansed as follows : — 98,972 between the Ist March (when the Act of 1863 came in force) and 30th November, 1864 ; 85,743 between the 30th November, 1864, and 30th November 1865 ; 15,094 between the 30th November, 1865, and 31at May, 1866. It thus appears that while some owners had thoroughly cleansed the greater part of their infected flocks at 30th November, 1864, and had completely eradicated the disease on their stations by 30th November, 1865, others had made but little progress at the first period, and still had the disease among their sheep at the second. The question therefore naturally arises how this happened, seeing by that time the proper remedy (tobacco and sulphur) had become known. It would seem to have arisen from several causes. Some owners were prejudiced in favour of other dressings, and would not use tobacco and sulphur. Others, again, who did use these medicaments, failed through their non-ac-quaintance with the proper mode of preparing and applying them. But the most frequent cause of failure was carelessness —sheep being left without dressing, or only dressed imperfectly, and the strength and heat of the mixture little attended to." • Another cause which in no slight degree tended to retard the eradiction of the disease was, that some owners were so unscrupulous as to conceal its existence oa their stations ; and not only took their own time to eradicate the disease, leaving their runs open and liable to contaminate other flocks passing over the infected ground, but they sent imperfectly cleansed sheep to market, whereby the infection was spread in several instances — a course of conduct which cannot be too severely reprobated, and one which it is hoped, will, under the provisions of the proposed new Act, be at any rate severely punished, if it cannot be altogether prevented. • • ;,. SUGGESTIONS FOB FT7TUBE FBOTEOTION;. Now that the Colony is free from scab, the object, of course, will .be to preven ": infected sheep from being imported or in-:. ■ troduced ; and the experience of the last ■ three or four years here detailed, shews. -.' that the utmost vigilance and care is'necessary in the admission of both' these classes of sheep. : : ■ .' '- : With respect to imported sheep, this has, so far as possible, been provided for < by stationing Inspectors at the ports where- ; sheep are usually landed ; but power : ,wil},;;Y require to be taken under the new Acifc; e iiO; place. imported sheep regularly in quajf^ft-; tine, at a station to be set apart for that . purpose, where they would be kept and! dressed under the charge of the Inspecto

J - ••'- v '&esiiQ%ttO. before being auoyfed to leave : vj ;v£ $ptk regard to sheep from the adjoin- ; ;^^ng^olonies,:tlie strict and vigilant mea- / 'TOi^wHoh'jare now being adoptedwith. respect to Victorian sheep should still be maffitamed. In that Colony,' so far as can %y be known,. there are infected sheep in most rat : fef i aid until there are relifor, Relieving the disease to ■ "- befflfe^oh a^atedtlie^e, it doesnotap- ''■■: ■■ peaf^Ml^nt to'vrelai ; eithei' bur restneV. tiws'^||^%h^Jness. - - Th.ep9.st "season Kai been one of extreme risk from this souim Immense numbers of sHeeg have been compelled to travel for " feedjincl;water;oh both sides of the Murray, and many stragglers %ust have been dfdpjje4 along these routes. This state of things w;as mosUikely to spread the disease in Vwtoria, aad/to increase the risk of infection from that quarter to a very considerable extent ; for as the river, was low, and steep cpuid, ciross almost anywhere, our .flojjks were put in great jeopardy, not only from some of these abandoned stragglers'whicli Bright cross the river, but also "from sheep. from known infected, stations;, Victorian. sheep actually^ did > cross qn several occasions, and if it r Tu^lnot been that they were found and destroyed by the boundary riders em--j>loy'eaby^!t|Le Government, as well as by, the Owners on tins side of the river, there is fiVery; prpbability.that some of our flocks v on? W&^fwmta&e would have been infected ; ntid, it is hard to say where 'Mfmsjihief would'have, ended, as the in- & %igHt have been sjpeacl by the .sheep on quit ss|pbr< htod|ed,Sj, measures, and.:jp£ zealous of their duties by/ the Inspectors -on the Murray— in which they have on all occa? sions been ably supported hj their Directors—that the safety of tß.© flocks in those important districts is to be mainly attributed../ ■■'■;,,.■■ • Now that the river has risen, and travelling sheep have nearly all returned to their stations, the risk is considerably less; but as the sheep on the Victorian bank are running at large, they 'might even yet cross ;at any tune; and where scab is known to exist on that side "of the river, it will be necessary to maintain boundary riders on this. .-■■■■■ The flocks both in Queensland and Australia are free from scab; and although sheep coming from those Colonies are always examined' before being introduced, I there is-- little or no risk to be apprehended from those quarters. | Although these'precautions should be taken with regard to imported and introduced^ sheep, a sufficient staff of ; Inspectors should still be maintained to watch the main roads- throughout the Colony. For it is'iiot absolutely impossible for infection ' to . escape the Inspectors at the ports 6r on the borders ; ■ and there is still a certain degree of risk attached to the districts in this Colony where infected sheep have been kept; besides, the services, of Inspectors are required for the protection of our flocks from catarrh. That being, in a great measure, a local disease, its spread might, under a proper system of inspection^ and quarantine, be greatly re- | tarded, if net entirely prevented. •■ . .';:•;.'■ '.. I have&c, •- t...}•-■»'- ; Alex. Bbtjoe, Chief Inspector of Sheep.