BY THE WAYSIDE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 76, 11 March 1933, Page 11

BY THE WAYSIDE

TOPICS OF INTEREST.

HYDATIDS IN SHEEP FLOCKS. Occasionally hydatid cysts are found in sheep put through Hawke’s Bay meat works. As these cysts detract from the value of the carcase, it is in the interest of farmers to try and prevent this occurring. Hydatids occur in both man and animals, and as this disease is largely preventable, control measures should be instituted.

The treatment recommended by the Department of Agriculture aims at prevention of infection. They adviso that raw offal should not be fed to dogs; any offal fed to be cooked. Dosing of affected dogs should also be done. The dog should first be starved for 24 hours, and then dosed with Arecoline Hydrobromide, the dose being from 1-8 to % grain, depending on the size of the dog. Dissolve the drug in a teaspoonful of water, and pour into the mouth.

Shows encourage freaks, according to Mr Robert Balfour, of England. In a recent address to young breeders he stated that breeders were making the mistake of encouraging the breeding of dairy cows with beef type. Mr Balfour was of ths opinion that ■ with dairy cows the aim was production, and nothing else. Personally he did not care if a cow’s tail was cocked up six inches, provided it was a heavy producer.

Other breeders are of the opinion that pedigrees, performance and appearance go hand in hand. An example of the danger of breeding entirely for production was given years ago by American breeders of Friesian cows. These breeders wont solely for production, and the result was such a weakened constitution that the cows were unable to rear or bear sturdy offspring, and they broke down under the heavy production which was required of them.

When feeding out hay and other supplementary fodder crops to sheep and dairy stock in the winter months, it is of great assistance to the most economical use of this fodder if the farmer is able to estimate how much his animals require. By feeding out a dray load of fodder of a known weight, and noticing how long this load lasts, the farmer should be able work out a rough approximation of the amount eaten by each animal, and be able to regulate his food supplies accordingly.

The history of the first pat of butter is lost in the mists of antiquity, but the reader may believe the following theory which has been advanced: It concerns an Arab who milked his mare into a leather bag and then jumped on the horse and galloped for home and mother, carrying the milk. Arrived at the domestic oasis, his mother asked for a drink and he handed her the leather bottle. Raising it to her lips, nothing happened. So they slit the leather bottle, and found inside the first pat of butter. Since which several dairy factories have been started.