THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 506, 5 October 1912, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD.

CATTLE AND SALT,

Finlay Dun * ("Veterinary Medicines"), in dealing with the general actions of salt, says:—"So essential is the regular and frequent use of salt fur the maintenance of health that animals, especially vegetable feeders, in a state of nature instinctively travel many miles to saline springs, the sea shore, or incrustations or beds of salt. Dealing with salt as an essential for healthy nutrition, he quotes an experiment as to its dietetic value conducted 'by M. Boassingault, w:io selected six cattle as equal as possible in weight and appearance, and fed them exactly in the same manner, except that three received each half ounce of salt daily, whilst the other three got none. "In about six months the skin and hair of those without salt becaue rough and dry, presenting a striing contrast to the smooth shining coast of the others which, although little heavier than their neighbours, were more lively, and of so much better appearance that they brought a somewhat higher price. The cattle receiving salt exhibited .throughout greater appetite and relish for their food, consumed it in a shorter time, and also drank larger quantities of water."

He adds: —"A piece of rock salt should constantly lie in the manger, the ox's crib, and the sheep's trough. It is especially necessary when the diet consists largely of cooked grains or roots, in the preparation of which part of the salt is apt to be dissolved out. The condiment not only gratifies the palate, but also sreves important nutritive purposes. It increases secretion of saliva and gastric iuice, furnishes hydrochlric acid for the gastric juice and soda salts for the bile; assists the diffusion of fluid through membranes, while four to six parts per 1000 are present in the blood serum, contributing to the solution of the globulins. During convalescence from acute disease the chloride and other sodium salts are removed from the body in unusual amounts, and most animals then instinctively take salt freely. Besides itself furnishing an essential constituent of the animal fluids and solids, it assists in the assimilation of nutritive matters." *

Wjth reference to the quantity of salt required, some animals, likes some, men,seem to need a larger quantity of salt than others. This may be due to individual peculiarity, or to the food supplied containing a smaller quantity of sodiums chloride. Almost all vegetable substances eaten by stock contain a greater or less proportion of salt, and this varies considerably in different districts, and according to the constituents of the soil on which it is grown. The best way .to meet this difficulty is to permit free access to rock salt, which if placed in a convenient situation, the animals will lick and satisfy their individual requirements without taking more than they need. Rock salt may be put in the field in lumps, or in the mangers or troughs, or hang against the wall in the shape of salt rollers. If a fixed quantity per head is mixed with the food, unless it is being specially administered as a tonic and anthelmintic, as it frequently is in cases of "liver rot" and other parasitic diseases, we may have some animal getting more than they want, while for others the quantity given may be insufficient. On most forms the available natural supply of salt is generally insufficient. It is very probable that the trouble connected with cattle eating all sorts of deleterious substances, such as stones, rags, bones, etc., is due to an insufficiency of salt.