A QUEENSLAND CATTLE PLAGUE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1265, 28 May 1896, Page 4

A QUEENSLAND CATTLE PLAGUE.

It (loos not seem to bo generally known that a scourge has appeared in the herds of the most northern, and to-day, lot us add, most progressive, of Australian colonios, which bailies veterinary science and threatens to spread wide the destruction which in certain localities has almost reached tho climax of annihilation. It is a plague of insects, and is called, for want of a better name, tick fever. But by whatever name it may bo called, it is most dostruetive. For instance, there is in tho reports an instance of a district whoro twelve months ago there were 15,000 head of cattlo, of which number 75 per cent, have in tho interval succumbed to tho disease. .Many herds have sull'ered, dairy cattle have been decimated so that tho local supply of milk has almost disappeared in many districts, and the experts arc* in a worse panic than the owners. Many colonists remember the first ravages of pluuro pneumonia; and no one who saw them will ever forget the vast numbers of dead cattle lying along the banks of tho rivers, and round the waterholes of tho hack country. On that occasion, however, a remedy was quickly discovered and made public by the experts. Tho order went forth to inoculate—wo speak of New South Wales—tho law was strong enough to compel obedience, but compulsion was not necessary. There came a period of desperate activity over all the cattle stations, mustering, driving, inoculating and tho plague was presently eradicated. With this tick fever, as it is called, there is as much fatality, and there is no remedy at all. No one, whether expert or layman, knows what to do. Tho stockman of 50 years’ hard riding looks on as helpless as tho newest “jackaroo.” While tho cattlo aro dying wholesale, the experts aro making experiments. The worst part of the story is that they appear to have given up hope. One of them has declared officially that ho thinks tho fever is the same as tho “ Texas fever ” of the South American herds, and lie adds that vrhon

1 once established, which he clearly thinks wall be soon, it will be ineradicable. lie feebly protests that lie thinks every means should be tried of stopping the further spread, but ho is at tho same time candid enough to admit that it is exceedingly difficult to give advice on that point, for the simple reason that lie does not know. One of tho stock-owners of tho district above alluded to, where 75 per cent, of tho cattle have died, has declared that tho outbreak was traced to the arrival of a certain lot cf travelling cattle. Others interested write to the newspapers to say that the whole matter is in the hands of the ticks, which go about the business of their more or loss extensive migrations according to their pleasure, without caring whether they go a-crawl or whether they liavo cattle boasts to ride on. Tho sea is a good harrier, no doubt. Nevertheless, we trust the Agricultural Department will keep its eye on this novel pest in a neighbouring colony, and take caro that nothing boviuo from there is allowed to come within measurable distance of our shores.