H.—29

8

The following table indicates the respective class of premises at which thene animals were slaughtered, those killed at abattoirs being almost wholly for local consumption, and those slaughtered at meat-export slaughterhouses being intended (except in the case of cattle and swine) principally for export: —

At ordinary slaughterhouses the stock slaughtered was as follows : Cattle, 67,035 ; calves, 1,843 ; sheep, 295,964 ; lambs, 25,642 ; swine, 22,089. In addition the examination of 40,717 carcases of pigs killed and dressed by farmers and sent in to butchers' shops and small bacon-factories was carried out by officers of the Division, 1,267 being condemned, including 1,061 for tuberculosis. Compensation paid for Stock condemned. —During the year compensation to the amount of £1.2,986 was paid out for 5,183 animals condemned in the field under the Stock Act; and in addition the sum of £12,657 was paid for carcases or part of carcases condemned on inspection at time of slaughter under the provisions of the Slaughtering and Inspection Act, making the total amount for which the Consolidated Fund became liable £25,643. Importation of Stud Stock from Abroad. —The importation into New Zealand of cattle and sheep from the United Kingdom was prohibited throughout the year on account of the numerous outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease which had occurred there over widely scattered districts, and as a consequence the importation of stud stock was seriously curtailed. At time of writing, however, the prohibition has been partially lifted. In this connection it is satisfactory to note that the shipping companies have rendered great assistance to importers by recently agreeing to carry stud stock to New Zealand freight-free. Inspection of Dairies supplying Milk to Towns. —A close inspection of the premises registered for the supply of milk for town consumption has been maintained, and the premises have on the whole been kept in as reasonable a state of cleanliness as the various circumstances have permitted. It is, however, extremely difficult to get a number of the old premises replaced by modern structures, owing to the land being held under short tenure, and there is also the circumstance of land held adjacent to cities with a view to cutting up for residential purposes. The dairymen in these cases are not disposed to go to any expense, and the only alternative has been to have them kept in as good condition as possible and to close those not up to requirements, as opportunity allowed. Continued close inspection of the cows comprising the herds has been carried out, and all cows with any suspicion of disease have been effectively dealt with. The tuberculin test has also been largely availed of, and many composite samples of milk have been sent to the Veterinary Laboratory or examination. Importation of Animal-manures. —The inspection of the sterilization of animal-manures from New South Wales (where the only Australian mills licensed by the Department now are) and from Calcutta was continued during the year. The importation of bonedust from Sydney showed an increase of 359 tons on the previous year, while that from India showed a considerable decrease. Veterinary Laboratory. —At the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory, in the course of the year, 1,632 specimens were received for examination. These included milk-samples, pathological exhibits, blood for serological tests; water for bacteriological analysis, &c. 1,051 samples of milk from cases of suspected contagious mastitis were dealt with, and 231 samples of blood were examined by the agglutination method for the detection of contagious abortion. In addition, 106 composite samples of milk were received for test inoculations for the presence of tubercle bacilli; only one sample proved to be tubercular. Every effort has been made to curtail expenditure, and the prosecution of research work has consequently been restricted. The curative treatment of contagious mammitis has received attention. Whenever available, subjects in the locality affected with this disease have been secured for experimental treatment. Parasitic gastritis occurring among sheep and imported pedigree goats at the laboratory provided an opportunity to test the method advocated by the South African Veterinary Service of dosing with a mixture of arsenite of soda and sulphate of copper. This treatment in our hands proved most effective. A number of feeding experiments to test the toxicity of certain materials have been carried out. Among these may be mentioned the effects of basic-slag absorption by sheep, the effects of feeding salt to swine, the feeding of clover raised upon soil from " bush-sick " areas ; also tests with samples of calf-meal, honey, and mangold-liquor. The breeding of ferrets for disposal to settlers has been continued, and a small, herd of pedigree goats is now maintained on the laboratory farm for disposal in the same manner. 78,200 doses of blackleg vaccine have been supplied. Abortion vaccine in the shape of living cultures of the specific organism has been supplied on request. 1,6.12 c.c. of tuberculin has been sent out, and sixty-three doses of mallein were supplied. Poultry. —The chief work of the Poultry Instructors during the year has been to visit the many poultry-keepers applying for assistance. Much advice and assistance has also been given by letter, and through the medium of our poultry pamphlet and the monthly notes by the Chief Poultry Instructor published in the Journal. In addition many lectures and demonstrations were given in various parts of the Dominion. In view of the large number of inexperienced persons who have recently taken up poultry-keeping, it has been found impossible for the Instructors to comply with all the requests made for their services.

.» Datum's. Abattoir's. | Meat-export Slaughterhouses. Slaughtorhousr Baeon-faotories. I Cattle .. Calves . . Sheep . . Lambs . . Swine .. -. 125,483 24,620 690,297 109,256 112,761 155,881 7,504 1,927,317 4,410,895 86,351 22,661