DISEASED STOCK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13839, 27 August 1908, Page 8

DISEASED STOCK.

Sir,—l am sorry that I have evidently offended Mr. Percy Salmon. I have done so quito unintentionally. Mr. Salmon's scheme may be an excellent one, if you admit that the farmer should bear the whole loss, but that is exactly whore wo must agree to differ. Mr. Salmon proposes that wo should pay 2s per head for each cow or heifer sold at a public saloyard. Take the case of a farmer who sells 10 head of cow beef at, say, £4 10s per head. He pays the auctioneer 4 per cent., or £1 16s. Mr. Salmon proposes that he should pay 2* per head as insurance, or £1 on the 10 head, total £2 16s, on a £45 sale. Add to this cost of driving to the yards, a feed for tho farmer and his horse 3s, and you take most of tho gilt off the farmer's gingerbread. The farmer only gets paid for cattle that have a contagious disease or a disease that unfits them for either human food or the production of milk fit for human consumption. In the case of all other diseases, tho farmer has to boar the loss, and very properly so. In the cases mentioned, however, tho whole object of the condemnation of tho cattle is to protect the public, and so I cannot see that, there is anything unreasonable in my contention that tho public should share the cost with the farmer. The trouble appears to be that up to now there has been no inspection of meat, except that exported. There is a good deal of human nature about us all, and Mr. Salmon, I am afraid, is far more anxious to protect himself than he is to protect, the poor farmer. Wo heard nothing of this scheme until tho new city abattoirs are nearly ready for use » arid then Mr. Salmon's conscience is troubled about the "poorest" class of his customers whoso health may be ruined by the wicked members of the Farmers" Union, who sell diseased cows to the butcher, and oblige him to retail them to the poor people, who cannot afford to buy the beat quality of meat To quote Mr. Salmon's own words, " There is no Government inspection at present except at export slaughterhouses. Some classes of cattle killed for consumption will have ovor 3 per cent, condemned when tho new city abattoirs are in commission." I suppose Mr. Salmon need not buy this class of cattle unless he likes, and if he does I suppose he buys at a price that will cover him from loss, Mr. Salmon goes on to say that I ' know absolutely nothing about the means of detecting diseases in cattle" for local consumption." I never said I did What I said was that the methods adopted by the Stock Department were "primitive. ' Mr. Salmon, however, goes on* better, and tells your readers that '• there isi no inspection at all at present." I really did not know it was as bad as thai. What the Farmers' Union have been tryinjr to bring about for years is that all stock inspecters and inspectors of stock should bo qualified veterinary surgeons. I will leave your readers to decide from this as to whether Mr .Salmon or the union is the best friend of the public. What I saidi before I say again, that the present methods of detecting disease m stock are primitive so primitive as to be absolutely useless The men appointed as stock inspectors" know little or nothing about the subject and the experts imported from the Old Country are not allowed to run their own Departments' We have just lost two of our bert men' Messrs. Oilruth and Lyons, and if, ifTn open secret that their reason for leaving was because they were net allowed to run their Department in what they thought to be the best way. Our Agricultural Depart? ment cost the country last year £136986 and goodness knows the farmer gets preci-' ous i. tie good out of it. I ] )SSVI? swered Mr. Salmon quite as Vally „ I should like, but I am quite prepared to discuss the matter further with him if he He sires it. Fmvir rv>r„i 6 Sandpit. Ru « c —