FARM AND DAIRY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 162, 8 January 1912, Page 7

FARM AND DAIRY

CATTLE INSURANCE. . DEVELOPMEXT~L\ GERMANY. Cattle insurance was known and prac-ti.-d m Germany in the eighteenth centur. , and is at the present time largely availed of in that country. The economic importance of this brui.on of insurance consists in the fact that h not only supplies the fanner, for whom ,i., cattle represents perhaps his only resource, with an immediate compensation in the case of the disease or death of an animal, hut also stimulates the prevention of disease, and therefore the general hygienic condition of the cattle In fact, the persons insured are obliged to take care of their cattle to call in a veterinary surgeon without delay.if. one of them falls ill, and to do everything possible to prevent infectious diseases from spreading. As the health of the cattle depends, to a large extent on.the care and diligence of the 1 owner, the form of organisation which prevails absolutely is the mutual-aid society, in which all those insured are interested in the satisfactory working of the undertaking, thus facilitating the control of risks and the repression of fraud. In 1909 there were twenty-eight lar»e mutual-aid societies and seven individual undertakings; the cattle insured with the;big societies represented a capital of about 58(5,000,000 marks (a mark is ll.Sd) the value of that insured with the individual undertakings being about 117 - 000,000. The premiums paid during the same year amounted to 12,105,094 mirks the.sum of 12,963,099 marks beino- pav out in compensation for the disease < death of animals.

In addition to these big mutual-aid E . cieties and the individual undertaking there are thousands of small mutualaid societies in Germany which deal in this insurance. The management expenses of these societies are minimum and the former therefore frequently prefers to deal with them, the premiums being much lower. In spite of this fact however, the progress of the large mu-tual-aid societies is undoubted, and as their operations are extending over a wider expanse of territory, they are able to give better compensation and also to face more serious disasters. They frequently insure against the risk, by means of a special clause, of the sanitary authorities refusing to permit the public to consume the meat of the animals slaughtered.

In 1910, in consequence of the Imperial law of May 30, 1908, on the insurance contract, all the societies had to modify their policy conditions. Under the new conditions it is established, among other things, that no compensation will be given for animals which have died in consequence of the owner's neglect or bad treatment; that animals cannot be slaughtered except in case of urgency without the consent of the society with which they are insured, etc. In 1909 five mutual-aid societies in Germany extended their operations to foreign territory—namely, to Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium! Denmark and Austria. The sum total of the amounts insured abroad was 3,2600,833 marks in 1909, showing a considerable increase on the business done in the previous year, which is another proof of the good organisation of the private German insurance societies.

NEWS AND NOTES.

Disease resistenee is hereditary, just the same as flavor, shape, color or other qualities. L.-,« only the best available sire, and breed as early as possible, but better late than not at all.

A sun bath is good for all the pans and other tools and'recepacles used in buttermaking; it kills the bad bacteria. Many herds of dairy cattle have given proof that milk, meat and early maturity are combined in the Shorthorn breed.

The milker may not only be the source of a very large number of harmless bacteria, but the largest source of disease germs that get into milk. It is much less difficult to judge of the probable value of a pig for breeding purposes at nine months old or later than it is at an earlier age. The old sour swill barrel that is found at many farmers' back doors is the direct cause of more pigs being off their feed than any one thing connected with feeding growing pigs.

Be always looking for information, as, should you live to be 100, there would still be something you did not know, even jn what some consider the simple matter of breeding stock. Should the calf seem not to thrive give it half a pint of wheat bran, with a pinch of salt, scalded with a teacupful of water. Give this with the usual amount of milk, and always keep some oats and hay, with pure water, handy. When grass , seed is sown the land should be gone over with a smothering harrow, so that all fine seeds may be covered.

Good seed does not mean extremely high-priced seed that comes from seedsmen who claim great yields, but good, plump, heavy seed. After a pig has reached the weight of about 2001b, which is the most profitable size, it costs more and more to add to their weight. Exercise promotes the health of the sheep and ensures better results with the lamb crop than can be secured if they are closely confined. Without stoutness and courage a horse is of no use in the workaday world, no matter to what advantage he may appear in the show ring. Have the same person milk the same cows as far as possible; a change of milkers almost invariably makes a cow nervous, which affects unfavorably the milk flow.

' Unless warm quarters can be provided for brood sows and their young pigs there is no advantage, and often a positive loss, in having them farrow early. The total number of sheep in the wonhj is 577,fi68,000. In the United Kingdom there are about 30,000,000. In Australia and New Zealand, 104,000,000. There are perhaps no other young farm animals more easily aiFected by cold than the pigs. For this reason it is very important that they have warm shelter and dry beds.

The greatest gain is made while the pigs are young, and as they grow older the profit from feeding diminishes, until finally there is no return except a slight increase in fat. At eight or nine weeks old most pigs are. or rather should he, lit to take away from the sow; some litters are individually older at seven weeks than others at ten. and better fitted for weaning. It is a dangerous practice to take chances of ruining the constitution of our animals for the sake of getting a few more pounds of milk. It would be far better to sacrifice something in quantity of milk to gain in constitutional vigor.