366 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



January, 1914 



larly with fillies. A slifrht falling 

 beneath the loins and hollowness of 

 the back may be present, or the 

 udder may be oljserved to change 

 shape, becoming rounded, firm, and 

 free from wrinkles, and the teats 

 more prominent. These changies 

 in the udder come and go during 

 the period of gestation. A steady 

 increase in weight daily after the 

 fourth or fifth month is a sound 

 indication, as well as the swollen 

 and reddish state of the vagina- 

 mucous membrane. After the 

 seventh or eight month the move- 

 ments of the foal may be detected 

 by the hand or first being pressed 

 firmly against tba abdominal wall 

 in front of the left stifle. An ex- 

 amination after the mare has had 

 a drink, or during feeding, will find 

 the foal moving in the womb. 



Treatment during the period of 

 gestation must be directed on com- 

 monsense lines. A draught mare 

 mav be given steadv work up to 

 within a few days of foaling — in 

 fact, she is all the better for it — 

 but a walking pace should not- be 

 exceeded, and anv strain or strenu- 

 ous effort should be avoided, esp'3- 

 ciallv as the period of foaling ap- 

 proaches. Shaft work is Erenerallv 

 associated with the possibilities of 

 accident or over-exertion, and 

 should be discarded. If a mare is 

 a noted sweater, then over-exer- 

 tion should be avoided, seeing its 

 continuance may interfere with 

 milk secretion. 



A liberal supply of sweet food of 

 good quality is needed duringi the 

 whole period of gestation, and 

 should be steadily increased to- 

 wards the end of the period, for 

 the foal is daily increasing its de- 

 mands for nourishment — a fact 

 that has to be 'rem.embered when 

 feeding. Furthermore, increasing 

 activity is noted in the uddea:, 

 where milk is being secreted for the 

 foal, and a class of food likely to 

 stimulate milk production is re- 

 quired at this stage, ©specially lu- 

 cerne. 



The bowel discharges require to 

 be watched, and constipation cor- 

 rected by bran mashes and green 

 food. 



The main diet has to be arranged 

 in order to meet the demands of 

 mother and foal. 



Good chaff and a little grain, and 

 other foods rich in those elements 

 which form flesh and bone, mav be 

 required to supplement grazing. 

 Lucerne is always a useful adjunct 

 to any ration, not only becatise it 

 affords protein for flesh formation. 



but also because it stimulates the 

 flow of milk. 



Towards the latter portion of 

 the period of pregnancy the muscles 

 of the hind quarters fall away from 

 the buttock, and a shrinkag<e of 

 the hind quarters and flanks be- 

 comes evident. 



Care should be exercised to avoid 

 anv class of work entailing exces- 

 sive fatigue or sudden movements, 

 also jerky exertion. 



It mav safely be laid down as a 

 rule to work drausfht mares to 

 within a fortnip-ht of their expect- 

 ed time of foaling. 



In this countrv, where the cli- 

 mate is so Dropitious, and sunli'o-hu 

 with its healthy influences so much 

 in evidence, mares are allowed to 

 foal in clean, well-prrassed pad- 

 docks, in which are shelter, shade, 

 and a pood water supply. Precau- 

 tion should be taken to see that 

 the mare is not disturbed, and she 

 is best alone, for the presence of 

 other horses often creates undue 

 apprehension. 



The ordinary s^miptoms of ap- 

 proaching parturition are familiar 

 to most breeders. The abdomen 

 becomes more pendulous, the udder 

 enlaro^d, the teats thickened and 

 extended, and the muscles of the 

 croup less prominent, while, the 

 lips of the vapina enlarge and ap- 

 pear sli'^h+lv narted. Often there 

 is a ^•iscid discharsre. The waxy 

 substance found on the openine to 

 each teat drons off about twe.ntV- 

 four hours before foaling, and milk 

 mav flow from each teat on the 

 application of pressure. At times 

 the teats do not fill until after 

 foaling. 



When the times approaches foe 

 foaling the mare becomes excited 

 and xmeasv. Lyinff down, elevat- 

 ing the tail, and straining, are all 

 marked symptom.s of pains. These 

 become more frequent imtil the 

 climax is reached. 



Natural parturition is rapidly 



accomplished. A mare may be 

 seen grazing comfortably, and on 

 re\-isiting her half an hour later 

 she may again be found compla- 

 cently grazing, but this tim'e with 

 her foal at foot. 



It is well to give the mane at 

 least one bran mash daily for two 

 or three days, the aim being to 

 avoid <Ti\-ing her anv class of dry 

 food likely to cause constipation. 

 The after-birth, which as a rule is 

 naturally ejected in from three to 

 eight hours after giving birth to. 

 the foal, should be buried or burnt. 



.—4 



The Teeth of Sheep. 



In common with all other rum- 

 inants, sheep have eight incisors 

 in the lower raw, unon^osed by 

 anv in the unrer-, a callous pad 

 beino- substituted. Between the 

 incisors and the molars, ot erind- 

 ing teeth, there is a snace about 

 an inch and a half. There are 24 

 molars, six on each side of each 

 jaw ; their crowns are marked 

 with two double crescents, the con- 

 vexity of which is turned inwards 

 in the unper and outwards in the 

 lower iaw. The lamb, when newly 

 dropned. is devoid of incisor teeth, 

 although the two central teeth are 

 occasionally above the gum, even 

 at this earh' Period. When one 

 month old the first set of incisor 

 teeth are complete. The two front 

 teeth of the under raw drop out 

 at the end of the first year. Six 

 months later the two next to these 

 are lost, and so on until the fifth 

 vear. The permanency of these 

 incisor teeth is from this onward 

 more dependent iipon the nature 

 of the feed and countrv upon which 

 the animal is depasturing than 

 upon other conditions. 



♦ Z^^^ 



Accurate knowledge on useful 

 sub.fects is the best equipment for 

 any m.an. 



r. J. RICHARDS & SONS, 



CARRIAGE, BUGGY 

 SULKY & MOTOR BODY 

 BUILDERS. 



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