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ANIMAL RESEARCH DIVISION REPORT OF J. F. FILMER, DIRECTOR There has been a steady development in the work of the Animal Research Division during the year and this has been accompanied by a marked growth of public interest in the Wallaceville, Ruakura, and Manutuke Research Stations. At Ruakura especially the number of visitors and the demands on the time of the research staff have become quite embarrassing. The collaboration of farmers' organizations is being enlisted with a view to arranging an annual farmers' week in addition to a few field-days to enable the maximum number of stockowners to discuss the investigations with research workers with a minimum disturbance of the work. In order to reach the much larger number of farmers who cannot visit the research stations, conferences of extension workers are held and these officers are then able to pass on the latest results of the investigations. During the year the second annual conference of departmental veterinarians was held at Wallaceville, the main theme being extension work. An extra-mural course of two weeks was provided at Wallaceville for eighteen final-year, veterinary students. Diagnostic Services There was a very marked increase in the work of the Diagnostic Section at Wallaceville, as shown in the following table, in which the 1947-48 figures are given in parentheses-:

Numbers and Types of Specimens Examined, 1st April, 1948, to 31st March, 1949

The following vaccines were prepared and issued free, last year's production being given in parentheses Blackleg vaccine— Doses. Cattle .. .. .. 78,000 (70,000) Sheep .. .. ..172,500 (79,200) " Scabby mouth " vaccine .. _ .. 470,000 (329,000) The Diagnostic Section, in addition to assisting veterinarians in the diagnosis of ailments, is ideally situated to locate new diseases and make preliminary investigation of them. During the year the following observations were made : Toxic Heart-disease in Poultry.—Routine histological examination of heart muscle in cases of this disease showed the presence of intra-nuclear inclusion bodies, which suggest that the disease may be due to infection with a filterable virus.

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Species. Cases Submitted. Samples Examined. Cattle— . Blood samples 419 1,9781 Milk samples 217 1 ,558 >-(4,563) Miscellaneous samples 705 1,659 J Sheep 647 1,623 (599) Pigs 194 464 (202) Fowls 777 1 ,-868 (1,302) Horses 93 219 (109) Dogs 90 145 (48). Bees 126 (162) Miscellaneous 275 574 (278) Totals 3,417 (2,657) 10,214 (7,263)