SALT RATION FOR STOCK

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 828, 23 November 1929, Page 29

SALT RATION FOR STOCK

Advantages Claimed For New Process Oi Feeding H 1 AUVESTI.NO 1.. V, ttlit-n it is only 75 per rent drv l treat,.,-, it wd , salt is a procedure that has been adopted m i ranee with si.me success Ti ..... i ‘ -uoptcu to tlie notice of English farmers bv M ihrrr' tn , reCCl ' t y Agricultural Serves of peneneeu luriner. 11

• llr '•' AcdL Vhe 1 cTm "tTZTrZ " twit exceptionally setni-drv (salted 'l l, r Cr , cen, -> ‘crn,e„, s sliehtlv: the ! m-.soKcs entirely. At the end ot' - ll.rn h',, • I 111' / ora|(c I,eats 11 h- The . ,II J 'imui the forage, the more heaped ; i !*'*• „ hc , ,es ? aerated, the ley, salted, the th.- greater is the temperature. • i 1 r iM ’ ,ho nature of the I >1 age, clover heats up more than the otticr kinds. At the end of some davr : tite temperature becomes p, . i nan i~n. • It may hannen. ns tbe res»»p 0 r error » i tli:it a certain quantity of forage is musty, or liberates dost That is due ■ to the fart that the forage has been brought in too green or that it ha- been too heaped up. or that the dosj ot salt has not been sufficient, or that the torage having been arranged in excessively thick layers, the salt has not hreu aide to distribute Itself throughout lo avoid these accidents, the experimenter will act wisely, the first vear b> bringing bis forage slightly 100 dry and b\ slightly exaggerating the dose rht' mere fact ot salting at t lie doses indicated the forage brought in threequarters dry (pr even. exceptionally, half-dry) entirclv docs a wav with the turning: hence M. Mnrre claimed n slicing in time and labour of a very appreciable nature. I’ndcr normal climatic conditions Ihe drying is much more active at the start than at tbe end. In dry and warm weather it is not rare to see the torage I in Ihe course of 2! hours, a quantity °f water sufficient to enable it to be brought in. Tbe forage may thus k he put under shelter very rapidly and •ht greater part of the rains is avoided. Ibe forage obtained possesses a nutritive value which is much greater than that of the forage obtained by the ®*ual processes. The expense to be incurred is trifling. It is reduced to the annual purchase of quantity of salt, the price of which, in France, reaches on the average a 50th part of tbe price of the forage treated. This expense is moreover very largely compensated for j by the increase in value of the forage , thus obtained, and it is out of comparison with tbe considerable economy effected by tbe labour and the time saved. Finally, the elimination of the turnting, very appreciably reducing the duration of the hay making, ailo./s of 1 choosing the most propitious moment 1 tor cutting in accordance with the or- ; ganisation of the work and the moment when the forage possesses tbe maximum of nutritive value. M. Marie has investigated, with M. S<>! ;es. a number of experiments carried out by several hundred agriculturliMs, arid other farmers may prefer to ; wait these results, which are said to have demonstrated the best conditions ‘ for success, before trying the process.

Me advocated suiting the fo.I.Fr when it is brought in from the held as a nitans ft autonja t I v |iist riitiit i»»i* the nr it ion and improvement w f the fodThe advantages eb.i.netl for * lie treatntnt, states an English journal, were: Maintenance 1 »»f ;» humidity in the fodder iucapaldi ~t doing harm. Sott.oing of the fodder, avoidance of tt»e „,.v* wf the richest leaves, and of the formation of dust and niouldinessSaltcd hay has a better appearance, is of a darker is more nourishing, *eeps indetimtely. makes the food more asty and better liked l»v the animals. M. Mar re advi>eate*l salting with an iterate dose of 32th of salt per ton of my when it is put into the barn. He ■ Irevv particular attention t< the Sotages •rorcss as ;• means of rendering signal itrvice to milk producers, and described he process as follows:—The forage clover, lucerne. French grass, or hay) v cut by the mowing machine. If the forage is cut with a scythe, see that he swaths are not too thick. It is left •n the spot, without being touched, unlit it is nearly three-quarters dry—that v to sa> , until the moment when, the stems still being flexible, it would commence to lose leaves. The forage not having been turned, the blades in conact with the sun are appreciably ureener; that has no importance. Ihc forage is collected three-quarters dry and loaded on .*» cart. It is unloaded in the usual place, being spread in layers of from 30 to 40 cm. thick. As soon as a layer is formed, detonturated salt or “red salt’* is spread on it at random, at the rate of IJII> of salt to 2201 b of forage, approximately. (One per cent, i at least, rarely more than 3 per cent., of the same quality as ordinary kitchen salt.> Then a second layer of forage and Jigain a layer of salt, and so on. If, once the forage is cut. a somewhat prolonged rain occurs, one must wait until it is “eliquatcd,” and does not contain more than a proportion of water (rain wafer or constituting water) comparable to that contained in the forage said to tc "three-quarters dry.” If rainy weather is to lie feared, it is preferal.de to bring in the forage only semi-dry,i liefore the rain, increasing the close of salt, as required, up to 8$ Ik per 2201 b of forage. It is never advantageous t<> wait until ' the forage is completely dry before I bringing it in; in any case, it does not ; seem advantageous either to bring in forage, the weight of which would exceed, at the time of loading, half the weight of the green forage. The forage brought in too soon would compel the farmer to convey to the barn an exaggerated weight of water, and the dose j of salt necessary for preserving sucb • torage would be likely to be harmful to ; the animals.