April 1, 1895.] Supplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist, 
707 
of gestation, bad odours, plethoric condition, 
diseases of the system, (such as cattle 
] 1 igue, foot and mouth disease, pleuro- 
neumonia anthrax, tympanitis, tetanus, epi- 
lepsy, &c. ) It is the belief of some autho- 
rities that abortion is altogether an infection* and 
a contagious disorder, and is propagated by a micro- 
organism, which enters the system only through 
the vulvular opening. Others again believe that 
the micro-organism is capable of producing the 
disorder by gaining entrance to the system 
by various means. All the above enumerated 
causes of sporadic aborti m are, however, generally 
considered to be only exciting causes. 
It would appeav since the contagious and in- 
fectious form of the disorder is now proved 
beyond doubt, that the disease-producing germs 
must be present in every case, and that the 
organisms rapidly multiply after an abortion 
which may iu certain instances take place 
sporadically. 
All those who have anything to do with cattle 
are »ware that epizootics, such as cattle plague, 
or to give its Ceylon misnomer "murrain," do 
produce abortion, and this has been conclusively 
proved at the Government Dairy farm during 
the last outbreak of the disease there. The outbreak, 
as a matter of course, was a clear case of sporadic 
abortion ; but when cows that were not suffering 
from the plague, but that were iu the same herd, 
aborted also there would appear to be no doubt 
that the " abortion " had assumed an infectious 
and contagious form. 
Of recent years quite an amount of literature 
has been cropping up on the subject, and only 
theotherday the C'ommitteeappointed by the Royal 
Agricultural Society of England to investigate 
this subject, completed and issued its report, but 
the Committee has not been able to agree upon 
any point * except that abortion can assume a 
contagious and infectious form. 
Continental Veterinarians, such as Frauck, 
Nocard and Lebat, had made a series of investiga- 
tions on this subject before it was so prominently 
brought before the British public, and long be- 
fore it was thought necessary for the ftoyal Agri- 
cultural Society to appoint a Special Committee. 
Dr. Salmon of the United State's Agricultural 
Department published a report of a series of 
investigations made in America so far back 
as 1883. 
What we are concerned most is to be able to re- 
cognise, and to follow the course of an outbreak 
of abortion in our herds, and, to know what 
steps we should adopt to prevent its occur- 
rence. Professor Nocard has successfully coped 
with abortion through his antiseptic method of 
treatment, and the published evidence given be- 
fore the Special Committee of the Royal Agri- 
cultural Society is in favour of not only Pro- 
fessor Nocard's antiseptic treatment, but also that 
ad\ iaed by the American authorities ; while a com- 
bination of the two, it appears, has given the best 
re^ult^. 
Professor Nocard's treatment consisted of the 
injection into the organ of the aborting animal 
a solution of corrosive sublimate made by dis- j 
solving 15 groins of the sublimate along with , 
oz. of salt in a pint and a half of lukewarm 
water. This method of treatment is calculated 
uot only to destroy tne micro-organisms that may 
exist, but to prevent the entrance of these 
germs. The American method consists in the 
internal administration of carbolic acid in warm 
bran mashes, from a £ to 5 an ounce of car- 
bolic acid being gradually mixed with bran and 
warm water and given to the animal as a feed. 
As a matter of course this method of treatment 
is adopted with a view to destroy any organ- 
isms that have entered the system. But as was 
amply proved in the evidence before the special 
Committee of the Royal Agricultural Society, a 
combination of the two methods has given emi- 
nently satisfactory results. 
An aborted cow should always be kept apart 
rom the herd, and the shed, persons and utensils 
employed in its feeding, &c, promptly disin- 
fected by using either Jeye's or Condy's fluid. 
After this the application of the corrosive subli- 
mate lotion and the administration of carbolic 
acid in bran mashes may be proceeded with. 
The rest of the cows of the herd should also 
be washed and disinfected. A bull that has 
served a recently-aborted cow should not be used 
for covering the healthy cows. Iu any case an 
aborted cow should not be served for at least 
three to four months after the abortion. These 
simple rules and in addition cleanliness and 
care in feeding should do much towards the preven- 
tion of this disappointing disorder among cattle. 
W. A. D. S. 
SISAL HEMP. 
The following facts concerning Sisal Hemp are 
from the annual report on the Bahamas for 
1893 :— 
One hundred pounds of leaf yield nit more than 
four or five pounds of fibre. 
The generally accepted standard of 600 plants 
to the acre, is now in many cases being changed 
to 800, and in some instances to 1,000. If this 
increased number be not found to impede har- 
vesting by the inconvenient crowding of the 
plants, the yield per acre should, of course, be 
largely augmented. The estimated annual yield 
of a single plant is two pounds of tibre, and 
thus, instead of a return of 1,L ; 00 lb. from the 
earlier planting of 600 suckers, assuming that 
the results are not modified by want of room 
for the full development of the plants, 2,000 lb. 
will be the expected yield where 1,000 plants 
are given to the acre. 
It is highly satisfactory to know t hat a machine 
manufactured by the Todd Company of New York 
has been at length found to work admirably, 
the fibre being cleaned perfectly, at the smallest 
possible amount of waste (Kra- Bulletin, 1804, 
p. 189). There can be but little doubt that this 
machine will be universally adopted, as, besides 
its efliciency, it is cheaply operated, a woman 
to feed the machine with leaves, another to re- 
move the finished fibre, being all the labour 
attendant on this process. It has been for some 
time a subject of much thought as to how the 
small cultivators were to utilise their labour 
where, as in the great majority of cases, they 
were too poor and their plantings too limited to 
admit of the cost of a machine. A satisfactory 
solution, however, has now been found which will 
be a great boon to this class, and will bring 
the blessings of the industry home to t He hum- 
