me JOURNAL 



OP 





T^Re department of Moricufture 



OP 



VICTORIA. 



Vol. XIV. Part 6. 



10th June, 1916. 



CONTAGIOUS ABORTION.* 



An Agent in the Depletion of Dairy Herds. 



B// W.A. X. Robertson, Ji.V.Sc, Chief Veteriiiar// Officer, Department 



of Agi-iculture. 



That the dairy herds of Victoria have suffered very serious depletion 

 of recent years is a fact admitted by all, and it behoves us to look care- 

 fully into the matter in an endeavour to ascertain to what extent this 

 has occurred. What are the causes? Are they preventable? And 

 what does the future hold in store ? 



The figures of the Government Statist, upon which we must estimate 

 cur losses, are based on the returns at 1st March. We must, therefore, 

 go back over the last two years and bear in mind that the early part 

 of 1914 and tlie latter part of 1915 were good seasons, during which the 

 unknown quantity of natural increase would affect the return. 



T.\BLE Showing Cattle in Victoria for Three Years 

 (^ Based on Return on 1st March following). 



• Paper read before the Farmers' Convention 1910 



.-.920. 



