COBALT FOR SHEEP

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3795, 14 August 1936, Page 12

COBALT FOR SHEEP

NORTH ISLAND EXPERIMENTS. Arrangements are under way for extensive trials with the administration of cobalt to sheep in certain areas in the North Island, according to a statement made by the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. W. Lee Martin, when replying to a question by Mr W. J. Polson (Opposition, Stratford) in the House of Representatives. Mr Polson, who had referred to the value of cobalt chloride as a remedy for cattle and sheep sickness, asked what steps the Department of Agriculture was taking t,o see that a supply was made available for New Zealand. The Minister replied: “My department is in full possession of the information relative to the use of cobalt chloride in certain deficiency diseases of sheep. Arrangements are already under way for extensive trials of administration of cobalt to sheep in certain areas of the North Island in which deficiency troubles of sheep are known to exist. The department is also arranging for similar trials to be conducted at the Mamaku farm in the bush sick area. "As cobalt has not previously been in demand in this country, no large stocks are at present available. It is anticipated, however, that should results indicate an extension of its use, supplies will no doubt be quickly made available. As cobalt is contained in limonite, the necessary cobalt can be supplied in the form of limonite lick, which has been so successfully used in the treatment of stock in the bush sick areas of the North Island. The trials now proposed will determine if cobalt given as a drench to sheep will prove equally effective.”