February, 1914 



Finally, there should be a word of 

 caution to those Rrowcrs who, on 

 limited areas, and in too Rreat proxi- 

 mity, are attempting: to grow two or 

 more kinds of maize. The effect of 

 cross fertilization may not be ap- 

 parent in the first generation, but in 

 lime it will leave its mark, and llu 

 second or third generation, lack of 

 uniformity coupled with deterioration 

 and a splitting up into innumerable 

 types and sub-types will surely make 

 its appearance. There i.-; so much 

 maize of inferior quality being pro- 

 iluced that manufacturers are in a 

 position to pick and choose, and it is 

 nuly the best grades which will oom- 

 niand top prices. It remains for the 

 grower to decide whether he will com- 

 liete for these prices on the market, 

 and at the same time, increase his acre 

 yield, or whether he will be content 

 to accept a smaller price for a medium 

 quality article suitable for conversion 

 into mealie meal or for home feeding 

 to farm stock. 



It must be remembered that Mr. 

 Mundy has in his mind chiefly South 

 .\frican conditions, but there is pro- 

 bably much in the above which will 

 apply to those who take an interest 

 in the production of maize in out nor- 

 thern districts. It is for this reason 

 that we bring it before our readers. 



TJdK UAIiUKN AM) Fllii.U. 



should l>e fed so that she is in fair 

 condition without developing fat, and, 

 while withholding fat- forming and star- 

 chy foods, plenty of albuminous food 

 should be given, especially in the case 

 of a young sow. so as to develop 

 growth, roominess, and milking capa- 

 city. Immediately after farrowing give 

 the sow a mild dose of castor oil, and 

 follow this by <Hie drachm night and 

 morning of bromide of potash, which 

 should be given in a little warm milk. 



Pig Breeding. 



The sow should not be bred too 

 young; ten months is a good age, as a 

 rule. The in-pig sow should neither 

 be half-starved nor over-fed. It is a 

 bad plan to put her in a new sty almost 

 at the last moment. She should be made 

 accustomed to the place she is intended 

 to farrow in for a week or two before- 

 hand. A properly fed and consequent- 

 ly healthy sow rarely develops the evil 

 propensity of eating her own pigs. Dur- 

 ing the earlier period of gestation she 



Crib-Biting Horses. 



There is a great diversity of opinion 

 as to what really is the cause of crib- - 

 biting. Some people con.sider that it is 

 the result of a diseased condition of the 

 stomach. Others attribute it to long 

 abstinence from food, when the animal, 

 feeling a knawing pain on the stomach, 

 arising from want of food, draws in a 

 quantity of air which serves to distend 

 this organ. Yet again there are others 

 who maintain that the horse learns to 

 crib bite from other horses, and there 

 really can be no denying the fact that 

 this habit is remarkably catching, as 

 there are instances on record of one 

 horse contributing the habit to a whole 

 row of others stabled with him. At 

 one time it was supposed that crib-tiit- 

 ing was the result of eating too much 

 dry and stimulating food, thus over- 

 charging the system with blood, or to 

 feeding on mouldy hay and musty oats. 

 In fact, so numerous and so varied are 

 the opinions of practical men on this 

 subject that it is difficult to arrive at 

 anything like a just conclusion. 



It would not appear as though cril)- 

 biting were a disease in its first stages 

 but it is a habit acquired by young 

 horses, and one which is very rarely 

 met with in old horses which have been 

 stabled for any length of time. It is 

 quite possible that some of the trouble 

 is due to the change which takes place 



when a young lujrsc is first broiiRht up 

 from tiic paddock, where it has found 

 much to interest- itself in, observing 

 what is going on around it, and in as- 

 certaining what otlier horses are doing, 

 or in feeding for aI)out eighteen liours 

 out of twenty- four. It is very seldom 

 indeed that a young horse can be seen 

 crili-biting when out in the paddock. If 

 anybody ever does come across an in- 

 stance of a young horse practising on 

 the top panel of a fence he may rest 

 assured that there is an older horse in 

 the same paddock which has contrac^ted 

 the habit and is passing it on to the 

 youngster. Where a young horse can 

 find amusement and interest in its en- 

 vironment it is hardly likely to fall a 

 victim to this unfortunate habit. With 

 regard to the contention that crib-bit- 

 ing is produced from long abstinence 

 from food, the following can be said:— 

 Under natural conditions when out in 

 the open, assuming th'e season to be a 

 normal one, the horse's stomach always 

 contains a certain quantity of nourish- 

 ment, and when the animal is stable-fed 

 the feed is given more or less irre- 

 gularl}-, consequently the stomach is 

 frequently empty and collapses, the col- 

 lapse being followed by unpleasant sen- 

 sations, to overcome which the horse 

 takes to biting the manger. During this 

 act a quantity of air passes into the 

 stomach ahd distends it. and this, to a 

 certain extent, satisfies the craving ap- 

 petite by allaying gastric irritation. The 

 confirmed crib-biter generally puts in a 

 good deal of work of this description 

 when it is fed. Hence it seems strange 

 to suppose that the above explanation 

 really has anything whatever to do with 

 promoting the habit. 



It would rather appear aS though 

 crib-l)iting were a habit which took 

 place in consequence of a change from 

 a natural to an artificial mode of liv- 

 ing. A horse is taken from an open 

 paddock, where for a long time it has 

 had nothing to do but feed, gaze arottn-l 

 and amuse itself by an occasional gal- 



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