Sacrifice For Science

These rabbits are working for the farmer. They're sacrificing their health as part of important experiments which may cut down lamb losses from goitre.

Securely locked in cages at the Department of Agriculture research station, Manutuke, they are being fed on kale to see why that diet affects the thyroid glands of unborn lambs.

Scientists want to find out whether kale is merely short of iodine, or whether it stops ewes from absorbing the iodine in other foods.

Later, these rabbits will be sent to Wallaceville research station for laboratory tests.

Also making a sacrifice for science are the ewes pictured below in a kale paddock at Manutuke. Their lambs will probably be born dead because of iodine deficiency.

Facial eczema –– one of Poverty Bay's worst sheep-killers –– is closely studied by the Manutuke research team.

Sheep are grazed on different types of pasture. Later the sheep livers and samples of the pastures are examined at Ruakura.

This year the station sent away three tons of dried grass.

A thorough knowledge of soil conditions is necessary during the tests. At left, Dave Sinclair, officer in charge, is checking the moisture of the soil. Resistance of the soil to electricity varies according to moisture content and the variation registers in the earphones.

Assistants at the station are pictured below weighing sheep. It was part of another field experiment to study the effect of ryegrass on lambs during the autumn flush.

The research men found that although lambs' growth is checked temporarily, they recover rapidly after being moved to other pastures.

In tests such as these, the Manutuke station is playing a big part in helping the farmer to boost production.