"THE DAIRY COW."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8159, 18 July 1906, Page 3

"THE DAIRY COW."

LECTURE 1)Y CAPTAIN YOUNG, M.E.C.V.S. At Bahotu on Thursday night, Captain Young, Government Veterinarian, delivered one of his valuable and interesting addresses to farmers. Those present, in addition to a fund of valuable information, seemed to derive a fair amount of merriment from the Captain's pithy and pointed remarks and comparisons, which showed that the lecturer was pretty well acquainted with the faults and foibles of the farmers.

Taking his start from <* the land," Captain Young advised farmers to have samples of their land analysed, so that o»>y would know in what features it wa lacking, and would thus be able to apply the right manures. The Agricultural Society might take up this matter, for by this means the analysis I might be obtained without payment of I i fee. The district should be cut into blocks, and a sample from each block sent to the. Government Analyst for treatment. The best way to take the sample was to mark out a, square patch with a kerosene tin. Dig down on that line, place the tin over it, nod secure the block to fit the tin tightly, seal it, and forward it. Mutual help was advocated. Every farmer could do something to help himself and his neighbors. One man might keep a pure-bred bull, another a pure-bred stallion, boar, sow, ram, and so on; and thus the farm stock could be improved.

Captain Young is evidently a firm ' believer in planting shelter trees and hedges. Coming down the road he had noticed cattle feeding on turnips, but ' the turnips wero exposed to the cold winds. This want of shelter, of course, ' prevented tho food doing the full amount of good to the stock. Hedge plant! were cheap enough, surely, yet even the eomfortably settled and well-to-do farmer often had no shelter on his place, and his pocket suffered in consequence. There were some farmers who appeared to be able to make ends meet under present conditions, but others in less affluent circumstances could not hope to do so. Technical

education must come, ancl this woulfi provent any slump in land, for it would mean the ellicient working of the ground to mike it produce to its. fullest capacity. Unfortunately, there were landowners who had bought farms at, say, £l3 an acre, but instead of working the land, they seemed to be "sitting on it and waiting lor some bigger fool than themselves to come along and offer a pound an a.?ro on their bargain." lie thought presentday farmers could make it easier for future workers of the laud by planting hedge-rows and shellir trees. Tin small expense would soon be repaid by the increased comfort and belle* condi-

tion of stock. Captain Young then gave farmers a "dressing-down"' for their lackadaisical methods in buying cows They were quite content, lie said, to sit on the rails and buy a cow from the look of her back, instead of jumping into the pens and examining her udder, mouth, and so forth. " You trust to tke other fellow to tell you if she is sound," he remarked, "and the other fellow that's selling the cow may be a I bigger liar than you are, ami there you are." Captain 1 Young produced some specimen mouths, good and bad. "This

one," lie said, " would sell for a Maori currycomb," whilst another reminded him of '■ Kendrock, because there were only stumps lo blow out." ¥et the farmers would buy cows villi mouths like these, and without examination. The lecturer condemned tile practice ol buying cows " subject to inspection." If they had suspicion o[ a cow, the) should leave her alone. Most farmer!, had plenty of " suspicious " cows without buying another. Referring to a diagram, Captain Young gave his hearers some interculng- Information concerning the most important of the row—the udder ami mammary glands, urging the need for a close inspection of all udders. Tuberculosis aud actinomycosis (the Captain apologised for the length of the word) were the principal udder complaint*. A leird lump in one quarter of the udder might indicate tuberculosis ; a hard lump and scycral smaller nodule poinceit in actinomycosis, A large ve ; n leading

■jut from an udder uloii}; tlio cow's belly indicated a good How of blood through the u>!dcr, and conse!|ucntly a good supply of milk. In a good udder the (ir.gcrs- should nhno<( mert. " Avoid a very fleshy udder, and never liny a cow if it ha-, anything wrong witli the udder or teat*." was a piece of advice. "(Jet down "IT the rails and examine the •■ows in the yards," U there was a pea-'.ike substance in the leaf, that showed inainmitis pusl or present. If a " thickening of tlie teat " was found that showed mammitis was present now. ]f that nodule in (lie teat broke [lie infection travelled throughout the whole system. A sore udder should Intreated with some emollient —" Sykcs's Animol" was as good as anything. Captain Young explained the method of washing out an udder with an enema ; rare must be taken to milk out all the injection. Mammitis could b' cured easily in the teat, but once it reached the membranous structure it was a difficult matter, and mediciiiou ■ mist be resorted to. Calving and its attendant troubles were touched oa,

Captain Young urging that no violence or undue force should be used to assist nature. " Point evil "in calves would be unknown if the navel cord were tied close to the body, then cut off, and the end disinfected. A word on calf-feed-ing was given, Captain Young urging better feeding and treatment generally. " If you want to starve a calf, giye him hay-tea and skim-milk," he said. Contagious abortion was dealt with, tho washing out of the whole herd being recommended. The disease and

maniinitis, in Captain Young's opinion, cost the colony £400,000 to £500,000 a year. Incomplete " cleaning " sometimes caused abortion, and negligence, ignorance, and greed spread this and other disoases. Take tuberculosis, for instance "As long as you continue as in New Zealand to-day, so long will you have tuberculosis. If there were any reduction in the number of tubercular cows, it was duo not to ' the Department,' but to the price offered for cows for the manure works. Sometimes a farmer, knowing she was suffering from tuberculosis, milked a cow right through tho season, and then, having got the last pennyworth from her, had the cheek to ring up for the stock inspector to come and see her. That man should get no compeniation. The man who reported immediately on suspicion should get full compensation for his condemned cow j the other man should get sixty days in gaol. That was his idea of how to assist in stamping out tuberculosis. Any inspector discoyering a concealed case of disease should have authority to shoot the beast and destroy it without any compensation being paid. He believed, with Mr Gilruth, that bovine tuberculosis was transferred to tho human system, and he believed that, had the late Premier lived a while longer, his love for and into rest in the children would have set to work to stamp out tuberculosis in the udder. Touching on milk fover, the Captain considered much of it was due to neglect. In such cases, an excited cow should be given a drench; if she were dull, a stimulant was necessary. Above all things, pack her well, and keep her warm. The only treatment for milk fever was the air treatment, the udder being distended with sterilised air.

The meeting availed itself fully of the privilege of questioning the voterinarian. The answers given were that it was difficult to detect tuberculosis at times, and to tell it from anothor udder complaint. If the previous tests were not enough, the scientific tuberculin test could be applied by an expert, Small nodules in the udder wero grounds always for suspicion. As long as a cow was being milked there was no fear of any obstruction in the teats from mammitis. If a cow came in with a teat blocked it showed the germs of the disease wero there when she was turned out. An injection of boracic acid solution for four or five days beforo turning out would ensure her coming in allright, ! He would like somo farmer to (ry milking a eow three times a day, for the sake of comparison Captain Young depreciated spcying cattlo. He thought the Government should take more active stops to prevent the sale of diseased and unfit cattle. Th« " wasters " should be bought up and sent to the digester. He favored feeding turnips to milking cows, differing on this point from the officers of the Dairy n» Dnison His conviction was the re u't o' practice and observation. Cows should not be allowed to " (?orge " turnips, or to eat them just prior to milking, ns that would taint tho milk. Cows should be put on the turnips gra lually. Tho smell of decomposing turnips would taint cows' milk, Climatic conditions had little to do with the cause of tuberculosis. " We imagine we lead the world, but as a matter of fact we are only ' pirating ' other people's ideas. You will be farming here fifty years hence as the English people are farming now. By that time you will house your cows, economise your crops, and so forth," said Captain Young, who went on to recommend keeping less cows and increasing the care of them. Turnip-feed did not cause abortion, though gorging did sometimes, but 90 per cent, of abortion in this colony was of the contagious order. Captain Young said he had advanced the microbe tbeory twenty years ago, but the idea

was laughed at. He had gone on these lines, however, curing herd after herd. Then influential veterinary men took up the idea, and the microbe had been found.

He could not aecount for swelling in | bullock's lower joints when put on turnips, unless it was due to ergotpoisoning. He would be willing to examine any such case. Mr Maxwell moved a hearty vote of thanks to Captain Young.—Carried by acclammation.