174 



THE GAKUEiN AND FIELD. 



September, 1913 



Artichokes for Pig-Feeding. 



Artichokes are verj- similar in 

 composition to potatoes, but are 

 slij^htly richer in protein and fat. 

 Mr. R. T. Archer, Senior Dairy 

 Inspector of Victoria, in an article 

 on the pifi^ industry of that State, 

 says that 30!!). of artichokes will 

 produce llt^. of pork, which at 4d. 

 a lb. amounts at average crop 

 rates to practically jCio per acre. 

 Potatoes, says the same writer, 

 have been proved to be valuable 

 as a food for the production of 

 pork when fed in combination with 

 grain, and m">re esnecially with the 

 addition of .skim .milk or whey, the 

 most satisfactory proportion of all 

 being T Hi. grain to 3 l^'s. skim 

 milk and 3 lbs. of potatoes. Four 

 lbs. of potatoes or of artichokes 

 a're equal to i R>. of grain in feed- 

 ing value. 



Of the culture of artichokes, Mr. 

 Potts, Principal of Plawkesbury 

 College, writes :— " This is a flow- 

 ering perennial ])lant which has in 

 the past been overlooked as a valu- 

 able food for Tiigs. It grows from 

 6 to 9 feet high, and, when in 

 bloom, seen Prom a distance the 

 crop looks like one of miniature 

 sunflowers. The stalks are fre- 

 quently used for feeding sheep, or 

 conversion into silage, and the 

 tubers afford a palatable and suc- 

 culent food for pigs. The plant is 

 very persistent in growth, and if 

 raised in suitable soil is difficult 

 to eradicate. Enough tubers, as 

 a rule, are left each year to con- 

 tinue the crop, hence it is wise to 

 set apart a perm.anent paddock for 

 it, or the odd corners of a farm 

 or waste places of little value for 

 other crops may be used for grow- 

 ing artichokes. 



The plant is extremely hardy ; it 

 resists frost and drought. Whilst 



WHAT TEA Ck 



are 1^ 



YOU I 



Drinking. 

 For Quality YOU can't Beat 



AMLUCKIE TEA. 



H. H. MANSFIELD, 



Dnley Road & Culvert St., Unley City 



the best crops are raised on good 

 mellow loains, profitable yields are 

 secured on stiff clay lands, light 

 sandy or gravelly soils. 



Thetland is best suited where the 

 drainage is good ; in fact, any 

 soil suitable for potatoes will an- 

 swer for artichokes. It is a crop 

 that requires little attention when 

 it is established. The soil needs 

 thorough cuftivation. It shoxild be 

 deeply ploughed about May or 

 .lune. During the winter it mav 

 be harrowed occasionally, lightlv 

 re-nloughed about September, atid 

 well manured. The tubers are then 

 planted bv dropping thpm into fur- 

 rows 3 feet apart with a soace 2 

 feet between the tubers. If the 

 sets are small, plant whole, while 

 larp^e ones m.av be cut. Cover by 

 turning a furrow over them. About 

 4 cwt. of tubers will plant an acre. 

 The crop matures in five months. 

 Should rain fall immediately after 

 planting-, the harrow may be run 

 over the land to fine the surface. 

 It checks evaporation, destroys 

 weeds, and will not iniure the 

 crop. Later on the cultivator 

 should be kept moving between the 

 rows about once a month. 



When the crop flowers and the 

 tops droop and die, about April or 

 May, it is. ready for harvesting. 

 The average yield will be from 7 

 to 8 tons per acre. 



Two varieties have been tested 

 here, and gave the folio win? re- 

 sults :— Jerusalem, White 9 tons 1 

 cwt. per acre ; .Terusalem, Pink, 6 

 tons 16 cwt. per acre. 



For feeding piers, it is best to 

 turn them into the crop to root 

 out the tubers. It mpst be re- 

 membered that, where it is desired 

 to continue the crop, the pigs 

 should be removed before all the 

 tubers are eaten. 



Few foods are more relished by 

 nigs. The tuber in the raw state 

 is very nutritious, more esneciallv 

 for pregnant sows, and also sows 

 reduced in weii^ht and condition 

 after sucking and weaning big 

 litters. This class of food acts as 

 a diuretic, or promotes a healthy 

 action of the kidnevs in secretinir 

 urine ; it relieves constination and 

 stimulates liver functions. One acre 

 will support twenty sows from 

 four to six months. 



Young growing pi-'s evidence con- 

 siderable growth on being fed with 

 them for a sho>rt period. The ex- 

 ercise obtained in harvesting or 

 rooting up the tubers has a bene- 

 ficial influence. It is especially not- 

 able that artichokes are very di- 

 gestible. The outcottie of a number 



of tests go to show that for fat- 

 tening purposes these tubers must 

 be g-iven ^vith grain, and hq,ve a 

 similar result to feeding with or- 

 dinary potatoes. 325 His. wheat 

 fed with 820 ttis. artichokes gave 

 100 lbs. increase." 



4 



Teat Troubles. 



One of the most common and 

 annoying of the several troubles 

 with the teats of cows is that due 

 to relaxation of the sphincter by 

 means of which the milk is re- 

 tained. It gives rise to what is 

 known technically as lactorshoea, 

 which the dairymen recognise as 

 loss of milk. The mechanism by 

 which the milk is retained in the 

 galactophors is variously described 

 as an elastic ring or a snhincter 

 of muscular fibre. The fact that 

 the cow can retain her milk if an 

 attempt be made to remove it by 

 a stranger, or anyone she dislikes, 

 seems to support the latter view. 

 AVhen this muscular substance is 

 disordered a more or less free flow 

 takes place, depending vipon the 

 amount of relaxation, and the time 

 that has elapsed since the last 

 milkintr. It generally arises, in 

 the first instance, as a result, of 

 the practice of allowing an over- 

 accumulation of milk, which, from 

 its pressure, weakens ihe muscle. 

 The amoimt of loss varies a 'good 

 deal in different cases, but it gene- 

 rally less than is ponularb- sup- 

 posed. A little milk, like V little 

 blood, makes a" much bin^trer .show 

 on the ground than it does in a 

 bucket, but when a cow, especially 

 those with a large udder and close 

 thi'i-hs, squirts out a quantity of 

 milk at every step she takes, the 

 loss in the a'r"Te"^ate is not incon- 

 siderable. A little leaking away 

 as milking--timie approaches is not 

 im.portant enough to call for inter- 

 ference, but with the extreme case 

 there are three ways of dealing : — 

 (t) To milk at more frequent in- 

 tervals than twi'^e a d y. This is 

 rareb- resorted to unless in the 

 case of the .sittTle or family cow 

 that is kept near home, ft .si"Tl'- 

 would not pay, where a large herd 

 is kept to bring the cow up, or go 

 to a distant pasture to milk her 

 at irregular intervals, since it 

 would cost more in labour, to say 

 nothing of the derangement of the 

 routine of the farm, than the milk 

 saved would be worth. (2) To 

 palliate the mischief by artificially 

 replacing the snhincter by an elas- 

 tic ring or band, so adjusted as to 

 compress the teat tight enough to 

 close the 'duct or passage, but 



