HARDINESS IN STOCK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23274, 17 February 1939, Page 20

HARDINESS IN STOCK

BENEFIT FROM EXPOSURE RESISTANCE TO DISEASE AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT

BY OUIDIRE

That hardiness, built up by constant exposure to the elements, is the cheapest and best way of raising healthy stock, is the underlying idea in an *>xperiment carried out by tho Marquis Idelfonso Slanga, on his estate at Cremona, Italy. The marquis wished to test, out his belief that exposure was the best means of preventing disease. Accordingly, he prepared a concrete yard and enclosed it with movable barriers, so that there was no wall. Litter was provided, but no shelter. . A calf was born in this yard and, as soon as she had dried her youngster, the mother was taken away. The calf was fed on its mother's milk, and near by were some other calves, some completely in sheds, others running in the open with a wooden shed for shelter. Effect of Wet Weather Although the "Martyr," as ho was named, showed a marked tendency to consume less milk than his fellows, he put on more weight and was sturdier on his legs. t After ten days, it rained solidly for two days and a night, and people came to see whether the calf was drowned. Ho seemed to bo thriving, however. His coat never appeared soaked like tliosfi of his fellows, and the rain had hardly ceased when he was dry again. Win ? some of the calves in the control group died frorii pneumonia, and all vyero coughing, the Martyr showed no signs of ill-health. Infection Resisted

After a summer in the open, ho was sent off to a farm affected with a virulent form of foot-and-mouth disease. Although he was allowed to mix with other cattle, the_ young bull showed no signs of the disease. The farm manager, on his own initiative, rubbed infected saliva on tho beasts lips and gums, but all to no purpose. His immunity to disease was certified by veterinary surgeons after inspection. While this experiment cannot be regarded as conclusive, the results are most certainly striking. "Is not the sun the most, powerful disinfectant?" asks the marquis. "Is not water the means by which one cleans, and is not wind the most efficacious and*energetic cleaner?'