The Farm.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 461, 10 February 1882, Page 23

The Farm.

*fttE.DiSEABKS.— In the lower animals disease of the eye and the appendage do not form a separate medical chapter, or engage the atten>l^:>f specialists who devote themselves to the study of the cause*, na .- U ?V nd CUre or relief of the numerous disorders and defects to which the organ of vision is liable. With our present knowledge of the subject, we should be disposed to explain this circumstance by referring to the fact that Ihere are few diseases, and those of a comparatively simple character, which are recognised by veterinarians as tnl^ B^ c?? 8 . 0 * domesticated animals. How far it might be possible £,?^np*f th ? aff _ ect t ions of the eyes of horses* cattle, sheep, i™ n ;. lf we were m the habit of employing the improved means f, b S wbl « h «? constantly in use by the occulist, is a ques£?J? » °?? b « sat u ls { a ctorily answered by experience but there di£S«FS nd *« the belief that something might be done in this ™ ° n f "collect that the horse, whose eyes are a special fSl »li tv Sollcl f tat i° + D ' 18 credi *ed with more diseases of those organs S*. ™i if re -!t °? *Sf ammals on tbe farm Pa* together. Among S?h3mS V° ° bse / vation of tb « eye in health and disease, thi £\T Pe v,w" dß fi^ st ' and tbose few veterinarians who have {Sw^L ♦ e **°- aCqU i ie l he art of usiD S jt in tbe examination of r^L/-% entert fv Ilno 1 . doubfcof "s value; but the instrument has Sd?«™« an , y - thin p g i- lke general »se, and therefore no important S«-~nnl n 6 J l6t ° f dl i eaSes of the eve bave Jet been made through oLl g t^'fr. Ordl ° a^ of the mucous membrane which SS^mm *° ftf tb * c ,- eve andlin es the inside of the eyelids is the fh™«,S ?% % + r - m °- f dl - sease of tbe or e an in all a nimals ; and alSnf S^ °? 1S S3mp . le in its nature - {t g iv es rise to a great iS Ifrn S^SF mco » vp . nle nce, owing to the extreme sensibility of JmnK os?^ i - en Buffer ! n 8 from inflammation. Conjunctivitis or asSted mia mSy an ?5 from Beveral causes ' Xt is > for example, SJ? ? ommon cold and influenza. A slight blow, even the a *£* °f a twi S wbe n the horse is being ridden or driven, may set SIt^SSS am^ Dt ° f ? rritation - Particles of dust may be accidenotL*£mi Gye m SUch a position tbat tbe movements of the SffiSl^ excesß l v e secretion of tears which will be caused fail Krnnlnrff ' an . d mflam mation of the membrane is the result. Sd P °Wf to rtbeßunr tbeBun ; BB r a3a 3's J especially if the soil is bare of pasture, mation o& f flects b otb neat and light, is another cause of inflam^ ZS^w f B>W i lchbaßDot g enerall y be en estimated as of so JSSSnSS I 6I 6 a ? tb «. more common cause ;it nevertheless deserves JS^mS. tw^M dltlon Of Clater ' 8 " Cattle doctor," Mr. Annan g thS« fi lt ftf th y. 6 SUmmer 1868 ' wbich was an Indian summe r SmfSi S« L ?^ heal i nume rous animals in various parts of the n^SSIZV? fl £ ed W i th inflam mation of the structures of the eye, JSS™ wf l Q GC l lOn f f bb m m \ at from tbe torched grounds in which the Z thlflZZ Pastured. This cause of disease of the eyes of animals ?nd£S rt Jj* 8 D 0 ° perate in tbis to any great extent; fluenop's ?J Ca T 8 ' Cold and wet ' exercis c tbe « deleterious in^ S jj 8 ft r . . more frequently. From the circumstance that the KS2 ™l^ ,f yes are sensitive to the action of the several causes remarkabll tS »T r*™ m / n t ioned . i 4 would appear to be somewhat JKI 1 fc aS . ectl ? ns of the eyes are not more common among tff ?nf T£° »« xnentably exposed to such influences. Inflammaattended w?th w^ mne u°i the front of tbe e y e (conjunctiva) is ?ilh? whil h n r m .t rked . B y m Ptom B . First their is intolerance of Sd S» ?Ceß the animal to kee P the eyelids closed, or nearly Station^ Ye 6 r re fl tion Of tears is anotber of the not be lU£* JJ BB v the *i? v V i is P roduc ed so abundantly that it canSS.,™ #? b-Ivtheb -Iv the lac nrymal duct, a considerable overflow Stiva the establi shment of inflammation in the coniecomes'clouded"l^ ? ****?«* bod y i" the front of the eye, aSf i« wf '2 d fina ly quite °P a( l ue ' and as a consequence the suSdes a/S tl red ?? m P° raril y b «nd. The opacity in most cases iSSSbEfcSd^F^ haß Ceased 5 but, if the structure of hSni T an Opaque Bpot or line wiU remain as a E?v SmS m + V Zt does not ' however, follow that a limited o"n?v tt ld^ nte rfere with the animal's visual powers. This will r^vs of KTn w BP °^ is so placed tbat it interferes withithe mliinn «ML beir tfaDßltt f aDBlt tbrou g h the P«pi»ary opening. Inflamsheeo which Lf ] T tlV - a ? Ccura in som « seasons among cattle and and P a ,Z™ f edl ?u g ln low dam P situations, especially in spring oWitvof oAr, " nn ß. th ,f .Prevalence of wet with cold winds. Thl which attrao?,m a 1S - tbe result of tbe di «ease is the symptom Tometime SSo. o 8 at t<*tion ; and when the affection assumes, as it SSSSt^^M^ 0^ 0 form ' commonly termed "blinds." cause 3K amon^ animals at a time wbe n no special to th* At^W i deteCted bas led to tbe tbeor y the disease is due ovumiXf f Va^?u y ° f adfly ' which ifc is supposed deposits its •Sfc Lrnnn/r h^ f c CoTnea ' and thus causes excessive irritation. eveTnth?p d rW ♦ '^ the ory is furnished by the appearance of the most mScS !« R Ege . the diseaße ' when tbe °P acit y is Been to be Ter the wholp J entre * ° f the lobe ' from wbi ° h P oinfc ifc denned so +hit^ • ** f^ 06 ' At first tbe B P ot is Bm all and well bfapuCture snoh difficult to imagine that it might be caused S a K23ni W °- Uld be P roduce d by the ovi Jositor of the sJhine aJSSnI Cr ° Boop J c . researcb bas not y et succeeded in estabS?& a ?ff£5 more r po ? tiTe as t0 the preßence of an ovum or a °y when it kfo & "/' /.f atme nt of simple ophthalmia is easy enough rr P izootic itiJ ? a l^ PP f d tO a | ew anima ls; but when the disease is <SoE iw Imost impossible to deal with each case separately. treatmfnTin aH f ast^ nn f ent lot ions form the basis of curative S staH Swf ito Wbacb Bpecial remedies can be applied. A toeast fit The wll ?r? U im P ortant thin g to be attended to in all extremely sensiSf the f or e ans »™ naturally, in the circumstances, sheen aX ?K a + E Btimulus - When large numbers of cattle or

be selected for more special treatment, commencing with a dose o !riS BYB V .h. h l eoDßtaat use for a few da y 8 of some mild StSf^l ° ito b f ap , plied means of a 60f * sponge to the diseased parts A weak solution of sulphate of zinc, two grains to an ounce of water, answers extremely, well for a lotion. In very bad £f Mi™! neceßßar y to use at once a solution of nitrate of silver, it »?S ? a ,V UnCe °1 dlstilled water - Tbss stron g Motion should « .3?™! £• 7 ° Ve V he °,pa<s, pa<s < ue Burface of the corn ea by means of «,? niSJSJ £ Wr P ! enCll i a °i may be re P eated time to time until ™LT+ 7 f cleared off Care should be taken in using this »™ flJ 1 * ° nly t0 those parts of the eve wher e the disease is mSi.-&r uch *■ possibie contact with tbe heaithy

«,* SEXS EX F / EE ° INQ r Ir l Am erica, Indian corn is much used as the ordinary feeding for horses, and appears to agree with them. £n,XJ 6 £ y and u to^. h - an <* having much silica in the skin, it requires breaking or bruising to save the horses' teeth, and to make it more easily acted upon in the animal's stomach. For the earae T^f°^f\ can before being given, be soaked in hot or boiling water for a couple of hours, it is better relished and goes farther. It S?tvt • P / en^ «^ ing ' and mixed with an e< l ual quantity of Zl 11a- aDd ?5 a ? ed^ traw t0 horses en^ ed °" road work, but such feeding would hardly suit horses employed for fast work. In New York, on the tramlines, the horses are fed on Indian corn, hay, and Indian meal. The meal is wetted and mixed with the chaffed hay, a little salt being added. ludian com does not keep up the strength for hard work so well as oats, but from its fattening qualities & a?£n 7 c ? nd £ on ; , In _ «*> country and climate it should not be given by itself, but should have oats mixed with it. We have remarked that in making mixtures of feeding-stuffs those which are rich in flesh-forming materials should be mixed with such as are rich m fat-forming substance. We should have added that foods possessing ■a laxative tendency should have this corrected by mixing them with those of an astringent nature. Thus, it would not bl advisable to mix malt and linseed cake, as they are both of a laxative tendency. *or the same reason feeding at the same time with grains and turnips is not to be recommended. A good mixture would be linseed cake and bean meal, or Indian meal and pea meal, or decorticated cottorcake and palm-nut meal. For finishing off beasts and pigs and hardening their flesh nothing could be better than a mixture of barley meal and pea meal. A pig finished off on this mixture boiled, will have solid, well-flavoured flesh that will not shrink in the boiling and will take the the salt rapidly. As far as beana and bean meal are concerned, they are excellent for heavily worked horses, possessing, as they do, much muscle or flesh-forming matter the beans, of course, being split and mixed with twice their weight of oats and some chaffed straw. The principal use of the chaffed straw is to make the animal chew his food well and prevent hin from bolting it. Dairymen use distillery and brewery dregs or wash. When given in modeiation this is a good food for milch cows, producing a great flow of milk. There is generally in it about 76 per cent, of water and about 21 per cent, of organic matter, not all, but mostly digestible. If, however, wash is given in too large proportion it renders the cows liabl ca variety of diseases. The same may be said of brewers grain These are less objectionable, more portable, and more easily stoi d and preserved in the form of desiccated grains, m which form most of the moisture is driven off. Of course desiccated grains are a more concentrated feeding than the ordinary grains. 101 bor 151 bof desiccated grains damped may be given to milch cows. They may also be used in feeding horses, shlep, and pigs, and when mixed with other feeding agree well with all stock. A very useful article of food during winter, for horses and milch cows especially, is furze. In the North of Ireland this plant is called whins, and m some partß of England gorse. Furze may be specially cultivated in order to serve during a part of the year when no other green food in sufficient quantity is to be had as green food for stock. Whereever the ground is sandy and dry, and too poor for most other crops, furze may with advantage be so treated. In fact there is no winter feeding that so much enriches the milk of cows or promotes a better flow ; and although furze is rather heating for horses, this is often an advantage during winter. It is the young shoots that are used tor feeding, and these are either passed a couple of times first through a chaff-cutter, or, better still, through a machine constructed for the purpose, and called a furze bruiser. The old practice was to pound the furze with a hammer or stamper, but this caused great waste of time and labour. Horses fed on furze with a little oats, through the winter, always have fine coats of hair, which shows that the feeding agrees with them. Many people are not aware of the value of good straw for feeding, imagining that it is only fit for litter, thatching, and such like. But oaten straw, when the corn has been cut before it was dead ripe, does not fall short of ordinary hay in feeding value. When the gram is suffered to become quit* ripe or over ripe, which is bad management, the straw deteriorates in value. In good oaten straw there is over thirty per cent, of digestible woody fibre and 11 of sugar, mucilage, Lc. If the straw is fine in growth, and prepared with the chaffing machine, we should prefer it to inferior or badly saved hay. The best way to use straw is, after having passed it through the chaffing-machine, to mix it with some soft or moist feeding, whose moisture it will soak up, such as pulp roots, cakes, or meal, made into gruel or mucilage, wash, or grain food. Used in this way chaffed straw economises the rest of the feeding, besides adding much to its nutritive value. Straw is also useful for mixing in the rick with newly made hay, which it preserves from heating, and of which it absorbs much of the moisture. Besides the ordinary foods we have mentioned there are a number of compounds in the market which go under the name of condimental food. Some of these are wholesome and nutritious ; others not ; but they are all sold at a considerable pront when the prices of the ingredients are taken iuto consideration. We do not wish to decide the question whether it would be cheaper for the farmer to purchase the ingredients and mix them himself in the case of the best condimental foods, but in that of the injurious ones it would be best for him not to try any experiments with them.— Dubhn Freeman ."•'*'