ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Loans. — Settler states that he has purchased a small block on the instalment system, but 

 requires a loan of _2^5o or /,'6o to enable him to pay ofT balance and obtain stock. 



Answer. — Application should be made to the Inspector-General, Savings Bank, Melbourne, 

 ■who will advise whether a loan can be obtained by him. 



Foul Brood. — I.H. asks whether it is possible to tell if a brood is healthy or otherwise. 



Answer. — See article by Mr. R. Beuhne on page 664. 



Ringworm. — K.K. asks how to treat ringworm in young cattle. 



Ans7aer. — The simplest method is to paint the parts daily with a strong tincture of iodine 

 for four or five days in succession. Some other methods are quicker, but there is a danger of 

 ^he animals licking themselves and being poisoned. 



Calving. — W.F.S. states that lately he has had a lot of trouble with his cows, some of 

 them not cleaning properly until four or five days after calving. 



Answer. — Give Epsom salts i lb., powdered ergot i oz., carbonate of ammonia i oz., 

 gentian 5 oz., in a pint of warm water as a drench, and syringe out the womb daily with 

 Condy's fluid. 



Severed Artery. — Miram writes : — I have a mare the skin of whose fore leg was torn 

 from the back of the knee down to the fetlock, the artery running down the side being severed. 

 I tied it to stop the bleeding. Will the leg be affected through the artery not being connected?" 



Ansiuer. — No. Your prompt action jirobahly saved the mare's life. 



Strangles. — A.A.B. states that a 3-year-old gelding (blood) was put into the stable in 

 winter and after a little while he developed a swelling in the throat, which made him almost 

 choke after slight exertion. When turned on to the grass the swelling goes right down the jaws 

 into the lips as well as the throat, but when he is put back in the stable it almost immediately 

 becomes normal. He has been ailing three months and has wasted. 



Answer. — The gelding has had a severe and icn^tJiened attack of "strangles." The swell- 

 ing should be lanced as there is doubtless an accumulation of matter which requires to be 

 evacuated. 



Enlargement on Wither. — A.A.B. writes: — "A 4-year-old draught gelding has an enlarge- 

 ment just in front of wither. To the hand a lump, apparently movable, is noticeable." 



Anszuer. — The enlargement is probably the result of a collar nip and will develop into a 

 fistula if not attended to. It should be lanced at its lowermost edge, so as to allow free e.xit 

 -of any matter it contains, and afterwards syringed daily with solution of lysol. 



Gripes. — A.A.B. asks whether bleeding a horse in the mouth when affected with gripes is 

 recommended. 



Answer. — No, certainly not. It can do no possible good antl is dangerous. 



Contagious Abortion. — Toora writes : " Having some cows slipping their calves 

 this season, we syringed them for about a fortnight afterwards, and now we wish to know 

 whether it would be advisable to put them to the bull that we use for the other cows?" 



Answer. — If you must use the same bull have his sheath thoroughly syringed out before 

 and after each service. 



Couch Grass. — A.Z. inquires how to eradicate couch grass from a deep sandy loam, and 

 whether any chemical preparation could be used. 



Answer. — The cost of supplying any chemical in suflScient quantity to destroy couch grass 

 is quite prohibitive, and such treatment would leave the land unfit for vines or any plants except 

 a few weeds for one or more years. There are three common couch grasses Agrofyron re-pens, 

 Beauv., Agrostis vulgaris. With., and Cynodon Dactylon, L., the last-named being especially 

 common in Victoria. It grows in summer, hence during that time the ground after cleaning 

 should be kept covered with a dense leafy crop (potatoes, green fodder, &c.). Previously to that 

 as soon as the ground is fairly dry it should be well ploughed, and a heavy drag harrow run 

 over. A roller will then break most of the clods off the grass rhizomes which can then be loosened 

 further by a lijiht harrow, raked together, piled in heaps and burnt. Very bad patches should be 

 forked out before ploughing. 



Pollarding Sugar Gums. — A.N.H. inquires whether there is any period of the year when 

 sugar gums are likely to be injured by pruning or topinng. 



Answer. — Pollarding sugar gums is a risky business. It juomotes dense foliage but 

 renders the tree liable to disease and bleeding of kino. If absolutely necessary to polhvrd, it 

 should be done just before the sap rises, about the end of July or during August, according to 

 locality. 



Identification of Plants. — J.L. (Ararat) forwards some specimens of plants for identi- 

 fication. He states that local opinions vary; some call one and some the other "Centaury." 

 -One has a small pink flower, is growing among the crops, and is very bitter. Farmers call it 

 the Quinine weed. 



Answer. — The iiink flowered specimen is Erythraea australis, R.Br. " Native Centaury." 

 It belongs to the Gentian Family, and is sometimes used as a bitter tonic medicine, hence " Qui- 

 nine weed." The true Centaury plant is Erythraea Centaurium, Pers., a native of Europe and 

 Asia. The names are sometimes confused with " Century plant " (an agave) and Centaurea (one 

 -of the Thistle Family). 2. The other weed is Bartsia latifolia, Sibth., an introduced plant. It is a 

 small annual, useless as a fodder plant and should not be allowed to spread, as it damages grass 

 and reduces the grazing value of a pasture. 



Destroying Suckers. — I.H. asks what is the best way to keep down suckers from fruit 

 trees. 



Answer. — Suckers are the result of roots running too near the surface where air in the 

 soil converts some of the eyes or embryo buds into shoots instead of rootlets. The real 

 remedy is found in placing a greater depth of soil over such roots as throw suckers. This is 

 not always practicable as an entirely airless soil for all roots usually causes the tree to become 

 barren or fruit sparsely and irregularly. Further, some trees when well covered with new soil 



