Questions and Answers.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 849, 8 June 1888, Page 19

Questions and Answers.

(Agricultural Gazette.) OLD FLOUR FOR TIGS. “ Cere3 ” neks : How can I qae old flour for pig-feeding ? WiU not be *°° atron e and injurious fp.V the pigs ? Your host plan will be to cook the flour before using it. You may scald or steam or l.oil it, and yen may as well use ground maiV along with it; a fair quantity of m s-yyill ** of aomo sort, and some boiled cabbages, turnips, mangolds, or any other vegetables you may have to spare. In this way you may make up a good ration, which will fatten your pigs in due time. Skim-milk and potatoes may bo utilised with advantage. ’“ C * ERUPTION ON SKIN o*l WSS. - "Subscriber” says t —l have a pig that

has broken out into scabs, and whioh itch a good deal. It has been washed with soap. Can you suggest a rem- dy ? Dress the parts every day for three days in succession with the following dressing : Black sulphur, 4oz ; train oil, 12oz ; oil of tar and turpentine, of each, loz. Fourth day wash off, and then in two or three days repeat the dressing as before, if necessary.— A.J.S. CALVES WITH COUGH. "Farmer.” —We should think there is something defective in the calf-house, in its ventilation, drainage, or it may be that your system of feeding is in need of reform. Have you tried condimental food ? We have always found a little of it very useful in keeping oalves in good health. See next to your ventilation —no draughts to be allowed, but plenty of fresh air ; and to your drainage, that all liquid excreta are removed without delay. Warmth, with plenty of fresh air, thorough cleanliness, and intelligent feeding, are necessary for the wellbeing of young calves. WIND GALLS. "S.H.” says :—I have a mare that is suffering from wind galls. I have blistered her and applied cold bandages, and now she has fallen lame. She has been running out three months, and no improvement; she is 13 years old. From the age of the mare, it is to be feared that there is chronic disease of the tendons or ligaments of the limb or limbs. In such case repeated blisterings may be required, or even firing. You ought to show the mare to a qualified veterinary surgeon. WILTSHIRE BACON.

" A Correspondent ” asks what is the usual method adopted. Perhaps Messrs Harris will inform us.

We believe that salt only in the Gloucestershire bacon factories, but we give here the method employed by a very good housewife of our acquaintance : —Bacon curing for a pig ten score : When the meat is cold and cut up I have it salted lightly, and left on the stones for the night. Next morning I brush off this salt, and well rub in a layer of salt and Jib of saltpetre, for each side of baoon of this weight ; also, I mix the saltpetre with lib of course brown sugar for each side. I have it rubbed every day for three weeks, and then I wash it all off and have it sent to be smoked for a week, or a little more. It is then fit for use. I generally make a pickle for the head, legs, &e., and any other small bits. Six pounds of salt, lib of saltpetre, lib of treaole, boiled for half an hour in six gallons of water, and when cold I put in pieces to be pickled. BLOOD STAINED MILK. "N.” says :—For ten days or a fortnight past a Guernsey heifer who oalved her first calf June 27th has had the last quart of each meal’s milking blood stained pink. I have given Day and Sons’ red drench, rubbed the udder with elder ointment and kept her in at nights. She is a little better,':but not well ; she feeds as usual, and seems all right. What more shall Ido ? If there is no tenderness and swelling of the udder to denote inflammation, we would advise you to try the effect of a cold water douche, applied two or three times a day to the affected quarter. Sulphate of iron, in two drachm doses, may also be administered in the food twloe daily, to constringe the relaxed vessels and impart tone to the system generally. INFLAMMATION OF THE UDDER.

" H.L.” writes : —I have three of my cows with poor milk in one' or more quarters. When first taken their udder is hard, and tail very soft about 6in from bottom of spill; their milk is of a very pink color. Your cows suffer with inflammation of the udder, which is brought about either by the character of- the : food they are receiving or (whioh is more likely) by getting their udders chilled by lying on damp ground, or standing in a draught. To cure these cases, as soon as an animal is attacked, give her fib of Epsom-'salts, with Joz of ground ginger, and loz ofjpowdered cariaway seeds ; mix these and administer in 1J pints of warm' water, and each day after, as long as there is any necessity for doing so, give her loz of bicarbonate of soda in 1 pint of water. Well bathe the affected parts of the udder with warm water twice a day, and after bathing rub on - aoma camphorated oil; in severe cases some extract of belladonna should be applied in addition to the above. To make it easy of application, pour on to it (the belladonna) a little hot water, and allow it to stand for a few hours. When an animal is under treatment, she must be kept from exposure to wet or draughts, and fed on nutritious but not too stimulating food, and the milk should be drawn from the affected quarters several times each day ; this is important. Barren Heifer —"Chippenham” says: two-year-old heifers either warp or oalved before their time. They have been served with the bull many times through the summer, but are still barren. What would you advise us to give them to change their system, and how to treat them ? 2. One more question I should like to ask. Our gardens and land in this part are full of grub ; they are eating the potatoes, carrots, and plants by wholesale. If any of your readers could tell us how to get'rid of them, it would be a blessing to a whole host of allotment-holders and market-gardeners around here ? 1. I should advise "Chippenham” to make an entire change in the food he is giving his heifers ; if they have been getting nothing but grass, have them in and give some dry food, the quality of whioh must depend upon the condition the animals are in at the present time. If they are fresh, I should advise him to give each one a dose of laxative medicine, such as Jib of Epsom salts, with a tablespoonfnl of powdered car ravva fy seeds —this dose may be repeated in a week and then allow the animal to be served by a different bull the next time she comes into use. Should the heifers be now:, in a low condition, feed them fairly liberally with hay, a little linseed cake, crushed oats, and bran, and to this add to the food of each animal one drachm of powdered sulphate of iron once a day. After they have received this treatment for a fortnight, allow them to be served by a bull of quite another strain, or even of an entirely different breed. 2. I should think lime (gas lime, if procurable), well mixed with soil now, followed by an application of salt in the spring, would be of very great service in destroying the grub*

that are proving so destructive in that locality.—A. BAD TRICK. “Puzzled” says :—One of my carriage horses has the very objectionable habit of tearing his clothing. No material that I have yet tried lasts many days, and as I have a particular wish that he should, lie loose in a box, shall be very much obliged if you can recommend me any to use, or cloth that will resist his attacks with his teeth, or advise me how to prevent him tearing his clothing without tying him up. If “Puzzled ” will get a cloth made with horse-hair and put this on his horse, I think he will have no more trouble with him tearing his olothingj even when lying in a loose box. —A.

WHEAT FOR TIGS. H. 0. Packwood asks : —Will you kindly tell me in what form wheat is given to fatten pigs? By giving an early reply you will greatly oblige. Some persons adopt the plan of boiling the wheat with which they feed their pigs, but it is scarcely possible to follow this system where a large number of pigs are kept. This is also a very expensive way of preparing the food, especially for old or fattening pigs. Some of the kernels of wheat will also be swallowed and voided whole unless most thoroughly cooked. lam now using a considerable quantity of wheat for my pigs. The plan I adopt is to mix about five-eighths wheat, two-eighths barley and one-eigbthoats. Grind this mixture, and add sufficient water to the meal to make it into a thin slop, some 12 hours before it is used. It is sometimes cheaper to use maize instead of barley and oats. Then it will be found advisable to have the wheat and maize ground separately, but very fine - at least three-fourths of the wheat flour may bo used with the maize meal.— Sanders Spencer.

THE NEW FORAGE PLANT. Esparsetie clover is another name for Saiufoin (Onobrychis sativah which has been cultivated for centuries in the South of France and other parts of Europe. It is a leguminons plant, belonging to the same family of peas, clover, alfalfa, etc,, but while resembling them in general character* istics, is quite distinct in its appearance and' habits. The numerous stems grow from one to three feet high, bearing pea-shaped blossoms at the summits. The yield of forage is much less than of alfalfa, but it is very nutritious and palatable, inareasiug the quality of milk when fed to cows. It succeeds best on dry soils whioh contain lime, and will stand a great deal of drought, as its long tap root roaches great depths. Like alfalfa, its growth is very small and feeble the first year or two, but once well established it will continue for eight or ten years. Efforts were made half a century ago to introduce it into the Northern States, but without; sucaess. But it seems to be well adapted to hillsides of calcareous soils in the droughty regions beyond the Mississippi, and other dry, well-drained land.—American Agriculturist.