NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3382, 8 January 1919, Page 8

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Owing to various circumstances the Summer Show, usually held at

. The Otago Tahuna Park in November, Summer Show, was postponed till January 29 and 50, the schedule _ of prizes and programme practically remaining as issued. The sheep classes stand much the same as formerly, that the purebred classes will all be exhibited out of the wool. Of course, this was necessary owing to the disabilities which might be incurred if valuable sheep carrying wool were not shorn in due course, besides handicapping them in competition at shows later in the year, with possibly only eight or nine months' growth of wool. The sheep classes, too, are necessarily cut down, as otherwise there would be a duplication

of classes; for instance, classes have already been catalogued for shorn rams under 18 months and above 18 months, and under 30 months, and shorn- ewe under 18 months in each purebred class excepting merinoes. In theSDown classes there were classes catalogued for shorn rams under 18 months, and in the' Oorriedale sheep for both shorn ram and ewe under 18 months. As there were classes in the wool for similar aged 'sheep, necessarily the classes for competition axe now lessened, although it is quite possible entries may bulk fairly well. The fat sheep seotion stands, it i 6 understood, as printed in the .catalogue, and should evoke considerable interest, the fact thai the New Zealand Refrigerating Company's 30-guinea trophy will be offered for the first time being a decided attraction in this section. There are no. classes provided for ram and ewe lambs, it being a trifle early for weaning generally. This is a great pity. If breeders are to show their older sheep out of the wool, it is only reasonable that they should be asked to exhibit the pedigreed lambs of their respective flocks. They should have the opportunity, at any rate, of exhibiting. In the Old Country the autumn show is of great value and interest, and probably it only requires a start here and we shall never go back to the old dates.

A number of foals die yearly from this ailment. Even if the animal Scour in recovers it is often dwarfed Foals. and stunted by the check it receives. About the ninth day, or later, after foaling, the mare generally comes into/ season after foaling, with the result that, owing to the mare being feverish and excited, the milk becomes changed in its composition, and causes for a day or two diarrhoea in the foal. The form is not of a serious character, as after a day or two the milk becomes normal, and ceases to scour the foal. Give the ► mare twice daily a £oz dose of bicarbonate of soda in a bran mash, which will arrest the acidity which is causing the diarrhoea in the foal. Then, again, a sudden change in the mare's diet will often upset the foal, and one should not suddenly change her food from hay and corn to one of greenstuff. Another cause is damaged food, bad water, or working the mare too soon. Sometimes, if the mare is a poor milker/ and has not sufficient milk for the foal, the youngster is tempted to eat more from the manger than it can digest, with the result it cause* scouring. Old mares with their first or second foal are more likely to have scouring foals than young ones (writes "Southern Vet," in Farm and Home). Find out, if possible, what is the cause and rectify it, remembering that foals kept in airy, cleaiji boxes, with plenty of good bedding, are less likely to various ailments than those kept knee deep in wet straw and manure. Re» garding treatment for scour, give the foaj a dose of castor or linseed oil to remove any undigested food, and afterwards give every four hours till the scouring ceases • dose of the following mixture:—Bicarbonate of soda loz, precipitated chalk loz, carbonate of bismuth ioz, peppermint? water to Boz. Well shake and give an eighth part in 4oz of gruel, barley water, or cornflour. If the foal is not sucking, then milk the "mare and give the foal some out of a drench tin or horn. There is no reason why the scouring mixture should not be mixed with the mare's milk,- and given warm to the foal.

It is compulsory, in New Zealand, that sheep should be dipped. vo Dipping get the best results the dipCompulsory, ping preparation must be used according to the directions issued by the maker, who has proved just what strength of the mixture is required in order to kill ticks or lice before putting it on the market. Dippnfg is a iob that requires to be thoroughly well done. This season to dip "off the shears would have been summer madness, and it is perhaps as well to wait a month or two months after shearing, according to the wool they oarry. The strength of the dip should be maintained, and the sheep kept in the liquid the full length of time prescribed. The work should not be rushed. -If the sheep can be brought in and rested for a time, all the better. There will .not then be the dirt about to foul the mixture, as when sheep are dipped straight off the grass a fine day is necessary, with gradual drying. Dip all "bought in" sheep if any signs of lice or ticks are visible ere turning them out among clean animals.

Mr J. F. Sloane, a contract drover, who has spent 18 years in the The Northern Northern Territory, whenm Territory. Brisbane lately (says the Pastoralist Review), expressed great faith in the possibilities of the Territory, but none in the Commonwealth's administration, instancing' the experimental farm as a case where one pumpkin had been raised at a cost of £IOOO, and even then the pumpkin was stolen. Oatueraising "was undoubtedly the industry for which the Territory was suitable, and to aid it there was a great need of water. .!• was possible to travel for hundreds of miles through unstocked country. Permanent water should be provided in these dry belts by boring. The only industry in Darwin which amounted to anything was the meaU works of Vestey Bros. AGRIOOIA t

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENT*. By Agbicola. "Subscriber," Fairfax, writes as follows t (1) "Could you, through the medium of your paper, toll me what is wrong with a_ cow which at calving gave milk out of three teats only. After using a tube in the defective vessel I got discoloured milk from it for about a month. Since then a fluxt of the same consistency as condensed milk, but of a slightly greenish shade, came away, and sometimes small clots of blood. The quarter was hard when she came in, but since the thick matter has been coming away the hardness seems to be leaving the top of the quarter. A few days ago a swelling came on the udder near the root of the teat, and it has now broken. -L£ e matter now discharges from there, and the teat has gone dry. (2) Could you tell me a home method of testing each cow b milk?" Answer.: The cow apparently is suffering from what ha* been termed a catarrhal affection of the ducts of the udder, known in bovine parlance as mammitis, and the symptoms indicate the acute contagious form. Unless recognised in the verv early stages, there is not much that can be done. The milk or fluid from the affected udder should be drawn into a separate pail and, if not destroyed, at least boiled ere fed to the pigs, and the hands of the milker washed with eoap and water containing some good disinfectant. Wash the udder externally with a 6 per cent solution of carbolic acid, and dry her off or turn out with a calf, and, later, fatten

her off. (2) I presume you mean testing for butter-fat. The use «f the Babcook tester, and the weighing of the milk from individual cows, say once a week, should answer your purpose. Reverting to the first question, if you care to send a sample of the milk in a sterilised bottle to the Veterinary Laboratory, Wallaceville, it would be examined bacteriologically and a report sent to you in due course. M. H., Gore, sends grasses for identification. All the specimens are rather unripe for satisfactory determination. No. 1, Festuca duriuscula (hard fescue), is quite a good constituent of sheep pastures, and on suitable soils, forms a close bottom to turf, and in this respect is *of especial value in upland pastures. (2) This specimen has no flower head," and it is not possible to identify, but apparently is one of the Poas, and of considerable value. (3) Poa pratensis (smooth-stalked meadow Srass), most suitable grass for enduring rought, forms a good turf, endures cold, and is early. (4) Wavy-hair grass (Avia flexu'osa) appears in sandy places, but prao tioally of no value. (5) One of the Brome grasses, and practically a weed in spite of its good looks. /■'■:■'.. A. B. 0., Queenstown.—The symptoms you outline are too vague to enable one to form a satisfactory diagnosis. The pumping up of the udder, if ordinary hygienic pre cautions were observed, would do no harm, nor any good, as it would appear that the two front teats were "blind", the cow coming in defective, indicative of mammitis trouble due to a germ. (See reply above, answer to "Subscriber.")