FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1164, 27 June 1911, Page 8

FARMING AND COMMERCIAL.

E3EWS AND NOTES,

OUSTING TUBERCULOSIS. THE GLEN , OROUA EXPERIMENTS. REVIEW BY MR. REAKES. Farmers are aware that for snn\!> time past experiments in the pasteurisation of frparoled miifc have been carried on at the Glen Oroua dairy factory by thn Department of Agriculture. Thesa experiments arc now practically finished. Mr. C. J. Kcakcs (head of Live Stock Division) has claimed in several recent speeches (hat (he resulis at Glen Oroua have confirmed the value of pasteurisation as ;i means of preventing tin; dissemination of tubercular disease a'mong pigs (and calvfs al.-o) through the medium of separated milk. 11l an article in the Departmental ".Journal," Mr. Keakcs details tho system adopted in carrying nut th(> work.' The objects aimed at, ho say?, were:— THE SYSTEM. U) To ensure effectiveness in pasteurising tltt milk: (2) to ensure "that accurato and exact information as to practical results was secured; A? regards (be first jioiiit, the control of the pasteurising process was, through tho courtesy of the directors of the dairy company, placed entirc-ly in the hands of Mr. A. Cook, an oxnerieneed officer of (ha Live Stock Division, who was in charge of the work throughout, snre for a short neriod when he \rai relieved Ly Mr. O'Doa, Dairy Instructor. In order to obtain reliable result?, Hie following measures were adopted:— II) A special oar-mark was placvd upon the left car of all pi;;s fed wholly upon (bo paslmmse.l milk. Tho« fed onlv partiallv upon this milk were marked on the opposite ear. (2) All pigs fed wholly upon pasteurised milk wore also marked with numbered metal ear-clips, each individual owner s pigs being marked with clips hearing ;i separate number. Tins enabled the experimenters to us clear as to which farm any individual pi? came from when it was found to be a'iioctecl with tuberculosis, and it became necessary to make investigation into the source of infection. I'm* measure proved of the utmost .value (•1) The supervisor advi«ed the Department of tho dispatch of pigs to various export works for slaughter, thus enabling the inspectors at the;" works h be on the look-out for tho animals and lo take careful and special note of their condition when slaughtered.

INTERESTING FIGUEES. In staling the results of the experiment.!, JJr. Kcakcx r.iy? : -"The total ,numlier of pigs f K I (hiring Vμ whole course of Iho tests wholly upon pasteurised milk and examined on s!aii»htcr is 331, of which twenty-two have been found affsttcd with tiiberenlosis. fhis would appear somewhat after tho parrienlarly excellent resiilfii rccow'ed earlier in the season; but, tlmnlcs to the system of marking each individual piso that its owner could always bo known «•« were ab!t- to aaevlain that the animals had boon exposed to other definite sources ill uuechoii, which were quite capable of being responsible for the presence of tho disease in them. It is a notable fact that the ownership of twenty-one of tlie-o twenty-two pigs was divided anion" six tanners only. (The remaining pi ? v;as only very slightly affected, andi unfortunately, in ils case Iμ number on the ear-clip was not recorded.) Of these s-ix farmers, one alone owned seven of Iho diseased pigs, all of which were s'.aiHilercd on the same day.

Ihe total mimbor of suppliers to tho factory 13 twenty-five, hence nineteen ivent through tho season without liavin" a single pig found affected cm slaughter, us in itself being a clear indication of tlio ehochveness of proper paslciirisalion Caretul inquiries and investigation's made on the farms of the six owners nf rh« tubercular pips by Jit-. W. W. IT. Fdf> t , f-H- c ;\f" and 3rr - Cook ieTC! ' l «i tlie fact that tho pi R s in question had been exposed to other nuifo understiimlaulo sources of infection."

"A SERIOUS STATE OF THINGS." A_ detailed account is given of the infections to which tho pigs woro exposed. Some had been allowed to rim where there were cows affected by tuberculosis Otners had been feeding with an older pig which was badly diseased. Mr. Keakcs says it is absurd to expect feeding upon pasteurised milk to prevent pigs contracting tho disease from other sources than milk, if exposed to such infection, or to tho disease, if already present when they go upon the pasteurised milk diet. "As regards tho pijs from the same immediate neighbourhood fed upon milk not pasteurised," he continued, "the figures reveal such a serinus state of things that no one should fail to realise tho position and tho urgent necessity for the prompt application of tho measures necessary for 'dealing with this most troublesome" and co'tly disease.

ANOTHER GOOD REASON. "Apart from the question of disease, tho pasteurised separated milk has proreel a much better food for both pigs and calves than did that not pasteurised. The animals throve better upon it, demoping well, and, in the case of pigs, putting on flesh and weight steadily and consistently. Tho chronic indigestion, accompanied by more or less scouring, so common in the past, was absent, this, no doubt, being the result of. the general purification of the milk which is effected by tho process. As a matter of' fact, some farmers . havo gone so far as to state, as a result of the practical experience that, iu their opinion, the pasteurisation of separated milk would bs well worth carrying out if only for this reason alone. That there tiro good, grounds for this opinion cannot bo gainsaid, for there .is certainly a groat necessity for the adoption of bett?r methods of feeding both nigs, and ealvs than those generally obtaining, hi tin; case of calves. especially, a very largt proportion slart their ailiilt career with constitutions weakened ami undenr.ino.l by improper and inadequate feeding dm-, ing the earlier months of their J lifj. Many of these in time become dairv cows' and both their milk-yielding capacity and their powers of resisting disease 'mil,; necessarily suffer as a result nf their lack of full constitutional power." WHAT HAS BEE_\ PROVED. Sir. Reskes Minis up the results as fol-low-.—"(1) That proper pasteurisation of separated mill; is thoroughly effective in preventing the spread of tubercular disease through its medium among nigs fed upon it. It can loeically be considered as being equally elfcctivo in the cas; of calves. "(2) That, apart from tho question of disease, properly nasleuri;:ed mil!: forms a much better food for both nigs ami calves than does milk not pasteurise;! "(3) That if piss are fed wholly on properly pasteurised milk rieht from the time of weaning, and are not allowed to come into contact with tubercular pitrs, or to have access to paddocks in which tubercular cattlo are or have been running._ they will remain fret from tuberculosis unless exposed (0 other sourc-s of infection unusually met with on the ordinary dairy form. This conclusion, .Train, can logically be applied to calves also.

A STOCK RATE. INDUCERS' REPRESENTATIVE SCHEME. Thorp is likely to bo a conference of tho Producers' Association in Wellington next month for the purpose, of considering questions regarding legislation. The u.-sociatioii needs funds for its London representation scheme, and it is proposed to ask the Government !o introduce a Bill to empower the association to levy a into on stock.