19 MARCH 1954, Page 16

When I met B. he was in a hurry and

he had an anxious look, for he was on his way to see the vet. about a post-mortem on a cow —the second animal he has lost in about two weeks. He mumbled about a complaint called John's Disease and the man who had sold him the cow. When farmers talk of losses they are rarely taken seriously, but a good milking cow may be worth upwards of a hundred pounds in addition to which her death means a reduction in the amount of the,milk cheque. Not every farmer has a heifer at hand to replace a sudden loss. B. has one consolation. The particular complaint can be charged to the man who sold the cow, which lightens the blow to some extent. Things could have been worse. The animal was not insured.