The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1882-01-12
for the farnlsr.
CATTLE IN STALK FIELDS.

rxerv fall and winter, the country press con-
,ains ACCOUNTS of cattle dying in stalk heids,
and mcst frequently their having eaten 700
,,uch smut is assigned AS the canse. Of course,
when man has been somewhat negleetiui u
~ s,ork for few days after first turning them
INTO n freshly turned coru field, and is brought
4, his senses by finding come faSOnte cow, W
The lest one two OF three of his bunch OF steers
ready for sknniug, il is very comforting n nc
ali, TO say ESPECIALLY If conscioEfiously satdl
,h,t ,.sant killed 'rIi. and nobody's to blame.
The prubability is that nineteen out oil every
twenty such cattle 50 found dead died from one
or both of two prominent eaiisss with whieh
sssmutr was not even remotely connected. one
of these is the gorgins of the animals stomaehs
with an enormous quantity Of highly stimulat-
ing food, much of il difficult Of digestion, direct
Iy after their having been kept ON measre, FROST
bitten pasturage, or the scant nourishinent OF q
straw stack, which was to tide them over from
grass TO such time as the corn would be OUT OF
IN. field, Such a sudden and violent change
could scarcely do otherwise than demorallze the
entire digestive system; and death equally sud-
den. violent, and unlocked for ensues. The
other prominent cause is the eating largely Of
the woody. ibrous stalks and shucks-more
especially the former--lster IN the season, when
the better portion Of the foOd has been consumed
and little else remains, and insufficient water Is
taken to soften and float IL up as Ii must be be-
fore the processes Of digestion can be completed;
the mass comes TO a stand-still, owing to lmpac-
tion. forms a sort of blockade in the manfoids
or third stomach. Inflammation sets in, and the
animal is past help.
Among the important steps towards guarding
against and preventing losses from these causes
NAV be mentioned, first, the cattle should not
be turned into a fresh stalk field when very
hungry, but he well fed beforehand, if possible
with plenty of good hay, and sailed; an hOur is
as long as they shOnld be allowed in the first
day, and the time may each day he gradually
extended, rs the stock become more accustomed
th.ir ney diet Secondly they shOuld not be
trusted TO go to water of their own accord, bat
shOuld be driven-not to the neighborhood of II,
bat 10 it, and iHtO IL, and given plenty of time
there that there can be no mistake about each
ones getting full drink, To encourage their
appetites for water, abundance Of salt should
be kept where they will have ready access to il
at all times; and if the salt is mixed with its
weight of hickory other hardwood ashes, it
will he that mnch the better
II these simple precautions are duly attended
| to- there will be but few losses reported from
| "smut !" "murrain, "staggers," etc, in all the
innumerabls oOrniields of the West, the pastur-
age of which so much will he needed before the
coming of another grass crop. To those who,
| on any prctext cannot or will not heed them,
we would say, let your cattle give the stalk
| fields a wide berth. If you have any cattle
that you really can afford TO spare, they can be
disposed of now at a very much better price
than is likely TO be obtained for their dried
| hides in the spring, even though hides should be
| unusually high at that time. As a rule, selling
hides is business that farmers and stOck-raisers
| should have rs little to do with as possible
| Breeders Gazette