THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 361, 17 May 1911, Page 6

THE RURAL WORLD.

FOALING AND CALVING. At the meeting of the Waikato Farmers' Club, Cambridge, last week, Mr J. Lyons, Government veterinary surgeon, delivered an address before a large number of farmers on the sub- | ject of "Foaling and Calving." The j lecturer first dealt in detail with the names and position of the reproductive organs, and the manner of procurating the species. Normally foaling and calving were quite a natural process, but he dealt with the matter j in such a way that if anyone present j had trouble with their animals during j the important periods mentioned, and ! expert assistance was not to hand, j they would have an intelligent idea lof how to proceed. He explained j fully the proper method of dealing ; with the various exigencies of birth, I and said a little knowledge of what to jdo was much to be preferred to brute I strength. Having dealt with the de- | fects common to the foetus, mention ! was then made of the defects of the i mother. In the case of a closed | womb, he condemned cutting a hole ; with a knife as dangerous and unI necessary. It was better to leave toe j animal alone, and usually the muscles of the neck of the womb would relax of themselves and calving or foaling as the case might be would be easy. He also showed how to rectify such a thing as a twist of the passage of the womb by tying the legs and rolling the animal. The lecturer followed up these instructions by referring to diseases that were common to animals after delivery, speaking of the great importance of cleansing. There was no drug known to medical science ! that would make a cow or mare part ! with her cleansing. had I their use, chief of which was giving | the animal an appetite. Mention was i made of the symptoms indicative of | blood poisoning, it being stated that | in the case of a mare she should be j given a dose of physic, her shoes : taken off, and her feet poulticed. ! Frequent cleansing of the bowels must |be continued until the animal recovers. After parturition, a cow's uterus often came away, and this was easy to diagnose. First, it must be cleansed and then replaced in position; if a little chloroform was given to the animal, insertion of the uterus became much easier, because there was not then the resistance of the cow to combat. Often, too, after parturii tion the bladder protruded, and in this : case a little skill and knowledge were : necessary to put matters right. If nothing were done, either blood poi- : soning set in or the mare was little ; good afterwards. A serious defect < was that of hemorrhage after calving :or foaling, due to a tear mostly. In ; such a case plenty of water should be ! kept over the animal's loins, and a ] sheet, medically treated, inserted until a cure was effected.

Replying to questions, Mr Lyons said there were two kinds uf abortion • —contagious and non contagious, and ' fortunately there was only one case | now where there were 10 previously. ' Foals might be saved from death, the ■ result of constipation, by a timely j dose of castor oil and injections of | warm water and soap—the remedy I was very simple. Anti-septics served : a good purpose, and could do no harm, but would not bring away the after- , birth from a cow. The cleansing must be taken away carefully and : skilfully, In the case of a horse pawing and rolling it was a sure sign iof colic, of which there were two kinds spasmodic and flatulent. In the latter case ii was a case of decomposition of the food taken, and the I generation of the poisonous gases. 'ln the former case laudanum and I sweet spirits of nitre and linseed administered usually relieved the trou- ; ble, while in the latter case turpeni tine, laudanum, and linseed oil were j usually remedial. If used too often corrosive sublimate was harmful to : cows. One man he knew found this ! to his cost, as 14 of his cows treated : with the chemical failed to get in calf. Outward application of the i sublimate on cows when they show I symptoms of abortion was as good as i anything. It was a mistake to try | and inject when a cow was several | months gone. Common salt was a ; cure for red water. Milk fever in- ! variably showed itself within three | days of calving. A specific cure was ! to pump the udder full of air, and tie ! up the end 3 of the teats, and when j the air so pumped was exhausted, | pump the udder up again and probably | in eight hours if the cure was con- | tinned the cow would recover. ; Several other questions having been j replied to, a hearty vote of thanks | was accorded to Mr Lyons, Mr R. i Fisher saying it was one of the most practical lectures he had ever heard. In returning thanks, Mr Lyons suggested that upon a future occasion if he were allowed to give practical demonstrations and a talk of half a day it would be of more value than a dozen lectures giver, to a room full of people.

THE ARGENTINE

i Decrees have been issued by the ! Argentine Government for adding two ■ new divisions to the Ministry of /\grij culture, One is an "ijffice of Meats," ! The decree urges that it is the duty of the State to amplify the capacity of the markets, now supplied with Argentine live stock and meat, and to I gain others by adapting production to the tastes and customs of each country. The great obstacle, it is added, is the system of veterinary control for sanitary purposes in Europe, and veterinarians are to be sent to Europe to study and report oti this flthe'y "i ; he other aew ■ division is the '""Office of Milk Inj cjustry and Refrigeration/" the objects of which, describee} at great i length, we to develop the dairy industry, to improve the refrigeration of iiifcat, while extending it to milk in establishments and in transport.