406 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [June 2, 1920. 



The Rugging of Dairy Cattle. 



TuK practice of rugging dairy cattle during the Avinter time has long been 

 followed by a few farmers on the South Coast, but latterly there has been a 

 considerable extension in the number of those who do it, more particularly 

 on the tfiblelands where, without it, the milking season is limited to six or 

 seven months of the year. Those who do it consistently are unanimous in 

 testifying that it improves the general condition of the animals and main- 

 tains the milk flow in a very important degree. In a season like the present, 

 when the winter has come in early and prices for feed are so high that 

 it is imperative to adopt every expedient that will make the maximum use of 

 every ton of fodder, the question of the use of rugs is one that is worth 

 consideration. 



One wasteful practice in particular arrests attention in this connection — 

 that of putting a rug on a cow at the beginning of winter and allowing it to 

 remain there for several months. The cow derives no advantage from 

 rugging under such conditions. She swelters under it during the warm hours 

 of the day, and her natural resistence to cold is reduced, so that she is more 

 liable to its effects at night. Under the cover her coat becomes finer and her 

 skin unhealthy and itchy, and sometimes even harbours lice. She is actually 

 penalised by her rug during the day, and she dei'ives little or no advantage 

 from it at night. The life of the rug, too, suffers by this treatment, for it is 

 continually in use, and the irritated animal, rubbing herself in it, soon wears 

 it out. • 



On the other hand, if the cover is removed during the day, the coat thickens 

 up under the cooler temperatures of the winter weather, and the cow feels 

 the full advantage of it wh<:;n it is put on in the evening. The skin, too, is 

 kept clean, for the cow is able to scratch and lick herself during the day, and 

 the rug, being hung up for a few hours, dries off and sweetens, and any 

 necessary repairs can be effected before the damage becomes too extensive. 



Rugging is a practice of solid value, but, like many other things, it requires 

 to be done properly to yield its full profit. — J. A. Ro'bertson, Herdmasf^r. 



Ants in a Bee- hive. 



Although the little black ants rarely disturb a colony of bees to any extent, 

 it would be as well to have them removed if they are inside the hive. The 

 ants should be brushed out, the hive set up on pegs, and a tarred rag wound 

 round each peg to prevent their re-entry. For the destruction of these ants 

 in their nests when on the ground, mix 1 oz. of borax and | lb. sugar boiled 

 for three minutes in sufficient water to produce the consistency of thin 

 honey. This mixtui-e can be phuied anywhere in the track of the ants and 

 they will generally disappear, as it acts as a poison to the young. The bees 

 will not take the mixture, owing to it being repellent to their taste. — 

 \V. A. GooDACRE, Senior Apiary Inspector. 



A North Coast correspondent writes : " I wish to thank the Department 

 for their valuable Gazette. I have derived great benefit in a hundred 

 tlifforent ways by reading and practising what the Gazette teaches, and I look 

 forward to it every month." 



