MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3397, 23 April 1919, Page 8

MANAGEMENT OF PASTURES.

The question of the management of pastures is an important one at all times, but more especially now when the cultivation of arable lands is hesitatingly embarked ■ upon, on account of the present difficulty of securing skilled teamsters. Arable lands of the ordinary farm —we are not considering lands just out of virgin soil — require skilled treatment and considerable local knowledge in order to provide suitable seed-beds* by frequent turning and stirring. Grass land, on the contrary, is subjected to very little cultivation. It cannot be stirred deeply, as the growth upon it is permanent. Cultivation is limited, therefore, to harrowing and rolling, and necessarily the expenditure on labour is comparatively , small. Something more, however, we think, might be attempted in the way of manuring, and so by encouraging a robust growth of desirable plants promote the suppression of weeds. The first thing to" do in any scheme of manuring is to ascertain the kind of soil to which the manure is to be applied. Its physical character will present little trouble to determine the nature of the herbage, and an ordinary examination of the soil should suffice. The soil's actual composition may be ascertained by analysis. If the soil is of an acid nature it will b 9 necessary to counteract this sourness by applying some suitable manure. It is quite possible by some such means to change entirely the flora of certain poor grass lands and encourage the nutritive grasses, the essence of any treatment being the supplying of the needful plant food, or to set free available plant food already there, but in an insoluble condition. Experience has demonstrated the fact that in phosphatic manure we -have a valuable fertilising agent, which serves the roots of clovers (Leguminossa) to a marvellous degree. The clover plants in a suitable environment will grow apace, developing those useful nodules in their roots which collect nitrogen from the atmospheric air, and finally are turned under to the benefit of the soil in close contact and subsequent crops. Something might be achieved with lime apart from anticipations in respect to the mitigation of sour conditions, or a gain in the physical conditions of land —that is, the liberation of potash. Although the practi.ce invariably has been in this part of the .Dominion to pin one's faith on the various phosphatic manures, no doubt there is a good deal to be said in favour of nitrogenous manures. Their nature if used alone seems to be to send up grasses to the detriment of the clovers. They induce a thick growth of grasses, and if used alone promote unfavourable growth. Strictly speaking, nitrogen should not be applied to grass land unless supplemented with some other fertiliser. It is better to depend on providing the necessary nitrogen by way of top-dressing with a phosphatic manure like basic slag rather than say, top-dress-ing with nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia, both of these fertilisers being readily soluble in water, and, of course, quick-acting on growing crops. Of course, different systems of farming necessitate different systems of manuring. The fattening of adult stock on well-grassed land affects the soil but little, as* the demand on phosphates for bone-formation is infinitesimal, while nearly all the potash is returned in the excreta. This is a very different proposition from what goes on at a milk or meat-selling or stock-rearing area, where there is a daily toll taken of phosphates, lime, and other constituents required for producing bone, flesh, and milk. A farmer should try the comparative effect of different manures by dividing a paddock into a series of parallel strips, and giving each strip a special dressing of manures different from that on other strips. The variation in the response to the different manures might prove an invaluable help later on in the economical working of the farm. The matter of chain-harrowing and rolling pastures during the latter part of winter and early spring is of importance. By the former operation moss and dung are disturbed and scattered, while the latter operation, where winter frosts have been the rule, consolidates, the land and presses the roots aiter the disruptive winter frost effects. LAME BEHIND. There is a great deal of truth in the old saying, " Remove the shoe if the horse is lame in his head," for the trouble so often proves to be in the foot after assuming it to be in some other part of the limb. The amateur doctor usually attributes a palpable lameness in a horse to the shoulder, or, if somewhere adjacent to the rear parts, contemplates with a wise countenance the hip or haunch, and says with a generous sweep of the arm that there is the seat of the trouble. Unless, however, there is not the shadow of a doubt about the seat of the trouble, it will be found that the foot in front or hind feet is the most frequent seat of lameness. One authority declares that there are more sites or seats of lameness in the hind limb than .the front. Horses that have fallen or been pushed over by a load may be lame in the back through of the loin muscles, or those under the loin, and will be tender to the touch, and will suffer acute pain if made to move

in any direction, least in forward movement and most in backing. It is recommended in such cases to use hot linseed poultices applied at frequent intervals, so as never to allow the parts to cool off rapidly, and arrange to have the new poultice ready before removing the old one. Failing such applications, resource must be made to the application of wafm liniments, and then covering with, say, some woollen blankets. If the loin muscles are sprained there will be arching of the back, and possibly the kidneys will be involved, and pain experienced when urinating, the excreta being much discoloured and strong-smelling. " Vet.," in the Farmer and Stock-breeder, advises the giving of three doses of salicylate of sodium of four or six drams at intervals of 12 hours, followed by one or two ounces daily of bicarbonate of potash with a dram of nitre. These medicines will act as stimulants, and we may anticipate that the urine will soon pass freely and be in normal condition, when they can be discontinued, and the cure left to Nature. There is always the trouble that animals affected in this region will have a difficulty in lying down. They fear to try, owing to pain of a nature akin to what a man suffers when afflicted with luihbago and rising from a luxurious chair. Some help may be given to a horse by using slings, and so induce the animal to sleep standing. With cattle lame in the loin region, one finds that they will go- down, and defy all efforts to get them up again. Anyone having had much to do with cattls will have had experience of a beast getting the best of man and obstinately refusing to move, and later on getting up of its own accord. In such cases it is only humane to, if possible, provide shelter ana food, etc., as the trouble is possibly due to something in the way of lumbago combined, perhaps, with a fit of sulks. The same kind-of accident may induce no more than a sprain or strain, which, however, may quite incapacitate the animal for the time heing; yet, if given a long enough spell, and there are no complications, will usually recover. Close watch on the character of the excretions is advisable, seeing that the bowels are kept soft, etc. The trouble referred to as " hip down" results from a fracture of the prominent bone of the pelvis, which is so conspicuous when a horse is very -poor. The attachment muscles have been broken down, and there is lameness. Nature comes to our assistance and makes a cure of a sort. The,quarter on one side drops, and there is some wasting of the muscles temporarilv thrown out of work. Nevertheless, although the bone cannot be set, it is quite the rule for a horse so injured to recover its usefulness. It takes time, but gradually the parts affected accommodate xhemselves, and the injury in a welconditioned animal has not always been detected by men well versed in horse lore. Stifle lameness is one of the earliest to manifest itself, even before a horse has been handled. In contrast to the shoulder joint, which is clothed with muscle and practically independent of ligaments, we find the stifle bare of such protection, and relying on ligaments, these on either side being relatively long and thin for the important functions they perform. Examine the stifle joint. Any strain on the inner ligament permits the round bone to slip over to the outside, with the result of fixing the limb in a nearly straight line and pointing in a backward direction. Such accidents, we' are told, often occur among long-legged mules without any serious strain or ill-result, .and the mule not infrequently is found all right again while the attendant has gone for a rope with which to pull the limb forward. Such pulling causes the patella to jump back with a click into its proper place. Horses do not pet over it so ea%ily, and should be kept under restraint. It is with leggy, fast-growing, ill-nourished colts that there may occur a partial slip in and out while walking or galloping about with a strong and older leader over uneven ground, etc. If the stifle in a young animal has actually slipped, considerable care should be .displayed by the owner. The building up of the strength of the young animal suggests itself. . He should browse in a flat paddock not too large, and have sober mates, and so be induced to curb his exuberant frolics. In regard to further treatment, we quote a veterinarian's opinion: "A blister or blister charge should be applied, covering plenty of space, except on the hairless inner side, where a bad sore or sloughing may be caused* by rubbing the skin of the thigh against the flank. This plan of treatment has several uses. First, it causes an effusion of fluid between the skin and the round bone, and acts as a water cushion, beside restraining the animal by reason of the tenderness ; and next it thickens the integument more" or less permanently, and serves as a bandage or support, binding down the joint while the ligament has time to recover from the strain, and gives time.for the subject to be fed un and gain strength. A single blister may serve in some cases, but others will require repeated applications at intervals of about a month, or before the skin begins to fine down and afford less support. Adtfit animals- may have stifle slip as the result of an accident, and such injury is serious. In any case a long rest must follow the blister. Too often it is found, in old and poor animals of the heavy type, that the friction in the joint has rubbed away the articular cartilage, which is no longer smooth as an oiled billiard ball, but having roughened surfaces due to ulceration, and quite incurable. BUTTER REQUISITION. In March last it was notified that the New Zealand Government was prepared to purchase, at fixed prices, on behalf of the British Government, tho whole of the exportable surplus of butter manufactured in New Zealand during the period commencing

August 1, 1918, and ending July 31, 1920. It now appears, however, that all the butter manufactured during- the season commencinp; August 1, 1918, and ending July 31, 1919, and not already in the grading stores, together with a certain proportion of tha butter already in the grading stores, is required for local consumption within Now Zealand, and therefore is not exportable surplus within tho meaning of that notice. It is now therefore publicly notified by a Gazette Extraordinary that no butter of a quality fit for local consumption will hereafter be made tho subject of purchase by the Government, or of advances by tha Government under the previous notice, unless it is in the grading stores on the day of the date of this present notice. Ana f further, that no butter of a quality fit for local consumption and alreadv in the eradin* stores on the day of this present notice, on which no advance has been made by tha Government, will bo made the subject of .Government purchase or advance, except such proportion as in the opinion of the Controller of the Department of Imperial Government Supplies, is not required for local consumption, and is exportable surplus accordingly.