Vol. XII. No. 297. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



29.'5 



VETERINARY NOTES. 



COW-TESTING ASSOCIATIONS. 



In view of tlie editorial artii'le on the subject of the 

 control of the milk supply in small communities in the last 

 issue but one of this journal, (.'ircular No. 17 published by 

 Cornell I'niversity concerning cow-testing associations is of 

 considerable interest. In this publication the necessity of 

 records in the breeding of milch cows is emphasized in 

 a general way but the most useful feature of the paper is the 

 description of the Delhi Cowtesting Association in Delaware 

 County. U.S.A. 



Cow-testing associations may be organized in various 

 -ways, but it is essential that due regard be had to local con- 

 ditions, and it is essential that a rulinble painstaking officer 

 he employed to carry on the work. In the case of this 

 particular association, a table of figures shows that the 

 improvement of the various herds of cows came principally 

 through the weeding out of animals whose inferiority was 

 revealed by the results of the tests made by the association. 

 It is worthy of note that those herds which were made up of 

 high yielding animals were capable of improvement as well as 

 those in which the cows yielded much less. 



As regards details of organization, it is stated that the 

 ■most feasible method is for say twenty-five stock owners to 

 form an association. Each owner must agree to weigh the 

 -■milk of each cow every day, and the tester must examine the 

 milk of each cow at least for one day of each month. The 

 inspector himself may visit the several estates in turn and 

 take samples, or the owners themselves may forward samples 

 to the central station. The fat production of each cow for 

 the month and records of food consumed, are recorded regu- 

 larly and sent to the owner on special printed forms. 



The apparatus required at the central station consists 

 -principally of a Babcock tester, and according to the publi- 

 cation under consideration the cost of this apparatus together 

 ■with the wages of the inspector for one year would be about 

 •5700. 



Before a cow-testing association is organized each person 

 ■who intends to join should sign a definite agreement to that 

 ertect in order that they may be no misunderstanding. 



In the West Indian islands the organization of a cow- 

 testing association might best be undertaken by the agricul- 

 tural societies; on the other hand, the institution might 

 equally well be a Government one. In any case the details 

 of organization would be the same. The greatest efficiency 

 ■would result if the inspector carried on his duties under the 

 general direction of a veterinary officer. 



DANISH TUBERCULIN UNIONS. 



For some time, in Denmark, •.he value of Professor 

 ■BaDg's sj^stem of tuberculosis eradication has been 

 recognized by live stock owners: Of recent years, 

 ■societies basing their regulations for membership on his 

 principles have been founded, and the following rules 

 are typical of their class: — 



1. To become eligible for membership the farmer 

 must have had his cattle inoculated '.vith tuberculin. 



2. He must divide his stock into two herds: one 

 reacting, the other non-reacting. 



3. He must keep the herds in distant cowsheds, and 

 provide them with separate pastur.ige and attendants. If 

 .^possible, they should be isolated on diflferent farms. 



-I. He must thoroughly disinfect the cowsheds, 

 troughs, and all utensils used by the non-reacting herd. , 



•5. He must have his healthy herd inoculated with 

 tuberculin every six months. 



6. He must remove the calves of the reacting herd 

 and feed them either on milk from the non-reacting herd or 

 on pasteurized milk. 



7. He must not add any calves to the healthy herd 

 except those which have given non-reacting symptoms to the 

 tuberculin test made when the calves are some days old. 



8. He must not add any cattle bought at a market 

 to the healthy herd without previously submitting them to 

 the tuberculin test. 



9. He must sterilize the milk of the tuberculous 

 cows before using it as food, either for man or beast. 



10. He must immediately get rid of the reacting 

 animals that show clinical symptoms of the malady. 



EYE WORM OF CHICKENS. 



The Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station has 

 recently issued a Press l)ulletin(No. 43) which deals with tha 

 .subject of the disease of chickens known as eye worm. Tha 

 malady shows itself in the form of an inllamed eye from 

 which there is e.xcessive tear secretion due to the presence of 

 small thread-like worms .some 10 to 18 mm. in length. Tha 

 irritation may cause death in the case of very young birds. 



OCCUR.S IN TUB WKST INDIES. 



The name of the particular organism which causes the 

 disease is O.ei/sjnrura Matismii, commonly known as Manson's 

 eye worm. It has so far been observed as a parasite only ia 

 the eye of chickens and fowls, although they are aboat;. 

 thirty-eight species of eye worm which have been found ia 

 the eyes of forty-three diHerent species of wild birds ia 

 different parts of the world. The species under considera- 

 tion has been reported as occurring in China, Brazil, Maur- 

 itius, Jamaica, Florida and Hawaii. In tdl the localities 

 so far reported on as l>eing infested with the worm, tha 

 organism is found only near the seashore, though its wide 

 distribution would lead one to think that it occurs in most 

 districts in tropical countries. 



UE.M VEK.MiI.E LIFE- HISTORY. 



The life-history of Oxyxpiruva Jfansoni is of a particu- 

 larly interesting nature. The eggs of the worm are either 

 laid in the eye of the chicken from which they are immedi- 

 ately washed into the throat by the How of tears down tha 

 tear duct, or else they are set free in the intestines by tha 

 disintegration of mature female worms which had passed 

 down the tear duct through the throat into the intestines. 



The important point to remember is that the eggs may 

 pass out on to damp soil where they will hatch. The imma- 

 ture worm lives until it attains at least one-third of its- 

 mature size, when it will gain entrance to the eyes of 

 chickens directly from the soil. 



TKE.VT.MENI AND I'UEVENTIOX. 



It is stated that the best treatment for the destruction of 

 the parasite consists in anaesthetizing the eye of the chickea 

 with a -j-per cent, solution of cocaine, and then lifting tha 

 membrane and dropping a .5-per cent, solution of creolia 

 directly into the inner corner of the eye under the membrane. 



In view of the fact that in places whore the disease is 

 common, the soil may contain thou.sands of the larvae of the 

 eye worm, renders it imperative that means be taken by 

 applying quicklime to remove the infestation from the soil. 



In the case of an epidemic, the birds should be kept; 

 on dry flooring of such a nature as will permit it to ba 

 cleansed thoroughly and systematically. 



