Story: Agricultural and horticultural research

Apparent bush sickness cure

Apparent bush sickness cure

There were many desperate attempts to find a cure for the ‘bush sickness’ that prevented sheep and cattle from thriving on the central plateau of the North Island and in parts of the South Island. This farmer near Rotorua had success with feeding bran to dairy cows in 1910. It was not until 25 years later that the true cause was found to be cobalt deficiency. It is possible that the bran contained some cobalt.

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National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference: Hawera & Normanby Star, 26 July 1910, p. 5

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Ross Galbreath, 'Agricultural and horticultural research - Advances in soil and animal science', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/document/19676/apparent-bush-sickness-cure (accessed 24 April 2024)

Story by Ross Galbreath, published 24 Nov 2008