A FAMOUS HERD OF CATTLE AND THE TUBERCULIN TEST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2389, 14 December 1899, Page 4

A FAMOUS HERD OF CATTLE AND THE TUBERCULIN TEST.

Stockowners arc constantly reminded that j tuberculin has a special value in thediag- '■ nes-iff of tubercle; and notwithstanding a cc-rtain proportion' of recorded failures there is no good reason for questioning ths sound- ' ness of the general conclusion. For some J time after the announcement was made of thi? discovery by Dr Koch "of a preparation which promised to become a boon -to ' sufferers from consumption, the mode' of ! preparing the remedy was kept a profound j secret, but the agent was purchased and { ' injected into human beings, and also into I tho lower animals, somewhat recklessly — not ! only without the authority of the discoverer, ' , but against his expressed wish. After a < time Dr Koch explained the manner of pre- ' 1 pavins. the remedx* but .the lesuif* At itsw** 1

as a. means of cure were so unsatisfaXftr^j that it was soon abandoned, and its true \ value as an aid to diagnosis gradually became established. During the experiments which were carried on. -with the intention of curing tuberculosis, • the fact of the disease becoming intensified for a certain period after the injection of even minute doses ■ ,of " tuberculin was manifest in every instance, and this observation nnturally led to the conclusion- that the agent which had failed to. cure might, at any rate, be utilised fjr the purpose of detecting-, the disease. The prosecution of the inquiry in thai; diiection proved beyond doubt that* tuberculin does possess the property ascribed -toit How it has been so utilised, and with, much benefit to the owner, is well illustrated in the i - ecent history of Sir Thos. Gibson -Carmichael's herd of purebred Aber-deen-Angus cattle; At a public banquet given at Perth in 1894, Mr Olement Stephenson, a noted veterinary authority, and a famous breeder of "Doddies" as well, declared tLai it was the bounden duty of every pedi-gree-stockbreeder to have his cattle tested with tuberculin and only, the- sound ones soM as breeders, with a. warranty, of, soundness, the obvious inference being- that, 'if breeders did not do so, it was fronr a fear that. their stocks would not,_svand.-theJ;estL To quote the N. B.- Agriculturist':! "Having decided that he would follow the heroic ccurse thus so clearly indicated jby Mr Stephenson, Sir Thomas GibsorTGai'micliael then publicly announced : that for the timeto come he would not sell as a breeding animal any one which had not stood the tuberculin test and come out, clear." The Castlecraig herd, in fact, was the first herd in the United Kingdom in which the liang anl Nocard system of testing with the tu--berculirf test," and separotinj;" the sound from the re-acting stock. Arsis systematically applied and the results laid' 'before the pubic. To again quote the N. B. Agriculturist : "It may r>o justly urged that the Castlecraig herd has great claims on ihe consideration of breeders, for it is in this herd that Ul2 complete success of the Bang and Nocard system of combating, tuberculosis has baen most fully* demonstrated. Th* experience of the Castlecraig herd gees to prove that the disease is not hereditary as was iormeriy believed, but that the calves of reacting parents, if reared separate from reacting stock and under the best sanitary conditions, would grow up sound and healthy, and absolutely free from tha disease. In this way, therefore, Sir Thomas demonstrated in the most conclusive manner that by following this system, which hag bsen so successfully carried out in Denmark and ~ elsewhere,- breeders- could, at very small cost ,to themselves," rear -a- - race -oi sound, health} cattle, even ,in herds -where thf. .sires .dazns were tainted with tli9 disease." " ..: J.\ .'.".• ' * In the jtf. B; 'Agriculturist of Septejnber20 the/ unreserved; -sale of Jthe Castlecraig .. herd is announced. All the" animals catalogued \ fop . sale have • been- regularly tested ever*- year by, Principal Dewar, "and -all found sound so that the buyers at the sale have the fullest assurance that the animals there sold are absolutely free from this insidious disease. ~ But in this connection there is an attendant circumstance which deserves special mention. Sir Thomas let the home larm to Mr Wilson, who has been steward and manager of the purebred caltlo for 23 years, therefore cognisant of all the test operations and the results. Besides letting to him the home farm at a noncompetitive rent, Sir Thomas presented him with eight' cows as the nucleus of a polled Angus herd. These cows thus gifted to Mr Wilson are the only animals in the herd thai; have reacted to the tuberculin lest, and it is a. significant fact that, after an extensive experience since 1895, both giver snd receiver regard these reacting animals as an eligible " nucleus of a Polled- Angus herd," with the understood proviso that their calves would be reared separately from them. Ever since the system of grading the butter sent forward for export has Grading been in force in this colony it • Batter. - . has given^, universal satisfaction ; but now it transpires t^ab some of, the retail firm? at 'Home have been, up to their- old tricks, and by removing, the Government -grading marks have succeeded in pacing off best New Zealand butter, for local . manufacture. This is a dodge that ha 3 long been practised witlr success by unscrupulous ' dealers in frozen meat, but the Home consumer knows New Zealand meat better now, and a large proportion of them want some evidence of what they are buying before concluding a deal. In a letter sent to the New Zealand Dairy Commissioner by Me33ra Pearson and Rutter, 'Of Manchester, the attention of the department i 3 directed to the unscrupulous practicea pursued by some dealers in colonial produce. It is also pointed out that Mr .Tame 3 Pearson, who is chairman of the butter section of the Manchester "Wholesale Produce Association, has moved the Home Government to make it an offence to. remove grade marks and brands indicating -country of origin. Mr Pearson, in a letter, expresses the opinion that the dealers who resort -to this dishonest practice will now be able no longer to do so. The Manchester Wholesale Produce • Association has expressed the opinion that a great injury ha 3 been done to the butt«r trade by the practice referred to,'"and lnw : 'determined that the Manchester market nfra.ll, iV fc least, retain its reputation for straightforward, honest dealing. Manchester, . it i 3 pointed out, is tho largest butter market in the north of England, controlling a butter trade of not less than 10 millions annually. Consequently tho "Wholesale Association desire to secure a large quantity of the best Now Zealand butter, to be sold for what it is on its merits. Messrs Pearaon and Rutter (Limited) pay a high tribute to the value of grading ?,n carried out in New Zealand, which they say reflects great credit on the experts engaged in the work. At first doubts wero expressed in tho colony as regards the value of grading at this end, but tho opinion, of tho firm x»t erred to elioucg the valu* ol tl>_ svitam.

It sometimes happens tbat when New Zealand butter 'arrives -Home, "marked first and second, grade, the marks might be reversed •upon gradisig again; bujt^asa rule, the. grade marks -a-re a reliable guide. Messrs Pearson 'and Rutter say it' is not their experience that "the second grade is sometimes equal to the first; on the contrary, the value is fully Id per 1b •less. They do not favour the standard being placed at an impracticable point, and 'consider 58 quite high enough. It wii! Le.-remembered that Mr Ruddick has recomj .-.ended a specia-1 grade of 90 points, but if i'uyers are quite satisfied with 88 there op- "■ caw to be no adequate reason for grafting J-Jgher. Messrs Pearson and Rutter explain 1 -at they always pay a premium for butter v.hic!i is uniformly of high grade, and that f-liould ke the aim of New Zealand dairy factories, which, instead of aiming at the manufacture of a percentage of very high-grade butter, should endeavour to attain a general high standard of excellence. It is highly gratifying to learn that our butter stands so high in the opinion of those competent to speak as experts, and the Manchester market should be cultivated for the future.