1920.] 



Shoddy as Manure. 



21 



The attention of farmers is directed to two recent cases 

 of Anthrax which have a most important bearing on the dangers 

 of employing shoddy as manure. British 

 Shoddy as Mannre: shoddy is comparatively safe, but foreign 

 samples are likely to contain and 

 disseminate the Anthrax spores. Farmers should use only 

 shoddy guaranteed to contain ntL foreign element, or to nave 

 been properly disinfected. 



In one case two sows died of Anthrax on a sewage farm. 

 The farm land received from a neighbouring fleece-factory 

 sewage mingled with the chemicals used in treating fleeces. 

 The chemicals do not destroy the spores which may be present 

 in the fleeces, and any infected sheep-skin would be a source 

 of risk. The factory, though dealing chiefly with British 

 fleeces, had recently received large consignments from abroad, 

 including a quantity from South America. There is a strong 

 presumption that these fleeces were the cause of the outbreak. 



In the other case two cows fell ill. One was slaughtered 

 and the other died under strong suspicion of Anthrax. Shortly 

 afterwards a man who had handled the carcass of the slaughtered 

 beast developed undoubted Anthrax. Both cows had been 

 fed on mangolds and turnips grown on fields manured with 

 shoddy. These two cases are sufficiently instructive. 



s|6 s|s *fc 3J3 if; 



An extremely interesting experiment in village organisa- 

 tion is being made in the parish of Compton in Hampshire 



on the lines recommended by the Village 

 Village Clubs Association. Situate amid the 



chalky Downs of Hampshire, and several 

 miles from a railway station, the local residents have 

 decided that the best way of improving the social and 

 material conditions of the parish is by grouping all the village 

 clubs and societies under a Central Council. The method 

 adopted is to appoint representatives from each of the village 

 organisations on the Central Council. Separate accounts will 

 be rendered to the Council annually, and financial help will 

 be given to any clubs or societies requiring it, the subscriptions 

 made to the Council by local landowners and others interested 

 being used for this purpose. The idea is not only to co-ordinate 

 activities in the village, but also to give help where it is most 

 needed. For example, the football club may find itself at 

 the end of the year with a credit balance, while the cricket 

 club may be slightly in debt. In such a case, financial assistance 

 will be given to the cricket club to prevent its collapse. Similarly, 

 a live-stock association will receive help, if needed, from the 



