The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1905. THE STERILISATION OF BONES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7724, 28 January 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1905. THE STERILISATION OF BONES.

I When several otitttreaks of anthrax in (various parts of the.colony made it evident that, the source of infection | was to -4>e( sought in the bonedust i which had been imported from abroad or in the raw material which had come from outside sources, it was announced by the Government that sterilising works would shortly bo erected at Auckland and the Bluff which would render v all material passing through them quite innocuous. Subsequently the arrangements which had boon begun were stopped, and it was announced that the Government had decided to send one or more officials) to India to superintend the sterilising of materials before they should be shipped for this colony. Since that announcement of either local works or ifjne at all liave ; b'een passed by various agricultural bodies, but as far as we are aware practically nothing at all has been done. The latest of these resolutions is that of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Society which we published yesterdayr I/lke its predecessors, this important body agreed to urge upon the Government the necessity for local works. For ourselves, we arc not fully satisfied that such works either at home or abroad i would prove effective in dealing with , anthracised bones. The micro-or-ganism which causes anthrax is not readily disposed of, and has been j found to survive in the ground for many years after carcases have been ! buried. Indeed some of the first in- : vestigations of the disease by the !great French scientist Pasteur had their origin in his observance of this fact. Uke many other vegetable organisms the "germ" which causes anthrax has a seed or spore stage which is highly -resistant to measures that readily destroy the actually developed growth. Jt is in this seed stage that the disease lies latent in bones, wool, and other dead animal matter, awaiting favourable circumstances) for its development. It may, of course, be possible by means of superheated steam so to | deal with bones that they may be 1 rendered perfectly inocuous, but even in such case a great deal depends on the absolutely scientific accuracy with which the process is applied, and when it comes to dealing : always and persistently with scientific processes we have many doubts of the average man. It would, as a matter of fact, be far better and safer for the agricultural interests of this colony if we could wholly dispense with bone manures from outside. We do not' know, however, that this would ,be quite feasible, for we export yearly such an enor'nious amount of organic matter derived from our fields and pastures that it is probably absolutely essential to look for some outside supply in return. If, however, lit is only a question of whether it) is better to supervise the ' steaming and sterilising of bones here or in India we incline to the opinion that it would be better done abroad. It might, however, be possible to compromise by establishing works on one of our many coastal islands, at which bones could be discharged for sterilisation. Of course, the expense of extra handling would enter in here, but it would be cheaper in the long run for the farmer to pay a trifle more per ton for his bonedust than to do as some have already done—lose many cows and a season's milking by an outbreak of anthrax, brought into the colony by direct importation.