DISEASES OF STOCK

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 256, 21 June 1932, Page 7

DISEASES OF STOCK

GQVERNMENT EXPERT DISCUSSES CAUSE OF MAL.NUTRITION IN STOCK. TREATING BUSH SICKNESS. In the course of an dnteresting address tq farmers at the Palmerston North \ Show, Mr. ,G. . V„ Rayus, M.R.;C.V.S., of the Agricultural Department, took for his- subjeet ,malnutrition in stock. After deqling with various diseases and' both. sheep '• and cattle, he referred to "bush sick- . ness/' which: he . said; could be cured by the medicinal administration of suitable ii'on salts. ''Having frequently; mentioned -mineral mixtures," he said, "I must give the constituents ,of a desirable mixture. The base. of .a gpod mixture is coarse agricultural saltj. it is, an appetiser adds to ; the paiatability of many feeds, and also stimulates the digestive glands, and prevents digestive disturbanees. T:° 1001b. of . salt, add 501b. of- steamed bone meal, and in districts - where goitre is prevalent the quantity of potass.ium ior dine. L;have already mentioned could be added. Those are . the, fundamental requirements, • and .there is little object. in- composing.a mixture with a multitude of ingredients. Occasionally ;flowers of sulphur are added at the rat.e of 101b., and sulphate of iron at the rate of 41b, It must • not be imagined, however, that the use of mineral.mixtures are the best means of making up mineral deficiences. It is an artificial method, and only a second best method. s , : ■ • , Since natural pastures constitute as far as food is concerned the mainstay of -this Dominion, the best method of adjfling minerals is by topdressing grasslands, grading • up pastures so that their mineral composition more and more closely resembles that of milk, and so that they will thus provide hay or pnsilage of high mineral content for winter feeding. Deficient Pastures. Pasture. plants depend on the soil for their mineral requirements, which they acquire through the roots, consequently the minerals present in the . plants vary according to the minerals present in the soil in which the plant gr.ew. . Pastures deficient in minerals tend to be poor in other nutritional qualities, and evidence . of this fact is often seen by the unthrift conditions of stock, especially young growing animals, grazing young growing aniavailable may also be renderea un- ' palatable due to a deficiency of mine- | ral matter, thus affecting the appej tites of the. grazing stock. There is a seasonal yariation in the mineral content of pastures; the minei ral content is higher in grass grow1 ing vigorously.in the leafy stage. If pasture is subjeet to close rotational grazing or repeated mowings, so that plants are prevented from reaching maturity, the period of bigh mineral content is prolonged. The mireral content is considerably lowered in pasture which has been allowed to become coarse and rank. The percentage of fibre in the leaves and.stems of this type of pasture is greatly increased; this . is less digestible and has a low nutritive value. But close grazing to keep pasture in the state of its maximum nutritive value leads to c|epletion of the soil more rapidly unless continuously supplied with arti.ficial mineral -fertilisers, a practice that is becoming increasingly popular in New •Zealand with consequent marked improvement in , the grasslands and health of live stock generally.

Fertilisers and Licks. The importance of the enrichment of the soil by the application of mineral fertilisers is now fully appreciated, and the element in greatest demand is phosphorus. In addition to the applicatiop of mineral fertilisers to the soil, mineral licks can be used as a supplement in feeding stock, in fact they are very necessary on those areas where nothing is being done to improve or even maintain the quality of the pastures. Whenever there is any danger that the pasture contains too little calcium or phosphorus, these mineral nutritives can be supplied at little expense. Calcium may be furnished in the form of finely ground limestone, and both calcium and phosphorus are supplied by steamed bone meal. The use of expensive proprietary mineral mixtures of unknown composition is unnecessary, and generally uneconomical.