Live Slock and The Farm.

Southland Times, Issue 19546, 9 May 1925, Page 14

Live Slock and The Farm.

A NEW AYRSHIRE RECORD.

DISEASE OF THE HORSE.

ARYSHIBE HEC0B1). NEW TWO-YEAR-OLD STANDARD. The Ayrshire breeders for many years were slow to avail themselves of the C.O.R. testing scheme, with the result that the breed has a lot of lee-way to make up. Every season sees a new Ayrshire record established, and the latest, in Mr W. Morris’s Fair Maid of Greenbank, "a two-year-old heifer, recently completed her test. Her record for 365 days is 12,281.3 lbs. of milk and 673.56-lbs. of fat. Her average test was 5.5. Fair Maid is by Bright Boy of Riki out of Bright Smile 4th of Greenbank, a cow which was champion at Carterton on two occasions. Bright Smile 4th is at present under test and with six months of her period completed has over 600 lbs. of fat registered, the highest month being 116-lbs. of fat. As a two-year-old Bright Smile 4th finished her test with 519.62-lbs. of fat, so Fair Maid has plenty of backing. In Fair Maid’s extended pedigree the Bright Smile of Gowan Bank family of females figures strongly, in fact Fair Maid is practically in-bred to that great family. In January Fair Maid dropped a bull calf which was secured by Mr A. M. Weir, Ivanhoe, and will soon join that herd as a junior sire. It is expected that Bright Smile 4th will establish a record for the breed, as she has everything in her favour. The following are the production figures of Fair Maid:—

ESSENTIAL QUALITIES. An English authority, writing in the Live Stock Journal, states that in order to obtain a sufficiency of lime from its food, the pig should consume daily one or other of the following quantities of food: Skimmilk, 181 b; sharps, 191 b; peas, 221 b; rye, 281 b; whey, wheat or barley, 521 b; maize, 781 b; potatoes, 1001 b. It is therefore, obvious from the magnitude of these figures that lime is one of the substances of which pigs are always in need. The addition of separated milk to barley, etc., will provide an increased proportion of lime, but cannot furnish the full amount needed for healthy growth, and, whatever the diet, adequate provision must be made for the lime requirements of the pig, either by means of ashes, or by adding powdered chalk or limestone, bone flour, wood ashes, or a proper mineral mixture to the food. Some of the fodder crops, like lucerne, clover, etc., niaj) also act as lime foods, but, in the opinion of this expert, it is safer to adopt the special measures outlined above. PIG BREEDING. THE IMPORTANCE OF “STRAIN.’’ The more one sees of pig-breeding the greater becomes one’s conviction as to the importance of employing the right strain of pig as well as the, right breed. This is a point that, naturally enough, is often overlooked by the novice. He does not realise the fact that in every breed of pigs in this country there is to be found a great variety of strains. This feature is more noticeable with some breeds than with others. One can, indeed, detect these differences without the slightest trouble by merely examining the various representatives of a particular breed at some show where the entries are sufficiently numerous for comparisons to be made. But it is not only in outward appearance that strains vary the one from the other. One may get pigs of different strains that, as regards conformation and general characteristics, are very similar to one another so far as the eye can tell. But in their performance there may be, and very often is, a wide difference. The progeny of one strain may be good doers and quick growers; of the other exactly the opposite. One strain may be remarkable for its fertility or its docility (the latter a very’ important point, by the way), while the other may be of a very low standard so far as reproduction is concerned, and may be the reverse of docile. It is especially important, therefore, for the beginner in pig-breeding to make himself as conversant as possible with the various types of strains of the breed he fancies, for unless be gets hold of the right—i.e., the most profitable—strain in the beginning, he may find himself the victim of serious loss, or at the best will have to begin all over again. He must never rest content, even when he feels he has satisfied himself in regard to points of conformation and general appearance. This much ,he can learn at the shows or by making a superficial survey of various pig farms, but it is necessary that he should probe the whole matter more deeply. He must gain information as to the general records of the herds he inspects, and when he has made up his mind to purchase,/ he should not do so unless he is satisfied that the herd from which he proposes to draw his foundation stock can show a good record in connection with those other important points which are not discernible by the naked eye. One thing that he need not pay too great attention to is the prize-winning record of any herd. That such a record may have a value is not to be denied, but winning prize in the show ring is not everything. Just as a fine racehorse who has a long list of winnings may turn out to be a failure at the stud and produce nothing worth having, so are there many pigs of both sexes which have been successful in the show ring, but of no use whatever out of it. The pig, though some there are who have lost sight of the fact, is a commercial animal. Unless, therefore, it is a utility animal in all respects, the ordinary individual cannot afford to keep it. There have been times when breeding pigs for fancy points was a paying hobby, and such times, possibly, may come again. It is very unlikely, however, that the present generation will again see such a state of affaire. To-day, at any rate, pig-keeping as a hobby is an amusement for the rich only; the average individual must study the pig from its commercial point of view and no other. So long as the cost of feeding continues to be such a serious problem as it is to-day, the question of strain will continue to be of the first importance. When pigs can be fed cheaply, the difference between the cost of feeding good doers on the one hand and bad doers on the other does not matter so much, though the wise man will always remember that if he looks after the pence the pounds will take care of Today the pence lost on feeding pigs of inferior strain have a ha’ it of becoming pounds very rapidly, hence the great importance of this mutter at the present time.

SIDEBONE IN HORSES. NUMEROUS CAUSES EXPLAINED. HOW TO AVOID IT. Attached to each wing of the pedal or coffin bone of a horse’s foot is a large curved plate of cartilage. In extent it reaches upward beyond the coronary band, extends backwards to the heel, and in forward location embraces two-thirds of the lateral circumference of a horse’s foot. These cartilages function in several ways. First, they form a yielding and elastic wall to the sensitive foot. Second, the elastic movements of these cartilages assist the circulation of the blood in the foot. Third, they render the internal foot elastic and permit heel expansion when the foot, under the influence of the. body weight, contacts with the ground. When these elastic cartilages ossify and fasten themselves rigidly to the wings of the pedal bone their function is destroyed. Side-bones, therefore, are just another name for ossified lateral cartilages. There are numerous causes of sidebones. Concussion is a common cause. Sidebones are common in the case of horses with straight shoulders, short pasterns and boxy feet. This combination of characteristics increases concussion and predisposes to sidebones. Improper shoeing, if continued, will hasten the ossification of the lateral cartilages. That is, the feet may not oe allowed to spread and expand at the heels normally, because a shoe that is too small or one in which the holes are punched to far rearward holds the heels in rigid position. Treads from other horses in the same team or treads inflicted by the horse itself with the calks of an opposite shoe may cause sidebones. Carelessly dropping the shafts or the pole of a vehicle on the hoof heads may result in sidebones. Any of these are comomn causes. Buyers for the city street discriminate against sidebone, sometimes efelled roughness of the hoof heads. Usually a city buyer in examining a horse for purchase does three things first . He looks at the eyes, looks at the mouth and handles the hoof heads. The feet of a draught horse in city service are one of the greatest sources of worry for the stable boss, whose job it is to have his horses ready to go every morning when the whistle blows at seven o’clock. Sidebones usually cause more trouble in horses pounding about on city streets than they do in horses on the farm, where the going is soft. Sidebones may or may not cause lameness. There are hundreds of horses with hard hoof heads, working every day, that walk and trot absolutely sound. When sidebones result in lameness there are usually other defects of the feet accompanying the sidebones which help to account for the lameness. If lameness occurs the pressure which causes it is usually due to the compression of the sensitive laminae of the foot between the ossified cartilages and a contracting hoof wall at heel and quarters. The sidebone situation may be likened to a corn on the human foot. The corn itself doesn’t hurt. But a tight shoe pressing against the corn in turn brings pressure against the nerve and the unfortunate victim is apt to go a little lame. BEEF PRICES. GROWERS V. EXPORTERS. The price to be paid for beef cattle at the meat works was considered at a meeting of graziers-in Brisbane, convened by the Cattle Growers’ Association, in conjunction with the Queensland Meat Advisory Board., It was resolved that the price announced by the meat exporting companies to be paid for beef for the 1925 season was not in accord with export parity. The Chairman of the Queensland Meat Advisory Board was requested to arange for a subcommittee, comprising representatives of the Bbard, the Cattle Growers' Association, and the United Graziers’ Association, to meet and discuss the question of prices with representatives of the meat exporting companies, at the earliest possible date. • Further, failing a satisfactory arrangement with the meat companies, the Committee was authorised to approach the State Government with a view .to providing facilities for treating meat on owners’ ac- ! count, and to ask the Australian Meat | Council to approach the Federal GovernI ment to introduce legislation similar to that | in force in New Zealand, which gives the | Meat Export Board control over the whole of the export surplus of meat. TOP-DRESSING COSTS. (Published by Arrangement.) Many farmers when deciding on the class of phosphate to use for top-dressing are led away by the apparent cheapness of one or another. This erroneous impression of value is obtained by considering the per ton price only, without regard to the phosphoric acid content or the solubility and consequent availability of that chemical so necessary to the growth of plants and animals. How are we to decide between two phosphates of different values per ton ? The method is perfectly simple and is done by comparing the unit values of the lines under consideration, at the same time taking into account the availability of the phosphoric acid contained in each. Let us examine for instance the three best known phosphates, viz., Ephos, Superphosphate and Basic Slag. The unit values would be worked out as follows: Superphosphate, 36/38 per cent, at £6 10/- delivered. Equivalent to say £6 2/6 per ton, 0.t., Bluff, less 5 per cent, for cash —5 16/4J —3/0.75 per unit of tricalcie phosphate. Basic Slag, 35 per cent, at £4 10/- ex ship. Plus wharfage 2/6 and loading 9d—£4 13/3—2/7.97 per unit of tricalcic phosphate. Ephos, 60 per cent, at £6 2/6 0.t., Bluff, less 5 per cent—£s 16/4A—l/11.27 per unit of tricalcic phosphate. It will thus be seen that Ephos is easily the best proposition from the standpoint of economy, and when it is remembered that every ounce of its phosphoric acid is available to the plant in a ready assimilable form, its value is increased many fold. Basic Slag is soluble in a 2 per cent, citric solution, whereas Ephos can be dissolved in a .2 per cent, solution which shows that it is 10 times as soluble as basic slag. As the acidity of all soil water is at least 2 per cent., it follows that Ephos is ready soluble, and hence easily available as plant food in any class of soil. Farmers would do well to always compare unit values before being led away by the apparent cheapness of a manure such as basic slag, which is in reality a very costly one when the amount of plant food it contains is taken into consideration.

Only once had corporal punishment to be inflicted on a convict in British prisons last year. Charles Jacob Du Bray, who had attained the great age of 105, has been buried at Dover.

Milk. Test Fat. November (13 days) . 412.6 4.93 20.34 December . 1219.2 4,38 53.40 January . 1295.1 4.59 59.44 February . 1163.2 5.12 59.55 March . . . 1162.1 5.29 61.47 April . . . 1092.7 5.57 60.86 May . . . 1020.8 4.87 49.71 June . . . 940.5 6.06 56.99 July . . . 905.0 5.73 51.85 August . . 882.1 6.25 55.13 September . 864.1 6.91 59.70 October . . 881.5 6.43 56.68 Nov. (16 days) . . 442.4 6.43 28.44 12,281.3 iv.5.5 673.56 THE PIG AND LIME