FARM NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2260, 24 June 1897, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

"Gingeeing" Horses fob Shows and Sale. — An old and habitual practice with certain classes of dealers and grooms is that known as " gingering," and it appears from cases brought into court by bhe Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that several of the exhibits afc the last Shire Horse abow had been subjected to the treatment. At Clerken- j ■well (London) Police Courb, William Muirhead ■ (of Clovelly, Salop) and Henry Underwood (of ] Market Drayton) were summoned by the society for cruelty ill-treatiDg a mare. The prosecuting barrister explained that j he cruelty complained of was tho process known as "gingering," which was done to enhance the appearance of the animals, and was a species of fraud upon the judges. An officer of the society who was at the Shire Horse Society's show at the Agricultural Hall , on February 24- proved the offence, and stated that after the treatment the animals became violent and restive. The mare in question pranced .about, and it would have been j dangerous for anyone to have tried to j fxamineher. Professor Pritchard, F.R.C.V.S., iv giviDg evidence said that ths proceßS was exceedingly painful, the effect being of a stinging character. Cross-examined : Ib was a process very largely and generally , resorted to. The pain mighb lasb for hours. Iv ' using the word "Btinging" he had in mind the j •'fitcb of a -wasp's sting on the human face. ".Gingering" had been iv vogue for a numbor of years. Dr Wragge and Dr Rolfe Cox, veterinary surgeons, corroborated the evidence of Professor Pritch&rd. Dr Cox was of opinion that the practice of gingering 'was very cruel, And the sooner it was. done away with the better. "~By "the magistrate i He thought anyone used to horses must know that the process | •was painful. For the defence it was sub- I tnitted that the men who were grooms were not aware that the practice so long general was a cruel one. The presiding magistrate said the facts disclosed cruelty, but he thought there bad been ignoranse. That plea could not be set up again, at least at that court. He imposed a fine of £2 in each case with a guinea costs. Three other persona summoned for committing Bimilar offences at the Hackney Horse show pleaded guilty, and were mulcted in fines and costs. Sheep Foot-bot. — In a recent number of the Scottish Farmer some modes of treatment of contagious foot-rot when ordinary curabive measures have failed are recommended by Reveresar. After the foot has been pared and ' the diseased matter removed, he recommends that the foot be washed in hob water with carbolic soap, and the surface with some caustic, for choice the muriate of antimony. Moreld j "Vinde advises, after long experience, the application of nitric acid to be applied to the diseased skin as well as the parts denuded of horn by means of a feather impregnated with ife. This is passed over the surface in different directions until a fume arises, when it is stopped. The pustules are thus destroyed and j the surface converted into an eschar. When the eschar falls off (in seven or eight days) the cure is complete. Another heroic remedy proposed by Derender is a mixture of nitrio and aulphuric acids,- loz of eacb, with £oz of crude opium. The opium is dissolved in a small quantity of water (two teaspoonfuls), and is then added to the other ingredients. This quantity is nearly bufficienfc for 100 sheep. If the foot presents an unpromising appearance after the eschar has been removed the treatment must be repeated. Rarely, however (the writer remarks), does the disease reappear after a second dressing. Arab Hohses. — From a recent nurnberof the Century Magazine we take the following interesting extract as to Arab horses from an article entitled " In the Desert with the Bedouin." Though they eventually become quiet and obedient to their master's hand, great care must be observed when riding in company nob to allow one's horte to approach wi'hin kicking distance of another, or disastrous results will follow. Tho horses are always ready for a fights, and deceitfully appear to be on their best behaviour immediately before an outbreak. I was riding one day with a small patty of Samana Arabß, when two men carelessly approached too close. I called out to them to sheer off a little, but before they could respond 'a geseral melee was in progress, and almost instantly my horse had its teeth ia* the neck of one of theirs, while the other was killed by a kick which burst its stomach. Fortunately vee all escaped with a few bruises, though the riders do not always get off so easily. When riding ab full gallop, however, the attention of the horses is concentrated upon

tbe race, and the men may ride as close fcogethcr as they like, but care must bs taken to wheel apart as the pace slackens. Nobbing can exceed the intoxication of a race in the desert. Chooiing a stretch of level sand, you giva your horse the signal to go, and he is ofi£ with, a spring that almost unseats you ; and I have seen an instance where the sudden strain burst i the girths, and tefb man and saddle in the dust, | while the horse was a hundred yards away before the discomfited rider realised what had happened. Tbs speed that these horses atiain 1 is very great, and their reach forward is proj digious, as I found out on one occasion when I my hcrae's hind hoof cub the heel clean off my boot ! After a gallop, instead of breaking into i a canter and then into ft trot before stopping, j they simply put their fore feet together and slop dead, their impetus frequently causing them to slide several yards. I understand that it is on this accouat that Arab horses are shod on the fore feet only. A High Stepper.— lfc is wonderful what a fancy mesb people have for a horse with good knee action, or what is generally called a high stepper. Whether for saddle or harness purposes Buch horses always bring a relatively higher price in the market than equally good animals with a lower step. Kuee action, although it can be greatly improved, is more a matter of conformation than of breed, feeding, management, or training, and all the tricks and dodges yet devised for improving action act no longer than while they are in operation. Remove them and the horse goes back to the natural gait, and if this is not the style of progression which we call " action " there is nothing that will permanently ascure ib. Some of the com-monest-bred brutes have good action, especially if they are heavily corn-fed and under-worked, while the nearer we get to the thoroughbred the longer and lower the step. The favourite methods of improving action are exercising in ! deep ground or with sandbags attached to the fetlocks, but the results are not permanent. The recipe for making a stepper is to take a horse with the requisite conformation and natural style, feed him sis feeds cf corn a day, , and drive him slowly one hour a day in a punishing bit.. Some drivers will get more action out of the same hor6e than others, but take your stepper and work him regularly on ordinary • roadf, with ordinary loads, on ordinary diet, and ' you will have ordinary action. — " Xho Hut1 man," in the Australasian. Feeding Pigs. — An interesting experiment ia feeding swine has recently been carried oub in Germany. For the experiment four pairs of , piga were selected. The objects of the esperi- ' meut were to determine whether feeding with j whole grain barley was deleterious when given in large quantities, to compare the feeding properties of barley and maize, both given with skim milk ; and to determine more exactly the nourishing value of whey. The pigs were about seven weeks old, and were fed as follows :—: — j During the earlier portion of the experiment the firat pair were given whole barley ; the second crushed barley ; the third crushed maize, and the fourth crushed maize with whey. Numbers one, two, and three were also givenequal quantities of potatoes ; and the weight of whey given to the fourth pair was about three times the weight of potatoes given to the third pair, equal amounts of maize being given. The same quantity of skim milk was given throughout to all four pairs. At the end of nine weeks several variations were made in the quantity and kind of food given, and by about the end of four months it had baen established that the crushed barley had produced better results than the whole grain ; also, that up to this point the crushed barley had produced better results than the crushed maizs. The experiments were interfered with by some ' of the pigs refusing their food and also being , afiTctcd with bone stiffness. The period dur- • iug which the animals were in ill-health was rejected in computing the results of the feeding experiments. -'The general result of the experij ments led to the conclusion that giving barley in whole, rough grain is harmtul, and that it is not advisable to give pi?s under four months old a concentrated feed of maize. After that, and when rapid fattening is desired, the maize is a better food than barley. The comparison of whey with potatoes led to no result, as one of the fourth pair suddenly refused its food. Jerseys in the States. — In an article written by an enthusiastic breeder of Jersey cattle, which appeared in the March number of j the American Agriculturist, the fact is promi- , nently brought forward that in the " battle of \ the breeds" during th.p World's Fair at Chicago the Jerseys won tue 90-day contest with a good I margin to spare in every trial, whether it was for milk, butter, or cheese. The writer of the article says : "The only men' wb.o still doubt , the economy of Jersey b'.ood for milk production are those who sell milk. They advocate the cow for quantity without regard to quality. The system of selling milk in glas3 bottles, is now so rapidly superseding the old tin cans in j cities, and the quality is so easily detected by the 1 bulk of cream in those bottles, that the ' skimj milk' cow is surely doomed. The glass bottle ( aud the Babcock test are the Jersey's friends " j Cclic in Horses. — This trouble is caused by 1 fermentation taking the place of digestion, and gas is formed iv the digpsbive organs. The cure then consists in arrf sfcia'g fcbe fermentation , and the removal of the gas. Salt will cure the ; first, and fresh burned charcoal will absorb the j second. Take, then, says Dr Sanborn, a longnecked quart bottle, fill nearly full with warm water; add two ' tableapoonf uls of fine table salt, aud three, or four of powdered charcoal from & wood fire ; shake well, and drench the animtl. One dose will probably cure in a few minutes ; if not, repeat. Largest Silo in the Wohld. — There are some big things in America, and among the rest some big silos, but the largest of all is in Wisconsin. It is in the form of a circle, 62ft in diameter inside, with no partitions. The centre of tho roof is surmounted by a cupola that has

, many largo windows in it which light the interior. The silo is built partly of stjae aud ! partly of timber. The floor ia paved with I otone, plastered over wifchcem°,nb. When filled the capacity of this silo is upwards of 3000 tons. It holds sufficient silage to feed 3faO cows 501b a day for a whole twelvemonth. Last harvest there were on the latm 14-0 acres of I maize. The growth was immense, but there would not be enough bo fill the silo. Of late there were only 200 cowaou the farm ; but it is the intention of the owner to keep a larger number of stock, to grow more maize, and to run the dairying business to its full capacity. It is stated that Mr Goodrich, the silo expert, is of j opinion that very large ailos are a mistake. Ha j says : — "Even if one can profitably handle and feed so much ensilage, it would bs better to build i-mall silos, and as rn^ny of them as ; needed. With smaller silos the ensiUge could be more conveniently pub'in and taken out ; besides, a greater depth ceuld be fed out at a I time, so that the silage would be fresher and better when fed. That is a part of Wisrfbnsin where silos have been abundant with the dairyman for many years, a great many new one 3 having been put up within the last two yearß, because the dairymen have found the feeding of I silage so profitable. La3fc year Mr Phillipps, of Lake Mills, built a round silo of 1000 tons capaj city. Both Mr M'Geoch, the owner of the large silo described above, and Mr Phillipps had for some years smaller silos, and knew the value of silage for cow teed." Although ensilage is extensively used for dairy cows in America, there are some milk dealers who denounce the forAge as unfit for the production of who!e3ome milk. Writing lately to the American Agriculturalist, C. A. Wicks, of Brooklyn, ssya: — "I am a milk dealer, and have creameries in Pennsylvania and New York. I note wh»t your subscribers write about silo 3 and ensilage. Having had a good chawca to find out and experiment, I have endeavoured to do so, and am convinced that no milk dealer can successfully ship milk raised from cows fed on ensilage to New York market. Ib is a fermented food, and fermenfcatioa takes place 24hours sooner in milk so shipped thau from milk raised from sweet feed, hay, stalks, meal; and bran ; and I will nob take milk f com farmer who fills a silo or feeds glucose or starch feed. I think the Board of Health should reject and forbid the sUe of milk raised from ensilage, as I bsliave it is unwholesome and injurious, especially to babies." The Hackney/. — An American horse-breeder, writing to the Cultivator and Cjuntry Gentleman on the Londou Hackney show, expresses great surprise at seeing a saddle class for hackneys. He says :—": — " Five yews have I had the pleasure of being present s>.b the London Hackney show, aud I hope this is nob fche last, bub never again do I wioh to see such an absurd nse made of ko grand a harnes3 horse a3 the hackn°y as asking him to do hack work. If there is any one thing that makes a high-c'ass harness horse it is action, high knee, and hook. If there is any one thiug that distinguishes a high-class saddle horae from a harness horse it is the absence of action, high knea, and hock. Now the one thing that distinguishes the backoey above ordinary horses i* this acbion." He suggests a definition of what constitutes a hackney, and as they are not hacks by his own showing there should surely be a change in the name.