THE AQBICULTUBAL JOURNAL. 



611 



ported (perhaps incorrectly) as admitting 

 that " the question whether the gall can 

 cause the disease is still an open one." 

 Mr. Henning, Veterinary Surgeon to the 

 late O.F.S. Gcvernment, "was confident 

 that the disease was contracted in this 

 manner. M. Theiler admitted the possi- 

 bility in rare instances. A summing up 

 of the experience of all the experts attend- 

 ing the International Rinderpest Confer- 

 ence resulted in the formulation of the 

 following : — " After the inoculation with 

 gall, some animals can get the disease in 

 a deadly form." The views of Dr. Eding- 

 ton are : Bile can and does produce 

 rinderpest, but certain samples do so more 

 than others." 



Mr. Neucki, a Russian scientist, of wide 

 European rinderpest experience, states 

 that animals inoculated with bile some- 

 times contracted the disease in a fatal 

 form, and so tended to spread the disease. 

 He also states that the disease is produced 

 particularly by the yellow and red biles, 

 and that the immunity resulting from bile 

 inoculation in general is so frail that the 

 method has been disused in Russia. The 

 opinion of the Colonial Veterinary 

 Surgeon of the Cape Colony, in his com- 

 ments upon the work of anothe robserver, 

 seems, summed up, as follows : — " I 

 thoroughly agree with Drs. Krause in their 

 opinion with respect to the capability of 

 certain fresh biles, under favouring con- 

 ditions to communicate rinderpest to 

 healthy cattle." 



My own opinion in 1898, based upon 

 our then late rinderpest experiences, was 

 expressed as follows : — " Bile inoculation 

 in Natal generally has been condemned 

 in practice as being capable of actually 

 producing the disease which it was to 

 have prevented. This it undoubtedly has 

 done in many instances, contrary to the 

 expressed opinion of the originator of the 

 system, and it was upon this opinion 

 solely that we, in Natal, were guided in 

 the adoption and working of the bile 

 system." 



I think it will be conceded that the 

 weight of the above evidence is in favour 

 of the possibility of the disease being 

 conveyed through the medium of bile if 

 inoculated as advocated by Professor 

 Koch. 



Such a possibility, of course, proves a 

 grave indictment against the promiscuous 



adoption of bile inoculation in areas free 

 from the disease. Happily it is possible 

 t3 overcome an objection so grave to the 

 use of a valuable inoculative material 

 which has proved the salvation of thou- 

 sands of animals in the past. 



{To he continued.) 



Tree and Grass Seetfsm 



MESSRS. WILKINSON & CO., at the 

 request of the Department, have 

 stocked Euc. crebra, Euc. paniculata, 

 and Euc. siderophloia ; also of grass 

 seeds Paspalum dilatatum and Panicum 

 maximum. 



Mapstone Oats Notice. 



AGRICULTURAL Associations and 

 farmers who have obtained Map- 

 stone oat seed from tho; Department are 

 requested to return as soon as possible, 

 from that which they have grown, the 

 quantities of seed supplied to them. 



Glyerinated Bile. 



INFORMATION having been asked for 

 respecting the above the Principal 

 Veterinary Surgeon replies : — 



The proportions are two parts bile and 

 one part glycerine. The preparation may 

 be made immediately after the bile is 

 taken from the beast, and should be kept 

 eight days before using. 



Glycerinated bile may be expected to 

 keep in effective condition for some 

 months. It is not known definitely, how- 

 ever, how long it retain its immunising 

 powers. 



In the western part of French Guinea the 

 tr.bes are very fond of feather ornaments— on 

 their head, round their neck, and on their cloaks 

 or mantles. The fowls reared by the Indian 

 tribes of Rucagenne are all white, and a coloured 

 feather would be offensive to the owner. Both 

 men and women love to disport themselves in 

 their white feathery adornments. Like fanciers 

 in Britain, the hens are specially raised for their 

 feathers alone, and not for culinary purposes. 

 As a matter of fact, on the White Farm, at 

 Wimborne, Lord Alington has nothing else in 

 his place except white animals, both bird and 

 I beast. 



