ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVII, Issue 6, 20 December 1923, Page 412

ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES.

IN order to ensure reply to questions, correspondents must give their name and address, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith, Letters should be addressed to the Editor.

CALF-MANAGEMENT

F. S. Ruthe, Leigh :

Could you give me a preventive to stop the scouring of calves ? I would also like to know what quantity of milk should be given to each calf for each feeding ?

The Live-stock Division :—-

Scouring in young calves is most commonly produced through some dietetic influence. • Feeding skim-milk in a too sour condition, allowing calves to gorge themselves with cold milk in very hot weather, or using milk-pails and vessels which are not kept scrupulously clean and scalded before use, are all prolific causes of diarrhoea, through digestive disturbance. Also, the pen or place where the young calves are kept requires to be clean, and when mortality occurs it is advisable to change their location. As regards medicinal treatment, it is best to commence with a moderate dose of castor-oil —say, 2 oz. to 3 oz. After this has operated, and if scouring continues, a teaspoonful of chlorodyne, shaken up in a little milk, is useful. In the early stages the addition of lime-water to the milk is often all that is required. Regarding the milk requisite for a calf at each feeding, owing to individual requirements it is impossible to lay down any definite quantity, as some calves will consume much more milk than others of the same age. Again, the quantity will, of course, vary with the age of the calf. Speaking generally, a calf one month old will consume 4 pints of milk three times daily ; at three months old, 5 quarts of separated milk morning and evening, with the addition of the usual supplementary feed—linseed, oatmeal, &c.

DERMATITIS IN LAMBS

“ Inquirer,” Waipu : —■

This year with several of my lambs I have noticed a breaking-out round the top of the hoofs. There is no discharge, but the affected part is simply raw and slightly swollen, and not accompanied by lameness. Would you please enlighten me as to this ailment and the necessary treatment ? Is it contagious ?

The Live-stock Division :—

The condition you describe is termed dermatitis or inflammation , of the skin around the coronets. It is questionable whether the trouble is contagious ; it is more likely due to a common cause operating. The spell of wet weather experienced earlier in the season, by influencing the nature of the feed, probably has brought about constitutional disturbance leading to the inflammatory condition of the skin. The lesions are also occasionally seen about the mouth, and this is attributed to the sheep rubbing the mouth on the affected feet. For treatment,’in the first place a change of pasture is desirable. If many lambs' are affected, the quickest method is to put them through a foot-bath of lysol in water (2 per cent, solution), the bath to.be filled sufficiently to cover the' affected parts as the lambs go through ; or this can be carried out by immersing the feet in a bucket containing the solution. Usually two dressings at intervals of a few days are sufficient. Afterwards apply zinc-ointment to the coronets, removing any crusts or scabs which may have formed. . ' .

PRAIRIE-GRASS UNDER TARANAKI CONDITIONS.

“ New Chum,” Oaonui :

Prairie-grass seems to be a great winter grass, but I am told that it will not do here. The farm is on a by-road about half-way between Rahotu and the mountain. I should be glad of. particulars regarding this grass when sown pure.

The Fields Division :—

Prairie-grass is a very fine winter grass in localities where it does well, but from our experience in Taranaki we could not advise you to grow it with any certainty of success in-your district. • If sown in a warm sheltered position fair results may be expected for a year or two, provided it is not fed too hard. The seed may be sown in the spring or early autumn at the rate of 60 lb. per acre. It should be sown broadcast and disked in, being hard to get through a drill. A better mixture would be 40 lb. prairie-grass and 10 lb. perennial rye-grass per acre.

FOUL-IN-THE-FOOT OF CATTLE.

“ Subscriber,” Walton :—

Please give me the cause and treatment for cows or calves with swollen hoofs which discharge pus from between the hoof and around the top in the hair.

The Live-stock Division :—

This condition is what is commonly termed “ foul-in-the-foot ” of cattle. The cause is bacterial, and is favoured by cattle standing in dirty, muddy places. Treatment is as follows :■ First pare away all broken or diseased horn from the foot, especially in the cleft ; wash well with an antiseptic in water, and when dry paint in the cleft and around the top of the hoof with tincture of iodine, using a stiff brush ; finally draw a piece of tow smeared with Stockholm tar into the cleft of the foot, this preventing further infection. Usually one or two-appli-cations of this treatment will be found sufficient, but in bad cases it may be necessary to first apply a bran poultice to the foot. It is essential that any muddy yards or places in which the animals stand be drained and covered with a light dressing of lime.

CUCUMBER AND TOMATO CULTURE.

H. T. P., Lower Hutt :—

What is the reason for a large proportion of the young fruit on my cucumbervines failing to mature ? ' They turn yellow, and I find that the majority of them are hollow. They are growing under artificial heat, watered regularly, the beds kept wet, and liquid manure applied once a week, and the house is hosed twice a day to keep the atmosphere humid. What, also, is the reason for some fruit damping-off ? Is it advisable to apply sulphate of ammonia to a crop of tomatoes that have only had potash and super but appear to be doing all right and the fruit setting freely ? •

The Horticulture Division :—

■ Your cucumber-plants are probably being overcropped. If the tomatoplants are doing well, defer feeding till the mulch is laid, when a liquid manure composed of superphosphate, sulphate of potash, and sulphate of ammonia would probably be beneficial. ■

Californian Thistle. — special order has been made by the Cook County Council declaring that Californian thistle shall not be deemed to be a noxious weed within that county. Authority for such action is given by section 2 of the Noxious Weeds Amendment Act, 1923, the text of which was printed on page 338 of last month’s Journal. ' ■; '

British Market for — The following information was cabled by the High Commissioner, London, on 1st December : Continental demand is good for blue, and market considerably stronger. Japanese on passage and forward have been sold for £21 per ton. New Zealand nominally worth /17 to /20 per ton ex store Tasmanian, £20 to Z21 ; English small, round, hand-picked, quoted at fig ios. to f2o 10s. ; and Dutch, at Z23 10s. ex store. No forward business in New Zealand maple owing to poor quality of recent arrivals. •