THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 497, 4 September 1912, Page 6

THE RURAL WORLD.

THREE COMMON DISEASES.

SCOURS—WORMS—MANGE.

These ailments are probably more common among pigs than anything else and they cost pig men a large sum of money annually. The first in my opinion is by far the worst because "scours" is one of those complaints which is not vet properly understood. There ia such a variety of opinion among experts many of them qualified veterinary men as to what is the cause of scours that one is therefore perfectly safe to conclude that the real cause is not yet known. Consequently the remedies are exceedingly varied. One says black walnut bark, soaked for ten hours; another tea made from white oak bark; another sulphur another castor oil and glycerine another tinctrue of opium and spirits of camphor and another advises parched grain and scalded milk. As a matter uf fact, any or all of those remedies may be effective, but in my own experience 1 have only fried sulphur. This remedy is safe, easily administered mixed with the food, is practically tasteless, and has this merit that if it doesn't du any good it will not do any harm. I remember an "auld wife" in Scotland once saying to me "if folk would only ken the value o' sulphur they 'ud lick it aff the grund." Scours occur moat frequently among unweaned little pigs, and usually at the stage when they commence taking nourishment other than the sow's milk and I have found that sulphur given at the rate of one teasyoonful twice a day, mixed in the slop of the sow for two days is usually helpful. But this is by no means a fail me-never remedy. Of course it is wise to keep the sty as clean as you possibly can, and nice fresh straw should be given as often as convenient. I also believe it pays to disinfect the stys as in my opinion on the fact that I have noticed when one litter becomes affected it very often spreads to other litters. With proper feeding, care and attention, scours should not be troublesome, but nevertheless .1 have seen it in the very best of piggeries. Worms are a confounded nuisance evidently create'! for no otner purpose than annoyance. We have, however to be thankful for the fact that the more common varieties of worms which affect swine can be "settled" without a great deal of trouble. This disease is very seldom prevalent except with pigs which have been improperly fed. In a state of nature the pig is provided with a snout which, among other things, he utilises for the purposes of rooting. During his digging operations he finds in the soil various mineral matter, which is most essential to his well being and this mineral matter is by no means essentia] to the well being of the worms. In fact it is their funeral. Now, if pigs are always kept shut up or in places where this mineral matter is unobtainable, naturally it is very necessary that it should be supplied artificially. If your pigs have access to wood ashes or chaicoal, with a slight sprinkling of salt and sulphur over them you will never have any trouble from worms. Of course pigs which have the run of a clean pasture will not need anything of this kind. But otherwise it is sound economy to supply. Worms are the most ravenous fiends alive, and they can simply eat a live pig right up. The symptoms of worms are loss of flesh, dry hair, restlessness, ; ar,d a sort of nervous twitching. When your pigs exhibit these symptoms the best thing you can do is to buy an ounce or two of santonin from any chemist. It is a yellow whitish, glistening powder. Give each pig weighing say, 501bs, enough to cover a sixpence. Dissolve the powder in hot water, and then mix it with the slop. Give the pigs a twelve hours' starve at least, and don't give them a veiff big feed with the santonin. Then watch the effect next day. It will surprise vou, but it will be a verv unpleasant surprise for the worms. After you have so

drugged them you will be able to

keep them clear of worm by follow

ing the method above stated. Mange is not a very common trouble, but if it once starts in a mob of pigs which are running together it will very likely break out on the lot. It is, therefore, wise as soen as a pig is seen to be suffering from it to remove it from the others immedi-ately-—if not sooner! The reason of

this in that mange is a parasitic disease which causes icthiness. The pig scratch everywhere they can, and

the paraitess are thus quickly all over the place. They burrow under the

skin of the pig and a "sore" forms :

and then scabs, and so on. Fortunately it is the simplest thing in the world to cure, because of the fact that any coal-tar preparation is absolutely, sudden death to this particular parasite. Jeyes' fluid, for instance, in the proportion of a teaspoon of fluid to a wine glass of water will play the very deuce with the parasites. Take the affected pigs to some place were you can conveniently bathe the mangy parts with the Jeyes' fluid and water See and make a good, thorough job, and don't put the pigs back in the same place where they contracted the mange. In a few days the "sores" will heal up and your pigs will be as right as th« bank. But by far the best way to avoid disease of every descrintion is to pay daily and watchful attention to vour pigs. Don't let anything run on. Try something. Look up the "Piggery" of the "Dairyman" and see if you can find any likely remedy here. That is why you ought to keep the "Dairyman" carefully. Don't let the Misiss use it for lighting fires with after you have read this month's issue. And if you can't find anything to suit you, then write to "Baconer," who will take it as a favour, and give you all the help he can with the greatest of pleasure.

KITCHEN GARDEN.

Those who have manured and dug the ground roughly should have it in grand order. It would be easy to fork and to break up fine for sowing and planting. Now is the best time of the season to sow onion seed or the main winter keeping crop. The soil should be broken up fine, and the seed sown in drills fifteen inches apart. Another batch of cabbage and cauliflower should now be planted out; a small pinch of seed of each should also be sown for future planting. Sow peas for succession, also radishes, mustard and cress. Plant more early potatoes. Prick out more seedlings of lettuces in a well prepared bed; sow more seed for succession; also a few rows of carrot, turnip, and beet. Spread well-rooted manure round rhubarb plants and fork it in. Where early rhubarb is required, take out the bottom of an empty box, leave the sides intact, and leave the top loose. Cover the box with hot fermenting manure. This will force the rhubarb to grow quickly, and give good blanched stalks. AH growing crops that require the hill system of cultivation should be earthed up as they need it. Vacant pieces of ground should be manured and dug to be ready for future cropping.

THE ORCHARD.

The grafting of fruit trees must be proceeded with at once, as the sap is now rising, after grafting see that clay or grafting wax is used to exclude the air from the wounded parts. The flower buds are beginning to swell on some of the fruit therefore all spraying with strong solutions must cease for when the buds open they might be spoiled. The pruning of fruit trees should now be finished. Trees that are not growing strongly should have some litter manure forked in over the top of the roots. This will make them stronger next year; those that made too much wood last year should have a slight root-pruning to* check a too luxuriant growth this season. All trees planted in exposed positions this winter should be firmly staked and tied to prevent the wind from injuring them. Tree planting should be finished at once, for if we have a dry spring the trees might receive a severe check if the planting be delayed.