ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXV, Issue 3, 20 September 1927, Page 207

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. BANDY-LEGGED LAMBS. “ Mackenzie Country,” Timaru : What is the cause of bandy-legged lambs ? Could you suggest anything that could be given the ewes and lambs to eat that would be a preventive ? To be of any use it would need to be a practical suggestion, so that it could be put into practice by a person holding, say, 10,000 acres of pastoral country ; or something that could be given the sheep in the same manner as we give them rock : It. . The Live-stock Division :- This bandy-legged condition is one of the symptoms of rickets or deficiency disease. Among the causes is poorness of the phosphate and lime content of the mother’s milk, but the condition is chiefly met at weaning-time, when lambs are being fed on pastures the herbage of which is deficient in available lime and phosphoric acid. One preventive is to top-dress some of the better pastures on the run with superphosphate and lime, and to give all the stock periodic spells on this top-dressed country. Licks of which superphosphate and bonemeal form a part are useful in this connection, but before such could be definitely recommended it would be necessary to know exactly in what respect the deficiency exists, as mineral salts other than those mentioned may also be lacking. MIXING OF LIME AND SUPERPHOSPHATE. J J., Manurewa : t . A belief is very generally held by farmers that if lime and super are mixed a few days previous to drilling, chemical action is set up that makes the mixture very much more effective than when mixed immediately previous to drilling or when drilled separately. Is there any scientific basis for this belief, or has your Department any evidence in support of it ? The Fields Division : Field evidence does indicate that on certain soils lime and super mixed a few days previous to drilling do give better results than when the two ingredients are used separately. The scientific reason ascribed is that when applied to soils with a fair proportion of alumina present ’ superphosphate reverts rapidly to aluminium phosphate. In this form it is less readily available to crops than when reverted by lime. Large areas in Waikato go into this group of soils, and from knowledge of Manurewa—that is, if you are on the heavy clay loam your soil would also be in the same category. On soils such as the red volcanic soils of Auckland Province a good deal of iron is present, and . this reverts the soluble phosphate in the super. In this form the phosphate is less soluble, and therefore less available to plants than either the aluminium or lime combination. REDWATER AND HZEMATURIA IN CATTLE. “ XJ,” Tutaki, Murchison : I have a bullock suffering from redwater. He has been running on rough hill country. What is the cause of this” disease, and can it be cured ? Is it infectious ? The Live-stock Division : For about ten or twelve years settlers in the area between Reef ton and a little north of Murchison have made occasional and periodical inquiries regarding treatment for redwater. During the past two or three years, however, investigations have proved that a proportion of the cattle (especially milking-cows) in that area are annually affected with a disease known as haematuria (bloody urine).

This disease is readily mistaken for what is generally called redwater, and -probably your bullock is similarly affected. Haematuria has been investigated in several countries, and so far it appears not improbable that it may result from the oxalic-acid contents of the herbage on which the cattle are allowed to graze for some time, or it may be some toxic substance in the pasture. Several forms of treatment have been suggested, but these have not been sufficiently successful to warrant their recommendation. However, experience in France, British Columbia, and elsewhere has shown that following agricultural improvement—such as better drainage, top-dressing with lime and manures, &c. —in the affected areas the disease tends to disappear. Haematuria is not considered to be either infectious or contagious. The urine of affected animals may be red or brown in colour, and bloodclots may also be passed. There is a form of redwater which is contagious, this being caused by a parasite in the blood ; but, fortunately, this trouble has not so far appeared, in New Zealand. Another form of redwater is caused by dietetic errors, such as feeding cows heavily on turnips just before calving, &c. In this form strong doses of common salt, in addition to tonics have been used successfully. Further particulars regarding chronic haematuria may be obtained from an article published in the Journal for August, 1926. CONVERSION OF RATSTAIL GRASSLAND. J. C. McGregor, Waimana, Opotiki : Referring to the article on destruction of tall couch in Marlborough which appeared in the May Journal, I would like advice on the following matters : (1) Would the smothering-crop prove as successful if applied to ground (ploughable) which is grassed almost entirely with ratstail ? . (2) Is there any difficulty in getting the smothering-crop —Algerian oats and Scotch tares —to ripen simultaneously ? There are no threshing-mills in this district, so I would have to hand-thresh, and propose using grain and tares as pig-feed. I presume in districts more scientifically farmed the mills separate the two seeds. My ultimate object is to get the land, which is virgin, into good cow-pasture. The soil is river-silt, 6 in. deep, with shingly subsoil ; the country is well drained and has a good rainfall. The Fields Division : Tall couch [Agropyron repens') is much more aggressive and harmful than ratstail, since it persists in spite of good cultural and cropping methods, and unless it is eradicated completely before putting the land down to grass it is likely to cause trouble. With ratstail, however, it has been found that even when it appears on grassland it can be subdued by top-dressing and good management ; hence drastic measures such as allowing the smothering-crops to seed are not necessary. An ordinary smothering-crop of Algerian oats (3 bushels) and spring tares (1 bushel), sown in spring and fed off in late summer, would be a good preparation for the autumn sowing of grass. The following grass mixture is recommended for your country : Cocksfoot, 8 lb. ; Poverty Bay rye-grass, 10 lb. ; Italian rye-grass, 4 lb. ; crested dogstail, 4 lb. ; timothy, 3 lb. ; meadow-foxtail, 1 lb. ; cow-grass, 3 lb. ; white clover, 1 lb. : total, 34 lb. per acre. Basic super at 3 cwt. per acre should be sown with the mixture. There would be great difficulty in harvesting Algerian oats and Scotch tares, especially as you- have no grain-mill in the district. In Marlborough the tares only were harvested for seed, since the oats acted more as a support for the tares than as a grain-producing crop. If you have a herd of cows, it would be a good plan to feed off the green smotheringcrop. As green feed it would be found most useful, and quite equal to the purpose of subduing the ratstail. ACUTE IRRITATION OF DOG’S FEET. R. S. Allan, Whangarei : I own a valuable collie dog, and for some months he has been suffering from sore feet. There are no actual sores on the feet, but they are in an intense state of irritation, and he is constantly gnawing and biting them, almost tearing off the pads. We have bathed them in bluestone solution, but without effect. Can your veterinary branch tell me the cause and the remedy ? The Live-stock Division : All breeds of dogs are subject to similar complaints, but breeds with much hair between the claws are more subject, the condition being usually associated

with inflammation between the claws and pads. Probably if you examine closely you will find that this is so. Often the inflammation is associated with an eczematous condition'or a cyst between the claws, and this would require surgical treatment. We would advise you first of all to clip the hair carefully between the claws and pads, and thoroughly clean and sponge out with a weak solution of lysol and warm water ; then, after everything is clean and. dry, dress once with tincture of iodine. Subsequent treatment which might be given would be to sponge or bathe with one part hydrogen peroxide and three of warm water. Do this daily, and afterwards apply a little ointment consisting of equal parts of zinc and boracic ointments. It may be necessary to make a boot out of a piece of stout calico to put on the foot, but this is likely to be torn off unless a muzzle is placed on the dog until it gets accustomed to the boot. DEVICES FOR BURNING OFF SCRUB. “ Second Growth,” Opotiki:— Could you tell me if there is any efficient article made for carrying fire for burning off second growth (manuka, fern, &c.) in a condition rather too thin to carry a fire very freely ? I often use a flax-stick dipped in kerosene, but the flame is not big enough unless the scrub is very dry and thick. The Fields Division :■ — Several home-made devices are used for setting fire to fern and other dry surface growth, and have given satisfactory results. A piece of pumice soaked in kerosene, and to which is attached a handle made of wire, is simple and effective. The lighted pumice is dragged along through the fern. Another method consists of a piece of gas-pipe with a wick of waste ; this is fed by kerosene from the pipe, the top end, held in the hand, being stopped up. In some districts a blow-lamp is favoured by settlers, and acts very efficiently.