486 TEB AOBICULTUBAL JOURNAL. 



Correspondenccm 



To the Editor Agricultural Journal. 



THANK8. 



SIR, — Absence from home prevented my 

 thanking, in due course, Messrs. 

 Pearce and Fardy for their letters in No. 

 14 of the Journal. 



In now thanking them, I have to say 

 that the exphxuations given have made 

 the matter I wrote about much plainer. 

 Mr. Pardy accurately measures my mis- 

 take. 



I would like to ask, in this place, why 

 can there not be a little more plain sail- 

 ing when stating constituents of manures ? 



To a layman, chemistry is nearly as 

 bad as Greek, and when one hears of 

 " muriate," '• chloride," and " sulphate " 

 of potash, pardon should be given for 

 getting a bit mixed. 



To me it seems more understandable to 

 say that " Kainit " contains " 13 per cent, 

 of pure potash," than to say it contains 

 " 25 per cent, of sulphate of potash." 



The kindly spirit in which the above 

 letters have been written will do much to 

 embolden farmers to ask questions when 

 they do not understand things. 



Yours, &c., 



James Thorrold. 

 The Moorings, Sunday's River. 



HORSESICKNESS. 



Sir, — I read in two issues of your 

 Journal articles by Mr. Pitchford, Prin- 

 cipal Veterinary Surgeon, and by Mr. A. 

 Theiler, Veterinarian to the late South 

 •African Republic, on the disease known 

 as horsesickness. 



I would like to ask Mr. Pitchford, 

 through the Journal, why so few (if any) 

 foals, yearlings, and two-year- olds die of 

 the disease. I have been breeding horses 

 for about 23 years, and cannot remember 

 losing one of the ages I have given by the 

 said disease. I have at dilferent seasons 

 lost considerable numljcrs of grown horses 

 of both sexes. All (old and young) have 

 run together in the veld. 



This is an interesting point which has 

 not escaped observation. Youth un- 

 doubtedly possesses a great degree of im- 

 munity, which lapses withad ■ancingage. 

 I have, however, seen yearlings succumb 

 to the disease in two cases. Why certain 

 diseases should be incidental to certain 

 ages, such as measles to youth, or cancer 

 to more advanced age, is still one of the 

 unsolved problems of preventive medicine. 



All observations and speculations on 

 the disease are welcome to me, especially 

 when coming from those having the ex- 

 tended experience of Mr. Heuwood. 



H. W-P. 



Kosetta, 



Yours, &c.. 



W. Hknwood. 



RINDERPEri L' QUESTIONS. 



Sir, — Can anyone tell me if serum 

 would be any good taken from cows im- 

 muned with bile and virulent blcod two 

 or three times, and which had rinderpest 

 three years ago ? 



Would the cows contract linderpest 

 if, aft( r taking the serum, ihey should be 

 fortified with virulent blood ? 



Would the immunity of cattle, which 

 have been inoculated with bile and viru- 

 lent blood, break down if rinderpest 

 should break out in young stock or other 

 cattle (born after the last rinderpest out- 

 break) in the same troop ? 



The cattle in question were inoculated 

 four years ago, and went safely through 

 rinderpest three years ago, tlie immunity 

 only failing in one or two cases. 



Yours, &c., 



H. F. Raw. 



I'ooi-de-Vaal, Harding. 



To the foregoing the Principal Veteri- 

 nary Surgeon, Mr. Watkins-Pitchford 

 replies as follows : — 



In reply to this letter from Mr. Raw, I 

 am not able to state definitely that animals 

 immured with bile— without suH'ering 

 from the disease — and subsequently 

 treated with virulent blood, would con- 

 tain in their systems to-day any great 

 degree of immunity. All that I can say 

 is that it is not probable that their im- 



