Sep. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 647 



necessitate the purchase of all needful tools or apparatus. If this were done 

 little by little during a period when forage was normally abundant, the 

 expense and labour would hardly be felt, and the stock would gradually acquire 

 the habit and learn to like the feed. Then, when the drought came, there 

 would be little change in the whole procedure except an increase in the amount 

 of cactus fed. A small amount of prickly pear is said to be good for young 

 stock for toning them up, especially if they have been on dry feed for a long 

 time". Thus, by a small outlay for tools and a little work, the stockman 

 would be able to turn to good use that which is now considered useless and 

 more or less of a nuisance. 



Summary as to Pear Feeding. 



It will be useful at this place to give the greater portion of the summary 

 of evidence in regard to pear feeding in the United States, to be found 

 at p. 43 of U.S. Bulletin No. 74 (1905). It will be found most valuable. 

 The farmers of south-w'esteni Texas have no doubt as to the value of 

 prickly pear as cattle-feed, and they go so far as to give a warning lest the 

 feeding operations should proceed so far as to endanger the permanence 

 of the pear. We in Australia have not got to the stage when we can 

 display anxiety on this point, and to what extent this is because of our 

 sparser population as compared with that of Texas I do not know. At all 

 events, I do not think I can be accused of raising undue hopes when I ask 

 whether our landowners in pear country are developing the feeding of pear 

 io stock to the extent that they might. But the matter is wrapped up in 

 the fact that Australian farmers must see that they get the best machines 

 nnd other appliances to work the i)ear. The problem is quite difficult 

 ^enough without taking avoidable chances. 



Data secured from popular sources appear to warrant the following con- 

 elusions, many of which are reservedly stated; it is hoped they can be 

 experimentally verified in the near future: — 



Prickly pear, although poor in nutritive quality, can be fed to decided 

 advantage under several conditions and for several purposes: — (1) To save 

 cattle during a prolonged drought, when other more nutritious feed is scarce. 

 (2) To fatten cattle, when employed as a. roughage with more concentrated 

 feed. (3) AYhen fed with more concentrated foods and some hay or pasture, 

 it is a valuable accessory to the daily ration ; it supplies succulence which 

 it is difficult to secure in semi-arid regions in a large part of the year. (4) 

 Oxen can be worked on a ration consisting very largely of pear for an indefinite 

 period. 



A full-grown steer fed on pear alone will consume from 125 to 200 lb. daily. 

 Mature steers, accustomed to a pear diet, can live in a pear pasture a long 

 time without water. Oxen worked on pear drink water two or three times a 

 week in summer and once a week in winter. 



A good milk ration of pear, with plenty of other nutritious feed, will consist 

 of from 40 to 70 lb. of pear for each animal a day. 



Pear, fed whole, especially when stock has little else to eat, is likely to form 

 fibre balls and kill a small percentage of cattle during prolonged feeding. 



Pear, when burned, scours cattle much worse than when it is simply scorched 

 enough to take the thorns off. 



Prickly pear may be fed in a variety of ways: — (1) Cattle accustomed to 

 pear eat' more or less of it during the entire year, whether there is plenty 

 of other feed or not, and with no preparation. (2) The thorns may be 

 scorched off with brush. (3) The thorns may be scorched off with a gasoline 

 torch — a modified plumber's torch. (4) The edges of the joints may be trimmed 

 off with a machete (a Mexican knife), when stock, especially sheep and goats, 

 gain access to the pulpy mass at an advantage. (5) The plants may be piled 



