The Diseases and Feeding of Catile. 
429 
As, owing to climatic considerations, root culture is far less 
extensively practised in the United States than under the moister 
climate of Great Britain, Professor Henry advocates the use of silage 
for steer feeding, and directs special attention to the Indian corn 
crop as affording excellent material for the silo : — 
The British farmer leads the world in the perfection of farm stock, and 
while this may not he altogether due to his system of feeding, yet that 
must he a large factor. Under the English system farm animals do not go 
for any long period on dry food. The cattle go to pasture early and remain 
late, and when in the stable or yard still have succulent feed in the shape of 
roots. How different the American system, where our cattle are on pasture 
a few months in summer, and then return to the stable and yard to subsist 
on dry food of limited variety for nearly six months ! It may not pay in 
many cases for farmers to grow roots for stock, hut we hare a means of 
providing a cheap substitute for turnips and mangel in maize silage. I do 
not at this time wish to discuss the relative merits of silage and roots, but 
rather to plead for more general introduction of the silo with those farmers 
who do not take kindly to root culture. The wonderful development of 
machinery for planting and cultivating maize enables the farmer to produce 
a large amount of excellent feed with very little labour. If by some means 
the juicy, tender stalks can be carried over to winter, we have a very fair 
substitute in cheap form for the root crop, and this is accomplished by the 
silo, which gives us at a very small cost a succulent food, palatable to 
horses, cattle, and sheep. 
The use of silage came through dairymen, and to this day the steer 
feeder seems to hold that silage is only suitable for dairy cows and too sloppy 
and sour for beef-making. Gradually the prejudice is breaking away, and 
beef-makers, as well as butter-makers, are beginning to appreciate the silo. 
W. Fream. 
FURTHER EXPERIMENTS ON CONTAGIOUS 
FOOT-ROT IN SHEEP. 
In a recent number of the Journal 1 the subject of foot-rot among 
sheep was dealt with, in particular reference to its infectivity when 
diseased and healthy sheep were pastured together. The last series 
of experiments was undertaken for the purpose of ascertaining what 
risk of infection would be incurred when healthy sheep were 
placed in meadows which had previously been occupied by sheep 
suffering from the disease in a well -developed stage. Accordingly, 
six tegs were obtained from a perfectly healthy farm on the Cots- 
wolds where foot-rot had never been known, and were placed in the 
orchard and meadows at Harrow referred to in the former report. 
The following is an exact record of the observations which were 
made from August 1892 to January 1893 : — 
The sheep arrived on August 20, from Andoversford, Gloucester- 
shire ; they were tired and thin after their journey. 
1 Vol. Ill,, 3rd series, Part II. 1892, pp. 276-291. 
