STERILISATION OF IMPORTED BONES

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1745, 16 August 1905, Page 59

STERILISATION OF IMPORTED BONES

'f' (To the Editor, “N.Z. Mail.”) Sir, —I have read in your issue of 19th inst. the report of the Agricultural Conference held at Wellington on the 18th July, and observed that considerable interest is taken by the delegates in the matter of sterilisation of imported bones, and that the Government is being strongly advised by these gentlemen to erect sterilising works in this colony, instead of having the manure sterilised at the port of shipment, Calcutta. The motion moved at the conference by the Hon J. D. Ormond was, “ that the Government be raged to make arrangements to sterilise bones in New Zealand, instead of attempting' to do so at the port of shipment.” I contend that if sterilising works were erected in New Zealand, such would not effectually prevent the introduction of anthrax into this colony. Mr D. D. MoFarlane said that if sterilising was to he carried out in India, he would rather see bones prohibited altogether; and Mr Buchanan, with his usual chronic objection to the Government and all its works, has condemned its proposal for the prevention of the introduction of anthrax. Now, the objections raised by the members of the conference to the method proposed to be adopted by the Government, and their proposals for what they believe to be an effectual preventative, are, in my opinion, hardly worth consideration. I do not profess, as sslne laymen do, to dictate to the scientific mind what should be done for the purpose of destroying microbes and bacteria and the germs' of diseases generally; hut, while in India, for several years, I took considerable interest. in the ' methods adopted at Calcutta in the collection and shinning of all the principal articles of export from that country, and am in a position to say, from my own personal observation, while watching the thousands of coolies handling the cargo for shipment, that if unsterilised hones are allowed to be shipped at Calcutta, there is little possdbilty of preventing the spread of anthrax in any country to which the bones and other cargo are shipped in the same bottom.

In the Muffossel there are hundreds of thousands of cattle, amongst which dieseases of all kinds, especially anthrax, are prevalent at practically all seasons of the year. When a beast has died from disease of any kind, and the bones are collected, they are carried on the head of a coolie, and then placed in the bullock hakri (dray), taken to a local go-down, and stored. Thence they are carried either by rail or by flat on the Hoogli river, or some cf its tributaries, to the port of shipment. They are then canned, in mo t in stances, on, a coolie’s head, again placed

into a hakri, carried to another godown, and there stored, ready for ship*ment. The bones are generally stored in a separate go-down at the port of shipment; but. as these bones are not sufficiently alive with disease to walk on board ship themselves, it is necessary that they should be carried by coolies, and therefore we have the cargo from Calcutta destined for New Zealand, consisting of so many tons of rice, so many casks of linseed oil, so' many bales of wool-packs, so many bales of corn-sacks, and so many chests of tea, etc., and the coolies employed in loading me ships wear on top of their heads a pad, upon which they plaoe their wicker-work baskets. We take, for example, a thousand coolies, each carrying unsterilised bones, collected from tbe carcases of animals which have died from anthrax. If unsterilised at the port of shipment, these bones are placed in the hold of the vessel with the various other articles of export; and, as is a fact, coolies work for many hours in carrying the unsterilised bones in their wic-ker-work baskets with meshes large enough to allow the dust from the bones and fragments and particles to fall through the bottom, only to be caught and secured by the pad on the coolie’s head; and as the coolie, from motives of cleanliness, washes this pad regularly about once every two years, it can, therefore, be imagined what an accumulation is contained in it. The coolie then, having shipped that portion of the cargo consisting of bones, proceeds to carry the other articles of commerce in the same basket, supported on his head bv the same nad. .

Now, if those gentlemen who advocate the erection of sterilising works in this colony will go one step further and have wool-bales, corn-sacks, rice, tea, and oil sterilised after having beexl landed, then they may effectually prevent the introduction of anthrax; but otherwise they might just as well endeavour to confine sandflies in an oatriddle. Therefore, sterilisation of bones at the port of shipment should be, to any unprejudiced mind,. the first important step to be taken for the prevention of the introduction of this fell disease. ' Another point of great importance would be to compel shipowners to exercise the greatest possible vigilance and strict inspection of all cargo to be shipped for this colony before being taken on board ; and. judging from the courtesy which I received while in India from the officials of the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, I feel sure that if the Agricultural Department of New Zealand would ask for the assistance and co-operation of that body, its best consideration would be given for the institution of some means for the prevention of slipping any articles of export calculated to spread either anthrax or any other disease in the country for which it is destined. Will Mir Uuchanan, therefore, have anthrax withe iut the large expenditure necessary for the erection of sterilising works in this colony, or will he have anthrax, after the expenditure of the large sum of public money necessary for the erection of such work, because he ie as certain to have it as _ that the Sunderbunds are infested with tigers, unless the method adopted by the Government of New Zealand, namely, the sterilisation of bones in Calcutta, be carried out, and so prevent the contact of unsterilised bones with woolpacks, corn-sacks, rice, tea, etc., while “in transitu ” from Calcutta to Wellington, and thus minimise the danger to human health, which appears to me a view of the question hardly considered by those who believe the world is mode of fat bullocks.

The question is one of such seriousnessness tha\ the combined skill and ability of the medical and veterinary officers in the Public Health and Agricultural Departments both of New Zealaod and India should be brought into operation for the purpose of effectually

preventing any further introduction of ft.nf4irei.Tr and this could no doubt _to achieved without absolutely preventing the importation of bone manure, and bo causing a great injustice to that section of the farmers who have the courage to expend their time and money for the purpose of fertilising the poorer lands in some parte of the colony.—l *am, etc., Hulls, July 20. JOHN STEVENS.