THE HERD.

Waikato Times, Volume 114, Issue 19010, 29 July 1933, Page 19 (Supplement)

THE HERD.

Oheepeet end Best. There Is no sound reason behind the oft heard statement—"Oh, I cannot afford & deoently-baoked pedigree bull." Soma •of the most Buocessful bulls in the country have been purchased as calves either at the drop or a few months later at a very moderate price. Certainly buying a herd sire as a calf Is buying an animal before any Idea can be gained as to how It will develop, but what are looks after all If a bull has the butterfat baoking and has an absolutely sound constitution. And as to constitution it is pretty well proved that feeding and management have a lot to do with this. Here it Is where getting the herd sire as a oalf Is a great advantage. Knowing it Is to be Ills future herd sire and that Its constitution will mean muoh to him, a wise man will do the calf well, giving It young digestible grass In a wellsheltered field together with a little oonoentrated food and all the mineral matter It wants. Nothing repays one so well for good treatment as the developing sire. This Is not to say that the little one should be pampered and

over fed. This is nearly as bad a mistake as neglect. But young bulls should be treated well and should be given every thing that will make for healthy development.

One advantage in getting the herd sire as a oalf Is that there Is then no ohanoe of Introducing disease to the farm. Indeed, the man is wise who always buys immature stock, the progeny of proved parents. Then, treated well, there Is some chance of a man developing a healthy herd and of keeping disease in general at bay. * * * * A Valuable Llok.

A reader who has had remarkable suooess with a particular lick says he obtained the ingredients from a veterinary surgeon of continental training and who views the treatment of disease from the preventive rather than from the curative view point. This veterinary surgeon declared that the condition of the cow he was oalled to see was due to the absence of the necessary mineral matter on the farm and to the absence of vitamin D. The oow's eyes were almost dosed and very greatly swollen, while she was very weak In the hind quarters. After giving the lick and applying a prescribed ointment to tha eyes the oow immediately recovered. The next morning she was absolutely normal and milking well. The lick prescribed, which is reoomended for milk fever, grass staggers and mineral deficiency in general, is as follows: i gal. good cod liver oil, 101 b steamed bone flour, % owt. crushed rock salt, 2ozs of potassium iodide, lib of Iron sulphate. Dissolve the potassium iodide in three tablespoonfuls of water and mix it with the cod liver oil. Then add the bone flour, then the Iron and lastly the salt. The mixing must be done in this order. It can.be given in a small concrete trough in the field, or in a painted tin. It will stand the weather. Cows should receive this lick three weeks before calving and as long as they give two gallons of milk a day.

A Wise Precaution.

Seeing that the cow makes an abnormal demand for lime abOut calving time it is a wise precaution to give her all the lime she can take, in the form of steamed bone flour (preferably mixed with salt), for the several weeks prior to calving. More than half the troubles at. calving time are due to indigestion. Those who allow their oows to graze for about half an hour a day on young live grass (for the production of which some nitrogen should have been applied in May), or on well-made silage, made from grass In the leaf stage, have a very minimum of trouble at oalving time. It is not so muoh soientiflo knowledge as common sense that is required In these matters.