New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1877.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4945, 27 January 1877, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1877.

A question of serious moment to one of pur most/important interests is now exciting interest in Australia, and is receiving considerable attention from the most prominent Continental papers. ' We refer to the alarming spread of diseases among sheep in Australia.- That the subject is assuming a.serious aspect is now.generally admitted.- : Besides the old and wellknown diseases, such as scab, fluke, &c, others; haye within the last few years, or even months, .- manifested themselves, which have baffled the skill of the veterinary surgeonß, and set at naught the experience .of :the most accomplished flockmasters. These are not contagious diseases of a transitory character, such as the murrain, which has lately been sO fatal among the herds of the United Kingdom ; but they arise spontaneously, and without any apparent cause; and having once developed themselves, it appears very difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate them: Our own opinion is" that' the cause of this state of things is deep-seated, and may yet be traced to some grand mistake flockmasfcers; are making m the management of their flocks and pastures;. Climatic and other causes do no doubt enter largely into the calculation. Be this as it may, one thing is clear : if some|- - thing is'hot ,'to arrest the progress of- existing diseases and prevent the development of new ones, things will look ominous for Australia as a wool-producing country before many years are past. It is in no spirit of exultation that we now draw public attention to this matter. We deeply sympathise with the squatters of the sister colonies who have suffered and are still suffering more or less severely from the causes already indicated. Nor aro we disposed to assume the role of alarmists ; but in the public interest we shall watch narrowly the progress of events in r the neighboring colonies. Jt is with at view ;to draw the, attention ,of our own "sheepo.wners to the subject ' that'.'we now', give ,it prominence." : It will be well, for our colo r ■nists to look carefully - to the" future, and f adopt measures to prevent the possibility of the occurrence of such an untoward state of things as now exists in some parts of Australia. IVe presume it will be admitted that what has so frequently happened to many Australian flocks, may under similar circumstances happen here. Hitherto : New Zealand has enjoyed a singular immunity from visitations of this kind. Perhaps> thb greatest pest the settlers in. these islands have had to contend with has been the scab. But experience has shown, both here and elsewhere, that by ttie timely adoption of vigorous measures of a pre r veritive and remedial character- this nuisance can be all but if not entirely stamped out. The passing of stringent Scab' Acts in the various colonies, requiring periodical dipping, and the in-

spection at regular intervals of the flocks by competent inspectors, lias had the effect of reducing the evil to a minimum. The pastoral interest is one in which the whole of any community is either directly or indirectly concerned. Not only is it of importance to us in a commercial point of view to be able to export wool to the value of several millions of pounds sterling each year, and thereby contribute to tlnf national wealth of the colony; but it is of far higher moment to the general community that we should have a constant and regular supply of wholesome and nutritious food. The importance ot this is so self-evident that we need not enlarge upon it. Viewed in the light of the preceding remarks, our flocks and herds assume a twofold importance. First, as being the sources of immediate wealth to their possessors; and second, in the benefits which they indirectly confer upon the general public. A writer in a recent number of the Australasian, in the first of what is intended to be a series of articles, goes - fully into the subject of the diseases which have of late years appeared in the Australian flocks, and the probable causes which have combined to bring about this result. And without committing ourselves to the adoption "of his theory, we would commend it to the attention of those most intimately concerned, as it may ultimately lead to a solution of the difficulty. After enumerating the various comparatively hew diseases which have attacked the flocks, such as black-leg, Cumberland disease, and pleuro-pneumonia, with leukoemia, and white blood, together with the alarming increase of intestinal parasites in the flocks of some of the best districts in Queensland, the • writer remarks that "scab and catarrh are mere trifles compared with the diseases which are now showing, themselves among the flocks of these colonies." From a careful perusal of. the article, wo are able -to gather the writer's view as to the causes of this state of things, which is. as follow : —"Keeping the "country too long under the exclusive occupation of large bodies of sheep." This, it is alleged, exhausts the runs and engenders disease, by the continual deposit of unwholesome matter, from which poisonous gases arise. These things, aided by the warmth of a semi-tropical climate, produce unhealthiness in the sheep. There is perb.ap.s_ another cause, not mentioned by the writer, which contributes largely to bring about this result:- 'ln many parts of Australia feed is very uncertain. During the lengthened droughts to which that continent is subject the flocks are reduced to a state of semi-starvation. When rain comes vegetation-is very rapid by reason of the heat of the climate. The famishing sheep greedily devour the young grass as soon as it springs from the earth. This sudden transition from a dry and scanty herbage to an abundance of succulent food is, in our opinion, sufficient to account for at least some of the diseases which are now occupying the attention of flockowners in that country. We cannot agree with the writer in his hypothesis (as we understand him) that the continued pasturing of flocks and herds upon land will in time exhaust, the soil. This, if true, will revolutionise all our preconceived ideas about laying down exhausted lands in grass as a- restorative agency. All authorities agree that land that -will no longer produce crops will carry grass, and that in course of time it will improve under the process. What, we think, is not' unlikely to occur is, that the continual trampling of vast flocks for many years ,in succession, and the consequent destruction of the seed Inconstant feeding, may. exterminate the native grasses, and. thus render the lands barren. This to us afpears.a.far more reasonable theory. The writer then goes on. to give his views ori the. best means'of remedying the evil, and\ie recommends the periodical cropping of portions of the rups, so that the whole ofi the arable land on each estate would''come, in its turn, under the influence of the plough. That this would meet 1 ;'the case, if his views as to the cause of disease be correct, there can be no possible doubt. That cultivated soil is a powerful deodoriser is beyond all question. _ The suggestion is worthy of consideration, and if acted upon cannot possibly do any harm, and would most likely result in much real good; The production of an incieased quantity of agricultural produce would be a source of unfeigned satisfaction, and could not but yield a handsome return to the producers. Our rapidly increasing population and the facilities we possess for export render this a moral certainty. We have now briefly brought this matter under the notice of our readers. It is for them to consider whether it is worthy of their attention. One thing is clear, that several new diseases, have manifested themselves among. the flocks of the Australian colonies, .- and that they are spreading with alarming rapidity is not denied. The questions we have to ask ourselves are these:—Do they arise from prevent-: ible causes? And are they likely under similar circumstances to become prevalent heref If so, it is of the highest import; ance to all concerned that we should not treat the matter lightly, but at once have recourse' to such preventive agencies as science and experience may. place at our command.