FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 May 1916, Page 3

FARM AND DAIRY.

NOTES: Farmers state (says the Waimate Advertiser) that the diamond moth is still bad in the turnips, but the grass feed is cr.ming on wonderfully well, the outlook for the winter now being quite hopeful. If severe frosts set in the moth would be killed, but the grass feed is much preferred, so frosts are not desired. Sir Mark J. McTaggart Stewart, Bart., says The Live Stock Journal, lias just' demonstrated the value of Ayrshire bullocks as beef producers. In the spring of 1913 twelve bull calves were kept for bullocks instead of being sold off as steers. They were fed undifr cover the first winter, but were out-wintered the second on hay and 21b rotigh cotton cake. The group were sold recently, when their average weight was 1H cwt. They averaged £3O 15s, or 53s fid per cwt. Highest price obtained was £3O 7s Cd for a bullock of 13 cwt.

Of all the organic nutrients in a r fodder, fibre has the lowest feeding value. As a rule, fodder which has a high percentage of fibre has a low feeding value. Fibre in so far as it is digestible, is used by the animal in the same way as starch, but. in the majority of feeds the fibre is largely indigestible, and is consequently valueless for the nutrition of the animal, though it may be of some service in giving bulk to the feed—a point of some importance. But the farmers' coarse fodders always supply a sufficiency of this constituent, and there is no reason for purchasing it.

As a result of trials it appears that the value of feeding purposes of straw of spring cereals is higher than that of the straw of winter cereals. The English Journal of the Board of Agriculture reports in detail an account of the experiments, and closes the report with the following note: "The influence of the weather on the composition appears to be relatively small, or, at least, not so great as with meadow hay and e'lover hay. The digestibility of the spring straws does not seem to differ materially from that of the winter straws; Jboth seem to have a higher value than the straw of rape and rape seed, and a value about equal to that of the" straw of the leguminous crops.

The question as to when a lamb becomes a sheep, although of no practical utility, has sometimes been of sufficient importance to require a decisive reply,' and a legal decision was given in an English court not long since. The question arose out* of the killing of some sheep 011 a railroad by a passing train, and it was denied that the complaint was properly made, the animals being lambs, and not sheep. The judge decided cliat the lambs ceased to he lambs and became sheep as soon as they had acquired their' first pair pf permanent teeth. He (lid not apparently consider the question of when a lamb became a hogget. Generally speaking it is between the time the lamb is weaned and when it is shorn, although we frequently see the term "shorn hoggets" used in New Zealand.

The Gisborne Times states that an epidemic of the disease commonly known as bighead has broken out in sheep in Poverty Bay, and, although it has not advanced yet to a serious stage, steps have been taken to get in touch with the Government to see if some remedy can be Tonnd. There was an epidemic in -lie Ray about five or six years ago, and from Muriwai to the East Cape sheep were affected, while many animals died from it. The epidemic again seems widespread. with a good amount on the flats. The disease is characterised by a swelling of the head of the sheep, and apparently no certain remedy can be found, nor is it exactly known what causes the disease. Many theories have been advanced, one being that it may be due to the large quantity of feed that has been available. As the fatalities arising from it are heavy, vigorous steps are to be taken to get a cure for the disease. EDUCATING THE COW. Many cows never have an opportunity through want of proper treatment to develop their best milking abilities. To maVe a first-class dairy eow let the heifer calve in the autumn, milk through the winter, giving her plenty of nutritious food, and then when the early srass becomes plentiful she will come back to full profit, and will milk on to the end of the season, a period of twelve or fourteen months. By following this plan during the first milking season you will educate the cow to her business in life, and can fix tiie habit of milking as long as you requ! ;, fl her to. ]f the cows are allowed to go dry too early in the first year of milking they will repeat it the second year, and so form the habit.

CURE OP HARD MILKERS. There is a tendency to regard the hard milker as curable only in one way, i.e., by selling to "someone else, says a writer in the Australasian. Yet in the ease of a young tow, of a good milking strain, it is worth attempting a cure. Teat-dila-tors may he tried. These are inserted in the teat duet after milking. Tliev arc kept in place by a tape passing through the eye of the dilator, which ,is tied around the teat. Other instruments are obtainable that are self-retaining. Great care must be taken to sterilise the dilator before inserting, to prevent danger of introducing germs. This is easily managed by boiling the instrument in water for ten minutes, and placing it in position when cool again. To ensure an easy passage, the tube should be smeared with vaseline, which lias been kept in an air-tight bottle. The action of the dilator is to relax the pressure of the sphincter muscles, which may be closing the opening of the teat. Sometimes the hardness is caused by a small growth in the duct. A bistoury is employed for removing this, and veterinary attendance should be obtained, if possible.,. In the hands of a skilled stockman, it is a simple operation enough, but care must be taken to sterilise instruments. The cow's legs are strapped together above the hocks, the outside of the instrument is smeared with Vaseline, and j,he teat held with the left), hand while the instrument ia carefully inserted into the duct, until the end passes the obstruction by about an inch. The knife rod is pushed up, so that the knife projects, and the instrument is withdrawn, cutting off the obstruction in its passage. The knife must them be withdrawn into the tube to avoid cutting the passage. The bistoury is employed while the cow ia in milk.

Owing to the danger of introducing germs through uncleanliness, veterinary authorities oppose the use of the dilators or the distoury by stockowners, and advise massaging the teat with olive oil or castor oil. This may orove successful in i aimule case*