DAIRY CONFERENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7778, 23 June 1904, Page 5

DAIRY CONFERENCE.

Valuable Paper by Mr Gilruth.

£>ome Practical Suggestions.

(By Telegraph — P/ess Association), Palmerston North, Last Night.

At the Dairy Conference to-day, Mr Gilruth, Chief Government Vet., gave an address on " A Menace to the Dairy Industry." Some years ago a contagious disease in the udder of cows was brought under his notice. He found that this disease was prevalent in all parts of New Zealand, and on one farm thirty per cent, of the cows in a herd were affected. The disease was also noticed in Palmerston North. There was great difficulty in getting farmers to report on the matter, as they seemed unaware they would find trouble. After describing the symptoms of the disease, he said that rarely in the first stage the cows went off milk. The danger of tho disease was its rapid spread. The animal did not go off its food, or in any way show signs of the outbreak, but milk produced gradually went bad. The best means of treatment was four per cent, of boracic acid diluted with water, and injected into the teats about three or four times a day, and continuing the remedy. Persons were found to be suffering from sore throats, and the origin was traced to impure milk from two cows on a farm, which were suffering from the disease referred to. Similar cases were also quoted from the British Medical Journal. Precautions should have been taken long ago. The speaker recommended that all dairies should be registered, that periodical inspections, say monthly, should be made, an inspector to have a district that he could easily cover; that all milk should be pasteurised at the factories. The inspectors could be trained for this particular work, and on taking up their duties be paid, say, £250 to £300 per year. This would be better than sending round tracts to farmers.