| Show ERGOT AND MILDEW IN PASTURES an ali r eneidi En allah eIlI Auth authority rity warn varna sheep wilreed er r acine th alie T two danger Imie rii care ought to be exercised erel sed in the selection of pasturage for sheep especially the ewe flocks owing to the prevalence in certain localities of ergot and mildew those whose acquaintance with ergot is slight may way not know how to detect its presence in fa their pastures but professor says in the mark lane express that it if they notice any of tho the grasses es especially ally those around the borders of the field to have a sooty appearance they would do well to examine them more closely the ergot fungus is cylindrical and curved resembling a horn born or cocks spur and varies in length from one third of an inch to an inch and a half externally it is dak dark violet in color internally ter nally grayish yellow it if but a small quantity of the grass is affected by the disease no importance need be attached to its occurrence but it if much of it I 1 is s observed the stock should be removed to some other pasture the most serious danger of ergot ted grass lies in the fact that it is very liable to cause abortion in breeding stock and there is another trouble of which the authority quoted believes ergot to be the cause and ono one which ie is not generally known he given this illustration from big his own exper experience I 1 ina in n sheep breeding district with which I 1 am well acquainted it has been noticed every autumn more or less that the flocks are affected with what is locally called foot rot the symptoms however are not those of ordinary foot r rot 0 L abscesses occur on the extremities generally on the coronet and occasionally about tho the knee and fellock fetlock joints and I 1 in some instances the nose and ears are attacked examination of the layers on which the sheep are grazing has always shown the existence of ergot and r removal e of the flock to an unaffected pasture pa 4 at once prevents the appearance ot of an any y fresh cases with regard to mildew this is always present to a certain extent during alzy autumn season and it is only when there is more more of it than usual abat it needs attention L last ast autumn it was wl phenomenally abundant A cold wet bummer summer followed by warm days lays and dewy nights ia in autumn is sure to bo be th the cause of large numbers of parasitic fungi fung attacking vegetation mushroom hunters are well aware that conditions approximating to those described result in an abundant harvest of their delicacy and what favora favors the growth of the mushroom is also conducive to an abundance da nce of fungoid plant diseases it if we go into a seeds layer we shall not have ve r far r to look ook for a plant of knot grass or of plantain the leaves of which see m to be covered with finely powdered chalk this is one of the mildews or molds it if we walk through the grass for a few yards ards we may notice that our boots aro are covered with a reddish brown powder this is another fungus one of the rusts the first sharp frost will kill both and rust but we cannot wait for that before turning in the cheep sheep in a short time several of these will most likely b become come affected with a at bad scour r the result of eating tho the rusted and mil dewed dewe dfora forage e this checked will vin soon tell on the condition of tha sheep but fortunately there is a remedy cheap simple and ani thoroughly effective in most instances the fun fungi funi n i div give e a very decided akaline reaction and if oil testing the faecks faeces of a scouring sheep wo nye find they are strongly alkaline the remedy is give the patient a doso boso of common brown vinegar diluted with water which by neutralizing the alkaline tr matter iatter in the stomach and intestines soon soot stops the scour if on the other hand the faecks faeces are decidedly acid give an alkali |
