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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1929)
SWEET CLOVER POISONING The disease known as sweet clever poisoning in cattle, although not yet prevalent in all parts ol the country, is a disease that must be reckoned with by feeders of cattle in localities where sweet clover is raised extensively. It is a disease peculiar to cattle, in most cases af fecting young animals under 3 years old. bider animals are frequently affected. So far as is known, horses and sheep are not affected with this disease. In most cases the first symptoms are these of isolation. The animal appears slow and groggy and often shows signs of stiffness. The animal may die in a very few hours or may live for several days developing voluminous tumor swell ings before death. The disease is characterized principally by swell ing on any part of the body due to hemorrhages underneath the skin. There also may be internal hem orrhage. Many cases of fatal bleeding have been reported follow ing castrating, dehorning and calv ing in cows. Although little is known of the action that takes place in the animal’s body, it has been definitely determined by ex perimental feeding that a certain species of mold in the sweet cloved hay has such an effect on the ani mal’s blood that prevents it from clotting. This mold is usually found on the inside of the stalk, even in hay that looks bright. It is more often found in large stalks, however, in which the curing has not been proper. The curing of hay is a big factor and, although weather condi tions mav be good for curing, yet the sap in the large stalks may cause the mold- The loss of cattle from this disease depends natural ly upon the extensiveness of mold in the hay, the quantity of the hay fed, and the length of time of continuous feeding. If there is an extensive mold and it has been fed regularly in good quantities, a heavy "loss can be expected. How ever, if the mold is slight and the hay has been fed with a good por tion of other feeds the loss will be slight and possbily no loss at all. Some authorities are of the opinion that if moldy sweet clover is fed al ternately two weeks with other feed, there is little danger of the disease. However, that method of feeding is very dangerous- It has been clearly demonstrated by experimental feed ing that this mold will cause death after 30 days feeding. Once the disease is recognized, the owner should realize he has a very serious problem. The herd should be taken off this feed promptly and given seme other kind of roughage. Drugs are of little or no value used alone to treat these sick animals. The most reliable treatment is blood transfusion. This is done by taking a portion of a healthy cow’s blood and, after proper preparation, inject it directly into the juglar vein of the affected animal. Very good re sults are to be expected from this treatment if the animal is treated in time. As yet no practical mea sures have been discovered for the prevention of this disease. How ever, in experimental feeding of tame rabbits the disease has been produced causing death in from one to two weeks. Therefore, if you have moldy sweet clover hay, start feeding it to four or five rabbits at the same time feeding it to cattle, being sure that the rabbits get a portion of the same hay that the cattle get daily. Since rabbits will die from this disease from a week to two weeks before it will kill cattle, it is a valuable test to be made. It is necessary that tame rabbits be used as test animals, as wild species sometimes die as a re sult of being confined to a small pen- If any of the rabbits die dur ing the feeding period, have them examined by a qualified veterinarian or the veterinary division of your experiment station. As soon as the rabbits begin dying, stop feeding the hay to the cattle until you get a report on the rabbits examined. (1.) Be as sure as possible that the sweet clover hay does not have the mold by making the rabbit test. (2.) If you must feed the hay and cannot make the rabbit test, feed It sparingly well mixed with other roughage. (3.) If you feed it and do have trouble, stop feeding the hay at once and get authoritive ad vise as soon as possible. DOUBLING MILK YIELD As the population of the United States increases from 120,000,000 to twice that number of people, we must double the milk and butterfat yield of our dairy herds if home pro duction is to supply home demand. In saying this, we assume that the percapita consumption of dairy prod ucts is to remain the same; yet some of cur best authorities recom mend an increase of 50 per cent in the per capita consumption of dairy products in this country. When pop ulation is doubled and per capita consumption is increased 50 per cent, we shall need three times the quantity of dairy products we are using now. In general, there are two ways by which the total yield of dairy products may be doubled: First, bv doubling the number of dairy cows; second, by doubling the average production per cow. The easy way is to double the number of cows. The best way is to double the average production per cow. Ten years ago, the average yearling milk yield per dairy cow in this country was 3.600 pounds. It now is 4.600 pounds. This is a gain of 1,003 pounds per cow in 10 years. As the average yield per cow increases from 4,600 pounds to twice that amount, each production gain of 1.000 pounds will be more difficult to attain than the one before it. Tens of thousands of yearly herd averages, however, and hundreds of thousands of ’-ear ly individual cow records from dairy herd improvement associations have shown that it is well within the range of possibility to double the CLEAN PLACE FOR CALVING Now that we are about to witness the birth of several hundred thou sand dairy calves, it is timely to say a word or two about the care of their female parents on the occasion of this important event. Calving in cites infection both to cow and calf. Cleanliness, therefore, is important. A clean place from which the calf first sees the light of day is a prop er safeguard. It weather conditions permit, a pasture is a good place ior calving provided t*re owner knows what is going on. If weather makes it adviseable to put the cow under shelter, a box stall that has been cleaned, thoroughly disinfect ed and freshlv bedded is good. II present average yield of milk and butterfat per cow. In fact, among 100,000 yearly milk records, 22.00C were above 9,000 pounds a year. This shows that eventually we may pro vide an abundance of dairy prod ucts for more than 200,000,000 peo ple in this country without increas ing the present number of our dairj cows. It will, however, require mcr« ieed per cow because high produc ing dairy cows are normally bi$ eaters. They can not make some thing out of nothing. A careni study of the tens ex thousands oi herd averages and of the hundreds of thousands of yearly individual cow records already mentioned, has shown that present production car be doubled by keeping better cows and bv feeding them 50 per cen1 mere ieed. Through soil improve ment, through the use of bettei seed, and through the mare gen eral production of corn silage and alfalfa hay as feed for our dairj ccws we may, when the need arises be able to double the production ol milk and butterfat with the same number of acres and with the same number of cows. To accomplish this these cows must be bred and select ed for high production. *i!ut,” some one may ask, “what about overpro duction?” Let’s ask you this ques tion. If ever there is general over production of dairy products in this country, which cows in our herds will be guilty of producing that surplus? Will it, be the high pro ducers or the low producers? Shall we blame the cows that produce 500 pounds of butterfat a year or the cows that produce 100 pounds ol butterfat a year? A tabulation ol more than 100,000 yearling indi vidual ■ssw records shows that the farmer gets the same total income over cost of feed from one cow that produces 500 pounds of butterfat a year as he gets from 13 cows that average 100 pounds a year. The in come over cost of feed is the same, but the market gets 500 pounds of butterfat from the one cow and 1,« 300 pounds from the 13 cows. There fore, the 13 low producing cows are the guilty ones. The danger of over production of dairy products does not lie in -increasing the average production per cow. If there is any danger it lies in unduly increasing the number of cows, and I do not believe our dairymen are going to do that. When a dairyman thinks of improving his dairy herd he should think of three things: Bet ter breeding, better feeding closer culling. He cannot get 100 per cent more milk from 50 per cent more feed by overfeeding the herd he now has. No dairyman has ever yet increased his net income by over feeding scrubs and low producing grades. One member of a dairy herd improvement association was en gaged in business that kept him away from home most of the time. He left his dairv herd in the hands of an incompetent feeder who dished up the feed with a scoop shovel and fed all the cows alike, regardless ol production. Such feeding did not re sult in greater profits. In fact, that herd that year was carried at a loss. The wise dairyman strives to build up a high producing dairy herd that will naturally brim? an increased yield and increased net profits per cow when each cow is fed according to production. From such cows and from such herds only can the dairyman hope to get 100 per cent more milk from 50 per cent more feed. THE REASON OF THINGS If a person were to inquire as to why certain men become students ol their business, he would find that they lay great stress on the impor tance of knowing the reason ol things. The difference between the successful and unsuccessful dairj farmer is generally that one knows the reason ot things he is trying tc do and the other does not. If we take so simple an example as sup plying the cow with all the pure wa ter she needs, reason tells us that about seventh-eighths of all milk is water; that the more a cow yields the more water she must drink; that if she is not furnished this watei in a way that she can get it without too much exertion, she will go with out it to our most evident injury; that if in winter the water is toe cold, the cow' will not drink the amount of water she really needs foi our profit. All these things or con ditions be'ong to the reason of things, or the absolute nature of the ccwT in her relation to water. Bui if w'e note how many dairy farm ers violate this established reason of things we can see how- little some of them know and understand the nature of the cow or the nature of the very profit thev are seeking A humorous old Scotchman once said that the reason xhy there were so many poor dairy larmers wai because they had a sort of lazy faith in the Lord. "They think or hope,’ he said, “that He will somehow make up for whatever they fail to do.' "Oh,” he added, “w'e are a trusting lot.” Come to think of it, theie is a great deal in the kind of faith we have in Providence, but we must look into the reason of things if we are to be great students of our busi ness and secure the success that we all desire. PATRONIZE FAIR Showing live stock at lairs brings out qualities of men as well as con formation of animals. We barelj missed seeing an exhibitor strike e judge with liis fist at a state fair a few years ago because the judge paid no attention to who owned the ani mals in placing them. The offending exhibitor was promptly ejected Ircm the ring and later barred from chow tog. We have seen high-class herds men show low-class sportsmanship wher a worthy competitor got a little the best of the breaks. Vv.thcl the courtesy of the ringside and ol the exhibitors at our live stock chows is above rep.oach. True, there are a good many decisions with which aiJ do not agree, but at the same time the disagreement does not lead mer, to attempt breaking the judge’s nc.* with a pop bottle as sometimes hap pens at a game of organized baseball assistance is necessary, give it quiet ly and without abuse. The feeding oi grain should be reduced to a mini mum within a week previous to calving ana the mixture changed to one of light, bulky, laxative char acter. Water and good hay should be available. WIIAT SAY YOU? There may be ynall pieces of land, here and there, That it will pay to underdrain, but to build a vast net work of drains under the average farm may answer for one who has plenty of money and few brains, but will not do for a level headed farmer who conducts his own business with' out the aid of the sheriff Risen From the Ranks —-T, . Ethan Allan Chapman, top, and James R., his brother, below, of Alexandria, La., had earned minor promotions in the regu lar army before taking their exams for West Point appoint ments. They both passed with high marks and will fill two of the vacancies allotted to sol diers of the regular army, (Inter&atlonul Ntvrsreel) Thrills Congregation 11 WKham 7/ Dr. John Haynes Holmes, pas tor of fashionable Park Ave. church in New York, electrified his listeners by his remarks on the church’s attitude regarding sex. Dr. Holmes asserted that “the church is guilty of mon strous sin in having cultivated asceticism.” (International Newirtol) Empire State’s Choice Selected from 128 high and preparatory schools in New York State, Louis La Fleur, aged 17, of Utica, N. Y„ will represent his State in the na tional examinations for the scholarship ordered by Thomas A. Edison. Noted Australians Come To Study Trade ■Jain Mi Left to right. Sir Esme Howard, British Am bassador to the United States; Secretary Stim son, Herbert Brookes, Trade Commissioner of Australia, and D. M. Dow. official secretary for Austria in th* United State*. Mr; Brookes ^ resenting his credentials (0 ti* Secretary oi State. s~ (Internal loaal Knmal) Thirty Passenger Plane Passes Tests The new thirty-passenger Dornier Amphibian plane, which was assembled in Philadelphia by German mechanics and aero engineers. The huge airbird passed all tests and will soon be in service on the Great Lakes. Hans VHyhim and Miguel Koyguin, mechanic and ftilsl: flt the new plane, are shown in the inset. llntarnttlonal Mc»«n«i| ! Heads Bank Merger Arahs Meet Stimson liYants Lower Taxes M—ft Former Governor of North Carolina, A W. McLean, has been selected to hea l the finan cial group who will control a new chain of North Carolina banks with an aggregate cap Hal of $67,000,000." Onurnallonul Newir«»II Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson was approached by a delegation of American citizens of Arab birth who are endea voring to have the United States use its good offices to bring peace to Palestine. (International Newareel) low Ward Melville, shoeosay* iate, has plenty of money witit hich to pay bis income Cat* ■lit he is a staunch supporter c# he belief that the working- raa* inds the levy burdensome. FI® avot s a drastic reduction tf iiutfc abolition. (lalar tuit'.eul NmraaB Gastonia Strikers Face Jurors "IB? mm AtTWWin Ir-—-----Sy--. ..J.&L. The entile jury impaneled to try the strikers accused of killing Chief of Police Aderholdt, of Gastonia, N. C, during recent strike dis orders in that city, was discharged and a mis (loUraallvD iJ —--— trial declared when one of the jtrmrs weal insane. (Inset) Shows Arthur J. RnifcA^ fcr mer deputy sheriff of Gastonia. wha was; the first officer to testify during; the trial. M«w*re*l)