Aug. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 559 



further discussed at this place under the circumstances. Here is valuable 

 work which could profitably employ the attention of a number of our 

 young veterinary graduates. 



B.^ — Dairy Stock. 



Pear for Milk Production. — Dr. Griffiths remarks, in U.S. Bulletin 

 No. 74, p. 20, as follows: — 



It is universally recognised throughout the pear region of south-western 

 Texas that the plant has a decided tendency to increase the how of milk. In 

 spite of the fact that the average ranch feeder claims that pear is of little 

 or no value in the summer, there are hundreds of people who feed more or 

 less definite quantities of this plant from one year's end to another. It is 

 always used as a supplementary ration. Pear alone has not been fed to a 

 great extent, for it is recognised that it is properly a supplementary ration 

 to a more concentrated feed. Mr. John Bowles, near i^agle Pass, has fed 

 pear, with hay and bran, to a milch cow for the past three years, and would 

 not think of discontinuing the practice. Some dairymen in the small towns 

 where pear is accessible feed it regularly, and nearly all of the Mexican 

 families who keep a cow in town depend upon this as their mainstay. 



One example of very successful feeding, where somewhat definite data were 

 obtainable, came under the observation of the writer, and might be cited 

 here. Mr. Albert Ingle, of Eagle Pass, Texas, keeps one Jersey cow to supply 

 milk and butter for family use. The cow has the run of tlie commons about 

 town, but the pasturage is very short the greater part of the time. In 

 addition to what she can pick up in this way she is fed 3 quarts of bran, 1 

 quart of cotton-seed meal, and all. the singed and chopped pear she will eat. 

 Mr. Ingle was feeding when his place was visited. The quantity chopped that 

 morning, he stated, was an average one, and weighed 35 lb., which amount 

 was fed twice each day. The cow at the time was raising a calf and furnishing 

 milk for the family, and was in good milking condition. This shows that the 

 amofint of pear fed was large. The ration each day was 6 quarts of bran, 

 2 quarts of cotton-seed meal, 70 lb. of chopped pear, and what the animal 

 was able to pick up on very short range. This ration is kept up during the 

 year, except when the mesquite beans are abundant, when no pear is fed. 



Other definite testimonies are quoted in the Bulletin. 



Some Dairy Rations that include Pear. — This is dealt with at p. 22 of 

 U.S. Bulletin No. 74, and the evidence is so important, and has such a direct 

 application to Australia, that I give Dr. Griffiths' statements in full: — 



The practice of feeding dairy cows upon a partial ration of pear is very 

 common — indeed, general — in the entire region of the lower Rio Grande, and 

 as far north as San Antonio, Texas. The necessity for feeding this plant 

 depends upon the condition of the seasons. When the winter rains are 

 abundant and green feed is plentiful, no pear to speak of is fed ; but during 

 a dry winter it is resorted to as the most economical method of supplying the 

 succulence so essential to the maintenance of a good flow of milk. The amount 

 fed depends largely upon the quantity of pear available and the labour at 

 hand for handling it. In some cases which have come under the writer's 

 direct observation the pe-ar has been hauled 6 miles to feed to daily cattle, 

 and it is as much prized by many dairymen as any other part of their feed 

 stuffs. 



Mr. J. W. Statcher feeds 100 dairy cows regularly for three or four months 

 during the winter. The feeding begins when the leaves fall off the brush in 

 the autumn, and continues until they appear again in the spring. The ration 

 for a cow is about as follows : —Cotton-seed meal, 2 lb. ; cotton-seed hulls, 8 lb. ; 

 bran of wheat or rioe, 1 gallon ; singed pear, 40 lb. ; the run of brush pasture. 



Mr. J. G. Hagenson's practice does not differ materially from that of 

 Mr. Statcher. Having no pear, however, he buys it at 25 cents per load, a 

 load consisting of about 2,000 lb. His cattle get a ration approximately as 

 follows :■ — Bran, 9 lb. ; cotton-seed hulls, 10 lb. ; singed pear, 30 to 40 lb. ; the 

 run of dry brush pasture. 



In order to secure a better idea of the practices in vogue for feeding pear 

 in the vicinity of San Antonio than time for personal inquiry would warrant, 

 a circular letter was addressed to several dairymen. The following questions 



