8o PLANT DISEASE 



years, but some farmers think it existed prior 

 to that date, only it had not been diagnosed. 

 It first made its appearance on the coast 

 country, and has been slowly but surely spread- 

 ing till it has devastated the tract I have 

 described. 



There are many different opinions as to the 

 nature of this disease, but I think there can 

 be no question that it is of fungoid origin, and 

 is indigenous in the grass and soil of the country 

 affected. It is quite certain that if you take 

 sheep or goats from non-infected country 

 and place them on infected veldt, a high 

 percentage of the animals will die of the disease, 

 an odd one occasionally as soon as the ninth day 

 after the change of pasture, while at the end of 

 three weeks you may have as many as 5% dead 

 in a day, and this number in bad pastures may 

 be kept up daily for weeks if the sheep are 

 allowed to remain so long. 



The death rate, however, will decrease rapidly 

 as soon as the sheep are placed on healthy 

 veldt. 



One peculiar feature of this disease is that 

 in any given piece of country the disease may 

 be very bad for a number of years, when, with- 



