Inoculating Sheep tor Charbon.

Otago Witness, Issue 1555, 27 August 1881, Page 8

Inoculating Sheep tor Charbon.

M. Faitvut, tbe great French chemist (says the London correspondent of the Adelaide Observer), who has done so much for the protection of vegetable life and the developtnen' of agrtoultur*, is held in grateful reepoct by Australians as well as by hi» own countrymen. He has lately won anew claim' to gratitude in discovering a remedy for the disease in sheep whioh' the French call " eharbon." As the reaait of prolonged experiments on diseased mnimals, he discovered that the medium of infeotioa fa the grass which grows over tbe dead sheep when they are burled, In these places worms which have fed on tbe diseased cftroasse* rise through the'poreßof tbe earth, and lie, r*t the roots of tho grass, whioh they impregnate with the fatal' virus. ! ' M.' Pasteur collected the virus, and' experimented upon it till he could distingoiih it in its different stages of intensity. Thsn he bethought him of inoculation as a preventive. '" A farm near Paris bel»M#n# to M.' JRossignol, a vftterlnary sur gtfou, was plaoid *t his disposal, along with nftyaheep. One-half of the Bheep were e»r marked and put apart from the rest. Oa tbe sth May they were inoculated for 'the first time with §o to speak mild virus. On the 17 (h thoy were inooulated a seoond time, with stronger virus. On the 21st the whole fifty sheep were inocuhfrd with the most virulent virus, tbt second, jtwonty-flve it will be observed havine fca^ 'no' pn>P'ttftttan. j M. Pasteur predicted £h>V. hr the 314 May the latter w-uld b« all rieati, vfcjlß O)h twmfcy-fiva <vbioh h*d been *hr«e ( .imt>s Jnouukted , would not Bt>ffi« any tpcvnvHujflnoo, A Jarga party was iimted to >)t, U,«%(tu)'B to witness tho , denouement, vl.ich pwj tfxaolly ,v M, P<-,«taur had predicted At- 2 o'clock in tha *f .«rnooa th^r» were only two '"* tb« nnoMiii'oulafrKl sbeep alive. At; 3 y'o^n-k. ',«<« ■.{ these di?d, and at 4 o'clock the rtf.hi.r- . Me»tttime the -twenty-five which had jxwu tbrtoß iuoculated showed no tymptome .-wha^viiT of illness. ,Tbia is a moat valuable djgqovery for, Franc*),, as' the. logs of stock through "oharbon " repreients millions of frftnos^ayear. this Old World disease 'has not yet invad«d y oar virgin pastures, but If Tit has i ybw, sheep.farnieM will hear with .plea&uie "cif the i antidote i'so it. .