5S6 
Supplement  to  the  ^'Tropical  Agrlvutn'-'isty 
[Feb.  1 1897 
owners  are  willing.  But  the  chief  preventive 
method  which  we  should  have  recour.se  to  in 
Ceylon  is  the  isolation  of  flie  sick  animals  and  the 
segregation  _ of  the  liealthy,  supplemented  by 
thorough  disinfection  and  tlie  frequent  burning 
of  the  excreta  and  litter  of  tlie  sick  ones.  The 
proper  disposal  of  the  carcases  of  cattle  and  other 
animals  that  die  of  rinderpest  is  important.  They 
should  be  either  thoroughly  cremated  or  buried 
at  a depth  of  five  feet. 
A fact  that  is  apt  to  be  overlooked  in  connec- 
tion with  the  preventive  measures  is  tliat  this 
disease  is  not  only  directly  communicable  from 
the  sick  to  the  healtliy  cattle,  but  also  indirectly 
through  the  air  and  water  as  well  as  by  men  and 
animals  that  have  been  in  contact  with  tlie  infected 
cattle.  For  tliis  reason  cattle  whicli  are  them- 
selves proof  to  rinderpest,  but  have  been  in  con- 
tact with  or  close  proximity  to  the  sick  should 
not  be  herded  with  the  uninfected  ones ; and  the 
attendants  that  nurse  the  infected  should  likewise 
keep  aloof  from  the  latter. 
The  common  watering  places  and  pasture  lands 
form  a very  fruitful  source  of  mediate  conta- 
gion. In  most  villages  there  is  only  one  tank 
where  all  the  cattle  of  tlie  place  flock  to  drink, 
and  only  one  large  green  where  they  are  herded 
to  graze.  Hence  it  often  becomes  impossible  to 
check  the  progress  of  an  outbreak  unless  siip- 
]iressive  measures  are  adopted  at  the  very  outset. 
One  important  step  towards  facilitating  the 
snppres.sion  of  the  disease  will  be  gained  if  the 
people  can  be  induced  to  dig  wells  and  water 
their  cattle  from  them  and  to  divide  the  common 
pasture  into  separate  lots  for  their  animals  by 
means  of  fences. 
The  ignorance  of  the  villagers  as  to  the  real 
nature  of  rinderpest  is  a great  obstacle  to  its  pre- 
vention. iVe  sbould  not  relax  in  our  attempts 
at  disseminating  correct  ideas  about  it.  Many 
cattle  owner.s  act  as  though  they  have  not  realized 
that  it  is  a contagions  disease.  They  sometimes 
go  on  counting  the  number  of  the  dead  and  the 
dying  as  one  after  another  animal  falls  a ]irey 
to  the  disease,  without  making  any  rational 
attempt  to  protect  those  that  are  still  left.  The 
explanation  of  this  strange  fact  is  that  they  be- 
lieve the  disease  to  be  a visitation  by  their  deities 
whose  wrath,  they  think,  will  be  only  increased 
by  any  commonsense  measures  employed  to 
arrest  its  progress.  Actuated  by  this  belief  they 
sometimes  make  vows  and  offerings  to  pacify 
the  deities.  This,  no  doubt,  is  more  easily  done 
than  the  carrying  out  of  proper  preventive  and  sup- 
pressivemeasures,torsnch  measures  havotobe  most 
strictly  enforced  in  order  to  satisfy  the  demands  of 
veterinary  science  and  to  be  tborougbly  effectual. 
K T.  H. 
pFo  he  Conti)! ncd.) 
« 
GENERAL  ITEMS. 
The  Reporter  on  Economic  Products  to  the 
Government  of  India  (Dr.  Watt)  suggests  the 
use  of  a paint,  made  up  as  follows,  against  white- 
ants  : — 
1 part,  lesin  of  Gardenia  gummifera. 
2 parts,  asaf(ctida. 
2 jiarts,  bazaar  aloes. 
2 parts,  castor-oil  cake. 
Pound,  mix  and  keep  in  water  for  about  a fort- 
night, when  it  becomes  a thick  compound.  Now 
ad<l  water  to  bring  to  the  consistency  of  paint, 
and  add  the  red  colouring  matter  got  from 
Morincki  tinetorla.  Thoroughly  apply  for  about 
2 ft.  from  tlie  ground  for  white  and  red  ants. 
The  effect  is  said  to  last  for  2 years  or  more. 
A trial  of  this  paint  Avas  made  at  the  instance 
of  the  Director  of  Agriculture  in  the  N.-W. 
Pi  evinces,  by  applying  it  to  a number  of  mango 
and  other  trees  badly  attacked  liy  white  ants. 
The  experiment  , proved  that  the  jiaint  is  an 
effective  preventive  against  the  attack  of  white 
ants,  if  applied  clirecUii  to  the  bark  of  attacked 
trees,  so  that  all  earthy  ant  deposits  must  first 
be  removed  from  the  trunks.  The  cost  of  treat- 
ing per  tree  comes  to  nearly  25  cents,  which  is 
considered  too  expensive  for  extended  use  on  large 
trees,  but  would  not  be  prohilrit’ve  where  it  is 
found  difficult  to  establish  young  trees  or  saplings 
along  roadsides  owing  to  white-ant  attack. 
Ashoe  without  nails  has  been  invented  which  ap- 
pears to  be  entirely  satisfactory.  It  had  been  tried 
in  the  German  army  for  a year  with  the  best  results, 
and  a very  favour-able  rejiort  upon  it  has  been 
presented  to  our  own  army  authorities  by  Lieut- 
enant-Colonel Graham.  The  new  shoe  is  being 
adopted  by  the  Glasgow  Coi-poration  and  the 
Great  Northern  Railway  Company,  and  it  is  to 
be  tried  in  the  stud  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen. 
Instead  of  the  nail  a two-])ronged  clamp,  with 
a couple  of  turned  points  at  the  single  end,  is 
idaced  along  a slight  groove  on  the  outside  shell 
of  the  hoof,  fallowing  the  line  taken  by  the  nail 
in  the  ordinary  shoe.  At  the  point  where  the 
n.ail  usually  emerges  and  is  turned  down,  the 
points,  or  hooks,  of  the  clamp  are  pres.sed 
into  the  hoof,  and  the  two  prongs  pass  downward 
beyond  the  edge  of  the  hoof,  into  a slot  in  the 
shoe,  similar  to  the  present  nail-hole.  The  foot 
is  then  lifted,  and  a small  we  Ige  driven  into  the 
slot  from  beneath,  passing  between  the  prongs  and 
fixing  them  firmly  into  the  shoe.  It  is  found 
that  the  shoe,  thus  fixed,  looks  neat  and  work- 
manlike, cannot  be  shaken  off  Iiy  any  amount 
of  kicking  and  plunging,  and  can  be  taken  off 
and  replaced  in  a few  minutes  in  the  stable,  .so 
that  changes  nece.ssary  in  frosty  weather  can  be 
effected  without  trouble.  A company  is  in  course 
of  formation  to  place  the  shoe  on  the  English 
market,  and  specimens  may  be  seen  at  the  offices 
of  the  Minerva  Horse-Shoe  Syndicate,  11,  Queen 
Victoria-street,  E.C. 
The  results  obtained  from  tests  which  have 
been  ma'lc  at  the  Canadian  Government  Ex- 
perimental Farm  during  the  past  eight  years  as 
to  the  action  of  fertilizers  on  crops  show  that  the 
action  of  ficsh  manure  is  almost  ei|ually  bene- 
ficial, ton  ner  ton,  to  that  of  rotted  manure 
in  the  growing  of  nearly  all  the  staple  crojis. 
The  question  of  the  best  and  most  economical 
methods  of  handling  farmyard  manure  is,  there- 
fore, one  of  the  greatest  importance  to  farumrs 
everywhere,  since  animal  manure  form  one  of  their 
most  valuable  assets.  As  a result  of  many  ana- 
lyses, it  is  estimated  that  twenty  tons  of  good 
fa-myard  manure  contain  about  IPO  lb.  of  nitro- 
gen, 12S  lb.  of  phosiihoric  aciil,  and  172  lb.  of 
potash,  which,  if  estimated  by  their  cost  as 
obtainable  from  the  cheapest  artificial  sources, 
represents  a sum  of  not  less  than  TO. 
