THE AOBICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



547 



O.R.C, or by cattle which had been 

 stolen by natives and brought into the 

 Colony. Under a recent proclamation 

 the O.R.C. border is closed against 

 the introduction of horned cattle into 

 Natal, bnt, owing to the state of the 

 country, it has been impossible to 

 guard the border. There were 150 head of 

 cattle in the infected troop, and on the 29th 

 these were inoculated with bile obtained 

 locally. The in-contact cattle, numbering 

 400 head, were segregated and inoculated 

 with bile. All the cattle are carefully 

 guarded within a defined area, surrounded 

 by a zone of about three or four miles in 

 depth, which is kept clear of all cattle. 



Another outbreak has occurred at 

 Tintwa, on the farm, Schoon's Spruit. 



On the 20th October a suspicious case was 

 reported, and on investigation the dead 

 Ijeast was found to have been entirely 

 disposed of by the natives. The remain- 

 ing 48 head at this kraal were all healthy. 

 The cattle, however, as being suspicious, 

 were isolated. On the 28th October a 

 beast developed symptoms of rinderpest. 

 There were no immediate in-contact cases 

 in this instance. 



Up to date (7th November) 21 head of 

 cattle have died from the disease since 

 inoculation. No disease has appeared in 

 the in-contact herds. The disease appar- 

 ently is not so virulent in character as 

 during the last epidemic. In a few days 

 the in-contact cattle should be immune 

 for the time being. 



Notice, 



THE Editor has much satisfaction in 

 stating that Mr. Archibald Pearce, 

 Hilton, has consented to write for the 

 Journal a series of articles on " Elemen- 

 tary Agricultural Chemistry." The first 

 will appear in the next issue. Although 

 the articles are written chiefly for the 

 benefit of the younger readers of the 

 Journal, the information given will 

 prove acceptable to the majority of those 

 of older years. Mr. Pearce aims at sim- 

 plicity of style, and at making every step 

 from the very foundation clear. If those 

 who read these articles will read them 

 thoughtfully , and make absolutely sure, 

 step by step, of their own ground work the 

 succeeding and more intrinsically interest- 

 ing articles will present no difficulties. 



Mr. Pearce is a keen, practical student of 

 agricultural chemistry, and perhaps, what 

 is most to the point, he is skilled in im- 

 parting knowledge to others. With the 

 rapid changes in the style of colonial 

 farming and the increased value in land, 

 an elementary knowledge of chemistry as 

 applied to agriculture is becoming indis- 

 pensable. 



Veterinary Staff Notice, 



MR. H. WATKINS - PITCHFORD, 

 F.R.C.V.S., is appointed Govern- 

 ment Bacteriologist and Director of the 

 Veterinary Department. 



Mr. S. B. Woollatt, M.R.C.V.S., is ap- 

 pointed Principal Veterinary Surgeon. 



RicitmontI Road ami Campertiswn Farmers' 



Association. 



rrHE Annual Meeting of this Association 



T 



Presideat, Mr. T. Stead, in the course of 

 his report said as follows : — 



As you are aware, the past year has had 

 its drawbacks, and has not been a profit- 

 able one to many of us owing chiefly to 

 the severe drought. The planting season 

 for the majority of the crops was greatly 



curtailed, the consequence being that a 

 smaller area than usual was planted, the 

 mealie crops with many of us not harvest- 

 ing more than half our usual quantity. 



The potato crop, notwithstanding the 

 careful selection of seeds and manures, 

 has suffered more from the blight than 

 usual. In fact, I might say the crop has 

 been a complete failure with most of us, 



