THE LAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 307, 27 December 1924, Page 20

THE LAND.

CHOKING IN CATTLE.

(from "The New Zealand Farmer.") At this season of ilie ji-ar when dairy cows are almost universally ted upon root.«, as pun of their ration, many cases of choking occur. Frequently it is caused by the animal being hurried over its mastication by another cow flpprouehinjj it, l>lll many rarfs are noted when a cow that i* kept by itselt attempt- to swallow a piece of mangel, turnip, or potato thai is l'»u large, to pass throusih the ilirunt and down the (,'iillpt. Then the animal immediately exhibits urgent symptom.". It commences to foam ami froth at the mouth, coughs violently in its attempts u> dislodjie the obstruction, switches the tail, stamps the feet. Hiul soon begins to swell up on llie left side, owing to the formation of pas in the compartment of tlie stomach or rumen. Treatment. This, to l>o successful, must he adopted ■without Ins? of time, or the. rumen will become 50 distended with %ai as to cause death from suffocation. If the rumen has become so distended, it is better to puncture it at once, ami then proceed to deal with the obstruction. The puncture of the rumen is carried out as follows. The place selected for the puncture is n spot equally distant from the last rib, the point of the liaunch, and the wing of the backbone, on the left side. The puncture is made Ly piercing through the flank with a sharp trocar and cannula, in a forward downward and inward direction. The sensation of resistance overcome indicates that the trocar has penetrated-the cavity of the rumen. The trocar is then withdrawn, leaving the tube of tlie cannula in the wound. This allows the gas to escape. It is necessary to press down the skin around the tube with the left hand when withdrawing the cannula. This will avoid tlie parts becomingpoisoned and lacerated. In the absence of the proper instruments and in cases of urgency, the Tumen may be punctured with a knife. then the wound should be enlarged, and a hollow stick or tube inserted before the knife is withdrawn. This is important as it prevents displacement of the rumen If these points are not attended to, gas from the rumen may enter the tissues under the skin, and cause a. swelling with a curious crackling sensation when the hand is passed over it.

"Aβ a rule, although this gaseous swelling is alarming, still it usually becomes .absorbed and recovery slowly takes place. When the ease is not so urgent, then attempts may lie made to force tlic foreign body (mangel or potato) back into the mouth. This is done by passing one iirni around the cow's neck, and ■With the (infers of each band on cither Bide of the throat, pressing firmly and forcibly behind the obstruction. " when sometimes it may be pressed into tlie mouth, (are must be taken to hold the . cow's head firmly, k> that the operator is not injured by the horns. But usually it is necessary to pass the stomach tube or probang into the throat, which | pushes the obstruction before it, down into the etomneh. This should never I be done hurriedly. The cow must be i secured firmly in the standing position, | the head straight and the neck extended, i This position is best secured by a rope | on each side attached to a post. Then j a gag should be placed in the mouth. | This may be a piece of wood with a j hole in the centre to allow the passage j of the probang. The tongue is then pulled forward by an assistant, while ' the operator, having oiled the probang, ' passes it through the hole in the gag towards the throat. Xo force must be used, but the instrument is gently , "allowed to slide backward until it I reaches the throat. Here it may en- ' counter the obstruction, and gentle ! pressure should lw exerted till it enters j the gullet. On m account should much j force he used, or the instrument may i Blip off the obstruction and rupture the : Avails of the throat. The writer is j frequently called to cases where the ■ walls have been ruptured. A whip , handle should never be used, because ' it nearly always causes rupture through j slipping off the obstruction. In an j emergency it is better to use a piece of , hose pipe, the lmllow end of which is not so liable to disdirection, and it will . . nearly always press the object down , into the gullet. I Kvery dairy farmer should possess a i trocar anil cannula, a gag and a probang, ! ' if he is not in reach of a qualified veterinary practitioner, and lie will , ! somo day save the life of a valuable !' animal. i OUR GRASS LAND. ' It is impossible to estimate the j ! national loss that takes place annually , o«in ? to land not being able to carry , " iS 'VeXr'and";' V."-thati ß when 1 ue a ; get Utun;

1 nothing but prass. It is patent to any- '■ one that a cow in full milk makes great demands, upon the food she eats, and as j a natural corollary the manure she voids must be poor and deficient ill quality ; n lira firass forms her chief, or perhaps ' ..illy. diet. It is much tlie same with young stock: , they have to luriiisli blood, bone, muscle, nerve, etc.. in fact, all the con- ' stituents for healthy growth, and as these elements are derived from the food, it stand.! to reason Unit a pasture currying milking cows or young stock ' must pet poorer and poorer unless restitution is made, in the shape of manure of some kind or other. Jt is nut a far cry from grass to hay— In fact, hay is simply dried or preserved prrnss, and when saved "us green as jjrass -, and as sweet as a nut is ideal 1 odder. Young, fresh sweet, well-saved bay soon shows itself in the pail and in the carcase. One ton of such prime fodder is worth any amount of oldi grown, wiry, woody etufT, more fit for ' betiding than feeding. Crass land for hay should receive a "00(1 dressing of farmyard manure at lenst once in every three years, with artificial dressings between. Phosphates 1 and potash—where the latter is found beneficial —should be applied in the , autumn. I I The fertility of pasture land is I materially assisted by feeding out hay I and roots, and where such treatment jis generously bestowed less of other I manures will be necessary. It is unwise to graze the pasture until late in the spring; better let it get a good start and cut early than risk an unfavourable growing time and probably bad harvest weather. Chain harrowing and rolling should be done every spring before laying up I for hay, as it will be found that these ' necessary, but often neglected, opera- ] tions save no end of annoyance, delay and vexation when the mowing machine gets to work. I Thistles in pastures should be mown ' before coming into flower, and docks lifted bodily root and branch; ac reI gards annuals, and even that bane of the arable farmer, couch grass, good ' manuring and close grazing will soon I exterminate them. I In order to maintain the fertility of pasture land, feed hay and roots liberally. By using these supplemental foods I a double advantage is gained, and the ] farmer is twice—perhaps more—blessed, for he increases the quantity and the quality of the milk, and restores to the land in the shape of manure as much or more than the cattle remove.

All droppings ehould be spread evenly to prevent the unsightly tufty growths po often seen in pastures, and which are invariably neglected by stuck. Kough places should be mown, and no harm will be done by passing the chain harrow over the eurface once a year. GREEN FORAGE FOR PIGS. A mixture of oats and peas is a splendid crop for pige, is easily grown, and produces valuable and succulent forage. It can be cut green and hand fed to the animals, or it can be profitably grazed by them. Similarly, it is most valuable if saved for hay for wintering dairy stock, or may be cut green and fed to them. About the right quantity of seed to sow to the acre I would be: —One and a half bushels of ' Algerian oats and one bushel of Blue ! Prussian, or partridge peas, mixed, and ! sown together. The peas require to be ! well covered with soil, and therefore it !is better the oats are planted. The oats ! may be sown broadcast by hand, and 1 afterwards harrowed in, using the back ,of the tine harrows only, in order to ) avoid disturbing the peas previously grown. Some farmers sow the peas on the ploughed furrow, and cover them by tine harrowing. Up to three cwt. of ; manure would be required to the acre !in order to secure a good crop, and the I crop should be afterwards top dressed ! with a sprinkling of potash manure. ! FODDER FOR THE HERD. When the pastures are very bare, the ; fodder that is carted to tjie lierd should be sufficient to give them a full meal, 1 otherwise the cows will spend half their j time waiting around the gateway. J Cows that are milking should not be confined to Bwedes all day long, for, npart from the undesirable flavour they impart to the milk, the food is altogether one-sided for the milk cow. The mangel is in every way superior cow fodder, but considerable care must be exercised just when commencing to feed them. Only a very limited quantity should be given for the first few days. Over-feeding witli mangels gives rise to severe purging, which reduces the milk yield, and the cows will not recover their normal state of health for several days—they may be ver.y ill indeed, and occasionally die. When carting the niflngels to the pasture care should bo taken to spread them well about, so that the greedy "boss" cows cannot eat more than is good for them. Illness often arises among cows fed with mangels, that is simply the want of ordinary care. There is often a small heap o"f mangels just whore the hind door of the cart is taken off. and if this is not well scattered some member of the herd is certain to surfeit herself. No carted food should be put down in the immediate ne !g hbourhood of the gateway, as tne resulting manure is lost mofe or ess. The roots should be evenly distributed over the paddock.