DISEASES OF STOCK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 21

DISEASES OF STOCK.

INTERESTING LECTURE BY MR GILRUTH AT FEATHERSTON. few evenings age Mr J. A. Gilruth. M.R.C.V.S., Chief Government Veterinarian, addressed a,, large gathering -of farmers on " Diseases of Stock and How ■ "They May bo Prevented and Cured." The lecture -was- arranged by the Featherston branch of "the Farmers' Union. The chairman of the branch, Mr J. G. Cox, presided. The Jollowing report is from, the Do- | minion: — — Abortion in Cows. — Mr Gilruth said our medieval ancestors -attributed abortion to a witch casting an •evil eye at the infected animal. The general cure was irhe burning of the wotch ; that was, if she could be found. Xhe practice was certainly hard upon ■witches. The disease had been prevalent in New Zealand for quite a number ot y«ar3, but no notice was taken of it by farmers. In fact, it was only during the last 'ls or 30 years that it had been 'proved that -the trouble was caused by a- microbe, and was contagious. It was a mistake to 'suppose that the disease could bo transmitted, as it were, in any way by eympathy. The speaker explained how the microbe spread from animal to animal. When farmers noticed or even suspected that a con was aborting, they shouldisolate the animal at once. But in a number of ca3es nothing was done until the whole herd were sent to the saleyards to further spread the disease over the whole country. The bull also, when contaminated fi-om the cows, was tco often treated in the came way. - In- the' treatment of Affected cattle, isolation, the burning or deep-burying of the foetus, 'the disinfection of the contaminated soil were important matters. After treating *& cow care should bo taken by the operator to thoroughly disinfect his hands, end ako the finger-nails, which should be 'clipped. Corrosive sublimate was the best antiseptic. " There is no .need for the farmer to hurry over this business," said Mr Gilruth! " Somehow a large number of farmers do hurry over the- work, and the result is disastrous to tho cow." After ■being treated, -the cow should be immediately turned out of the bail. Frequently one washing out was insufficientlit should be repeated' two or three times, until the farmer -was satisfied that tho ferm had been killed. . Meanwhile, the cow should be kept away from th 6 herd. — Sterility.— The other phase of the disease was sterility. Some Taranaki farmers had ascribed sterility to bad breeding-. When the farmer, in many instances, found that his herd was sterile, away again the animals were cent to the saleyards, to •further spread .he disease. The buyer thought he was getting a bargain if he purchased a good-looking cow for £4. But if cows were able -to give a return of £10 or £12 in a season, how could the buyer expect to secure a sound animal for half that sum.? It was a lopsided business for farmers to buy milking odws in the public saleyards. The cure for this form of disease was the same as in abortion, but the corrosive sublimate might be made twice «s strong — namely, one tabloid to cue bottle of water. "You want to be careful jow you uso the antiseptic," said th© lecturer. " I knew a man who lost four cows by the treatment, but? he misread my directions. Reread 10 tabloids to one bottle of water." It was wise to disinfect thoroughly after each cow, even, if there were 30 or 40 cows. The bull should never be allowed to run loose with the herd. A dairy herd should be washed 1 two or three times during the season, so as o be on the eafo eide. — Milk Fever.— Mill- fever cculd be cured by filling tho udder with filtered air. A. proper ipst/u ' znent should be used. It was not safo to nee a bicycle pump, an instrument whioh would naturally "contain germs and dirt. The instruments used should be well hoiled •before -using. Each quarter should: bo •blown up well. A good doss of opening medicine should also be edminietaved. This disease was not now nearly co prevalent a3 it was eight or 10 years ago. — How io Drench. — - Large numbers d rattle were killed through an improper method! of drenching. The farmer was often in a hurry, and the liquid would go down the- wrong cavity — the nostril, for- instance. The nose should -never be held up higher than the level of the eye, and neithr the tongue nor the ncsIril should be gripped. The left hand should be inserted in. the mouth over the 'beast's head; (and "the drench poured gently in with the right hand. The head should ba let go directly the animal coughed, co that she could get her head down. — Inflammation of Uterus. — Inflammation was a cow disease which usually made its appearance about calving time, and it was spreading. It was cften in evidence from a'fcout ten- da>s to a monthafter calving. The cause was the growth of a microbe within the womb. The microbe apparently thrived and produced a toxin of poison, which was not absorbed till it affected the brain, and brought about a paralysis and death. A good preventive was the use of stimulants — three or four glasses of whisky in half a pint of wat"r. Opening medicine should also -be admin'=t^red, and the cow ebould be washed out as in cases of abortion. — Amc-Parrura Paralysis. — j Ante-part urn paralvss was. a thscp dlecase

very, common among pregnant ewes. Mr GilruT-h sa"id that he had written and spoken "much on the subject, still the disease continued fco increase. T-he disease was not contagious, and was practically the result of ewes being in tco gcod a condition prior to lambing. The trouble particularly afflicted ewes which were carrying twin lambs. It was meat common among the mutton-producing sheep. The symptoms were, first, that the sheep became dull and disinclined to- feed. It would sequester itself from the remainder of the flock, would move about only when forced, and then only in an aimless manner. The animal would become blind, stagger, and grind ite teeth. Later the wool would come out readily, and the animal would then be in such a wretched .condition that it£ death might soon follow. In proof of hie statemen* that the disease was caused practically through over feeding, Mr Gilruth recounted tho following experience: — Two Carterton farmer© bought a paddock, whioh they divided ,in-to two sections. Tho property had the same water supply, and the same flock was depastured on the two sections. The only difference was that one farmer was wealthy" and fed his sheep up well prior to lamking, whale the other man was in poor circumstances, and, consequently, his ewes were mot in the best of condition. He expected to lose a largo number of sheep at lambing time, but- lost only one animal. His ji-eigibbour lost 20 per cent, of his flock, until the ewes were turned on some nice fresh- grass, when, tho mortality ceased Prevention tras a simple master. If tr» ewes had wintered well and had been fed on clry ucj artificial <£oc<iL a. sharp wa>toh should be kept for the first «ymptom6 of the illness. The ewes should "be made to travel for their feed daily. Tho paddocks in which thej would be running during the last month befort kmibitig should ba kept •fairly bare. If thi6 could not be done the flock should bo driven for an hour to a nice- pasture of young oats or clean spring grass. Exercise and limitation of food were all that were wanted. — Kidney Congest'on in Lamfos. — The speaker said that h« first discovered kidney congeotuon in lambs in the Wairarapa. It occurred among strong, healthy lambs, which -would 1 usually be found dead, about a. month old, lying in a more or less natural attitude. Sometimes p. form of giddiness was observed a few minutes prior to death, but nothing more definite. The cause of death was generally misunderstood. Some farmers thought -that the cause of death was caused through the curdling of tho milk in the stomach., ethers attributed it to wool ball. Curdled milk and wool ijalis could be found in the stomachs of most lamts. The vool was swallowed by the lamib_'when. euokmg, but was never present in such quantity as to caiasa death. The cause of death was acute congestion of tho liver and kidneys. The kidneys were \ usually a mcea of pulp. Th© disease wae i brought about fey the tco-rapid formation of blood through an excessive food supply. It^would bo noticed that the illness occurred just stout tho time the iamb would be receiving a. i>ig ©apply of milk aad plenty of grass. Preventive rtrea-tmeni could be found in docking early, the less of blocd reducing the condition of *ho lamb. Ewe lamto •should be docked early, but the tails should be kept sufficiently long to permit cf another joint being .amoved later on. Mr Gilruth acswered a number of questions, and was then accorded a vote of thanks on the motion of Mr A. Matthews, seconded by Mr J. Cundy.