FARM NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2298, 17 March 1898, Page 7

FARM NOTES.

Cattle and Sheep Feeding Experiments. — The demonstration of the relative values of decorticated cotton cake and linseed cake for fattening cattle was the objecb of an interesting experiment recently conducted at the Camberland and Westmoreland Dairy School and farm at Newton Reigay. The limeed cake came through tbe oideal with slightly the befctef*of the argument, bub tha difference in its favour scarcely amounted to a victory. During the first half of the experimental period the animals fed with liDseee! cako took a strong lead, but curiously enough the cotton-cake fed lot recovered much of the lost ground in the last three weeks, and ai the close had almost equalled the other animals, whose rate of progress in the second term slackened considerably. The quantity of cake given was 4-lb per day to each animal, and the food used in addition to the respective varieties of cake consisted of 4-lb crushed oats and 3sfc swedes per head per day, and hay and straw ad lib. The experiment was bo planned as to also test the comparative advantages of the systems of tying the cattle in stalls and leaving them loose in sheds or courts. The we'ght records indicate that cattle thrive better untied than tied, especially during the earlier stages of the fattening process. The inquiry ia regard to »lieep v/as directed with.

1 the view ot eliciting information concerning fche ! utility of supplementing plain hay and turnips with a moderate allowance of a mixture of concentrated foods. The 80 lambs used for fche purposes of this experiment all received hay ad lib and yellow turnips, but 40 were given -Jrlb each per day of a mixture consisting of twothitds linseed cake aad one-tbird Indian corn ia addition, the remaining 40 getting nothing bub the roots and hay. Tae lot receiving the trough food amply justified tha additional cost* as they gained in weight 2*4lb per head per week, against l*Blb by the others. Or for an outlay of 36s o£d additional mutton to the value of 59a 6d was obtained, and besides there is the enhanced value of the manure to be taken inta account. .The result shows clearly the benefit derived by the judicious use of concentrated foods for sheep-feedinp. Milk Fever in Cows. — Milk fever is such a frequent and seriom loss to our beat dairymen that repeated reference to the matter is admissible. The heavy milking or rich milking andl well-fed cows are the ones that have milk fever. Inferior milkers and poorly-fed cows never have it. Heifers with their firßt calves never have ' ifc, and rarely with their second calves. The Breeders' Gazette says ifc is the mature cow which has her milking functions fully developed that is ia danger, Shs is a large eater, has great; powers of digestion, and has been fed abunclantlj', though she may nofc be fat. The cow is attacked with the disease at the time of, or within two or three days after, calving. The first that will be noticed is a staggering gait, with a difficulty in moving the hind parts. Soon she lies down or falls down, and is ucable to rise. It is called a fever, but I fail to sea much fever about it. It is more like paralysis or a collapse. I cannot help having faith, in aconite as a remedy for milk fever, though I cannot tell why it is so. Prevention is better than a cure, it is gaid. Milk fever can be prevented. A starved cow never has it. As a cow starved too much is worthless, starve jusfc enough to prevent the diseese. If the disease is feared commence to restrict the diet ten daya before calving, and continue to do so till four days after by leaving off all rich foodGive in the meantime all the good water they will drink, and give all the salt they will babe to induce them to drink. Let the food be of a laxative character, so as to keep the boweie in good condition. Do nofc allow them to drink I very cold water ab or soon afier calving. KafoMt Poisoning 1 , Pressrying nsul Exporting. XO THE EDITOR. Sir,— l was glad to see my last letter published, but unfortunately it was a day behind the fair, as owing to the attitude which tneHon. J. M'Xeiizis took up at the interview with the Kurow deputation ou ITebruayy 25 the position on the v<ibbic question is entirely altered, and the inspectors (with, a few exceptions) are now more entitled to sympathy than criticism, as they are at present standing between the disgust of the settlers and trappers on one tide and the ire of the Hon .T. M'Kenzie on the other. Well, the Hon. J. IM'Kenzie is a public man, and as my pocket as a trappar is directly affected by his action, I take ifc that if I have the audacity and ability to criticise him I have a perfect right to do so. AVell, I must begin with the Gore Club, because he bases his whole action in forcing tha poisoning among the trappers aad_ exporters this season on ths fact that they got him to defer thepoisoning at the proper time last winter. I quite agree with, him that it was a mistake to miss the winter poisoning if they wish to keep the rabbits reduced to a minimum, but I fail to f-ea why he should visit the sins of his aud the C4ore Club's mistake ou all the settlei s and trappers iv. the country. But let rue investigate the details a little. The Hon. J. M'Kenzie says tbattbe ir.ippei districts wera as bad as before. Well, that shows that the ground must have been fairly well trapped, or without the winter's poisonipg they would have beeu much worse. But the point that; I especially wish to get at is this: The Hon. 0. M'Kenzie told the Kurow deputation that he could not possibly postpone the -poisoning for the trapping, as it woufd be "rabbit-farming." Well, that must mean that the summer poisonmsc is not oulv thau trappiug, but thoroughly effective, and iv fact almost or quite equal to the winter poisoning. If this statement that the summer' "poisoning is so effective is correct, then I y-think that the | Rabbit department, with the Hon. 3. M'Kenzie at the bead, must be the greatest "rabbit farmers'* of all, because they have had tke whole summer with the most effective poison, and it seems that the rabbits are there yet. My own opinion is that the summer poisoning is not so effective, and there is further proof in this district by the fact that trappers aie goir.g into trap for export on nearlyall the blocks that were poisoned a few weeks since ; but then my opiuion on these facts count for nothing against the Hon. J. M'Kenzie's autocratic statement to the Kurow deputation. Now I come to the worst pomt — viz., the lisk to the consumers. Iv times past the factories realised that trappers were only " human nature," aud shut up at the date of the general poisoning, but now it is a general rush and sort of go -as - you - please style. Aud OEC3 the department has had the ground poisoned trappers can please themselves about the risk of when to start trapping, and although, the Dunhack Factory shut up last winter (for six weeks) about the middle of June, yet owiug to the action of the rabbit inspectors nearly every bit of ground around there (in the low country) was poisoned by that time. But now I must refer to the Gore Club again— viz., where are they now? Last winter they were jubilant at getting the cessation of poisoning for a few weeks iv midwinter, when, owing to bad weather, the trappera can barely make half time, but now, although it is the beginning of the season and nearly every trapper is suffering from the action of the Rabbit department, I have not seen a single word from them. The Rabbit department seem utterly indifferent to the risk to consumers from th« poteon, but as the freezing works received rabbits all the winter, I suppose it is now useless their being otherwise. On March 4 two more settlers were heavily flued in Oamaru for not poisoning, although the department is now quite aware thai all the factories and exportera are taking rabbits.— l am, &c, 3?. Perry, Trapper. Hampden, March 9. Additional planb for the petroleum boring h»9 arrived at New Plymouth,