HAWAII EXPERIMENT STATION. 401 



DAIRYING. 



Much work is to bo done in iiivostiii'utions alonjr tlio lino of dairvin<^, 

 especially in tli(^ coinpoiiiuliiio- of rations. Sorii'luini and -lohnson 

 srrass, known here as evororoon niillot, aro ])racticallv the only forai^c 

 plants cultivated for foodino; dairy cattle. Tho rccpiirod nitroj^vnous 

 feeds are supplied by bran, niiddlinofs, and other milled feeds imported 

 from California. Aoain, while there are many dairies which have full- 

 blooded and i^rade Jersey. Ilolstein. and other milk breeds of cattle, 

 certainly tlu> majoi'ity of the milch cows on the islands are scrub 

 stock. A coo])erative experiment will 1)0 undertaken with one of the 

 dairies in the vicinity of Honolulu to work out some of the problems 

 in connection with this industry. ]\Iuch valuable work in the cultiva- 

 tion of forage plants new on the islands is being carried on by the 

 asrricultural denartnuMit of the Kamehameha Bovs' School. Prof. 

 F. (t. Krause, who is in charge of this work, has presented a number 

 of papers at tho farmers' institute, giving the results of his investiga- 

 tions. Some of tliesc j)ap(M"s will shortly b(> published for general dis- 

 tribution, as the information contained in them is oquall}' valuable for 

 all of th(^ islands. 



ANIMAL DISEASES. 



According to tho report of the president of the board of health of 

 Hawaii for 10O:i, 99() cattle, out of a total of 3,8T<i slaughtered for the 

 Honolulu market during the six months ended December 31, lOO'i, 

 were infected with lixcr fluke. Two hundred and forty-seven, out of a 

 total of 4.ST calves (>xaminod during the same period, also showed 

 infection. The liver iluke is an internal parasite which exists for only 

 a portion of its life cycle in the bodies of warm-l)looded animals. In 

 the early stage of its development it is parasitic within the l)odies of 

 certiiin fresh-water snails. It secures entrance to the bodies of cattle 

 in the drinking water or through the cattle eating tho succulent grasses 

 growing around stagnant water holes, on which th(> snail also feeds. 

 During the stage of the existejice of the fluke, Avhen it is parasitic 

 within the body of the snail, it is extremely miiuite, ])ut when it enters 

 the body of the animal and finds tinal lodgment in tlu^ ducts of the 

 liver it grows into a flat, worm-like bod\', often 3 inches or more in 

 length. Its presence in the liver of the infected animal, especially 

 when it exists in any considerable munbor, often causes the death of 

 the animal. An epidemic of lo.sses from this source was reported to 

 the station from the windward side of the island of Oahu. Tho cattle 

 princi]xilly afloctod were young cows from 2 to 3 3'ears old. An ani- 

 mal which is infested with liver Iluke becomes extremely emaciated, 

 and can bo, distinguish(Ml at a distance in the ]ia-;turos becaus(> of its 

 standing alone, with head up, and appai'ently without inclination to oat 



S. Do.-. 14S, r).S-L' 2(i 



