FARM AND DAIRY

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9205, 5 April 1938, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY

MAMMITIS IN DAIRY CATTLE

' . TESTS MADE ! ■

VERY SUCCESSFUL RESULTS 1

| Investigations in to tlie control ot 1 mammitis and abortion in dairy catjtle are being made at the Cheshire School of Agriculture at Reaseheath, : England. In the school’s Ayrshire 1 bard abortion has been el-.minated by repeated application of the bl tod agglutination test and the disposal of reactors. The tests have been carried out with the aid of the Lheijool University. Mammitis has been almost eliminated, and there are now only two or three animals tnat show any reaction to the tost. It is hoped that the herd will be free from the trouble within three months. Mr W. B. Mercer, the principal of the school, believes that if this is achieved the herd will be unique in Great Bntj ain. The possibility of controlling ' abortion by the use of a dead vaccine is being investigated. Should j it be found successful, absolute control of abortion, will be possible, for I none can object to the use of a dead i vaccine, states an English agriculI tural journal. At Reaseheath ten heifers have been selected and live of them have been inoculated. All the : heifers are due to calve in a year s j time. The same procedure will be j adopted for a further bunch of heif- | ers.

ANIMAL NUTRITION At the annual meeting of the University College Agricultural Society of Ireland an interesting address was delivered on animal nutrition. The speaker stated that there had been a considerable advance in the information which was now available on animay nutrition. Natural selection was no longer possible and domesticated animals to-day differed greatly from their remote ancestors. Under natural conditions a cow might be expected to yield 52 gallons of milk ! in a lactation period, but under modi ern conditions a yield of 1200 gal- | lons was by no means uncommon, i The same principle applied to domesj ticated fowls, the pullet being bred | for egg production; in cattle, growth | and meat were expected at an early j age, in fact the big, aged bullock was j now almost a thing of the past. In { the feeding of animals, the Irish ■ authority pointed out, allowance j must be made for what is termed j “body exchanges.” There was a conj tinuous process of building up and I breaking down of the food supply goj ing on in the body; part of the m--1 gested material went to nuture the ' animal and to create heat and energy, j while a certain portion was not utilisj ed, but was given off in excretions 1 and gases. The amount of food j which an animal required for main- ' tenance could be accurately deter- ; mined, and the necessary feeding for i milk production could more or less :be regulated from the desk. The i most important constituent in the i food supply was protein and the I amount required in this respect had i been accurately determined. Defi- | ciency of protein limited growth and J rendered production expensive. A j proper balance of protein, however, I did not necessarily constitute a complete diet. Very often additional food factors must be included. Lack of calcium would lead to diseases such as rickets, and the addition of some mineral matter such as bone flour was necessary. Iron might also be necessary, and if there was a deficiency of iodine :t might lead to troubles eminating from the inefliiient functioning of the thyroid gland I and account for poor breeding results. Minerals not only supplied the necessary elements for health and production but they also promoted appetite. The accumulative effect of a lack of minerals mig'Jit he very serious. Lime and phosphorus were needed in the land since the plant obtained the supply of miniwal from the soil. The land should be so treated that the grasses would contain a sufficiency of minerals which would thus he passed on to the stock.