NOTES ON FARM STOCK.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1474, 13 December 1881, Page 2

NOTES ON FARM STOCK.

A run at pasture at night will bo bene* ficial for a working team, but other feed is necessary to keep the fle <h hard and in good working order. A net that costs but a small sum will keep off most of the flies, and prevent one of the most serious annoyances to the workinar horso at thia season of the year. The dry, hot ground may induce feet troubles, making the hoofs dry and brittle. Shoes should be changed frequently, or be off entirely. The pasture is frequently short and dry in summer, and other feed will be needed to keep the cows up to a full flow of milk. An abundance of fresh, cooljwater should hs within reach, and shade from, the hot midday sun. Give them the most favourable opportunity for feeding in the cool of the day, that they may ha quiet when it is too hot to eat. Coupling season for sheep will soon, be here, and a good ram only should be used. A "pure blood" of the breed desired should be procured if within reach. For lambs desired for the early spring 1 market a Southdown cross is to be preferred, the Cots wolds give larger but less prized animals. The flocks should be watched carefully that no disease, as dysentery, &3., make much headway among them. Pigs are fond of green food and profit by a run in clover. The pens should be kept clean ; a coat of whitewash will cleanse and sweeten the interior. Let there be no madholea into which the pigs can go. Clean swine make sweet pork. Vermin in Pigs. — A correspondent of the Elmira Farmers' Club reports that ' ' black machine oil " applied to a hot; covered with lice and nits effected a complete cure. Farmers will find (sayf the Philadelphia Weekly Press) that grease or oils of almost any sort are sure death to lice on stock or poultry if it can only reach them. Lard and kerosene mixed and applied with a paintbrush is a very valuable remedy. Treatment of Thrush. — Pare away enough of the devitalised frog to allow you to get a thin-bladed knife well into the cleft, then introduce a little calomel once a day, and keep it in place by introducing a pledget of oakum saturated in pine tar. If this treatment fails after a fair trial, get a veterinary to remove the horny frog and apply the dressing directly to the fatty frog. Treatment of Curbs.— Reduce the in* flammation by cold water applications, then apply the following ointment every day until the parts become sore, when it may be discontinued : — Take iodide of potassium, four; iodide of resub, two drachms j vaseline, two ounces mixed. This requires to be used with sharp friction. If after the parts have healed the enlargements have not diminished in size, use a biniodide of mercury blister, one to four of lard. The horse should not be worked during treatment. I Quickly Maturing Live Stock—The best beef is (says the American Agrictdtu* ralUt) young beef ; reaching its greatest point of superiority at from two to three years. The same is true of sheep and swine. A wether, for the beat mutton, should be in the market at two years, As a general role a 2501b pig is much better in quality and more profitable than a hog that weighs 5001b. Improve the various breeds, especial regard being taken to carefully select those animals to breed from that come to maturity at an early age. 7

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