ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS— co««in«e^. 



White Scour. — J.N. asks how to cure White Scour in pigs. 



Answer. — The most fruitful source of this complaint is dirty styes. The first step ia 

 curing is to provide clean dry bedding in a warm secluded spot. Give small doses of 

 castor oil to remove offending material from bowels and soothe the irritation. 



Leg Weakness. — A.L. writes : — " I am bothered through my fowls getting lame and 

 losing the use of their legs. Although the birds are onlv voung, their feet and legs are 

 scaly and lumpy. What treatment do you advise ?" 



Answer. — The causes of leg weakness are many. In some cases it is due to the birds- 

 being confined on hard ground where they have little opportunity of exercising the muscles or 

 tendons ; the toes are not able to grip the soil, consequently contraction takes place and they 

 gj down. In other cases it is largely the result of in-breeding. One of the first symptoms 

 of close breeding is that described by you in your letter; again, artificially hatched cliickens 

 and those kept in boarded floor brooders give rise to leg trouble. It is also a complaint that 

 is hereditaxy, therefore avoid breeding from fowls with leg troubles. High perches and allow- 

 ing birds to roost in trees will bring on the complaint in question. Perches should be kept low 

 — 20 inches onlv from ground. Fowls are also subject to rheumatism and gout. The trouble 

 begins with spasmodic jerking of the legs, and is followed by lameness, indispos.tion to remain 

 standing, painful joints", and swelling in the leg proper just above the feet; so bad does this 

 portion of the leg become that its appearance may be likened to dropsy, a pus exudates in 

 extreme cases and death of the bone occurs. Another great fault in feeding young chicks is 

 in omitting to add dry bone meal to the daily ration — foods lacking in phosphates or bone 

 forming material bring about weak joints. Alwnys add a good handful of dry bone m^al to 

 the ration. Scaly leg is a mite which gets on the legs, works its way in uncler the scales and 

 multiplies rapidly. Thus it comes about that the unsightly scaly leg is seen on almost every 

 farm. The remedv "is : — Use plenty of soap and warm water, scrub the legs well, pick off 

 the worst parts of the crust, and afterwards hold the legs in kerosene. The scaly mite attacks 

 voung chicks and adults. Your land requires resting ; plough it and put in a crop of barley, 

 peas, or anv useful fodder crop, and the ground will be sweetened by the time you commence 

 Ijreeding operations. 



Mastication. — J.C.A. writes : — " How is it that grain, maize for instance, escapes mas- 

 tication when the cows chew the cud, and passes through whole?" 



Answer. — The first stage of mastication m the cow is very imperfect, the food being 

 swallowed with very little chewing. Some of the grains may then pass with the fluid por- 

 tion of the food into the third and fourth stomach, not going into the rumen at all, and so 

 missino- the maceration in that organ so essential for hard foods, and also the mastication 

 u])0n " chewing the cud." The digestive juices of the true stomach and intestines not being 

 powerful enough during the short time they are in contact to dissolve the hard grain, it passes 

 through whole. f 



Thickenin^ of Milk. — Subscriber asks what is the cause of new milk going thick in 

 cool weather within an hour after milking. 



Ansiuer. — It is caused bv an organism which grows rapidly and produces the change. 

 To check it, the milking shed should be thoroughlv cleansed ; limewash the shed, adding 

 I lb. carbolic acid to each bucket of limewash. Also cleanse the dairy ; scrub well with wasn- 

 ing soda solution, and pa) extra attention lo scalding all utensils. The administration of 

 Mpsom salts, i lb. in a fpiart of water, to the cow will also assist in removing contamination 

 from that source. 



Service of Heifer. — A.E.S. writes : — " I have a heifer, now 18 months old, that 

 commenced bulling when very voung. She has been served on four different occasions by a 

 younw but vigorous bull, but' has not held. Another bull, 3 years old, has been tried with 

 the slime result. What is the remedy? The heifer is in good' condition." 



Answer. — Wash the external organs and syringe out vagina with a solution of per- 

 chloride of mercurv — 1 part in 2,000 of warm water — on two or three occasions a few days 

 before service. If not successful, have an examination made by a professional man. 



Son. -EATING Horse. — CR. asks what is the cause of a horse eating soil and licking the 

 earth. The horse in question has a lump of rock salt in his feed-box. 



Answer. — Depraved appetfte is the result of worms in the intestines and indigestion, 

 f'rive two or three bran mashes, and on the following morning before feeding give i pint raw 

 linseed oil. Then twice a day in the damp feed give sulj)hate of iron 2 drs., sulphate of 

 copper i dr., bi-carbonate of potash ^ oz., ginger ^ oz. After six days of such treatment give 

 another dose of oil. If continued, a little ground bone in the feed occasionally may assist 

 in checking the habit. 



Lamb-raising. — J.C-W. writes : — " I have just purchased a small property and intend to 

 utilise it solely for the raising of fat lambs. I am a newcomer to Victoria so desire to ask 

 vour advice on several points. The land is in a rough state, owing to neglect, and is covered 

 with fallen dead timber (no suckers or ferns). It is impossible to get it cleared and ploughed 

 in time for fodder crops, such as rape, so my present intention is to thoroughly 'pick up' a 

 sheltered grass paddock on a slope, shut it up anrl give it every chance to benefit by any 

 autumn growth, and later on use it as a topping paddock. Would it be advisable (i) to harrow- 

 it after the first rains? (2) To top dress with any manure? (3) To turn over with a spade 

 some of the ash heaps where the timber has been burnt and sow rape seed ? " 



Answer. — (i) Yesj give the land a cross harrowing after the first rains. Sow a mixture of 

 cow grass and white clover broadcast prior to the harrowing. If you propose to break this 

 paddock up next season, it is not advisable to sow cocksfoot or rye. (2) The most serviceable 

 mixture we have ascertained by our experimental grass plots is i cwt. per acre of mixed bone- 

 dust and superphosphate in equal quantities. (3) Do not try to sow rape on the ash heaps,, 

 clover would do better on account of the lime. 



