II April, 1910.] Answers to Correspondents. 227 



Growth of Hair in Mane and Tail.- — -W.C. inquires as to best means of 

 improving the growth of hair in the mane and tail of a stallion. 



Answer. — A mixture of castor oil and methylated spirits in equal parts, well 

 rubbed into the roots of the hair, will be found useful. 



Blackleg. — R.R. writes, '' Recently, one of my calves seemed to go suddenly 

 mad, tearing around the yard and running against the fences. This lasted for only 

 a few minutes when it dropped down in severe convulsions and died in a few 

 seconds. Another calf has died in exactly the same way to-day. I opened the last 

 one. All organs seemed healthy, except one kidney, which was very much enlarged 

 and congested and nearly black. The intestines were much distended with wind. 

 In the event of others taking bad, can anAthing be done for them?" 



Answer. — The symptoms as stated are not inconsistent with Blackleg. The 

 convulsions and death may, however^ have resulted from the presence of indigestible 

 material in the stomachs or intestines. Treatment is of little avail when death 

 supervenes so suddenly, but if time permits a laxative dose of castor oil should be 

 given, four to six ounces according to age. 



Death of Ponv. — W.K. inquires as to cause of death of pony. In the 

 morning, the pony was as usual fed on chaff, and afterwards he had a drink of 

 water. He was then driven 24 miles, being seven hours in harness before taking bad. 

 When the harness was removed, the pony laid down, and although given purgatives, 

 died on the following day. When opened, there was a little iutlammation and 

 a certain amount of bots, but not enough to cause death. The intestines were full 

 of wind and water. 



Ansiuer. — The cause of death would be impaction colic induced by watering 

 after feeding and then driving a journey. A horse should be watered before feed- 

 ing, and such conditions would then be rare. 



Ploughing in Stlbble. — W.M. asks whether land is more benefited by burning 

 off the stubble or by ploughing it in. 



Answer. — Ploughing in is recommended. When stubble is burnt off it is 

 practically lost from a manurial point of view, with the exception of a small 

 percentage of ash. On the other hand, if ploughed in, the dead vegetable matter 

 of the stubble becomes exposed to the moisture and warmth in the soil and breaks 

 down to a form called humus, the factor making for soil fertility. 



Lucerne Growing. — N.S.W. is anxious to put in 200 acres of lucerne, and 

 would like to know whether it is advisable to sow in new ground. The latter has 

 never been ploughed, and is a light loam with a clay subsoil. 



Answer. — Preparation of seed bed plays an important part in the successful 

 growing of lucerne. This cannot be too strongly emphasized. If possible, a 

 paddock should be selected with a sufficient slope to effect thorough surface 

 drainage and sufficiently open or porous to provide good under-drainage. Roots 

 will not thrive in a water-soaked soil or in soil with the water level only a few 

 feet from the surface. It is always advisable to sow lucerne seed in ground that 

 has been previouslv well tilled, is free from weeds, and is in good tilth. Write to 

 the Secretary, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Melbourne, for a copy 

 of the bulletin on " Irrigation of Lucerne " recently issued by the Commission. 



Rape Cultivation. — W.T. desires information concerning the cultivation of 

 rape. 



Answer. — Rape is generally successful if sown in time to benefit bv the first 

 autumn rains. It mav be fed down from Mav till August. For sheep feeding, sow ^ lb. 

 of mustard seed with 4 lbs. of rape per acre. The mustard minimises scouring of 

 lambs. The easiest manner in which to sow the crop is to mix it with 60 lbs. of 

 superphosphate per acre and sow through the manure box of an ordinarv grain 

 drill. 



Liming of Land. — W'.S.B. asks a series of questions relative to the liming 

 of iand. 



Answer. — (i) 5 cwt. of quicklime per acre would not be considered excessive. 



(2) It would not be a sufficient quantity to injure the micro-organisms of the soil. 



(3) From three to four weeks, according to the weather, should elapse before sowing 

 seed. (4) Koo-wee-rup soils are very poor in lime. (5) Gypsum would not give 

 better results than the caustic form on land which has hardlv lost the effects of 

 swamp conditions. 



Onion Seed. — W.H. asks how to harvest onion seed. 



Answer. — The seed heads are allowed to remain on the plant until they 

 are thoroughly dry. They are then cut down and the seed is lightly threshed 

 out. The "chaff'" and portions of the seed vessels are then easilv blown or win- 

 nowed away from the seed. 



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