152 Journal of Agriculture. [10 March, 1909. 



DISEASES OF FARM ANIMALS. 



5. S. Cameron, M .R.C.V .S., Chief Veterinary Officer. 



POISONINGS. 



{Continued from page iio.) 



FORAGE POISONING. 



" Staggers " or Forage Poisoning in Horses. 



The subject of " Forage Poisoning" also known as " Stomach Stag- 

 gers " was dealt with at length in the Journal for April, 1907. 



Sorghun] Poisoqirig. 



An article on "Sorghum Poisoning" appeared in the March, 1908, 

 issue of the Journal. 



Eqsilage Poisoqiqg. 



Ensilage is not a suitably food for working horses. Its nutritive ratio 

 is usually too " wide"; that is, for its bulk it contains too little nutri- 

 ment and consequently horses to be sustained on it alone need more than their 

 small single stomach is able to contain or digest properly. But it is seldom 

 a cause of sudden mortality in horses fed 00 it unless it has been impro- 

 perly made or has become deteriorated by toO' long exposure to air after 

 being opened up. Some years ago the deaths of a number of horses in 

 the St. Arnaud district of Victoria were attributed to poisoning by ensilage 

 that had become mouldy ; and a somewhat extensive series of fatalities 

 occurred in Coonong in New South Wales as a result apparently of feeding 

 on decomposing ensilage. In this latter case the horses had apparently 

 become weakened and debilitated by being fed on ensilage for six months 

 before the fatalities commenced. In this connexion the follovving extracts 

 from a report by Mr. Ed. Stanley, F.R.C.V.S., late Government Veteri- 

 narian of New South Wales, on the Coonong' cases is interesting and 

 informative. He says : — 



" For the last six months the station and working horses have been fed 

 entirely on ensilage, and are said to have put on fat for the first few- 

 weeks, while they were idle. At that time they were having a spell. 

 When put to work thev were soft, and soon lost their condition. 



About the middle of June a second silo was opened. This contained 

 about 100 tons of wheaten hay, cut while green and with grain in the ears, 

 grown on 130 acres in the swamp paddock. This paddock was flooded 

 early in September, when the crop was yellow from drought and about 

 6 inches high. It grew rapidly until cut, and was not noticed to ha\e 

 been other than healthy. No one remarked rust or blight of any kind. 

 but such a condition may or may not have existed. 



The ensilage appeared to be good ; but the horses were remarked to be 

 sluggish and spiritless. Thev sweated a good deal while at work, and all 

 got thin. Some had diarrhoea. These matters were not heeded at the 

 time, beyond the manager thinking that the work was reducing the animals. 

 The manager gave a few oats with the ensilage to the horses engaged in 

 tank sinking. The silo pit being 2 miles from the station, and 3^ 

 miles from the tank work, necessitated a three or four davs' supplv being 

 fetched from the silo twice a week (instead of being fresh every day, as 



