270 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



November, l9l3 



notariously pugnacious at every 

 available opportunity. There is 

 no doubt that the preference for 

 hornless stock has aided material- 

 ly in popularisinor the black or 

 blue g-rade cattle of the north with 

 graziers in all i^arts of the coi'in- 

 trv. The .\berdeen-Ancfus and Gal- 

 loway breeds and their crosses pos- 

 sess strong claims to high favour 

 irrespective of their advantages in 

 this respect, but manv instances 

 could be cited in which they would 

 I)robablv not have been jiurchased 

 in preference to other types had it 

 not been for their inability to in- 

 jtire horses or other stock ^vith 

 which thev are pastured. Owners 

 of thoroughbred studs invariablv 

 select hornless cattle in preference 

 to horned to occunv the_ pastures 

 in which their colts and fillies 

 jrraze ; and thus breeders of -Short- 

 horn and other horned tvpes lose 

 a good class of customer through 

 their failure to dishorn their store 

 calves in the simple manner indi- 

 cated. Tn almost every batch of 

 cattle there aps one or two rep're- 

 sentatives, usuallv the smaller, se- 

 lected as the obiects upon which 

 the rough and evil inclinations of 

 their companions mav be expend- 

 ed, and these as a rule require a 

 loneer time to srrow and mature 

 siifficientlv for the fat market. The 

 reason for this is that, anart from 

 bein? the obiects of abuse and ill- 

 treatment, thev are prevented by 

 t^-rannical masters from obtaining 

 their proner share the fnod ra- 

 tions, and are indeed literally 

 starved. Their removal to another 

 yard or shed would, of course, ef- 

 fect a remedy as far as thev are 

 concerne^l, but in all nro^'^ability 

 the bullies of the lot would select 

 some others upon which to vent 

 their evil inclinations. The dis- 

 hornincr process is more commonly 

 adopted than was the case ten 

 years ago, but it is still far from 



being as general as it ought to be, 

 and it is unfortunate that it .should 

 be so difficult to convince breeders 

 of the extent to which the value 

 of their neglect to apply the 

 simi>le remedy which is ever rea^v 

 at hand. 



♦ 



Healthy Stables. 



Air is the first necessary of life; 

 we may, without suffering more 

 than temporary inconvenience, ab- 

 stain from food for a time, but we 

 cannot, even for manw seconds, ex- 

 ist without breathing atmosphere 

 around us. This is one of the self- 

 evident truths which appears to be 

 .sometimes overlooked in connec- 

 tion with horses and the stablin^i; 

 erected for them. Tt • is unfortu- 

 nate that it .should be sio, because, 

 of all domestic auirtials, the horse 

 1iy reason of his !'"r<eat lun? capa- 

 city, is the one that recpiires the 

 most copious supply of air, and 

 is the one that suffers in the great- 

 est degree from lack of fresh air. 

 An ill-ventilated stalile is an un- 

 healthy stable ; the horses keot in 

 a building in which the air is 

 vitiated and foul with the exhala- 

 tions arising from the excreta, and 

 from the animals themselves, are 

 infinitely more liable to contract 

 diseas-'c than horses which enjoy 

 ]5lentv of air and sunlight. 



The virtues of fresh air have 

 long been well understood in hot 

 countries, where it is even more 

 necessary to man and horse than 

 in temperate climates. The Arabs, 

 who are particul-^'-l-- p-nod horse- 

 masters, keen their animals as 

 much as Possible in the ooen air ; 

 and both native and Kuropean 

 owners in India prefer, during the 

 drv seasons, to picket their horses 

 with head and heel ro'i'ies in the 

 open under the shade of some 

 spreading tree. 



Curry Comb. 



One of the most misused articles 

 about a stable is a curry comb, 

 particularfy the old fashioned kind 

 with sharp teeth. The c'^^irry comb, 

 when used on a horse at all, should i 

 be employed with judgment, other- | 

 wise it does more harm than good. J 

 As a method for TulHing the tem-j 

 per of a horse there is hardly any- J 

 thing jnore effective than a curry j 

 comb roughly u.sed. It is bad i 

 enough at this time of year, when j 

 the coats are short, and there is^i 

 only dust to deal with ; but in win- 

 ter, when the mud, after a hard 

 dav's work, has caked on various 

 parts of the animal's {ram.e, and 

 the curry comb, is used to scrape it 

 off, and incidentally to tear a 

 considerable quantity of hair 0)Mt 

 by the roots, the tool becomes an 

 instrument of torture. "In groom- 

 ing horses," writes, the Farmers' 

 .Vdvocate, " main reliance should 

 be placed upon the brush, and is 

 sometimes serviceable for direct 

 app'lication, though it ought to be 

 rubbed in the direction the hair 

 lies. vSome m.en will rulfie the 

 whole coat with the comb, in order 

 to lo'csen the direct, and remove 

 traces of scurf among the hair. 

 The hard teeth of the comb injure 

 the skin, and thus produce more 

 scurf than they remove. The se- 

 cret of keeping a horse's coat ,in 

 good condition is to use the comb 

 l)Ut seldom, and the bri'ish moder- 

 ately, taking pains not to rub the 

 hair the wrong way. A little re- 

 gular brushing is better for the 

 coat than a great deal of reckless 

 currying, and very much better for 

 the 'horse's disposition." — Austral- 

 a.sian. 



Who is the best adviser on farm 

 practice ? A successful farmer in 

 your own district. That i.s — he 

 can if he wants to. 



Sent out in 5-Chain Rolla. 

 Various Heights and Spacings, 



Dog and Lamb Proof 



CYCLONE" 



SPRING COIL FENCE 



W E ATH E R The fence is made of best quality-wire, galvanized. Moisture does not 

 aflect It Expansipn and contraction caused by changes in temperature are provided 

 for by crimps in the horizontal lines. Once up, the fence needs no after straining. 



STOCK The crimps make the fence elastic. Stock rushing it are thrown back, and 

 both stock and frnce are uninjured. The cross ties, 1 ft. apart, make a perfect web, 

 through which no stock can pass. 



ACCIDENTS Should a breach occur, only the part touched is affected. The rest of 

 the fence remains taut. 



Top and Bottom Wires, No. 9 Gauge Wire ; Intermediate, No. 1 1 ; Crois Ties, No. 13. 

 No wire holes are needed. 



GET OUR FENCE AND GATE CATALOGUE. 



CYCLONE FENCE & GATE CO. 



123-125 WAYMOUTH STREET. 

 ADELAIDE 



