992 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Injurious effects of sorghum on stock, T. E. Coulson {Queensland Agr. Jour., 

 9 {1901), No. l,p. ISS).— The author gives various instances of poisoning from eating 

 sorghum in various stages. In one case 17 animals in one herd died from eating 

 sorghum; in other instances cattle were allowed to feed upon sorghum in all its 

 stages without suffering any harm. In most cases death resulted xevy quickly, even 

 more quickly than from strychnin poisoning. An urgent request is made for a 

 further investigation of this subject. 



Report of the division of veterinary science, J. A. Gilruth and C. J. Reakes 

 {Neiv Zealand Dept. Agr. Rpt. 1901, pp. 186-268, pis. 5).— Two outbreaks of anthrax 

 occurred, and both were traceable to the use of "green bone" fertilizer. For some 

 time shipments of this material have been accompanied by declarations that the 

 lx)nes were thoroughly sterilized, but these statements seemed to be of little value. 

 Details are given of circumstances surrounding the 2 outl)reaks of the disease. 



Hog cholera occurred in 4 districts in outbreaks of gi'eater or less severity. The 

 majority of the outbreaks took place between July and December. Repeated out- 

 breaks of the disease occurred on a certain farm, and after one appearance of the 

 disease the hogs were all killed off, the buildings and food material burned, fences 

 destroyed, and the land plowed. It is believed that by keeping hogs off this land 

 for a period of 2 years the disease may be eradicated. The agglutination test in cases 

 of hog cholera proved to be very reliable, according to the observations of the 

 authors. 



A case of verminous pleurisy combined with pneumonia was observed in a pig, but 

 no further cases of the disease could be discovered. The worm which was apparently 

 the cause of the disease was not identified, but is described as resembling trichinae 

 but being considerably smaller. 



A considerable portion of the time of the veterinary staff was occupied with work 

 in connection with tuberculosis. A large amount of inspection work was done, and 

 the tuberculin test was applied on request from cattle owners. Detailed reports on 

 the prevaflence of tuberculosis and on the results of tuberculin tests are made by a 

 number of the veterinary staff. The members of the staff are unanimous in their 

 opinion as to the great value and reliable character of tuberculin when carefully and 

 properly used. A large amount of tuberculous infection was observed in pigs which 

 were fed on by-products of the dairy. 



A number of cases of actinomj'cosis among cattle were observed, 2 cases being found 

 in the udder of dairy cows. 



Considerable attention was given to the study of cirrhosis of the liver, also known 

 in horses as " Winton disease." Experiments showed that the disease could be suc- 

 cessfully treated in horses by repeated doses of strychnin internally. The same 

 disease was observed among a number of cattle. The authors were unsuccessful in 

 attempts to isolate any pathogenic organism. It is believed that the primary seat 

 of infection is not in the liver, .and further search will be made for the specific 

 organism in the alimentary tract or in some other organ. 



Brief notes are given on epithelioma, especially as affecting the external ej^e mem- 

 branes, (esophagus, and liver. An unusual number of cases are reported of hyper- 

 trophy of the thyroid glands in calves, lambs, and colts. This produced an 

 appearance similar to that of goitre in human beings. Many calves were born with 

 enlarged thyroids, and 150 lambs from a herd of 450 ewes were lost on account of 

 this disease. The trouble appears to be associated with malnutrition and a condition 

 of anemia in the parent animals. No outbreaks of the disease occurred among sheep 

 which required especial investigation during the year. The number of deaths from 

 malignant tedema after shearing or docking was much less, and this improvement is 

 believed to be the result of better sanitary- measures. 



Notes are given on the various pathological material which was received for inves- 



