298 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



season. The author discusses the slaughtering and inspection act of New Zealand 

 and describes a number of abattoirs and the methods of slaughtering and inspecting 

 meat. Notes are given on the condition of horses selected for military service and 

 on the chief defects found in these animals. The author advocates the compulsory 

 registry of all veterinary practitioners in the C'olony. 



During the year three outbreaks of anthrax occurred at widely separated localities. 

 It is feared tliat unless special care is exercised to prevent the further introduction 

 of anthrax in bones used for fertilizing purjioses and otherwise New Zealand will 

 become extensively infested with this disease. 



The total number of cattle inspected during the year was 80,987, and of this num- 

 ber 3,919, or 4.8 percent, were found to be tuberculous. This percentage of tubercu- 

 losis was found among cattle which had never been stabled or handled, and indicates 

 the possibility of the spread of the disease under range conditions. Notes are given 

 on tuberculosis of the larynx in cattle and on tuberculosis in fowls. A numVjer of 

 outbreaks of the latter kind was observed during the year. Considerable loss was 

 suffered from abortion, and this was believed to be of a contagious nature in every 

 case and not due to ergot. 



Hog cholera had not been observed for a year, but broke out again under condi- 

 tions which precluded a knowledge of the source of infection. Notes are given on 

 blackleg and pseudotuberculosis in sheep. The pathological anatomy and symptoms 

 of pseudotuberculosis are described in detail, and an organism was isolated with 

 which inoculation experiments were made in sheep, guinea pigs, rabbits, and calves. 

 The disease affects all these animals and also goats. In its pathology the disease 

 resembles tuberculosis and glanders. 



An outbreak of a disease resembling braxy occurred among sheep which were fed 

 on turnips. Post-mortem examinations were made, and the symptoms and lesions 

 of the disease are described. An organism was isolated from diseased animals and 

 inoculation experiments were made on sheep and guinea pigs. The disease is appar- 

 ently due to a specific micro-organism whic-h differs from any other previously 

 observed by the author. The chief symptoms of braxy are not present. There is 

 no striking odor immediately after death, and very little gas in the cultures of the 

 bacilli. 



A form of gangrenous mammitis was observed in sheep. It proved to be conta- 

 gious and due to a specific micro-organism. No curative treatment was successful. 

 Notes are given on a number of parasites of sheep, including lung and stomach worms, 

 botflies, tapeworms, liver flukes, Ccenurus cerebralis, etc. The predisposing causes of 

 infestation by these parasites are considered to be the following: Drinking stagnant 

 water; constitutional weakness of the sheep; presence of the parasites in swampy, 

 undrained lands; want of care in weaning; overstocking, and insufticient nutrition. 

 Experiments with intratracheal injections of carbolic acid, turpentine, chloroform, 

 olive oil, and doses of turpentine and oil indicated that these remedies are of little use. 



The author believes that the most rational method of prevention and cure for the 

 lung and stomach worms consists in the provision of a generous diet. Cirrhosis of 

 the liver in horses and cattle was investigated by the author, and was found to be 

 connected in some way with the ingestion of Senecio jacobceus. The disease appeared 

 only in animals which had eaten this plant. Notes are also given on a number of 

 diseases, including among others the following: Omphalitis in colts, paralysis in 

 salmon and trout, epithelioma of salmon, septic pleurisy in sheep, actinomycosis 

 and a considerable variety of tumors in domesticated animals. 



Semiannual report of the chief of the cattle bureau, A. Peters {Massachu- 

 setts State Bd. Agr. Rpt. 1902, pp. 321-378). — As usual in these reports, the author 

 presents a financial statement showing the expenses of the cattle bureau in the work 

 of eradicating infectious diseases, the payment of indemnities for animals, etc. A 

 large number of tuberculin tests were made for the purpose of determining the extent 



