INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FEEDSTUFFS 5 



Some time after the cows died, a telephone call was received here from the 

 owner of a large Massachusetts trout hatchery. He stated that he had fed the 

 livers from the Rhode Island cows to his trout and that within one hour thous- 

 ands of the trout were dead. He stated further that the viscera of the cows had 

 been tested for all possible metallic poisons with negative results, and requested 

 the Control Service to make tests for Parathion and DDT. This was done, with 

 negative results. 



Some of the muscle tissue and heart received here was fed to trout in an ex- 

 perimental pool containing 12 trout at a trout hatchery. The feeding was con- 

 tinued for 8 days and the trout were kept in the experimental pool after the 

 eighth day to observe any delayed effects. On the tenth day one trout was found 

 dead. On the twelfth day three more trout were dead. It was observed on this 

 day that several trout had disappeared. According to the man in charge of the 

 hatchery the trout probably were taken by rats, since this had happened before. 

 Obviously the experimental pool should have been covered by a wire screen. 

 Recause of this it was concluded that the trout found dead might have died as 

 the result of encounters with rats. The test was therefore considered inconclusive. 



The Official Chemist discussed this case in May, 1951, with the representative 

 of the feed manufacturer whose feed was used. At that date the case was still 

 unsolved. 



In another case a very complete and informative report was received from a 

 veterinarian in Great Barrington regarding the death of two cows in a pasture 

 and the serious illness of three heifers. The veterinarian gave complete details 

 of the symptoms and results of post mortem examination. He stated that an 

 empty can of weed killer was found and that grass along the fence had been killed 

 apparently by a weed killer. A sample of the soil under the grass, the can con- 

 taining the weed killer, and the rumen contents of the dead cows were submitted. 



Enough material remained in the can to identify it as sodium arsenite. The 

 soil contained the equivalent of 5,850 parts per million of sodium arsenite. The 

 rumen contents contained well over 100 parts per million of arsenic. 



Two heifers belonging to a resident of Westport Harbor died under suspicious 

 circumstances. The stomach contents of one heifer were received for analysis. 

 An unusually large amount of arsenic and copper was found, indicating Paris 

 green poisoning. 



In another case nitrate was suspected as the cause of the death of a cow. No 

 significant amount of nitrate was found, but 22 parts per million of lead was 

 present with no arsenic. This indicated paint poisoning. 



A sample of barn sweepings was received from a veterinarian in Concord who 

 suspected sodium nitrate or lead as the cause of the death of a cow. A large 

 amount of lead arsenate was found in the sweepings. 



A case referred to the Control Service by the Veterinary Science Department 

 of the University involved the death of two cows that apparently had eaten 

 away a considerable portion of the insulation covering a steam pipe. The rumen 

 contents and the livers contained lead ranging from 2 to 8 parts per million. 

 Although higher than normal, this quantity of lead is less than usually found in 

 lead poisoning cases. No arsenic was present. The rumen contents of one cow 

 were decidedly alkaline. 



The pipe covering was found to consist mainly of asbestos, magnesium car- 

 bonate and magnesium oxide. It contained approximately 3 percent of a water 



