FARM AND GARDEN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 337, 15 February 1911, Page 2

FARM AND GARDEN.

VALUE OF SALT FOR STOCK. All animals naturally possess a craving for salt. When only dry feed is available, they consume a larger quantity of salt than when succulent pasture can be obtained. As a matter of fact, salt is a powerful agent in assisting digestion of food that, when, taken into the stomach in a dry condition necessitates an increase in the secretion of digestive juices. Some authorities proclaim that salt is necessary to keep the blood in the required state of fluidity for active circulation, and also to aid in transforming different foods into available forms to supply nourishment for the various parts of the body. Whatever science has been able to discover in this regard, it remanis no less a fact that salt is greedily consumed by our stock at all seasons of the year and consequently serves an indispensible purpose in the sustenance of health and body activity.

Animals supplied with an abundance of salt are * less liable to become diseased. Active circulation of the blood is absolutely essential to carrying off waste products accumulating in the system, and maintaining vigour and strength. When plenty of salt is provided the blood never becomes thick and sluggish. Many females, especially during pregnancy, are troubled with poor circulation of blood, caused largely from the lack of sufficient salt to keep the blood in a proper condition. Gastric juice is one of the powerful agents of the stomach which acts upon all food taken into the digestive system. In order that this secretion be of the proper quality to work upon food, it must possess a hig per cent, of hydrochloric acid, to make this hydrochloric acid there must be some source of chiorne. _ Salt contains a large amount of this essential element, and therefore gives reason why it is so important in the daily ration of all kinds of live stock. In winter when farm animals are confined to a dry ration, the chlorine from the salt combines very readily with potassium salts instead of uniting with the hydrogen to produce hydrochloric acid. The chlorine that unites with the potassium salt passes off very rapidly, and, consequently a much larger supply must be taken into the system to furnish material for the hydrochloric acid so important in the process of diges-

j tion. Salt also performs another vital purpose: When sheep eat plenty of salt, they drink large quantities of water, which greatly assists digestion by softening the food, and increasing the quantity of secretion in the digestive system. When food of any kind is acted upon by water, it is made more soluble, and is more readily absorbed by the blood. It is also a fact that water assists in carrying off waste products through the kidneys. In consideration of the numerous benefits received from the feeding of plenty of salt to stock, no flockowner should overlook the importance of keeping a constant supply of ! salt before his animals. Salt is a I very inexpensive product, and a bar- | rel will last a small flock or herd | nearly a year. In view of the fact that animals constantly demand small | quantities of salt, it is inadvisable 'to follow the practice of many j farmers, of salting their flocks and herds once a week. While confined | to dry feed, animals consume more salt than when on pasture, consequently, should have a regular supply conj stantly before them. The most prudent manner of furnishing the flock or herd with salt, is to have a saltbox in the field where the animals can get to it at will. This method reduces that labour and al&o eliminates ; danger of not supplying the salt at ail ' times. Not infrequently, when ani- ! mals have not had salt regularly, they eat more than they actually j need and cause a derangement of ! the functions of the digestive sys- \ tem. They instinctively know about I the quantity of salt they need, and | it is much better for them to eat a ' little frequently than a large quantity i once or twice a week.--"Australian ; Farm and Home."

PUSHING THE FIGS. | It coats, roughly speaking, just about V 1 b grain or milk every day to keep a 1001b pig. The fixed charge : for a 2001b pig, then, is ljUb of feed, whether the pig is gaining or not. ; One man grows his pigs to maturity j or fit weight for marketing in 200 | days, another in about 270 days, while still others feed over £SOO days to produce the saine weight of pig. : One hundred days more of maintenance for a pig of about 2001b would mean 1501b more feed required. Then, : in addition, the older pigs also grow pork at a somewhat increased cost because it is a drier product. This i increased cost varies in pounds of additional feed from 501b to iOOI b for every 1001 bof pork produced. MUSTARD FEEDING FOR FOWLS It is reported in a London paper, as | a matter of great interest, that a ' well-known gamekeeper had discoverd that mustard given to hens in the i morning food, wonderfully stimulated i their egg-laying capacity, and, since i the publication of this item of new." 5 hundreds have tried the plan with i most excellent results, and with a ; gratifying increase in egg production. ' The mustard invigorates the ovaries, j and keeps the hens in good condition, I anc ] they are all the better for the j tonic. The thing is so simple, and ' the result so satisfactory, that the I wonder is nobody discovieed it sooner. Continued and careful experimenting i has led to the following being found the most efficacious and convenient | way 0 f giving this invaluable tonic:— | Take one tablespoonrul of mustard for j every six fowls, mix with the dry i incal first, and then add the water.