^"OL. Vlir. Xo. 181. 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



HI 



LIVE STOCK RAISING AT TOBAGO. 



In the year 11)07-8 live stock to the value of 

 £7,723 were e.xported from Tobago. Cattle formed the 

 most important class of animals shipped, the exports 

 ■being worth £3,1(J(S, while pigs (£1,. 5.5-5), and horses 

 (£1,326) came second and third on the list. 



The Tobago ooiTespoiidt'iit of the West India t'oin/iilftee 

 fjirrii/ar refer.s to the iuivaiitagos pos.sessed by Tobago, which 

 -luake it especially well .suited for live' stock rearing. Guinea 

 grass (the cultivation of which is an e.xpensive matter in 

 Trinidad) grows wild in the island, and thousands of acres of 

 ■land could be utilized which are now lying waste and of little 

 value. Cacao, rubber, and cotton jilanters should find in 

 stock raising a useful auxiliary industry, as apart from the 

 direct financial return, the manure provided by the animals 

 xvould be of great value. Triiddad otters a convenient market 

 for cuttle, sheep, etc. reared in Tobago. 



'FOOT-AND-MOUTH' DISEASE. 



Attention has been called, by the public telegrams, 

 to the outbreak of a disorder, which was at first 

 thought to be foot-and-mouth disease, among: cattle in 

 St. Mary's parish, Jamaica. Although subsequent 

 reports have indicated that the trouble is, happily, less 

 serious than was originally feared, the following 

 details relating to foot-and-mouth disease may not 

 'be without interest to stock owners. They have been 

 abstracted from the hand-book ' Diseases of Cattle,' 

 issued by the Bureau of Animal Industry, US. 

 Department of Agriculture : — 



Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious fever, of 

 a specific nature, characterized by the eruption of vesicles 

 or blisters in the mouth, around the coronets of the feet, and 

 between the toes. 



A peculiarity of foot-and-mouth di.seasc, whicli is lialile 

 to occur both in temperate and tnjpical climates, is the 

 large nundier of species attacked. Cattle are the chief 

 sufferers, then come hogs ; wliile sheep and goats are also 

 attacked in large number. Horses, dogs, cats, and poultry 



■ are not inf recpiently sufferers, and even human beings are not 

 exempt from infection. The mortality from this disease 

 is not great, being genei'ally about 1 to 3 per cent., but in 

 severe outbreaks may reach o per cent. The more fatal cases 

 are among young animals that have been fed on infected 

 milk, and death is directly caused in the majority of these 

 cases by gastrc-enteritis. Although the proportion of 

 deaths is so low, yet when the di.sease exists over extensive 

 areas, serious loss often results to the stock-raising interest, 

 since the milk yield of dairy cows is largely diminished, and 



' ilie animals rapidly lose condition. Such loss is especially 

 felt in districts where cattle are lieing fattened for the 

 Ibutcher. An English veterinary surgeon of high repute has 

 stated as his opinion, that a loss of about £-1 is sustained 



'^y the owner in the case of every milking cow or 

 fattening bullock which has been attacked, but recovered 

 from the disease'. It was estinTated 'that an attack of foot- 

 and-mouth disease which occurred in England in 188.S cost 

 the stock-owners of the country about £1,000,000. 



Foot and-mouth disea.se is not a difficult disorder for 

 a stock-owner to recognize. The disease makes its appearance 

 m from three to six days after exposure of an animal to 

 infection. A chill first sets in, which is followed by high 



fever, the temperature frecpiently rising as high ,\s lOli" F. 

 This is accompanied by vesicular infiammation of the niouth, 

 which gives rise to pain when the animal attempts to eat ; 

 loss of appetite ; a hot, painful, swollen condition of the feet, 

 anrl in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours luunerous small 

 vesicles, varying in size fronf u pea to a hazel-nut appear on 

 the udder and feet, and in the niouth. 



The infection of foot-and-mouth disease is spiead by 

 a number of means, which accounts for the rapid manner iu 

 which the di.sorder frequently occurs on neighbouring hold- 

 ings. Animals may be infected by direct individual contact, 

 or by means of .solid and liquid e.Kcreta, saliva, by infected 

 hay, litter, and drinking ve.ssel.s. Human beings can also 

 carry infection on their clothes and transmit it to aidmals 

 when milking. :Milk in an unboiled state, when fed to 

 animals, may also be the means of transmitting the disease. 



Should an out;break occur, a stock-owner wouhl, of 

 course, call in a good veteiinary surgeon, and follow his 

 advice in regard to methods of treatment, at the same time 

 giving his personal cooperation to the matter of preventing 

 the spread of infection. Every effort .should be made to 

 keep other animals, more especially dogs, cats, and poultry, 

 from connng in contact with infected stock. Persons from 

 other farms should also be prevented from visiting the cow- 

 houses. Animals that have died or been slaughtered must 

 alv,rays be deeply buried with lime, or their bodies burnt. 

 The cow-houses should be disinfected and covered with a coat 

 of limewash containing 4 oz. of formalin per gallon of lime- 

 wash, and all the utensils and fittings cleaned by the 

 application of a solution containing 6 oz. of crude carbolic 

 acid per gallon of water. 



Although no dis(n-<ler of cattle closely resenddes foot- 

 and-mouth disease, yet the sinnlarity of one or more symp- 

 toms with other troubles may lead to a mistake in the 

 diagnosis. In mycotic stomatitis, the entire lining of the 

 mouth is inrtamed and peels off' in a few days, while infiamma- 

 tion of the thin skin lietween the toes may also be present. 

 Ergotism, and 'foul foot' or 'ground itch' have also been 

 temporarily mistaken for foot-and-mouth disease. 



HORSES AND MULES IN THE 

 UNITED STATES. 



A publication has lately been issued by the 

 Bureau of Statistics of the United States Departmontv 

 of Agriculture, which contains the latest available data 

 as to the number and value of farm animals in the 

 United States. 



From this it is seen that the estimated number of farm 

 horses existing in the country on .January 1 of the present 

 year, was 2,0(34,000— an increase of 608,000, or 3-2 per cent. 

 as compared with the figures for the previous year. It is 

 interesting to note that the value per individual horse has 

 increased considerably of recent years. The average value 

 per head over the whole of the United States on .January 1 

 1909, is placed at *9.j-64 each, as against 193-31 a year ago' 

 and $60-25 per head in 1898. 



The figures relating to mules also .show an increase in 

 number. It is estimated that the total number of mules in 

 the Ucited States now reaches 4,0.53,000, as against 

 3,869,000 early in 1908, thus indicating an increa.se of 4-8 

 per cent. The average value of a mule is placed at ■■$I07-84, 

 which is practically identical with the figure of a year ago! 

 In 1898, however, the average value of mules in the United 

 States was but •572'30 [ler head. 



