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Story: Volcanic Plateau region

Cow with ‘bush sickness’

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Cow with ‘bush sickness’

This photograph of a cow with ‘bush sickness’ illustrated a 1932 report on the illness. The wasting disease of animals was caused by a deficiency of trace elements in the soil – identified as cobalt in 1935.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Reference: L. I. Grange and N. H. Taylor, 'The distribution and field characteristics of bush-sick soils.' In Bush sickness 21-35. DSIR Bulletin 32. Wellington: W. A. G. Skinner, Govt. Printer, 1932, p. 30

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Volcanic Plateau region – Farming, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/15177/cow-with-bush-sickness (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.