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ES Vx Class 2 i Ai Us Bagh’ tog se ae PRESENTED BY aw cate os ¥, a '. « Se - “ eee, ——— us Ny ie NN GO| {OS OS OS OS" a ery; "7 iS % AAA Aa > SWS @s i UY Us is Gs vS lm I Ux Is Ux les la li tes OS US OS é\ tis dix “Ny Wy Wy gs SSQOESESEESSAZT Ee Www wu “We ls Us le “@ las la 4S US 4S US” GSN" ES" G; SEES SEE EE WU UI IS GS 4s ls Us Us « « LAMA “™ lM ls US ls 4S GS 5 Ae Ae A Im ts tas’ tis tis “sy las ds Is Us Us tis Us ye me le I ds OS 4S 4S GS ES ZY Ve UES Us Es ls is Us Ux ES OX" ES te la les las” EA BABI BIE RETRE TK CMABARA « o LA NGS GS GS US 4S as LS Ss Us is ts dis Ime te ss dep US US IS ew gS lm hay We PBA S & & «, As “Ss tis’ ts lax la “gy “ iS ~™ li ts des Us “s tr Is Gas a6 POA “Sg DBA WO Wr Is tas CROOK Cee “Ws “4s is 9s as ORM ae ae LEA i ee * Se AA O « ts Us OS “~~ on Oy SASS tr ls tis has “ss aa ~ (Se On we wa S es ON « ve ye 4s un aN oS 4S oS “Ss Yo age ge Iw 1 Ine by AA. as las le dag: SOO rig . las 1x OX ya ~ A us i 4s ie US i eS US OS Yh ir” tas mee % Mae oO a 4S ES aS LS UX %, ss BAAS Oo « 4s Gs NX ON &, IN” ON ON ES " * ds I” UX On S ts \ WE GE WS 1S 4S 15 eM Ss %~S oO a. . “~ Wi ls Ws Vs a WQS AS 4S US 4 ene ls i ls ig ls A Use ii CSAS “WM 4 % \ : 4, © 4, ~ @ 4s Us a ~. ~. te ote S 2 oS se > eee ects S pe 4 AS | e Us” Ur’ OS we &® & dix . “ 4 %& ™ ~ an “yy % Ux Us aS ZY is dwt Ly UW UN Ww ON OS xe i UN US OS OS US” EX ES e. 9 eC. Oe, "%™ oe ee. ee. @. ee. — @ & @& @ 7% “s “ys 4“ tir “~s ZN —~ eS DES ES WS SS EW UW GB ES GE GS ES US Ye. ¢ ee. ®s. Py FF ¢. Ss is ~ ZN “ss “sy % — @ %~ “~~ 4” OS i“ 7 “ss aS as ZY “ss “4s ZS “~ LS ~ VN ZN Iw” UX aS ZS «*. “ss UX US US ZY 4s is ZS Ox “s AY UNS UN ZECS Wy “gy 4s lee US 4g US” OS” GX EN" ES % 9 ~~ @ % e .@¢. ee. ee. tw xe 7s “ 4 “@ “Ws Ws Ys US US" 9X" GX"5N" 4 FPG, &, oy & EK NK SC . oS “i 4yn tus tr Gir Gan tas “Ns tur UN EN EN BS FEEDING ANIMALS: Dh” Pa eT A A Ee WOR K UPON THE LAWS OF ANIMAL GROWTH SPECIALLY APPLIED TO THE REARING AND FEEDING OF HORSES, CATTLE, DAIRY COWS, SHEEP AND SWINE. By BELIO“ TT. W. STEW ART, ; ONE OF THE EDITORS OF THE NATIONAL LIVE STOCK JOURNAL; LATE NON-RESIDENT PROFESSOR OF THE PRINCIPLES O?} AGRICULTURE IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. FOURTH EDITION. LAKE VIEW: PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, Erie County, New York. 1888. ees Ey eS a a 9 COPYRIGHT BY THE AUTHOR, AL RIGHTS RESERVED. 1883. eer GIFT MISS E.M SXiITTREDGE JAN- a # 1940 \ BUFFALO: A BAKER, Jones & Co., PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 1888, 4) - ey age oP : a “ty PREPACE:: 70: FOURTH: EDITION. The patronage of the most advanced farmers extended to the previous editions of FEEDING ANIMALS has been a very agreeable surprise to the author, and made him feel desirous of rewriting some of the most important chapters of the book, but impaired health has quite pre- vented this. Yet the typographical errors and errors in analysis have been corrected as far as discovered; and an important addition of four pages has been made to the tables of food analyses, made by American chemists, which is likely to be a nearer approximation to Amer- ican food values than analyses of the same foods made in Europe. Certain combinations of foods are so often made in rations that a short table of such combinations is given, in the hope that it may be found useful. The author believes that this book now contains more precise information upon all topics relating to feeding stock than can be found in any other single publication, and he hopes the same generous apprecia- tion and patronage will be extended to this as to the previous editions. PREFACE TO FIRST EDIMGe: THIRTY years ago, to recruit his health, the author removed from professional labor in the city to a farm in the country. Having a liking for stock, he naturally turned his attention early to this branch of farming. And not being able to find much printed instruction upon the subject of feeding any class of stock, he began early to experiment for himself and to keep a record of his experiments. And as these materials grew upon his hands, the author conceived the idea of writing and publishing a book upon subjects discussed in this, unless some one should anticipate him in this needed service to the great live stock interest. It will thus be seen that the author has taken leisurely to his work; and it would give him great pleasure if he could believe that his work is as ripe and complete as the years it has been growing upon his hands. The first methodical preparation of this work began in January, 1877, in a series of articles published in the National Live Stock Fournal under the general title to this book—FEEDING ANIMALS,—signed, A/imentation. PREFACE. 5 These extended to 41 articles, and mapped out the frame-work of the book. But the author drew also, to some extent, upon articles which he had written for the Country Gentleman, and Rural New Yorker, and perhaps other papers, using these in the details of the book. The first three chapters were written last, as neces- sary preliminary knowledge to the full understanding of the discussions of the work. Chemical research has thrown much light upon the feeder’s art, and the author has endeavored to give the latest and fullest analyses of grasses, forage plants, grains, and by-products of grains, used as stock foods, to be found in any one book extant. Stock barns have become so important an element in successful stock-feeding, that the author has given a pretty thorough discussion of this topic, with full illus- trations of the octagonal form of barn. The principles of feeding are discussed in a separate chapter; then each class of stock is taken up separately, and the method of feeding and management from birth to commercial age fully explained. A chapter on Dairy Cattle goes into the selection and management of this very important class of farm stock. The author has not ventured into the discussion of veterinary remedies, contenting himself with the description of a few simple water remedies, endeav- oring to impress the reader with the necessity of preventing diseases rather than of curing them. 6 PREFACE. The aim of the author throughout has been to discuss all matters from the practical rather than the theoretical stand-point ; and his work, such as it is, is herewith presented to the public, hoping that its suggestions may lighten the labor and increase the profits of, at least, some who intelligently cultivate the great live stock specialty. The author takes pleasure ig acknowledging his obligations to many writers upon the topics here dis- cussed, but he has endeavored to give due credit to each for the matter thus used. Ease of reference being a matter of great importance in a book of varied contents, the author has endeavored to make a very full analytical index, which will enable the reader easily to find any matter discussed in the book. CONTENTS. ee ee INTRODUCTION. Page. Number of Horses—Cattle—Sheep—Swine—Capital invested—Importance of understanding all the Economies of Feeding—Science of Feeding..... aieicah: EO CHAPTER I. Composition of Animal Bodies—Organic Elements—Inorganic Elements—The Blood—Its Composition—Fleshy Parts—Composition—Skin, Hair, Horn, Hoof, Wool, Fat—Composition—Bones—Composition—Composition of the Bodies of Ten Animals—Proportions of the various parts of Cattle, Sheep BEE DOW RH cat teu nie nie Manan clack Cobos ve Wace ras stcade ees deuaeaterasnter ae CHAPTER II. A Nutrient—Ration—Nitrogenous Nutrients—Protein—Vegetable Albumen— Casein and Fibrine—Flesh-forming Principles—Non-nitrogenous Nutrients —Carbo-hydrates—Cellulose—Effect of Heat upon Woody Fiber—Effect of Acid upon it—Digestibility of Cellulose—Starch—Dextrine—Sugars—The Pectin Substances — Fats—Inorganic Nutrients—Phosphates—Magnesia— Soda, Chlorides of Sodium—Oxide of Iron—Potash—Respiratory Food— Principles of Respiration—Carbonic Acid—Albuminoids—Hydrogen—Gluten —Albumen—Legumin—Muscles and Cartilages—Earthy Phosphates—Saline BOSC COs —annOG.” oc sre lcct declan nak 1401s 64a) caldias 2iladda curb’ ucxiwesicdes 30 CHAPTER III. Digestion—Digestion begins in the Mouth—Mastication, Salivary Glands and the Saliva—Mouth—Tongue—Palate—Roof of Mouth—Cheeks—Parotid Gland—Maxillary or Sub-maxillary Gland—Sub-lingual Gland—Molar Glands —The Labial and Palatine Glands—Ptyalin—Stomach of Solipeds—Stomach of Horse—Peritoneum—Gastric juice—Pylorus—Stomachs of Ruminants and their Functions—Flesh Feeders—First Stomach—Second Stomach— Csophagean Demi-canal—Third Stomach—Fourth Stomach—Functions— R CONTENTS. PaGE. Rumination—Conditions Essential—Use of Fourth Stomach—Gastric Diges- tion—Intestinal Digestion—Cecum—The Colon—The Rectum—lIntestines of Ruminants—Intestines of the Pig—Other Organs annexed to the Di- gestive Canal—The Liver—Pancreas—The Spleen—Circulation—The Pulse —In Disease—Jerking Pulse—Intermittent—Unequal—Palpitation—Respi- ration—The Nostrils—Trachea~Bronchi—Thorax—The Lungs—Respira- tory Action of the Skin—Animal Heat—Urinary Organs—The Kidneys— Ureters—Bladder—Excretions—Respiratory Products—Carbon Excreted— Excretion of Ash Constituents—Of Potash—Value of Manure..... ... .... CHAPTER IV. Stock Barns—Shelter for Cattle—Should be used to Shelter—Form of Barn— Long Parallelogram—Square—Octagon—Duo-decagon—Sex-decagon—Octa- gon Basement—Basement laid out in a Circle—Self-cleaning Stables—Plat- form—Grating—Saving of Manure—Durability—Moderate Cost—The Octa- gon adapted to all-sized Farms—A Fifty-foot-Octagon—Schedule—Granary —Basement Wall for Stables—Concrete Wall—Preparations for laying out Wall—How to lay out an Octagonal Wall—Constructing Boxes for the Wall —Proportions tor Water-lime Concrete—New way of Building Long Barns —Great Economy and Convenience of this Improvement—Barns for 1,000 Head of Cattle—Octagonal Eight-winged Barn—Square-cross Barn—Details of Construction—Basement for Cattle—Laying out Basement—Sheep Barns —Double Sheep Rack—Sheep Shelter ...... PAN Pr rmmer Ate ce eieeteee oa CHAPTER V. Principles of Alimentation—Effect of Food upon Flavor of Flesh—Deer Domes- ticated—How Food will change the Flavor of Flesh—High-flavored Milk— Animal Dependent upon its Food for Quality—Early Maturity—Full Devel- opment—-Effect of Careful and Judicious Breeding—In the Natural State— Profitable Feeding must be done before Maturity—Instructive Experiments —Study the Nature of the Animal we Feed—Improper Feeding—How to Feed Young Animals—Average Composition of Milk—Formation of Mus- cles, Nerves, Brain, Skin, Hair, Hoofs and Horns—Choice of Foods to re- place Milk—Table of Grains—Corn an Improper Food to be given Alone— Wheat Middlings preferable to Bran for the Young ...........- eee. CHAPTER VI. Stock Foods—The Basis of German Values of Food—Analysis of American Cat- tle Foods—Chemical Composition at Different Stages—Description of Grasses—Desmodium—Japan Clover—Mexican Clover—Satin Grass—Shra- der’s Grass—Bermuda Grass—Crab Grasses—Texas Millet—Quack Grass— Wire Grass—Gama Grass—Grama Grass—Average Composition and Money Value of Feeding Stuffs, by Dr. Wolff, for Germany—Comments on Tables —Tables of Values—Waste Products—Corn Starch Feed—Brewers’ Grains —Malt Sprouts—Meat Scrap—Fish Scrap—Quality of Timothy and Clover— Must be Cut before Blossoming ............ 45 126 148 CONTENTS. 9 CHAPTER VII. PAGE. Soiling—Saving Land—How Waste of Food is Caused—One Acre equal to Three—Saving Fences—Saving Food—Weeds and Thistles utilized—Saving Manure—Effect upon Health and Condition—Effect of Soiling upon Milk— Soiling Experiments—Continuous Milk Production—Effect on Meat Produc- tion—Soiling and Grain Feeding Combined—The Great Need of Eastern Farms—Objections to Soiling—Labor—An Experiment—Labor of Repairing Fences Saved—Cost of Labor for One Hundred Head—What One Man can Do—Soiling Crops—Winter Rye—Red Clover—Orchard Grass—Lucerne— Timothy and Large Clover—Alsike, Clover and Timothy—Green Oats—Peas and Oats—Common Millet—Hungarian Grass—Italian Millet—Vetch—Fod- der Corn—Sorghum—How to Use the Green Crops—Soiling Horses—Soil- ing Cattle—Rack for Cattle—Cattle Tie—Soiling Cows—Soiling Sheep— Portable Hurdle Fence—Best Plan for Raising Lambs—Soiling Extermi- nates Weeds—How to Introduce Soiling—It should be Carefully Considered —Winter Soiling—Ensilage—The System Tested—Enables Carrying More Stock—Many Things in Favor—Summer Growth all the Year round—Silos— Plan of Silo—Triple Silo—Building the Silo—Preparing the Concrete—How to Build with Quicklime—Progress of Ensilage in the United States— Ensilage Congress—Cost of Ensilage—Feeding Animals—Ensilage as a Com- plete Ration—Table of Fodder Plants—Red Clover as an Ensilage Crop— Ensilage Crops—Winter Rye—Millet—Peas and Oats—Timothy and Late Clover—Sorghum Cane—Storing several Ensilage Crops together—Ration for Milk—Cutting Crops and Filling Silo...........++- LO PP EE cre 167 CHAPTER VII. Cattle-Feeding—How to Feed the Young Calf—Flax-seed Gruel, how made— Skim-milk Ration for Calf—Flax-seed and Oat Meal Boiled, mixed with Milk—Experiments—Cost of a Calf at One Year—Whey Ration for the Calf—Prof. Voelcher’s Analysis of Whey—What is Needed to Build the Bones—Hay-tea Rations for Calves—What Age for Beef—Early Maturity— Baby Beef—Cost of a ‘Baby Bullock ’°—Cost of American Baby Steer— Quality of Young Beef—The Economy of Young Beef—Effect of Age upon Gain per day—Chicago Fat Stock Shows—Tables—Cost of Production— Tables—English View of Cost of Beef—Fattening Oxen—Cost of Gain— Value of Manure of Fattening Cattle—Cost of Beef—Steaming the Rations —Whole Cost of the Bullock—Growing Cattle for Beef—Home-bred Cattle —Summer Feeding—Management of Pastures—Blue Grass—Wire Grass— Meadow Grass—Meadow Fescue—Sheep Fescue—Orchard Grass—Herds Grass—Sweet-scented Vernal Grass—Temporary Pastures—What Grasses may be Used—Full Feeding in Summer—Corn as a Single Diet—Cattle- feeding in Cold Weather—Warm Stables—Out Door Feedings—German Feeding Standard—Cattle Rations—Tables—Rations for Milch Cow—Clover and Corn Rations for Fattening Cattle—Waste Products in Cattle Rations— Rations for Fattening Cattle—Linseed and Cottonseed Cake—Rations for Oxen at Hard Work—How to Feed the Corn Crop—Mode of Cutting and Handling—Improvement of the Corn Ration—Beef to the Acre of Corn— - Condimental Foods—Analysis—Feeding on Small Farms—Garden Truck WREMIB See eee keer cere ates shee vette sae vtec ces oeveseestors: Wl ire ies, 288 JU CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. PAGE. Feeding Dairy Cattle—Selecting Dairy Cows—Besides Fine Proportions they must have Milking Qualities—A Thoroughbred Male should always be Used—Size of Dairy Cows—Large or Small Cows the Best—The Respective Dairies of Messrs. Boies, Bronson. and Blodgett—Food and Size of Dairy Cows—With Common Feed and Care—With Best Feed and Care—Milk Ration at Eldena—Tables—Large Cows are more Economical Milk Pro- ducers—Feeding Dairy Cattle—Special Feeding for Milk—Experiments of Feeding Heifer—German Experiments—The Cowas a food producer—Com- position of 6,000 lbs. of Milk—How Fat is Produced—Variety of Food for Milk—English Practice—Fatten Cows in Milk—Value of Cow Manure— Food Production—American Rations for Milk—Tables—Water for Milch Cows—Pasturing Dairy Cows—Variety of Grasses—Extra Food to Fertilize Pastures: ..cccc cosets bide lis bye wideiricke Saha «gare re lofarepel si the otnysaialre ala che Tete peteaae eerste 317 CHAPTER X. - Horses—Horse kept for his Muscle—Colt—Milk Ration for Colt—Food for the Dam—No Objection to Light Work—Colt should be Handled Daily—Weight and Growth of Foals—Tables—Boussingault’s Experiments—Exercise for Colts—Food for Horses—Youatt’s English Ration—German Experiments— Meadow Hay fully Digested—Crude Albuminoids—Non-nitrogenous Con- stituents—Digestibility of Winter Wheat Straw—Concentrated Feeding Stuffs—Result of Experiments—Standard Ration—Dr. Wolff’s Experi- ments—Rations for Light Work—For Heavy Work—Practical Rations— Rations for Omnibus Horses—Ration of all Corn Meal and Hay—Grass, Peas and Oats Preferred—Bulky Food—Beans more Concentrated than Outs—Should Feed One-third Beans to Two-thirds Oats—Oats Contain as much Bulk of Fiber as Meal when Ground—Fibrous Food Necessary—Pea Meal and Hay Adapted for Work—Corn Meal for Horses—Must be Fed Carefully—Table of Foods—Malt Sprouts as a Food—Tables of Rations for Horses of 1,000 pounds: Weight—Stage Companies’ Method of Feeding— Not Much Salt Used—Tables of Rations of Different Lines—Stable Feeding during the Winter—Feeding for Fast Work—Colts should be Fed Well and Change of Food given Often—The Various Grains for Variety of Food— Oats—Barley—Rye—Millet—Meal—Peas—The Vetch—The Colt should be Handled at Frequent intervals, and should have Confidence in his Trainer, 361 CHAPTER XI. Sheep—They must be Bred for Mutton as well as Wool—The General Improve- ment of Sheep in all Countries—Sheep Feeding in New Jersey—The Method of Pushing them to Early Market—Old System of Slow Growth and Late Maturity Abandoned—The Double Income—Six Sheep Kept in Place of One Cow—Early Maturity—Difference between Scanty and Full Feeding— Selection of Sheep for Breeding—Mutton should be the First Consideration, Wool the Second—The Best must be Selected, and the Defective Weeded Out—The Result of Crossing Southdowns and Merinos—Summer Feeding of Small Flocks—Bakewell’s Method of Breeding—Hurdle Feeding—Mov- able Hurdle Fence Necessary—Fertilizing Land by Feeding Sheep upon it— CONTENTS. 1 : PAGE. Compensation for Food in Manure—Experiments with Sheep— Tables of Nitrogen and Ash Constituents—Composition of Solid and Liquid Excre- ment of Sheep Fed on Hay—Table of Foods—Value of Solid and Liquid Excrement—An Experiment—Sheep on Worn-out Lands—How Deterio- rated Lands may be Improved—Feeding Green Crops on the Land—Winter Rye—Winter Vetch—Vetch Second to Clover—Peas as a Pasture Crop— Peas will Flourish on a Variety of Soils—Ouats are an Important Crop—Mil- let for Pasture—Roots for Sheep Feeding—Turnips and Beets—Rape— Ensilage for Winter Feeding—Managing a Flock—Regularity of Feeding— Experiments—English Sheep Feeding—Experiments with Roots—Grain and Grass—Feeding Young Lambs—German Experiments in Sheep Feeding— Table—Before Shearing—Cutting and Cooking Fodder for Sheep—Experi- ment with 25 Medium-sized Sheep—Another Experiment with 300 Sheep— OS TIOP SUCAMIIN Geom rape rin o's Cohcrciercis Oh palo ic arars eA Nie crete ait Sale es ielahein amgelar 400 CHAPTER. XE. Swine—Products of Pig Exported—Care of Breeding Sows—Clover and Grass proper Food for Pigs—The Sow’s Milk Richer than the Cow’s—Weight of Pigs ut Birth—Milk Yielded by Dam—Rations for Young Pigs—Corn Meal Mixed with Milk—Feeding Whey to Pigs—Grass as a Part of the Ration— Soiling System for Swine—Pig in Winter—Corn Meal as Pig Food—Swine House—Dr. Stetson’s Explanations of his Piggery —Another Plan of Swine House—A Self-cleaning Pen—Cooking Hog Food—Method of Feeding— Arrangement for Applying Steam—No Storing Period—Fattening Period— Selecting Pigs for Fattening—Philosophy of Cooking Food—Double Value of Meal by Cooking—Will it Pay to Cook for Hogs?—Must be Fed in a WYATIMPATMOSPHELO\aemercre cow oe cose ss ceca slo eine sieerae y einiewne Heli ctie'ecets Stns 458 CHAPTER XIII. Water Remedies— Uses of Water in the Diseases of Cattle—The Udder Inflamed—Fever and Inflammation—Garget—Puerperial or Milk Fever— Water Treatment for Horses—Wounds—Bruises—Sprains — Simple Cut Wounds—Sprained Ankle—Treatment for Colic—Food Medicines....... .. 493 APPENDIX. American Ensilage in England—Transporting Ensilage in Casks—Succulent Food Produces a Sound, Even Staple of Wool—Vvelcker’s Analysis and Re- port on Maize and Rye Ensilage—Effect of Ensilage on Havemeyer’s Large Herd of Jerseys—Rye Ensilage Superior to Corn—Experiments at Hough- ton Farm with Corn Ensilage vs. Dry Food.................... Sabor. See eee 5(2 APPENDIX TO THIRD EDITION. Definitions—Fastening Cattle in Stable—Watering Cows in Stable—Improvement of Breed by Feeding—Preparing Food for a Large Stock—Cost of Good Beef—Building Stables Under Old Barns—Improvement of Dairy Cows for EMUAB Ea Seek seats spe het raeaihd Wipe pWeuida wets Vacs seh vbsives six cvisisecQlGeedD 12 CONTENTS. APPENDIX TO THIRD EDITION. Definitions—Albuminoids—Carbohydrates .............0.--2ee eee cccecenscce: 534 Fastening Cattle in the Stable—Stanchions—Chains and Staples—Strap and Snap on Cow’s Neck—Chain Without Staples—Cow Should have Freedom Ob. POsinon in ying Downs oo a2 3 ee wie aie. sic ois iwsn 513.4 eseyeu cpelelo(e ls ie ere ets 514 Watering Cows in Stable—Wooden Trough Best—Water given at about 60°— Cow may Help ‘Herselfat Pleasure <2... ~ cs. soe 2 oaieaatses oss oe eee 516 Improvement of Breed by Feeding—All Breeds Capable of Improvement, and Feeding the best Means—Bakewell Improved the Long Horns by Feeding —Experiment of the Author—Two Scrub-eHeifers and a Bull the Basis— Each Generation Improved—Fourth Generation more than Doubled with Production—Became Uniform in Size, Color, etc..............-.-.esscee-- 519 Preparing Food for a Large Stock—Mixing Cylinder—Mixing all by Machin- ery—Various Forms of Steam Boxes—Rotary Steam Box—Rotary Box may be used for Mixing without Steaming—Steam Box made of Iron.... 524 Cost of Good Beef—Cost of Steer 3 Years Old—American Fat Stock Show Furnished a Basis to Show Cost of Beef—Table of Ages, Weight, ete — Summary of the Whole —Gain in Periods—Cost of Production—Tablex of Cost in Periods—The Third Year Costs -Nearly as Much as First and Second Years—Cheapest Beef at 20 to 24 Months....... ..............---- 529 Building Stables under Old Barns—Method of Raising and Putting under Concrete Wall—Boxing for Concrete Wall— Cost for Different Sized Barns 535 Improvement of Dairy Cows for Butter-—All Breeds will Respond to Improved Feeding—The Jersey and Holstein-Friesian have made Great Improve- ment Here—A Developed Cow Maintains her Improvement—Effect of Feeding upon Quality of Milk—Several Cows Mentioned in Illustration— Is the Greatest Yield the Cheapest?—The Largest Production Should be the Cheapest—Princess 2d, Mary Anne of St. Lambert, and 10 other 16-lb. Cows Mentioned—Analyzed Rations—Skillful Feeding Gives the Greatest Yield at the Least Proportional Cost....... MES PPE POON Scisleissticrareiee 537 ADDITIONS TO FOURTH EDITION. Food Tables of 140 foods by American chemists, with digestible nutrients CATTICR OUG.. -. cee. Ooi eae BRE rere Oe net ecg EL AM A—158 Improvement of manner of fastening cattle in stable. Appendix to third OULIOHY 6.5 coers cine ae oe ee ics ale cate Tach eee oe eee 514 INTRODUCTION. Tue live stock interest of the United States has ex- pazded so rapidly during the last two decades and has now reached such proportions as to lead every other agricultural industry. In fact, it may be said that most other branches of farming are merely incidental to the great live stock industry—that is, all our cereal grains and grasses, except wheat and rice, are raised with a special reference to their value as food for animals. That the importance and value of this great interest in agriculture may be apparent, we will glance at the statistics of each of its specialties, giving only the numbers and value of each class of live stock, without considering their annual income : HORSES AND MULES. 1840. 1850. 1860. 1870. 1880. PEOPSOS 10 5 a5 aise 4,000,000 4,336,719 6,249,174 8,702,000 — 12,000,000 Rc at on Suen attain eo gdb ae? tcc ewe pen Lime wa ee ee $740,000, 000 Matias. 30s 2. 335,669 559,831 1,151,148 1,242,311 — 2,000,000 AEN v/s tee bate | BAO Che Re eine a Set et ey eee et $140, 000,000 Total value, horses and mules. .........2-sseeeeeeeeecees $880, 000,000 These figures follow closely the census reports and those made by the Department of Agriculture for these periods. CATTLE. 1850. 1860. 1870. 1880. Milch Cows......... 6,385,094 8,728,852 10,023,000 13,433,000 In 1880 the number must reach 12,000,000, value....... ... $322, 392,000 Other cattle......... 11,993,763 16,911,475 18,348,581 28,982,560 And must now reach 25,000,000, value.........+..seeeeeeeee $481,686, 080 Total value of cattle ........ ccc cerccwccceccnccecceses $803,078, 080 14 INTRODUCTION. SHEEP. 1850. 186 ). 1870. 1880. 21,'732,229 22,471,275 28,477,951 40,000,000 GG Ol -RRCE DG. oo ots wi c5s ns Sa ass + eh oes ne wean nee $95,600,000 SWINE 1840. 1850. 1860. 1870. 1880. 26,301,293 30,354, 213 33,512,867 29,457,500 47,683,951 WV Be OL AWARD 35 sth Soo eed ot ood Sgelets menial os $224, 114,500 Total value of these four classes of live stock ...... $2,002,792, 580 This, over two thousand millions, is the invested capital, and the yearly production is more than one thousand millions of dollars. We have from two to three times the number of cattle, in proportion to population, as compared with the principal countries of Europe, and from three to six times as many swine in proportion to population ; nearly three times the proportional number of horses of France, the German states or England. Russia is the only country approximating the United States in the proportion of horses. England, France and Germany equal the United States in the proportional number of sheep. It will thus be seen that the live stock industry of this country is already very great, but the small proportion of our land yet improved shows that live stock production is capable of almost indefinite extension ; and that this exten- sion must depend largely upon the intelligence and practical knowledge with which the business is pursued. It is evi- dent that a small saving in the cost of production will amount to very great figures when applied to such enor- mous aggregates. And when we consider the complicated nature of the animal system, and that the growth of the animal depends upon the supply of appropriate food, it becomes apparent that the successful prosecution of this business depends upon a sound theoretical and practical knowledge of the relation of food to animal growth. And - yet when a novice, desirous of acquiring this knowledge, seeks aid from books which treat systematically and prac- INTRODUCTION. 15 tically upon this most important subject, he finds only fragmentary hints here and there in books and agricultural journals. He will find books upon breeds of cattle, horses, sheep and swine—books upon the philosophy of breeding— but upon the philosophy and practice of feeding animals he will find nothing complete, even for a single class of animals, It is true we may find a very good exposition of the German experiments in Dr. Armsby’s Manual of Cattle Feeding, but these experiments are not sufficiently broad to cover the whole field, and have not yet been practically adapted to our needs. - They are well worthy of our careful study, and we shall endeavor to show the extent of their application to American cattle feeding. As all farmers, from time immemorial, have been in the habit of feeding more or less animals, it has been taken for granted that this knowledge came by instinct, and required no study to obtain. When a superior animal was produced, an explanation was always sought in the breed— it was always charged to the blood. When anything is now said concerning the management of those famous breeders who developed the Long-horns and the Short-horns from the inferior animals they began with, their skill and genius in selecting the points to be improved and the animals to be coupled, representing these in greatest per- fection, are always dwelt upon with the highest admiration. Little else is mentioned. They forget the grand requisite of success, without which these celebrated breeders would have been little distinguished above their neighboring farmers, and that is—feeding. It may be laid down as an axiom, that breeding alone can produce nothing beyond what is inherent in the animals coupled and their an- cestors. Something never comes from nothing. It is food and management that makes a beautiful specimen of any strain of blood. A skillful feeder may often grow a more perfect individual animal out of a three-quarter blood 16 INTRODUCTION. Short-horn than an indifferent feeder will out of the longest and most fashionably pedigreed Short-horn. Darwin expresses the opinion that food is one of the most powerful causes of variation in animals,* and when an improvement is thus begun by judicious feeding it may be perpetuated by breeding ; but feeding leads the improyve- ment. This position does not undervalue pedigree, for it takes a long effort of both breeding and feeding to establish the fixed characteristics of the Short-horns, or other pure breeds ; but it is folly to magnify the pedigree extrava- gantly, and forget the essential agency that established the improvement and made the pedigree valuable. But all this is gradually changing, and farmers are beginning to see the importance of closely studying the effect of food upon the animals they rear and feed. The Germans have felt the want of knowledge upon this subject, and have been diligently experimenting upon it, especially for the last fifteen years. ‘They are assisting in laying a foundation for the science of feeding, and the experiment stations of this country, we trust, will soon be working in the same direction. The author, from extensive observation among stock raisers and feeders, believes that a practical work upon feeding animals, which shall use only so much of scientific formula as is necessary to a proper understanding of the subject, is now more needed than upon any other branch of agriculture. And it has been his primary object, in the preparation of this book, to discuss every topic from a practical standpoint, adding to the personal experience of the author all well-established data and experiments of the most intelligent investigators. Science and practice must go hand-in-hand. Happily, the prejudice of the farmer against science in his calling is fast dying out ; and the scientific investigator cordially welcomes the practicai *Animals and Plants, vol. 2, p. 309." INTRODUCTION. 17 information of the most accurate farmers, and bases his de- ductions largely upon the facts which they have established. Our farm animals are kept with a view to use or profit. It is, therefore, of the highest importance that the food consumed should produce the best result in growth or product. To aid the reader in understanding the value of the different foods, the chemical constituents of each is given from analyses by the best chemists of this country and Europe; and added to this, all the most reliable experiments in feeding, both in this country and England, together with the German experiments to determine the digestibility and nutritive value of the ingredients in each food com- monly employed in growing and fattening animals, are given and explained. These German experiments are the most important contribution to the science of feeding during the last quarter of a century. And these German tables, in connection with the numerous feeding trials given for each class of stock, it is hoped will enable the practical feeder to fully comprehend the comparative and economical value of each class of foods he desires to employ. Animal physiology is so far treated and illustrated as to give a general insight into the process of digestion in the different classes of farm stock; and the principles of animal hygiene so far considered as to suggest the general mode of preventive treatment to maintain the health of animals. As shelter is an important item in the economical man- agement of stock in many of our states, the subject of the construction of barns and basement stables, for all purposes of stock-keeping, is discussed and illustrated. The new system of ensilage appears to have so many important advantages in preserving all the succulent quali- ties and digestibility of the grasses and leguminous plants, and to render practical theapplication of the soiling system 18 INTRODUCTION. to all parts of the country—placing the cold and the mild climates upon nearly equal advantage—that it is thought worthy of a full statement of all its good points, illustrated with plans of silos, and with practical directions for build- ing the same in the most economical manner, from the various materials found in different localities. FEEDING ANIMALS. CPL PH Ee COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL BODIES. Tuat the reader may have a clear understanding of the philosophy of growing animals, and of the office to be performed by the food, we deem it necessary to give a short preliminary explanation of vegetable and animal bodies. The true relation of animal to vegetable life is not so well comprehended by the mass of farmers as it should be, and a concise statement of these principles will assist them in understanding their application to the various subjects discussed in this book. The natural function of plants or vegetables is to absorb the inorganic matter of soil and air, and convert it into organized structures of a complex character. Plants use only mineral food, and advance this by organizing it into a higher form. Their food consists mostly of water, car- bonic acid and ammonia. Water is composed of oxygen and hydrogen; carbonic acid is made up of carbon and oxygen; and ammonia of hydrogen and nitrogen. These four elements are called the organic elements, because they compose the bulk of all plants. The combustible portion of all plants and animals is made up of these organic elements; the incombustible part is formed of sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine, potassium, sodium, calcium, magne- 20 FEEDING ANIMALS. sium, silicon, and iron. ‘hese are the principal elements. Sometimes iodine, bromine, and a few other simple element- ary bodies are found in plants and animals. Vegetable and animal substances are often looked upon as very different in their composition, but the most important of these elements are quite identical in vegetables and animals. Vegetabie albumen, which is often found coagulated in boiling vegetable juices, is identical with the albumen of the white of eggs. The fibrin of blood is in no wise differ- ent from the fibrin of wheat and many other cereal grains; and the curd or casein of milk is the same as the legumen of peas and beans. And these substances are all converti- ble into each other within the animal organism. We shall consider the sevarate elements of vegetable foods in the next chapter. It was formerly supposed that animals had the power of changing and combining the elements of their food into such form as their necessities required; but it is now believed that they do not possess the power of even com- pounding the substance of the muscles from its elements, and can only appropriate from vegetables what they find ready formed for their use—that the vegetable must elabo- rate, and the animal can merely appropriate. Food, then, must contain all the elements of animal bodies. It will therefore be profitable to consider the composition of animal bodies—the blood, the flesh, or muscles, the fat, the bones, the skin, hair or wool, horn, ete. 1st. The blood, on an average, contains water, 79 per cent., and 20 per cent. of organic matters, consisting prin- cipally of a nitrogenous substance analagous to fibrin, which separates in long strings when blood is beaten with a stick immediately after being drawn, and some albumen, which remains dissolved in the liquid part of the blood or serum. On heating, the albumen coagulates and separates into whitish flakes, like the white of eggs, with which it is COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL BODIES. 21 identical in composition, also some fatty matter and a trace of sugar. The ash of blood is almost one per cent., and is rich in chloride of sodium, or common salt, and contains a large proportion of the phosphates of soda, lime and magnesia. To the eye the blood appears to be a homogeneous red liquid, but on microscopic examination is found to consist of a colorless fluid—called liguor sanguinis, or plasma of the blood--holding in suspension very great numbers of globular bodies—the colored and colorless corpuscles of the blood. The colored greatly outnumber the colorless cor- puscles; and the former consist largely of coloring matter —hemoglobin—which gives blood its red color. The shade of color depends upon the amount of oxygen. Ar- terial blood contains oxyhemoglobin, which is a bright red, crystaline body, having a similar composition to albumin- oids, but with the addition of about 0.45 per cent. of iron, from which the color is supposed to be derived. We here give a tabular view, exhibiting the relative composition of the blood corpuscles and the liquor sanguinis, as deter- mined by Schmidt and Lehman: 1,000 Parts of Blood Corpuscles Céntain : Contain : WBE eiet sat asian oes ones 688 .00 WYSE obo ao Soegee os Sig on oe 902.90 Solid constituents .......... 312.00 Solid constituents .......... 97.10 Specific gravity ............ 1088.5 Specific eravity -xcecs5 <0 se0e. 1028 DUAN 552s oi Stee ok ea eee wom ee 4.05 Hezemoglobin and proteids of Proteids, chiefly serum-albu- fhe Stroma is 5..6ees 25 S00 298 .97 APU oe ee we bwinle sn aaa ee ee 78.84 i lier vues Bove canta ie a aimee to 2.31 Batti a 5 «cans ares ntainiare,a wie «Sta ete oe 1.72 Extractive matters......... 2.60 Extractive matters.......... 3.94 Mineral substances ......... 8.12 Mineral substances.......... 8.55 Chlorine ...... A RO RE 1.686 CUSTARD ladon wing os earache 3.644 Sulphur trioxide ............ 0.066 Sulphur trioxide ............ 0.155 Phosphorus pentoxide....... 1.154 Phosphorus pentoxide....... 0.191 Passe. CANE Oe coy 3 Sie pao Oe 3.328 Pobassiiin: 353s ee tows aoe 0.323 SOC ID ics, ides tha a ea ten mysiales 1.052 SOTO 55 aia cn ciate se aE hs = 3 debe 3.341 PPV OM ee ne ane iars oesilaie «= eas 0. OG4, RE ON eats kein Gs awit nde inate 0.403 Calcium phosphate.......... 0.114 Calcium phosphate.......... 0 311 Magnesium phosphate ....... 0.073 Magnesium phosphate .......0.222 1,000 Parts of Liquor Sanguinis 22 FEEDING ANIMALS. The blood contains all the elements of every part of the body. Yet it bears but a small proportion to the whole body, averaging only from 6 to 8 percent. Although the blood is constantly furnishing material to build up the tissues of the body in every part, yet its quantity remains practically the same, and its chemical constituents may be considered unvarying—the blood is constantly forming from the food and as constantly being absorbed by the secretory vessels. 2d. The fleshy parts, or muscles, of animals consist, principally, of muscular fibre, or fibrin; and contain, besides cellular tissue, nervous substance, blood, and lym- phatic vessels and an acid juice. ‘This juice contains lactic acid, a little albumen, some salts of potash, phosphate of lime, and magnesia, and gives the taste to flesh. This muscular fibre has a close analogy to the fibrin ot blood, to albumen, white of eggs, casein, gluten, legumen, and albu- men of vegetables. All these substances contain about 16 | per cent. of nitrogen, and a small quantity ot phosphorus and sulphur. These albuminoids contained in the muscles, cellular tissue, blood and lymphatic vessels have a general compo- sition, according to J. F. W. Johnston, of: ~ MY LUG so he aie ets walee Cv ee oR oe 77.00 Albuminoids, with a little fat............. 22.00 Phosphate Ob me ivccte 263s Vasa wee noes .66 Other saline matter (sulphur, etc.) ........ .34 100.00 The ultimate composition of albuminoids has about the following average : CAT HOR. a wis. s, chiles atten Aotene Pathe eRe eal anne 53.00 Hy Groves occ esnvar ste cce sv aban see Senos 7.00 Wathen: it casein cn noes we omen oe 16.00 ORY RON 5s cca Wves Crake eee eee a eaae ee 22.50 Bal Phar vieiss cao ees Ga ave sed ene emnae 1 50 COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL BODIES. 23 It will be important when considering the effect of albuminoids in the fattening ration of animals to refer to this analysis. 3d. The skin, hair, horn, hoof and wool possess a simi- lar composition to the muscular parts of the animal body, the principal difference consisting in a larger proportion of sulphur (three to five per cent.) which they contain, and varying proportions of nitrogen. They consist of a sub- stance resembling gluten and gelatine in composition, and, containing less water than muscular fibre, they leave from one to two per cent. of ash. According to Johnston they contain of organic matter : Horse’s Hoof. Skin. Wool. Hair. Horn. (Mulder.) ATOMS Sik fe ipia ete tarde 51.41 50.99 50.65 51.53 51.99 EVOrogel 3 ics <5 se0<% 6.96 7.07 7.05 6.69 6.72 PGPORON 56 <5 o'< aie sos 17.46 18.72 uy ge @ | 17.94 17.28 Oxygen and Sulphur. 24.72 23.22 24.61 23.84 24.01 a — 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 4th. The fat of animals is a mixture of several organic compounds, which are all distinguished by containing a large proportion of carbon, united with oxygen and hydro- gen, but has no nitrogen, or inorganic matter. The same constituents which are found in animal exist in the vege- table oils and fatty matters of vegetables, In order that the reader may have a mode of comparison of the relative value of fat and starch in foods, we give the following average analyses of fats: Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. OOE Labs seks ecw srevew ae ore 76.50 11.91 11.59 Mutton fat ........eeeees 76.61 12.03 11.36 Pork fab. ..00 iccsvccviesee 76.54 11.94 11.52 5th. The bones consist of about one-third organic matter, made up mostly of gelatine, containing about 18 per cent. of nitrogen ; and the other two-thirds, or 66 per cent., of phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, phosphate of magnesia, potash and common salt. 24 FEEDING ANIMALS. The formula given by Johnston is as follows : COMPOSITION OF BONES. Gelb GinG ous ca oss. ava ete cae el eee 35 Phosphate of lime! 600.14. nineteen 55 (Containing phosphoric acid, 25.58) Carbonate of Hime .t;.37...5. <2 saeeeke meee Phosphate of magnesia. 2.2 ..1-jonsadeee ss « « 3 Soda, potash and common salt.............. 3 100 This is from the mature animal. The bones of an animal at birth do not contain more than 50 per cent. of ash. Chemically considered, then, animal bodies consist of : 1st. Organic matters free from nitrogen. 2d. Organic mat- ters rich in nitrogen—fibrin and albumin. 3d. Inorganic salts—chloride of sodium, phosphate of lime, potash, etc. 4th. Water. These constituents of the animal body must all be derived from the food. That most painstaking and accurate experimenter, to whom all agriculturists are deeply indebted, Sir J. B. Lawes, of Rothamsted, England, with his assistant, Dr. Gilbert, undertook an experiment, a few years ago, to determine the proportion of the different parts of the animal, and the composition of each part. The fat and the nitrogenous or lean was carefully determined by analy- sis in the dressed carcass, in the offal, and in the entire animal. ‘There were a large number of oxen, sheep and pigs in these feeding experiments, and from these ten were selected. These consisted of a fat calf, a half-fat ox, a fat ox, a fat lamb, a store sheep, a half-fat old sheep, a fat sheep, a very fat sheep, a store pig and a fat pig. The popular idea had been that all animals, except the fattest, contained more lean flesh than fat. But this table refutes this idea most conclusively. The fat ox and fat lamb contained about three times as much fat as lean flesh. This table, which we give, contains very precise evidence COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL BODIES. 25 of the useful and the waste parts of the animal, and can be studied with profit, as showing how the parts of the animal change as the process of fattening goes on.* In explanation of this table: The careass is that part of the animal consumed as food. The offal is made up of those parts not consumed as human food, and embraces skin, feet, head and all the internal organs, except the kid- ney and kidney fat. The relative proportion of fat in the carcasses analyzed is given; but the nitrogenous matters are found in large proportion in the offal, so that the rela- tive proportions of the constituents of the whole body are considered. In a fat and fully-grown animal, there is 49 per cent. of water, 33 per cent. of dry fat, 13 per cent. of dry nitrogenous matter—muscles separated from fat, hide, etc., and 3 per cent. of mineral matter. In the lean animal the average proportion is 54 per cent. of water, 254 per cent. of dry fat, 17 per cent. of dry nitrogenous matter, and 34 per cent. of mineral substances. This table contains a summary of the most important experiments ever carried out to ascertain the facts here stated. This clearly shows how a lean animal exchanges water for fat, and how the animal may be improving most profitably without gaining much in weight by a substitu- tion of fat for water. He shows that during the last stages of fattening the gain may consist of 75 or more per cent. of dry substance. ? We place this table in the first chapter that it may be easy of reference in illustration of the feeding experi- ments given in the progress of the work. We also print here an extensive table of proportions of the various parts of cattle, sheep, and swine, from the Ger- man of Wolff, for a translation of which we are indebted * “* Experimental Inquiry into the Composition of some of the Animals Slaughtered as Human Food.” By John Bennet Lawes, F. R.8., F.C.8., and Joseph Henry Gilbert, Ph. D., F. C. 8. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Part II., 1860. 2 8 ; ; sreessssssretIae yey AIOA sa eee eeeeeeeeeeeeeees grBUE ¢°98 | SSL | G2'S | 4 -tue yey At0A pue ‘qu ‘4Ry ELF | 96'9 | FOF | 66S | SET | SOE || CLG | GCF | HGS | PLT | SI'S b'9F | 9S JLBY OY} JO FUSIO Jo Suva 0'6P | &1°9 | 6 FF | G8s | SET | ALE || 8°89 | STH | OLS | GAT | O'S || PBF | OTS PHS | SEL | 69'S po” TTB JO suveyl ep | 46°S | LS | Gah | GOL | SOT || PGS | 9°0F | 8°GS | BFL | L6°S || 9°88 | P19 | G6h | SOL | OPT) Te oe ape a I'o¢ |} eG | 2°68 | S's | 2°eL | 29°S || 6°19 | Les | OST | OPE | 10'S || SSG | AHH | LSS | OFT | A'S |e’ Bid einig , z'ce | SI'S | 9°6S | 8° | GOL | 06'S || T'Sh | 6'FS | 9 FE | BOL | F9'S || O'GE | OLD] Ted] 16 | see | tt deoys 4vy Vax beh | 70'9 | 9°09 | 9°CS | GST | 18'S |] SSG | 8 FH | 9S | TYL | GE's || 2°68 | G09 | HSH | GIT | Ghee jo deeys yet wo 809 | 906] 2°OF | Ges | O'FE | AL'S || T'19| 6°88! SSL | 220 | 2s || 16h | G09} Se | 6 FL | GLP |°°*° °° ** deoys pro yey JTeH eS #249] 009} 2°98 | LSE | SFL | OLS || 2°E9 | G98 | TOL | OBL | GIS || SAG | 4 SP | BES | GL | 9S'F | “o" tte 87° daays 109g tt g Lp | b9°8 | 2°eh | G'8s | Sst | F6°S || SBS} G1h | 1°06 | 6ST | Sh'S || 9'8b | PIS | 6°98) GOL | EOE [°° wt 8 quel yey st 6Gg'Sh | 86°S | S'8h | L'08 | SFL | 26'S || 8°eg | B24h | S98 | SLT | OP'S || O°SH | PFS | BFS | OGL | OGH [°c XO BET = GTg | 6L°8 | SOP | T'6L | 9'9T | 99°F || 9°69 | FOF | LST | 9°06 | CO'F || O'FS | O'9F | 9'UG | BLT | OGG | °°" XO ABE IIMA - 8°s9 | 4E°S | 8°88 | SPL | SST | 08'S || 6'F9 | ESS] OPE | LLL | TPS || Geo | 228 | OST | BOL | SPR |” Coe" we BO Ae cs al o/s|s/ ele] alel]si el el 4alel2] ele z 2 i|22/ 2 (Flos) Fi 2/2) Fl of) Fl 2] 2 | #98) & ee ee B24) § 2 | B B2| § s | 2 Bia} 8 a : oe a see je f sh ga} & ; B ee |e : ra See eso | 2 2 eS] 2 23 | 2 a ieee se | 5 é 5 3 . 5 ER | gp | ‘SIVRINY dO NolLaraosaq 4|°8 ae) 3 Pa | & 8 Pe| & = . ro) ss . ° 4 . ~) Le ’ i] c— - S oe ee Re Ne PE Sr es nats) EH |e) SR wm “IVWINY HZHILNGY NI “LNAD Yad ‘IVddiO NI ‘LNHO Add ‘SSVOUVD NI 'LINGD Yad ‘(SOUTJSOYUL PUB YORIMOJS JO SJM4MOD Jo FYSIOM OY} S10JO.10N) SUIPN[OUL “QU Stem OATT POjsBJ) [BUIIUB OI1QUe UT “pg ‘(SOUTJSEJUL PUB TYORUIOYS JO syueqUOD. Surpnyoxe ‘syed Jo wins [enbe) [vyo YySelj UL “py ‘ssvoivo YSetf Ul “4ST ‘UHLV AM ONV HONVISHAG AUC IVLOY, ‘LV ‘SANNOdWOD SNOUNADNOULIN Jon) as Aud ‘AALLV YY IVUENITYT JO ANVINEOUAG AHL YNIMOHS-—STIVHINY NO], AHL AO NOILISOUWOS) AHL AO AUVNWAG COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL BODIES. 23 to Dr. Armsby’s Manual of Cattle Feeding. A study of this table will give the reader accurate information of the percentage proportion of all the various parts of the animal, and he will see the proportion of valuable parts, and the true basis of judging of the value of an animal to the butcher, ete. This table will be needed for frequent reference. It showsin an admirable way the changes from the lean to the fat animal, from the young to the mature. We trust that in this chapter the reader will find a full explanation of all questions that may arise in relation to the composition of animal bodies. PROPORTIONS OF THE VARIOUS. PARTS oF CATTLE, SHEEP AND SWINE. OX: SHEEP. SWINE. o re : S 3 1 oS oI ses = Ca ea Fe Spee ps = || & Lom) ~ [om ea) ele se] el sl} e| Fl sl Filmi aleal al el] el slel el é per ct. | per ct. |per ct. | per ct.||per ct. |per ct. |per ct. per ct.|per ct.) | per ct. |per ct. 18.0, 15.0) 12.0) 7.0); 16.0) 15.0) 14.0] 12.0) 10.0]] 7.0] 5.0 Contents of stom- ach and intes- GINES a-Storc esa | es AE 4.7 4.2) 3.9) 4.8!) 3.9 ial 5.6).-3.2|. 3.21) 7.3) 3.6 Skin and horns «.-) 8.4/7.4) 620) 6.8 | egs to gambrel r ‘| ~9.6) 9.3! 8.0] 7.21 6.5 joints.......... PS ded) AaB) 1.8 Washed wool...... Sts Re lease al ieaetes 5.0) 4.7) 4.3) 4.0] 3.6 oo Sdivmaaoces ee ae see ee 4.8) 4.5} 4.0) 3.6] 3.2 CAD Sess tas 3 : 2.6 “ Tongue and gullet..| 0.6] 06] 0.5 $4.8 4.6] 4.3) 3.7) 3.2) 2.8 0.5 0.4 Heart Sed a 3. 0.4; 05; 0.5) 0.6]| 0.4) 0.3] 0.4] 0.3] 0.2/! 0.5! 0 3 Pe a nopive Ot 0-7 0-6) 1.2 2.5)" 1-5t 1.26 £.0) 2.01) -1.4)0.9 iver and gall . ry bladder,” ¢----{ 1-5 £8] 1.3] 16! 1.4) 2.3] 1.31 1.31 1.0] 26) 4.5 Diaphragm .... . 0.5) 0.5) 0.5] 0.4|| 0.3] 0.3] 0.3] 0.2 0.21; ser h Rast Spleen . ee 0.2) 0.2) 0.2] 0.3]] 0.2] 0.2} 0.2] 0.1] 0.11] 0.2 0.2 Stomach, without) 4.5/ 3.0! 2.7] 1.2|| 2.41 2.81 2.81 2.01 1.51] 1.21 0.7 contents... .... Intestines, with- out contents... Fat of omentum and intestines.. Four quarters, in- cluding kidneys 47.4) 55.7) 60.3] 60.0|| 43.3] 45.3] 49.4] 52.8 57.1/| 72.8] 82-1 and kidney fat, . EMS Ls sawiets bes ties #4) Rll 4.4)).4:61!' 1.3 0.8) 0.5) 0.6) 0.3] 0.9} 0.4 Ota eo. wades 100.0 es a Sa 100.0} |100.0| 100.0100 .0}100.0 100.0! 100.0/100.0 Ba Sh el a aaa A SR Se Ea Sa ae BP L.9ree a 1.8 2.4/) 3.0) 4.1) 4.9 6.8] 8.0] 1.7] 2.5 ~ i=) _ pe ON _ oT _—_—_—oOre ener een om co) co vo =) ~ 28 FEEDING ANIMALS. SUMMARY. Ox SHEEP. SWINE & rh a aS & ee: & ray ges 25 bz a 3 a ee 3 43 FS x Cj 3 ® x 3 o & ss BE) eel ogide Ball aol Ba oe leah be he Bee | per ct.|per ct.| per ct.| per ct.||per ct. | per ct. Bindi: feet 1 4.7} 4.2} 3.9] 4.8/| 3.9] 3.9] 3.6] 3.2] 3.2\| 7.3] 3.0 Skin, head, ah 13.7| 12.4] 10.9] 13.5|| 24.0] 22.81 20.0! 18.0] 16.1 per ct. |per ct. |per ct. |per ct.||per ct. and tongue .... She Hinttranls’ 2. sc ,sae sce 9.8) 0.4) C2) aaa SRO sealed 2OLO| gorditas Flesh and fat ...... 49.7| 58.6) 64.8] 62.4]) 46.3) 49.4) 54.3) 59.6) 65.1]} 74. 4 Contents of stom- ach and intes- 18.0} 15.0} 12.0) 7.0]| 16.0) 15.0} 14.0} 12.0] 10.0}]| 7. CAIGSS foe ce hee 2 : CONSTITUENTS OF CARCASS (DRESSED WEIGHT, INCLUDING FAT OF OMENTUM, ETC.). Flesh, without fat ‘i ny and bnew: : 36.0, 38.0) 35.0) 43.0)| 33.2) 33.5) 33.1) 29.0] 27.0)| 46.4) 40.0 Bones: 2) aecue eee VA GSD CA 93h) a G26) 5: 9) ee. 5), 522), S20 oes Matin TesDiesc. sec 2.0) 7.9] 14.7] 5.5]} 2.0) 3.3] 8.0} 14.7) 20.5}]| 16.5) 32.4 Fat on kidneys ....| 2:0). -2.5] -3.5) 2:2)| 1.0) 1.9) 2.4) 3.6) 4.4)) 109) cae9 Fat on omentum ai inet ote 2.3| 2-9) 4.5| 2.41) 3:0) 4.1) “4.9)° 6.8] 8.0)| 1.7) 235 Total i de eactos 49.7) 58.6] 64.8] 62.4|| 46.3) 49.4) 54.3) 59.6) 65.1|| 74.5] 84.6 FLESH OF CARCASS, WITHOUT FAT OR BONES. Dry matter ... .... s.o| 8.4] 7.5] 8.5] 6.8] 6.7; 6.3| 5.4] 5.1] 8.4] 7.8 eS ee a 28 0 29.6] 27.5] 34.2|| 26.4] 26.8] 26.8] 23.6] 21.9)| 38.3) 82.7 5 Rotal 3 Ai ccee asad 38.0] 35.0) 43.0}| 33.2] 33.5) 33.1] 29.0) 27.0}| 46.4) 40.0 IN 100 PARTS OF FLESH, WITHOUT BONES (BUTCHERS’ MEAT). | See. pears 5.3] 17.2 20 11.3]| 5.7%} 9.0) 19.5 m8 43.21 26.2 45.5 Muscle substance ..| 19.8] 17.5] 14.5] 17.0|| 18.0] 17.1] 14.5] 11.7] 10.2/| 12.3] 9.7 inc ote 1.2} 0.9} 0.8} 1.1,] 1.3] 1.1] 0.8] 0.7] 0.6]| 0.6) 0.4 WOME parade dts: 73.7) 64.4) 55.3) 70.6 | 75.0, 72.8) 65.2) 54.0) 46.0)| 60.9) 44.4 pi it) 2 IE epee Se 00.010 01 0|100 oon 0100 0100 tte 100.0|100.0 COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL BODIES. 29 PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF LIVE ANIMALS. Ox. SHEEP. SwINE. S 5 Well fed. Half fat Fat calf, per ct. |per ct. |per ct. |per ct.||per ct.|per ct.|per ct |per ct.|per ct.||per ct.|per ct. Beatie Soe oeiers 20 88 Sarc 7.1) 14.9] 26.8) 13.1]| 8.6) 13.2) 18.3) 28.1] 37.2|| 22.5) 40.2 POGEEME 6 oe eine “Se 15.8) 15.5] 13.7) 15.3]] 15.4] 14.8 13.8) 12.2} 11.0}| 13.9; 11.0 PAS Gem eraiatcie') soe 4.8] 4.4) 3.9) 4.51) 3.4) 3.3) 3.2) 2.9) 2.8] 2.7] 1.8 Wisternee eons 54.3] 50.2] 43.6. 60.1.| 56.6| 53.7| 50.7] 44.8] 39.0]! 53.9 42.0 Contents of stom- 18.0} 15.0; 12.0) 7.0 16.0 th 14.0} 12.0) 10.0}} 7.0) 5.0 100.0}100.0 coated 100.0 ST er aa 100.0}100.0)}100.0/100.0 ach and intes- HOt... F500 100.0 THE SAME, LESS CONTENTS OF STOMACH AND INTESTINES. | 10.2 17 sl 30.5} 14.1 15.5! 21.3 31.91 41.4)| 24.2! 42.3 BUCEIE We Mau So snes 19 2) 18.3] 15.6} 16.5)| 18.3) 17.4) 16.0) 13.9) 12.2)| 15.0} 11.9 AAG! Sopn aan SOOeE COS 5.2) 4.4; 4.8) 4.0, 3.9) 3.8! 3.3] 3.1)! 2.9) 1.9 Weaner ce eae 66.2} 59.0) 49.5) 64.6)) 67.5) 63.2) 58.9) 50.9) 43.3/| 57.9) 43.9 Wotal ths 712s 100.0) 100.0/100.0)100.0 [100.0 i aes a ts) 3S py 6a e pa = = S Fe val eee SG. ae ee ee | | 53.5 53.5 52.90 | 53.0 51.63 | 51.48 | 51.48 54.31 | 54.55 | 54.69 54.11 | 52.¢°7 7.0 7.2 7.00 7.0 7.49 7.02 6.96 7.18 ie 7.51 6.90 7.10 15.5 16.5 16.95 | 16.0 17545"), 27.18: | —14aa 16.89 |} 15.70 | 16.33 16.63 | 18.01 22.4 21.6 22.05 | 22.5 22.64 | 23.97 | 26.35 20.61 | 22.48 | 20.78 21.48 | 21.37 1.6 1.2 1.10 1.5 0.79 0.40 0.45 RO ERAS Rho 0.69 0.88 0.85 100 100 100 100 100 100. 100 100 100 100 100 100 34 FEEDING ANIMALS. cereals and leguminous seeds which animals eat. They are also found in smaller quantities in grass, clover, hay, and other foods. Without undergoing much change in the animal stomach, they are assimilated and readily converted into blood and thence into muscular fibre. But all these plants which serve as food for animals, contain only a small proportion of albumen, casein, and gluten, and other albu- minoids; their great bulk is made up of starch, gum, sugar, cellular fibre, and some other carbo-hydrates. They present the animal with a mixture in which the substance of the muscles exists ready-formed ; and for this reason the albu- men, casein, legumen, gluten, and other nitrogenous com- pounds of vegetables were first called flesh-forming princi- ples, or flesh formers. 'Théy are now more commonly called albuminoids, or proteids. Careful experiments have shown that no foods which do not contain albuminous compounds can sustain animal life for more than afew days. A sheep, weighing 52 lbs., being fed on sugar dissolved in water, died in 20 days, and lost 21 lbs. A goose, weighing 6 lbs. 1 0z., fed on sugar, died in 22 days; another, fed on starch, lived 27 days. Dogs fed on starch, sugar, gum, butter, and other food perfectly free from albuminoids, apparently keep their condition the first week, then rapidly become emaci- ated, and die at about the end of the fifth week, only a little later than if no food had been given them. It has also been found that animals cannot live upon albuminoids alone. But foods rich in albuminoids have a great superi- ority in feeding value. NON-NITROGENOUS NUTRIENTS. CARBO-HYDRATES.—As we have seen, the great bulk of vegetables is made up of non-nitrogenous compounds— called carbo-hydrates. The principal of these are cellulose, a woody fibre, starch, dextrine, cane, grape and fruit sugar, and the gums. They are called carbo-hydrates because NON-NITROGENOUS NUTRIENTS. 35 they are composed simply of carbon, and the elements of water—hydrogen and oxygen. Cellulose—The cellular structure of all plants, and of the trunks of trees, consist of this substance. - It consti- tutes the frame-work of plants; and the cells of this frame-work are internally coated, or incrusted with a harder and tougher substance, called Jignin. These two substan- ces are so much found together, and their chemical com- position is so nearly alike, that they may properly be considered together. Pure cellulose has the same chemical composition as starch, and all woody fibres can be changed into starch by heat and by acids. The dried stalks of all grass and fodder plants are com- posed largely of cellulose. Krrecr or Heat upon Woopy Fisre.—J. F. W. John- ston quotes from Schiibler the following: “If wood be reduced to the state of fine sawdust, and be then boiled in waler to separate everything soluble, afterwards dried bya gentle heat, then heated several times in a baker’s oven, it will become hard and crisp, and may be ground in the mill into fine meal. The powder thus obtained is slightly yel- low in color, but has a taste and smell similar to the flour of wheat ; it ferments when made into paste with yeast or leaven, and when baked gives a light, homogeneous bread. Boiled with water, it yields a stiff, tremulous jelly like that from starch.” It thus appears, that by the agency of heat, woody fibre may be changed into starch. EFFECT OF ACID upon 1tT.—If these parts of fine saw- dust, or fragments of old linen be rubbed in a mortar with four parts of sulphuric acid, added by degrees, it will, in 15 minutes, be rendered completely soluble in water. If the solution in water be freed from acid with chalk, and 36 FEEDING ANIMALS. then evaporated, a substance resembling gum arabic is obtained. And, according to Schleiden, the fibre may be seen, under the microscope, gradually to change from with- out inwards, first into starch, then into gum. The fibre of wood or linen may be changed directly into sugar by the prolonged action of dilute sulphuric acid. DIGESTIBILITY OF CELLULOSE.—Woody fibre was form- erly thought to be quite indigestible. Haubner, about 1850, showed that ruminants digested a large proportion of cellulose. And hundreds of digestion experiments have shown that this substance is an important part of fodder for herbivorous domestic animals. The German experi- ments have undertaken to fix the percentage of cellulose digested in a large number of our coarse fodders, and also of cereal grains. Of the former, ruminants were found to digest from 30 to 70 per cent., whilst the cellulose of grains was found less digestible. The woody fibre of young and tender plants was found much more digestible than when nearer maturity, and more lignin had formed. It is doubted even now if lignin is digestible, especially in its crude state. Starch.—This is one of the most abundant substances in the vegetable kingdom, being found in all plants. It is exceeded in quantity only by cellulose. It is supposed to be formed in the green leaves of plants and trees from the carbonic acid of the air, aided by sunlight. It seems to be deposited most rapidly in plants near the time of ripening. It is found largely in the cereal grains. Indian corn con- tains 60 to 68 per cent., and wheat from 62 to 72 per cent. Starch appears to the eye like particles of meal, yet under a strong microscope it is found to consist of small and regular grains or globules. We have seen how starch may be separated from wheat or other grain. If fresh plants, such as grass before blos- NON-NITROGENOUS NUTRIENTS. S7 som, are bruised and mascerated, and the liquid then pressed out, a large portion of the starch will pass with the juice from the vegetable tissue, and after standing fora short time, will settle as a mealy mass. Almost every housewife knows how to separate starch from potatoes. It cannot be dissolved in cold water without the grains are mashed very fine, and then only a small proportion is dissolved. But when mixed with water at the boiling point, the grains absorb water and burst. It is from this fact that cooking starchy food is supposed to render it much more digestible. When boiled with weak acids or alkalies it is converted into grape sugar, even the action of saliva is supposed to change starch into sugar. Liebig supposed it turned into sugar in the process of digestion. We shall give its composition with other carbo-hydrates. Dextrine—This may be considered as an artificial pro- duct of starch, produced by dry heat upon it. It is a com- mercial article under the name of British gum. Sugars.—There are cane, grape and fruit sugars. The first is produced from the juice of the sugar cane plant, from beet root, sugar-maple and other plants—this is the principal sugar of commerce. Grape sugar and fruit sugar occur in the juices of many plants, and are often found together and in the fruits and honey. They are all soluble in water, and easily digested. In the process of digestion, cellulose and starch are supposed to be turned into sugar. THE PECTIN SuBSTANCES.—These are found in fruits and roots. In fruits these substances form jellies, but their ex- act chemical composition has not been much investigated. It has been supposed by some careful observers that the pectin of fruits and of turnips, beets, carrots and other roots, has an important effect in assisting in the digestion of other food, that this substance assists in rendering other ee FEEDING ANIMAIS. carbo-hydrates soluble, or by gelatinizing the contents of the stomach. But these points have not been very much investigated. . It is found that pectin is increased in roots and fruits by cooking. The process of digestion may perhaps have the same effect. Fats.—All our fodders and roots contain a small propor- tion of fat, and this is one of the most important of the carbo-hydrates. The fats in plants have, substantially, the — same composition as the fats of the animal body. In the analyses which will be given of all these bodies, it will be seen that the fats contain a much larger proportion of carbon and correspondingly less oxygen; and in burning gives out about 224 times as much heat as starch, sugar, etc., and are estimated to have 2% times the nutritive value of such carbohydrates. Fat is found in different fodders about in the following proportions: Average meadow hay 2.5 per cent., best 3; clover, very good, 3.2; timothy 3 per cent.; turnips and other roots 0.1 to 0.2; Indian corn 4 to 7 per cent. ; oats 6.0; rye 2.0; barley 2.5, etc. ; straw from 1 to 2 per cent. But the seeds, of cotton, flax, hemp, and some other plants, contain from 10 to 38 per cent. of oil. These oil-bearing seeds are put under pressure to extract the oil as an article of commerce, but the residue (oil cake) retains a consid- erable proportion of oil. Oil has a great effect in rapid fattening of animals, but they are also able to store up fat from the carbo-hydrates. The following table of the analysis of the carbo-hydrates above described will give the reader a correct idea of their composition, and how nearly they approximate to each other : NON-NITROGENOUS NUTRIENTS. 39 Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. Per cent. Per cent, Per cent. Pure cellulose ........... 44.44 6.17 49.59 Cellulose, mixed with lig- WA oe cs eda ao handel oe sis 55.30 5.80 38.90 peamen iii b) fee. 6¥ yates 44.44 6.17 49.39 CPRGISHOAL....ichsapwecn be 42.11 6.43 51.46 MIME SWOAT soo. cots adssae 42.11 6.45 51.46 Grape sugary.) s\ini< 2s’. 40.00 6.67 53.38 Hraiisigar...\.<.550% 43% 40.00 6.67 53.33 OME A ect eek 45.10 6.10 48.80 Wa eis shuts am ode ais 76.50 12.00 11.50 The pectine substances have a composition probably very similar to gum. The above table will show, at once, how close a relation there is between all the members of this group of substances. The fats are not usually classed with the carbo-hydrates, because the oxygen and hydrogen are not in the proportion to form water, but being composed of the same elements, and answering the same purpose in the animal economy, they may all be classed together. Even when fat is used to supply animal heat it has two and one-half times the heating power of starch. In all plants cultivated for food, there is a greater or less amount of fatty matter, identical in composition with the several kinds of fat in animal bodies. ‘The fatty matters of the food are extracted by the stomach of the animal, and easily assimilated. Plants prepare fatty matters from their elements—carbon, oxygen and hydrogen—and present them ready-formed to the animal. But the animal pos- sesses the power of preparing fat from starchy food when there is not fat enough ready-formed for its wants, and may accumulate fat from starchy food, when given in abundance. INORGANIC NUTRIENTS. Our food plants also receive from the soil phosphates of lime, magnesia, and soda, chlorides of sodium and potas- sium, oxide of iron, sulphate of iron, and potash; and these same compounds exist in the bodies of animals in the 40° FEEDING ANIMALS. same combination as found in plants. The plant is there- fore dependent upon the soil and the animal upon the plant. That the reader may get a definite idea of the proportion of the mineral constituents of some of our forage plants and grains, together with some of the by-fodders, we give the following table, which will be found convenient for reference. We give the number of pounds, and fractions of a pound, of ash, and of the separate elements of that ash, in 100 pounds of the dry substance of hay, straw, grain, roots, etc. This will enable the reader more easily to figure the exact proportion of any mineral constituent in any ration fed: HAY. 3 ee 3) 2 A on | ‘5 S u mn ~ 100 PouNDs oF a o Aen | pos s = =) k a = | o ae Bc s be oa SUBSTANCE. a s a bo g oo] &s = = 2 an o ° ~ = at r= = = = < Ay RN = 4 Ay R n ) n Meadow hay....| 6.66 | 1.71 | 0.47 | 0.33 | 0.77 | 0.41 | 0.34 | 1.97 | 0.53 | 0.17 Dead ripe hay..| 6.62 | 0.50 | 0.19 | 0.23 | 0.85 | 0.29 | 0.05 | 4.18 | 0.38 | 0.27 Red clover ..... 5.65 | 1.95 | 0.09 | 0.69 | 1.92 | 0.56 | 0.1% | 0.15 | 0.21 | 0.21 Swedish clover.| 4.65 | 1.57 | 0.07 | 0.71 | 1.48 | 0.47 | 0.19 | 0.06 | 0.13 |] .... Green vetches..| 7.34 | 3.09 | 0.21 | 0.50 | 1.93 | 0.94 | 0.27 | 0.13 | 0.23 | 0.15 Green oats ..... 6.18 | 2.41 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.41 | 0.51 | 0.17 | 2.05 | 0.25 | 0.15 GREEN FODDER. Meadow grass ‘ eet 2.33 | 0.60 | 0.16 | 0.11 | 0.27 | 0.15 | 0.12 | 0.69 | 0.19 | 0.06 Young grass....| 2.07 | 1.16 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.08 | 0.21 | 0.04 | 0.04 Timothy........| 2.10 | 0.61 | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0.20 | 0.23 | 0.08 | 0.75 | 0.11 | 0.08 Oats beginning 6 1 ta Siced t 1.70 | 0.71 | 0.08 | 0.06 | 0.12 | 0.14 | 0.06 | 0.47 | 0.08 | 0 03 Barley begin-! n PS " ning to head { 2.23 | 0.86 , 0.04 | 0.07 ; 0.16 | 0.23 ; 0.07 | 0.70 , 0.12 | 0.05 Rye fodder ..... 1.63 | 0.63 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.24 | 0.02 | 0.52 | .... | .... ges ea gee 2.31 | 0.86 | .... | 0.19 | 0.25 | 0.13 | 0.08 | 0.67 | 0.15 | .... Red clover ..... 1.34 | 0.46 0.16 | 0.46 | 0.13 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.05 Swedish clover.| 1.02 | 0.35 | 0.02 | 0.16 | 0.382 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 0. 0.03 (uucern!:s: si: weee| 1.76 | 0.45 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.85 | 0.15 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.03 Green peas. ...| 1.87 | 0.56 | .... | 0.11 | 0.39 | 0.18 | 0.05 | 0 0.02 0.02 White clover ...| 1.36 | 0.24 Mee 0.14 | 0.44 | 0.20 | 0.12 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.06 02 ee 0 INORGANIC NUTRIENTS. 41 ROOT CROP. = Sa] 3 : 100 PouNDs oF a o ie: piece = 5 . 3 a = o mn ios] os 3S i) = SUBSTANCE. “s: 5 s op g ee £ = 2 ms iS rot one Ge te Pao = = = < oy wn =) rl. fA 7) a S) RN lbs. | lbs. | lbs Ibs. | Ibs Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | lbs. | Ibs IPotatoseses oe oes 0.94 | 0.56 | 0.01 | 0.04 } 0.02 | 0.18 | 0.06 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.02 Artichoke ..... 1.03 | 0.67 0,03 | 0,04 -| 0:16 0.03 1.5... 6 | 0.02 IBGCb sth. sce ce: 0.80 | 0.43 | 0.12 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.01 UPMIP ss cael 0.75 | 0.30 | 0.08 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.40 | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.04 White turnip...| 0.61 | 0.31 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.04 Carrot... es «nok 0.88 | 0.52 | 0.19 | 0.05 | 0.09 | 0.11 | 0.06 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.01 Beet tops...... 1.48 | 0.43 | 0.31 | 0.14 | 0.17 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 0.17 | 0.05 Turnip tops ... | 1.40 | 0.32 | 0.11 | 0.06 | 0.45 | 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.05 Carrot tops..... 2.61 | 0.37 | 0.60 | 0.12 | 0.86 | 0.12 | 0.21 | 0.15 | 0.19 | 0.14 Cabbage heads..| 1.24 | 0.60 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.19 | 0.20 | 0.11 | 0:01 | 0.08 | 0.05 STRAW. 1 Winter wheat . | 4.26 | 0.49 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.12 | 2.82 | .... | 0.16 Winter rye..... 4.07 | 0.76 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.31 | 0.19 | 0.08 , 2.87] .... | 0.09 WAT IOV s/c sind sss 4.39} 0.92 | 0.20 | 0.11 | 0.33 | 0.19 | 0.16 | 2.36 | .... | 0.13 Ontsteets ..osi22% ASA0 1 O297 (-O. 238 0218) | Ors65(O.18 Vv OMS eit Sok |) O17 Maize fodder ...| 4.72 | 1.66 | 0.05 | 0.26 | 0.50 | 0.38 | 0.25 | 1.79 | .... | 0.39 Pea straw .....: 4.92 | 1.07 | 0.26 | 0.88 | 1.86 | 0.38 | 0.28 | 0 28 | 0.30 | 0.07 Bean straw.... | 5.84 |.2.59 | 0.22 | 0.46 | 1.85 | 0.41 | 0.01 | 0.31 | 0.81 | 0.22 GRAIN AND SEEDS. Wheat o.o5s...c87 1.%¢ | 0.55 | 0:06 | 0.22 | 0.06 | 0.82 | 0.04 | 0:03 | 2... |-0515 YO fae oh ase 23 1.73 | 0.54 | 0.03 | 0.19 | 0.05 | 0.82 | 0.04 | 0.03 | .... | 0.17 BaRCY aco wiat's cele 2.18 | 0.48 | 0.06 | 0.18 | 0.05 | 0.72 | 0.05 | 0.59 js, |'0,14 Oats alkitocck ee 2.64 | 0.42 | 0.10 | 0.18 | 0.10 | 0.55 | 0.04 | 1.23 Sat tops IMIAIZO vai cisisc.0.. 1.23 | 0.33 | 0.02 | 0.18 | 0.03 | 0.55 | 0.01 | 0.03] ... | 0.12 MIUIGE Mirae, Je 12235) 0223"\0/07, (0-23 V..252. 110166, | 0202) [sce $25) Sas Sorghum ....... 12608 | Ol42 INU 2 Opn | 0524, | Or02: | Os8h Ihc cals Onto aon o Buckwheat..... 0.92. | 0:21 | 0:06 | 0:12 | 0.03.| 0.44) 0:02 | .... | 0.02 |) .-.. Flax-seed....... 3.22 | 1.04 | 0.06 | 0.42 | 0.27 | 1.80 | 0.04 | 0.04] .... | 0.17 Hemp-seed ..... 4-81} 0: 9% | 0.04 |) 0.271) 1.13 |. 1.75.) 0.0L ),0 57 | O.OL 4) ..8. CASE ecraraistog 2.42 | 0.98 | 0.09 | 0.19 | 0.12 | 0.88 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.24 Metches} sive sk 2.07 | 0.63 | 0.22 | 0.18 | 0.06 | 0.79 | 0.09 | 0 04 | 0.02] .... IBOUNSi. cmc teres 2.96") 1-20 |:0:04 | 0.20 | 0.15-| 1.16 | 0.15 | 0.04 | 0.08 | 0.28 MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS. Wheat bran ....| 5.56 | 1.33 | 0.03 | 0.94 | 0.26 | 2.88 | .... | 0.06 Rye bran’. e2. alto 293) 120200) W135. \0:255): 8.42 eee | aeiseil| sine Brewers’ grain .| 1.20 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.14 | 0.46 | 0.01 | 0.39 ae 35 Malt sprouts....| 5.96 | 2.08 | .....| 0.08 | 0.09 | 1.25 | 0.88:| 1 77] .... I... Rape cake...... 5 60 | 1.386 | 0.01 | 0.64 | 0 61 | 2.07 | 0.19 | 0.49 | 0.01 | .... Linseed cake ...| 5.52 | 1.29 | 0.08 | 0.88 | 0.47 | 1.94 | 0.19 | 0.36 | 0.03] .... Walnut cake ...| 4.64 | 1.54 | .... | 0.57 | 0.31 | 2 03 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.01 | .... SelGeli seers BOO 0528 | 2 Oo OL0T | OL2h [hoc on Cae. Cotton-seed seed 6.15 42 FEEDING ANIMALS. The above table is somewhat extended, but as the feeder often desires to know the mineral constituents of his foc. der, he will find this in convenient form for ascertaining the precise character of the mineral substances, and the quantity he is furnishing daily to his stock. RespirRATORY Foop.—But as these preliminary chapters are given to show the parallel between the nitrogenous and mineral elements of plants and animals, we must also ex- plain those non-nitrogenized substances, starch, gum, sugar, ete., which are not found in the animal body, although animals eat large quantities of starch, gum, sugar, and cellulose, and they are necessary for the life of the animal, What becomes of these substances? Science has proved — that they are used to support respiration. Leibig has named starch, gum, sugar, cellulose, etc..—composed of car- bon and water only—the principles of respiration. Let us illustrate this. If we slake a little burnt lime with water and allow the undissolved lime to settle, then pour off the clear lime water; and if we then breathe through a glass tube into this clear lime water, the liquid soon becomes milky, and after a little a white powder may be seen falling to the bottom of the glass vessel. This proves that by breathing into lime water we add something to it. Chem- ists know that carbonic acid has a great affinity for lime, with which it forms a white, insoluble powder—carbonate of lime. Thus, while breathing, animals are constantly throwing off the carbon in the form of carbonic acid, and this carbon is derived from the starch, etc., of the food. Leibig has calculated that a horse, during twenty-four hours, throws off four to five pounds of carbon. Animals require food containing a large amount of starch to supply this element of respiration. This was the accepted theory of scientists to a very recent period. Now, however, as we have explained else- where, it is believed that the oxidation of the carbon of the RESPIRATORY FOOD. 43 food takes place in the cells and the capillaries of the body instead of the lungs, and that animal heat is thus generated all over the body. ‘This shows the same necessity for car- bonaceous food as the first theory, and as this effete matter from the combustion of the carbon in the cells and capil- laries is constantly thrown off at the lungs, it may, al- though not strictly correct, be called the food of respiration. Here, then, we find one important use for starch, gum, and sugar in food; these being composed entirely of carbon and water, are so simple in combination that the carbon is easily separated, and therefore are admirably adapted to generate animal heat. If the food is de- ficient in starch, gum, or sugar, but contains fat, then fat is used to supply carbon. Albuminoids also contain carbon; and when there is no other resource for this element of combustion, albuminoids are decomposed to supply the carbon required; but herbivorous animals do not thrive when fed wholly upon nitrogenous food. For this reason, foods very rich in albuminoids should not he fed alone—that is peas, or oil-meal should always he mixed with hay, straw, turnips, or other roots rich in starch, sugar, etc. Fatty substances differ from starch, gum, and sugar, simply in containing more hydrogen than is necessary to form water with the oxygen present. Fatty matters are thus not so easily decomposed to furnish the necessary carbon as the starchy compounds. It becomes evident from the points discussed, that the health of animals cannot be sustained without a mixed diet; that the food given in order to keep the animal in health must contain: 1. Starch, gum, sugar, or cellulose, to supply the carbon given off in respiration. 2. Fat, or fatty oil, to supply the fatty matter which exists in all animal bodies. 3. Gluten, albumen, legumen, or casein, to make up for the natural waste of the muscles and car- tilages, and to grow this part of the system of the young & 44 FEEDING ANIMALS. animal. 4. Earthy phosphates, to supply the growth and waste of the bones; and 5. Saline substances—sulphates and chlorides—to replace what is daily excreted. It is therefore plain, that that food is best which has the ereatest variety of constituents. The skillful feeder must have a practical knowledge of all these principles, and will not attempt to maintain his stock on one kind of food, or upon any ration that does not contain all these elements abundantly. He will make it a point to give as great a variety as his circumstances will permit, that he may fully supply his animal’s wants and tastes. This statement of the fundamental principles upon which cattle feeding is based, seemed necessary to a com- plete understanding of all the points that will arise in the treatment of the subiects proposed. DIGESTION. 4B Of APH ER ETT. DIGESTION. In a work upon practical feeding, it may be thought un- necessary to go into the physiology of digestion, but every intelligent feeder should understand the general principles that underlie his business; and the process of digestion would seem to be the fundamental principle of animal pro- duction. We do not propose to go into any elaborate dis- cussion of this subject, but merely to touch upon such general points as will give the reader some idea of the general process of digestion. DIGESTION BEGINS IN THE MouTH—MASTICATION, SALIVARY GLANDS, AND THE SALIVA. The mouth is the vestibule of the alimentary canal. Here are crushed all the alimentary substances, which are often very hard, resisting and rough, and nature has pro- vided a very thick epidermis to cover the mucous membrane of the mouth, and protect it from injury in those parts that come in contact with these rough, hard substances, as on the upper surface of the tongue, palate, roof of the mouth, and the cheeks. And it is in this mucous mem- brane covering the tongue that are situated those small or- gans of taste, that give perception of flavors, thus exciting a desire for food. and no doubt informs the animal of the good or bad quality of the food. The saliva is secreted ‘by glands situated around the | cavity of the cheeks, and this fluid softens the food, assists in its mastication and digestion, and must have 46 FEEDING ANIMALS. some chemical action upon the food after it reaches the stomach. A gland may be defined as an organ, the function of which is to separate from the blood some particular sub- stance, and discharge it through an excretory duct, whose internal surface is continuous with the mucous membrane. A simple gland is merely a follicle of the mucous mem- brane, and a collection of these follicles is a compound eland, and-if the groups of which it is composed are loosely bound together like clusters of grapes, it is called conglomerate, as in the salivary glands; but if united into a solid mass, such as the liver, it is called a conglobate gland. Inside of these follicles are cells, which are the active agents in the secreting process, whilst they are sur- rounded by a network of capillaries in which the blood circulates and furnishes the materials for these secretions. These cells are so minute as to require the aid of a micro- scope for their examination. The salivary glands are five in number—four of them in pairs: 1. The parotid gland, which is much the largest, is situated at the posterior angle of the lower jaw, or near the ear. 2. The maxillary or sub-maxillary gland is on the interior central border under the lower jaw. 3. The sub- lingual gland is situated under the tongue. 4. The moiar glands are situated parallel to the molar arches. 5. The labiai (or iip glands) and the palatine glands (under mu- cous covering of the soft palate), these latter are mostly single follicles, and each has a separate excretory duct dis- charging its secretic: ‘nto the month. The saliva is an extremely watery fluid, having only from 6 to 8 parts of solid matter in 1,000 parts, but this solid or saline matter plays an important part in digestion. ‘here is an ac- tive ferment, called pétyalin, in saliva, which, although found in very small proportion, possesses the property of changing starch into sugar in the process of digestion, DIGESTION. 4’ "thus rendering it soluble. The constitution of the saiva is also slightly alkaline, and more so while the animal is masticating its food. A horse or an ox is supposed to dlis- charge about two quarts of saliva in a half hour whilst masticating its food. This is sufficient to insalivate a small ration of hay, or what the animal could masticate in that time. The mere sight of food excites the flow of saliva, causing the mouth to “water,” and the harder and drier the food the more the saliva will flow during mastication. I ig also found that after swallowing even sloppy food saliva will continue to flow into the mouth. The saliva must be considered a most important factor in the process of diges- tion. And for this reason the food of ruminants is best given in such form as to insure its remastication. ‘This is accomplished by mixing~finely-ground food with fibrous fodder, causing both to be raised in the cud and remasti- cated. The proper preparation of dry fodder by chopping in a cutter, as an aid to mastication and digestion, will be considered in a future chapter. STOMACH OF SOLIPEDS. The stomach of the horse (fig. 1) is a membranous sac situated on the left side of the abdominal cavity, close be- hind the diaphragm; has the spleen attached to its left extremity, and its lower part covered with the caul. It has been compared in shape to the Scotch bag-pipes. It is so situated that every contraction of the diaphragm, or inspir- ation of air, displaces or drives it back, and the fuller the stomach, the greater the labor of the diaphragm under quick motion and frequent breathing, hence a full meal or large draft of water should never be given just before great exertion or rapid movement. The stomach of an average sized horse holds only about three gallons. It has four coats. The outside coat lines the cavity of the belly, and is the common covering of all the intestines, and this coat secretes a fluid which prevents all friction between it and 4s Fe FEEDING ANIMALS. the intestines. This is called the peritonewm, and stretches around the inside of the stomach, The second is the muscular coat, composed of two layers of fibers, one running lengthways and the other circularly, and the contraction of these muscles give a gentle motion to the stomach, mingling the food more completely to- gether, and facilitating the intermixture of the gastric juice ; and these muscles also force the food, when properly prepared, into the intestine. Fig. 1.—STOMACH AND INTESTINES OF THE HORSE. A, The lower part of the esophagus or gullet. ; B. The stomach laid open to show a, the cuticular, and 8, the villous coat. C. The duodenum or first small intestine, laid open to show the mouths of ducts Jeading from the liver and pancreas. , D, D. The small intestines. EH, #. 'Vhe colon, showing its convolutions, foldings and bands. F. The cecum, the principal receptacle for water. (*. The rectum. j i. The mesentery, the folds of the peritoneum inclosing the intestines and holding them in place. STOMACHS OF SOLIPEDS. 49 The third, or cuticular coat (B, a, fig. 1), covers only a portion of the inside of the stomach, and is a continuation of the lining of the cesophagus or gullet. It contains num- erous glands which secrete a mucus fluid. It covers about one-half of the inside of the stomach. The fourth is the mucus or villous (velvet) coat (B, d), which secretes the gastric juice, and here true digestion commences. The mouths of the numerous little vessels, upon this coat, pour out this digesting fluid, which mixes with the food and converts it into chyme. After being con- verted into chyme it passes the orifice called pylorus (mean- ing doorkeeper) and enters the small intestines; the hard or undissolved part of the food being turned back to undergo further action. STOMACHS OF RUMINANTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS. The peculiarities in form of the digestive organs of the different classes of our domestic animals should be well understood. And, having explained and illustrated that of the horse, ass and mule, called solipeds, we now illustrate and explain the more complicated digestive organs of ruminants. ‘The illustrations answer equally well for cattle and sheep. ‘There are very slight differences in the position of the organs, but this is not material to an understanding of the process of digestion in both. Fig. 2 was drawn by Prof. James Law for the Live Stock Journal, and we also give his written description of the stomachs of ruminants. Fig. 3 is the external appearance of the stomach of a young sheep, taken from Dr. Randall’s “Sheep Husbandry of the South.” Fig. 4 is an illustration of the internal appearance of the stomachs given by the learned author, Youatt. Professor Law, who stands in the front rank of compara- tive physiologists, after speaking of the great variety in the form and arrangement of the digestive organs of different 3 50 FEEDING ANIMALS, classes of animals, and that these varied forms bear a strict relation to the habits of the animal and the condition in which it lives, says : “The flesh feeders possess a very capacious stomach, in which the highly nitrogenous food is long retained and digested by the secretions of the gastric glands. The ~ bowels are short and of small capacity, in accordance with the restricted amount of other ingredients in the food which are soluble in the intestinal liquids. In the herbiv- ora, on the other hand, which subsist on food rich in carbo-hydrates and comparatively poor in albuminoids, the true digesting stomach is small and the intestines enor- mously long and capacious. The capacity of the stomach of the dog is three-fifths of that of the entire gastro- intestinal canal, whereas that of the horse is only about two- twenty-fifths of the abdominal part of the alimentary tube. | “ At first sight theeruminant appears to be an exception to this rule, as the gastric cavities amount to no less than seven-tenths of the abdominal part of the digestive canal; but this idea is dispelled by the consideration that the fourth or true digestive stomach, which alone corre- sponds to that of the horse or dog, is relatively as small as in the solipede. ‘The first three stomachs are mainly macerating and triturating cavities, in which the coarse and imperfectly masticated herbage is stored, triturated and partially dissolved, while waiting for the second mas- tication, or for its reception by the fourth or true stomach. “ First Stomach.—Of the four compartments or stom- achs, the first (pawnch, rwmen) is incomparably the largest. It has an average capacity of 250 quarts, in the ox, and makes up about nine-tenths of the mass of the four stomachs. It occupies the entire left side of the abdomen, from the short ribs in front to the hip bones behind, so STOMACHS OF RUMINANTS. 51 that if this side of the belly were punctured at any point, this organ alone would be entered. It is marked externally by a deep notch at each end, and by two grooves connect- ing these on the upper and lower surfaces respectively, together with smaller grooves diverging from these, on each side. These notches and grooves correspond to inter- nal folds supported by strong muscular bands, and par- tially dividing the cavity into a right and left sac, and into anterior, posterior, and median compartments. ‘The entire inner surface of this organ, excepting the muscular pillars, and a small portion of the left anterior sac border- ing on the second stomach, is thickly covered by papilla, most of which are flattened and leaf-like, with an elongated ovate outline, but some are conical or fungiform, especially in the left sac. “ Second Stomach.—The second stomach (honey-comb- bag, reticulum), though spoken of as a separate organ, is rather a simple prolongation forward of the anterior left sac of the rumen. It is separated from the rumen by a rather prominent fold, but the communicating opening is so large that the semi-liquid contents pass freely from the one cavity to the other during the movements of the stomachs. Its most prominent characteristic is the alve- olated or honey-comb-like arrangement of its mucous mem- brane. These cells vary in size and depth, being largest at the lower part of the organ and smaller at the upper, or where it joins the paunch. They extend for a short dis- tance on the surface of that organ as well. The larger cells are again subdivided by smaller partitions in their interior. The walls of these cells are covered throughout by small, hard-pointed papillary eminences. These cells usually entangle many small, hard and pointed bodies which have been swallowed with the food, and it is from this point that such bodies often pass to perforate vital organs, especially the heart. 52 FEEDING ANIMALS. Fig. 2.—THIRD AND FOURTH STOMACHS, As drawn by Professor Law, showing the course of the @sophagean Demi-canal. 1. Gullet. 2. Portion of the paunch, showing the villous surface. 3. Portion of the reticulum, showing the cells. 4. Gsophagean demi-canal, with its muscular pillars relaxed soas to show the opening into the gullet above and that leading into the manifolds helow. 5. Opening from the demi-canal into the third stomach. 6. Third stomach laid open, showing the leaves. . Floor of the third stomach, along which finely-divided food passes to the fourth. . Fourth stomach opened, and showing the mucous folds. . Commencement of the small intestines. Oost STOMACHS OF RUMINANTS. 53 “(Hsophagean Demi-canal.—Connecting these organs with the gullet on the one hand and the third stomach on the other, is the demi-canal, one of the most interesting struc- tures in the whole economy. It may be conceived of as the lower portion of the gullet, extending from right to left across the superior surface of the anterior left sac of the paunch and the reticulum as far as the entrance of the third stomach. But in place of its forming a perfect tube, as elsewhere, the lower half of its walls is removed so as to leave a large opening of about six inches in length, com- municating with the rumen and reticulum. 'The margins of this opening are formed of thick pillars, made up largely of muscular tissue, in part forming loops around the ends of the canal, and in part diverging on the walls of the first two stomachs. This muscle encircles the entire ovoid opening, and, when contracted, brings its lips in close opposition, shutting off all communication between the gullet and first two stomachs, and securing a continuous, unbroken passage from the mouth to the third stomach. When, on the other hand, the muscular pillars of the demi-canal are relaxed, the canal remains open, and there is no barrier to communication between the gullet and first two stomachs, or between these stomachs and the third. “ Third Stomach.—The third stomach (manifolds, oma- swum), a little larger than the reticulum in the ox, lies over that organ to its right, and above the right anterior sac of the rumen. Its main characteristic is the leaf-like arrange- ment of its interior. From its walls on the convex aspect twelve or fourteen folds extend quite to the opposite side of the viscus. In the intervals between these are an equal number of folds of about half the length. On each side of these are others still shorter, and so on until the smallest, which appear as simple ridges on the mucous membrane. In this way the flat surfaces of the folds are brought into close relation at all points in place of leaving large intervals at 54 FEEDING ANIMALS. the convex aspect of the organ, as would be the case if all were of the same length. ‘These leaves are not simple folds of mucous membrane, but contain also muscular tissue continued from the coat of the stomach, and enab- ling the adjacent leaves to move on each other for the trituration of the intervening food. ach leaf is studded Chay) SA Fig. 3.—EXTERNAL APPEARANCE OF STOMACHS, a. The esophagus or gullet, entering the rumen or paunch. b, b. The rumen, or paunch, occupying three-fourths of the abdomen. c. The reticulum or honey-comb—the second stomach. d. The omasum or manifolds—third stomach. é. The abomasum or fourth stomach. J. The commencement of the duodenum or first intestine. g. The place of the pylorus, a valve which separates the contents of the abomasum and duodenum, STOMACHS OF RUMINANTS. 55 on both sides with hard conical papille hooked upward, and especially prominent towards the free margin of the fold in the vicinity of the passage from the demi-canal to the fourth stomach. Similar hooks with a corresponding direction are found in the lower part of the demi-canal, and all concur in drawing the food upward between the folds and retaining it until sufficiently fine to escape. This organ lies beneath the short ribs on the right side. “Fourth Stomach.—The fourth or true digesting stomach (rennet, abomasum) is pear-shaped, with the thick end forward, and connected with the manifolds. It extends backward in the right flank along the lower border of the rumen, and terminates by a narrow opening in the small intestine. It is considerably larger than either the second or third stomach, but incomparably smaller than the first. Its outer surface shows a number of spiral markings run- ning around it longitudinally, and corresponding to exten- sive loose folds of mucous membrane, as observed when it is laid open. Its outer surface is redder and more vascular than that of the other stomachs, but its inner lining or mucous membrane is especially soft, spongy and vascular, forming a marked contrast with the pale, opaque, thick and insensible mucous membrane lining the other stomachs. When magnified, this vascular surface presents throughout a close aggregation of small depressions or alveoli leading into the glandular follicles which secrete the gastric juice. “ Functions.—The progress of food through the different stomachs can now be followed. It is a wide-spread belief that all food taken by the ox passes first into the rumen, from which it is propelled into the reticulum, is then sent back to the mouth for the second mastication, and is finally swallowed a second time, passing in this case into the third and fourth stomachs. No such regular and invariable course is pursued, After the first mastication, in which 56 FEEDING ANIMALS. the food receives a few strokes of the jaws, and is mixed with a quantity of saliva varying according to the hard or fibrous character of the aliment, it is swallowed and passes into the first and second, the third or even the fourth stomach. Flourens first showed this on the sheep, and his observations have been fully corroborated by subsequent observers. 1st. He fed green lucern to a sheep, and killing it immediately after, found this aliment mainly in the paunch, a small quantity in the reticulum, and none in the third and fourth stomachs. 2d. He fed oats with the same results. 3d. Small pieces of roots swallowed without mas- tication were found only in the first two stomachs. 4th. Finally, after feeding pulped roots, he found the greater part in the rumen, but a considerable amount also in the second, third and fourth stomachs. It follows that while all coarse, bulky or fibrous aliment passes at once into the first two stomachs, finely divided food may gain the third or even the fourth without retention in either of the preceding ones. : “Tiquids have been found to follow a similar course with finely divided moist food, the greater part passing at once into the rumen and reticulum, while a certain amount passes at once through the cesophagean demi-canal to the third and fourth stomachs. Another feature of the passage of liquids is the propulsion of the fluid from the second stomach through the demi-canal into the third and fourth. This is effected through a series of contractions of the reticulum, and takes place while drinking is going on, the organ being rapidly filled up by the water descending from the mouth, as often as it may be emptied by its contrac- tions. This may also serve to explain how liquids and finely divided food pass on from the first two stomachs to the third and fourth, without having been returned to the mouth for rumination. The enormous accumulation of food in the paunch is surprising. It is no uncommon STOMACHS OF RUMINANTS. Rif thing to find 150 to 200 pounds, and this though the animal has been fasting for twenty-four hours. This mass represents but 40 to 50 pounds of solid dry food, the remainder being saliva carried with it in deglutition. Y i} int mn} \ D A ‘ it sy ANY Ne Fig. 4.—INTERNAL APPEARANCE OF STOMACHS (YOUATT). a. The esophagus or gullet. b. The commencement of the csophagean canal, slit open, with muscular pillars underneath. c, ,¢, The rumen, paunch or first stomach, slit open. d. The reticulum or honey-comb, slit open. e. The omasum or manifolds, slit open. J. The abomasum, slit open. gy. The commencement of the duodenum or first intestine. h. The duodenum, slit open. i,m, l, Wands, showing the course of esophagean canal, opening of stomachs, etc. 58 FEEDING ANIMALS. After drinking, the proportion of water is materially in- creased. In the normal condition, the solids float in the liquid and are kept loose, open and mobile, one part on another by its intermixture. The reticulum usually con- tains a certain amount of liquid, and but little solid food. “These organs move by slow contractions from end to end, which gives a churning motion to the contents, and forces the liquids continually through the semi-solid mass. In this way, tne transformation of starch into sugar by the action of the saliva is favored, and all soluble con- stituents (sugar, gluten, albumen, salts, acids, etc.), are dissolved out, and are sooner or later passed on into the fourth stomach with the liquid solvent. Besides these solvent and chemical actions, the food undergoes macera- tion, softening, and disintegration, and is thus prepared for subsequent easy and perfect mastication and digestion. “ Rumination.—Concisely stated, this consists in the return of food from the first two stomachs to the mouth, its mastication, and its swallowing and descent to any one or more of the four stomachs. Popular writers have been generally misled by the doctrine of Flourens on this matter. He opened the gullet in a sheep, allowing the escape of the saliva which should have floated the contents of the rumen, and when he found these contents firm and solid, and a little ovoid solid mass between the lips of the cesophagean demi-canal, he concluded that this was the form in which food was returmmed into the mouth. One fact should have forbidden such a conclusion—his sheep never ruminated nor brought up anything to ruminate. The truth is this, that the solid packed state of the food in the rumen, such as he found, is an insurmountable barrier to chewing the cud. Whether this is produced by suppressed secretion of saliva, by salivary fistula with the discharge of this liquid externally, or by the simple forced abstinence from water, the result is the same. Whenever RUMINATION. 59 the food fails to float loosely in the liquid, and becomes ageregated in a firm, unbroken mass, rumination becomes impossible. “Tf we watch the ox ruminating it will be seen that when a cud is brought up, the act is immediately followed by a swallowing of liquid, after which the animal begins leisurely to chew the solid matters. These loose solids are floated up in a quantity of liquid, both having flowed into the demi-canal during the compression of the stomach, and been returned to the mouth by the contraction of this canal and of the gullet in a direction from below upward. On reaching the mouth the solids are seized between the tongue and palate, and the liquids returned. If the con- tents of the rumen are accumulated in firm masses, with no detached floating material, it is manifest that liquid only could be brought up. If, on the other hand, the liquids present are only sufficient to impregnate these masses without floating them, nothing whatever can be brought up. Like the sheep of Flourens, the subject ceases to ruminate. Colin demonstrated this use of the liquid by placing four stitches at the opening of the demi- canal, so as to prevent the entrance of pellets, or of any- thing but fluids and finely disintegrated solids. Yet the subjects continued to chew the cud as before. “During rumination the already softened aliments are still more perfectly broken down by the teeth, and mixed with a new secretion of saliva, and are thus better pre- pared for a continuance of the chemical and mechanical changes which they have already been undergoing in the paunch. “Tt has not been clearly made out to whut stomach food is returned after rumination. But it may be fairly inferred that like finely divided soft food, after the first mastication, it passes in varying proportions into all four stomachs. What returns to the first two, is no doubt returned in part 50 FEEDING ANIMALS. to the mouth, oftener than once, and in part followed the known course of other finely divided matters in being propelled into the esophagen demi-canal and manifolds by the contractions of the reticulum. “'The conditions essential to rumination are: Ist, a sufficient plenitude of paunch; 2d, an abundance of water; 3d, perfect quiet—absence of all excitement; 4th, a fair measure of health. “The use of the third stomach is merely to triturate and reduce still further the food which has been already largely disintegrated in the first two stomachs and in rumination. The muscular folds seize and retain the solid particles, and keep up the grinding process until the mass is too fine to be longer caught or retained by the barbed papille. ‘The food compressed between the muscular folds loses the greater part of its liquid, so that the contents are normally firm and partially dry, though never quite so in health. When dried to the extent of adhering to the folds and bringing off the cuticular layer upon its surface, it is to be considered as abnormal. “The uses of the fourth stomach are precisely those of the true stomach in other animals. Its acid gastric juice acting on the nitrogenous elements of the food, trans- forms them into peptones, a fine milky liquid, fitted to be absorbed and added to the vital fluids. The mucous folds in this stomach, covered as they are by peptic glands, greatly increase the secretions of the digesting fluid and enable the animal to digest promptly the food so beauti- fully elaborated and prepared by the first three stomachs and the act of rumination. These complicated processes to which the food is subjected, serve to account for the absence of. fibrous elements in the dung, and for the finely attenuated state of that excretion ; and also for the ease with which ruminants can subsist on. coarse and compara- tively innutritious fodder. It explains, too, the com- GASTRIC DIGESTION. 61 parative immunity of the fourth stomach from disease, while the first three, like the stomach of the horse, are very obnoxious to disorder. The possibility of incredibly long fasts on the part of the ruminant, may be explained by the constant presence of a large mass of food in the paunch, for although rumination may be almost or quite suspended, yet if water is freely taken, small quantities are continually transferred from the first two stomachs to the third and fourth.” Gastric DigEstion.—As before mentioned, it is in the fourth stomach that true digestion begins. ‘The innumera- ble glands of the stomach secrete the gastric juice, and when food comes into this stomach the juice is poured out in large quantity. It has a sour taste and smell. It con- tains muriatic acid and a little pepsin. The latter acts strongly upon the albuminoids contained in the food. It makes them soluble in water, and thus in condition to enter into the circulation. The quantity of pepsin is very small, but appears to have the power of acting over and over many times in connection with the muriatic acid in rendering the albuminoid matter soluble. The soluble carbo-hydrates (as we have seen converted into sugar by the saliva) are absorbed by the blood-vessels of the stomach and enter into the circulation, and the soluble albuminoids or protein is absorbed by the lymphatic vessels of the stomach. But there is much of the nutriment in the food not liberated in the stomach, and all this passes through the pylorus into the intestines (at G, fig. 3). Let us ex- amine cursorily : INTESTINAL DiaestioN.—The alimentary canal is con- tinued from the stomach, in the abdominal cavity, by a long tube doubled on itself in many folds, and ends at the posterior opening of the digestive apparatus. This long tube is the intestine. Itis narrow and uniform in size in 62 FEEDING ANIMALS, its anterior portion, called small intestine, but is irregu- larly dilated in its posterior part, and here called large intestine. The small intestine in the horse (D D, fig. 1) isa cylindrical tube from 1 to 1%4 inches in diameter, and is about 24 yards long. ‘The internal surface of the small intestine, like the stomach and other viscera, is provided with a muscular coat, and a mucous membrane; the former produces the peristaltic motion which moves its contents along toward the coecum, and the latter is covered with glandular folli- cles which pour out a digestive fluid—an alkaline mucus. | The small intestine in its duodenaLportion receives through two orifices the bile and pancreatic juice, and these with the intestinal mucus, are constantly acting upon and com- plete the digestion of the food passing through it. It is also in this intestine that the nutritive principles of the food are absorbed and pass into the general circulation. This leads into the large intestine, which is divided, in its different portions, into the coecum, the large colon, small colon and the rectum. The ccecum in the horse (F, fig. 1) is about 3 feet in length, and has a capacity of a little over 7 gallons. This part of the large intestine furnishes a reservoir for the large quanti- ties of fluid ingested by herbivorous animals. Here, what is left of the assimilable matters of the food, is dissolved out and enter into the circulation through the absorbents of the mucons membrane of the large intestine. The colon (# £) is divided into two parts, the large and smallcolon. The former is from 10 to 13 feet in length, and there contracts into the small colon. It has a capacity for holding 18 gallons. The small colon is about twice the diameter of the small intestine, and about 10 feet in length. The large colon absorbs fluids and soluble nutri- tive matters. When the matters taken for food reaches the small colon, deprived of its assimilable principles, the ex- INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 63 cretory substances are here thrown out on the surface of the intestinal tube, and it now becomes excrement or feeces. ‘These excrements, compressed by the peristaltic contractions of the muscular coat, are rolled up into little rounded masses, shoved into the rectum, and in due course expelled. 5 The rectum (4) appears to be merely the extremity of the small colon. 1. INTESTINES OF RUMINANTS.—The small intestine of the ox is folded in a multitude of festoons, is twice the length of the small intestine of the horse—averaging about 120 feet—and is about one-half the size. The large intes- tine is about 30 feet in length, but is less in size than that in the horse. In the sheep the small intestine is about 70 feet long, and the large intestine 20 feet. Neither in the ox or sheep is there such a marked distinction between the small and large colon as in the horse. 2. INTESTINES OF THE Pic.—The average length of the small intestine of the pig is 72 feet, and the large intestine 18 feet. Their general disposition in the digestive cavity is somewhat similar to those of the ox, though only the last portion of the colon is included between the layers of the mesentary ; for the rest of its extent it is outside that membrane, and forms a distinct mass. The small intestine has a very large peyerian gland, oc- cupying the latter portion of the canal as a band 5 to 6 feet long. This is an aggregation of secretory follicles. The pig is noted for its capacity to digest and assimilate a very large amount of food in proportion to its weight of body. Its alimentary canal shows how this large amount of con- centrated food is prepared and assimilated. Lawes and Gilbert made many interesting experiments in feeding oxen, sheep, and pigs, and they found that the pig utilized his food better than either of the other classes of 64 FEEDING ANIMALS. animals. And in explanation they give the proportion of the stomachs, and the contents as constituting: “In oxen about 1114 per cent. of the entire weight of the body. ‘* In sheep about 714 per cent. of the entire weight of the body. “In pigs about 114 per cent. of the entire weight of the body.”’ “The intestines and their contents, on the other hand, stand in the opposite relation. Thus, of the entire body, these amounted : ‘*In the pig to about 614 per cent. ‘* In the sheep to about 51g per cent. ‘In the oxen to about 234 per cent.” These facts, they think, explain how the ruminant can take food with so large a proportion of indigestible woody fibre, whilst the well-fed pig takes so large a proportion of starch—that in the latter the primary transformations are supposed to occur “ chiefly after leaving the stomach, and more or less throughout the intestinal canal.” Andas time isa most important element in feeding, it taking agiven amount of food to support the life of the animal and waste of its tissues, and as the pig can digest and assimilate so much more food in a given time, in pro- portion to its weight of body than the ox or sheep, it has so much more nutriment to apply to an increase of its weight, and this may be considered as an explanation of its greater gain from a given amount of food. OTHER ORGANS ANNEXED TO THE DIGESTIVE CANAL. The most important of these are the two glands—the liver and pancreas, which pour into the intestines the bile and pancreatic juice—also a glandiform organ, the spleen, as to the office of which physiologists are in doubt. THe Liver is the largest gland in the body, and is situ- ated in the abdominal cavity, to the right of the dia- phraghm and downward and adjacent to the stomach, and partly in contact with them. ‘The weight of a healthy INTESTINAL DIGESTION, 65 liver in a medium-sized horse is eleven pounds. In its ex- ternal form, it is flattened before and behind, and irregu- larly lengthened in an eliptical form, thick in its center, and thin towards its borders, which are notched in such a manner as to divide it into three principal lobes. The front face is convex, smooth, and having a deep notch for the passage of the large vein, called venacava. The back face is also smooth and convex, and is entered by the portal vein, hepatic artery, and nerves; and more biliary ducts leave the liver. Viewing the liver in position, it is found that the front face is apphed against the diaphragm, and the back face in contact with the stomach, duodenum, and colon. The liver secretes bile and sugar. It secretes bile from the blood of the portal vein, which comes from the intes- tines charged with assimilable substances. It is supposed to assist in purification of the blood, in digestion and in the generation of animal heat, as the elements it absorbs are rich in carbon and hydrogen. ‘The sugar formed in the liver finds its way into the blood, and is carried off by the veins. It is elaborated in hepatic cells by the transforma- tion of starch, or a similar substance, by contact with a kind of animal yeast or diastase in the interior of these cells. The sugar is passed off in the veins and the bile is carried away in the biliary ducts to the gall bladder for storage till required. The bile is composed of soda in combination with glycocholic, taurocholic and several other acids with ammonia. ‘The soda comes from the common salt of the food. The action of bile in digestion is largely upon the fat, which it decomposes and turns into an emulsion, separating it into very minute globules, similar to butter globules in milk. Another office it is supposed to perform, is to change the undissolved starch into sugar and facilitate its absorption into the circulation. It is also thought to assist in pre- 66 FEEDING ANIMALS. serving the albuminoids, with many offices not fully de- termined. The liver is regarded as a filter to separate excrementi- tious matters from the blood, as well as supplying an im- portant agent in digestion. THE PANcREAS.—This organ has a close resemblance to the salivary glands. It is situated in front of the kidneys, and behind the liver. Its weight, in the horse, is about 17 ounces, The pancreas receives its blood by the hepatic and great mesenteric arteries. .ts secretion, or juice, has an alkaline action, and contains several ferments; a diastase capable of turning starch into sugar; trypsin, acting on the albumi- noids, and a ferment that emulcifies fats. The latter office is stated by Chauveau to be its principal one. It seems certain that the action of the pancreatic juice is very im- portant on several classes of food elements. THE SpLEEN.—This organ differs from the glands in not having an excretory duct. It has been called a vascular gland, but its uses are not fully understood. It is sickle- shaped, and is suspended near the great curvature of the © stomach. ‘The tissue of the spleen has a violet blue color, sometimes approaching to red, is elastic, tenacious and soft, yields to the pressue of the finger and retains the im- print. It is the seat of disease called splenic fever, caused by its engorgement of blood. It has been called a reser- voir of blood from the portal vein. The substance of the spleen is easily dilated, and its elasticity favors this view. The red globules of blood are supposed to be destroyed in the spleen. | It does not appear to be indispensably necessary to life, as animals have lived, in apparent health, after its removal from the body. CIRCULATION. 67 CIRCULATION.—It is not necessary to our purpose to go into any extended explanation of this important animal function, but it will be sufficient to mention that this con- sists in the incessant motion of the blood, propelled by the heart through the arteries to all the inner and outer sur- faces of the body, permeating every tissue; from thence returning by the veins to the heart, and thence to the lungs, where by contact with the oxygen of the air, it is purified and rendered fit to nourish the tissues, and returning from the lungs to the heart, it is sent again on its rounds to every part of the body. We explained in a previous chapter the appearance and chemical composition of the blood. We have pointed out how the blood is elaborated from the food in process of digestion, and then absorbed into the circulation. The heart is composed of strong muscular fibre, and di- vided into four cavities, having valves which regulate the dow of blood. These muscles expand and contract with regularity, producing what we call “heart-beats.” There are something like four of these “beats” to one inspira- tion of the lungs. Tae Puse.—As nature is regular, these beats or the pulse becomes an ‘ndication of health or an abnormal state of the system, and it is therefore an accomplishment +n acattle-feeder to understand the pulse of different ani- mals. This will give him a better knowledge of the real condition of the system than any outward appearance. Dr. James Law (in his Veterinary Adviser) says: The pulse in full-grown animals at rest may be set down per minute as: Horse 36 to 46; ox 38 to 42, or in a hot building, with full paunch, 70; sheep, goat, and pig, 70 to 30: In old age it may be 5 less in large quadrupeds, and 20 to 30 in small ones. Youth and small size imply a greater rapidity. The new-born foal has a pulse three times as frequent as the horse, the six-months colt double, 68 FEEDING ANIMALS. and the two-year-old one and a quarter. It is increased by hot, close buildings, exertion, fear, a nervous temperament, and pregnancy. In large quadrupeds there is a monthly increase of four to five beats per minute after the 6th month. Independently of such condition, a rapid pulse implies fever, inflammation or debility. The pulse may be felt wherever a considerable artery passes over a superficial bone ; thus on the cord felt running across the border of the lower jaw, just in front of its curved portion; beneath the bony ridge which extends up- ward from the eye ; in horses, inside the elbow; in cattle, over the middle of the first rib, or under the tail. The force of the pulse varies in the different species in health, thus it is full and moderately tense in the horse; smaller and harder in the ass and mule; full, soft and roll- ing in the ox; small and quick in sheep; firm and hard in swine. Jn disease it may become more frequent, slow, quick (with sharp impulse), tardy (with slow, rolling movement), full, strong, weak, small (when thread-like but quite distinct), hard (when with jarring sensation), soft (when the opposite), oppressed (when the artery is full and tense, but the impulse jerking and difficult, as if the flow were obstructed), jerking and receding (when with empty, flaccid vessel, it seems to leap forward at each beat), inter- mittent (when a beat is missed at regular intervals), wn- equal (when some beats are strong and others weak). Be- sides these a peculiar ¢hrill is usually felt with each beatin very weak, bloodless conditions. The jerking, intermittent, unequal and irregular pulses ~ are especially indicative of heart disease. The jerking pulse is associated with disease of the valves at the com- mencement of the great aorta which carries blood from the left side of the heart, and is accompanied by a hissing or sighing noise with the second heart sound. ‘The ¢ntermit- tent pulse implies functional derangement of the heart, but not necessarily disease of structure. CIRCULATION. 69 The unequal and irregular pulse is met in cases of fatty degeneration, disease of the valves on the left side, cardiac dilation, etc. Palpitation—The application of the hand over the chest, behind the left elbow, will detect any violent and tumultu- ous beating, irregularity in the force of successive beats, etc. It is certainly very important that the skillful feeder should, by frequent practice, acquaint himself with the pulse in health and disease. For by this he may be able to apply the “ounce of prevention” which is “worth more than a pound of cure.” The best feeders cultivate assiduously the faculty of ob- servation. Close observation for a few years, will cause him to detect at once the condition of the animal by its attitude and general appearance. RESPIRATION.—To maintain life in animals, requires not only nutritive matters to be absorbed into the circula- tion from the digestive canal, but the oxygen of the air must enter with these nutritive elements into the circula- tion. The effect of the oxygen is to expel carbonic acid gas and to give a bright red color to the blood. It comes in contact with all the minute structures of the general capillary system, exciting an activity in the tissues, and, as is supposed, inducing a combustible action which evolves the heat of the animal body. And this constitutes the process of respiration. The apparatus by which this process of respiration is earried on consists of the nasal cavities, laryna, trachea, and lungs. THE Nostrits perform the important function of ad- mitting the air to the nasal cavities on its way to the lungs. Their easy dilation allows the admission of a greater cr less volume of air suited to the requirements of respiration. And in solipeds the nostrils constitute the only entrance 70 FEEDING ANIMALS. by which air can be introduced to the trachea, by reason of the large development of the soft palate, which prevents the entrance of air by the mouth. These orifices are, for this reason, larger than in other domestic animals that make use of the mouth as well as nostrils for the admis- sion of air. The nasal cavities contain the olfactory membrane and nerves, which give the sense of odors, besides other less im- portant membranes, and conduct the air to the larynz, which is a cartilaginous framework, forming a tube in- tended for the passage of air during the act of respiration. It has also the power of dilating and contracting to ac- commodate the volume of air introduced into or expelled from the lungs, and when partially paralyzed causes what is called “roaring.” But the most interesting office of the larynx is as an air organ for the articulation of sounds. The trachea is a flexible and elastic tube, formed of a series of cartilaginous rings, which connect with and con- tinue the larynx and terminate above the base of the heart in two divisions called the bronchi. Each of the two bronchi, or terminal branches of the trachea, join to and imbed themselves in the substance of the lungs. Their substance is cartilaginous like the trachea. The ¢horaz, or pectoral cavity, holds not only the lungs, but the heart and the large vessels that spring from or pass to the heart, with a part of the esophagus, trachea and nerves. The thorax rests upon and is surrounded by the ribs, sternum and the dorsal vertebre, and is above the dia- phragm. It performs an important part in respiration. It is dilated and contracted by the movements of the dia- phragm and ribs. The lung is applied against the thor- acic walls, and follows this cavity in its movements, dilat- ing and contracting with inspiration or expiration. RESPIRATION. ae THE Lunes.—This necessary organ of respiration is of a spongy texture, lodged in the thoracic cavity, divided into two independent halves or lobes—a right and a left, the left being a little smaller than the right lobe. The pul- monary tissue of the mature animal is of a bright rose color; in the foetus its color is deeper because not yet in- flated with air. The tissue is soft but very strong and remarkably elastic. It is very light, floats in water if healthy, and this is attributed to the air held in the lung vesicles. ‘The lung of a foetus will sink in water, but after once being inflated, the air cannot be expelled so as to cause it to sink. The relative weight of the lungs to body is much greater in the adult animal than in the fetus, it being one-thirtieth in the former to one-sixtieth of the whole body in the latter. It is demonstrated that the blood, after losing its bright red color and the properties which maintain the vitality of the tissues, returns from all parts of the body by the veins to the right side of the heart, and is propelled thence into the lung where it is regenerated by contact with the air. These air cells or vesicles in the lungs are wonderfully mi- nute, being only from 1-3800 to 1-1600 part of an inch in diameter. And between these vesicles is an exceedingly thin, elastic tissue, with a few muscular fibres. The pul- monary veins carries the blood back to the heart after re- generation in thelungs. The principal thing to remember is, that the lung is the seat of the absorption of oxygen by and the expulsion of carbonic acid from the returned or vitiated blood, or the transformation of dark into bright red colored blood. The lung is early developed in the foetus, and its lobular texture is well defined through the whole period of fetal existence. Respiratory Action of the Skin.—The skin is the seat of a constant and important respiratory action, as it absorbs 72 FEEDING ANIMALS. oxygen and throws off carbonic acid, and when this action is interrupted the health of the animal suffers. The true skin underlies the scarf skin, and is filled by capillary blood-vessels, and it is in its passage through these capil- laries that the blood gives off carbonic acid and absorbs oxygen. The amounts thus given off and taken up are quite considerable. The excretions from the skin in the form of ‘‘insensible perspiration,” also carries off large amounts of water. This also is the means of relieving the body of surplus heat. Millions of pores permeate the skin, and large vol- umes of vapor are given off through these pores. ‘These orifices are exceedingly minute, convoluted tubes, lying under the skin, and are found to be from one-fifteenth to one-tenth of an inch in length. Erasmus Wilson estimated the number of these tubes in every square inch of the sur- face of the body to be 2,800, and the total number of square inches on the surface of the body of an average sized man to be 2,500, therefore his skin is drained with 28 miles of these tubes, having seven millions of openings. Water, when converted into vapor by the heat of the body, ex- pands to 1,700 times its liquid bulk, and in doing this ab- sorbs a large amount of heat, and the watery vapor escapes through the pores of the skin, thus cooling the body. This shows the immense importance of regulating the temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the bodies of animals, as all the heat of the body, as ub as its growth, comes from the food. ANIMAL HeEAtT.—It was formerly supposed by physiolo- gists that animal heat was produced by the oxidation or combustion of the carbon of the food in the lungs, by means of the oxygen inhaled. But later investigations explain these phenomena in a different manner. Dr. Armsby, in his late work, explains this later theory con- cisely, thus : URINARY ORGANS. 3 “The distribution of oxygen through the body is ac- complished by means of the circulation. Each little cor- puscle carries its load of oxygen from the lungs through the heart and arteries into the capillaries. ‘There the sub- stances formed in the minute cells of the tissue by the de- composition of their contents under the influence of the vital force, diffuse into the blood, and here they meet the oxygen contained in the corpuscles, and, uniting with it, are burned, producing animal heat. Innumerable inter- mediate products are formed in this process, but the final result is in all cases the same. All the non-nitrogenous substances yield carbonic acid and water; the nitrogenous ones the same substances, and in addition urea, the char- acteristic ingredient in urine. Urea isa crystallizable body of comparatively simple composition, which together with small amounts of other substances, contains all the nitro- gen and part of the carbon and hydrogen of the albumi- -noids, from which it is derived. In the urine of herbiv- orous animals it is, in part, replaced by hippuric acid. All these oxydations take place in the cells and capillaries of the body, and it is there, consequently, and not in the lungs, that animal heat is produced.” This latter theory, which seems the more philosophical, does not change any of the practical conclusions hereto- fore drawn in reference to the expenditure of food in the production of animal heat. It therefore does not intro- duce any practical new philosophy into the problem of feeding and growing animals. ‘URINARY Orcans.—These organs—very important in the animal economy—are charged with eliminating from the blood with the surplus water, the excrementitious nitro- genous products resulting from the exercise of the vital . functions. The kidneys, the essential organs of urinary secretion, _ are two glandular organs, situated in the abdominal cavity, 4 - V4 FEEDING ANIMALS. one on each side of the spinal column. The right kidney comes forward beneath the two last ribs, whilst the left only reaches the 18th rib. The right kidney is slightly the largest. ‘The urinary secretion is supposed to be simply a filtration of these elements contained in the blood through the tissue of the kidneys. The ureters are membranous canals, having about the diameter of a pipe-stem, which convey the urine from the kidneys to the bladder. The bladder is a membranous, ovoid reservoir, located in the pelvic cavity, and occupying a space according to the quantity of urine it contains. The bladder serves a most useful purpose in retaining the urine to be voided at con- venient periods, The urethra is common to the urinary and generative organs, EXCRETIONS. The decompositions and oxidations constantly going on in the body charge the blood with carbonic acid, urea and some other nitrogenous products. ‘These must be ex- creted from the body or injury—even poisoning—would soon result. We have seen how the blood is relieved of this excre- mentitious matter by filtering through the tissue of the kidneys and thence passing to the bladder. There has been various theories as to the excretion of nitrogen— whether the decomposed albuminoid matter in the body is all excreted with the urine and feces, or whether some material portion of it is excreted from the lungs and skin. Boussingault, Regnault and Reiset all held the opinion that nitrogen, in a gaseous form, is excreted from the lungs and skin. This opinion was quite general until the experi- ments of Karl Voit appeared to furnish reasonable proof that urine and the solid dung contained all the nitroge- EXCRETIONS. eS nous matters excreted from the body. And later experi- ments also confirm Voit’s conclusions. The present state of the evidence seems to establish the fact that all the ni- trogen of the food, except what is appropriated to an in- crease of body, or the production of milk, is recovered in the visible excrements. This has been proved by experi- ments upon various animals, and is a matter of the highest importance in understanding a rational system of feeding. Experiments have included oxen, milch cows, sheep, ete. We copy the following table from Dr. Armsby’s Manual of Cattle-feeding. This includes oxen and milch cows at three different stations. The determination of the nitro- gen in the excrement also includes that in the milk when the experiment relates to milch cows. ‘The weight is given in grammes (,!, of an ounce). . NITROGEN IN DIFFERENCE, PLACE. Length of Feed- ing. Food. Excrements. Grammes. | Grammes. | Gt@mmes. |Per cent. ——————on = —.—— S — | | —__—_—___. Munich....... 6 days — 241.5 238.53 —2.97 1.2 Mockern...... 20 to 25 days 120.5 122.0 +1.5 1.2 Mockern...... 20 to 25 days 121.0 117.5 —3.5 2.9 Mockern...... 20 to 25 days) | 117.4 113.1 —4.3 3.6 Mockern..... 20 to 25 days 114.5 120.0 +5.5 4.8 Méockern...... 20 to 25 days 114.8 108.4 —6.4 5.6 Mockern......| 20 to 25 days 121.4 113.2 —8.2 6.7 Hohenheim...| Nearly 6 weeks 165 2 164.5 —0.7 0.4 Hohenheim...| Nearly 6 weeks 169.1 169.8 +0.7 0.4 Sheep were experimented with to determine this point at Weende Experiment Station, and, when allowance was made for the growth of the wool, the excrements fully ac- counted for all the nitrogen in the food. Stohmann, at [Halle Experiment Station, proved that the nitrogen of the food was all found in the visible excre- ments of the goat; and it may thus be considered as es- tablished that all the nitrogen of the food of our domestic 76 FEEDING ANIMALS. animals is recovered in the excrements, together with the increase in the weight of the body. RESPIRATORY Propucts.—With a view of further de- termining the correctness of the conclusions above stated, Grouven experimented upon the direct products of respi- ration to determine whether any ammonia may pass off through the lungs or skin, and found a mere infinitessimal quantity of this gas thus excreted; thus confirming the previous conclusion. And experimenters propose to determine the gain or loss of flesh in an animal by comparing the whole amount of nitrogen in the food with the whole amount of nitrogen in the excrements. If the nitrogen in the excrements is less than in the food, then the animal is gaining in flesh, but if more in the excrements, then the animal is losing flesh. | Curbon is excreted from the body partly in the urinary excretions, but more through the lungs and skin. Hydrogen is excreted partly in the urea but mostly in the form of water. EXCRETION OF ASH CONSTITUENTS.—The ash or min- eral matter of the food is excreted in the urine and in the solid dung. Liebig held that phosphoric acid was generally not found in the urine of herbivorous animals because this liquid is nearly always alkaline, and fodder generally con- tains much lime which unites with the phosphoric acid, forming phosphate of lime. Phosphate of lime being in- soluble in alkaline fluids, and thus phosphoric acid is not likely to be found in the urine except when there is more than can unite with the lime. Bertram found that when magnesia takes the place of the lime, phosphoric acid ap- pears in the urine, even when that is alkaline. When the food is rich in phosphoric acid and comparatively poor in VALUE OF MANURE. Vat lime, the ash of the urine will be found 20 to 40 per cent. of phosphoric acid ; for instance, when the food is milk or when animals are fed upon rich grains. But when ru- minants are fed exclusively upon coarse fodder containing much lime, very little phosphoric acid is found in the urine. It will thus be seen that the excretion of phosphoric acid in the urine will depend upon the kind of food giver. When not found in the urine it is excreted in the solid dung; but this usually occurs when food is given that is poor in this eleinent and comparatively rich in lime—and therefore in all rich feeding the phosphoric acid is princi- pally excreted in the urine. Of potash and soda contained in the food some 95 per cent. is excreted in the urine, likewise 20 to 30 per cent. of the magnesia, and nearly all of the sulphuric acid and chlorine, but only a very little lime. All the rest of the ash constituents that are not used in the body or in the production of milk, together with the silica, are excreted in the dung. We have endeavored in the above to give a short and clear explanation of animal excretions. Careful attention to these physiological facts will enable the stock feeder to understand the manurial value of the different foods, and also the comparative value of the liquid and solid excretions. VALUE OF MANURE. The economic feeding of farm stock requires a careful consideration of the value of their manure. In the chief countries of Europe where agriculture is most intelligently _ conducted, the value of the manure is one of the chief factors entering into the problem of cattle, sheep and swine hus- bandry. Whilst in this country, with our so lately virgin soil, the value of the manure has only recently been seri- %8 FEEDING ANIMALS. ously considered. But the clearest foresight, even in the newly-settled West, is now studying this question of com- pensation for fertility removed by constant cropping; and there, the principal location of our present meat produc- tion, and soon to be also of our dairy productions, this problem must be considered on the same basis as it is in the meat-producing regions of Europe. We have just seen that the nitrogen and mineral matter of the food are all recovered in the visible excrement, ex- cept what is stored up in the body of the animal as an in- crease of its weight. In general terms—the disposition of the food consumed by an animal is as follows: The indi- gestible part passes nearly unchanged through the body—a part is assimilated into the body to replace the natural waste of the system, but is itself afterward disorganized and ejected ; the rest is converted into the body of the animal as an increase of its substance—that is, the undi- gested food and the aliment which has undergone conyer- sion into flesh and other tissues, and subsequent disorgan- ization, constitute the excrements or manure. ‘The richer in nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash the food is, the more valuable must be the manure. And it thus follows, that the actual money value of a food is not to be found merely in the amount of flesh which it makes, but also in the value of the manure produced from it. As the richest food produces the richest manure, and as all the fertilizing elements of the food which are not re- quired for replacing waste or producing growth in the animal are found in the manure, so that many English feeders seem quite indifferent as to the proper adjustment of the ration to the actual needs of the animal—satisfied that whatever is not returned in growth and laying on of fat is found in the manure heap—they often feed to steers 8 to 12 pounds of oil cakes when the animal cannot utilize more than 6 pounds of this highly nitrogenous food. Al- VALUE OF MANURE. res) though the manure is richer for this excess of nitrogenous food which passes in an undigested state, yet the economy of the practice is quite similar to that of feeding judi- ciously 100 pounds of oil cake, and at the same time spreading 100 pounds more over the manure pile for its enrichment. An economical consideration of meat and manure production would seem to require that the feeding ration should be, at least, approximately adjusted to the needs and capacity of the animal, and that the manure should be the excrementitious matters resulting from the most economical feeding. Science should teach the proportion of the various ingre- dients of food required for the most economical produc- tion of milk, meat and wool, and it is the value of the manure produced by such feeding that we are considering. The most valuable result in manure, under a rational system of feeding, will be produced at the point of the greatest proportional production from a given amount of food. A scanty ration which will be almost wholly used as the food of support, will seldom enter into a system of : profitable feeding. There have been different estimates of the value of the manure resulting from the consumption of a given quan- tity of food by farm animals. That most industrious ex- perimenter, Sir J. B. Lawes, some years ago, laid down the figures of value in the following table: Showing the estimated value of the manure obtained on the consumption of one gross ton (2,240 lbs.) of different articles of food; each supposed to be of good quality of itS KID. 80 FEEDING ANIMALS. Estimated Mon-| Value of net ey Value of the DESCRIPTION OF Foop. Manure from | ,t02+,2,000 ® ’ s., 1 . one gross ton yikes 2 of each Food. y- Sea, OL oC; 1. Decorticated cotton-seed cake...........-.ee00- 6 10 0 27 .67 2. Rape Cake .c5 sasiiawewede sess. Bae SOOCRTIO NOR 4 18 0 21.52 Os, AMSEC CAG.” 1234 HE. EL ERRRLT Peo eh ee ER: 4 12 0 19.54 4; Maltdnst (Sprowls) os asa cca sddacew des tan esed one 4 5 0 18.22 B: Men tile: Jeschke hee ee eee syle eho 3) neo 16.44 O: PANIC. coe haste Monon. otesen cence cosceee 3 13 0 15.65 i VSN ORs 2 SAR eee. ode eee oa eb be sltoae comeeiees oS 13106 15.76 BY FB ADN 3 Me aie ih Wo san wero dak rae ens iw aueloe ene IEE 38 13 6 15.46 By -POAS, ek twat nce oe kb ea oe me ifehtoe sabe Ate eioees 3) 2.6 13.35 LOM LGCUSLNDERNS its cays ary ow ce wee reas owe nee odes 1. 2.6 4.83 Uhr Oats sett oss eo ee aad hos sch 6 Ls owen duit wnleeera: 1.14 6 7.40 MAING Ups tes te Pe ase? herd is Sete icant earatona tetas whee hele 1 13 0 7.08 LeMINGAM COEDS: . seine ce sero oeae aioch ea ats ian eae 1 11 6 6.76 da OMS oo bart Re eS a oye bee ord bunpatcrsen era! abieiee osibieichs 5 Wi es 6.71 LOD SALLE Y hi Seoes.ecie Me Siaatc ate wecihulee male e a ee ween 1-96 6.27 16. Clover hay ...... ais Miiys glibc skincare hse ates siiaemedh 29) DO 9.65 Ni, NOAA OWL: ose csccicu eee eecsae seatee ohcaumace ee 1 10 0 6.43 NG ef OS SUT Wire Sicla drvquinis ofc Sh Re ateale Ameialt fa wiatahre whine 0.136 2.90 19. Wheat straw ........ SINE, SSE: siccidieae weirs 0 12 6 2.68 20;, BarleyiStraw: \cplisse rs.odeias sis'dwattes ccceste oui on 0 10 6 2.26 ON, KE OUMLOOS So ce Feces cis ere Sa neistee watela te aicete aeteniac rt Oo 1.51 Be. CUEATEL OLAS £ 5cc/as is chefs ctsis dade cde seh eicute tas abate vide 0 50 1.08 2S, OWECISH CUPMIPS co cccc cvssceess Goes selaetlein eevee ere 0 43 1 24; Commonrtar nips: stk ‘wc Sbenic hic scteedd beebwsns 0 40 .86 ae WATEOUS ss cc ues sees eee Toe INRA TA een ccaiaeee OF 4.6 | .86 Even English farmers, who have heretofore valued ma- nure much higher than American farmers, have often mentioned Dr. Lawes’ table as placing too high an estimate upon the manurial value of food, because, as they said, the same elements could be more cheaply purchased in com- mercial fertilizers. But it may be doubted if this is true of the present market value of the three elements, nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. We therefore give another table showing the amount of each of these elements in 1,000 pounds of the different foods, and then calculating the value of one ton at the prices mentioned at the neaa of the columns. ‘These prices are 18 cents for nitrogen, 6 cents for potash and 10 cents for phosphoric acid. These are considerably lower than the prices estimated in com- mercial fertilizers. We give this here as a convenient table for reference : ) VALUE OF MANURE. " MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS AND REFUSE. | a ° 2 2 E- ‘Ee om SUBSTANCES. > = eae 2 A ° % org 2 a ee a oe oe A a Ay | a - 18 cts. | 6 cts 10 ets lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs Cotton-seed cake (decorticated) .......... 900 62.0 21.0 29.5 | $30.74 Cotton-seed cake (undecorticated)........ 885 39.0 20.1 22.9 21.03 WRADCCAKO Hoe 6. ace tae cxetic ck SSeS Sak 900 48.0 13.2 24.6 23.78 Linseed cake...... Aba sinwadenty aie's oi tehals cole SOO 45.0 14.7 19.6 21.88 PND CAKE 22 see oss deals Ce os oth eocad ie OBO 25.0 5.5 12.2 12.10 Linseed meal (extracted). .... .........20. 903 59 8 7.0 25.6 28.68 ROPPY-SCCAICAKC 22:38. 5.5 ool. fos. kberecee 885 47.8 22.0 40.0 27.84 HeMIp-SCld CAKE. iso s.c.cstheh a1 se cb eeesien 901 44.7 27.6 37.6 26.92 ‘UES EAL UNC: Cos Se as a ee 863 52.2 Wat 23.4 25.59 Sunflower-seed cake ............. .ceee0. 897 55.9 26.8- 35.4 30.42 MEAIEISDIOUES =o cui Ne de cockmitce \ ostees eee ee 905 38.0 19.5 17.2 19.46 SMOG IMUM 2 oe. Site ein Aas ss Goch ss 865 22.0 14.8 32.3 16.15 HRV OMANI. Sa.5:05 orecbisie's Melee dees ne Heese 875 23 .2 19.3 34.2 16.43 NEV NOW Fo. atictade cape cae Anco’ seiae wie 858 16.8 6.5 8.5 8.52 Millet meal........ aie a actotateie nits beers coietcies 860 18.3 2.3 5.5 8.32 BHPAL-DGCb CAKE. creo sceciatacene s eciae cee 308 18.0 3.6 Io 3.45 IBnclawheal, DAN 25/6 jects aves owlnne cet 860 27.3 10.0 17.0 8.52 GRAINS AND SEEDS, HSOMMS Gs sotto etc c dh siete sia ter « Melete wlarciaiele See oes 855 41.0 12.0 11.6 18.52 PGaSe ea octane sive chad cio clelee idee gba: ate 857 36.0 9.8 8.8 15.87 REVO R Rac Ciel chee eee spite tke tas de ones! 851 17.6 5.4 8.2 8.62 MDE ere cee cineca ania) sear e ela wi sisal nee aes 870 20.6 4.5 6.2 10.27 RMR BAG Pace to Sees he wera. sSaaaaee 856 18.8 5.4 8.0 9.01 DIATOM EMA Ee Salohcin Abe tele ae neadae caee 860 17.0 4.9 7.3 8.16 TRE VTLS SAR Seis A SR RLS Ee ge CPE on ot 886 16.6 3.6 6.1 tu Met rWwAbhbenusk sc tcceuee. aot homed: 870 23.2 4.7 9.1 10.73 Millet, without husk ............. ... oe 869 20.0 2.3 6.6 8.79 SUG RWAGAD Lo geld warn na eee aranwecs We Sasi 860 14,4 2.1 4.4 6.29 POOR PMIAN cae ol ciate asta Glcisisuits ome cis lis cieure cisicts 860 16.0 4.2 8.1 7.88 iaxseedt 5s5e0 <2. S88; SR. ointe Rect 905 36.0 12.3 15.4 5 es | DUREMERREAS, wos wal wae trae ac ore aaa terete aieiois tee a 864 44.0 63 7.9 18.17 HEMprsbed: Jha0 FAs AO ae sacle el ones 878 26.0 Ey ara Feel tv C85 14.02 IRAPEISCOO case e soareatas aie yee oc melee in auatetats 890 31.0 8.8 16.4 15.49 IPOPPY BOCA. uals ek ce! wu dite hoe seatrelete 853 28.0 fine! 16.4 14,21 HAY Meadow hay ...... SN Sera Ue siteiealee nieve wale 857 15.5 16 8 3.8 8.35 PARAL (NUNN ir eo Ee cn, Sra ere ose ro. cum waiehebaats 856 15eb 17.2 6.8 9 00 WENO TIpC HAY. os woos wees e ree peas Sees 856 12.0 5.0 2.9 5.56 Red clover, in blossom .................-. 840 19.7 19.5 5.6 10.55 RSM CLOVER S LUDO bareiaician eine a sisieciew 3 «0 wes cee 840 15.0 12.2 3.5 7.56 VEEL: CLOVOT: Seg aiacel cit Cord va dscns TaShs dois 840 23.8 10.6 8.5 11.53 PUNCOTIN OF MAU As. rca ees ve cnloee vo 40 840 23.0 15.2 De ie tT 00 Green vetchessctewiess loge Ueki sano s feed set 840 22.7 80.9 9.4 13.75 MOTO BUS ire caialdscinsingle ey nib secs a avails cin whe 855 14.7 24.1 5:1 9.20 EATEOM, EAS 5 sree tiara ok Wako soloe saig g alcicle bio oie 833 22.8 29.6 9.7 13.69 82 FEEDING ANIMALS GREEN FODDER. sd = e ° te ° = ee Be § 5 SUBSTANCES. e cs) Z ae en a o 2 os 2 b & s ge | Sie = ° a A Za i Ay > 18 cts. | 6 cts. |-10 cls lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. Meadow grass, in blossom......... eee 300 4.8 6.0 Lis $2.24 WiOUNPEIPYASS oc. iovec-sccesic ASA ROE ey ers Ll) 5.6 11.6 2.2 2.01 Timothy eeeeeeereereeeeeeee @eeteaeeeeeeeeeee 300 5.4 6.1 eee 1.94 Oats, coming into head........... J atteeealewlso 3.6 Kieu! 1 ea 1.94 Oats: in DIOSSOM, 02.8... - 5: cb aes sce saeco u asi), coo 3.0 6.5 1.4 1.61 Rye in: DIOSSOM ..15_ bates nc 83 1.8 2.9 0.6 1. CORI Stale: <: Jc cdewese esha paleo tasteine oc 850 80 33.2 7.6 4.19 The foregoing table of different fodders and their value as manure, after passing through the stomachs of animals, will present, at a glance, the importance of carefully hus- banding the manure made upon the farm. It shows that when the three important elements in farm manure are estimated at even lower prices than is given for commercial fertilizers, the value of the manure from one ton of any given food is greater than the estimate made by Dr. Lawes, and which has been considered by English farmers as too high. This estimate will only hold good when the manure, liquid and solid, is completely saved. And we do not give VALUE OF MANURE. 83 this table as fixing the absolute value of the manure from these feeding stuffs, as the quality of foods differs under varying circumstances ; but we do believe that these values are quite as reliable as those given for commercial fertilizers. We shall have frequent occasion to refer to this table. 384 FEEDING ANIMA3S. CHAPTER IV. STOCK BARNS. One of the most important questions relating to a sys- tem of economical meat, milk and wool production is that of the best construction of barns for the various kinds of farm animals. Even in the comparatively mild climate of England, the best feeders have found it a great economy to provide a warm shelter in winter Many experiments have been there tried upon cattle and sheep. But sheep are usually supposed to be the best provided by Nature with protection against cold; yet Mr. Nesbit relates a case, coming under his observation, where a farmer in Dorset- shire placed 30 sheep under a warm shed, and a like num- ber of sheep, of the same weight and condition, were fed in the open field, without shelter of any kind. Lach lot was fed with turnips, ad libitum, and coarse fodder. This continued through the cold season, and the result proved that those without shelter gained one pound per head each week, whilst those under shelter, although they ate less | food, increased three pounds per head per week. It must be admitted that the large amount of water in turnips would cause this diet to show most unfavorably in the open air, giving a greater contrast than a diet of dry food. But that most experienced cattle and sheep feeder, Mechi, has given very strong testimony in favor of shelter for all farm animals. In the case of the cow, all dairymen have noted the immediate effect of cold upon the secretion of milk. A sudden change to a lower tempera- STOCK BARNS. 85 ture, or a rain-storm, will often reduce the yield of milk _ 25 to 40 per cent. in a few days. If we had as complete a test in the case of fattening cattle, we should probably find the difference in gain quite as great. Mr. Charles Eaton, who managed a large number of cattle on the great Alex- ander farm, in Champaign County, Ill., one cold winter, found that all the corn which steers could eat (about 40 Ibs. per day) in the open air, only sufficed to keep them from losing weight. While in some of the feeding districts in the West, land and corn are sometimes so cheap that many good farmers think they can better afford the corn than the shelter ; but this period will soon end. As land becomes more valuable they will find it quite too unremunerative to expend a large amount of corn in keeping cattle, with very little gain in weight, during the winter season. It is not wholly the loss of food that should be considered, but the postpone- ment of ripe market condition, and the fact that when cat- tle are at a stand-still they are taking on an unthrifty habit, which prevents them, for a time, from rapid gain on the best grass in spring. And there can be no doubt that, when the exact saving by warm shelter shall be determined by an accurate comparison between out-door and in-door winter-feeding, it will show a large economy in favor of building the best cattle-barns and feeding in a uniform temperature. The few comparative tests that have been sind in the West between open air and barn-feeding, which have seemed to show very little gain from the warm temperature of the barn, have ignored the effect of restraint upon wild animals. The animals used for these tests had never been handled or subjected to restraint until placed in stable. This confinement and sudden change of habit produced such nervous irritation as to nearly balance the beneficial effect of a warmer temperature. A convincing. test must 86 FEEDING ANIMALS. take animals handled from calfhood and used to the re- straint of a stable in winter. Such animals, compared with animals reared and constantly fed in the open air, will show a difference in amount of food and gain that all intelli- gent feeders will be inclined to heed. Barns may be built on a large scale, and fully equipped for the best system of feeding, at ten to twenty dollars per head of cattle they will accommodate. Now, let us sup- pose that a steer, weighing 1,000 lbs. on the first day of November, will gain 150 to 200 lbs. more, on the same food, in a warm stable, than in the open air, during the five cold months of winter, and this 200 lbs. gain will ren- der the whole carcass worth from % to 1 cent more per pound, and the whole gain could not be less than $12 to $15 per head, which would, in many cases, pay the whole cost of the barn. A strict comparison between summer and winter feeding, in the open air, will show a greater difference than this, and when we perfect the system of barn feeding, we shall be able to make as great progress in | winter as in summer feeding. We know there are other considerations besides the cost of barns to be taken into account, and the chief of these is the labor required to feed animals in barn over those in the field, but we shall con- sider all these and be able to show that there is a large balance in favor of the best system of barn feeding. Form OF BARN. Economy and convenience of space—that form and ar- rangement requiring the least amount of labor to feed and care for a givon number of animals—durability as well as economy in the cost of the structure, are the most impor- tant requisites in barn building. ‘The early forms of _ American barns were devised when everything was done by hand, and they were built low to accommodate hand- pitching; were filled with interior beams and posts, which FORM OF BARN. 87 much obstructed the pitching in and out of hay and grain, and, being so low, were expensive in so much roof and foundation for so small an amount of cubic feet of space. A large barn was built in the form of a long paralellogram, with 16-feet outside posts, so that, when a stable was made in the first story, it left only a low scaffold over it for the storage of fodder; and, when the stable was in the base- ment, the 16-feet posts furnished a small amount of room for the storage of hay, considering the size of the barn. A drive-way through such a long barn leaves but narrow space on each side, and it takes up too large a proportion of the room. Later thought has substituted 24-feet posts instead of 16 fect, and this nearly doubles the capacity for storage, with slight addition to the cost of the barn. A mow 24 feet high will scttle so much solider than a 16-feet mow, that its capacity is fully 80 per cent. greater, whilst the cost of the barn is only the cost of 8 feet longer posts and boards—a mere trifle. And as the present system of handling hay and grain with the horse-fork enables the farmer to fill a mow of any height with equal facility, all barns should be built with 24 or more feet posts. The writer finds 28-feet posts none too high for convenience, and furnishing so much extra room for a great variety of uses, that he is led to strongly recommend the building of high barns. A man who builds such a barn will be likely to do his work more thoroughly, his roof and foundation costing no more than for a low barn. The square is a convenient and comparatively economical form of barn; but this form cannot be used for one of much size, because of the difficulty and expense in getting long timber, and the difficulty of sustaining the roof, with- out interior posts and beams, when the side is over 50 feet. The use of the horse-fork is much more convenient where the interior space is unobstructed by posts or beams above the floor-beams, for, in that case, the grapple on the traverse 88 FEEDING ANIMALS. end of the pitching rope may be moved in any direction, and the forkful dropped at any spot desired. This arrange- ment requires very little mowing away, and thus saves a large amount of labor. The high barn gives plenty of room for the swing of the fork, and all the railway tracks, contrived to run over purlines, become useless. THE OCTAGON. In doing work in barn, concentration is an important point. The shorter the lines of travel, the easier the work is done; therefore, barns that are square or circular have shorter lines of travel than the oblong form, and the cir- cular or octagonal form can be built with comparatively short timber, besides affording every facility for a self- supporting roof, or a roof resting simply upon the plates or outside rim—and, thus constructed, the interior space of the barn is entirely free of posts and beams, except the floor-beams, upon which to rest the scaffold to utilize the space over the floor. And a barn of this shape, with a floor through the center, has every line of travel equi- distant from the center, and one floor accommodates all parts of the barn alike. Besides, the octagonal form admits of building any sized barn, up to 90 feet diameter, without any timber more than 39 feet long. A 90-foot octagon has a circumference or outside wall of 29814 feet, and each side is only 37 feet 344 inches long. This barn will comfortably stable 114 head of cattle in its basement, and contains, with 28-feet posts (besides a 14-feet floor through the second story) 160,860 cubic feet of space for storing crops. It would store 250 tons of hay, and 5,000 bushels of grain in the straw. It would require an oblong barn 40 by 180 feet long, with same height of posts, to have the same capacity for stabling cattle and room for crops. This long barn would have a circumference of 440 feet, or an outside wall THE OCTAGONAL BARN. 89 142 feet longer than the octagon. This 142 feet of wall, running through both stories, would require 3,550 square feet of siding above the basement, and about 1,300 cubic feet of basement wall more than the octagon. The latter form would also save a large amount of interior timbers. If it is desired to build a larger circular barn than 90 feet diameter, it would be advisable to build a duo-decagon (12-sided) or a sex-decagon (16-sided) barn. These forms are just as easily constructed, and, where the diameter is large, dividing the circumference into 16 sides makes the timber for each side short, and it only requires 16 outside posts—one at each corner. If the diameter is 110 feet, each side will be about 22 feet on a sixteen-sided barn. It is sufficient to extend girths from corner-post to corner- post, and side it up and down. ‘The basement of this latter barn would accommodate 150 head of large cattle, and contain 242,000 cubic feet of space in the second story. This would hold 500 tons of hay, or 300 tons of hay and 8,000 bushels of grain in the straw. This form of barn has a remarkable capacity for its circumference. It has nearly 100 feet less outside wall than the barn 40 by 180 feet long, yet has a capacity for storage nearly double; but this latter barn would take more lumber to build than the large sixteen-sided barn. The circle incloses the largest area, for its circumference or outside wall, of any form; but the true circle is too expensive to build, and the octagon approaches the circle in economy of outside wall, and is as easily built as the square. The octagonal or 16-sided form is much less affected by the wind, and may be built higher than the long barn in windy situations. This matter of barn building is of so much importance to the improved system of stock feeding, that we shall discuss it as suited to small and large operations, and propose to show how 1,000 or more head may be fed economically and safely under one roof. - 90 FEEDING ANIMALS. We give in fig. 5 the elevation of an octagonal barn of 80 feet diameter, built by the author in 1875, inclosing 5,304 square feet, having posts 28 feet long—with a capacity to the top plates, in the story above the basement, of 148,514 cubic feet. This octagon has an outside wall of 2657s feet and was built to replace four barns destroyed, having an aggregate outside wall of 716 feet, and yet this barn has about 25 per cent. greater capacity than all four barns lost, showing the great economy of this form in expense of wall and siding, bags i Mm | — Fig. 5.—OCTAGON BARN (NORTH ELEVATION). EXPLANATION.—7, plate ; 7, tie-rod and bridging between rafters; s, purlin rim ; t, hip rafters. THE OCTAGONAL BARN. 91 If we compare it with an oblong barn 50 x 108 feet, the latter will inclose the same number of square feet, and have the same capacity at the same height, but requires 51 feet more outside wall. It is easy to make the roof of the octagon self-support- ing, as it is in the formofa truss. The plates perform the office of the bottom chord, and the hip rafters of the top chord, in a truss. The strain on the plates is an endwise EARARARARARARAra ease i === VIM $< 77/7) Af f qu Fig. 8.—OCTAGON BASEMENT (NORTH SIDE). EXPLANATION.—@ 0b ¢ d, doors of basement; e, drive-way through the center; nc, south drive-way for cart to carry Out Manure; ‘od, north drive-way ; m, spare room for root cellar or any other pur ‘pose ; iJ, lying-in stall for COWS + kkk k kk, horse no reparation between ‘these spaces and; g 9, cow mangers ; : h h, an open grated platform: for cows to stand on, the manure falling through upon a concrete floor elow 92 FEEDING ANIMALS. pull, the bottom of the roof cannot spread, and the rafters being properly bridged from the middle to the top, cannot crush, and the whole must remain rigidly in place. Its external form being that of an octagonal cone, each side bears equally upon every other side, and it has great strength without any cross-ties or beams, requiring no more material or labor than the ordinary roof. The plates are halved together at the corners, and the lips bolted together with four half-inch iron bolts (see fig. 6); a brace 8x8 inches is fitted across the inside angle of the plate corner, with a three-fourths-inch iron bolt through each toe of the brace and through the plate, with an iron strap along the face of the brace, taking each bolt, the nut turn- ing down upon this iron strap (see fig. 7). Now the hip rafter (¢), 6 x 12 inches, is cut into the corner of the plate, with a shoulder striking this cross brace, the hip rafter being bolted (with three-fourths-inch iron bolt) through the plate into the corner post (see fig. 6). Thus the plate corner is made as strong as any other part of the stick, There is a purlin rim (see fig. 5, s) of 8x10 inch timber, put together like the plate-rim, bolted or fastened with an iron stirrup under the middle of the hip rafters, which plate-rim supports the intermediate rafters, ‘The hips may be tied to the intermediate rafters by long rods half way between the plate and the purlin, if deemed necessary from the size of the roof (r). ‘The north section of the roof (fig. 5) is represented as uncovered, showing the plate (7), purlin (s), tie-rod (7) and bridging between plate and pur- lin and the two sets of bridging above purlin, etc. It will be noted that, in this form of roof, the roof-boards act asa powerful tie to hold it all together, each nail holding to the extent of its strength, thus supplementing the strength of the plate-rim or bottom chord. It will be seen by fig. 5 that there is a drive-way, fifteen feet wide, through the center of the principal story from THE BASEMENT. 93 north to south. There is a line of “big beams” on either side of this drive-way, 13 feet high, across which a scaffold may be thrown to enable us to occupy the high space over this floor. The posts being 28 feet high and roof rising 22% feet, the cupola floor is 50 feet above the drive-way floor below. The space above these “big beams” is quite clear of any obstruction, and a horse pitching-fork may be run at pleasure to any part. ‘he bay for hay on the left side of this floor is 80 feet long, and has an area of 2,051 square feet, and is capable of holding, when filled to the roof and over the floor, 200 tons of hay. This bay, extend- ing along the floor 80 feet, may be divided into as many parts as required for different qualities of hay, and each part be quite convenient for filling and taking out. On the right-hand side of the floor is a scaffold, eight feet high, having the same area (2,051 square feet) for car- riages, farm tools and machines below, and above the scaffold is—a height of 187g feet to top of the plates—a large space for grain, affording ample room for the separate stor- age of each kind to the aggregate of 3,000 bushels or more. It will be seen that the large space in this barn is all reached and filled from one floor, saving much labor in changing from one floor to another. THE BASEMENT. Fig. 8 shows the basement as we use it, yet there are many different ways in which it may be divided for stock and other purposes. We build the basement wall of con- crete. It is not only the warmest and best wall for basement stables, but is much cheaper than the stone wall laid by a mason, the concrete requiring no skilled labor, only such skill as is required to mix mortar and tend a mason. The drive-way through the basement is from west to east, being the feeding floor between two rows of cattle, with heads turned toward the floor. The floor is fourteen 94 FEEDING ANIMALS, and a half feet wide, out of which come two rows of mangers two and a half feet wide, leaving a space of ten feet for driving a wagon through or running a Car carrying food for the cattle. There are places for twenty cows or other cattle on each side, leaving a space of sixteen feet at the west end to drive a cart around behind the cattle on either side to carry away the manure and pass out at a side stable door, eight feet wide. The horse stalls are arranged on the south side, but may be placed on either of several other sides, or on all. By placing tails to wall and heads on an inner circle, drawn twelve feet from the wall, with feed-box room three feet wide for each horse, with ample room at the rear, sixteen horse stalls may be arranged on southwest, south and southeast sides. But for 200-acre farms generally, no more than forty head of cattle and six horses would be kept, and for such our ground plan would be most convenient, because it furnishes easy access with a cart, both for supplying fodder and carrying away the manure. On our plan, we have much space on the north, northwest and northeast sides, which may be used for various purposes, such as root cellar, sheep-fold for fifty sheep, or for stowing away tools, working-wagons and implements. It will be seen that the basement is not sunk in the earth, but on the north and south sides it is graded up to the floor of the second story, so as to make an easy drive- way into the barn. The base line, as represented on the drawing, is four feet below the general level of the land on the north side, but there is an open channel of water, into which every part is drained, on the south side. The earth on the east and west sides is scraped up on the north and south sides to grade up the drive-ways into second story. This basement is lighted by six windows of twenty lights, 8 x 12 glass, and six of ten lights each. - CIRCULAR BASEMENT. 95 BASEMENT LAID OUT ON A CIRCLE. We give, in fig. 9, a representation of an octagonal base- ment, laid out, in the interior, on a circle, containing fifty- two stalls for cows or cattle, with heads towards the interior. For a fancy breeding establishment these stalls might be elevated one or more feet, showing all the animals at one view, and with the feeding car on track (c), and the car for running out manure on track (a), the labor would be Fig. 9.—OCTAGON BASEMENT. EXPLANATION.—This represents an 80-foot octagon basement Jaid out on a circle ; 6 brepresents 52 cow or cattle stalls, heads toward inner circle; c represents a cir- cular track for a feeding car to run around in front of the cows or cattle; a, circular track for a manure car to carry off offal; @ represents one method of placing horse stalls convenient to drive-way; ¢, vacaut space to be used for any. purpose; //, drive-way. 96 FEEDING ANIMALS, made convenient. This leaves a 52-foot interior circle which may be put to any purpose required. The track (c) takes out six feet, still leaving a circle of forty-six feet diameter. The horse stalls (d) are laid out partly on a circle, but are placed at right angles with the drive-way. One strong point to be made in favor of the circular plan is, that by means of the cars running across the drive-way, food dropped through the floor above upon the car can be run to every animal in the basement. The horse stalls would also be very convenient of access from the drive-way. One side of the drive-way might be fitted up with box stalls for brood mares or colts, or calf-pens. We give this plan merely as suggestive, and not as the best arrangement. Every one may divide the space as he sees fit. Of course, it will be more expensive to fit up ona circle, but to one who fancied it, a few dollars would be, perhaps, no objec- tion. This plan has been adopted, since we devised it, by some fancy breeders, as affording the best arrangement for showing many animals and for convenient display at sales. The plan of basement given in fig. 8 would, generally, be preferred, and if wanted for a large dairy barn there is room for two parallel floors with two rows of cows to each floor, giving one long and one short row of cows to each floor, affording ample room to drive a cart behind each row of cows to take away the manure. One drive-way would answer for both inside rows of cows; also leaving room for a narrow calf-pen on the outside wall behind each outside row of cows. This would be occupying the basement to its full capacity, but, usually, on a 250-acre farm, which this size of octagon would accommodate, not more than fifty head of cattle and horses are kept, and our first plan of basement would be the most convenient, leaving ample space for a great variety of uses. STABLES. 97 SELF-CLEANING STABLE. In the basement, fig. 8, the platforms 7 7”, and the stalls marked //, are made self-cleaning ; and fig. 10 shows how this is accomplished. All dairymen and cattle feeders have felt the necessity of some device that should lessen the daily labor of cleaning the stable, and especially that should succeed in really keeping the cow clean—a most necessary requisite to clean and wholesome milk. There have been various plans of using a gutter behind cows or other cattle ; but in all of them the cow was liable to get soiled upon the flank, and the tail could fall into the gutter and render the milking most offensive. If, therefore, a platform can be made which requires nothing to aid it in keeping the cow clean, provides for her comfort, is self-acting, durable and cheap, there would seem to be little left to accomplish in this matter. The platform (fig. 10), invented by the author, does all this, and has been in use in his stable for the last ten years. It occupies both platforms in the octagonal basement, represented by fig. 8. The platform consists partly of wood and partly of iron. The wooden part is situated next the manger (marked 6), 3 feet 6 inches wide, and raised 12 inches. Behind this an iron grating, resting on an angle-iron sill (marked 3), supported on stone posts at the back side and on the wooden platform in front, 4 feet wide. The gutter under this iron platform is 4 feet wide and 18 inches deep and concreted water tight, with a space of 10 inches under the angle-iron sill, through which the manure is removed. This gutter practically holds the droppings of cows for three weeks, except when muck is used to deodorize it, when it is filled in two weeks. The depth of this gutter is quite sufficient to hold all the liquid. 5 DE\ ewes eli \ SELF-CLEANING STABLE. - 99 The construction of the grating will easily be understood. Iron joists, 4 by 2 inches (marked 5), set edgewise, reaching from angle-iron sill to wooden platform, placed 18/4 inches apart. Across these, at right angles, are laid wrought-iron bars (marked 4), 3g by 14¢ inches, fastened to the joists by quarter-inch round iron staples striding the joists and coming up through the flat bar and riveted. These flat bars, on which the cattle stand, are placed 1°g inches apart, twelve of them in number for this width of platform, with a plank some 10 inches wide covering the angle-iron. It will be seen that the cow must stand with the fore-feet upon the plank platform, and hind-feet upon the flat iron bars of the grating. The droppings fall directly through the openings into the gutter below when the manure is thin; and in winter, when dry food is given, the droppings are pressed through by the movements of the hind-feet. The cow stands across the bars, and always has two bars to stand upon, some large cattle’s feet reaching the third bar. Cows that have stood upon this platform for nine years have always remained clean, healthy and comfortable. The circulation of air under the platform appears to prevent diseases of the feet. eo8 Ante lel ehsreann: This platform, above described, was the first one put into use. It was stationary. The next improvemeut was to put it on hinges, doing away with the stone posts, and substituting short angle-iron posts instead, as represented 100 FEEDING ANIMALS. in figs. 11 and 12.. This form was put into the stables of Burrill & Whitman, at Little Falls, N. Y. Fig. 12 should represent the hind-feet of the cow as standing near the middle of the grating, instead of the edge, as the tread of the hind-feet is required to press the-solid droppings through in winter. Fig. 11 explains itself, except that it may be well to mention that the hinges are made by drill- ing a hole near the ends of the iron joists, and then using a wood-screw eye-bolt to attach the grating to the wooden platform. These gratings are made in sections for two or three cows each. One man can turn them up on the hinges, leaving the manure in the pit below uncovered, and easily shoveled into a wagon to be taken to the field. These sections are placed end to end, and the bars are level and continuous, so that they may be brushed off with a stiff broom as fast as a man can walk. Fig. 12. The next style of this grating is represented by fig. 13, which explains its own construction. ‘The change consists in omitting the legs and angle-iron sill in the rear, and carrying up the wall, on the rear side of the gutter, to a level with the under side of the grating, and allowing the back side of the grating to rest npon a thin timber on the top of the wall. SELF-CLEANING STABLE. 101 This last style of grating has been further improved by removing the plank from the back side, leaving the top of the grate level, and the stable floor even with it. The gut- ter is now water-tight to the top, and the grating lighter and cheaper, more convenient and equally durable. In its present form the grate has been very successful in a large number of stables. a 4 ld =a 3 FT WIDE 2FT DEEP Ss Fig. 13. eon =a, iron anchor; JB, grated floor; C, concrete; D, manger; It will be seen that this plan of stable completely saves all the liquid and solid manure—a matter of the highest importance. In handling this manure it is carried directly from the stable to the field, and thus prevents any loss by leaching and evaporation in yard. The writer has found, by practical figures, that the saving in manure, by this gut- ter-system, and direct application to the field, amounts to five dollars per cow per year. In order to still further reduce the labor of handling the manure, and to make a more perfect distribution of it over the field, the writer employs the manure spreader ; and the labor is now so remarkably economized, that the only manual labor relating to the manure, now performed, consists in shoveling it from the gutters into the manure- spreader—no cleaning of stable; no handling of mauure, except in loading it; and the ferseeae is more complete than can be done ie hand-spreading. 102 FEEDING ANIMALS. This iron grating must be credited also with: Ist, pre- venting all rotting of the wood-work of the stables, as all urine passes at once through the bars, and cannot wet the joists and sills of the barn. 2d. Its durability must be very great, or that of a dozen wooden stables. 3d. Its cost is very moderate—the latter form costing only $6 per cow. Dry earth or muck should be kept in the basement near this platform, and a little thrown each day on the grating, falling through upon the manure, and thus preventing all smell and fixing the ammonia, rendering manure and dry muck equally valuable. Any dry earth, such as cleaning of ditches or headlands, will answer every purpose, when dry and pulverized. ‘This will double the amount of manure, and all be more valuable than manure kept in the common way. Fig. 10 also illustrates a new mode of fastening and watering cattle in stable, which are explained on pages 514-516 in Appendix to the Third Edition. THE OcTAGON ADAPTED TO ALL SIZED FARMS. A little examination of this form of barn will not only show its adaptation to large farms, but to farms of all sizes—from the smallest to the largest. A farmer has but to caleulate how much room he wants for cattle, how much for horses, how much for sheep, how much for hay and grain, how much for carriages, wagons, tools, or any other purpose, and he can inclose just the number of square feet needed, and with the shortest outside wall. He may be liberal in his allowance of room, for it costs less, in proportion, as the size is increased. Suppose he requires for a fifty-acre farm 2,090 square feet of room; this would require a fifty-foot octagon or a 40 x 52 rectangle. Now he would require timber forty feet long for the latter, while he could build the octagon with timber for the sills and plates only twenty-two feet long, and this would be the longest THE SMALL OCTAGON. 103 timber, except posts, which would be better twenty-four or twenty-five feet long. Each side would be only 20% feet, and the wall for the basement 165 feet long, whilst the other would be 184 feet long, saving 19 feet of wall and siding by the octagon, requiring but eight corner posts, and no intermediates, as the girths would be less than twenty feet long. He would require no interior posts or beams, except those for scaffolds. All the ordinary purlin posts and: beams would be saved, and the labor on them. It is easy, also, to see that a few feet added to each side would furnish room for another fifty acres, and so on to any size desired. This form of building, properly under- stood, would lead farmers to abandon the building of a separate barn for each specific purpose, and to provide for all their necessities under one roof. If several barns are placed so as to be convenient, the danger, in case of a fire, is about the same as in one barn, for all would burn in either case. A FIFTY-FUOT OCTAGON. To instance a size of barn, ample for a fertile farm of 50 acres, to accommodate crops, tools and stock, we select the octagon of 50 feet diameter. This requires a basement 8 feet in the clear, in which all the stock on the farm will be kept; with a drive-way through the basement 12 feet wide, fifteen cows or cattle could stand on each side with their heads to the drive-way or feeding-floor, and, using 2 feet on each side of this floor for a manger, would leave a track for cart or wagon of 8 feet. Behind each row of cattle would be room for 4 horse stalls of good width ; but as such a farm would not be likely to have use for more than 4 horse stalls, the space on the other side would be used for lying- in stalls for cows and calf-pens, etc. Here is abundance of room for all the stock 50 to 75 acres can keep, and every- thing is under one roof. 104 FEEDING ANIMALS. Let us now look at the main building above the base- ment. Posts are 24 feet long; and as many small farmers may wish to look at the cost of this barn in detail, we will give specifications of materials and cost, at the present low figures, which may be raised or lowered according to locality : SCHEDULE. Feet. Sisills; 8 L022 feetinc.. wcitincielsic a's iis etserm's Ghai Dhl chan 1,176 4 cross-sills, 8 X 10—26 feet, spliced .. Soieve wie aig op eetdaie a : 692 8 corner posts, 8 x 10—24 feats) ta seidiaree etre atee Seta tas 1,280 8 plates, 8 K 10) 22, feeb i. carcnls «oe 0k ead ciniaw nines SE Per 1,176 4 floor beams, 8 >¢ 10—26 feet, spliced’... 0. ee se ees 692 4 door posts, 6 i B=41S feeb iA chin Jes Se kehene wthahele 208 4 posts, under floor-beams, 8 X 10—18 feet .. ..........- 346 2 scaffold beams, 8 X 19—26 feet, spliced (these go under one floor -beam, 8 feet above the HOG?) ods Fane bo lake 34 girths, 4 X 5—20 feet (5 tiers on six sides and 2 over each door. 6/58... 36ie Feb ancien chlse Ma Ana han lee 1,182 2 girths, 4 X 8—20 feet, Over GOOTS.. 2.0. .ecesccccenscece 8 hip- -rafters, 5X 10—34 feet. 1 TR ea 1,134 8 middle rafters, ieee ROR in Siecle oiraimnd le gis aentgias® © 8-9) are ‘SSRIS [BU.IOA JOOMG e899" *Buno0k AIDA “WéNIVLOPO WNYJUDLOYJUP ‘SSVI [VUIOA JOOMG pect eee cecr esses eeecces “e889 *"* TOOTG BIRT ‘SSRIs JOS MOPLOTT teeesereerescess Sunok £IOA ‘9nIDUY) SnYyI7,OF] ‘sseis os MOPVETL Cece rencccerverersceresesecstess “*** MOO] Jeqe ‘[IV}XOP MOPRETL eoveere SRS SS SS ee eek ee a ee Rd OnE Tv} xO} MOPLOTT SPSS VPLS SIS eres t oo Sree Ss soe Ore mera ‘[Ivj xo} MOPBEPL sreesecseeseroenvay alojaq ‘s2swaqpud snunoedojy “[veyxoj MOpeeW Cree ces geese cowie sees se cccceces+cr.cs sis TOO OMIT | seine iments were ere eee ee ee ee ee er ee ee ee 2 *** WOOT TINJ ‘ssvas plvyoio eee ee eee ee esos sees eer eesesesere ** pesoyo aporurd ‘sseid parvyoiO ss sereeeeesss ano you eporued ‘npn..owo7b siijonq ‘ssvis pavyoiO eee eeee bie coke 0° 2 Ayre ‘AY{OULT, eeoce see ee eee sees ee oie gees eS eee 1s ee LOST er ‘YOULL, sors eee eres - eee coisas egies eso ¢.0.e:aie sleiositiciniel OOO AA Uo en OOM ie cece cess cccsrceeeece -cecccescces eves" ** TOOT alozoq ‘AYJOUILL ee eee oe # Scie esi) sipie's «isieis/ aie eine eninnini BIC ESTAS TLS ‘XYJOUILL, reesesiog cece csi tsec’ SoA OTQISTAUL ATLGs ‘asuaqnud UWnNazYT ‘AYJOULL, ee ee *SHILAINV A ‘panuyjuUuog—SINVIg WAAGOY ANV SUSSVU JO SISATVNY DESCRIPTION OF GRASSES. 149 The foregoing table of analyses, by Prof. Collier, of our wild grasses, including many considered as troublesome weeds, is a most valuable contribution to the chemistry of cattle foods, and a few years more of equal industry, in this section of the Department of Agriculture, will leave but few of our known fodder plants unanalyzed. The great diversity of our soil and climate will often render a grass valuable in one section which is found of no economical value in another locality. Chemistry, by show- ing the proportion of nutritive constituents in a grass, which is found to grow good crops in any section of country, will enable any one to determine its economic value for cultivation in that locality. Every grass must be brought to a practical test in cultivation before its value ' can be determined for any locality, but a knowledge of its chemical analysis will give an experimenter confidence in the probable value of his labor. A large number of the grasses in this table seem to be specially adapted to the Southern States. We shall only glance at a few of them: DesmopiumM—tick-seed, beggar-ticks—is a deep-rooted leguminous plant, which has attracted much attention in the South as a plant that may take the place of clover, in the rotation, on soil that will not sustain clover. It takes its name from the rough seed-pods, which adhere to clothing. Its analysis shows it to be fully equal, in the proportion of nitrogen and other nutritive constituents, to clover. The reports are that it flourishes even on the sand barrens of the Atlantic seaboard. It is found excellent as pasture and as hay—having an effect similar to clover when plowed under. It is annual. JAPAN CLOvER.—This is another leguminous forage plant, lately established in Southern States, and sup- posed to have been brought in tea-boxes from Japan or 150 FEEDING ANIMALS. China. Said not to flourish north of 36°; but grows strongly on soils supposed to be exhausted by cultivation, stands the severest droughts, its long tap root reaching moisture; is perennial and retains its foothold without re-seeding, is much relished by stock as pasture and as hay. This is also excellent for plowing under, but having less nitrogen than Desmodium. Mexican CLover.—This has been considered a trouple- some plant in cultivated fields in Florida, but has lately been found very valuable as a green soiling plant. It grows rapidly and is very succulent and relished green by all stock. It is grown by the orange planters among their groves as a shade and mulch in the hot season, cut and fed green to stock. Itis so watery as to be difficult of curing into hay. The reports are that it produces much more forage than clover, growing more than four feet high and thick set, and on soil too poor for clover. It appears to be a very valuable plant where it succeeds, and is likely to grow well along the whole seaboard of the guif. It is a native of Mexico and South America. SATIN Grass (Muhlenbergia glomerata).—This grows in wet meadows, and is also found on sandy barrens in the Northern and Western States. Its analysis shows it to be a valuable grass if it can be grown in respectable quantity. It is reported from Colorado and Kansas as an excellent grass for hay. Having a creeping root, it must produce a good strong sward for pasture. It has the largest propor- tion of nitrogen of any of the wild grasses analyzed. It certainly merits a thorough test. Another variety of this, M. Diffusa, drop-seed grass, has a reputation in Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina as a pasture grass. SHRADER’S GRAss is found valuable for winter grazing. It grows early and is leafy, producing much pasturage. Its analysis shows it very nutritious. : DESCRIPTION OF GRASSES. 151 BERMUDA GRASS is a low, perennial creeping grass, with abundant short leaves at the base, but a slender, nearly leafless flower-stalk. Itis the chief reliance for pasture in the South. Its creeping root renders it difficult to eradicate in cultivated fields. But, thriving in arid, barren drift-sands of the seashore, it is appreciated and prized as a great resource. It has the capacity to withstand great heat and drought, being green and fresh when blue grass is dried up. The analysis shows it to be very nutritious. It is not reproduced from seed, but sections of its roots covered shallow with the plow. TH CRAB Grasses (Panicum sanguinale, P. filliforme, P. proliferum, P. divaricatum, Hleusina Indica, etc.) are all found to thrive in the southern climate and to assist greatly in pasturage; and it will be seen by their analyses that they are well adapted to produce growth and flesh upon animals. Texas Mitretr (Panicum Texanum), is an annual grass, growing two to four feet high, very leafy, grows best in the hottest part of the season, and reported to make most ex- cellent hay. It is said in Texas to produce a larger crop than millet, and to be well liked by all stock. Quack Grass (Triticum repens), considered a most troublesome weed and a pest in cultivated fields, is seen in analysis to be a very nutritious grass, and, in hay, cattle are very fond of it. Its nutritive ratio shows it to be superior to timothy, and creeping roots attach it so strongly to the soil as to render it a success in all localities. We have seen it so heavy in patches as to yield at the rate of two tons per acre. In a permanent pasture it is one of the most valuable grasses, and not at all objectionable in a meadow. It is impartial, spreading its virtues and vices over all soils and climates. 152 FEEDING ANIMALS. WireE Grsss—ENGLISH BLUE Grass (Poa compressa).— This grass is sometimes mistaken, for Poa pratensis, June grass, but is easily distinguished from the latter by its shorter and flattened stalk, shorter leaves, shorter and narrower panicle, with fewer branches. It has a remark- ably solid stalk and produces a very heavy hay for its bulk. It does not produce a large crop, yielding, even on rich land, not more than 14% tons per acre; but it has a value, per weight, 15 per cent. more than timothy hay. It never kills out by freezing, and its creeping root makes it very desirable as a pasture grass. It affords early and late pasturage. Its analysis gives it a high position in the scale of nutritious grasses. Gama Grass.—This is a tall perennial grass, growing from three even to six feet high, with broad leaves, some- what like Indian corn. It is found native at the South, from the mountains to the coast. When cut before seed- heads appear, it is said to make a nutritious hay. It starts immediately after cutting, and affords three or four green crops in a season. Cattle and horses are fond of it cured into hay. The roots are very strong and run deep, which gives it vitality to stand drought. It must be a most valuable grass for soiling. Grama Grass (Boutelowa oligostachya)—This name is given to several species of Boutelowa found on the great plains on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and the high table-lands of Texas. ‘They are valuable grazing grasses. They grow in bunches with a mass of short leaves at the base. Its value is so great for the plains that efforts have been made to’cultivate it on the moister lands of the sea- coast without success. We shall have occasion to refer to some other of these grasses in application to pasture, meadow and soiling. ANALYSES OF FEEDING STUFFS. 153 AVERAGE Composition, DIGESTIBILITY AND MONEY VALUE OF FEEDING STUFFS, AS GIVEN By DR. WoLF FOR GERMANY, WITH A FEW AMERI- a CAN ANALYSES, SSS ORGANIC DIGESTIBLE SUBSTANCES. NUTRIENTS, . m gf) |g} 8 KIND oF FoppER. 3g oad 4 ee 3/8 ee 2a “= | 80 on Mela 3° ao i) EBs o & = = = > - — : Os _ as er my Sint aie lesi.| 2ige tee Sia| 2/2 84/4] 2sSlelsia Blq|) 4/2/60 le] + (6 ldlale Fa) ° ° ° ° ° ° ° fo) as HAY. h\|h| b| | b1h4| S| ALA a1 S Meadow hay, poor...:......... 14.3 |5.0] 7.5 |33.5/88.2/1.5] 3.4 |34.910.5/10.6'0.48 Meadow hay, better............ 114.3 54 9.2 |29!2/39.7/2.0] 4.6 |36.4/0.6] 8.3 0.55 Meadow hay, medium.......... 14.3 |6.2) 9.7 |26.3/41.4/2.5] 5.4 141.011.0] 8.00.64 Meadow hay, very good ....... 15.0 |7.0/11.7 |21.9)41 6/2.8] 7.4 |41.7/1.3] 6.10.75 Meadow hay, extra ............ 16.0 |7.7|138.5 |19.3/40.4/3.0] 9.2 |42.8]1.5] 5.1)0.85 Red clover, poor... ... 0s... 15.0 |5.1/11.1 |28.9/37.7/2.1] 5.7 137.9]1.0] 7.110.59 Red clover, medium ........... 16.0 |5.3/12.3 /26.0/38.2/2.2] 7.0 |38.1]1.2] 5.9/0.0 Red clover, very good.......... 16.5 |6.0/13.5 |24.0/37.1/2.9] 8.5 |38.2/1.7] 5.0/0.'79 Red clover, 6xtrai.......>.5s. s. 16.5 |7.0/15.3 |22.2/35.8/3.2/10.7 |37.6|2.1] 4.0/0.89 White clover, medium...... .. 16.5 |6.0/14.5 /25.6/33.9/3.5| 8.1 |35.9/2.0] 5.0/0.76 Clover hay, damaged by rain 14.5. (6 615.8 |52.7|28 413-8) ee he Hay of pure red clover ........ 16.05.6134 |25.4136,418 Sh coe Cr Emeerne, medium)... 2.33204. esa 16.0 |6.2/14.4 /33.0/27.9/2.5| 9.4 /28.311.0] 3.3/0.7 Lucerne, very good............ 16.5 |6.8/16.0 |26.6/31.6/2.5/12.3 |31.4/1.0] 2.8/0.86 Swedish clover, Alsike ........ 16.0 |6.0/15.0 |27.0/82.7/3.3| 8.6 134.8]1 8 4.60.76 ESPNOIOVEE SoCs vis don ccs'ccs lake cs 16.7 |6.0/14.6 |26.2/33.2/3.3] 9.2 |36.4/2.0] 4.5/0.81 LO LNs a Be ME sek Sted 16.7 |5.1/12.2 |30.4/32.6/3.0] 6.2 |84.9/1.4| 6.2/0.64 EMC ye op etl deade fac ain 16.7 |7.5)13.5 |22.0/35.6/4.7| 8.5 136.2/2.8] 5.110.821 Fodder vetch, medium......... 16.7 |8.3,14.2 |25.5/32.8/2.5) 9.4 |32.5]1.5] 3.9/0.7 Fodder vetch, very good....... 16.7 |9.3/19.8 |23.4/28.5/2.3/15.1 /31.1/1.4| 2.3/0.99 Bee VE MOONY 65.3 0's die dv coc es wie 16.7% |7.0)14.3 /25.2/34.2/2.6! 9.4 /33.1/1.6! 4.010.77 Lupine, medium............... 16.7 |4.6)17.1 |28.5/30.9/2.2/11.3 |37.3/0.7| 3.4/0.86 Lupine, very good ............. 16.7 |4.1/23.2 |25.2/28.6/2.2/17.2 |36.0/0.7] 2.2/1.10 ROE BOG Ee ae cn de diy cee 14.3 [5.1] 0.4 [23.1/44.5/2.8] 6.6 |44.3]1.3) 7.2/0.72 TS 2 ae Pe St 14.3 |4.5/ 9.7 |22.7/45.8/3.0| 5.8 |43.4/1.4| 8110.70 {Early meadow grass (Poa annua), in blossom ...... 14.3 /2.4/10.1 |25.9/47.2/2.9] 6.0 |42.5/2.1] 7.9/0.74 Orchard grass, in blossom..|14.3 [4.6 11.6 |28.9/40.7/2.7] 6.9 40.3/1.9| 6.5/0.74 Sweet-scented vernal grass, in BIOSSOMl.. 2c asec sree se 5.4) 8.9 |31.2/40.2/2.9) 5.9 |40.1/2.1] 7.6'0.70 _ | Blue grass (Poa pratensis), x 1): DIORSOM 4. a. dp meed ses 5.1) 8.9 |32.6/39.1/2.3) 5.9 |40.0/1.6] 7.5/0.68 Say Calvo pod ieee ale, Secu 3.6, 8.8 125.1/57.1/3.6) 8.8 |57.1/3.6] 6.9/0.85 | Red top (Agrostis vulgaris), d | 1 WIGESOM |, 4s ots hodic @ cet 6.4 /6.8,10.3 /20.6/53.1/2.610.3 |53.1/2.6] 5.4/0.82 < | Meadow foxtail (Alopecurue <1 _ pratensis), after blossom.| 8.5 |7.4| 7.8 |23.1/49.6/3.2 7.8 |49.6/3.2) 6.7|0.62 @ | Meadow soft grass (Holchus = lanatus), very young..... 9.45/9.0/11.2 |16.8/49.3/4.1/11.2 |49.3/4.1] 4.8/0.85 5 peaow soft grass, late e |S ie Ie a ee. 7.6} 6.81/23.1/51.3/3.6] 6.8 |51.3/3.6| 8.1/0.73 q | Fowl meadow grass (Poa PEST CLI 1) Nag OES AR A a 14.3 |4.4) 8.8 |21.7/49.0/2.9| 7.5 |49.0/2.9| 6.9/0.69 Wire grass (Poa compressa)|14.3 |3.6| 6.2 |17.8156.4/2.4 5.37/56.4/2.4/10.9/0.66 ire grass, early bloom 5.2 |6.2)12.7 |19.1/52.7/4.0/10.2 |52.714.0] 4.510.883 Foxtail pigeon grass (Se- taria glauca), early flow- OPUS 559 ie ch deabastonn.. dau < 6.9] 8.6 124 4 52.4/2.5! 8.5 152.4/2.5] 6.4/0.70 esac his So A ts | OD 154 FEEDING ANIMALS, AVERAGE COMPOSITION, ETC., OF FEEDING Sturrs—Continued. — ORGANIC DIGESTIBLE SUBSTANCES. NUTRIENTS. KIND OF FODDER. including fibre. Albuminoids. Other Carbo- hydrates. Albuminoids. Carbo-hydrates, Nutritive ratio. Water. ae xe ae xe of Xx of oe oe T " (Barnyard grass (Panicum CRUSOOLUL) i horn. getara = olefe siete 14.3) 5.9) 7.8/24.7/46.4|1.8 | 6.7 |46.4/1.8) 7.20.65 Bermuda grass (Cynodon | QGGHILON) -ieissiae s aenisia\s' 536 14.3} 8.4/10.7/20.2/46.0/1.8 | 9.16/46.0)1.8) 5.20.71 Quack grass (Z'riticum re- BTS) 's leis spetnte aus diel 40,3 wings aye 14.3} 7.8/11.4/16.6/48.2/3.0 | 9.8 [48.2)3.0) 5.20.76 Gama grass (Zripsacum | ACLYLOUDER) yoann e Sa cccniny 14.3) 5.3] 8.6/22.7/48.2/2.0 | 7.4 |48.2/2.0) 6.8/0.65 Grama grass (Bouteloua Oligostachy@) .....2.24-05- 8.6]19 4)49.5/2.7 | 7.3 |49.5/2.7| 7.1/0.69 MDA BVOEDY ia 2p toto. ease -oere- singe Ge : sigsilie.c coe | e-dcc Nherstetelteomennne Timothy and red top....... Timothy and blue grass....|1 Mixed grasses, including DOVE EW Oe. at iospterors cies os Containing clover.......... Low meadow hay.......... | Salt. marsh hay ............ Atalian TYE: 2LaASS.. aches nes cc Sime English rye grass .............. Hrench rye Crags kc ic suisse se xc Upland grasses, average ....... Hungarian grass ............ rif Hungarian grass,mature samples Brown hay of clover........... Brown hay of grasses.......... Brown hay of maize....... ... Brown hay of esparsette....... GREEN FODDER. Grass, just before bloom....... WPASUUTES AIASS Sc. Sect listo claw «re, Rich pasture grass............. Italian rye grass English rye grass TRUMOCAYsSPase . s.jb-v0 wu siaerse seek Upland grasses, average ....... MBIZO LOOM Sih h cc haste gece ws Green Maize, german ......... Spurry, Spergula arvensis...... Wibite mustard... 2 aks weiccces Baranipsleaves.: cc wsiesw ccc secs on SWEOP CLOVER. cic chic sieve elo oan eam Green leaves, of trees .......-. WGADGr TVG ii. scien a nina tweis sre ; REMUS SIDES ix = aigh nen ew ay aodosincn ROPE IU 4. cdc oe ebies hse aac oe Hungarian, in blossom......... Pasture clover, young ......... Red clover, before blossom ... ‘| Dr. Collier's Analyses American Hay eR Saeed —_ ee — Ce Oe ce Cs es ce _ OHO RMS OHOHADRION NQNS et pe _ ef] YAO) Vit |mO.~ LEO. Ld | cece teens [ee rforee| eee —s OWDODODNWNHOCORH BWR PORDRHBRAWOOHHNW OM AORWONOA AAAS AOTWODSWROm— WWE ee ee | sR wwOowwcwwrwryw wwe VOPROWAARARROOLAER PROM MWWONVRWWwWeROWe wWwords CDA POON ONO MII MOTD WOTWWORVWOMORDAH Worso~w WOaDNWoDEDWWNWH BROW OMr. SHOWHOTHOAHAWOOD iA} CO A CO He He DD OD HEIN HW CHO — oe= hh et es ee ee oc a or) on ee ee ee ee eee ° _ _ SHwWONWARWOTOCIO WP POOH HTH bet bet bk ek bet bet BD WO BOW PA Rt 91 WW WWD OOD ROOK AOOWSOOHWOOWOH . OE el ee ee ' Rms WOWDOoo Pi ig CT ee - 20) TORASRE a MNOMRMODOBWDHBWHORHSOO : SSSRSER a et DWIIININD-2 aSSseeezsa So Gos GoaD=~ForCo A =2 1: MwwWOARO So: SSoosoo WIANSHOSCOHH = w ~ S - ee ROR DWWwWWwr . aS ike S oe os — . — ee ——— SOOWSOOH BRE RNWOSCOOORWOO IWAISH MWS Tr 00 DO 2-2 WFO WW O-3H OO WO OT aR Rt RAO OD WR COMM WOT RH WW WOW W ROOD WR TUIWWWODWODRRAOOG OOO ATONVNOIDUP AR: 155 os WD GBH + oO ANALYSES OF FEEDING STUFFS. AVERAGE COMPOSITION, ETC., OF FEEDING STUFFS—Continued. 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Gas = qq | RQ OD COGHAKHAt mM CODKBreHMOSININMDADNOR RQ Pot HOSORIIMHOOOCOS as SS SSSOnSSSS SC SOSSOSOHHSSSOSOHAR ehakekehaln thatthe kee) ok "soyeapay SON MINMRERRNER H COTE THAREHONRHSNOOH DODIOMINNAHHROONW 7 INDMNONO8OIIID 10 GCKrOHOBHOrtnnaowsors OOMNONSONH Sond a4 a OB 5D 35 95 oA BS OD OS GS aD OD SOD OD OO ae ‘Saat ior te MMe FRCP ast hah ace Metco ra aN STS es Se Se ee ee 68 Iq! 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SSgre a i. See ect aedesasae @“eoeeee Saeae tie Se Sie in (OS ORE "SH Maw ooo Selooor ES; aes SEE TEESE +i 5 o: SSDS LO LSE gee Se Oss scree) | 0p SOS a SEES SS ie voVES :o OSES FSP sel GFSrlvwsaeO ~VCOZ OOO QaPpeQunryr Manno . am ma Re Ot oe ae ee eS Se2S9R OS OL GSMO LL SS Fao, Se Sector +» Sa ae) RAAGAQLOSASY HAAS Ae wae S Chea a a toe, OD Soa ee DOANE O eG FO ge NONYVFaDO COVOSHRAVODOO 2O0O0RGmS o: +~TO ° Ls fa = awonudg Las] a +Y #¥ Oo oir) = § Sagoo = seo shas ao eee Oe Orc MotMOarUsensseaes 2 oo eee Soo -S QS ORL OR SOS SCS OS OSH OS ROR OB OLS SDSS) eee SRSeRbSSuagse 3 | Dt Q — = q f=] soc D wrt 4 RFn BOORSSKe & SMCEPOLOREMdnEmee ESSE EaOoaseecma FEE D ING ANI MA LS 156 ry | . 8q 3 10 2 iiss tes ~~ Oot § a2 ing we | we oe 8 Bz aia pci l Ba “| Saseesee DM ma ‘ou . aeSSSSs Se te oH Igy 3 DAS § tO isan 55s pe A = bali ace a | no Se = wees E (==5s sescssss a . y-oqat qasoan issacesess a = ee seqecesneass o) os fUrng xX 1a S = oH Boo Ses es ax =) Ee —S8g8885 please ie Seance aehejayed Qa > eat oa Dos on R20 m4 = ry) stiape sp aa co] < 4e, Sais 1 al + Y = 39 wes or : ¥ a fe aa fe Y. 0 LURE so > walioed ta aususe plier SHe > oD aie x Ey A qu pA or a 7 210 = ah Lo coo —) v qT al 523 18 09 08 ° aR ee eee oD B ex oar ti oo Skat a mR io a os mt fy a bail ee AaeSS5 (28 Ps = ‘ao 39 o> ‘ 210 ro) O ro iia aaa, o Sodd oo = inne > aC ous 12D "al aanoaae HOR qt DO Soke nS deussn tt ° *s qi snaeaas 8 id iesoees ne ae = Soceeceets : mals —sueseee. Stars Sass nesses pote os. soeeceueee ; ra sasens oe 5 gsses8tsns . n wee i) inal) fon} Aan wher m o can or > CO rt —) rn co 00 Mat SH — . aly DOR T=) " > QU GL RN . Fos) = a ees ‘2O ot) bc SO 10 . = ies e334 oe = oe 8SSS3S Rr RO her) Saat BESER char hart aehe pet pie. A 5 sthecapat +S SS $3 30 7 oO et peer bates 19 Paes ) cO Saree fe) ys owas ae eeanc pers eee Ge HOD ies a Ge Vv pS oO mos CO o we ieieis 4 YD OB ea a soe com £2 09 eee BR ) © oS rtrd akalabe oon TBS tO oo 4 ) dH =I . AQ 4 OD =) teens Bes Saas on oo r—) on 19 rt 104 19 om ganaaaes a9 ee en a Ss ee ake S BAA ps S25 ot ar pecans Bk =o oO peas + ot fe) S eal cox ae 10S 3) pect oo 09 =r S S355 oe —) Hh . HO EES Ee Sa, * 4 GO oo ) CR aaS > S =H Soe ‘GU GR pat st cs) pita GRE _ epee oo essaagcnee OOo I nao oS i) oO 4) oS > 6D GR = grin 0 ip BSS fe) DD O0 ) pacha euiaidaie up tacks So 30 Bie Shc Bas ed DO 6G on S oO ao nae SoC Nar —) Coo on OD ® to ny S 59.00 1015 On = ar oe SR Ss19 ran > 10 6 S35 =} ee a 9 69 6 ey mr oO biloba Ra a tenes 59 xt a re) geet i+ oO oe pe a ae wig pehehihe sete an) o Q ° fis davies ene aes palate pe Secs Some a eas sacieds wa rhs Hno oseeh mS i) fy eae ene >ae 191919 rv) Sy ao Sacha ac © ow Saanee Red poe aeanect EEECEEEe 9 0 be a seggungde fn] a os ‘ a 10 ° = al > os co _ Oo 10 Ps en ae patches aA caiebeiele RAC) OP & . . ¢ . pei ho Oo [o'8) ri caueneseaas ° piiiies Batt Sresnaiss rit oO thicket 19 92 19.9 a GEE g HELD a 5 =5 ithe eae Tt rr tht 199 =) ser ee Soak pe TRL Poca bier z Biliig ee, seaqeqqeaes a 5 gE ie: E ie 7 sesse S Serer sal ae ge SERESBE oD i sdsasdece = epee te A pit DEZESOSBESE parte ne eiooimgiid &p ig t BT HEED ay ea Ack as pried pret he & es z ay OPHEEHLE Sr 9 Ronee Bh ta pds: Saaqene oO): ee PEE PH eiaivivic ieee ce od sdcisd ses Saieset le EUeeeeeee = ae Sees sedeesassss Saal - eS ° : : ae : : 5 eR bs ict oo Bae a ee seeeetae ; = “ot ates Frei PEE EEE Es ee seit a ihe’ xi i BS525 BEET pee te HS Paha) Seas PEE Cou S a en lus bate a ai dua des @: oly Ssbed ie 2 3% on Cee HHH $5265 ath Se B= se8 lL Wk ES S35 a2 15 | ee Hilseh: o desi iasatte ‘eo Aula, seteettit slush (to Peet BEGG Ti: spaeied pda BEEBE S ane ipdggid: Eda HPRee EE in Bar Subs digs ices Sia: o 3 SB igs 2 ig: lauds logs cao) FEL erer: sae aos BERLE Zeeee aos 157 ANALYSES OF FEEDING STUFFS. AVERAGE COMPOSITION, ETC., OF FEEDING StTuFFs—Continued. oper oaTinN |Btinteieteiecs: i. Liebe ene DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS ORGANIC * SUBSTANCES, ea ‘e1qy SUIpNOUrT ‘soquipsy-oqieg NS nate kg voesrxngsus os “splourmmnqry ‘Wea *soyeipAy -Oq1IeD 10Y1O OIQI | “splourmmnqry DONMDMSoMr CE ASODMMO19 06910 © 90) win Oe BSBBS Oe eee a a Oar ee Dk ae ON Ty ar ae ot le tt QD O IA CIDR ARNO A rINNAG « « 10 =H Sr rNQreo THO TRNDWMNIONNAMOMOMOrist « - Dye ek ee a a ee ey ey ok Ey wr) Br) he rar ae es oes SN SOSA CD et et OR et CR 4 CR OD SH CO SH OD 50 fod mre Nr 8 OL fe le! ah Ce O Og Deka wal ead teat O. 1 e mind eee hee he mei o og OO RTHCAPOESE Seed MOS AC CLIO NP pbe uot Saale. eles B= Ph) CA ee ee ee a at a Be) Chee late ye A had ret ee Pa °o NL SHRUG Ae ONSHSCS OSHA Hr axrics DW RNWO SO © 2D WH OD 19 S OD HOD 19 rd 4 GD Sh Od SH GR CO OD CO SDRADHAHHIOMSCDDSSCOCSOSNOWNEOKR ‘USV Ce WE ee eee et we Perr a Mr eas re oa ark ea ar eS ie le. ice Bf. Rel te ihe eal toes re et OP heer 6 ee Ta Sst St KIND oF FoDDER. i 2 7 74.1] 1.4] 5.3] 4.8) 8.6] 6.3) 3.7/10.3] 5.6] 6.4/0.49 6-8 ab) Of odd me JO.” cel el SY ee fe ee ce ee Sea e Kee ee yk a8 ANY 8 °C. Coe. £8, Bt. 8. Be 0, Oy Oa Oe Ce Ree Nm US a> ore" 8 . Ha area rear a ae be eta ce he tr Pr aa RS iia im Oe oe ee Tate riba: ef im ain OR ay Hy AM cal le eh Aad Sa RD ae es GENET Tee ae ae eee gk essen. ghar, ky gly manure oe Sev ea Die Sele Dw yah Te lol) coe ee es Ue ee Le} Teele + SB ae « a — | ‘SSB ot tt Om ¢ oe 88 . TO tet ghee oes les pentnen ie a ee eu aR ge Sorgen eae ante ene UR ad ei Pear 2 Maar — pe fla Set ; ‘oc o . . oe © De go 3i8 Vegi OAee . aha : ECB Liiii me Bes esees fds : eos eg He ee eee Se aa rae ; : omg tS meoaa Qua e OIGDA On f e@at Oo oOR Sass HVOGONHAOS 7B AVES OOV HO OMH AMS ARES AHETS ISSAC SSE PE CPi APO Dew. 8 Bag AES e tr arosr oes siooo Ann wn BSacgpeheQesetsgak ee erpuu saad SRRESE RAR SES ERSSSOLEOBES SSS 2O2SQORaOSSVPOBOReROOCVSOOmMossos AAA ONAN MMEAnNROMOATAONRRAOnNAN @ wee Sms Fogo OD —ESe2rSSse SSDS HO 1) OH © LD et ON Sh OD et al ga pa Bi as a pe WOROMMMANOMO © NODMNDreRWOnrcs Vink: on of w 6 18 re pe ot ee Oe ere Meee rar IDS BIN HIN DOO Herre Ono MONO mn _ me MOMOANSDMODPNNOGCODN rs rir oe. Oe 8 oh tL ee ate. 6 ow ho Se ee ee a IORNRNNADMRNNNMDMIO MN OMmMOOSOO onthe on BY-PRODUCTS. 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TOD © HO i 29 SHO OD OW OOO 16D oe te tea be ERR el pat dot BSSSIBRSAPRRRASOAASS THD OQ Be A LH 1D OD HD HHA HOODOO AAs OnrrMOMmIODMRWOMOSMOWOS 100 fe hacier ett scm Se RARE ORR BAB OR B™TSS FO MOAWRNOMMAMOHOON MHA OID ir Rar Gia an leat ON a ee Ce Nye Re WR Pr AD GY GY GL CD SH 6D 6D Do HHT 10 CO CG OD IO OS FOOD DO M69 HINO 1N D~-DNOSOOSWOS Pe A fad edict a Saini ah ares PACE ° f 2m t . 22 3 6. ia sayy ae . . ~_— Psi “al: 8 a a ae a oe) s) ae eee oOo -_g ‘bai, Me $A Seite Opto See *@® *_ e¢ * @ @ ee . | a, Ve GaN | PPS fi tii hil ptt rege GSH iiiiiiiitipig see Ue crs scar ot tear ge eee BPG ig 5: :29 : eS SSRs We A Hes ti vaegiovat tess Soo -OaeS ++ OF ouaoOS EDS OS PES te Say al OF GH Be FT ESOS SO PRO aren BSmeCaseaeekoglPn Po «a Seo aor ag mess ois ov Sie tis 1 22'S wos SS PSSSLASESSEOE og BHeSS aa SCaeeamnasar ak hn && Seeeae ieee ieessceess OF NEORAMAM AMF COnmnAMOD FEEDING ANIMALS, 158 AVERAGE COMPOSITION, ETC., OF FEEDING SturFs—Continued. bea ad mor MTTMAMAMIMMAMDOSOOMmMOOMOO MHS ee a at —— ee CO GG Oe Re INO = SMO On OS HO DO + NP rt © S BSSHtSRELSRA [Fl hee pe a ON Pa Ck | aw SMR ite, fig pen ies Chee hoch Mad tee Te hoy SF Clee Sf oS eae ee 6, Cone Be ee Mee ee eC ehe . e\ ei tel ela es Le) ep - mind Soe Ree aah Qn : RHO DORGNH HOHE TOO OBONSAS SNS ta a5 hs! aa SHAMDASHOHHRNONERNOGONSS HO Warn Wig 8 ———————— a ‘ 2 && | ‘eiqy Surpnyout o 2 SMR Beret re SiR SR) Bs Be ROS Ge GD EE 2 oe eee op eee eae ee ae HH NOG GR GHAGSHARAGKAGHROSSr EGHAM a Ud TAH Si HHRRRAA HID BSTHERNO sD Bom CO GIT BI GV GOD AID WO EOI IN IN NRA MAOWONOOGOORNID AZ OM SCHVBOWONWOGrSOT GSE SONK OOK BE OR 6909 OO CUR GO aHRSSou HOSES e CARS Se aenae a SAR ORD TOD S309 HIDES wi 09 GY Od GU i GLB 0B ‘soyerphy | __, SAS RATRORNRRiGGOGSHAAMHOSOHSOSMNAANR IO ZG -oqarg aayi9 | oS PH MO Gr Oss SHRBLASAORSOK Tn GORNE AHS ae : TO AHO GS SHARD AR HH HOD ID ID DOD ALES oo Boa SEMI HS ADO OOM HD 1d HD RN UAIAADAOHO 68 GD Pf RAAT RAD HAD HOO IG a9 BG IG HIGHS HH wad gy p eis Nr N MMO Mer MN ‘sprourwinqry CO oO sH S338 69 OO rH Ht NOH rid Cla Sate Rr ea oN MNONOSOOSSMOM OD 14 GUID HO? SO OD 10 Cen ar eal ee es eA c= rt SOS S waar = RSOSSSreoacwm INNOWDNOrNOr rm oD 1g OS Drtowo DID FADO NAMM OMDNNOMAFROO ADH SCOMOMMIGOSHMSOSUMOrHSSHNHSHERDHN ob A OM MO HHA aco He ADD HOSMAADKHRDODOTARNEMANOOANANE NDOT o ae ey Se OS DA Re 8) a) Fe Na aia ahh ae eel (ele) el mh ai ee aie Leaner Son SOONSSSON MH SAKE Ge HOTT TSCM OMIOS eee ee eS ea ely Ee RS Pe lh he a ~~ KIND OF FODDER. C2 RO Nat ated Dict cee ea ee ae SEG or err errata erenciaree aie BRE LS ce -- oars FR iP ie eee er rae a ee ee Re ee ee eS . ‘a :88 ics a ee ae 0. a A6uee oe Seema . . seas AS . (‘338 Hey den oe bess 18: 98 a 0 28) eco em a Vk os Blane One HOM GEIS 55 . :3g Obese ea aE reat e ~~ Benya Bt Sie, A i “Ob + 1 2S Primist hararene Same pl a eg E Cee a ep aed “oa =e) SoS eS) Bem Sem See ee! ee ROR Ae yee Deg go gubae gC rears See Oe seca Sig ae were aemetcs ROHERUD esate demas TONGS mis Re tee) ree erry, Mere oe Merete ace pee Aan ip: a MB = a Seas op Cana erie Ae ya a me O.7 OS EM ei ema ti eee BRB AS Tit eS Cain Fb nO Wo 2 See a Onn ght om 0 Ce neake enemas Ba a | 0 ae es o mn. a a = agen — i — ee CNe ee iteat = Po “GO -m > - Maa RD «Cort 6.68 Si «M2 gy wo Ds St a eee s Pap estien Pe) oS «st = oem. Pas tees pee ee SoS ia ECT.) 2 .00n SB 108 in SORES tte ce oh Fat Te pd adres cic a OC! Or Sl ae ied tire SP essen +99 OVE) BUG R FOS MMMM Sgt FS ao =s ee e -QHe S44 ley 4 O «tt asaeanxt “mM SOc Deu 5 VEE eo UR sae QaemoooI%g Blog ee om PSnoASE. OS koa soe SSeS Ole CSOD ECSOMESHE PEL RAG ASESS RRC OSE EERE CO Ee Pas 2QOS gr anU oH Beg sods ensggsksr,igogda PERSSON See EL OSS op POTTS ee ES TOOOSS So mseSVIGnenonovoggsanas ag SSESSry. 4253 Sa yoo s Sia °° = a = | = Soo COS Sea SS SS VCS SRS POSH OO O nam SPOCOMs>ORRemmamsoacaamsgg05 SLAUGHTER-HOUSE WASTE, Dried blood.. Meat scrap........ S26 SS) Cae Sa Ge SISA SS HID INDSROMOSDO 8, 8! pe Ga ene he ee jae a ee, See i 2 @ege 0 te) eee Vesa Bri youaaona OoOmton eee: eeceseecec ces eeoe eteee Ground dried flesh. . Fish scrap .. TDS ADHD SO eeercve Cows’ milk .. Skimmed milk .. Buttermilk. .... _ Condensed milk.... Whey.... e988 SBe COseeenseseseseee Cream NEW TABLES FOR FOURTH EDITION. A—158 Tue FotLtowina TABLES ARE AMERICAN ANALYSES, AND PRINCIPALLY TAKEN FROM REPORTS OF CONNECTICUT EXPERIMENT STATION, EXcEPT THE FIGURING OF THE DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS. ORGANIC DIGESTIBLE SUBSTANCES. NUTRIENTS, , , oe hee Hay AND Dry Coarse : : 2 ee = = ss) g ~~ |¢ Fe (be FoDDER. A 3 <= ee ee = g & Ou & |e Beh He Hw g . & a |S 5 or a| 3 a| gies) .| BIS 3] ./ FI] 3 A cok ome > A = wed ee eee dr | |) at.) SSRSSSAR SEBS DNRM~H fore} RANQnAne eke) rine eeuseeen RELSs Sree R8828 Ss BSB mnrOono fet mHO 0.24 7.10'56.80} 3.00) 9.0 28 66/17 9231. 14/27 .48}15.59; 2.0 70 57! 3.71 90/67 10/70 28/77 41/78 86/67 ensilaged re crop... laved. ser Cactus (Opuntia)..... SEEDS, succulent with pods... age, ensi Cow pea vine GRAIN AND OTHER Cow pea vines, green and N. Y. Expt. Station. Soy bean, ent Cabb iO Yen) ~~ Rr 10 pele s BSESSESS Sasese See BOB RNODONA Hrs mNQnrNr cae rept SSSDODHS OFER OO~oS BRSRSEGR RIGSR BSER NeronronAa mMoOoOoOne® Suoes Be Bh ce oe ee oe oe | be i ee Bh oe | co = ZRSESESE BSS2R BERS aoscse om RZSSSRES BSSBS RRS SHNMMHOSOSO SSHHHR OWT Te eS eS eS es oe ost re ret b aml wre re fork he Op le) ey] 5 R°-gsE Seen? See oO ia Soin goa dtc Bice ete me eS ee eee io diet See cee bd. a 8 eS Lo} . Pen ir ae “Dn eden oe ow G Sy a Sa ama Ne a nd ee 5 ace Raga oes oF te eee wn 4 ae ens ofa Sop hs he tgs BP Ss bo Boeing ‘ Ge aba eliees, Se )9: ag Sse Reap rere wa . B= © 45 OY oO -o0 °B oy ed se EEO Yon n*o PIS Tieesegesesaa. ee oe Ee pe eae Oe Y w oefrea fra “- oS Ta ae aa VOC O Tr Cage TVGHoVVUVCUgEN NAN Gd bop Ss i) Oi chet cl ct og cd GS hehe ee bal = 3 ees 60256 SYMOMssss SSSSS ROA 80| 0 48| 0 66) 0 65) 0 18}10.37| 0.64|10.92| 0.17/76.59| 1.19| 8.62/69.80) 1.01) 8.3 9.12) 2.30 70) 0 00) 14 50/11 05] 6 00|14 72| 6 00} 2 5.10} 0 52} 1 85} 2 10| 0 12.76)... . 15|75.00' 1.01! 5.57! 3.87/12.86! 1.68] 4.061 9.73! 1.41! 3.210.382 5|67.49) 0.52) 1.87) 4.19]15.04) 1.89] 1.23)15.04) 1.25)14.6 3) 8.59} 4.37/36.221 4 24 By Propucts. OTERACEY chic ibis. cre pple pomac Brewers’ grains,wet from FLour AND MEAL. House oat meal. brewery.... ev eates Pe sae & as sorghum seed)..... Maize meal... WVIIGAD Ad: at ccs ses Wheat flour, from spring Bean) Fiera week: wins ae Broom corn seed (same Ebomuan yess fk oe BEE Buckwheat flour Wheat flour, from winter Oat meal..... Barley meal .:. Rye flour..... A ANALYSES OF FEEDING STUFFS. C—15ss ORGANIC DIGESTIBLE SUBSTANCES. NuTRIENTS. 1 Ze a la is | 3 Blo By Propucts. S 3 ee gis a 2 =) : fo) oe ° | ,dO © we @ 8 Oo ¢ Aes 2) a. B 5 & 3 ilk S alo = = rs) =! 3 u Os . 3 /a 8 * 5 3 aoa ep ele | el Sle Sloe lS ls te) bf ef Be O & | < |O & | Al ; [ as : %| %|\%| %|%|%| %|%\ alels Brewers’ grains, dried...| 3] 8.19} 3.58/19.89/11.01/51.75|) 5.56)14.52/37.41) 4.77) 3.3/1.20 Brewers’ grains, kiln- | REE IS A Siatios: Hla ss ...| 1] 2.57) 3.97/20.30]11.79/54.89) 6.40]14.81/39.73) 5.37) 3.5)1.23 Brewers’ grains, from SiO ese ttee ohh. arcvatone ...| 8/69.82) 1.21] 6 64] 4.64/15.58) 2.11) 2.45/11.75| 1.77) 6.5}0.29 Malt cprouts.c.... 5-2. 310.28] 5.67/22.95)10.72/48.60} 1.'79]18.82/52.95) 0.88] 2.3/1.33 Cotton seed meal....... 24) 8.33] 7.25/42.06] 5.69/23.43/13.24/25.75/22.25/11.65) 1.4/2.25 Linseed cake........... 4/10.00] 5.97/33.77| 8.52)36.68] 5.04/29.04/33.09} 4.53) 1.5/1. 7% Linseed meal, old process} 9] 9.20} 5.87/31.53} 9.26/36.34) 7.78]25.85|26.52| 7.08) 1.6)1.66 Linseed meal, new pro- oe he Borne are 12}10.75| 5.57/382.85| 9.46/38.29] 3.08/28. 25)/27.95| 2.80] 1.3/1.54 Palm nut meal.......... 3] 8.29) 3.'74/14.39/21 .40/38.88/13 .30]13.67/45.09)12.63) 6.1/1.62 Pye Wiel. the whole will be eaten greedily, the straw preventing all danger of bloat. We have been a little surprised to find that cows will yield the same milk upon a mixture of one- fourth straw with the clover as when fed on clover alone. The test, however, was not made so accurately as to deter- mine whether they made the milk on a quarter less clover ; they may have eaten nearly as much clover and the straw extra. But with a great deal of experience in thus mixing in straw, we concluded that it was a profitable way to use straw, as we found on examining the drippings that the straw was well digested. When the clover begins to blossom, its succulence is so much reduced that it is quite safe to feed it alone. When the system of soiling is con- ducted on a large scale, the use of the feed-cutter will be found very profitable in mingling all the fine and coarse parts of the fodder together, especially if the green crop is fed a little too mature, so as to become slightly tough. The animals relish such tough green food much better after being cut. Fodder corn should also be fed with second-crop clover when the two are ready at the same time. If fodder corn and clover are run through a cutter together, even when the corn-stalks are large, every part will be eaten clean. A very heavy crop of corn is largely benefited by being cut into quarter-inch lengths, and if no other green crop, such as clover, millet, or vetches, etc., is to be had, then mix one-fourth cut clover hay with it, or two quarts of bran, or one pound of linseed-meal, or cotton-seed-meal, per bushel of cut corn. This will render the corn a profitable ration. SOILING HORSES. 19% Sorghum, when used as a soiling crop, is even more benefited by being passed through the cutter and reduced to very short lengths. This, also, should be mixed with other green food, such as clover, millet, orchard grass, lucerne, etc., or some dry food as above described. The feeder will often be able to feed three or four differ- ent green foods at the same time, or he can feed two one day and change to two others next day, and he can be guided in the selections by the chemical qualities of each, and the tables we gave in the last chapter will enable him to determine the proper combination. He need never fear of giving too great a variety. SoILING HORSES. This class of stock is thought by many to be quite unadapted to the soiling system, especially colts, as they require exercise to develop the muscular power; soiling is thouglit to require too close confinement. This arises from a misconception of the flexibility of this system. Soiling does not, necessarily, require the confinement of animals any more than pasturing. It is true that pastur- ing furnishes larger fields to range in; but nearly every farm can devote a lane running to the wood lot as space to exercise in. This lane is necessary for the convenience of the farm, and generally furnishes a road to the different parts of the tillable land and meadow. This will furnish abundant room for colts to make trials of speed, and afford all the exercise required to develop muscle. This runway is easily fenced so substantially as wholly to prevent the colts from jumping, and thus becoming troublesome. We have raised a dozen colts in this way, and found them to develop in every respect as well as those pastured. That colts may be as little confined as possible, racks may be arranged under a shed, into which the soiling food may be placed, and the colts have access to it at all times. We 198 FEEDING ANIMALS. found this food to work well with brood mares and their foals. Having the food of the mares wholly under control, their production of milk will be more uniform, and the growth of the foals much better, than on pasture. The dam requires full feeding upon appropriate food, and this may always be given in soiling, as any defect in the succu- lence and nutrition of the grasses or other soiling food may be supplemented with middlings, oil-meal and oats. The foals are also constantly under the eye of the feeder, easily become accustomed to handling, and may be taught to take other food at a younger age. Early familiarity with the attendant and docility are not only favorable to the foal’s progress in development, but to its easy management at the training age. ‘The vigorous, steady and healthy growth of colts is most essential to their future value as serviceable animals, and, therefore, to the profit of the breeder. Soiling offers the most complete control over the food and management of the colts, and, therefore; under this system they may be grown with much more uniform success, and, on land worth fifty or more dollars per acre, much cheaper than by pasturing. As we have shown in another chapter, the foal responds more quickly to the use of cow’s milk than any other food after weaning, and this may be skimmed milk, after teaching it first to drink new milk. The colt being under attention in soiling, this extra food may be given with very little labor. From consider- able experience we regard the soiling system as well ‘adapted to the raising of horses in all stages, from the suckling colt to the mature horse. SoILING CATTLE. We have treated incidentaily of this subject in previous pages, but will here speak of the appropriate arrangement of cattle in soiling economically. Ist. Those who believe that steers should have full liberty and freedom of exercise at all times through the SOILING CATTLE. 199 summer may arrange a double rack, with a feeding trough or manger for grain on each side, under the center of an open shed, high enough to drive a wagon under and deliver the soiling food into the rack. This rack will accommo- date a row of cattle on each side, and may be constructed in several ways, but the following is as good as any: Construct a platform 4 feet 8 inches wide and 18 inches high, of 1/-inch plank, and let the two outside planks be 16 inches wide, and these planks form the bottoms of the feeding troughs or mangers. Nail a plank 10 inches wide on each edge of these outside planks, and you have a manger 876 inches deep. Between these two mangers will be a rack, consisting of sticks, round or 14% inches square and 4 feet long. Set these up 4 inches apart, 2 feet wide at bottom, flaring 4 feet at top. These rack sticks may be fastened to the manger at the bottom and between two strips of board at the top to form an upper rim, tying across from side to side every six feet. The green fodder is thrown into this rack, and the cattle eat from either side. The grain, or ground-feed ration, if any is given, will be placed in the mangers. The greatest objection to this mode of feeding is that the master animals may annoy the timid ones. ‘T'he steers may be tied, but this will add somewhat to the labor; or it might be arranged with gates to shut in each animal, but most farmers would prefer to have them loose. The rack should be long enough to give 246 feet to each animal. A careful feeder may devise methods to give the timid animals their share. Pure water should be provided near this feeding rack, where the cattle may drink at pleasure. 2dly. Those who have had most experience think a well- ventilated stable, with the cattle tied so as to be easy, having freedom of action (the tie shown in figure 10, page 98, or the same somewhat modified and described on a future page, is among the best), will give the best result 200 FEEDING ANIMALS. in feeding, as here every animal gets its rations perfectly undisturbed, and the ration may be varied to suit the particular requirements of the animal. With the tie here mentioned, no greater space is required than with stanch- ions—say 3 feet 2 to 6 inches for large cattle, the tie permitting them to lick themselves and change positions at will. They should be arranged upon both sides of a feeding-floor, with heads turned to the floor. This affords the greatest facility for feeding, as both rows of cattle may be fed at the same time from a wagon driven along the floor. Animals that are reared in this way will take their places regularly, and are easily fastened. This feeding- floor should be ten feet wide in the clear of the mangers, so that a wagon with a hay-rack on may be conveniently driven through it. In this case the cattle may be let out from 10 A. M. to 3 P. M. for exercise and water, if water is not provided where they stand in the stable. e ® f p= = z a he S = Srl ete eee Be ae ee sl ee Maize fermented in silo; average of 11 MANY SESS. Se coats eee are tioecactiiaw eeius cel eate 82.0 | 1.00 |} 10.19} 0.54 | 11.4 | 0.16 Ried C1GVer BUsUNARe Wo boys af deen dewes monde 79.2 | 2.380 | 8.10; 0.60 | 4.1 | 0.28 ISTOMCMIV GR ees att cite oct cis alabiersie mae cca tas « 82.0 | 2.46 | 8.21) 0.49 | 389 | 0.20 Winter:wetell 2. s55 0.5 isa fietevielia eed 82.0 | 2.50] 6.70) 0.45 |} 31 | 0.19 POEM cca toa ee iinele, aca women inauinieak %5.3 | 3.50 | 9.10} 0.40] 2.9 | 0.25 Green Panes... cick csins se cliddee ls Saawwtnet 87.0 | 2.00 }® 4.80) 0.40 | 2.9 | 0.15 PRNPIORAIEL. A. S's ns olate eo eS cies pila n Stole hares 77.3 | 1.60 | 11.90} 0.80 | 7.4 | 0.19 COeGhard S8ASS:< ass las ois oaks odaataved ea bclens 74.0 | 1.90 | 12.47} 0.40 | 7.0 | 0.24 GUM etapease: ccs cc eerie cus tone BOF aiidiela aes 81.0 | 2.48 | 7.8 | 0.40 | 3.5 | 0.19 Cowapeasrin6s lit 008. fs 0 Sree ee 31976302] 7236 9.4] 0.24] 38.8 | 0.24 EEL | I ESE Ri I tase RRS 80.0 | 2.1 8.0 | 0.80 | 4.1 | 0.18 PaCreIeMien b, £20422) 6h pales Seb. s eth oe aee te ss 80.0 | 1.9 S29) [20.5 5.6 | 0.18 CUrrOt Ne ayesic. ic nieitecsays vaisersice ale Agus eatate rok 8252 eae 7.0 | 0.5 3.8 | 0.18 Fodder beet leaves ....... ......cccececeees 90.5 | 1.2 4.0 | 0.2 3.7 | 0.10 Aetna a IAN Os... was niente dada awed cope 88.4 | 1.5 5.1 | 0.3 3.9 | 0.12 PPepaOr OMIT ot tet Soi. Vebel soabe kL Sahih 81.0 | 1.3 8.9 | 0.23 |} 7.2 | 0.17 EMBO TI WIATIAS...° Co, arcstiten aye de a behest 70.0 | 2.10 | 16.0 | 0.50 | 8.2 | 0 28 Hungarian grass n bloom................. 72.0 | 2.64 | 18.2 | 0.40 | 5.2; 0.24 Fodder rye in head: .c. seccc cies dee Sate gee <> 76.0 | 1.90 | 12.0 | 0.40 | 6.8 | 0.21 Upland ‘grass, average. 220605 ..70 015.022 70.0 | 1.90 | 14.2 | 0.50 | 8.1 | 0.23 If we examine the table, we find that 100 pounds of green corn would give only one pound of digestible albuminoids. If this were fed to a cow that yielded 30 pounds of milk, it would be insufficient to furnish the caseine and albumen in the milk alone, without yielding anything to supply the waste of the cow’s body. The German experimenters think they have shown the necessity of supplying two and a half pounds of digestible albuminoids per day to a cow of 1,000 pounds weight, in milk. This would require 250 pounds of corn ensilage as a daily ration—an impossible ration. But if we take from the table 65 pounds of clover ensilage and 60 pounds of corn ensilage, it wi}l give a complete daily ration for a cow of.1,000 pounds weight, in milk—2.58 pounds albuminoids; 11.37 pounds carbo-hydrates; 1.4 i ‘> ENSILAGE AS A COMPLETE RATION. 225 pound fat. This is a large excess of fat, which will more than make up the deficiency of carbo-hydrates. We know from experiment that this ration will produce a large flow of milk, having fed it in just this proportion early in Sep- tember, from green corn and second-crop clover, both in . excellent condition ; but being fed fresh, it contained more water than that given in the table, as that had lost water in the silo. Yet it contained liberal nourishment to pro- duce a full flow of milk. We have fed this.combination in several different years, and always with complete satis- faction. Let us examine red clover as an ensilage crop. As will be seen by the table, red clover is the most nitrogenous of the leguminous grasses there given, except lucerne or alfalfa, and this latter has not been cultivated to any consider- able extent except in California. A full crop of green - clover weighs more than most farmers suppose. The author has fed many acres of red clover for soiling, and carefully weighed the product of an acre in different seasons. Ten tons have been found only a good crop in a favorable season, and sometimes 12 tons have been weighed from an acre at the first cutting. ‘T'wenty tons may be taken from an acre at three cuttings in the most favorable seasons. Lawes’ and Gilbert’s experiments with different fertilizers for clover, produced from fourteen to eighteen gross tons of green clover upon an acre at one cutting, the latter yield being equal to a little over 20 American tons. And asaton of clover is worth about two tons of fodder-corn, it will be seen that the clover crop may be quite as profitable for ensilage as corn. It can be cut and ensilaged at a less price per ton than corn can be grown and ensilaged. If, then, we estimate the specially raised clover crop, in two cuttings, to produce 15 tons per acre, this would give a ration of 65 pounds per day for 461 days, and it would take half an acre of good corn to produce the 62 pounds of corn per day— 226 FEEDING ANIMALS. this is equivalent to keeping a 1,000-pound cow ona full ration of clover and corn 308 days from the product of one acre. ‘This would be the full milking season of ten months, and ought to produce an average of 6,000 pounds of milk. In this case the acre produces everything the cow consumes, and this is certainly a cheap production of milk. _ The same proportional ration may be combined of alsike clover, orchard grass, Hungarian grass, or winter vetch and corn, when these shall all be put in the silo. Fodder rye and clover, 50 pounds of each, will furnish a complete ration. One hundred and twenty-five pounds of peas and oats ensilaged together, will give a complete ration. So, likewise, will 100 pounds of timothy and Hungarian grass, or 125 pounds of sorghum and orchard grass. The reader will see that an almost endless combination may be made from this table, giving the requisite ingredients for a com- plete ration. If, then, it is conceded, and the proofs are beyond dis- pute, that these green foods may be preserved in silo in a fit condition for the production of milk, meat and wool, the farmer may feed stock without the use of grain, and thus make his farm self-supporting. In this way the sys- tem of ensilage may enable the stock farmer to continue succulent food to his animals throughout the year. ENSILAGE CROPS. The same crops are as appropriate for ensilage as for soiling. But as the crops raised for the silo should be suf- ficient for the purpose intended, and cannot be assisted by partial pasture, great care should be given to their cultiva- tion, and a sufficient amount of land devoted to them to produce the amount required. A rational calculation for this purpose should be made, based upon 45 Ibs. as the weight of each cubic foot which the silo contains. This will render it easy to estimate the number of tons of green ENSILAGE CROPS. 227 crop required to fill the silo. But what shall be the esti- mate of the expected weight of corn per acre, of rye, clover, millet, etc.? It is well to strive for a large yield by the best management of the land and seed; but it is neces- sary to make a liberal allowance of land for ensilage crops to meet unexpectedly-short yields. In a large proportion of silos yet built they have proved too large for the crop intended to fill them. ‘This comes from overestimating the probable crop from ordinary cultivation. They have expected to obtain the largest crop with the ordinary ~ amount of manure and labor. It is quite commendable to strive for the largest crops by the best means, but a con- siderable allowance should be made for an adverse season, and another considerable allowance made for the liability to overestimate crops. The silo makes no loose estimate of a green crop put into it, but weighs it accurately according to the compression. Corn requires about 100 Ibs. pressure to the square foot to give a weight of 45 Ibs. to the cubic foot of ensilage. The ordinary grasses will pack somewhat solider and give 48 lbs. to the cubic foot after compression under that weight. The best method of raising corn for ensilage is to plant 36 to 42 inches apart and cultivate it as for a regular field. crop. Corn isa rank feeder, and the land should be wel prepared, strongly manured, and that thoroughly worked into the soil. The land, if old, should be worked fine at least 8 inches deep. Two hundred and fifty pounds of green stalks per rod is a fair yield of corn, or 20 tons per acre; but it is possible to double this yield, yet this figure is seldom reached, and _ any ordinary caculation, based upon this yield for filling a . silo, will come to grievous disappointment. When a party has fairly reached this figure he will have a basis for it. ‘WINTER Rye, standing thick and 5 to 6 feet high, will often reach 12 to 16 tons green to the acre, but it is not 228 FEEDING ANIMALS. safe to estimate over 10 tons for a carefully-raised crop in filling silo. A good crop of. clover, as we have before stated, should reach 10 to 12 tons green, and in favorable seasons, the two subsequent cuttings should reach 8 to 10 tons more. But it must be remembered that this means a thick stand of full-height clover. MILLET, on land suited to it, should reach 10 or more tons per acre, at blossoming. PEASE and OATs, in blossom, reach about the same fig- ure as millet. But pease may properly be left, in cutting for ensilage, till the berry, in the earliest pods, is in the dough state. Some part of the head of the oats will also have formed the seed, at this point. But the crop must not be left any longer, for it will deteriorate for ensilage rap- idly beyond this point, and if there is any probability of being delayed the crop had better be cut when the pea is in blossom. TimotHy and LATE CLOVER, when in perfection, will make a most valuable ensilage crop—both on account of the large amount of nutriment on an acre, and because it comes at a favorable time for laying in a supply of green food for feeding on short pasture. On land adapted to timothy it often stands five feet high and so thick as to yield 24,000 to 28,000 pounds on an acre as a single crop. The Woburn experiments report a crop of timothy, cut in blossom, that yielded 40,000 pounds on an acre. This is © the largest crop ever reported. Professor Way found timothy the most nutritive of all the grasses he subjected to analysis. ‘The danger with timothy is in cutting it too early or too late. The bulb on the lower joint requires to_ mature before cutting or the root is likely to die. The most appropriate time for cutting timothy is when the first dry spot appears above the lower joint. This indicates the maturity of the bulb, and it occurs while in blossom— te ee a a Se En 4 , eee ENSILAGE CROPS. 229 that on the lower part of the spike slightly turned brown, but the upper part still purple. It should now be cut immediately, as it deteriorates in quality very rapidly. The combined crop of timothy and large and late clover may be cultivated to produce from 12 to 14 tons upon an acre, and each ton worth about two tons of fodder-corn. So that this crop should be considered quite as profitable as the corn crop for ensilage, and when the labor is taken into account, much more profitable, as on favorable soil it may give 5 to 10 consecutive crops without any labor except an occasional top-dressing. This crop, allowing 60 Ibs. per head per day, would feed a cow through the year. The ensilagist must, however, learn to raise the crop before he estimates more than 60 per cent. of these figures. SORGHUM CaNE is likely to prove a valuable ensilaging crop. Some of the larger varieties yield very large crops, will produce as much as the largest corn; on suitable land 25 tons would be a moderate yield. Should cane be raised largely for sugar, the tops and leaves will make excellent ensilage, amounting from 4 to 8 tons per acre, according to the size of the variety. Containing so much sugar will increase its tendency to fermentation, and the silo will require a well-weighted cover. ‘This crop will have one advantage which may be of considerable service—it may be cut twice in a season. If the season is favorable it may be cut when four or five feet high, and it will spring up _ again with great rapidity and mature a second crop. We have, for two years, pursued this plan for summer soiling to advantage. STORING SEVERAL ENSILAGE Crops TOGETHER. If second crop clover is ensilaged with corn, the clover fills the spaces between the coarser pieces of corn, makes a solider mass than corn alone, and more effectually excludes the air, so that it is an advantage in the preservation of the 230 FEEDING ANIMALS. ensilage; and besides, it will furnish the more nitrogenous addition to the ration which corn requires. If corn, millet and clover are ready at the same time, they may be all ensilaged together to the great advantage of the result- ing preserved fodder. This combination would give a complete ration for milk without the addition of grain. When winter rye is ensilaged in June, it may most prof- itably be mingled with the first cutting of clover. This will furnish an admirable ration for milk through August and September, when pasture is short. These different crops may all be mixed in the cutter together without requiring any extra labor, and all be delivered by the car- rier in the silo together. ‘This will give a variety in the ration, and enable the thrifty dairyman to feed his stock without purchased food. Summer soiling is likely, in the future, to be so closely connected with the system of ensilage that the soiling ration will come from the silo in summer as well as winter. It will be found so much less labor to cut and store the green food all at one time, instead of cutting one day’s feed at a time; and, besides, if cut and stored in silo, it can be done when the*trop is at its very best, instead of begin- ning before it is quite ready and continuing to cut it some time beyond its best condition. It will probably lessen the labor of soiling 40 per cent. This will also increase the yield of the crop, and in case of clover or other crop hav- ing more than one cutting, give more time for the growth of the second crop. But the ensilage system must be expanded beyond the very narrow one of green-corn preservation, and include every green-fodder crop—this makes every complete farm independent of the productions of every other farm in - carrying on its stock operations. It will often be profitable, when short of ensilage crops, to make up the deficiency by cutting and ensilaging the common meadow grasses when in blossom. These will make the most nutritious ensilage. STORING THE CROP IN SILO. 231 The system of milk production, as heretofore carried on, cannot be remunerative without grain-feeding during some portion of the year, whilst under the general system of ensilage, grain-feeding will not be necessary for the profit- able production of meat, milk or wool. This being true, it does not follow that grain may not be fed at a profit,. but this new system may render every farm independent of grain if it chooses to rely upon its own resources. CuTTING Crop AND FILLING SILO. The best machine for cutting corn and all ensilage crops, except, perhaps, clover and the ordinary grasses, is a strong, self-rake reaper, laying it off in compact gavels, which may be bound into bundles or loaded without bind- ing. Corn may be lifted from the gavel upon the wagon without gathering up stones or sticks to injure the cutter. The reaper will cut an acre of heavy corn as quick as 20 men with ordinary hand corn-cutters. If the corn must be cut by hand, then a stout corn-cradle in the hands of a skillful man will do the best execution. Three teams, with two men to help load in field, will haul corn, from a short distance, as fast as it can be run through the cutter. And there has been no way yet devised better than to have the corn lifted from the wagon by hand upon a table behind the cutter, and have it passed through the cutter as fast as it is delivered upon the table. With an extra wagon the teams will not be delayed at the cutter. The cutter must be placed so that the cut corn or grass will fall directly into the silo, or be run from the cutter into the silo by a carrier. Carriers are very easily arranged by belts and canvas so as to elevate it 8 to 12 feet as fast as it can be cut. ; In hauling winter rye, millet, peas, oats, etc., these may be lifted upon the wagon with a strong gavel-fork, without 932 FEEDING ANIMALS. danger of gathering stone, sticks, etc., and these crops can be handled very rapidly—each team should bring. to the silo 20 tons per day with sufficient help in loading. It will often be advisable, when a large crop of rye is cut in June and no clover to cut with it, that early miscel- laneous meadow grasses should be cut so as to mix 25 per cent. of these with the rye in the silo to improve the ensilage. It is much the cheapest and best to mix the different qualities in the same silo than to mix the ensilage from different silos. Great care should be taken to spread the ensilage in the silo even and tread as even as may be whilst filling, and the filling should go on continuously every day till finished, and the weighted cover should be put on at once. A foot of clean straw put over the top of the ensilage will assist . in preserving it. The straw will spoil and leave the ensi- lage under it sweet. a CATTLE—FEEDING. 233 CHAPTER VIII. CATTLE-FEEDING. THE business of cattle-raising in the United States has grown to very great proportions within the last fifteen years—so great as to astonish the European cattle-growers. The typical American is prone to reduce every business to its simplest elements ; and he naturally prefers a system of cattle-feeding in which, instead of the expenditure of labor in raising cattle food, building warm barns and feed- ing the cattle in them with all the modern appliances of science and machinery, the cattle shall feed themselves all the year on the natural grasses of our Western plains. Cattle are thus produced by millions over large distyicts of our domain; and, from the most favored belts, steers have come to market with a well-matured weight of 1,400 to 1,800 pounds. Skillful ranch operators have made and are making fortunes under this simple patriarchial system of beef production. But this system is merely temporary, a few years, more or less, and the native grasses are eaten out, and beef-growing returns to the civilized system, involving labor directed by skill. Besides, the home and foreign markets require all the good beef we can produce under the best system. We shall therefore confine our attention to the regular system where so much depends upon skill in its manipula- tion. We have previously shown that there is no mystery in the growth of animals—that every pound weight put on represents so much food. We wish to impress upon the 234 FEEDING ANIMALS. mind of every stock-feeder this primary law of equiva- lence—that every pound of growth must be the result of food expended. There is no game of chance in cattle- feeding, by which you may sometimes get something for nothing—every favorable result must be balanced by an expenditure of food and care. It is here all even-handed justice—so much for so much—but never so much for nothing. Farmers, during the last decade, have given much greater attention to the economical question of stock- raising, not only as a source of present profit, but as a means of perpetual fertility to the soil. We have long regarded it as the height of unwisdom to export the heavy raw material (grain) instead of the con- centrated product, meat; and have been pleased to note a decided change in the general opinion and practice among farmers in this matter. The grain and the animals should be raised upon the same farm, but only the animals sold. There is more profit in the sale of the concentrated product than the raw material. We shall hope to show how grain-raising and stock- growing may be profitably blended together. A thorough discussion of cattle-feeding requires that we take up first— How to FEED THE YOUNG CALF. As we have seen, fresh milk is the best food for the young calf, and the natural method of taking it is for the calf to draw it from the udder of itsdam. But there are many considerations that come in to prevent this natural method among the 500,000 dairymen of the United States. This natural method is only practicable among the breed- ers of pure-blooded and high-priced stock, grown primarily for beef; and if such breeder of high blood is located in a dairying district, where milk is valuable, it is quite a _— 7 CATTLE FEEDING. 235 unnecessary that he should feed new milk longer than one or two months. After that period, the calf may be fed upon the skim-milk, and linseed or flax-seed gruel, with an excellent chance of growing a prize animal. In thirty to sixty days the calf will have made an exceilent start and be ready for the modified diet. And if the calf is to be taught to drink, it is better to do this when six to ten days old. It will learn easier at that age than later, and the cow will give more milk through the season than if the calf is per- mitted to suck longer. The milk being fed warm from the mother, the calf will make a growth not perceptibly differ- ent from one that sucks. This blooded calf should have the free run of a dry yard, with a little hay or grass to eat, that it may early develop its first stomach and chew its cud. A small field of grass in summer is still better. When the time comes for feeding skim-milk, the ration may be made about as nutritious as the new milk by add- ing to it flax-seed gruel, made by boiling a pint of flax- seed and a pint of oil-meal in ten to twelve quarts of water, or flax-seed alone in six times its bulk of water. Mix this one to three parts with skim-milk and feed blood-warm. Let the calf have its fill twice per day, at regular times, until six months old. During this time teach it to eat a few oats, and in case of a tendency to scour, give, for a meal or two,in the milk, a quart of coarse wheat flour, sometimes called by farmers canel. It will be perceived that the oil of the flax-seed will make good the loss of the cream in the milk—in fact it is a ration as rich as milk itself; and we have seen calves raised upon it quite the equal of calves running with the dam. We have also used flax-seed and pea-meal to male the gruel to mix with the skim-milk, and it has proved an excellent combination. Dairying under the improved system introduced in the factory, has become profitable; and the discovery has been made, that butter and cheese of excellent quality may be 236 FEEDING ANIMALS. made beyond the so-called dairy belt ; that good grass will make good milk, and, when well manufactured, good butter and cheese, West as well as East. Dairy products have be- come too valuable to permit calves intended for the dairy or for beef to be raised upon whole milk; they must be grown upon the refuse of the dairy—either skim-milk or whey—with other and cheaper food to be added. SKIM-MILK RATION FOR CALF, The dairyman may feed whole milk a single week, and then substitute skim-milk, with a little flax-seed jelly mixed in as above described; or, if flax-seed is difficult to procure, add two tablespoonfuls of oil-meal per day, dis- solved in hot water. ‘This oil-meal may be doubled in a week, gradually increasing to one pound per day; but this will be sufficient up to sixty days old. When the calf is sixty days old, add one pound of oats or oatmeal or wheat | middlings. Continue this for sixty days. Twenty pounds of skim-milk per day will be sufficient for the first ninety days, but no injury will occur from a larger ration as the calf grows older. For the next ninety days, if milk is short, feed only ten pounds of skim-milk, and increase the oats or middlings to two pounds per day. We have ad- vised the linseed oil-meal because it is excellent for the health of the calf, and, as we saw by the analysis, has ten per cent. of oil and a large percentage of muscle-forming food, and phosphate of lime to build the bones and extend the frame. It has most excellent qualities as a food for raising calves, and can always be had for this purpose at from one and a half to two cents per pound—generally at the former figure in the West, and the latter in the East. New process linseed-meal is now gradually taking the place of the old style oil-meal, the difference being that the oil is reduced to two and a half per cent.; but oil- meal may be dispensed with, and oat-meal or middlings ¥ SKIMMED MILK FOR CALF. 237 used in its stead, with skim-milk. In fact, if you have pienty of skim-milk, an excellent calf may be raised on this alone. But it often occurs that more calves are to be raised than the skim-milk will feed. Skim-milk is much more valuable as food than is generally supposed. It con- tains all the qualities of the milk, except the cream. The casein, the most valuable food constituent of the milk, and the milk sugar or whey, are still in it. If you feed only skim-milk to a healthy calf, it will require, on an average, from fifteen to twenty pounds of milk to make one pound of live weight during the first ninety days, if the calf is given all it wants; and a good eater will gain two and a half pounds per day. We have often had calves seventy days old fed with one-half pound of flax-seed and one and a half pounds of oat-meal each, with twenty pounds of skim-milk per day, that have gained in weight thirty to thirty-seven pounds in ten days—an average of over three and one- fourth pounds each, per day. The flax-seed and oat-meal are boiled, and then mixed with the milk. The average weight of these calves, when dropped, was about sixty pounds; their average weight at seventy days was two _ hundred and thirty pounds—they had consequently gained 11 2.42 pounds per day. ‘They were fed new milk for one week, then half new and half skim-milk for another week, then upon skim-milk and four ounces of boiled flax-seed each, per day; at thirty-four days old flax-seed increased to one-half pound and one-half pound oat-meal added; the latter was increased to one pound in a few weeks, and afterwards another half pound added. These calves were small, but excellent eaters, and made an extra gain. But we have generally succeeded with the ration first given in making an average growth of two pounds per day, for the first ninety days. We expect thrifty calves to reach three hundred pounds at three months. We have calves at this writing forty to fifty days old, that are gaining two pounds 2058 FEEDING ANIMALS. per day upon a ration compounded in the same proportion. For the second three months the calves may have good pasture, with what milk can be spared—say ten pounds— . with one quart of oats and one pound of wheat middlings. This will keep them growing steadily and vigorously, which is the only way to make them profitable. Good feeders, on the ration we have given, will reach an average of five hun- dred pounds at six months; and we do not think it worth the cost to attempt raising a mincing eater. A good appe- tite and good digestion are essential in growing a profitable calf. Flax-seed as a small part of the ration for the calf cannot be too highly recommended. It is a natural antidote to scouring, or a feverish condition of the stomach and intestines. Its large proportion of oil renders it so appro- priate to mingle with other food deficient in oil, that it will well repay any feeder to keep a few bushels on hand. It is also excellent to mix in the food of older animals, the details of which will be given in subsequent pages. There are many examples we might mention as an encouragement to pursue this system of full feeding upon refuse milk and other food. Hon. George Geddes mentions a calf, at Syracuse, N. Y., only 240 days old, that dressed 655 pounds, and must have had a live weight of 875 pounds, though not weighed alive. Mr. C. 8. Marvin, of Oxford Depot, Orange Co., N. Y., had a calf dropped in October, 1864, afterwards called Uncle Abe, that weighed at birth 134 pounds; at 90 days, 385 pounds ; at 6 months old, 670 pounds; at 1 year, 1,036 pounds. But this calf had the milk of his dam, and, after he was some two weeks old, a quart of meal, increased gradually up to two quarts. This steer continued to grow rapidly, and, at 18 months, weighed 1,354 pounds, and, at 2 years, 1,616 pounds; at 30 months, 1,830 pounds; at 3 years, 2,070 pounds; and, at 4 years and 5 months, 2,530 SKIMMED MILK RATION. 239 pounds. This is a case where new milk did its best during the first year, and we give it to illustrate the best feeding with whole milk. But, to show that new milk may, with- out injury, be omitted, we give a stronger case with skim- milk and oil-meal: Mr. William Wallace, of Grant Park, Kankakee Co., Ill., had a pair of twin grade Short-horn bull calves, dropped April 2, 1870, and named Ellsworth Twins. Their only food the first summer was sour skim- milk, oil-meal and grass. They weighed together, at 6 months, 1,340 pounds; at 1 year old, 1,960 pounds; at 2 years, 3,305 pounds; at 3 years old, 4,500 pounds. They were weighed at various intermediate times, and made a regular and steady growth. These steers were fed upon grass, hay, oats and corn, in the open air. Their increase was somewhat less the second 6 months than it should have been, which we attribute to the want of proper shelter. It will be seen that they gained only half as much the second as the first six warm months. But they made a greater average weight at 2 years than Uncle Abe, with all the new milk he could take for the first ten months. It is to be regretted that their food of all kinds was not weighed, so as to teach us a most important lesson as to cost of pro- ducing such weight under the system.of full feeding; but we know that it cost less than to have made the same growth in a longer time. Let us give another illustration of large growths made upon refuse milk, reported, on good authority, in the Country Gentleman. A grade Short-horn calf, dropped March 1, 1876, was purchased, at four weeks old, by C. H. Farnum, of Concord, N. H., and weighed 160 pounds. He intended it as a mate to one of his own, weighing 205 pounds, proposing to raise them for working oxen. Their feed was exclusively skim-milk—all they would take. But it was soon apparent that the lightest calf was outgrowing the other, and he abandoned the idea of using them for 240 FEEDING ANIMALS. oxen. He slaughtered the one originally the heaviest, at eight and one-half months old, and it dressed 522 pounds. Its live weight is not known, but must have been at least 800 pounds—its girth was five feet two inches. His mate was much better to appearance, and it was determined to keep it, on experiment, till a year old. ‘This calf was fed, during the last three months, on skim-milk, shorts and hay. At the end of the year its girth was six feet five inches, and the calf so fat as to cover his hips from sight. He was purchased by a butcher, at ten cents per pound dressed weight. His live weight was 1,200 pounds, and his dressed weight 902 pounds, meat 748 pounds, hide and tallow 154 pounds. Price paid $90.20. This last calf weighed, at twenty-eight days old, 160 pounds. It gained in 337 days, or the balance of its first year, 1,040 pounds, an average of 3.08 pounds per day, which is, so far as we know, the largest gain on record, for so long a period, whatever the food. Here are two cases of two calves, each making an unusual weight, especially the last one, without any new milk. It is doubtful if any case can be found of greater weight than 1,200 pounds, at one year, fed upon new milk in any quantity. In fact the cases are so numerous of great growth upon skim-milk, that it cannot longer be claimed that whole milk is necessary to raise even the best calves. It is thus evident that the dairyman may raise his calves for beef or for the dairy without interfering with his profits in butter. And the expert butter-maker can realize more money from the cream than the whole milk will bring in cheese, and, besides, raise fine calves upon the skim-milk. We have raised many fine calves upon half the skim-milk of the dam, supplemented with other food; but it is quite an easy matter for a skillful feeder to raise one calf to each cow devoted to butter making, with the aid of a small amount of grain. COST OF THE YEARLING. 241 Cost oF CALF AT ONE YEAR. As the author’s object is to induce farmers to raise better animals, and thus, not only add to their profits, but equally to their pleasure and satisfaction, we will estimate the cost of growing a good calf for the first twelve months. In the Western States the 240 pounds of oats required for the first six months would cost about one cent per pound, and, if bran were used, about half that; the 182 pounds of oil- meal, about one and one-half cents, or $2.73—whole cost of grain, $5.13. The 2,700 pounds of skim-milk may be called worth one-fourth cent per pound, or $6.75; and if we call the hay or grass for the second three months worth one dollar, we have $12.88 as the entire cost, allowing a fair price for everything eaten by the calf; and, with the ration in the case we have described, the calf should have a live weight of 500 to 600 pounds at six months. This calf would be worth twenty-five dollars—certainly a fair margin of profit. But let us continue the estimate to the end of the year. The second six months the calf will require ten pounds of hay per day—1,820 pounds, costing, at forty cents per 100 pounds, $7.28 ; three pounds of oats and corn, ground together, and two pounds of bran, per day, 910 pounds, at three-fourths of a cent (the price in ordinary times), $6.83—amounting, for second six months, to $14.11, and for the year to $26.99. This calf, at a year, will weigh 800 to 1,000 pounds, and be worth forty to sixty dollars, depending on price of beef. We have estimated an average top price of cost for the food of such a calf in the West, and from ten to twenty per cent. must be added to represent the cost in the Hast. Deduct one-third of this food, and you have the cost of a common animal—not worth the cost of its keep. Here, as everywhere in feeding animals, is illustrated the fact, that from the extra food comes all the profit. 242 FEEDING ANIMALS. There are many other foods that may be used to feed the calf the second six months, to be determined by the price of the particular food in the different localities. Linseed- meal (extracted by the new process), is one of the best foods to grow the young animal. This can usually be bought for twenty to twenty-five dollars per ton, and, when corn is cheap, the best grain ration would be two pounds linseed- meal and three pounds of corn-meal per day added to the hay ration, or hay and straw ration. The linseed-meal has a nutritive ratio of 1: 1.4, and corn-meal 1: 8.5, and the mixture would have a nutritive ratio of 1: 5.6, or a well balanced ration. The linseed-meal is rich in the constitu- ents of bone and muscle, and the corn in the elements that generate heat and lay on fat. Rye and barley-meal, millet and buckwheat-meal, pea and oat-meal, are all excellent food for calves the first winter. WHEY RATION FOR THE CALF. Although an easy matter to raise a fine calf upon milk deprived only of its cream—this single element being easily supplied—the successful use of milk deprived of both cream and casein, or cheese, leaving only whey or milk sugar, requires much more skill and a knowledge of the composition of different foods. Sugar is an important element of food, but only one—and no animal can subsist upon sugar alone. Whey, however, is not pure milk sugar, but contains a little soluble albumen, a trace of casein or cheese, a little soluble phosphate of lime—but still mostly mere sugar of milk. This milk sugar in whey is in a very soluble and digestible condition, and has a feed- ing value well worth saving. We have usually considered whey, theoretically, as containing only the sugar of milk ; but Prof. Voelcker gives 18 analyses of whey, taken from as many different cheese makers’ vats, and if these samples are no better than the general average of the whey from WHEY RATION FOR CALF. 243 our cheese factories, then whey has a greater feeding valuc than its milk sugar would indicate. The following is the average of his 18 analyses : Calculated ry. WBIGED AL eres ec oaew. fhe... ox Oe seta Pataca PSIG i Eee a Taba PA) eee tas. 4c. aise, Sse, eee .o3 4.80 yapumunous compoundes? 7.002.200 EO ee .97 | 14.00 Milk sugar and lactic acid... 226300200000) 4.98 70.18 Mineral matier sl LTE RO ASI ESE SS os SO EN 9 70 11.02 DOMES SE. : BEC ING: TES Lb. Fi oe 100.00 100.00 7 eam iiromeds: GI etl aa SET ari 146 3.75 This shows a greater waste than has been supposed of the nitrogenous matter in the whey. The ash also is remarkably large—nearly as much as in whole milk— but common salt, probably, forms half of this ash, and this comes from the salt used in cheese making. But the albuminous matter forms nearly one per cent., and will be a great assistance in feeding beyond that of nearly pure milk sugar. Yet, to make whey a suitable food to grow the young animal vigorously, we must supplement the oil taken away in the cream—the nitrogenous food, the phos- * phate of lime, magnesia, sulphur, soda, etc., taken away in the casein, or cheese, and when we have combined these in propcr proportion with the whey, we have restored it nearly to its normal condition of milk, and it then forms an appro- priate food to grow calves. This requires a little thought on the part of the feeder; but every farmer ought to be will'ng to give thought and care to his business. Probably _ the best single food to be added to whey is oil-meal, By recurring to the table of analyses given on page 140, it will be seen that oil-meal has 28 per cent. of muscle-form- ing food—just what whey is deficient in—and also 10 per rent. of oil (another deficiency in whey); and it has nearly Sper cent. of ash; and this ash is made up of phosphate 244 FEEDING ANIMALS. of lime, magnesia, potash, soda, etc.—just what is needed to build the bones and frame of the calf. Now, if one- quarter of a pound of oil-meal or cake (which is less likely to be adulterated), dissolved in hot whey, is added to each gallon of whey, it will make it good food for a calf ten days to two weeks old. When the calf is three to four weeks old, add a quarter pound, or an equal amount of wheat bran, ground oats or barley, to each gallon of whey. This oil-meal, bran or oats, will make the whey about equal to milk. The oil-meal and oat-meal should be scalded in whey or water. This extra food given with the whey is not very expensive, costing only from $4 to $5.50, according to location, to feed a calf for six months, if we suppose the calf to take four gallons per day; and we have known many calves thus fed that weighed 500 lbs. at six months old; but an average of 400 to 450 lbs. can be de- pended on with good care and this ration ; and such calves are worth about $20 per head at that age. If raised upon whey alone, they are not worth enough to pay the labor expended. The proper use of whey in feeding young animals is a matter of much importance. It is estimated that there are made in the United States 300,000,000 Ibs. of cheese. This would represent in the whey, according to Voelcker’s analyses, 188,000,000 lbs. of dry food, reckon- ing one gallon of whey to each pound of cheese. And if we suppose each calf to take during the season 600 gallons of whey, the 300,000,000 gallons would feed 500,000 calves. And if these calves were fed according to our formula, they would average a weight of 400 lbs.; and if we estimate them as worth only $14 per head, and the extra food as costing $5 per head, it would leave a credit to the whey of $9 per head, or a sum total made from whey of $4,500,000. We regard this as less than the actual result would be if the whey were fed as indicated; and here seems to be an im- portant field for improvement, It is not necessary to WHEY RATION FOR CALF. 245 follow the exact plan here proposed in order to utilize the whey. If oil-meal or oil-cake cannot easily be obtained, - wheat bran, oat-meal, barley-meal, or oats and peas ground together, may be substituted ; a small portion of corn-meal may be mixed; but it is not proper to be fed alone with whey, as corn has too large a proportion of starch and too small a proportion of muscle-forming elements to make up for the deficiencies in the whey. Another important point is, that the whey should not be allowed to get very sour before feeding, but should be fed as nearly sweet as possible. The new process linseed-meal also makes a good addition to whey for feeding calves. This has only one-fourth as much oil as the old style, but the per cent. of albuminous matter is larger. A better ration to feed the young calf than the one first above given, would be one-fourth pound of linseed-meal and one-fourth pound of flax-seed, boiled together and added to two gallons of whey. This would re- place more of the oil and cost but slightly more. Whey is not so badly balanced as a food for young animals of some age as is generally supposed, but it contains too much water in proportion to its dry matter—93 per cent. water to 7 per cent. dry substance. And, for this reason, there is a large benefit in mixing other food with it to reduce the propor- tion of water. After the calves reach an age of 60 to 90 days, wheat middlings may be mixed with the whey alone, at the rate of one-half pound to the gallon. The food then will be 87 per cent. water to 13 per cent. dry substance, comparing favorably with milk, beets, mangel, and some of the more watery green foods, such as green rape, beans in blossom, cabbage, carrot-tops, ete. To this, requiring the calf to take so much water for so little food, is, no doubt, due much of the injurious effects of feeding whey alone, and, as we have seen, it is easy to obviate this by mixing dry food with it. | Large experiments have been conducted by. Mruk H. 246 FEEDING ANIMALS. Wauzer, of Elgin Creamery, Lllinois, in feeding this whey ration to a large number of calves. He used oil-meal, oats and bran with whey after the calf was four weeks old. He raised 120 calves in 1876 on this diet, and sold them at an average of about $21 per head, at seven months old. The farmer cannot properly object that it requires grain under this mode of feeding, because he raises his grain with a view to realizing so much money from it, and the money will come more surely by feeding it to calves than selling in market. It is not good farming to sell grain, when more money can be made from feeding it to animals and selling the animals. It is time American farmers had changed their system of raising so largely of grain to sell in market, and adopted the better English system of rais- ing all the coarse grain required in the rotation, and buy- ing all they can economically use in addition, to feed out on the farm, that the land may be kept good if not improved. Hay Tea RATION FoR CALVES. This old expedient to rear calves without milk had an excellent basis, as do most common practices. The solu- ble nutritive constituents of the hay are extracted by boil- ing, and this extract contains all the food elements required to grow the animal, besides being as digestible as milk. If the hay is cut early, when it has most soluble matter, and is of good quality, the tea will grow good calves; but this extract frequently has too small a proportion of albumin- ous and fatty matter. Yet if the hay tea is boiled down so as not to contain too much water for the dry substance, calves will usually thrive upon it. We tried an experiment by feeding 2 gallons of hay tea, in which ¥ Ib. of flax-seed and 1 lb. of wheat middlings had been boiled, to each of 5 calves 30 days old. This experiment was continued 60 days, with a gradual increase, during the last 30 days, of the middlings to 1 lb. per day. These calves did remarkably HAY TEA RATION FOR CALVES. 247 well, gaining an average of a little over 2 pounds per head per day. Having mentioned this experiment to a farmer, who sold his milk for city consumption, yet desired to raise a half dozen calves, he tried the same formula and reported a gain per day for 60 days of 244 lbs. per head. In our ex- periment we boiled hay cut %g of an inch long, and 3 Ibs. for each calf, half an hour, and then the short hay was raised upon a wire-cloth sieve over the kettle and drained, whilst the flax-seed and middlings were put into the kettle and boiled to a jelly. The plan might be carried out on a large scale at little cost per calf. WHAT AGE FoR BEEF? This is a vital question at the entrance of the discussion of the cattle-growing business. The attention of the American farmer has been strongly called to the profitable age for beef by the great increase in our exports of live cattle during the last few years. The appreciation of English consumers of our best cattle offers every induce- ment for perseverance in improving our methods and cheap- ening our results to the greatest extent. The greater the value we can concentrate into an animal of 1,600 lbs., within the shortest time, or into a ton of dead meat, the greater will be our profit. The consumption of meat by the people of Great Britain and of Europe is much less per capita than in the United States, and a large increase is reasonably to be expected when the best quality of meat shall be offered them. ‘The uneasiness of English farmers, excited when our exports of dead meats first commenced, has, hap- pily, been quieted by a reasonable consideration of the fact that their home demand for meat is much greater than they can supply. There is room for their own and all we cansend. We have only to study how to produce the best quality at the least cost; and we may in this learn a valua- 248 FEEDING ANIMALS. ble lesson from the practice of the best English breeders and feeders. ‘Their lands are so expensive, and cattle food so dear, that they have long been obliged to look at the question of cost in feeding very closely, and have been able to produce results that we may most profitably imitate. In a previous chapter we have strenuously insisted upon the speediest growth consistent with health, showing that early maturity offered the only safe system of profitable beef production; and as these pages are written to teach more by example than precept, we shall often try to illus- trate the principles taught, not only by our own practice, but by that of the best feeders in this and other countries. In those countries where the first study is to furnish food for the greatest number of animals, that abundant manure may be returned to the soil, we may expect to find little matters studied that quite escape the attention of feeders in a country like ours, where space and food are so abun- dant. But we are also now strongly admonished that the generous production of a new soil cannot last forever, with- out also studying, as all other countries do, how to com- pensate the soil for the crops taken from it. The tendency of the best English feeders has been, for many years, towards the early maturity of cattle for mar- ket. They are fast exploding the old idea that four-year- old beef must necessarily be better than younger beef. They first compromised on three years old, fearing that: cutting off one year would reduce the quality; but that proving entirely satisfactory to butchers and customers, they continued to shorten the time down to 30 months, with very little falling off in weight, and no deterioration in quality. It was at once discovered that shortening the market age added a large percentage to the profit, and the best feeders have at length succeeded in maturing the steer at 24 months, reaching about the same price they had ob- tained at 36 months; and now Mr. Henry Evershed writes , WHAT AGE FOR BEEF. 249 an article for the Royal Agric@liural Journal, giving the experience of various eminent farmers in raising ‘“BaBy BEER.” This beef is from steers and heifers brought to market at from eleven to twenty months old. The points made in this article of Mr. Evershed’s are so important, and have such a material bearing upon the true course to be followed in beef raising in some parts of the United States, that we shall make sufficient extracts to show the mode of doing it and the results. Mr. Stanford, of Charlton Court, is stated as having lately sold the following high-grade Short-horns at the following ages and prices : Price Return per month (Gold). | from birth. One eleven-months-old steer. ......-.....ccccce2 cevccece $ 74.00 $6.73 One thirteen-months-oldtsteer. 42 Lio. vee sc. see edad cee 101.64 7.82 Three fourteen-months-old heifers, average................ 92.40 6.60 Three fifteen-months-old heifers, average ................. 101.64 6.77 One sixteen-months-Old (Steer. 5 uc cri toe «sleisisjsielels s stewie caress 127 00 7.94 Five sixteen-months-old steers, average...............-60-- 102.30 6.39 One eighteen-months-old steer ... ........ 2... cee eee eee 115.50 6.42 One eighteen and one-half-months-old steer .. ........... 129.36 7.00 Two eighteen and one-half-months-old steers, average...... 122 10 6.60 It does not appear what the individual weights of these “‘baby-beef” animals were, but the price, net weight, is given at an equivalent of sixteen to eighteen cents per pound, probably according to our New York custom, counting only the four quarters. Mr. Evershed remarks: “The above figures show that tolerably-bred Short-horns will return seven shillings a week from birth on this system, at from thirteen to eighteen months old. Those Short-horns which afford the least return were bought in the market, and those which gave the highest were by Mr. Stanford’s pedigree bull, out of his well-bred, but not pedigree cows. 250 FEEDING ANIMALS. The best feeders of comm®n country-bred cattle in Sussex and Surrey inform me, that they consider a fair average weight for animals, well fed from birth, 100 Smithfield stone at one hundred weeks, giving a return uf one stone (eight pounds dressed weight) per week, or six shillings ($1.32) per week.” | He mentions one killed by Mr. Page, that dressed 132 stone at one hundred weeks. This would be equivalent to 1,760 pounds live weight. Some of the sixteen-months steers dressed, in the quarters, 600 pounds, having 120 pounds of rough fat, and a very small proportion of offal. This is not equal in weight to several given, pages 238-40. He represents that the best feeders are able to reach an average of $1.43 per week at sixteen to twenty months, from a Short-horn cross on common cows. This would give $122 per head at twenty months old—a figure that American feeders would like to reach. There is nothing to hinder them reaching the weights at that age, but they may seldom reach those prices. Yet it may truthfully be said that we can raise these steers or heifers at quite as good a profit as that of the English feeder—the cost of our animals being no higher in proportion to the price received than those raised in England. That we may see how the English feeder’s account stands, let us copy his statement of the cost of a “ baby bullock ” seventy-one weeks old, or one year anf nineteen weeks, reducing the figures to our gold currency: Purchase Of calf. s.)25 0. scies soca od Obed dtc na’ vaWelese cnet amen $8.88 Four weeks’ new milk, six quarts daily, at 2d. per quart.......... 6.16 Eight weeks’ skimmed milk, six quarts daily, at 14d. per quart, and two pounds of meal, at 114d. per pound .................. 5.63 Seventeen weeks, in June, July, August, and September, on a daily diet of two pounds of linseed cake, two pounds bean meal, mazigel, bay, crass, Clover, ots .< < isc cicddigkios bebe s ocieakeed s sie 17.57 Twenty-six weeks to end of March, five pounds of cake and meal daily, three-fourths bushel of roots, hay and straw for fodder.. 30.27 Sixteen weeks to harvest, eight pounds of cake and meal daily, mangel, grass, clover—total $1.59 per week....... ......eseee 25.44 Attendance, seventy-one weeks, at eleven cents..... ........ee0e- 7.81 Insurance, interest, and rent of shed...........ccccccccccecccacvce 5.54 Dotwal jeswicicddavctn acex Cuvee desicnenaeeedeae ear BABY BEEF. 251 This estimate shows the young bullock, born in the spring and sold at harvest time the next year, costs $1.51 per week, and should be worth, according to Mr. Stanford’s average, $108.02. The value of the manure is estimated at twenty per cent. of the cost of the food ($85.12) or $17.02. The account stands thus: or Waloeke TL WEEKS O10. ioe cites e ccc cceecel $107.35 IETGi te nthe Woe Fees htt ekee chloe So lage creda cen 17.69 MEELIS acct cock seewes Cotes esa Tease ene $125.04 . Or.—A bullock sold at 71 weeks old......... $108.02 Vahwsrob mianere ys cise icc hides G8 17.02 Poms eee ee ete 8 $125.04 This is an instructive exhibit of the most profitable form of English stock feeding. The English farmer is obliged to take his profit in the manure account, which the American farmer too seldom takes the trouble to estimate. It is to be considered, also, that this English farmer is merely a tenant, and estimates the value of the manure to the tenant, to be applied to the land of his landlord. A study of this fact would be of the greatest value to the American farmer who holds the fee simple of his land, but js less desirous of improving it than the temporary holder of an English farm. The sooner our farmers shall study this manure problem, connected with cattle feeding, the better it will be for their permanent prosperity. It will also be noted that the food is charged at figures as much higher than our current rates as the price of beef is higher there than here. Cake is the principal food that the English farmer buys; and, therefore, when he turns his own crops into meat and realizes full prices for them, besides saving the manure for his land and laying the foundation for more crops, he properly thinks himself on the prosperous road. | We must here contrast the cost of keep of such young bullock in this country, that we may get a proper com- 252 FEEDING ANIMALS. parison of the situation here and there. On page 241 an estimate is made for first-rate keep for such young animal during the first 12 months in the Western States, and the cost found to be $12.88 for the first 6 months, and $14.11 for the second 6 months; making 12 months cost $26.99, with an addition of 20 per cent. for the Eastern States, making the cost in the latter $32.38; whilst the food alone cost $56.18 to the English farmer. Perhaps many readers will desire to see in detail the cost of a “ baby bullock” of 71 weeks in this country, calculated on the same plan of feeding as given in Mr. Evershed’s formula. We will calculate this for the West, which will require an addition of 10 to 20 per cent. to the grain ration to adapt it to the Eastern States. That it may have more than a temporary value, it will be estimated on average prices for a series of years, and not on the present high figures for grain. PRVCHESS OF CAMS hislncin Sa Sia a Haas chaeida saNenk cneeatees von heme $ 5.00 4" weeks’ new mills 14 ibs, daily; 96, Le vice ete. S cate cores sala eee 3.92 10 weeks’ skim-milk, 16 lbs. daily, at 14c.; 2 lbs. oats or finished BRUNI Gs he ia) aa = widia, Sod tdi aos a ceils Sa ee b alas re 4.02 16 weeks, to about 1st of November, on a daily diet of 10 lbs, skim-milk, 2 lbs. oil-cake, at 11gc.; 2!¢ lbs. oats or middlings, anid SrABS OF CLOVER oe <5 wife ds keds mw Hoa oid doh elas a coke 10.00 22 weeks, to the end of first year—10 lbs. hay, 2 lbs. oil-cake, Bibs: -osts> 3 ls. eorn=mieals fis et da. taeeee ed. beeen 17.32 19 weeks, to end of feeding 71 weeks—grass, 30c. per week; 3 Ibs. Cake, bls, cornsineals agdy a o,cc'aiei's ches 400ls Weed we cain eee 16.67 Attendance, 71 weeks.......... Reo te Signs wed Soke aha 8.00 Insurance ....... Ponta anise s eels Soatas en BCE fe Meer ol 1.00 ys 2) eae sce ccnacecseccesoncces gina siaauney tiene late deipe 00 cu0) nC ~ Our estimate shows the cost of such a young bullock to be 92 cents per week. It will dress about 600 lbs. in the quarters, weighing, on foot, about 1,200 Ibs., and will bring on an average, in our market 642 cents on foot—or, say $75. If we count the value of the manure as 20 per cent. of cost of food—say $10—the account will stand thus: Dr.—A bullock, 71 weeks old.............. ccc ce eeee $65.93 PP POEND, eee ett oie ss Avia so -Sin wpe Dabidicle miedo Sib a odious sha 19.07 pio eh re eS ee eee ese gS ee ee $85.00 Cr.—A bullock, sold at 71 weeks............ $75.00 Walia Ge MIG BUEG coc ss. cc sem «oo ee's doce 10.00 Peer EMRE Sains Rua a axosctiewtaneehee 6 one $85.00 This tabulation of the cost of our “baby bullock” shows that the profits are easier on our side than theirs, although their market price is 30 to 50 per cent. higher than ours. There is no doubt that the American farmer has a larger margin of profit, even in our depressed market, than the English farmer in his. We know that we can produce as good weight and quality at the same age as the most skillful British farmer, and at a cost 40 per cent. less. Unfortunately the proportion of skillful feeders in this country is much less than in England, and therein is where we should make every effort to improve. If 50 per cent. of all the young beef animals were raised on a similar plan to the formula given, we should be able to double our exports of live cattle and beef. Unfortunately the surplus of such high quality is not large, and consequently much of a poorer quality takes its place, and thus injures our market abroad. Our foreign market for the best beef will grow as fast as the quality of our animals improves. QuALITY oF Yuunc BEEF. Mr. Evershed gives some important testimony on this point. He speaks of a somewhat general opinion, that very young beef cannot be of the best quality, and says: “ Beef is affected by the mode of feeding, and it is not the fact that young beef is necessarily poor. Mr. Post, the butcher of Ship street, Brighton, who supplies a superior class of customers, writes of some young bullocks of Charlton Court, purchased in January, 1874, at 19! months old, and weighing 100 stone, 94 stone, 92 stone and: 90 254 FEEDING ANIMALS. stone: ‘These bullocks, when slaughtered, were most complete bodies of beef; and the meat gave every satis- faction to the consumer, being very tender, and of delicious flavor.” Mr. Post says of another lot: ‘I bought of Mr. W. Stanford, at Steyning Market, on March 9th, five very superior Short-horn steers, under 20 months old, with calves’ teeth. Their meat is of most excellent quality. The heaviest weighed 111 stone. ‘The flesh on the ribs, where quartered from the loin, measured five inches thick.’ And, further, says: ‘I have during the last three years killed a large number of the young bullocks fed by Mr. Stanford ;” and, after expressing a favorable opinion of their general quality, speaks of a particular one as ‘ full of fat, with large, thick flesh, finely grained, and of very superior flavor” My. Duke, of Steyning, writes of some bullocks, under 20 months old: ‘They were all remarkably ripe, handsome carcasses of beef, giving me and my cus- tomers great satisfaction, as they have always done. ‘They carried an average of 124 stone (100 lbs.) of fat. Mr. Glazebrook, of Steyning, writes: ‘Some of the buyers at the sale considered I had given a guinea a bullock more than 6s. per stone; but, from the experience I have had of Mr. Stanford’s young beasts, I had confidence.’ ” These details give strong evidence of the high quality of this young beef, and show that there need be no fear of a failure for want of ripeness and flavor in the flesh of these young animals when the feeding proceeds upon right principles. There are many considerations in favor of this system. First. The less cost per hundred pounds of beef made at- 20 months or under than over that period. Second. The reduction of risk in shortening the market age. ‘Third. The quicker returns from investment, and, therefore, the greater profit. We are fully persuaded that profitable feeding must establish a market age in this country not QUALITY OF YOUNG BEEF. 299d above 24 months, and the best feeding will frequently reduce this to 20 months. THE Economy oF YOUNG BEEF. We have just been discussing the quality of young beef. It is now important to show the reader the fundamental law of growth as proved by the gain which cattle make at different periods or ages. We have had no means of deter- mining this question in a great practical way till the insti- tution of the Chicago Fat-Stock shows. Some great lesson was necessary to be taught, in a practical way, which should show farmers, by ocular demonstration, the true system of feeding. They can see the bearing of facts presented tan- gibly before them in the exhibition of the best specimens of cattle of various ages, and this is an illustration which carries conviction. The author had taught, for years, that all profit lay in full feeding and early maturity; but no statement could be so forcible as an array of cattle of all ages, from one year to six, with the exact age and weight of each stated. Seeing is believing. The show held in 1878 was remarkable as the first one; but the four exhibitions that have followed since, have each improved upon its predecessor, and all have given the classification of age, weight, measurement, and gain per day. In this respect our show teaches a much more prac- tical lesson than the great Smithfield Show of England. Sir J. B. Lawes has complained of his countrymen’s want of exactness in estimating the weight of animals instead of actually weighing them. It is a very important point that we take a more practical view of the matter, and bring every animal to the scales. We adopt the com- mercial standard—substitute fact for hypothesis. And when we apply a demonstrated improvement in feeding to our 38,000,000 of cattle, the result must reach great proportions. 256 FEEDING ANIMALS. We here present tables grouping the animals according to age, within certain limits—and if we take their average age, weight, and gain per day, the law of growth will be most evident. Some of these tables show less difference in growth according to age than others. We have arranged them arbitrarily according to age, ignoring the question of breed. The table for the show of 1881, in the group of 631 days old, shows but a mere fraction of greater gain than in the group of 903 days old. ‘This was occasioned by associating three Devon steers with three Short-horn or grade Short-horns. The Devons gain, respectively, 1.36, 1.15, 1.38 per day, whilst the grade Short-horns gain 2.17, 2.05, 2.01—the average gain of the six being 1.69 per day. And in the group of 903 days are two remarkable grade steers that gain respectively 2.21 and 2.11, which brings up the average gain of the group of eight to 1.58 per day. Still itis easy to see the effect of age upon the gain per day. It will be seen that the appropriate comparison is of the same breed with itself at different ages, and better still, the same animals at different ages. It will be seen in all the tables that the average gain per day constantly decreases as the animals grow older and heavier. In the fifth group of steers of the show in 1879 the average gain is raised considerably by the remarkable steer No. 30, which reached 2,820 Ibs. at four and a half years old. He gains .53 lb. more per day than either of the others. It would be very interesting if we had the periodical gains of this steer for each six months of its life. This would give a most important lesson of the relative growth, according to age, of the same animal. Let us see what an important lesson these periodical weighings would teach. We may reasonably suppose that the second group at this show were as thrifty and heavy at 569 days old as the first group; that is, that they weiglfed 1,249 lbs., and had gained 2.19 Ibs. per day; but during ECONOMY OF YOUNG BEEF. 257 the next 279 days they gain only 232 Ibs., or .83 lb. per day. This is only 38 per cent., or a little more chan one- third what they gained during the first period. The third group of steers were better for their age than the second group; but if we compare the gain of this group with the first—they were 671, days older, and they gain in this time 620 lbs., or .92 lb. per day—much less than half of the gain of the first period. But this does not show all the loss of feeding to such an age. If we had an exhibit of the food consumed by the steers of the first group in making an average growth of 1,249 lbs., and also the food eaten by the third group in reaching 1,869 lbs. weight, we should find the live weight of the latter to cost in food 40 to 50 per cent. more than the former; that is, steers not only gain less per day as they grow older, but they eat more food to make this small gain. Steer No. 29, it appears, gained only 6 lbs. during the last year; and steer No. 28 only 90-lbs. Both of these steers consumed more food during the last year than dur- ing their second year of growth, when they undoubtedly each gained more than two pounds per day. The whole case cannot be understood until the exhibitors give a his- tory of the food expended each year, as well as the gain. The reader will see what numerous questions arise on examining tables on next page. 258 FEEDING ANIMALS. CuHIcAGO Fat Stock SHOWS. Law of Growth According to Age. 4 STEERS: see ee Average.. 4 STEERS: Average... 10 STEERS: Average.. 4 STEERS" Sse 18.4 7s Average... 5 STEERS Average.. 5 STEERS. 187 - Grain Age. | Weight. per day. Days. Lbs. Lbs. 650 1,480 2.28 670 1,275 1.90 656 1,420 2.16 701 1,520 Pasi ti 669 1,423 2.13 969 1,705 1.76 978 1,600 1.64 962 1,885 1.96 962 1,560 1.62 968 1,637 1.74 1,280 2,115 1.65 1,220 2,060 1.69 1,080 1,470 1.36 1,188 1,285 1.08 1,267 1,475 1.16 1,298 2,305 1.78 1,328 2,185 1.65 1.371 1.655 aed 1,356 1,760 1.29 1,336 1.705 1.20 1,272 1,801 1.41 1,880 2,085 ikea fit 1,677 1,595 0.95 1,658 1,645 0.99 1,652 1,870 1.13 1,717 1,799 1.04 1879. 585 1,240 2.11 612 1.397 2.28 500 1,114 2.23 605 1,196 1.97 544 1.300 2.38 569 1,249 2.19 845 1,636 1.93 814 1,449 etre 710 1,316 1.87 Age. | Weight. Days. Lbs. No. 15. 939 1,474 “ays | epee 932 1,532 Average... 848 1,481 6 STEERS: NO. 25'5.5 ee 1,059 1,534 raga 3 eae 1,284 1,649 TAD ps ee 1,294 1,986 aE ie) Ay ae bie 1,359 1,968 Lo TRY. SO Sa 1,311 2.019 Sener ery airs 1,335 2.089 Average .| 1,240 1,869 4 STEERS: INO ge. 1,578 2,240 oR et eee 1,593 2,166 permet): Pe Te 1,420 1,979 sae) (ss elke 1,573 2,118 Average 1,541 2,125 4 STEERS: IN Opti sae 1,677 1.930 se 9 5b R689 1,974 ta eee 1,804 2,134 (SMSO c 5 1,643 2,820 Average 1,703 2,216 1880. 6 STEERS Non84s >. As 721 1.590 cal be apg 710 1.115 ceP60n. 228 67 1,395 he OD. ee 696 580 dein Waa se 642 1,245 Sh Oitecig-n ae 585 1,490 Average.. 671 1,403 10 STEERS Norris. cs: 908 1,825 Tae ike 884 1,700 il WA pare ee 849 1,250 SS GR ioe 1,064 1,815 oF BD 25o 1,018 1,650 St” \GAtaeeee 940 1,900 ea ae 921 1,700 AC mIBOE det 832 1,845 Cee es- 910 1,445 +O Site caakte 852 1,650 Average.. 917 1,678 etc eee ft bk os 20 8 /SERXSESSRS= Grain per day. ee ad . orton oe _ pee | ww Lo) ae ee eS . than 0 ak _ o w | we wrmHre~ =] woewsou S|Z2SSS5 8 STEERS: Average... 6 STEERS: Nor2is AGES KI! oe eee ihc SEP Se ass a. Average.. 8 STEERS: Average.. 17 STEERS: tees te eee sete se twee GROWTH ACCORDING TO AGE. CHICAGO Fat Stock SHOWS—Continued. Age. Days. 1,367 at ee ee we) mM | WWM ee HO; eh beh fr fr fh dh eh pee rh 259 : Grain Age. | Weight. per day. Days. Lbs. Lbs. INOg 54 ye oe 1,326 1,335 1.00 oh ROD Seater Veet 1.410 0.79 dias 1,328 1,230 0 92 aay es eI 1,268 1,075 0.84 % dOG. oes 1,237 2.095 1.61 pa ike: 1,268 1,520 1.19 Mey 2 Sa 1,268 1,995 aie Average..| 1,325 1,804 1.38 1882. 11 STEERS: INOHE 1 Gis) = 645 1,620 Pea) | ny. Boor 384 1,140 2.97 Ce A ees 412 1,105 2.68 *“\ 1693g.. 697 1,330 1.90 eee ede ote 730 1,985 Pane ‘© 148. 858 2,220 2.59 esa de en a 715 1,600 he hike DSi eee 574 1,410 2.45 eet Daomatas %20 1,475 2.05 SO) Shas x. Cie 1,600 223 aes Ee: 1 BaP ES 437 830 1.90 Average.. 626 1,483 2.38 15 STEERS: INO FLOSS. 4 1,034 1,905 1.84 see i Res 1,011 1,850 1.83 Poe (MNT artes 1,265 2,400 1.90 es ast Cee 1,174 1,945 1.65 SV iiSaatee 1,818 1,545 0.85 SS I169%3 1,032 1,630 1.58 “ie 583 1,077 1,940 1.80 me See 1,121 1,765 Tbe ia 0 Bes 1,404 1,865 1.32 es Gare 1,316 1,840 1.40 So ee apres 1,299 2,060 1.58 citings to inewane 1,305 2,335 1.94 Cae 6) Fase eee 1,613 2,565 1.59 iy 8. 1,636 1,815 1.11 Le ae 1,644 1.880 plea Average..| 1,316 1,956 1.55 We give these tables of five shows somewhat full, embrac- ing nearly all the prize animals under five years old. As they have been the most instructive array of cattle ever exhibited, presenting the most convincing evidence of the growth of animals, at different periods, under the most 260 FEEDING ANIMALS. liberal feeding. They were fed for exhibition, and would thus be fed as their exhibitors believed to be best calculated for rapid growth, and therefore are all fed under similar con- ditions. They should be thoroughly studied by the feeder. It is interesting to trace the same animal from year to year. No. 56, 1880, 832 days old, weight 1,845 pounds, had gained 2.21 per day. He appears the next year as No. 45, 1,190 days old, weight 2,145 pounds, having gained 300 pounds in a year, or 0.82 pound per day, or only thirty- seven per cent. of its previous gain per day. No. 107 of 1881, 1,237 days old, weighed 2,095 pounds, gain, 1.61 pounds per day—appears as No. 115 of 1882, weight 2,565 pounds, having made the large gain of 470 pounds, or 1.28 per day. But as this was the champion steer of the show in 1881, also in 1882, it was fed in the very best manner, but still it fell nearly one-third of a pound per day behind its previous gain. No. 116 of 1882, Lady Peerless, 1,644 days old, weight 1,880 pounds, appeared in 1881 as 1,268 days old, weight 1,520 pounds, with a daily gain of 1.19. The past 376 days she has gained 360 pounds, being a daily gain of 0.93 pounds. Here then, is a loss of twenty-two per cent. in gain. There are many such cases in the tables, showing the law of gain in the same animal, and that the rate decreases as the age increases. Cost oF PRODUCTION. The managers of these fat-stock shows made a very praiseworthy addition to the prizes in the last, under the | head of cost of production. This cost of production goes to the very root of the matter; and when taken in connec- tion with law of growth, above discussed, it should be the key to decide the true system of feeding. If the young animal makes a more rapid growth, and if that growth costs less, and if the beef grown thus rapidly is of good quality, then it is simply throwing away food to feed the COST OF PRODUCTION. 261 animals beyond the age producing the quality that the market demands. The following table is very instructive on this question of cost at different periods. It will be seen that the first year produced a large profit, and the value was greater than the cost at the end of the second year, but the third year cost much more than the value of the growth, and the whole cost of the three years was considerably more than the market price of the animals. Cost OF PRODUCTION. From Birth to 12 Months of Age. feed n a iy 4 : : Shas m S = 2 a g ORF Q, a & £2 3 — g a cee pe NAME OF ANIMAL. 2-9 2 an) es nm 2 Gigs f= bed ors ~ op CS e Dr ° = a (-~} oO = & ag = ° sone 50 » ° $f Re) =o a8 = = > 5 Cts. DAO MOE cauewae os Sanaa name reddy sae ae «Pes $31.30 800 $48 .00 3.91 PS OPUIOH Gs ec dsaiid a ae nen hrm PES tire ows 33.50 710 42.60 4.72 onne AbeRdCeR. Os.) Fo. os Xs ok: aia neenle ns 31.67 1,000 60.00 3.47 Hing: of the: West, woe 98). 00. asi ok ut eat 34.67 1,000 60.00 3.47 Cassis Ath NO: PUIG. ck aco aee tet ane Coc oe scelt ae 31.47 1,000 60.00 3.15 MESS Sti, TAs Oe So ae ain caeacihicw swale okais5% 38.15 1,090 65 40 3.50 Hattie, No. 44............. TPES tte aces 19.75 700 42.00 2.08 Peet SPANO ING 20 oad de to on alg vin cis asain cnn 27.50 950 57.00 2.89 Canadian Champion, No. 17 .............+.0--- 33 .67 1,000 60.00 3.37 From 12 to 24 Months of Age. Z | 2 5 Z | g [8 = = ° a a ae qi = = x g ee fs ce x Bae NAME OF ANIMAL. re = a as a a a 86 os & 35 eZ be = an 6p re) + Bo oO . x os = & x oO: ca oe Su 3 E oe = Ss is $ KR) Re) S ° -e-} > is > se | & > 5 Cts. dim Blalneh 29d 45002 cei 950 $57 .00 $37 .59 1,390 $83 .40 8.52 ONG areronerga ae Mee crcl a rajesh 800 48 .00 30.31 1,370 82.20 5.31 Young Aberdeen ......... 1,000 60.00 52.12 1,600 96.00 8.68 King of the West ........ 1,000 60.00 52.13 1,600 96 .00 8.68 Canadian Champion ...... 1,000 60.00 52.12 1,600 96.00 8.68 —EeEEEEeEeEEEEE——EeEE = —_—_—_—_—_—_—_=_=_—_—_—_=>————_—_——_——_——_—_—_——— 4 262 FEEDING ANIMALS. Cost oF Propuction—Continued. From 24 to 36 Months of Age. n n Jo) n nm oO é é 53 Boban Ue =) i=} ° = i) = iS} cS) = ) 6° = a x : 8 C2 : NaME OF ANIMAL. = a o.: & oO S_ = : : ; PERE £& | = Ea =m | "a4 | 8. op oe sore Bp Oe, ee om ee Say RS 2 ot Sot Fu O moO o> "ao o& Re) 7m OR 5m E > = E Se ) Cts. Canadian Champion..... 1,600 $96.00 $81.50 2,250 | $135.00 12.54 King of the West ....... 1,600 96.60 81.50 | 2,250 | 135.00 | 12.54 The two steers fed to three years old cost each $168.30, or 7.48 cents per pound. They might bring this as extra Christmas cattle; but it is evident that they give a better, profit at 24 months. Their market price was then $10 per head more than they cost, and we have seen in the domestic market in England that such animals, or those some months younger, are preferred by critical customers. ENGLISH VIEW OF CosT OF BEEF. One of the most interesting questions relating to Ameri- can agriculture at the present moment, is the cost of pro- ducing beef for export. Sir J. B. Lawes, probably the best scientific and practical authority in England upon questions relating te meat production, read an elaborate paper before the East Berwickshire Agricultural Associa- tion, in 1879, a large part of which was devoted to the cost of food in the production of beef. This was incidental to showing the cost of manure made from cattle upon British farms. He made a very liberal allowance for the value of the manure resulting from the consumption of this food, and then made the pertinent inquiry, whether the balance of the cost of the food, after deducting the value of the manure, is paid for by the increase in weight of the animal, COST OF BEEF. 263 2 rac 50 £o ‘S , SF P e | Ss D ry pS be oe ESCRIPTION. be eg SS a fe ois 3 So o oo mm a > > > Pe S a = ae Z n J Be eetnne 2 |g ANIMALS, 5 E 3 E = S n ° ~ al ee Bo = | } a, = = 5 2 3 = = [o) — 3 ° a aio | & = Z Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. | Ibs. Ibs. i) (Oxen at-restiinustall.: 2255 <2d5essei.<,.)- V5) Oil SB -OC Ost: | e858.) ebis ele 2. Oxen moderately worked............ B40) | 1.6.) d2.3) 80280) [1d 220. a iieo 3. Oxen heavily worked ....... ....... 96.0) |e ee4. 182 10.50) 116: 10 3620 4. Oxen fattening, Ist period ........... 27.0} 2.5 | 15.0 | 0.50 | 18.00 | 1:6.5 Oxen fattening, 2d period............ 26.0] 3.0 | 14.8 | 0.70 | 18.50 | 1:55 Oxen fattening, 8d period. . ....... 25.0 | 2.7 | 14.8 | 0.60 | 18.10 | 1: 6.0 De OOW San Mil ahi. wos anger aed orice 24.0} 25] 12.5 | 0.40 | 15.40 | 1:5.4 6. Growing Cattle: Age. Average Live Weight Months. Per Head. 2to 3 150: pounds'.~ 2:.22.: 29 0h 4. 0419288220 4958 decay 3 to 6 300 pounds.... .... 23.4.) 3,2) 18% 1 2.00% Tree 1s G.0 6 to 12 500 pounds......... 24-0) |) 2255) 13-5. | 6.6 16.6 1:6.0 12 to 18 700 pounds........- 24.0) 2.0} 18.0) 0:4 | 15.4, 0157.0 18 to 24 S50 pounds: 5.225. 24 :0.| “1.61 13:0"| 033° '| 18.9, T2S0 Per Day and Per Head. Growing Cattle : Age. Average Live Weight Months. Per Head. 2to 3 150 pounds......... 35310200}, 2.2 | 0.205|) Biome aig 3 to 6 300 pounds......... 7.0) 1.0] 4.1 | 0.30} 5.40} 1:5.0 6 to 12 500 pounds......... 12.0] 1.38] 6.8 | 0.30] 8.40 | 1:6.0 12 to 18 700 pounds......... 16.8 | 1.4{ 9.1 | 0.28 | 10.78 | 1: 7.0 18 to 24 850 pounds......... 20.4} 1.4 | 19.3 | 0.26 | 11.96 | 1:8.0 Dr. Wolff gives an illustration of the standard for a milch cow, by saying that 30 Ibs. of young clover-hay will keep a cow in good milk; and that this contains of dry organic substance 23 lbs., of which is digestible—albumi- noids 3.21, carbo-hydrates 11.28, and fat 0.63, This is .71 lbs. albuminoids more, and .22 lbs. of carbo-hydrates less, with .13 lbs. of fat more, than the standard. Then he takes the richest and best meadow-hay, of which 30 lbs. contains of organic substance 23.2 lbs., having digestible— 294 FEEDING ANIMALS. albuminoids 2.49 lbs., carbo-hydrates 12.75 Ibs., and fat .42 Ibs. This is almost exactly the feeding standard. But to show how a ration for milk cows may be compounded of poorer hay, oat-straw, roots, and grain, he gives the following: RATION FOR MILcH Cows. g DIGESTIBLE. 5 7 wi Oe eer 2 RATIONS. Qua 3 =| oO uo) 3 =| a) a0 —_ a 5 S| } =) a : ee eae A < Cy Pe lbs Ibs. Ibs Ibs. 12 pounds average meadow hay ........ escecesees 9.5 0.65 4.92 0.12 6 pounds oat straw...... ..... a0 thisee’ aaa cnet aces hae 0.08 2.40 0.04 20 pounds mangolds .......... dese ah ab bwdeoege swat ie peer 0.22 2 00 0.02 25 pounds brewers’ grain ..... .... Se ethan dee See 5.6 1.20 2.81 0.30 a pounds cotton-seed CARO osc cseevenkve ee ssc cee 0.66 0.85 | 0.12 23.8 2.81 12.48 0.60 SUNG ARG eres iriereinelnine einen 6 eis dig =ASoche casbe BEANS 24.0 2.50 | 12.50 0.40 Prof. 8. W. Johnson gives the following rations, calcu- lated from the table: 20 pounds cured corn-fodder........-...eeeeeeeees 13.7 0.64 8.68 0.20 5 pounds rye Straw ........cecee-cneees Brad oieie ka 4.1 0.04 1.82 0.02 6 pounds! Malt SPrOUtS) ik. ic cecwacicdecacsncacesecs 5.0 1.25 2.62 0.05 2 pounds cotton-seed meal ......... erececccccses-| 1.6 0.66 0.35 0.12 24.4 2.59 | 13.47 0.39 Standard. ..... a\o winch 6) wai (aid/b) lelnle(als\ela'e’eiajeia(e pibie winter 24.0 2.50 12.50 0.40 Or, again: 15 pounds corn-fodder ..... Shek Tuiala's Sed nea nntee Rolle eee 0.16 5.55 0.04 5 pounds Dran . ....200..sccsse ce a Wiarc'a'seuide senna 4.1 0 59 2.21 0.15 > ReoGnGs OA APLOUtA . .¢'aqanues de ok epee eateas eer 4.1 1,04 2.19 0.08 3 pounds corn-meal ............0.2 ree Tass 25 0.25 1,82 0.14 _ & pounds cotton-seed meal .,,..... vivpin’ ikkawae say nees 0.66 0.35 0 12 24.4 2.70 | 12.12 0.53 CATTLE RATIONS. 295 A practical ration we have used to feed 40 steers, weigh- ing an average of 900 lbs., and gaining 2?2 lbs. per head, per day, is the following: g DIGESTIBLE. E RaTIONs. Qu S = | ) cs a S = ep de aq 8 } 5 2 : e = e S a > 5 zo = = Oat ° | = S > 5 2 ve = —_ = oe ~ A 25.40 quarts. PARES et POT ange oo er ea ele eee ee eee 26.10 Si PRT oe Ret Sais Oth it 9%, nlayes acon atcela a ibe we 30.00 a PUES aS ASS Tes PEE SEs doc tables bee bb's 23.65 o Villeroy’s experiments resulted as follows: Proulanders 3 yong Ses shee pga 28.92 quarts per 100 lbs. hay. PRON ROREEINISS goo estos Stein aes #\a a. tore 27.45 ef He 4 DOGGONE. oars 4 edemcelag acid: 19.13 ee ‘s ¥ FRET OROEUS oases sacks a 15.97 = ne eS DENYSE rastoe LG ere Sar de a se coe = 26.35 # cs t RIPE etal < sie Ciaitale « 2 1G) aes = e These experiments all seem to tell the same story. The Jerseys are the smallest, and peculiarly a milking breed ; but they produced less, per a given quantity of food, than either of the larger milking breeds. We should put the Hollanders against the Jerseys as a fair test, because both have been bred for a long period expressly as milk yielders, and they both have a high reputation in that specialty. We will now give the German mode of feeding in Dr. Rhode’s Mitk RATION, AT ELDENA, in Pomerania. This is one of the most celebrated agricul- tural schools in Prussia. He details those experiments in his chapter “On the Breeds of Cattle in the Kingdom of Holland.” We do not propose to go into the characteristics of the breeds he describes, but merely to consider the ration, and the result upon large and small cows. 326 FEEDING ANIMALS. : u =) - = $ w) a s > b. a FF ke Cows. £8 te = ae sj o oo Ez ES oem eS ° ° AO eee 2 8 Sp @ 2, y & = [=| ~ 7 : ( x ~ # | 82] 82] #2182 | 2 1g H > ' = o S a oe | B 1 & -_— ————___ | | —— | —— Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. | days. Ibs. | Ibs. i a Ns Sa ded rhe July 28} 30% 1,064 1,148 25 5% 203—5,202 84 Ae Ne GaSe Aug.25| 46% 1,120 1,260 41 189—7,749 140 ha sac een July 28} 46% 952 1,120 3834 217-8354 168 Giice Wa petcs Mone: Sept. 8} 41 1,176 1,204 3846 17%5--6,725 28 (Ger acta, ae rs) o Po i) : oS = i=") os So § Ta| é Mo} fo} lol ard (>) [°) rs RS a7 = aes z & ° = a o om ° i) OD = Be = = a a} a 5 a > < a ro! & < ——. |§ —————<—S-s|-_d— ————————__ |! —_ Meadow hay..| 56| 10,696 |$17.76] $84.90} 9,420} 990| 4,257] 287] 2,933] 953 Rape cake ...| 30} 5,740} 28.80) 73.67) 5,456 / 1,803 | 2,177} 611 494} 171 Malt combs... 9| 1,722 | 24.20) 18.46) 1,660] 411 791 51 320 88 Branwur cess! 9} 1,722! 28.86; 22.20) 1,500} 246 800 96 258} 100 Bean-meal.... 9} 1,722] 41.48} 31.90! 1,500) 464 V7 34 176 53 Roots and cab- Daves! Vacs 204] 33,032 | 2 22) 38.88) 5,740] 862) 3,074 115! 1,448) 541 Oat straw..... 50} 9,566] 7.77| 33.08} 8,407] 27] 3,066 100 | 4,526] 428 Bean straw...| 12} 2,296] 7.77| 8.00) 1.964| 376 725 51 594] 217 TOCA. .t 379| 72,496 |...... $311 09) 35,647 | 5,439 | 15,664 | 1,345 | 15,664 | 2,551 Here the cost of the food was $311.09, or 27 cts. per day for each cow—a pretty large price for keeping—but the milk (16,000 quarts), at two pence (3.7 cts.) per quart, amounted to $592, leaving the handsome margin of $281, or $46.83 per cow. We may consider this a pretty high price for milk, but it is only equal to $1.44 per 100 lbs.—a price dairymen often reached at cheese factories with high prices. VALUE OF Cow MANURE. But one important consideration of profit which an English farmer never forgets, but which an American farmer often leaves out of his estimate of profit, is the manure. Mr. Horsfall sent to the laboratory of Prof. Way samples of the manure from these six cows, while the experiment was going on, for analysis. According to his analysis of several samples, these cows produced, during 191 days, the following amounts : Pounds. Cts. Value. Pings. Sa ae err ME Ss os OA Ci | Se $ 82.80 Phosphoric acid....... i.e eee Be |. eS ere 47.16 PAGE ete ccs sense 21s Nia ape ia wed. SRE Aa 46.80 346 _ FEEDING ANIMALS. This 1s equal to $29.49 per cow, and the estimate of value is that made for commercial fertilizers in our own markets. The experiment was conducted some twenty years ago, and Mr. Horsfall then figured the value at $17.28 per cow. We have figured it on the basis of prices laid down by Prof. 8. W. Johnson, of the Connecticut Experiment Station. It will be well for our farmers to look after the value of the home-made fertilizer; and as the experiment was carried out with care, we give it as forming a basis of calculation of manurial value when cows are full-fed, so as to gain in weight. Had they been scantily fed, the manure would have been of much less value. Here was abundance of food for respiration, or the production of animal heat, to supply the natural waste of the animal body, to produce an average of 35 lbs. of milk per day, and, besides, to increase the weight of the cow 84 lbs. in 2744 weeks. These six cows were fresh in milk, to show the effect of full feeding with full produc- tion; for it is much easier to add to the weight of the cow after she has been in milk six months than while in flush of production. This case will show clearly how he could buy strippers and greatly increase their yield of milk, while he added abont 8 to 10 Ibs. to their weight per week. As we have strongly illustrated in previous pages that there can be no production until after the food of support, and that the highest profit is only reached by the highest con- sumption of food, this practice of Prof. Horsfall is a valuable addition to evidence under that head. Foop OF PRODUCTION. As the author’s great object in writing this book is to give practical instruction that will assist the feeder, in any specialty, to increase his profits, let us, before leaving Mr. Horsfall’s experiments, show how these illustrate the pro- portion of the food of production to that of support. This is the most important point of all to be understood by the ie FOOD OF PRODUCTION. 347 feeder; that is, what part of a full ration is really used for pr idioiien or profit? We greatly need accurate and thorough experiments to determine this to an approximate fraction. There are many cases that throw light upon it. The German experimenters have undertaken to lay down the rule that 2 per cent. of the live weight of cattle of the dry substance of meadow hay is required as a daily ration of support, without gain. If this rule is taken, then, as Mr. Horsfall’s six cows averaged 1,078 lbs., it would require 21.74 lbs. of dry substance for the food of support. The averaged amount of dry substance eaten by each cow per day was 31.11 lbs., as appears by the table given on a pre- vious page. This would be nearly .7 (seven-tenths) required as the food of support, and a little over .3 (three-tenths) as the food of production; and yet these cows yielded 35 lbs. of milk per day, besides increasing in weight. This must be considered as a remarkable result. We have usually estimated two-thirds of a full ration as required for the food of support, and this rather more than sustains that estimate. Let us see if we can find the elements in % of the ration given by Mr. Llorsfall to produce the 35 lbs. of milk, or 40,512 Ibs. in 191 days, besides a gain in the weight of the cows of 500 Ibs. Mr. H. supposed that this gain in weight was composed of 300 lbs. of fat and 200 lbs. of lean flesh. This would give only 46 lbs. of dry flesh, or fibrin, and about 270 lbs. of solid fat. The 40,512 Ibs. of milk would contain the following substances: Casein (alburminoid). 022 .. c esas Lesko aiecc estes 1,815 Ibs. Pat: Oep beh iin cetera ONG ac 3} aro Seis g ein wares anes)» Lee .* MITE BOGRE 1c. co erat doce s CFO oh oo antowan d Oatas oes 1 1 ila Mineral: matter (aslo. |: Sins ob os bbnlanids elo d es 245° ‘* Water, Wt Dr CGM ncn. gas ms .c< kee ces acisk ss «sea | 40,512 If we add the fat and fibrin of 500 lbs. gain, it will stand— CASI SRG TTI. ese s «class co b.c's nies ccc pining siden vere 1,861 lbs. WRG RBEE PIMUUEE Ser wckide te eccnccevescceesussonssce 1,446 ‘‘ WOU BOGAR. sc dc cavencde nds cscs heenseesssaccccevese 1,932 ‘‘ 348 FEEDING ANIMALS. One-third of the elements of the food is— “of pepe GEES R4SIIGR IE. Sh ces ox ccc ea wae ee ams 1,813 Ibs. (% of 1. Sa | cat me rece ee hae Fe a eee 2 Starch (% of 15, GETS). wrtie's. seein ses acta wir ane 5,221 -** Here it will be seen that the oil in the food is not suffi- cient to supply the fat for the butter, and the increase in weight, even if none is consumed in the maintenance of the cow, as there is only 1,345 lbs. of fat in the whole food, and there is required, besides, maintenance, 1,446 for the milk and the gain in weight. This only shows that the oil contained in food is not sufficient to supply the necessi- ties of the animal, and that it must be derived from the carbo-hydrates of the food. The surplus starch over main- tenance amounts to 5,221 lbs.; and if we deduct the milk sugar, 1,932 lbs., from this, we shall have left 3.289 Ibs. If we deduct the 442 lbs. of fat over the maintenance ration from the 1,446 lbs. of. fat in the butter, and gain of the cows, it leaves a deficiency of 1,004 lbs., and if we estimate 214 lbs. of starch as equal to 1 Ib. of fat, it will take 2,510 lbs. of starch to produce this deficiency of fat; but this still leaves a surplus of 779 Ibs. of starch, so that the production of fat can be accounted for out of one-third of the food. The casein in one-third of the food, 48 lbs., is short of supplying the casein in the milk and fibrin in the increase of weight in the cows. But it may well be that the nitrogen in two-thirds of the food is more than the waste of the system requires, and the deficiency 1s but a trifle (8 lbs.) to each cow. It thus appears, on a careful examination, that one-third of a full ration 1s quite suffi- cient to furnish the elements in a large yield of milk, This ought to be an interesting illustration to all dairymen. These cows were fed very liberally, and produced a little over 35 lbs. of milk per day for 191 days, besides gaining in weight, and still two-thirds of the food was used as the mere ration of support—one-third only devoted to pro- RATIONS FOR MILK. 349 duction. This experiment was made by Prof. Horsfall, before the German experiments, determining the precise digestible constituents of food. Under the German formula, the amounts of albuminoids, carbo-hydrates, and oil represented as digestible would be considerably less, but the result would be the same. If dairymen once become fully convinced of the fact that two parts of all food goes to keep the cow alive, and only one part to pro- duction and profit, it must soon change the habit of scanty feeding, which means feeding without any hope of profit. . AMERICAN RATIONS FOR MILK. Our dairymen have a great variety of foods out of which to make up the milk ration. It is true that we cannot get bean-meal or rape-cake, two of the foods used by Prof. Horsfall—the former of which had a peculiar significance in his system of feeding, as he regarded it as an important agent in keeping up the condition of the cow under a large flow of milk, by its large percentage of muscle-forming matter—but we can replace this with decorticated cotton- seed meal, which is still richer than bean-meal in albu- minoid matter, besides having six times as much oil; or its place can be filled (in some parts of the country) with pea-meal, a food very similar, or it may be replaced with linseed oil-cake. We have not yet become accustomed to raising roots or cabbages for cattle feeding to any extent, and it may be doubted, whether, with our rates of labor, we can afford to raise turnips, beets, etc., instead of the ‘grain crops. Many close figures make the raising of an acre of Indian corn, oats and peas, millet or barley, cheaper than the same quantity of nutriment from roots. The effect of roots in the promotion of the health of the cow, by their cooling and relaxing effect upon the stomach and bowels, is often dwelt upon, and with good reason; but 350 FEEDING ANIMALS. the same effects may be produced by the use of 2 to 4 lbs. of oil-cake in combination with bran, or oats and corn ground together, and good hay. And the American dairyman now has, or may easily have, green succulent food, in the form of ensilage, to produce all this beneficial effect upon the stomach and digestive organs. A ration of equal nutritive power with Prof. Horsfall’s can be found here, at less cost. Take the following: Cost. 10 lbs. Clover-hay...... nal UR eg 5 pat Aes hah Oa aa to a 4.0 cents. in RUE Se SB Ceo he toa et WAL. reece beets Mande al pire | aise 4 - Litnepedt-oil alse. Bcc inet ethos 2% tae sealers Ge Orr he OSE OV Gb MEN RE GP cs ol oe tc ee eel eee oO Ss 2 ‘* Cotton-seed cake.............. baat Per tony een ORD ae Ach (eprmsineal i. Satter. Vier Oe Si ar 31 Oe as Average value of ration ............... 20.5 cents. This ration is fully equal to Mr. Horsfall’s, and yet costs only three-fourths as much, or the following: 16 dbs}. Meadow Nayes i decin walkers oat oid thet ee. 6.4 cents. Ah PEN TR Se a a SA aaa rove bee oe Damen 2 $34 Ggpmebd neal (07 o'7% ee eas S70 *..42 G3 08 OC ornrmebal ( . Sc.9sseccc cps tukadtevek men wabe ox ts) Meee 20.4 cents. Or this: Cost. AS Ts; AOOPIAPOUGED 450 sa-ac4 2s earee se us oie adage # 4.5 cents. 0% Wiese iernmme ct tase stone eeesk eeudes uae G.0%;,°4 ae 8 “ETE CNRS IMS 25 65 cic. n Sk alah bie Sucka cheer ae a ae we 4 YS NCorm-meal sore rede eh he Ga eR eek Weee AN A ea 18.5 cents. Or this: ; Cost. £5, Ths, Straw) '..85) | hay. aap dee sigweats ond tes cee 3.0 cents. Oi” GEER: . 503 2. ees, 1p ube bes cause Me eee A | 4.** Cotton-seed: meal’. Ji. . 224. FoR Ieee Ba) Os lhe tikes. IR aS fee SOR RN MN 0 Leer aeg one Se eee BY SOT UAMIOGN > A. o) tna ces Le ee Gis acOres fF, Malt. Sprowtsi's 5)-<033 6. uepe'danguerte~ Fira de o's Ss. ae 18.0 cents. — RATIONS FOR MILK. oa The following would be easily obtained in many districts: Cost. 10: Toss Cape rae ia koh. J iw ated otter came Gt wee 2.0 cents. TAD: 3 ie A MME PMMNIMRR tah Scie ca hve cece cris oe a a eats 7 | atte O11 Sidgeaiemies! et eh aoa 5,0... 4 Ba eg eM MINS OMEMSE 8 fase col uae jonni ap eG aia wane Oe ese | ty 1O° **?) Gab anereorn-ierl! 2404.0 f2.2508 . he 16,0. « 19.0 cents Or this: ’ Cost. bO-Wes: Corny ensilage:) oot. hee BO 71g cents. DR ir Ate aos ete ores og See A a eee or lis pe SF a i OME EMEOPEN rg ora Sere aes ian Sabha aes Seen rp, ails Bees tie RehENR eaters oa ta abs duly ang LR deiow cede odie bb hee Ors Or this: Cost. G0 “Ibs 10 lower. ensilaae toi 55s 2h ie ode she dade oh 9.0 cents. Be aay eae) ONT CEA LY tte ot erate ts oe er ore oe aes 13.0 cents Or this: Cost. Abs Core enetare 22. oo 2.sk At A. 5.0 cents. Ap:...**. Clover) ES Wisteea craltsaitesirscoc iia trate GOs 58 lai ad 2 iY Be page edn Beh ae ar a dprine iia Fan MBS” oro 14.0 cents. Or this: Cost. £0: Ves. Cormiensilages:,. 2) Wino o.. d TES. 5.0 cents. UR OL OS Se Se er a re 0. Owes" St SAR Coa een es, ke ee EAS 8 a Bi 17.0 cents. Any of these rations would produce a large flow of milk and fully keep up the condition of the cow, adding to her weight, if her live weight were not over 1,000 lbs. In many parts of the West the fifth ration would not cost more than ten cents per day. All these rations would also produce a good quality of butter in winter. The ensilage rations are the cheapest and would produce the largest flow of milk. 352 FEEDING ANIMALS. WATER FOR MiLcH Cows. All dairymen have observed that cows require a very large amount of water whilst in full milk. Prof. Horsfall made a comparison as to the water drunk by fattening cattle and milch cows of the same weight. He found that cows, when giving only 20 lbs. of milk per day, drank 40 Ibs. of water more than fattening cattle of the same weight, and he inferred from this that the cows gave off from the lungs and the pores of the skin over 20 lbs. of water per day more than fattening cattle of the same weight, since the water contained in the milk yielded was only about 1744 lbs., whilst the cow consumed 40 lbs. of extra water. On examining the manure from cows and fattening cattle, he found the amount of moisture the same in both cases. This is an ‘interesting comparative experiment of the capacity for water drinking in the fattening animal and milch cow, whether we accept the theory of its use or not. The experiments have not been numerous and exact enough to determine the precise method of the expenditure of all the water ; but the large capacity and necessity for water in the milch cow is abundantly proved; yet it may be worth while to mention the experiments of M. Dancel, reported to the French Academy of Sciences. His experi- ments were to determine the effect of quantity of water upon quantity and quality of milk. He says that by in- ducing cows to drink more water, the quantity of milk yielded by them can be increased in proportion up to many quarts per day, without perceptibly injuring its quality. The amount of milk, he states, is proportional to the quantity of water drunk. In experimenting upon cows fed in stall with dry fodder that gave only 9 to 12 quarts of milk per day, but when this dry food was moistened with from 18 to 23 quarts of water daily, their yield was then from 12 to 14 quarts of milk per day. Besides this WATER FOR COWS. 353 water taken with the food, the cows were allowed to drink the same as before, and their thirst was excited by adding a little salt to the fodder. The milk produced under this additional amount of water, on analysis, was pronounced of good quality; and when tested for butter, was found satisfactory. A definite amount of water could not be fixed upon for each cow, since the appetite for drink differs widely in different animals. He found, by a series of observations, that the quantity of water habitually drunk by each cow during twenty-four hours was a criterion to Judge of the quantity of milk that she would yield per day. And a cow that does not habitually drink as much as 27 quarts of water daily must be a poor milker—giving only from 5% to 7 quarts per day. But all the cows which con- sumed as much as 50 quarts of water daily were excellent milkers—giving from 18 to 23 quarts of milk daily. He gives a confident opinion that the quantity of water drunk by a cow is an important test of her value as a milker. These experiments, although they may not be quite sufficient to induce confidence in M. Dancel’s rule, yet it is certain that abundance of pure water is an absolute necessity to be provided by a successful dairyman.’ As water permeates every part of the-system of the cow, its purity is of the first consideration. The quality of the water effects the health of the cow and the healthfulness of her milk. The impurities of stagnant water, in the form of organic germs, pass in a dormant state into the circulation of the blood, and thence into the secretions of milk ; and so powerful are these taints that it is not unfre- quently, at cheese factories, that the milk of one cow spoils a large vat of milk. So important is the quality of water for the cow, that it is none too severe a test to Say that no water is fit for a milch cow that is not fit also for man to drink. Water should also be easy of access, both in winter and summer. In winter it should either be 3d4 FEEDING ANIMALS. given them where they stand in the stall, or near by, so guarded that they may drink unmolested. In summer, if possible, water should be furnished in each pasture field. Cows should not be required to travel for it, because they will not do this on a hot day, unless very thirsty, and consequently they will not drink as much as a large yield of milk requires. When a farm affords a small, running stream, this should be conducted into every pasture field, if practicable, or every pasture should be connected with the stream. Or, where a spring is located upon an elevated part of the farm, the water from it should be carried in pipes to each pasture field, and caused to run into troughs which are always kept full. And, where water can be had by sinking wells, these should be fur- *nished in each field, and the water pumped by wind or hand, so as to give the cows free access to water at all times. The cost of sinking these wells will often be repaid in a single season. Some dairymen are content to drive their cows to water, even in summer, only once per day. But such dairymen are destined to constant disappoint- ment in the profits of the dairy. To induce cows to drink often, some of the most suc- cessful dairymen, where water was pumped by hand into large troughs, put from % to 1 lb. per cow of oil-meal into the water-trough daily, with % oz. of salt, and, stirring this well in the water, gives it a taste so much relished by the cows that they come often and sip a few quarts. By this means they were not only induced to drink much water, but the small amount of oil-meal assisted in in- creasing the yield of milk. Bran or middling may be used . instead ; and we can assure every dairyman that the cows will return this liberality, with compound interest, in milk. We have, perhaps, elsewhere, sufficiently urged the im- portance of giving cows, in winter, water of moderate temperature. It is doing violence to the system of the WATER FOR COWS. Son cow to require her to drink large quantities of ice-cold water, and warm this in her stomach, producing a chill of the whole system. Such a method of watering must be unsuccessful in winter dairying, for this cold water retards’ digestion, When given in large quantity. It can only safely be given in one or two gallons at a time, and this would entail more expense than furnishing water at a temperature of 60 degrees. When cows are kept in a warm stable, and water can be brought to the stable from a spring, in pipes laid below frost, it may be run into a trough within reach of the cows, the surplus running off; or water may be furnished from a large reservoir, which will stand con- stantly at about 60 degrees. There are many ways in which water at moderate temperature may be furnished to cows in winter. PastuRInG Datry Cows. As this is the almost universal method of keeping dairy cows in summer, it becomes important to discuss the most economical use of pasturage. Our readers will hardly be at a loss to know what we mean by economy. Economy re- quires the dairyman to get the largest production from each acre of his pasture, and this can be done by keeping only so many cows as his pastures will yield full rations to. Overstocking can result only in a lessened production. VARIETY OF GRASSES. In laying down pastures for dairy cows great care should be exercised in selecting the seed of a large number of grasses. ‘T'his is important; first, because the land will produce a much larger yield of food from a large number of different grasses which completely occupy the soil, than from two or three that leave spaces unoccupied ; and, sec- ondly, and still more important, because animals require variety in their food, and especially the milch cow, that 356 FEEDING ANIMALS, yields so abundant and complex a product in her milk. Milk contains all the elements of the living animal body in solution. The cow must, therefore, have a great variety, or complex food, out of which to elaborate this production. The dairyman cannot give this too much consideration. Many of our natural pastures contain from thirty to sixty species of grasses ; and when good cows are fed upon such pastures they are noted for the high quality of their milk and butter and cheese. Some of these wild grasses are classed as weeds by farmers when they come into their grain-fields, but they are highly relished by cattle in their succulent state. All of these wild grasses cannot be sown in pasture; but they will frequently maintain a foothold with the cultivated grasses sown. It is well known that dairy products do not have that extra fine flavor when pro- duced on a pasture of timothy and clover alone; and, therefore, permanent pastures have been much advocated. But American farmers have not been so careful in selecting a variety of the cultivated grasses as they might have been. It is quite unusual for our dairy farmers to sow on pastures more than timothy (Phlewm pratense) and red clover (Tri- folium pratense), occasionally adding June grass (Poa pra- tensis), or orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), or white clover (Trifoliwm repens), and in very exceptional cases all of them. If this list were generally used, it would greatly improve the pastures of the whole country ; but this mea- gre list should be enlarged by those who desire the great advantages of variety in the food of their cows, and are endeavoring to establish permanent pastures. It is true that red clover is usually a biennial, and will not last long, yet will be of much service in the beginning; but there is a perennial variety of red clover (Zr ifoliwm pratense pe- renne), and is found in almost every field of clover. That enthusiastic botanist, the late John Stanton Gould, says of the perennial : 16 PASTURE GRASSES. 357 “It may be distinguished, in general, at a glance, by its deeper, bluish-green color, the greater narrowness of the leaves, its more straggling, and the greater number, greater length and greater stiffness of its hairs. The root of this variety differs considerably from the biennial kind; it is somewhat creeping and fibrous, whereas the biennial has an almost spindle-shaped root, with less fibres. The root is the best test in doubtful cases.” Mr. Sinclair says this variety is found in great abundance in Lincolnshire, England, and that it flourishes better on clayey or peaty soils than the biennial. This perennial clover-seed cannot now be found in the market ; but a lit- tle attention of cultivators might soon furnish the seed, which would be a great gain to pastures. White clover is apt to come of itself on lands suited to it; but it would be well to sow two or three pounds of the seed per acre. Red-top, or herds grass (Agrostis vulgaris), should never be omitted where the land is moist, for it is a constant resource in pastures, as it grows equally throughout the season. It starts much sooner after cropping or cutting than timothy. It has thick, interlacing roots, and on wet lands it consolidates and toughens the sward, making such a firm matting that the feet of cattle do not easily break it. It has a high reputation among dairymen as producing a large amount of food and improving the flavor of the butter. Of the Poas, Kentucky plue-grass, or June-grass, stands at the head, and is too well known to require any descrip- tion or commendation; but wire grass, also called blue- grass (Poa compressa), which is found indigenous in many localities, is not so well understood, and requires some attention. ‘This is in meadows often considered a nui- sance, because it holds its footing so strongly as to run out other grasses, and produces a small bulk of hay, but very heavy for its bulk. It is one of the most nutritious grasses 358 FEEDING ANIMALS. in our whole list. It starts early in spring, and keeps green and succulent even after the seed is ripe. We think it very valuable as a pasture grass. Mr. Gould mentions that it did not form a close turf with him ; but, with us, no grass forms a closer and tougher sod. It seems to be less affected by drouth or wet than many other grasses, and cows yield well when supplied with it in pasture or stall. It is so nutritious, when cut in season and properly cured as hay, that cows will yield more milk upon it than any other hay we have tried; and horses will work upon it as well as upon timothy, with a moderate feed of oats. It should have a place in all pastures where the natural grasses flourish. Sweet-scented vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) should not be forgotten in the list of pasture grasses for milch cows. It starts very early in spring and flowers in May. Its odor in blossom seems to be too strong for the taste of cattle when grown alone; but, if mixed with other grasses in pasture or in hay, it is eaten with a relish, and is thought to give a fine flavor to milk. It does not produce a large weight of hay; but its odor and flavor and early growth in spring will warrant the use of about two pounds of seed to the acre. American dairy farmers have given quite too little atten- tion to keeping up the condition of their pastures. Since the system of pasturing is almost universally followed, and the principal income from their dairy herds depends upon the supply and condition of food there furnished, the most imperative necessity demands that they study the means of improving them. Meadows are often considered worthy of attention and fertilization ; but pastures are not thought to need such attention, because cattle leave their droppings — upon them; yet it must be remembered that the milch cow carries off from the pasture—never to return—the fertiliz- ing matter in her milk. The cow that yields 6,000 pounds of milk will carry off about 40 pounds of ammonia and 40 FERTILIZING PASTURES. 359 pounds of mineral matter. And it is easy to see that past- uring for a long series of years must gradually carry off the fertility of the soil. It is, therefore, necessary that there should be some provision for fertilizing permanent pastures used for the production of milk. ExtTrA Foop To FERTILIZE PASTURES. We think one of the best methods of keeping up the fer- tility of cow-pastures is to give the cows extra food during the pasturing season. ‘This extra food will be repaid in extra milk every week, and so enrich the droppings as to fully compensate the pasture for all the grazing. This extra food can be given at such times as the condition of the pasture requires to give the cows full rations. Under this system a few more cows may be kept than the pasture is sufficient to furnish food for; and thus the pasture will be cropped evenly over the whole field, and the grass all economized. While the grass furnishes abundance of food, it will not be necessary to add the ration. This extra food will come in to keep up a proper balance between the requirements of the cows and the condition of the pasture. This extra food may all be given in green clover, rye or other green food grown upon other fields, or fed to the cows in racks arranged in the pasture, or in stable, with the manure distributed over the pasture as a top-dressing; or this extra food may be given in bran, corn-meal, linseed-oil meal, cotton-seed meal, barley sprouts, or other grain food. Some think it quite as economical to use one or more of these extra foods during the period before green corn, mil- let, peas and oats, etc., can be sufficiently matured for this purpose. They reason in this way: If the extra milk will fully pay for these foods, then it is better to use them, because this extra fertilizing matter is brought to the land, instead of being taken from it. Hundreds of experiments have shown that good cows will yield more than extra milk 360 FEEDING ANIMALS. enough to pay for these extra foods. Poor cows will not respond so much to extra feeding, and will not, in fact, pay a profit under any system of feeding; they are not, there- fore, to be considered in this statement. Peas and oats, grown together, just when the peas are past the blossom, make an excellent extra food to make up for deficiency of pastures. | Sweet corn—early and late varieties—is most excellent food for the production of milk. The early varieties will come on the latter part of July, and give the cows a much- relished food. Stowell’s evergreen is an excellent late variety which may be fed through September and October, and even later. This corn, to be fed green, should be cultivated in the same manner as when intended for market. Thick sowing is now quite abandoned by the most careful feeders. It should be planted in drills at least 32 inches apart, and cul- tivated two or more times, according to the condition of the soil. Sweet corn for such feeding is altogether to be preferred to common field corn, because of its remaining succulent so much longer, and also because it contains much more sugar and less starch. The sugar is more easily digested and assimilated, and makes better flavored milk. It is intended to allow the sweet corn to mature to nearly the same stage as when it is sent to market for culinary use. It is in the best condition for feeding after being run through a straw cutter; but cows will eat it greedily with- out cutting. Sweet corn has a larger percentage of albu- minoids than common corn, This corn is also excellent to feed with late cuttings of clover, and with green peas and oats. If the dairyman will prepare the land, and put in one acre to each five cows in his herd with sweet corn, peas and oats, or millet, to be fed at the proper season, he will not only get the best yield from his cows, but keep up the fertility of his pastures. FEEDING HORSES, 36] CHAPTER X. HORSES. WE will now give our attention to another greet class of farm stock, that which furnishes the motive power upon the farm and in the cities—horses. We must here also first discuss the wants of the young animal, as the proper management of the young is the first requisite to success. It is not within our province to discuss the question of breeding, but must take the animals as we find them and make the most of their capa- bilities. Much improvement of the constitution and vital forces of animals may be made by breeding; but as the finest pattern of boiler and engine are useless without fuel to make steam, so the finest animal forms are quite unprofitable without skillful feeding to develop and round out all their proportions. The horse is kept for his muscle, and his food must be such as to develop the frame and muscular system. The feeder must have a clear idea of the purpose for which an animal is reared, and a comprehension of the office per- formed by the food. The food should present the precise elements in the proper proportion required for the uses of the animal. Animals kept for the production of flesh as food, can use a larger proportion of carbonaceous elements than those valuable only for muscle. Indian corn is the great crop of the West, and is the best type of fattening food, and has abundant use in the production of beef, mutton and pork. It may also properly form a part of the food 362 FEEDING ANIMALS. of horses, and even for colts, but to the latter must be fed very sparingly. Bear in mind, it is chiefly the muscle and the finest quality of springy bone that requires development in the Cott. As we are now studying the proper development of the colt, let us see what Nature provides for its early growth. Tt will be seen from the analysis of the mare’s milk, which we gave on page 138, that the casein, or muscle-forming element, is 3.40 per cent., butter 2.50, milk sugar 3.52, ash 53 per cent., and water 90.05 per cent. The mare’s milk contains a larger percentage of water than cow’s milk, but the relative proportion of the food elements is nearly the same. There is 9.95 per cent. of dry matter (food) in mare’s milk, and of this the food of respiration and fat | production (butter and milk sugar) amount to 6.02 per cent., so the casein amounts to 3.40 per cent., or more than one-third of the whole. This gives a little more than one of nitrogenous to two of carbonaceous elements. The colt thus receives food, in the mother’s milk, in the proportion of one of nitrogenous (muscle-forming) to 1.92 of carbonaceous elements. ‘This tells us, in the strongest possible language, that the colt requires food rich in muscle-forming elements, and that it is a great mistake to use food rich in starch, such as corn, or even barley, for the young colt. For four to six months the colt takes its natural food— the milk of the dam. If this is in liberal supply, the colt will be sufficiently nourished with the addition of the grass it will get in pasture. But care must be taken to ascertain whether the dam gives sufficient milk to produce a strong growth. Scanty nourishment at this period is often fatal to full development afterward. The whole system of the young animal is plastic in the hands of the skillful feeder. MILK RATION FOR COLT, 363 Full rations of appropriate food will give it the habit of strong and rapid growth, which is easily continued after weaning; but, on the other hand, deficient nourishment will not only contract its present growth, but also contract its powers of digestion so as to incapacitate it for using sufficient food to give full growth after weaning. The vigorous growth of a colt while young is too important to be neglected on any pretext, such as that “whip-cord muscle and solid bone must be grown very slowly that the fibres may become perfect,” etc. There is a vast amount . of such humbug afloat.” Slow growth presupposes scanty food; does insufficient nutrition produce the most perfect development ? Taking a lesson from tree growth: How does the fibre of the slow-growing, large, forest hickory compare with that of the rapid, open field, second-growth hickory—the grain of the latter being twice or thrice the thickness of the former? Will the expert, who wants an ax-helve or spokes for a trotting sulky, choose the slow- growing hickory in preference to the rapid second-growth? The same rule will hold between two colts, the one scantily and the other abundantly fed. But as in this case of the rapidly-growing hickory, we wish it seasoned to give us the full force of its springy fibre; so likewise the rapidly- growing colt must have a time of seasoning to perfect, by temperate use and intelligent training, its wonderful power of muscular endurance. It seems this foolish prejudice against good feeding for colts has arisen from the fact that high feeding and fattening have been considered synony- mous. Such food as would produce fat rather than muscle cannot be too strongly condemned. MixLK RATION FOR COLT. If the dam yields too little milk to produce vigorous growth in the colt, it should be increased by food of as nearly the same composition as may be. This is nearly 364 . FEEDING ANIMALS, always at hand in cow’s milk. A little practice will soon teach the young colt to take cow’s milk with a relish. New milk may be given at first, but soon replaced with skim- milk, which, possessing so large a proportion of casein, or muscle-forming food, and phosphate of lime, is exactly adapted to the growth of muscle and bone. ‘This is also so cheap that vigorous growth may be kept up at very small cost. For colts one or two months old, one quart of milk given morning and evening will be sufficient. It may _ be sweetened a little at first to render it more palatable. Colts, like children, are fond of sweets; but sugar should only be added as a temptation in teaching them to eat, for it is a fattening food and improper to be given as a diet. This use of cow’s milk in growing colts is not a mere theory with the author, he has tested it in many in- stances, and found it admirably adapted to the purpose. He remembers two colts that were fed a little skim-milk after two months old till weaned, and then continued in larger quantity after weaning and through the first winter. They were given from four to six quarts of milk each, per day, with hay and one quart of oats, till one year old. These colts grew very steadily, developing all parts of the body evenly, and made horses 100 lbs. heavier than either sire or dam. They were much inclined to exercise, and test comparative speed, at all periods during growth, and more muscular horses, of their inches, are seldom seen. We once purchased some colts six months old, of a good breed, that had been kept on insufficient food, and not properly developed for that age. To make amends for this want of care and food, four quarts of skim-milk was given to each colt for one month and then increased to six quarts, which ration, with two quarts of oats per day, was continued for six months, or till one year old. This pro- duced a development which no grain ration could have done. The advantage of the milk ration over a like amount RATION FOR COLT. 365 of food, containing the same elements, in another form, is, that the food in the milk is in solution and very easily digested. Stress is laid upon this milk feeding for colts, first, because it is a most appropriate food; secondly, because in large portions of the country skim-milk can be had cheap, and it may be thus turned to the best account, for horse-flesh is more valuable than that of other animals. If milk is not easily obtained, then the colt may be fed a pint of oats twice a day, in addition to the milk of its dam, if that is too small in quantity. Before the colt is weaned, it is well to teach it to eat a little linseed-meal with its oats. When deprived of the dam’s milk this linseed-meal will prevent constipation and furnish a large proportion of muscle-forming food as well as bone material. About one pint of linseed-meal per day will be sufficient. Another food, which we have used very profitably for the young colt, is linseed or flax-seed. A half-pint of flax- seed boiled in four quarts of water, and then two quarts of bran or oatmeal boiled with it, makes an excellent day’s ration for a colt eight months old, given in two parts— the oil and the albuminoids seem to be in just the right proportion. We have found this ration of flax-seed and oatmeal gruel the best preventative of relaxation or consti- pation of the bowels, both in the colt and the calf. If the colt is in good condition, half the quantity here mentioned is sufficient. The small quantity of oil seems to be very soothing to the alimentary canal, and it gives a smooth, glossy coat. Foop FOR THE DAM. The condition and health of the dam has much to do with the health of the colt. Great care should be taken that the dam does not heat her blood, and thus affect the healthfulness of her milk. The milk secretions are very sympathetic with all nervous excitements. This has often 366 FEEDING ANIMALS. been tested in the milk of the cow. The chemical compo- sition of the milk has been largely changed in its propor- tions by a little worry and excitement, such as rapid driy- ing, or being worried by adog. There is no objection to light work for the dam after the foal is two weeks old; but this should be such work as she can do without worry or too much fatigue. The foal should early be accustomed to being left in a loose box or stable. That the dam may be able to furnish a generous supply of milk to the foal, she must have a liberal supply of food herself. It must be re- membered, that the dam requires food for the support of two lives, and that, if she is required to do light labor in addition, she must have a ration in proportion. We have seen, from the composition of the mare’s milk (page 138), that it is rich in albuminoids, and, therefore, her food must be rich in albuminous elements. Pasture grasses, when a few inches high, contain a much larger percentage of albu- minoids than when in the mature state. This accounts for the large yield of milk by cows, and the rapid laying-on of flesh by steers, when feeding upon such vigorously-growing young grass. Clover, before blossom, is also a most excel- lent food for the dam and for the colt. But the dam should also have a small grain ration, even upon good pas- ture, when she is required to perform labor. Good wheat bran is a very appropriate extra ration for the dam, because it contains from 12 to 16 per cent. of albuminous food; but oats are equally rich in nitrogen, and are always proper food for the brood mare. If the dam is being fed upon hay, then she should have a daily bran mash, with one pint of oil-meal added—such sloppy food will increase the secretion of milk when upon dry fodder. ‘The new process linseed-meal will be found profitable food for the dam in small quantity, say one to two pounds per day. It is more important if the dam is on dry food. The dam, during this period, should be treated with great kindness and gen- WEIGHT AND GROWTH OF FOALS. 367 t'eness, avoiding all excitement. If the foal is allowed occasionally to go to the field with the dam while at work, and also on the road, for very short drives, it will familiar- ize it with such objects as will surround it afterwards, and it will thus be made more fearless. The colt should be handled almost daily while with the dam, and made familiar with men. Great care should be taken to avoid frightening it. It should be taught to regard man as its greatest friend, from whom it may always expect a pleasant caress, or something agreeable to eat. This is not only important in reference to its future temper and usefulness, but vastly important to its rapid growth. Animals do not thrive under excitement and irritation. There is no place for a passionate man among young ani- mals, and not avery profitable place for him anywhere. We often hear of very different results from the same food, upon animals of the same age and class; but our experi- ence has proved that this is caused in more cases by the feeder than the animal. If, then, the colt-raiser desires to produce the greatest result with the least food, he must accompany the food with the kindest and most pleasant treatment. WEIGHT AND GROWTH OF FOALS. The rate of growth in foals, and the food required to make a pound growth, have not been much studied. In- deed, we are aware of but one published experiment as to the weight and growth of foals, besides the one made by the author. Some years since he weighed three foals at birth; the dam of No. 1 weighing 1,000 lbs.; of No. 2, 1,025 lbs., and of No. 3, 950 lbs. The sire (a good general purpose horse) weighed 1,120 lbs. The following table will show the weight and growth of these foals for two separate periods, as well as those in the experiments of Boussingault: 368 FEEDING ANIMALS. re : a 5 Sa, | 83. ae en ot o ey ee or Q Names. aed ae geo | 2. aes | 28 ont ani) Po ce ea ale Lees oe) OS 2. E os oR 508 5 E sia ee 5 Ibs lbs Ibs. Ibs lbs lbs NOM illysis aces ces 108 280 172 1.91 400 2.00 INO 2, COME |S ce ar oraree 116 301 , 185 2.05 410 1.81 INOS, ELLY ccie cade ecice 111 310 199 2.21 890 1.33 BoussiNGAvULt. at 87 days at 152 days NoMEilly tS. ce Te 110 294 184 Dak 4 5], eee aes «alec NORA oe eaiseeew aes 113 286 172 1.9 358 1.10 Wiad. C5 > So cattee 113 354 241 JA (ees I Pee Sone a at 169 days INO ey es So bere 110 295 185 .| 2.05 396 1.10 at 128 days at 179 days INO.15; Colt... c24 idoetsises 110 337 227 1.8 490 1.4 The first four in Boussingault’s experiment were weaned at 87 days, and No. 5 at 128 days. ‘The second period was after weaning, and the gain was much slower. The mean increase of his foals during the period of suckling was 2.11 Ibs. per day. Our three foals had only the milk of the dams during 90 days, and the average gain per day was 2.06 lbs. The next 60 days they each had one pint of oats per day, in addition to milk of dam, and the average gain per day was 1.71 lbs. Had the extra feed been one quart, they would probably have gained as fast as during the first 90 days. The colt, however, is no exception to other ani- mals, in that the increase is more rapid, on the same food, while under three or four months old than afterward. We continued the experiment by noting the gain in weight of our three colts for 180 days longer, weighing the food given, so as to determine the cost in food of each pound of live weight. Each colt had two quarts of skim- milk, commencing on the 16th of November, given with oat-meal at the time of weaning, and continuing for 30 days. The average ration per day for the whole 180 days, from the 16th of November to the 15th of May, exclusive of milk, consisted of 22 lbs. of clover hay, 6 lbs. of oat- meal, 3 lbs. of wheat bran, and 2 lbs. of oil-meal, for the three, making a daily allowance per head of 11 lbs. of this GROWTH OF FOALS. 369 mixed food. The weight of each on the 15th day of May, was, No. 1, 634 lbs., a gain of 1.3 Ibs. per day; No. 2, 616 Ibs., a gain of 1.14 lbs. per day; No. 3, 630 lbs., a gain of 1.33 lbs. per day; being an average gain of 1.26 lbs. per head per day, during the cold season, on 11 Ibs. of mixed food. This gives a pound live weight for 8.72 lbs., of mixed food. European feeders are much accustomed to estimate all foods on the basis of hay; thus the 11 lbs. of oats and other grain would be equal to 17 lbs. of hay, making the whole ration equal to 39 lbs. for the three colts, or 13 Ibs. per head. This would make a pound gain in live weight cost 10.31 Ibs. of hay. Boussingault mentions that he tested the quantity of provender consumed by foals in full growth by taking Nos. 2, 4 and 5 when their united weight was 1,106 lbs., or their average weight 368.6 lbs., and found that they consumed 19.8 lbs. of hay and 7 Ibs. of oats, which he calls equal to 11 lbs. of hay—all equal to 30.8 lbs. of hay, or 10.26 Ibs. each. On this they made an average gain of 1.2 lbs. per day. ‘This was doing slightly better than our three colts; but he does not state how long this experiment continued, - and we are left to infer that it was not long. Both of these cases show that the colt utilizes his food as well, and adds a pound live weight from about the same food as the calf. If we take the united weight (1,200 lbs.) of our three colts on the 16th of November, and their united weight (1,880 Ibs.) on the 15th of May, we shall find that their average weight during that 180 days was 1,540 lbs., or 519 Ibs. each; and if we call the ration 13 Ibs. of hay, it gives 246 per cent. of their live weight as an average ration. If we estimate the cost of this ration, we shall find the cost of Boeee a pound live weight upon a foal under full feeding, 2 Ibs. Se Frapati Ment Aisles tee Se Bt 11 ct. * OE a er ne ere eee at ae Ae PG POMS oa ccc cercuvedecemcseucune 214 ‘6 a Bae oil-meal, Bt SIGRIMB SE oo. sven gamecesenns oai0 his 55 Be ee) 0 ee eee 243 cts. 370 FEEDING ANIMALS. This makes a pound live weight put on a colt during the second six months cost 6%¢ cents. If we can raise good colts at this price for food, then horse-raising must be prof- itable. It is not claimed that this experiment establishes this cost accurately, but, in connection with the French experiments, it may be considered an approximation. It is quite reasonable to suppose, from present indications, that the farmers of the United States are to find as profitable a market for horses in Europe as for cattle; and thus this subject becomes one of great importance. The foal will be affected favorably or unfavorably by the liberal or illiberal treatment of the dam before parturition, as well as the treatment of the dam and foal after the birth of the latter. The summer pasture furnished mares and foals should contain shelter against sun and rain. Open sheds are best, although trees with thick foliage will answer every purpose. But care must be taken that these wood pastures are not covered with logs upon which the foals may be injured. An open wood, by its cool shade, is favor- able as a pasture, but it should be so cleaned up as to obviate all danger of injury to foals. The young foal is easily injured and an unsoundness inflicted. A prudent foresight should guard at least against probable dangers. When the dam and foal are kept in stable it should not only be warm and comfortable, but well lighted. Light is most important to youxg animals, and, in fact, to all ani- mals. If the dam be fed generously during pregnancy and whilst nursing the foal, and the foal be fed as we have directed, it will be, in development and weight, equal to an ordinary three-year-old at twenty-four months. EXERCISE FOR COLTS. These young things are inclined to be playful and exer- cise their muscles liberally, and this, under proper precau- tions, should be encouraged. Muscles bécome developed, FOOD FOR HORSES. gt and acquire strength and endurance by exercise. These tender things will of course only lay the foundation for this development of muscle at this early age. This playful exercise consumes food which must be supplied with a lib- eral hand, for this exercise is necessary to the value of the future horse. The young eagle takes frequent short circles around its home-nest, preparatory to those longer flights with pinions nerved against the fierce, rude blasts over mountain and valley. Nature’s process of educating colt and, eaglet is very similar. Muscular development, great endurance come of frequent exercise. ‘The foal is allowed to travel a few miles with the dam each day, after a month or two old, to give gentle exercise. In all cases care is taken not to heat the blood of the dam, and the moderate exercise of the foal in following her is a benefit. Foop FoR HOoRSEs. The horse is one of the most important of our domestic animals, being the principal draft animal on the farm, in cities, for commercial transshipment, and upon public roads. We have twelve millions of horses to feed and care for; and a knowledge of all the economies in their maintenance is of the highest consideration. Unfortunately, science has not made many accurate experiments to determine the proper feeding standards for horses under the various purposes for which they are kept. Youatt gives the proportion of the ration usually em- ployed in England for agricultural cart-horses as 8 pounds of oats and 2 of beans, added to 20 pounds of chaff; and then 34 or 36 pounds of the mixture is given as a day’s ration to moderate-sized horses (probably of about 1,400 pounds’ weight), on hard work. ‘This chaff is hay and straw—half and half—cut together. And in this case they give no long hay at night. ‘This observing author says of this mixed feed (grain and chaff together): “By this 372 FEEDING ANIMALS. means the animal is compelled to chew his food; he cannot waste the straw or hay; the chaff is too hard and too sharp to be swallowed without sufficient mastication ; and, while he is forced to grind that down, the oats and beans are ground with it, and yield more nourishment; the stomach is more slowly filled, and, therefore, acts better on its con- tents, and is not so likely to be overloaded. The increased quantity of saliva thrown out in the lengthened maceration of the food softens it and makes it fit for digestion.” He recommends, however, that the oats and beans should be ground and mixed with the chaff after slightly moisten- ing it, so that the meal will not separate from it, but must be masticated with the chaff. ‘This practice is quite gener- ally followed by the English farmers. This last method is what they call manger feeding, and they give, as among | the advantages of this system, that horses can completely masticate their food in a much shorter time, and leave so much longer time for rest. The author has often urged the economy of this system of cutting the fodder of the horse and mingling the ground grain with it; and this has become the basis of the system in operation for feeding large numbers of horses on stage, omnibus and railroad lines, both in this country and in Europe. GERMAN EXPERIMENTS. Some recent experiments have been made, under the direction of Dr. Wolff, at Hohenheim, to test the compara- tive digestibility of foods by the horse and sheep; and, incidentally, they show the amount of food required by the horse experimented upon. Unfortunately the experiments were all made upon the same horse. The criticism to which German experiments are most liable is that they are generally tried on too limited a scale, and for too short periods, to fully accomplish the purpose intended ;. and yet these experiments have much interest on account of the FEEDING HORSES. 373 great care in their execution; they throw much light upon the comparative economy of digestion in the horse and sheep, or between the ruminating and non-ruminating animals, Dr. Armsby translates the conclusions arrived at by Wolff, as follows: 1. Meadow hay is less fully digested by the horse than the sheep, the difference amounting to 11 or 12 per cent. of the dry substance. 2. Thecrude albuminoids of the hay is nearly as digest- ible by the horse as by sheep. In the better qualities of hay experimented upon, the difference amounted to from 4 to 6 per cent. of the total amount; while, in some of the poorer sorts, more was digested by the horse than by the sheep. 3. Of the non-nitrogenous constituents of hay, the nitrogen-free extract 1s slightly, and the crude fibre consid- erably better digested by the sheep than by the horse. As a result, the nutritive ratio of the portion of the hay digested is narrower 1n the case of the horse than in that of sheep. As regards fat, all the experiments gave very low results for this nutrient, owing to the presence of a consid- erable quantity of biliary products, etc., in the excrements. 4. In two kinds of lucerne hay the nitrogenous and nitrogen-free extract were equally well digested by the horse and by sheep, while the crude fibre appeared to be relatively better digested than that of meadow hay. 5. The digestibility of winter wheat straw was found to depend somewhat on the amount of mastication it received ; but in general to be small. Under ordinary circumstances -1t seems to be hardly half as well digested by the horse as by ruminants. 6. Concentrated feeding stuffs (oats, beans and maize, the two latter soaked with water) are digested to the same extent by the horse and by sheep. 374 FEEDING ANIMALS, The result of the experiments on concentrated foods and coarse fodders seems to be borne out fully by practical ex- perience in this country, in feeding the Jarge numbers of horses used for hard labor on street railroads and omnibus lines, and with the practice of all livery men in cities and towns. It is found to be most profitable to feed only from 9 to 12 pounds of hay per day to each horse, and the rest of the ration in grain, either ground or whole. The ten- dency for the last twenty years has been to lessen the quan- tity of hay or other coarse fodder, while the oats or ground feed has been increased. These experiments of Wolff show pretty clearly why the practice has taken this form. The concentrated food 1s better digested than the coarse fodder, after a certain amount is given. It requires a proportion of fibrous food to keep horses healthy ; and from 25 to 40 per cent. of the whole weight of the ration for a work horse may be hay, and this will be economically digested. The lght livery horse usually gets 8 to 10 pounds of hay and 12 pounds of oats; but the work horse gets 12 pounds of hay and 16 pounds of grain, often corn and oats ground together. It is well settled in practice that concentrated food 1s cheap- est for the largest proportion of the ration for horses. And this appears to be scientifically explained in these German experiments. But we must not fail to gain what informa- tion these experiments afford in relation to the STANDARD RATION required by a horse of given weight. The horse experi- mented upon had a weight varying from 1,100 to 1,200 Ibs., and, when fed on hay exclusively, ate from 22 to 27% Ibs. per day. This was equal to from 19.4 to 24 lbs. of dry FEEDING HORSES. STa food, and when grain was also fed, the largest amount of dry matter was 25 lbs. The experiments upon this one horse would indicate that 20 to 25 lbs. of dry matter is a full ration for a horse of 1,200 lbs. weight. Dr. Wolff found, during these experi- ments, that sheep consumed, per 1,000 lbs. live weight, 31.25 Ibs. of hay, having 27.2 Ibs. of dry matter. Some have interpreted this to mean that ruminants consume much more per weight than non-ruminants—as the sheep have consumed 30.7 per cent. more, per weight, than the horse—but this is probably an erroneous conclusion, for a proper consideration of the difference in the size of the animals may account for a large part of this greater con- sumption by the sheep. It would take six large or eight moderate-sized sheep to equal this horse in weight. Ex- periment has very clearly shown that large animals eat less, per weight, than’smaller ones of the same species; that 1s, a horse weighing 1,600 lbs. will eat less than two horses of 800 Ibs. weight; or two cows of 1,200 lbs. weight, each will eat less than three of 800 lbs. weight each. This is accounted for by greater surface for radiation of heat in the smaller animals, causing a greater consumption of respiratory food. But it is also probable that this horse was individually pecuhar in the small consumption of food. And the following table, contaming a summary of these experiments, shows that this horse often took insufficient nutrition to keep his normal weight. This table is instruc- tive, as showing the amount of food digested, the work performed, and the changes in live weight. The work per- formed by the horse is represented in kilogramme-metres; an ordinary day’s work being estimated at 1,500,000 kilogramme-metres. 376 FEEDING ANIMALS. LIGHT WoRK, | p) ; ~ = DigEsTED PER Day. ra ne er > S ce mB a g n n ° 3 2 4 ° oe S 2 = Ss | = | = =] ® oS s 2 3 a 5 2 =) 30 ee sed 5 > jee BE | el Bi 3 BB g Se| - 3 g } a S a0 ee bo © o oe 3 ¥ 2 a ‘a a i 2 8 Sra tre 34 2 = 5 re So eam = 4 4 A isis 14.3 | 0.8 | 36.0] 0.4 | 46.3 | 0.87 | 0.58 Corn (Western yellow)... .......... LO ace) Olea: ood | 1060 | dot iP labs Corn (Southern white).............. 12.7 |, 8:2-| 68.8 | -3.1 9.2 | 1.09 | 1.67 Corn-sugar meal). oe. cssssaree ce esis 72.2 | 3.2 | 19.8) 1.8] 7.4 | 0.89 | 0.60 Wheat middlings.............0c00 ofl 45) 100.4855.) Bat) 5 5.65) / 1-0.) 1.58 veG-Dran o. sces.ceee Set mci 12:9) 10.6 |-50.0 |. 2:3 | 5:8.) 1.00 |. 1:56 Maltispronts 3) +: Ss ae skidass occee ck U6) 1320. 8c ase | sOeS 162.271 123 1208 Minseed-caket o.oo tases ce eeetae Qe 27.6 eeu 6.0.15. 2.0%) 1.89) | 3.98 Linseed-meal (new process)......... 10.7 | 27.8 | 33.9 | 2.56] 12 | 1.69 | 2.64 Cotton-seed meal, decorticated...... Cieipose. (dae 6.0. 1-8 | 2.80°) 3768 Linseed (flax- seed) Ae : See hy aoe 12.3 | 17.2 | 18.9 | 852] 6.0] 2.44 | 8.81 Cotton-seed (decorticated) aiatessnereinteiw& Toy deeds dae eice) |) 4:6°-). 22060) aan USVO NT stich cs,ddebieekeiclacs. Stacks a Sede 14.3 | 9.9; 65.4] 1.6] 7.0] 1.08 | 1.68 Barleyctecs sa. oes. Der wcctekcamen es 14-3° |) 8:0) 5859) 1 9.910. 96h eae Oats ..... CBR adie wast sake ot ee 14.3 | 9.0 | 48.3) 4.7] 6.1] 0.98 | 1.53 Millet ....... Ristaretera Sieieie als sva comiaed W Gieiiye's 14.0) 9.5 | 45.0] 2.6] 5.41] 0.98 | 1.45 Buckwheat ... Seecventes Sas 1420 |) 68°40 Ob 22h 724 0 OCV%. [tas Peas.eec. eee BWank cae ets ai aa s «ek 4 3 | 20,256 424.7 1-279 | 1 44h 1 e285 Beans Soke wah Mech cee sere cies 14355 123.05 5022 [14 ) 2.87 2.51 p 222625 Wetec sentscace- Ren ae 14.3 | 24.0 | 48.2 | 2.5 [ 2.2 | 1.63 | 2.53 388 FEEDING ANIMALS. We give in the above table only the amount of digestible constituents, as these constitute the value of a food. This table contains nearly everything fed to horses. Malt sprouts, are not often used as horse feed; but there is no reason why they should not be. ‘They are usually ina dusty condition, and this may be the reason why horse feeders have not made use of them; but as it is customary to soak malt-sprouts before feeding them to cattle, they are then in a proper condition to feed horses. Malt sprouts are also somewhat bulky, and when mixed with corn-meal will make that less concentrated. If malt sprouts are used, the proportion may be 11 lbs. corn-meal, 5 lbs. sprouts, and 12 Ibs. timothy hay. The corn-meal and sprouts may be soaked for six or more hours, and then mixed with one bushel of cut hay. Cut hay weighs 7 to 9 lbs. per bushel. The other 3 lbs. of hay may be given uncut. Hven poor hay or straw may be used in this ration, because of the large proportion of muscle-forming matter. The vetch, of which an analysis is given, is not much raised in this country, but is in portions of Canada, and the future is likely to see it extensively cultivated over large portions of the Western States, to which it is well adapted, and is important as a food to balance the deficiencies of corn. We will now give several practical rations in which corn forms a part, and give the rations in detail, so as to show our readers how to make up rations from the table. These rations represent a few only of the almost end- less combinations of foods that may be made for horses when subjected to hard work. The albuminoids should amount to from 274 Ibs. to 3% lbs. per day. No. 2 is ap- parently deficient in this element; but we have used this ration with good results for three or more months. It will also be seen that good clover hay, 12 lbs., and 16 lbs. corn- meal, will give 2.24 lbs. of muscle-forming matter, and make a very good ration to work on; but it would be much improved to give 14 lbs. of corn-meal and 2 lbs. of FEEDING HORSES. 8389 oil-meal. This renders it less heating, and the oil has the effect of cleansing the stomach and intestines, and prevent: ing all danger of a constipated condition of the system. RATIONS FOR HorSES, PER 1,000 LBS. WEIGHT. g DIGESTIBLE, S8 a : 2 No. 1. a) g = =| ro) cc i] dq > ao =| = ape age able pal a A g Be 2 5 * oO = < o Fy cents Ibs. lbs. lbs. Ibs. 12 lbs. timothy hay ......... 06 10.29 0.69 5.20 0.17 11 lbs. corn-meal............. 11 9.57 0.92 6.66 0.52 5 lbs. malt sprouts ......... 03 4.42 1.04 2.19 0.05 20 24.28 2.65 14.05 0.7 No. 2. | 8 Ibs. red clover............. 4 6.72 0.56 8.05 0.10 6 lbs, oat-straw .......3... j 1y¥ 5.14 0.08 2.47 0.04 12 Ibs. corn-meal ..........-.. 12 IAS. es Ol 8.07 0.57 6 lbs. wheat middlings...... 36 5.32 0.60 2.91 0.19 21 27.62 | 2.25 16.50 | 0.90 _ No. 3. 8 Ibs. alsike clover.......... 4 6.72 67 2.57 0.15 6 Ibs. corn-fodder........... 2 4.37 C2 2.60 0.06 10 Ibs. corn-meal.....2...:... 10 .70 0.84 6.60 0.48 Golbs.irvesrati: er ceweso: <- 3 5.23 0.64 3.00 0.14 2 lbs. linseed-meal .......... 24 1.79 0.55 0.67 0.05 21 26.81 | 2.90 15.44 | 0.88 SN a its ab peg eee he Se ge ha A Ui Ng ye a No. 4.— 12 lbs. blue-grass hay ........ 6 10.29 0.71 4.80 0.20 8 Ibs. corn-meal..........-. 8 6.96 0.67 4,84 0.85 3 lbs. linseed-cake .......... 4 1.73 0.83 0.82 0.18 6 lbs. wheat middlings...... 36 5.32 0.60 2.91 0.19 22 24.30 | 281 | 13.87 | 0.92 pi ee ee ee ee ee ee ee No. 5. 6 Jbs. meadow hay... ... .. 3 5.14 0.33 2.46 0.06 8 lbs. wheat-straw ... ...... 2 6.86 0.07 2.88 0.03 8 lbs. corn-meal..... SRS 2 8 6.96 0.67 4.84 0,35 6 Ibs. pen-meal........ .... 7 5.14 1.21 3.26 0.10 2 lbs. cotton-seed meal. .... 2g 1.95 0.66 0.+5 0.12 2265 27.95 | 2.94 13.79 | 066 390 FEEDING ANIMALS. But let us call attention to that grain ration which is easily obtained in all parts of the country—equal weight of oats and corn ground together—16 lbs. of the composi- tion fed with one bushel of cut hay, or half hay and half straw, will enable a team horse to do good work. Buta better ration still is, 950 lbs. of oats, 950 Ibs. of corn, and 100 lbs. of flax-seed, all ground together. The 20th part of flax-seed improves the ration in albuminoids, and very much in oil—35 lbs., or 134 per cent. to the 2,000 lbs. We have fed this for long periods—sometimes two years con- tinuously—and have found no ration that surpasses it. It is well balanced as a working ration, and just laxative enough for health. It keeps the coat fine and glossy; and, as I think, by its aperient quality, prevents ¢cdlds and other diseases following them. It is probable that decorti- cated cotton-seed would do as well as flax-seed, and would be a valuable addition to the ration for Southern horses. Decorticated cotton-seed meal may also be profitably used in the ration for horses, but it should seldom exceed 1/2 to 2 lbs. per day. The American Institute Farmers’ Club appointed a com- mittee to make a thorough examination of the method of feeding in omnibus and railroad stables of New York City, where the number of horses is so large that a useful lesson could be learned. This was in 1855. (See transactions of that year.) We give the important part of the report, and our readers can study it with profit: ‘“Tt is the object of the stage proprietors to get all the - work out of their teams possible, without injury to the animals. Where the routes are shorter, the horses conse- quently make more trips, so the different amounts and pro- portions of food consumed are not so apparent when the comparison is made between the different lines, as when it is made also with the railroad and livery horses. The stage horses consume the most and the livery horses least. FEEDING HORSES. 391 The stage horses are fed on cut hay and corn-meal, wet, and mixed in the proportion of about one lb. of hay to two lbs. of meal, a ratio adopted rather for mechanical than physiological reasons, as this is all the meal that can be made to adhere to the hay. The animals eat this mixture from a deep manger. The New York Consolidated Stage Company use a very small quantity of salt. They think it causes horses to urinate too freely. They find horses do not eat so much when worked too hard. The large horses eat more than the small ones. Prefer a horse of 1,000 to 1,100 pounds weight. If too small, they get poor, and cannot draw a stage; if too large, they ruin their feet, and their shoulders grow stiff and shrink. The principal objection to large horses is not so much the in- creased amount of food required, as the fact they are soon used up by wear. They would prefer for feed a mixture of half corn and half oats, if it were not more expensive. Horses do not keep fat as well on oats alone, if at hard labor, as on corn-meal, or a mixture of the two. “Straw is best for bedding. If salt hay is used, horses eat it, as not more than a bag of 200 pounds of salt is used in 3 months. Glauber salt is allowed occasionally as a laxative in the spring of the year, and the animals eat it voraciously. If corn is too new, it is mixed with an equal weight of rye bran, which prevents scouring. Jersey yellow corn is best, and horses like it best. The hay is all cut, mixed with meal, and fed moist. No difference is made between day and night work. The travel is con- tinuous, except in warm weather, when it is sometimes divided, and an interval of rest allowed. In cold weather the horses are watered four times a day, in the stable, and not at all on the road. In warm weather, four times a day in the stables, and are allowed to sip on the middle of the route. | ‘‘The amount that the company exact from each horse is all that he can do. In the worst of the traveling, they 392 FEEDING ANIMALS. fed 450 bags per week, of meal, of 100 lbs. each. They now feed 400. ‘The horses are not allowed to drink when warm. If allowed to do so, it founders them. In warm weather a bed of sawdust is prepared for them to roll in. Number of horses, 335. Speed varies, but is about four miles an hour. Horses eat more in cold weather than in warm, but the difference has not been exactly determined.” > = h Le al ; gs 5 = 52° S ro = = = = g s oe a a ha. = No} we Oo a ° YS o = Stace LINEs. Ee SH : eg ie el ip toreeee Se S cb Ss Sf 4 © 2 g es | #2 | gs | =f | 2552 fo) = +2 ou aes To} = Os > & vA 2 a 4 =) 5 Red Bird Stage Line ......... 116 17 14 18 14 3g Spring Street Stage Line..... 105 21 14 20 4 2 Seventh Avenue Stage Line.. 227 22 10 1848 1 26 Sixth Avenue 2 horses........ 117 1% 10 14 ay £5 Railroad, mules ....... 211 17 10 i 2 Bis N. Y. Consolidated Stage Co., 335 214 8 ily 2.9 24 Washington Stables 9 # six livery horses, -f ee eeee eeee eeee 12 ve4 * And six quarts of oats at noon. From this report it appears: 1. That it is possible to keep horses in good condition with hard work when fed on cut hay and corn-meal alone. (We proved this thoroughly in our own experience, but found they did better if the hay was clover.) 2. A mixture of oats were found to benefit the horses, but to increase the expense of keep. Corn-meal keeps horses fat better than oets. | “ 3. Rye bran is found to prevent scouring. 4. Ten pounds of hay is found sufficient for work horses. The following table, giving detailed information of the practice of many horse-feeders in England, is taken from London Agricultural Gazette, for Nov. 25, 1865. FEEDING HORSES. STABLE FEEDING DURING WINTER. NAME AND ADDRESS. » per Sundries week Straw, per week. 393 Weekly cost. NN ee ee ee es ee 1/Professor Low—Elements of Agriculture.......... 2)H. Stephens—Book of the WALT 2:5 Meese aeemen 3\J. Gibson, Woolmet—H. IOC. cal Go aciate: eee orale ali ateislersie oe 4|Binnie, Seaton 5|Thompson, Hanging Side. 6|W. C. Spooner—Ag. Soc. Journal, vol. ix... .2...|.-. 7|T. Aitken, Spalding, Lin- Colnshire?.2Gc asec s wears 8G. W. Baker, HBedlordshwirer.-s ae sesss aloes saben 9|R. Baker, Writtle, Essex. . 10|J. Coleman, Cirencester ..|........ ia JP. Pods Hexham... .. sae: esos 12|J. Cobban, Whitfield 13|S. Druce, Jr., Ensham... ry - 112 ad lib. (24) 14,;C. Howard, Biddenham. 15|J. J. Mechi, Tiptree ..... 49* 16|W. J. Pope, Bridport... a* 17|S. Rich, Didmarton, Glou- cestershire ......... Kean 168 18)H. E. Sadler, Lavant, Sus- BOK cise cae eas ace tac: 140 19/J. Morton, Whitfield Farm]......... 20|E. H. Sanford, Dover..... 56 21|A. Simpson, Beauly, N. B.]......... 22|}H. J. Wilson, Mansfield .. 42 23/F. Sowerby, Aylesby, N’th Lincolnshire... ........ 112 i ee ® | o o IB eat s| 8 o | a = 2 Ea a mn Ibs. | Ibs.} lbs. Potatoes 56* 56T Turnips 35 112 84 se 217t WO* |28* | 243F 84 {14 336 63 42 Gi Meee soeeieae GOF2| 2073 oa. setae 42 84 |16 Som lee 56 (Uh heel ter atan Swedes Ls Mga NER 70 2: th? 84 M. Wurzel 70* 210 84 [3 es (ee 84 Carrots 126 350 ADS 25 Mies ack 49 7 105 ES SPs Cee ee 28 | cut oat sheaf Ss ee oe er or ed se a ary were eee er lessees ses y 427 14 oe oo ee | oe ey Bran ad lib. ad lib. 196 2 bush. * ad lib. (3)* ad lib. * ad lib. ad lib. eo Where an asterisk (*) is attached to any item, it is to be understood that the corn has been bruised or ground, or the hay or straw has been cut into chatf. Where a dagger (t) is appended, the article so marked has been boiled or steamed. A mark of interrogation (?) indicates that the result so marked is uncertain, owing to some indefiniteness in the account given. Mr. Slater, of Western Colville, Cambridgeshire, speak- ing of his feeding pulped roots, says: cart horses a bushel per day of pulped mangel, mixed with “T give all my 394 FEEDING ANIMALS. straw and chaff. I begin in September, and continue using them all winter and until late in the summer, or nearly all the year round, beginning with smaller quantity, about a peck, and then a half bushel, for the first week or two, as too many of the young-growing mangel would injure the horses. I believe pulped mangels, with chaff, are the best, cheapest, and most healthy food horses can eat. I always find my horses miss them when gone, late in summer. Young store-horses, colts, etc., do well with them.” | Farmers, who preserve green corn in silos, may produce the same effect with ensilage, as Mr. Slater does with pulped mangel. There is no doubt that the pulped mangel have a very beneficial effect upon the digestive organs, but we much doubt the propriety of feeding to working horses as much as a bushel of pulped mangel. ‘This would be equal to 60 pounds of corn ensilage or green corn, whilst 30 to 40 lbs. would be quite sufficient. Clover and the grasses ensilaged, could, properly, form one-half to three-fourths of the ration for horses with slow work, for the clover and grass ensilage would contain the requisite muscle-forming food for work. The table last given shows the variety of food given by English farmers to their horses—that oats form the principal concentrated food of the ration, beans being fed sparingly, probably because of greater cost. Hay is fed much less liberally there than by farmers in this country, who, no doubt, feed too much hay and too little grain. It will also be noted that English farmers, very generally cut the hay and straw fed to horses, and, where this is done, the ground feed is given with the chaffed hay and straw. This, as we have before shown, is promotive of easier and more complete digestion of the food and of the health of the horse. FEEDING HORSES. 395 FEEDING FOR Fast WORK. It may be expected that we should speak of the rearing and feeding of horses used for speed. Our remarks on the foal and colt will mostly apply to the finest racing or trotting blood. We are aware that few horsemen have been accustomed to use, as we have recommended, cow’s milk after weaning. But a moment’s consideration of milk shows its distinguishing characteristics to be its casein and albumen—an admirable combination with nitrogen for the formation of muscle. This nitrogenous compound in milk is in solution, and easily appropriated by the digestive organs. A moderate allowance of sweet skimmed milk is exactly adapted to the continuance of the muscular growth of the foal after weaning. There is no objection to fresh milk from the cow, as it will have the cream in addition to the other good qualities, but sweet skimmed milk will meet all the necessities of the case at consider- able less expense. Suppose the foal at and after weaning be allowed ten pounds of skimmed milk—this will con- tain ;4; pounds of digestible albuminoids or muscle- forming material; and it would take five quarts of oats to yield as much digestible nutriment for the muscular system. If we estimate the milk at Y cent per pound or 24 cents (a price farmers would like to realize), it will be seen how much cheaper it is than oats. We do not mean that ten pounds of skimmed milk contain as much of all the elements of food as five pounds or quarts of oats, but that it contains as much for the muscles, just what is needed most at this period in the growth of the foal. Besides, the milk-sugar or small amount of fat is excellent carbonaceous food, and the ash contains the fnineral elements of bones. For a short time after weaning there should be a tablespoonful of boiled flax-seed mixed in the milk to prevent all tendency to constipation. The foal should be learned also to eat a 396 FEEDING ANIMALS. quart of oats or finished wheat middlings. There should be no forcing in the feeding—aim to keep a keen appetite for food, which assures a better digestion. If easily obtained this milk should be continued three or more months after weaning; and after this, one quart of oats and one to two quarts of wheat middlings should be continued till grass affords a good living. For all constipation, rely upon small quantity of boiled flax-seed instead of oil, for that is dangerous from possible adulteration. In rearing this colt, designed for fast work, a parsi- monious policy should have no place. Scanty feeding must, in the nature of the case, defeat the purpose in view. Complete development cannot result except from generous feeding. The feeder may indeed choose among various combinations of food. Some may cost less than others, and yet be equally good for the purpose. But he must not lose sight of the fact that there must always be a proper combination of concentrated and bulky food. ‘Horses are, perhaps, fonder of oats than any other grain, yet when fed too freely upon oats they will eat, with great relish, even the bedding in their stalls. However good a single food may be, an animal must not be confined to it. A combination of foods, given together in the same ration, will be relished much longer, and, for working horses, such combined ration will be satisfactory for many months together, but for the horse, devoted to fast work, his taste must be studied and humored by a frequent change of food, each selected, however, for its quality of nourishing the muscles. The English farmer raises the horse-bean as a specialty for horses, but that species does not succeed in this country. Our grains, which may be considered especially appropriate in larger or smaller quantity. for the healthy develop- ment of horse muscle, are: Oats, barley, rye, millet, peas, FEEDING HORSES. 397 vetch, and the oil-bearing flax-seed, and, perhaps, cotton- seed. Cotton-seed, when decorticated, would be excellent to mix 1-20 with oats, barley, rye, etc., before grinding. When the tough rind is taken off it is a healthy food, in small quantity. Its large per cent. of oil would prevent its being fed as more than a fifteenth part of the ration. But the oil in that small part of the ration would be suffi- cient to keep the digestive organs in an open, healthy con- dition. All this may be more strongly said of the good effects of flax-seed, when used in this small proportion. The husk of flax-seed is not objectionable like that of cotton-seed, and the oil is extremely mild and soothing. The author has used flax-seed, in the small proportion mentioned, in feeding colts, intended for fast work, with the most satisfactory results—keeping their coats in fine condition, the skin clean, the bowels free, and by this giving an even development to the muscles of the limbs and whole body. When thus using flax-seed in the ration, never had a case of staring coat or feverish condition of the system. We have given these various grains, which are easily produced in most parts of the country, and will afford a good variety of food to promote the health and growth of the young, and the health and capacity for work in the mature horse. Oats, by common consent, stand at the head. But it is highly probable, that the real reason for this general preference for oats, rests upon the fact that about 1 of oats consists of husk, which must be eaten with the meat of the grain, and thus gives bulk in the masticated food, and a loose texture through its substance, permitting a freer circulation and more complete digestive action of the gastric juice. Barley is an excellent food for horses, but is not generally used because of its greater value for malting. Its husk 398 FEEDING ANIMALS. is some 25 per cent. less than oats, and is, therefore, not quite so healthy a food to be given alone and unground, but when ground and mixed with cut and moistened clover-hay, makes a desirable ration for young or mature horses. Rye is of greater weight per bushel, has 60 per cent. less husk than oats, but has also a less percentage of albumi- noids than the latter, and also more carbo-hydrates and a slightly lower nutritive ratio, but when ground and mixed with cut hay makes a healthy and appropriate ration. Rye is not now so largely used as horse food as formerly, owing to its extra price for distilling. Millet-meal is a highly appropriate food for young or mature horses. It has a higher proportion of albuminoids and a higher nutritive ratio than oats, but having less oil. It is found, when well ground (and it cannot properly be fed without grinding), to be one of the best rations for horses, being particularly adapted to the development of muscular strength. Peas contain more than double the digestible albumi- noids of oats and more than a hundred per cent. higher nutritive ratio. Like English bean-meal, our pea-meal is considered the strongest horse food. It has a somewhat -constipating effect upon the digestive organs; and it is therefore advisable to mix 8 bushels of peas with 8 bushels of Indian corn and one bushel of flax-seed, and grind all together. The flax-seed counteracts the constipating effect of the peas; and the mixture has a slightly higher nutri- tive ratio than oats. The author has fed this ration with ~ much satisfaction. The combination of food elements is admirable, and the flavor is well relished by horses. The Vetch is very similar in chemical constitution to peas, and it may be used in about the same combination as aration. This crop has not been raised as much in this country as its importance demands. It is probably FEEDING HORSES. 399 as sure a crop in the Northern and Western States as peas. The rule in feeding should be to use as many of these different foods as can be easily obtained. Where three of these different foods are in stock—one may be fed one week, another the next, alternating regularly. If the feeder has never tried it, he will be surprised to find how eager the horse is for the change. Some regard it better to give one food two days, and another the next two, and so on. This latter is probably the best way. Another way is to grind the three foods together, and then each will enter into every ration. But this is not quite so tempting to the appetite, as the flavor is the same at every meal. We have dwelt, at some length, upon this matter of change of food, but it is a vital point in the practice of the skillful feeder, and cannot be too closely studied. The colt, whether intended for fast or heavy work, should be handled at frequent intervals through all the period of growth. ‘The old theory, so insisted upon by some, is that the colt will have more spirit if it is allowed to run wild, without handling, till three or four years old. It will evidently be more difficult to break, and, for a long time, if not always, less obedient to the will of man, than if handled, as it should be, from two weeks old. Is an animal less able to exert his power at the will of man that has learned to have implicit confidence in him, than if he has run wild, and having little or no confidence in man? There is no foundation in the theory whatever, but the exact opposite is the fact. There is much to be gained by controlling the colt through all stages of its growth. But there should be no roughness in handling him. The colt should be accustomed to grooming from an early age, and it should learn to depend upon man for the supply of its wants and to regard him as its best friend. 4:00 FEEDING ANIMALS. CB PTH, ox i. SHEEP. SHEEP husbandry is destined to assume very great im- portance in this country. It appears to be the industry which cannot produce a supply equal to the demand. There is no probability of our ever growing much wool for export. The wants of our population in clothing will even more than keep pace with our wool production. But it is to be hoped that, with our constantly expanding territory suited to the production of wool and mutton, we may, within a short period, be able to supply most of the wool now imported. It is the one home market never yet sup- plied, and thus has the advantage of most other agricul- tural industries, of a customer unsought. In dairying, beef-growing, wheat-growing, and cultivating swine pro- ducts, we sedulously stimulate the foreign demand; but in wool-growing our last fleece is sought at our own door. We are improving so rapidly the machinery for manufact- uring the best cassimeres, broadcloths, and Brussels, Wilton and Axminster carpets, that our wools bring better prices to the grower than those of any other country. We have cheaper lands, cheaper foods, and as good a climate for sheep-growing, as can be found ; and all we need beyond these to compete with all the world in wool production is a knowledge of the business equal to our facilities. Here, as elsewhere, we must study the whole business, understand and utilize all its details. Simple wool-growing cannot be maintained in any country where land has any considerable FEEDING SHEEP. 401 value. To breed and feed sheep simply for the wool is little better than raising wheat for the straw—the more val- uable half goes to waste. As civilization has advanced, and the processes of agriculture have been improved, one country after another has ceased to grow wool for itself alone—mutton has become the principal, and wool the in- cident of the business. This transition was accomplished in England first; but France is moving on steadily to the same point. England did it by improving the Leicester, Cotswold and Southdown mutton sheep. France has been gradually doing it by transforming the Merino into a mut- ton breed, by animproved system of feeding. This was based upon the true physiological principles of animal growth. At the breeding ‘establishment of Rambouillet, the last century has witnessed an almost complete transformation of the Merino—from the small-bodied, short-fibered, thin- fleshed, slow-maturing animal of the past, has come a larger size, a little coarser and longer fibre, a heavier carcass, and a heavier fleece; one more ready to take on flesh, and much earlier in maturing. The best-fed American Merinos are tending in the same direction. ‘They are animals of much better formec bodies, longer staple, heavier fleece, earlier maturity, and better flavored flesh than the originals im- ported. The French are also testing the English Leicester and Cotswold cross upon the Merino, to hasten the trans- formation to a mutton carcass. The tendency everywhere is to utilize the flesh in the best possible way. It must not be supposed that this transformation has reduced the quan- tity or, materially, the quality of the wool. The quantity has been very materially increased, as well as its aggregate value; so that the wool interest is not injured by this new zeal in favor of the mutton. Good feeding improves the coat, whether it be hair or wool—note the favorable effect upon the hair of well-fed cattle, compared to those poorly fed, and also upon the wool of well-fed and poorly-fed sheep. 402 FEEDING ANIMALS. Profit in sheep husbandry means the most generous and judicious feeding and care, carried out in every part of the system. When this is done, so far from sheep being un- profitable upon our higher-priced lands, it is doubtful if any other animal pays so well. In England, it has been said that, on lands worth three to five hundred dollars per acre, fertility can be more profitably kept up with sheep than any other stock. Dairy stock, for instance, carry off much more in the milk alone than sheep in all ways, be- sides taking as much to build the bones and grow their bodies. The waste of phosphates is much more rapid in dairying than sheep husbandry. If, then, sheep may be fed to profit in England on land worth four hundred dollars per acre, we should not be deterred from sheep-feeding on lands worth $50 to $150 per acre. England is considered peculiarly a beef-eating country; but yet the best mutton brings a higher price than beef. Our large cities and man- ufacturing towns are constantly increasing their demand for good mutton, and this demand is likely to increase as fast as the production. If we should feed as large a num- ber of sheep per hundred acres in the Middle and Eastern States as does Great Britain, the desire for emigration from these States to more fertile lands of the West would soon cease. SHEEP FEEDING IN NEW JERSEY. New Jersey, lying nearly equally distant between the two largest cities of the country, where populations of over two millions are fed, has accomplished more in feeding for mut- ton than any other State. Yet all feeding stuffs are per- haps higher in this State than any other. The fact, there- fore, that sheep may here be fed at a profit, shows how the same system might be very widely extended to other States in the vicinity, as the cost of feeding and transportation, combined, would be even less. On farms that need reno- vation, sheep feeding is most desirable, because, properly FEEDING SHEEP. 403 conducted, it will pay for purchased grain, and in this way the manure will be made very rich, and the refertilization progress rapidly. The method of procedure in New Jersey has largely been as follows: The flock of ewes are changed yearly. They are selected in August or September, for their thrifty breeding condition, from flocks reaching that State or New York City from Ohio or Pennsylvania, and some from Can- ada. They are purchased at a wide range, from $3 to $6 per head; are placed upon fresh pastures in the early fall, and if thin, furnished cooling wheat middlings to start thrift during mild weather. They are served by South- down rams, and fed well during winter, usually upon corn, oats and middlings. It is not attempted to fatten them, as that would heat their blood unfavorably; yet they must be kept in fine thrifty condition, that their lambs may come strong, and the ewes yield abundance of milk. These lambs are pushed, and sold off in May and June. The fleeces of the mothers are sold early, and they fed heavily, and fattened for sale early in summer. So the transaction of the August previous in the purchase of the flock is closed out about the 1st of July, and all completed before the end of the year. The best feeders reckon that from $6 to $10 are received per head for feed and care, and a large amount of valuable manure obtained for the growth of grain crops. These ewes are usually grade Merinos; and the lambs produced by a cross of Southdown are found to feed much better, and bring extra prices in the early market. This system has some important points to recom- mend it—that the food used is all made active in producing an immediate result, and nothing wasted on keeping up the vital organism during a storing period. It is all uged either to fatten the lambs or fatten the mothers, and the sheep are passed into market, and the cash realized, before dis- ease brings its hazards, 404 FEEDING ANIMALS. This system is also followed, to some extent, in portions of Southern New York, and the adjacent parts of Penn- sylvania ; and when a good lot of ewes can be obtained, the best management is generally successful. But this, how- ever, is the mere factitious part of sheep husbandry. It is making the best of a bad system carried on by others, who do not know how properly to dispose of the sheep they raise. ‘These ewes are raised under a very defective system of feeding, and are not so thrifty and disposed to early ma- turity as they would be if reared under a better system ; and it is only by a Southdown cross (or perhaps a Cotswold) that good early lambs can be raised for market. Yet these ewes are benefited by raising these lambs under a better system of feeding, and make very fair carcasses of mutton themselves after this preparation. ‘They have been fed so sparingly all their previous lives, that it takes a few months, under good feeding, to induce a thrifty and healthy state of the secretions preparatory to fattening. This state of sheep-feeding is in the same condition that cattle-feeding was a few years ago, when the store cattle were raised by one class of farmers, and fattened for beef by another; and this is still the practice in many parts of the country; but it is quite different from that complete system of sheep- feeding to be established in the future, in which the lambs will never pass from the hands of the feeder until sold to the butcher or shipper. Then uniformity of practice may be established, and the animal receive such food and care every day of its life as to produce the best result under the system adopted. The old system of slow growth and late maturity has been abandoned by the most progressive feeders of all classes of animals intended for food, and the better one of full-feeding, rapid growth, and early maturity adopted in- stead. There is no class of animals to which this improved — system may be applied with greater profit than sheep. FEEDING SHEEP. 405 THe DouBLe INCOME. It is important in all branches of industry to consider the sources of income, and their availability at short periods. Sheep afford two annual incomes—lambs and wool—and they are usually about equal in value. The experiments of Sir J. B. Lawes, in reference to the per- centage of food utilized or stored up by different animals, presented the sheep in a very favorable light. Of the dry food consumed, he found that sheep stored up in increased weight 12 per cent., while cattle only laid up in increased weight 8 per cent.; that is 84% lbs. of dry food increased the live weight of sheep as much as 12% lbs. the live weight of cattle. So that, relying upon these experiments, sheep must be considered as excellent utilizers of food, as producing as many pounds of mutton, besides the wool, from a given quantity of food, as can be produced of beef; and as the best mutton brings as high a price as the best beef, it would appear, on this basis, that sheep would give the fleece as extra profit over cattle. If this is not too favorable a view, then sheep on suitable lands must be considered among the most profitable of farm stock. It is true the dairy cow brings her profitable flow of milk to offset the yield of wool ; but the dairy cow does not lay on flesh while producing milk, as does the sheep, while producing wool. A fleece of five pounds of wool, grown in a year, requires only a daily growth of 1-5 of an ounce, which can take but a small por- tion of food to produce. The mineral matter taken from the soil by the fleece is only 1.6 ounces per year; and if six half-mutton sheep represent a cow, the whole mineral con- stituents taken by the six fleeces would only be 9.6 oz., and about 1.9 Ibs. of nitrogen; whilst the ordinary cow, yield- ing 4,000 Ibs. of milk, would take 26 lbs. of mineral matter or ash, and 25 lbs. of nitrogen, or 43 times as much mineral matter, and 13 times as much nitrogen as the fleeces of the sheep. But this is not considering all the elements of 406 FEEDING ANIMALS. waste in feeding sheep. Let us suppose the six ewe sheep will carry off in growing bone and muscle, or in supplying the waste of bone and muscle, as much as in growing the fleece; and besides this, let us suppose that these six ewes raise five lambs, of 40 lbs. live weight each. This 200 lbs. live weight of fat lambs would contain of dry matter 87.4 lbs., containing 3.9 lbs. of nitrogen and 5.9 Ibs. of mineral matter. This would give an aggregate of 7.2 lbs. of min- eral matter, and 7.7 lbs. of nitrogen, as the waste from six ewes and their five lambs, which is less than one-third of the waste of mineral matter and nitrogen from the milk of acow. The six ewes and five lambs will consume more food than a cow; but all that is stored up and carried off is less than one-third as much agin the milk. ‘This, then, explains the Spanish proverb, ‘‘ the sheep’s foot is golden”; that it brings improvement, and not depletion of the soil. This double income from the fleece and the lambs may be certainly respectable without counting high figures. The fleeces, ata moderate average price, would bring $13.50, and the lambs, at a low figure, $20, or $33.50 as the income of the six ewes. EARLY MATURITY. When the production of lambs, mutton, and wool is carried on under a regular system, and the breeding ewes are reared by an experienced breeder, whether they be of a fixed type—such as the Southdown, Shropshire Down, Cotswold, Leicester, etc., or a cross of one of these upon grade Mcrinos, or a mixture of common blood—the breeder knows that the best care and feeding for a few generations will greatly influence their early maturity, and consequently the profit to be derived from them. There is probably no animal more plastic in the hands of a skillful feeder than the sheep. By the cross of a thoroughbred male upon sclected common ewes, and the best of feeding, even the first generation will show a decided change in the period of EARLY MATURITY. 407 maturity, making a larger growth, and showing a fuller development in 12 months than the dams had shown in 18 months. The next cross will show also a great improve- ment on the first. And here time is the great element of success. As we have seen in the growth of animals, if the gain in weight can be doubled in a given time, the cost is not doubled, for, after the food of support, all the extra food digested and assimilated is laid up in increase. If it requires two-thirds of an ordinary ration to support the animal without gain, and if a certain ration would increase the weight of a sheep 144 lbs. per week, then if one-third addition to this ration was equally well-digested and assim- ilated, the sheep would gain three pounds per week—a saving of two-thirds of the cost in the increased growth. Then, to double the growth in a given time, reduces the cost of the whole growth one-third, and this one-third gain in profit is a good margin. Let us illustrate this in the growth of early lambs. Under scanty feeding—that is, the ewe being insufficiently fed to yield a good flow of milk—the lamb would make a slow growth of about 1/4 lbs. per week, and would weigh about 21 lbs. at three months old. If, on the other hand, the ewe is a fair milker, and is fed one-third extra food adapted to produce milk, the extra milk will double the weight of the lamb, reaching 40 lbs. at three months. The significance of this double growth is not measured by doubling the value of the lamb, however; for the 40-Ib. lamb often brings, in April and May, $10 in our best mar- kets, while the 20-lb. lamb would scarcely bring $3. Doubling the weight often trebles the value, or more. The yearling wether that weighs 150 lbs. will sell for more than double the price of the one that weighs 80 to 100 lbs.; so that the more rapid growth means not only one-third less cost, but double the value. This is a decided encourage- ment both ways for good feeding. Early maturity—that is, 408 FEEDING ANIMALS. the even, healthy, rapid development of the young animal, is the great thing to be striven for in sheep feeding, as in every other department of feeding which is to fit animals for human food. This holds good in both the vegetable and animal world. It is the tender, juicy, crisp radish and asparagus that tempt the appetite, and these must be grown rapidly to reach this degree of excellence. It is also the tender, juicy, high-flavored meat that fills our desires for that food; and this, like the vegetable, must be grown or matured rapidly. This matter of early maturity is of the highest consideration in any system of profitable meat pro- - duction. We must consider the present stage of sheep-feeding when conducted for the production of mutton, as in a transition state—the feeders simply endeavoring to graft - upon the old system of wool-raising, a better system of fat- tening. But we wish to discuss a system of sheep hus- bandry adapted to our older States, which shall be complete * and harmonious in all its parts, and conducted as a regular business from year to year ; the flock being bred and handled by the farmer through all its stages, until the carcass goes to the butcher and the wool to the manufacturer. Itshould be carried on as systematically as the best dairying, every part of the business being carefully considered. SELECTION OF SHEEP FOR BREEDING. The plan of our work does not include a discussion of the philosophy of breeding, but it is necessary to consider the style of sheep to feed for a particular purpose. As we endeavored to show, the wool alone does not afford an ade- quate object for feeding sheep in States where land has any considerable value, and it therefore follows that a system of sheep husbandry adapted to the older States must deal with sheep fitted for the production of mutton—that mutton must be the first consideration and wool the second. SELECTION OF SHEEP. 409 With this object in view, some one of the mutton breeds - must be selected, either for pure breeding or to cross upon the Merino or grade sheep. The latter must, of necessity, be the plan adopted, since there are not pure-bred sheep enough to be had within any practicable limit of price to set up any large number of flocks. It is therefore evident that we must breed our mutton sheep from the materials at our command, and we certainly have a pretty extensive variety of material upon which to engraft the Down, Lei- cester, or Cotswold blood. If our breeders will follow the wise example of Bakewell, ‘in reference to the style of sheep to be improved, it will much hasten their progress. In Bakewell’s time, Leicester sheep were long-legged, rough-boned sheep, greatly wanting in symmetry of form. He started out with the sound principle that the largest proportions of the value of the sheep was in its mutton, and he had also observed that the medium-sized, compact, and symmetrically-formed sheep took on flesh much more readily than the larger and rougher specimens. He therefore selected from various flocks the most evenly and symmetrically-developed animals he could find, that showed the greatest aptitude to fatten, and that he thought would produce the largest proportion of valuable meat, and the least amount of offal. Having made his selections, he carefully studied the peculiarities of the individual animals from which he bred, and never hesi- tated to discard those that did not come up to his ideal. It is true he selected all his animals from the old Leicester blood, and that he did not seruple to breed those together that were related, but the animals bred were selected for their strong points of adaptation to each other. Breeders of to-day may select on the same principle as did Bakewell, choosing the medium-sized ewes and those having the most even development, from the grade Merinos or the common bloods, and crossing upon these a good 410 FEEDING ANIMALS. Down, Leicester or Cotswold ram. But, as in Bakewell’s case, the selection of the best must continue, and the defective be constantly weeded out. In-and-in breeding produced no evil effects in his case, because he constantly coupled such males and females as tended to remedy the defects that existed on either side. This mode of selection resulted in the most remarkable improvement in the Leices- ter sheep as a meat-producing animal that has ever occurred in the history of breeding. ‘The change in external appear- ance of the old and new Leicesters was so great as to be regarded by some as a new variety of sheep, and led many to suppose that’ Bakewell had crossed different breeds in. producing the result ; but this is clearly disproved. There can, however, be no doubt that if our sheep-breeders will make such selections of ewes as we have indicated, and proceed to cross one of these fixed breeds of mutton-sheep upon them, continuing with males from the same strain of blood, the result, in a few generations, will be an extremely uniform animal; and then males may be selected from the same flock. Our readers must not suppose this to be an expensive plan of improving a flock. The ewes may be selected at a mere trifle above ordinary price. A Leicester, Southdown, or Cotswold ram can be purchased or leased at a small sum. The outlay above purchasing an ordinary flock need not exceed $50 to $100, if a start is made with from 25 to 50 ewes. If such a system of breeding should be multiplied to any considerable extent, it would also produce a class of ram-breeders, as it has in England; and the system of ram- letting would also be here introduced, which has many advantages, for this would enable the breeder to select a— ram from a considerable number, and he could change the ram as often as he found advantageous. The result of crossing the Southdown and Cotswold rams upon grade Merinos has been so well tested in this country as to be SUMMER FEEDING OF SMALL FLOCKS. 411 no longer regarded as an experiment. The progeny are found to feed nearly as well as the full blood, and the improvement on the first generation is considered a full return for the expense. The next generation approximates still closer to the type of the male, and, of course, the cost of this system of breeding becomes less and less the longer it is continued. ‘There is no loss upon those discarded as breeders, for they pay their full cost when sent to the butcher. The temptation to keep defective animals for breeding will not exist in this case as in the case of pure breeding, for the value of the animal will be measured by its value for mutton and wool. There is nothing sacrificed here, either in carcass or fleece, for the mode of improving the one will also improve the other. The Merino blood will improve the wool, and the Cotswold blood will improve the meat. © SUMMER FEEDING OF SMALL FLOCKS. There has been a great deal of speculation as‘to all the minutiz of Bakewell’s methods of breeding, and many contrary opinions entertained, but little has ever been said or curiosity manifested as to Bakewell’s mode of feeding. All his success was attributed to some occult system of breeding, and they neglected to inquire into one of the principal causes of his success—his system of feed- ing. His principles of breeding brought him a sym- metrical animal, but improved feeding was absolutely necessary to develop it. This point seems to be well established in regard to his system. He sought to develop a sheep that should produce the largest amount of meat for a given amount of food. This hint shows that the question of food, or economy of production, was the point he sought to solve, which shows, further, that his system was complete, and not a mere half system, as it must have been had he provided merely for improved breeding, treat- 412 FEEDING ANIMALS. ing with indifference the question of developing the animal when bred. It is unfortunate that Bakewell, with all his philosophical ideas upon breeding and growing animals, was not large- hearted and philanthropic enough to desire that his im- provements should be perpetuated for the benefit of his countrymen. But so far from this, he neither put pen to paper, nor did he disclose his system in conversation with his most intimate friends. They could see the result of his work, and from this infer his system, but he kept his methods and the details of his experiments wholly to him- self. Perhaps we should not judge him harshly because his countrymen, who have conjectured as to his system and lauded the result, have never criticised his selfish secretiveness, but treated it as a natural thing to expect. This grows out of the different social education of the people of Engtand and the United States. Here a citizen feels that he owes something to the public welfare, and takes a pride in promoting it; but the hereditary govern- ment appears to prevent the development of public spirit,. and leaves the individual to think only of his. private welfare. A thorough exposition of Bakewell’s practical system, and the careful details of all his experiments, would have been worth millions to his countrymen, as well as to the breeders of other countries. But the world must be con- tent with the great good that has resulted from the distribution of the improved Leicester sheep, and the stimulus given by these to the improvement of other breeds. We desire to show, somewhat in detail, the application of sheep husbandry to the wants of agriculture in our oldest settled States. ILere, under the principles discussed, the sheep will bring the recuperation of the soil, renew its capacity for grain crops, and bring back the old-time thrift HURDLE-FEEDING. 413 to the owners of half a million of farms. If we suppose New York, with its 20,000,000 of acres in grass or culti- vated crops, to maintain one sheep to four acres, it would give her 5,000,000 of sheep—a very moderate number to be carried upon her acres, yet 3.3 times the number she now keeps. ‘This would give her an average of 25 sheep to each 100 acres of improved land—a number that might easily be kept without disturbing her other industries. A small flock of sheep will bring into use neglected spots and fence corners, will turn to account the gleanings of grain fields, and consume many things not so well relished by cattle. HURDLE-FEEDING. . The question of fences, which has come to involve a very large expense, and would be an insuperable obstacle to sheep-keeping, if farms were to be fenced into small fields in order to use all the neglected forage, is solved by the use of hurdles. Movable hurdle fence is quite necessary to the proper use of all the fields upon a farm for any class of stock, and especially for sheep. Fifty to 100 rods of movable fence will be of the greatest service upon all farms. By using the hurdle, any piece of aftergrowth or stubble may be inclosed in a few minutes, and the sheep or other animals confined, and the hurdles may be moved over the field till every part of it is eaten and turned into flesh and wool. This will have a double advantage— turning the green food into money and killing weeds. The portable or rolling hurdle is most convenient, as it is _ placed so quickly, and rolled along day by day to supply fresh herbage ; and its additional cost is but slight. The celebrated Mechi used an iron hurdle, placed upon wheels, which he recommended highly because of its great durability, having been in use upon his farm for more than thirty years. His hurdle was too expensive for our ideas of economy, being $6.50 per rod. Yet he seemed to 414 FEEDING ANIMALS. regard it as cheap, considering its great utility. We invented a hurdle, made of wrought iron, well adapted to the needs of small flocks in this country, and which we do not describe, because we were unable to reduce its price below $5 per rod.. But as yet the ordinary wooden hurdle is the only one obtainable. Such a movable hurdle would remove the most formidable obstacle to keeping small flocks upon almost every farm. Let us here note the important results which might follow from the intro- duction of such small flocks of sheep upon the so-called worn-out farms of the older States. It often becomes very difficult to seed down these long-cultivated fields without a very large application of manure, which cannot be had. With an easy means of confining sheep upon any such field or portion of field, the fertilizer required for its renovation could cheaply be manufactured upon the spot. By plow- ing this field and sowing thickly with oats to be fed off by sheep, and placing a few racks on one side of the field, into which green food grown elsewhere upon the farm can be placed, and then also feeding a small grain ration, which will be repaid twice over in the growth of the sheep, the field becomes fertilized by the droppings of the sheep evenly distributed over the field. This experiment has often been tried, keeping an accurate account of purchased grain; and the increased value of the sheep has not only paid for the grain, but amply for the labor, leaving the fertilization of the field as a clear profit. It should always be a prime consideration in feeding sheep for market to do as much as possible of it in warm weather. And, if they are kept till January or February, still the feed should be very generous in the fall, that they may be fat enough for the butcher at the beginning of cold weather. It will then cost but little to carry them to the later period in fine mutton condition, so that this grain ration, given upon the poor fields, will be profitable, considered only in refer- COMPENSATION FOR FOOD IN MANURE. 415 ence to the progress of the sheep. A small grain ration in September and October, on green food, will push them faster than a large one in cold weather. When sheep are fed upon land needing such fertilization there is the greatest inducement to be liberal in the ration, as an important result is obtained without any real expense. It is also important that such extra food should be chosen as will leave the most valuable fertilizer upon the land. And in this connection it will be well for the American farmer to become better acquainted with linseed oil-cake and decorticated cotton-seed cake. These foods contain a large proportion of oil for fattening, and also a very large proportion of nitrogen, as well as the important mineral constituents of phosphate of lime, potash, etc. By feeding these cakes the animals not only progress rapidly, but the droppings are much more valuable than when on corn alone. For summer feeding, as here mentioned, 4% lb. of oil-cake and ¥ |b. of corn (or, better, wheat bran) to each sheep will be the most valuable ration. As I am now illustrating sheep-feeding as adapted to the long-cultivated lands of the older States that have become less fertile for want of proper stock husbandry, it will be necessary to a full discussion that we should consider somewhat accurately the COMPENSATION FOR Foop IN MANURE. It is important that the feeder should understand the quantity of manure produced for a given quantity of food consumed by the stock he feeds, so that he may be able to know the return to be expected from this source. The amount of manure produced from a given quantity of food is greater for the sheep than the pig; but this arises mostly from the greater digestibility of the food of the pig than that of the sheep. | In estimating the value of the manure made by animals, 416 FEEDING ANIMALS. only the nitrogenous and ash constituents of the food are considered, as the carbonaceous elements are supplied by the atmosphere. We must also have some basis for deter- mining the proportion or amount of food elements to be found in the manure. If there is no growth nor increase in the live weight of the animal, and no milk produced, then the amount of nitrogen and ash constituents passed into the manure must be equal to these elements contained in the food; because the albuminoids and mineral elements of the food used to build up the waste of the system, or for the renovation of tissue, must be equal to these elements broken down and passed off by the degradation of the tissue; so that the same amount of valuable elements contained in the food will be found in the manure. But when the body is increasing in weight, or milk is produced, — then the albuminoids and mineral elements required to form this increase of body or the milk, must be deducted from these elements in the food consumed. A part of the nitrogenous and mineral elements of the food is left undi- gested in passing through the alimentary canal, and this is found in the solid excrement. What is digested of the. nitrogenous and ash constituents passes into the blood, and is converted into animal increase, or milk, if the animal is increasing in weight, or yielding milk, and the balance of these constituents are separated from the blood by the kidneys, and are passed in the form of urine. These albuminoids are oxydized into urea before they are ex- pelled from the system. Hippuric acid is also found in the urine of herbivorous animals. We find the proportion of albuminoids that will appear in the solid excrement by deducting the percentage of digestible albuminoids from.the whole amount. Dr. Wolff’s late experiments with sheep and other animals, show that sheep digest of the various elements of certain foods as given in the following table : COMPENSATION FOR FOOD IN MANURE. 41" EXPERIMENTS WITH SHEEP. Table No. 1. PROPORTION CGR PERCENTAGE OF EACH CONSTITUENT DIGESTED. i if ie ge] 2 | : re) aa ne 2 Foon. Bc a 3 ag 5 o 2 Aa eS Za=O = as Py SES 2 3 ag 5 jpn ie ies Cl a om bao} & xq Fy nN Fy RaStnresevacshir.: eters, cisaentast’s sere betes 75 8 73.3 65.4 15.4 79.5 Meadow hay (very good).............. | 64.7 66.6 54.5 65 6 63.5 Meadow hay (ordinary)............ .... 58.7 57.2 44.3 58.7 59.8 HENCEVING MAY ociis pee ch ieee. ne ae 59.1 72.8 29.7 1.9 43.6 (Op ges ae 2 FIER RE ON Re MS Aa dee Ie 72:9 85.5 84.8 Nee 26.1 BEANS SiR eee vies hohe ek ay hte SERRE 89.6 87.1 S42 VieoiEs 78.5 OTLB COTING = eetels cievratal aiatelaista mca ares eee 88.5 78 5 81.6 91.3 61.9 Grass cut at different dates— Vay 14th ee Ep rats con |G as Me ee 75.8 73.3 65.4 et 79.5 PUI TAC Ee Ol icee < etee-r reteipars Maya ts os a mip ee eceys 64.3 72.1 51.6 61.9 65.7 PUNE SOU 7.55, - Bao So, aoe oree-c breccias spate 505 55.5 43.3 Boe Gia ClOVErsHAyotee oiceoeeiehi cane alsa sores 59.0 55.0 56.0 56.0 44.0 OTESED AW mene @ ola trom al traratera. Ok isis some hates 51.0 38.0 30.0 43.0 61.0 WEEE Ste echass cot bole sie bre croc series 46.0 20.0 36.0 39.0 56.0 IBCSHESETA WW! are tes abienae ann ea ans 50.0 51.0 55.0 60.0 36.0 MHNSECH CAG 7 Siecle ae celad eee cco aad 80.0 84.0 90 0 78.0 hee It will be seen that there is a ee a change in the digest- ibility of grass cut at different periods. The grass cut May 14th had 75.8 per cent. digestible matter; while the same grass cut June 26th had only 57.5 per cent. diges- tible. Other experiments have shown the same difference in the digestibility of clover cut before blossoming, while in blossom, and after blossoming. This table should be well studied, as a lesson on the proper time to cut grass for hay. The percentage digestible of any constituent is called by Dr. Wolff its “digestion co-efficient.” From this it is easy to determine what proportion of nitrogen passes into the solid and liquid excrement. Suppose we take oats: 85.5 is its “ digestion co-efficient”; that is, this is the percentage of the albuminoids of oats that is digestible by sheep, and therefore the indigestible 418 FEEDING ANIMALS. 14.5 per cent. of the albuminods of oats will pass into the solid excrement. The digestible part will pass into the blood; and if the sheep are not increasing in weight, or suckling lambs, 85.5 per cent. of the albuminoids will pass in the urine, so that all the nitrogen received in the food will be voided in the solid and liquid excrement. But if the animals are full-fed and are increasing in weight, then the increase will reduce the quantity of manurial constitu- ents in the excrement. From the German tables of exper- iments, it is estimated that the following percentages are stored up and voided as excrements when fed on barley- meal. NITROGEN STORED UP AND VOIDED FOR 100 CONSUMED. Table No. 2. Voided as | Voided as Stored up as In total ex- ANIMALS. Se solid ex- liquid ex- ‘ increase. Pe cuhieae eaemneue crement. SHEED anc occ ceeiwiees gee 4.3 16.7 79.0 95.7 Oxetcdcssclccers eeeermnee 3.9 22.6 "oad 96.1 PIGS e oare x teicteis eaceie, ate'sieix 14.7 21.0 64.3 85.3 AsH CONSTITUENTS STORED UP AND VOIDED FOR 100 CONSUMED. Table No. 3. Stored up as_ | Voided in total ANIMALS. increase. excrement. NEED posi neids sejeesile ie de hbase ence cee amare 3.8 96.2 OTs maton tatealct atten as oke & aletotelave!s tensions wie fahren 2.3 97.7 PIGS EE Chew os ind osietise laces | wiesieiatee oan cele 4.5 An examination of these tables will show, in the case of fattening sheep, what proportion of the valuable elements of the food are returned to the soil, or may be returned, to prevent exhaustion. Over 95 percent. of the nitrogen and ash constituents are voided in the excrement in the cases of COMPENSATION FOR FOOD IN MANURE. £19 sheep and oxen. This shows a very small waste of the fer. tilizing matter of food in fattening sheep. The following table will show the composition of solid and liquid excrement of sheep fed on hay : Table No. 4. SoLip EXCREMENT. URINE. Fresh. Dry. Fresh. | Dry. ee | S ALOT nc ss eros cetecte 66.2 watchs 85.7 re Organic matter.......... 30.3 89.6 8 7 61.0 ABHAN, cenit shan todo eee 5 10.4 5.6 39 0 Nitrogen... i socscaacoe ees 0.7 2.0 1.4 | 9.6 It will be seen that the solid and liquid excrements, even when the sheep are fed upon hay, are rich in both nitrogen and ash constituents, asa ton of the solid would contain 14 lbs. of nitrogen, and a ton of liquid 28 lbs. of nitrogen ; at 18 cents per lb., the first would be worth $2.52, and the second $5.04 per 2,000 lbs., in the ordinary wet state. That the reader may see the relative value of various foods, and how much they differ, depending on the propor- tion of nitrogen and the ash constituents, we give Table No. 5, containing many of the most common foods, and giving the nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid in 1,000 parts. This table shows how much of each valuable constituent is contained in each ,of these different foods; and anyone can calculate the value of a ton, by multiplying the pounds of nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid by the price of each in the market. Nitrogen is usually estimated at 18 cents per pound, potash at 8 cents, and phosphoric acid at 12 cents per pound. The figures in this table give the amounts of these elements in 1,000 pounds of each food, when of good quality, and all is saved. If 90 to 95 per cent. of these fertilizing constituents of food could be 420 FEEDING ANIMALS. actually saved by farmers and returned to the soil, then it is easy to see the effect that must be produced by judicious stock-feeding upon the depleted soils of the New England and Middle States. Table No. 5. = ° @ —™ 3 a aah Foops. g bb a a 5 = See A A - Ay Bee ee lbs lbs lbs. Ibs. Cotton-seed cake (decorticated)..............0-- 900 66.0 21.07] 381.2 Cotton-seed cake (undecorticated).............. 885 39.0 20.1 22.9 Rape-cake .........+. siefelataleiee tetas Bataisicers Seite 900 48 0 13.2 24.6 Linseed-cake .........e00. SOPOT OG sh eines at 880 45.0 14.7 19.6 Linseed (flax-seed).. aiata sieves Biajerarelaiclele eiaiaernaietelers oe 905 36 .0 12.3 15.4 Palmemeal 4..6c.k\seeess eberce's saree tails Mertioe we 930 25 0 5.5 12.2 Linseed- meal (extracted) .. A Nochaia dele clercie asus heck 903 59.8 7.0 25.6 Poppy-seed cake........-..-. Sasicepleicciessneeee 885 47 8 22.0 40 0 le mip-SE Cs CAI te cre ietats lacie sicicialciclave(slove-siaicrelamsle ene 901 44.7 27.6 37.6 Walt cake Pod | tia. cots cect elsinic-eluic ap tiavehiaraie's ee 863 52/2 17 23.4 Sunflower-seed cake. AACSB ODE Ae Sitter ee 897 55.9 26 8 35.4 SOAS ect coca cee pieciel elsieiasie Sei leh ketoteast Fee btote ss 855 41.0 12.0 | 11.6 Peas . aid ele enh ays tale Valatase a 6 Soe cieiotatteis atelaisinis are Se Ni Beye 36.0 9.8 8.8 Malt sprouts cee banters ele oe Se i Son Siecle Daas fies moire cea ya deg yes IT am din sen shal iy PEPE acs DCE Saas OAL SS a eng « Ke mes ys beh elas beg oe ie In 12 months, gain in live weight..............0.+++: tsg.** Mr. P. fed, altogether, Leicesters, and he says the above weights were often very much exceeded. American feeders may not have a very clear idea of the weight of swede turnips that lambs and other sheep will eat per day. Mr. P. says an ewe lamb-hog (one unshorn) will eat of cut swedes, in the month of February : OPPO yids ki Deel t ant wasn bias aberk Ge towe eth SAN 18 lbs. Ae MAN RTE OEE Ste Paces case auanindh 96,0 we phadie «oes. del 20 ** EE SAIE, REMNEP REP TAS soe oes acer 's aa b eee ic vd anna wcle y «pte 22 <6 Acsnea rng SeeGeer ns). cca igea's slele sig pst «0\0)d caja» oxi’ ay Sf dy THOM On NOI, OWE. 6 ooo. cdep ess cd none cernadess 24 ‘s RATT AWE ae an tw ae IEEE) dciarc a dates De sid wale « is a A: TAI BBOVE TWO VOSS OM... iS be seb iretemeciee nop danas 30 ‘f if no other food but cut swedes is given them ; but warm weather will reduce the amount about one-fourth. If grain or oil-cake, or any other dry food is given, they will con- sume less turnips in proportion to the amount given. Experiment 1.—In March, 1845, he selected 12 ewes and lambs from the flock, and divided into lots of equal quality and weight. Six were fed entirely on clover-hay chaff, of which each ate 2476 lbs. per week, at a cost of 21 cts.; and 446 FEEDING ANIMALS. the other six were fed each 1634s lbs. of swedes, costing 17 cts., and 2% pecks of beans, worth 14 cts., amounting to 31 cts. per week each. At the end of a month the lambs of the ewes fed on clover chaff alone looked the most thriving. Ex. 2.—Twelve ewes and lambs were again selected and divided, and fed for two weeks, the lambs being weighed. Six were fed on 9 lbs. of bran daily and 15 Ibs. of clover chaff, costing for each sheep 26 cts. per week; and the other six were fed upon clover chaff alone, as before, cost- ing 21 cts.—the lambs of the former gained, in 14 days, 6 Ibs. and those of the latter 494 lbs. This difference of 14 lbs. live weight Mr. P. regards as costing all it comes to in the 5 cts. extra for bran. To test the comparative value of clover and trefoil, as against vetches or tares, he selected 14 lambs with their dams, weighed the lambs and divided them equally by weight and number. Ex. 3.—Seven of these dams and lambs were placed upon clover and trefoil, and the other seven upon vetches. The seven on clover and trefoil gained 20 lbs. each. ‘Those en vetches, 1634 lbs. each. Ex. 4.—He selected ewes and lambs, weighed and divided them on the middle of May, folded one-half in the clover field, and fed with cut mangold-wurzel and a little hay chaff; their lambs ran through the hurdles on a good pasture of red clover. The other lot were left at large on white clover and trefoil, their lambs also ran on a good piece of red clover, and both lots of lambs had a small quantity of peas. At the end of 28 days the lambs of the ewes fed on mangolds had gained 21 lbs., the other lot, 18 lbs. Here is a most remarkable gain shown of 21 lbs. in 28 days, or over 5 lbs. per lamb per week. Hx. 5.—June 10th, 10 lambs were weaned and weighed alive, put on red clover, with some vetches and beans. On MANAGING A FLOCK. 447 the same day 10 lambs were weighed, remaining with their dams on white clover and trefoil, but allowed to run through the hurdles upon good red clover. At the end of 33 days the unweaned lambs had gained 17 lbs., and the weaned, 1644 lbs. each. Another experi- ment with 12 lambs weaned and 12 unweaned, showed the former to have gained in a month 21 lbs., and the latter 20% lbs., showing the gain about equal; but Mr. P. remarks that those weaned early wintered best. Ex. %.—Two lots of lambs were weighed November 19th. To the one was given cut swedes with clover-hay chaff and malt sprouts mixed ; and the other lot, cut swedes only. In two months the former gained 14% lbs., and the latter 8 lbs. each, making 64 Ibs. in favor of dry food. Ex. 8.—Another experiment of a similar character was tried with eight lambs each, February 18th. ‘The one was fed with cut swedes and 2 lbs. of clover chaff and 2 lbs. of bran, the others on swedes alone. At the end ‘of one month the former had gained 74 lbs. and the latter 3°4 Ibs. each. Here the gain is nearly double with the dry food, and this is no doubt owing to the temperature. Ex, 9.—EHight lambs were fed upon cabbages and white turnips in October, with a half-pint of linseed to each, and a like number were fed upon cabbages, white turnips and clover chaff, as much as they would eat. The former gained, in one month, 16 lbs., and the latter 16 Ibs. Here the clover chaff balances the half-pint of linseed. One of its most important. offices is to absorb the extra amount of water in the cabbage and turnips. Mr. P. appears to be opposed to feeding sheep in yards; but he thought he would try it again, and on the 4th of December he put some of his best lambs into a warm, well-sheltered yard, with a high shed to feed under, well littered with fresh straw, and fed them, as usual, on swedes and grain. 448 FEEDING ANIMALS.. These were weighed as against a like number fed eight weeks in a turnip field : Those in field gained ‘each: «bist ctacw eis a hoe oe oe de 13 Ibs. Those in yard only cained each... . 0... .'06c ncsscese rss as Apparent balance against yard feeding................ 10.™ He remarks: ‘‘ These lambs did not appear to like the confinement, and took every opportunity of getting out if they could.” The reader will compare this with experi- ments three, five, and seven of the first series, where the shed appeared to increase the gain decidedly. The expla- nation is probably to be found in the strict confinement, which so changed the habits of the lambs as to unfavorably affect their health. The American feeder, in looking over these experiments, will note the favorable effect of a little grain with the - turnip ration. The turnip is a very watery plant; and although a moderate amount of succulence is very con- ducive to health and animal growth, yet to compel lambs to take their entire food diluted with 87 to 90 per cent. water is not appropriate, except in the warm season ; and even then dry food asa part of the ration is an improve- ment. In experiment No. 5, on 1% lbs. of mixed grain with 18% lbs. turnips, the lambs gained as much in 10 weeks as those in experiment 3 did in 15 weeks on 4 |b. of oil-cake and peas with 2022 lbs. of turnips; and in these two experiments the shelter was the same and only propor- tions of the food changed. It has always been our strong belief that English feeders are in error in feeding more than 10 lbs. of turnips toa lamb, and the balance of the ration should be made up of early cut and cured clover-hay, tares, rape, or fine grasses, and grain, or oil-cake, or a mixture. Experiments 8 and 9 prove that 12 lbs of turnips on very young and succulent clover (No. 8), with 1¢ Ib. of grain, produced less gain per month (11% lbs.) than when omitted (No. 9, where the GERMAN EXPERIMENTS. 449 clover and grain produced 16 lbs. gain). The actual nutri- ment in 20 to 23 pounds of turnips is only equal to 3 lbs. of Indian corn. And when we take into consideration the amount of extra water that must be exhaled and evapo- rated from the body in the excessive use of turnips as a food in moderately cold weather, it is highly probable that 23 lbs. of turnips scarcely represents in heat and fat- forming power, 3 lbs. of corn. This would make a bushel of corn balance 429 pounds of turnips, or an acre of corn, at 40 bushels per acre, would equal 844 tons of 2,000 pounds of turnips; and, counting the corn at 25 cents per bushel, as it averages over large districts of the West, it would give but $1.18 per ton for the turnips, and $2.36 when corn is 50 cts. per bushel. This last price would equal 6 cents per bushel—a price for which some American farmers say turnips or beets can be raised. But this comparison will show that turnips cannot compete with Indian corn when the latter can be purchased at 25 cts. per bushel. Yet the real value of turnips, as a food preservative of animal health and growth, is higher than that given here. Ten pounds of turnips with 1% lbs. of corn will fatten a young sheep or lamb faster than 3 lbs. of corn alone. The English ration of turnips or other roots for both sheep and cattle is quite excessive, and would be more profitable if divided and the same value in grain fed for the other half. The succulent root crop, fed in moderate quantity, is the basis of successful winter-feeding of sheep in England, and may yet be widely adopted in this country, unless the silo shall preserve better green food at a less price, where the price of corn ranges from 40 to 75 cts. per bushel. GERMAN EXPERIMENTS IN SHEEP-FEEDING. We will now give some German experiments—the first conducted by Dr. Wolff in feeding two common lambs for 9 months, from 5 to 14 months old. These lambs were fed 450 FEEDING ANIMALS. upon hay, oats, and oil-cake. The hay during the first two periods was early-cut and nicely-cured meadow hay, and during the other periods was aftermath. The following table gives the amount of food, gain, etc.: Paylin oldodlo te 2! hilt f walla pacientes aaa DIGESTED. a0 a ee ee oe i a rt ' = ; 3 aS) ‘ . n o $4 n 3 ~~ > PERIOD. = = = = 1 é oe ° o = q > o h iS) 3 a Is o SI a = g é s Ae os 5 fe 2 43 3 £!14 a0 nd | 2 = = < a = a cs & az |s lbs. lbs. lbs. Ibs. Ibs. lbs. TA Ca as hs. 5-6 59 7 1.99 0.21 0.08 0.97 5.6 0.26 Pas Reus ene 6-8 TORT 2.02 0.24 0.08 1.02 5.1 0.24 But heat toa Mode 8-9 48.9 1.91 0.21 0.10 0.92 5.6 0.07 ee a Nats iste oe oe 9-12 84.8 1.82 0.19 0.06 0.91 5.6 0.12 Gi eh ORI Paar aoe 12-14 95.8 1.76 0.19 0.08 0.89 eT) 0.19 1 ae It appears from the above table that the daily gain in the first two periods was very uniform, in the third period fell off 72 per cent., in the fourth period was 50 per cent. of the second, and in the fifth period increased 50 per cent. over the fourth. This experiment, although it illustrates the law of growth—that the younger the animal the greater the gain from a given amount of food—yet there are such irregularities visible as to deprive it of much authoritative value. The number of animals is quite too small. The following experiments by Stohmann were upon lambs seven to eight months old, fed upon straw, potatoes, clover-hay, and oil-cake. These were combined into rations for the four different lots of lambs, each slightly varying from the others. These lambs were fed four months before shearing and one month after shearing. The nitrogen- ous and non-nitrogenous elements of the ration per day per head, gain per day, etc., are shown in the following table : GERMAN EXPERIMENTS. 451 BEFORE SHEARING. Lot 1. Lot 2. Lot 3 Lot 4. Digestible albuminoids, lbs.................... 0.3 0.28 0.28 0.38 Digestible carbo-hydrates and fat, lbs.......... 1.54 1.56 1.36 1.41 IN MUnIULY Oona liOuccnts actctctisel tae aitie vo. Sema veee cen 1.41 1.56 1.49 toe Gant peridady 1DS MB: hc.ccloee ca. do oideidhilece ales 0.25 0.21 0.17 0.21 AFTER SHEARING. Digestible albuminoids, lbs. ... ............... 0.48 0.35 0.33 0.46 Digestible carbo-hydrates and fat, lbs.. ....... 2.04 2.02 1.76 1.80 DOMINOS TRNO: 2, St. Y. Valea meir tee ces caved 1:43 I: 5-8 sou 133.9 Rremiper May TSS Sy 55. Be he bah ohare rcs « oe 0.28 0.25 0.23 0 24 Average live weight, lbs........ ........05.... 95 .00 92.00 86.00 92.00 Dressed in per cent. of live weight............ 58.10 57.40 56 20 53.10 This experiment of Stohmann’s shows the effect of higher feeding over that of Wolff’s, but neither shows a gain equal to the English experiments given above; and this may be explained from the fact. that the English mutton sheep sre better bred than the German, mature earlier, and eat larger rations. Take No.19 of Mr. Smith’s experiments, where the 10 lambs average 22 lbs. of swedes per day. This would be equal to .29 Ib. digestible albu- minoids, 2.40 Ibs. carbo-hydrates, .022 Ib. fat; and they averaged a gain of .33 lb. per day, and this is only about an average gain per day of the lambs in Smith’s and Pawlett’s experiments, and yet the proportions of the rations do not greatly differ. We will add to these experiments those of Weiske, of recent date, on feeding lambs. He carried two lambs through nine periods of about five weeks each, beginning at the age of four months. At the end of the ninth period the lambs were put into the flock for some nine months, and then fed another period. The ration consisted of hay and peas at first, but gradually the hay was increased and the peas diminished until in the last three periods the ration was composed wholly of hay. In each period analyses were made of the fodder, of the excrement—solid 452 FEEDING ANIMALS. and liquid—and live weight taken for some eight days. It was said also these lambs gained weight faster than lambs of the same age on good pasturage. We are indebted for these tables to Prof. Armsby’s recent “ Manual on Cattle- Feeding” : PER HEAD. DIGESTED, PER DAY. GAIN, PER DAY. a ‘ m ere a E s a Ss Zz 3S 3 a= PERIOD. s wy = & é "sh 6 = E S, ge | 3 | re = } = : - 20 S : 2 # o a Sp o & = 5 = 5 2 < = a cm 6) VA he i lbs. lbs lbs lbs lbs. lbs. eee nee oe 4 —5Y 45.0 0.17 0.03 0.7 4.8 0.28 0.17 eile Le Be bas 5u%— FW 56.2 0.18 0.04 0.92 Pare 0.27 0.17 SS cee 6%.— 734 63.5 0.18 0.04 0.90 5.6 0.23 0.15 A ee ee 734— 9 TAN are 0.20 0.04 0.98 5.4 0.20 0.18 LSA i 9 —10% Cie 0.18 0.04 0.95 5.8 0.13 0.15 i ter ere 104%—11 4 77.6 0.18 0.04 0 94 5.8 0.09 0.13: tp eee 114—12% 83.6 0.18 0.05 0.96 6.0 0.13 0.19 pee Rana: 1234-14 89.1 0.17 0.05 0.99 6.6 0.16 0.16 Ue Cee ee eee 14 —15 85.8 0.16 0.04 0.98 6.8 Pe ee LOE Sse 24 126.5 0.15 0.06 1.18 8.9 0.14 This experiment shows very clearly the effect of age and weight upon the growth of the lamb—each period a steady. decrease in gain per day, although the food is slightly increased, and especially in proportion to the gain. Had. there been a larger number of lambs—say ten—so as to have eliminated the peculiarities of the individual, this series of experiments would have possessed great value; and this is the fault of most of the feeding experiments at the German stations—that they have been performed upon individuals and upon too small a number of animals. But if this table is calculated per 100 Ibs. live weight, instead of per head, the result more clearly appears. —. a’ GERMAN EXPERIMENTS. 453 Per 100 Lss. LIVE WEIGHT. o : ~ a is DiGESTED, 3 Ey 2 | 43 PER DAY. =| S Pe > ites CR ere Ue ; ® ep oe EI rep Z BIN | ee 2 PERIOD. 2 = = Bh = oe os =a ro) ain HO = > ce = Ss og — ord fo) : A= RA Sn Qe g ° y & a c m - =| ; a =a = ae) a5 as = % = ev | £5 | ga | €4 eet Fy o és) < ie) 1) lbs lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs lbs. 1 0.38 0.07 1.67 0.73 0.29 0.09 23.7 SN i Sat 0.33 0.07 1.66 0.54 0 26 0 07 21.2 Ee Reis one cacao ae 0.28 0.06 1.41 0.41 0.23 0.05 17.9 2, RP Boe ene Lene SIA 0.28 0.06 1.36 0.31 0.22 0.06 24 4 Fae eh Red. actinides Sito ee 0.24 0.05 ileP.3) 0.17 0.20 0.04 1627 ih RASS AR meee 4 0.23 0.06 p222 0.13 0.19 0.04 17.4 TORO cs esters 0 22 0 05 115 OF17 0.17 0.05 22.7 Ch te Se epee 0.20 0.05 (a UL 0.19 0 16 0.04 20.0 9 0.19 0.06 1.09 aot tats GE Ree NRE REO en ea 0.12 0.05 0.93 0 10 0.02 16.7 This table shows most clearly the extra cost of putting on live weight as the animal grows older and heavier. If we take an average of the first three periods, we find that 314 lbs. of digestible food produced one pound gain in live weight; but if we take an average of the 6th, 7th and 8th periods, it required 875 lbs. of digestible food to make one pound gain in live weight—about two and a half times as much food to produce the same result. This shows in striking light the advantage of early maturity. If our readers will carefully study these experiments and tables, they will never more doubt the economy of full-feeding from birth to commercial maturity. CUTTING AND CooKING FODDER FOR SHEEP. Che preparation of the winter food for sheep is an import- ant matter to be considered. The sheep’s grinding or masti- cating apparatus has often been so strongly commended as to lead most feeders to suppose that the artificial prepara- tion of their food is labor lost. ‘This, however, is far from 454 FEEDING ANIMALS. being borne out by the facts. The author, on theory, has regarded the cutting of hay and other coarse fodder for sheep as good economy; and to test this point by an EXPERIMENT, we fed 25 medium-sized grade Merino sheep 50 lbs. of long, early-cut timothy-hay per day for one week, and, on gather- ing up the fragments each day, found that the average was 12 lbs. per day left uneaten. We found, also, that this hay was not left because of over-feeding, for when fed 75 Ibs. per day they ate the same proportion of it. They were then given 50 lbs. of the same hay per day cut 3g inch long, for one week, and, on carefully gathering up what was left, found Jess than 2 lbs. average per day uneaten. On increasing this cut hay to 60 lbs. per day, this was found to be all they would eat. This was con- tinued till we came to the conclusion that 60 Ibs. of eut hay equaled, for sheep, 75 lbs. of the same hay uncut. We also found, in the case of good fodder corn, that twice as much of it was eaten by sheep, when cut 7s inch in length, as when uncut. -In short, our experiments proved that sheep pay as well for fine chaffing of coarse fodder as any class of farm stock. ‘The experiment was intended simply to test the effect of cutting the hay and fodder corn when | feeding store sheep. In fattening sheep we have experimented on the effect of cooking hay and grain together. For this purpose we mixed 100 Ibs. corn-meal, 100 Ibs. of wheat middlings and 50° lbs. of linseed oil-meal (old style). One hundred pounds of this mixture was mixed with 200 lbs. of cut hay, the hay being first moistened; and then 600 lbs. of this mixture were placed in a steam-box and cooked with live steam for one hour anda half. The sheep, of about 100 Ibs. weight, consumed 3 lbs. per head per day in two feeds, morning COOKED FOOD FOR SHEEP. 455 and evening, with ¥% lb. of dry hay at noon. Upon this ration the gain was 3 lbs. per head per week. The same ration uncooked produced a gain of 2 to 2/4 lbs. per head per week.. Upon this cooked ration the sheep seemed as contented as on grass. A cooked ration is more laxative than a dry one, and the small proportion of oil-meal also assisted in keeping the digestive organs in a healthy condition. The small lock of dry hay at noon was relished and corrected any tendency to relaxation. Having fed sheep upon steamed food for several winters, and always with satisfaction, we came to regard this way of feeding as most profitable with a large stock and the proper facilities. ANOTHER EXPERIMENT. Under this head we will give a condensed statement of the experiments of the late Arvine C. Wales, of Massillon, Ohio, in feeding sheep on a large scale upon cooked food. In 1874 he divided a lot of 300 sheep into two flocks of 150 each. The one lot was placed under a shed and fed liberally on clover hay and sheaf oats; the other lot was placed in another shed and fed on cut fodder corn and wheat bran. Seventy-five pounds of bran were mixed with one day’s feed of fodder corn and all wet down with boiling water. Both lots of sheep were weighed before the feeding began and frequently during the experiment, of eight weeks. He does not give the figures of the weighings, but says: “They were interesting to me and so satisfactory as to seem to warrant the purchase of an engine and boiler, and the putting up of tanks and conveniences on a scale adequate to the wants of the flock. Since then I have fed cooked food almost exclusively. Last winter, owing to the failure of the hay crop, I kept over my entire stock, con- sisting of 20 horses, 20 head of cattle, and between 1,600 and 1,700 sheep, without a pound of hay, and they came 456 FEEDING ANIMALS. into spring in better condition than they have ever done on dry feed.” He then gives his mode of raising fodder corn, which was to sow two bushels of seed with a drill, all the tubes working, and cut it with a reaper, setting it up in large shocks. He figures his corn at six tons of cured stalks per acre, at a cost of seed, labor, all told, including shocking, at $1.30 per ton. He gives the following state- ment of Cost oF STEAMING. “The stock now being fed requires about three tons of dry feed per day. ‘The cutting is done by a No. 6 Cummins cutter, and it is so arranged that the cut feed as it falls from the cutting machine is carried to and placed in the tanks, wet up with the necessary quantity of water, and mixed with bran or meal by machinery—so that when the cutting is done the feed is ready for the steam. ‘Three men in an hour and a half can cut the three tons. With the present boiler capacity it takes one man four hours more to steam it. The cost of fuel for cutting, mixing, steaming, pumping water, etc., is about five cents per ton of dry feed. The cut feed is much more easily and rapidly distributed to the animals than long feed. It is shoveled from the tanks down into wagons with side boards, that stand below the bottoms of the tanks, and carried to the sheep-folds. The racks are made to accommodate twenty sheep, and this number is found to need about two bushels of cut feed. The feeder has two two-bushel baskets. While he is carrying one to the racks the boy fills the other. In this way a man and a boy can feed and care for 1,500 sheep. The fodder is eaten up clean, a few joints and soiled pieces only being left, but not one per cent. is wasted. “All the advantages claimed for feeding steamed food to cattle and horses—the economy of feed, the increased SHEEP FEEDING. 45% health, thrift and comfort of the animals—are found in an equal degree in the feeding of sheep. The effect 1s shown in the wool, which is of a length, clearness, style, and particularly strength of staple rarely found on sheep win- tered on dry feed. There is no yar, or tender place in the wool indicating the point in.the growth of the fibre where the sheep changed from green to dry feed. All the wool buyers observed this; and the wool, it is believed, com- manded a higher price than any other clip bought from first hands in this or any of the adjoining counties. “Tt is not claimed that the steaming of feed adds to its nutritive elements. But as the pulverization and stirring of the soil promote the growth of plants by making the plant food more accessible to the plants, so the steaming of feed makes i6 at once more palatable and more readily digested and assimilated by the animals, and performs the same office for their food that cooking does for ours.” We have no doubt that Mr. Wales’ views of the 1mprove- ment of the food by steaming, for sheep, 1s correct. Our experiments, which long ante-dated his, gave us the fullest confidence in this mode of feeding. English farmers find great benefit from succulent roots for sheep-feeding, and cooking produces very much the same effect. We think it probable, however, that ensilage will take the place in sheep-feeding both of roots and cooking. The green corn, clover and grass, preserved in silo, may be expected to accomplish all that is to be desired in this respect. 458 FEEDING ANIMALS. CHA PLER ALT. SWINE. WE discuss this class of stock last, but it is by no means least. The pig is often treated with contempt on account of its supposed filthy habits and diminutive size; but it occupies a most important position in our agriculture. It furnishes to the people a very large share of their flesh food; and ina commercial point of view it rises into grand proportions. We have been wont to glory over our export of dairy products, especially of cheese, and now we have great reason for encouragement in regard to our beef export, which may reasonably be expected to reach $50,000,000 in a few years; but a comparison of our exports of animal products for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, places the despised pig at the head. The prod- ucts of the pig exported during that year were— Bacon and hams, valued ati... 05. 0.05 <<< 0% <5 $39,664,456 Pork, EEC eid eee te 5,744,022 L Bi st igi Saeed ple panichd ss Sake 22.429 485 Lard oil, PRUE BG Batt Tea 149'156 Live hogs, Pai PERE Eanes OL ents PRs oad 670,042 Total value of pig exports, 1876................ $68,657, 161 OA, ROO 28 eth oe toa dich dad oe Breathe ear w ote tel $105,790, 779 If we take the entire range of cattle products exported during 1876, we find the following items: Beet, valued ab.c:. 2: 31 as tae See $3, 186,304 Preserved meats, valtied ati...:.bisccedsousbaccac 998,052 Butter, Oh SA a ere Atel areata perce ieee 1,109,496 Cheese, Oo; ca Me be Bel oa Pe eed are 12,270,083 Tallow, Se tS) cc tmk ites eee kre nee 6,734,378 Hides and skins, ee ee ee 905, Leather, err SS mer ret 8,394,580 Total cattle products exported, 1876............. $35,598, 814 Cattle producta, 18607... tics s ocak taewsewsa mane $68,711,300 —— THE PIG. 459 By a comparison, we find the exported products of the pig at the former period to have been about double the value of those of cattle, and at the latter period more than 50 per cent. greater. ‘The item of bacon has greatly increased within the last few years. In 1872 it was only $21,000,000, and previous to that only averaged about $6,000,000 per year, while in 1881 it reached over $61,000,000. ‘This great increase has resulted from our study of the tastes of the English people. They require hams put up in a particular way, and we are only catering to that taste, and the increase is $30,000,000 in a few years. This export of meat instead of corn, concentrating that bulky cereal into the condensed product of pork, when it may be exported for one-eighth of the cost of exporting the raw food to make it, and the difference coming to gladden the heart of the meat producer. We thus find that the pig grows in the estimation of the American farmer every year as, perhaps, the most economi- cal machine for the manufacture of our coarse grain crops into meat. This animal is, therefore, worthy of the most careful study, as it is soon destined to represent one hun- dred and fifty millions in our cash exports. The pig yields us more dollars in exports than any other single agricultural product except wheat and cotton. It is therefore entitled to be treated with great consideration. An- other excellent point in its favor is, that no other animal utilizes a greater percentage of its food. It costs less food to grow apound of pork thana pound of beef. Sir J. B. Lawes, of Rothamstead, in his experiments, a few years ago, found that the pig utilized 20 per cent. of its food, while cattle » utilized but & per cent. of the dry substance of their food. It thus appears that the stock farmer has every reason to study the nature and management of the pig as one of his most fruitful sources of revenue. If we examine the digestive apparatus of the pig, it will 460 FEEDING ANIMALS, be plain why this animal produces a larger growth from the same amount of food than the ox or sheep. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert’s researches throw some light upon this point. They found, by accurate experiment, that the stomach and its contents amounted, in the pig, to only 144 per cent. of the whole weight of the animal, whilst in sheep it was 74¢ per cent., and in oxen 11) per cent. of the entire weight. But the proportion of the weight of the intestines and their contents is greatest in the pig, it being in that animal 64% per cent., while in the sheep it is 34, and in oxen only 234 per cent. See on this point page 63 ante. The food of the ruminant consists of a large proportion of indigestible woody fibre, whilst the food of the pig con- sists more largely of starch, and the digestion of its food takes place largely in the intestinal canal. This explains why the pig is so great a digester of food, and why it consumes more food in proportion to the weight of its body than the ox. It also furnishes the basis for an explanation of the fact that the pig gains more in weight from a given amount of food than the ox. As we have seen, all animals require a certain amount of food to keep them alive, or in their present condition, called the food of support, and it is the food eaten and assimilated beyond this food of support that gives the increase, and this is called the food of production. This extra food all goes to increase the weight. Now if the pig digests and assimilates more in proportion to its weight than the ox or sheep, it must use a larger precentage of what it eats as the food of production, and, of course, a larger gain re- , sults from a given quantity of food. Large capacity for digestion is, therefore, a prime quality in animals reared for the production of meat, and in this respect the pig stands unrivaled among all our domestic animals. We shall there- fore be justified in studying carefully all its wants with a yiew of supplying them, THE PIG. 461 CARE OF BREEDING SOWS. Having selected such young sow pigs as appear likely to make the best breeders (and this selection will be made by experienced breeders before the pig is two months old), such system of feeding should be adopted as will develop every part of the body evenly, and particularly the muscular and , osseous systems. The young breeding sow should be fully fed, and made to develop as rapidly as good health will permit, for the feeding habit and constitution of the mother will be inherited by the offspring. The mother is supposed especially to impart to the young her own digestive system, and it is natural therefore to conclude that the thrifty, rapidly-growing young sow will impart these characteristics to her offspring. Early maturity, together with a vigorous constitution is now the desired end sought by all swine- breeders and feeders. But the young breeding sow needs to have length and depth of body, well-rounded ribs, and ten to twelve teats, well spread apart. In order to promote this conformation of body, the food of the young sow should be rich in muscle and bone-forming clements, not such as is best calculated to fatten. A short compact body in a sow will indicate a tendency to fatten, and not to bring large litters and furnish them with abundant milk. Food rich in oil, sugar and starch must be given very sparingly. In all Indian corn growing regions, the custom is to feed too much corn to young pigs, and especially to young breeding sows. Young clover and grass are always proper food for pigs; and in dairy districts, nothing is better than skim- milk. Containing so large a proportion of casein, or cheese, and phosphate of lime, it is admirably adapted to develop the muscular and osseous systems. But in the West, the great corn and pig-growing region, so little attention is given to the proper food of breeding sows, that they are often fed indiscriminately with the fattening herd, almost wholly upon corn. We have always regarded that frightful 462 FEEDING ANIMALS. scourge, hog cholera, to be largely the result of feeding so indiscriminately with corn. Asa proof of this, this disease is hardly known in Canada, where peas, oats and barley are fed in place of corn to young and growing pigs. There is also very little cholera in the Eastern and Middle States, except among hogs brought from the West. ‘The milk supplied by the brood sow to her young pigs is said to be even richer in casein, or nitrogenous food, than cow’s milk ; and as we have said in former chapters, Nature furnishes in her food for the young the best combination of elements, and if we imitate the milk of the dam,we shall make no mistake in the food ration. Then, besides grass, we should give the young breeding sow food of similar composition to oats, peas, beans, oil-meal, bran or wheat middlings—all having a large proportion of albuminoids, and being also rich in phosphate of lime. It is not well to couple the young sow before she is nine months old, as she should not farrow her first litter under thirteen months old. Sows are sometimes coupled at six or seven months, but this practice is likely to produce a puny offspring, and if it is persisted in for several generations, like planting small potatoes, the progeny will grow smaller and punier with each succeeding generation. When the young sow is about to farrow, she should be put into a small clean pen, with a narrow board placed around the outside of the bed, about four inches from the wall and four inches above the floor, so as to prevent her from overlying her young, which will escape under these boards. From one to two bushels of cut straw only should be given her for bedding. It is expected that these young sows have been petted and accustomed to being handled by the attendant. ‘This kind- ness and gentleness may save a very valuable litter of pigs. If the sow is wild, it is quite useless to attempt to assist her, as it will only increase her excitement, and still more en- danger the safety of the young pigs. THE PIG. 463 If the sow should produce less than eight pigs at the first litter, it may be considered unprofitable to keep her as a breeder ; unless her blood is very valuable, she had better be fattened for pork. Wericut oF Pics AT BIRTH. The sow having farrowed her litter in safety, let us ex- amine the young things, and get an idea of their dimensions. What does the young pig ordinarily weigh at birth? We have never personally weighed them at birth, and know of only one record of such weighing. Boussingault says he was “curious to ascertain the weight of pigs at the moment of birth, so as to determine their rate of increase during the period of suckling.” He weighed a litter of five pigs on the 5th September. They weighed from 2.20 lbs. to 3.30 Ibs., the average being 2.75 lbs. each. This seems a very small beginning for an animal that has sometimes reached over 1,000 Ibs. weight. Thirty-six days afterwards, October 11th, the litter had grown to 86.9 lbs.—an average of 17.3 lbs. per head; being an increase of 14.6 per head, or 0.41 Ibs. per day. On the 15th November, they weighed 177 Ibs.—an increase, in 35 days, of 90.2 lbs., or 18 Ibs. per head, being 0.50 per day. In another case, he found that eight pigs that weighed at a month old 14.3 Ibs. per head, at a year old weighed 165 lbs. per head; being a gain of 150 lbs. each in eleven months, or less than half a pound per day. Mik YIELDED BY DAM. We have weighed many pigs at four to six weeks old, and found the weight to range from 12 to 18 Ibs. Thus 1t will be seen that the pig increases in weight from birth to weaning about fivefold, and then only has a weight of about 15 lbs. This growth generally comes from the milk of the dam in the short time of four or five weeks. What an 1m- mense drain this must be on the mother, and how impor- 464 FEEDING ANIMALS. tant is it that she should be well fed during the period of suckling. She has often to produce more food in her milk than is contained in the milk of an excellent cow, weighing three times as much. Dr. Miles, of the Michigan Agri- cultural College, found that Essex pigs three weeks old consumed 33 lbs. of milk each, per day, the first week, and nearly 7 lbs. per day the second week. A litter of eight pigs at this age would drink some 24 quarts of cow’s milk per day. ‘To enable the mother to give this large quantity of food for her young, her diet must be rich and varied. We have found three gallons of skim-milk, two quarts of corn-meal, and four quarts of oats and peas ground together an excellent diet for a large sow with nine pigs. This barely keeps her from losing flesh. If you have not the milk, one quart of oil-meal may be substituted and the other food increased about two quarts, all given in a thin slop. RaTIons FoR Youne Pigs. Preparatory to weaning, pigs should be encouraged to eat food with the dam. They will learn to drink milk quite early, but do not take to eating solid food until some three weeks old. The great majority of farmers have skim-milk to feed young pigs; but in the absence of this best substitute for the milk of the dam, the solid food should be prepared by cooking. ‘There are many rations which will be appropriate to young pigs without milk, such as wheat middlings, oats and corn-meal, in equal portions, cooked together: or 4 parts oats, 4 parts corn and 1 part oil-meal, cooked; or 6 parts peas, 5 parts corn and 1 part flax-seed, cooked; or oats and peas ground together and cooked; or potatoes, corn and oat-meal, cooked; or 4 parts corn, 2 parts oats and 1 part decorticated cotton-cake, and many other similar com- binations of food. But corn-meal alone is a very unprofitable ration for young pigs. The food should contain all the elements necessary to growing the frame and muscular THE PIG. 465 system. Corn or corn-meal is very inadequate for this pur- pose, it being 66 per cent. starch, 7 per cent. fat, and only about 10 per cent. nitrogenous food, with too small a por- tion of phosphate of lime to build the bones. We have seen the worst results from attempts to grow good pigs upon corn-meal alone. We saw one case of three pigs fed upon corn-meal, prepared in the best way, to induce them to eat largely of it with the expectation of producing a large growth atanearlyage. The result was, that, at 130 days old, these pigs were mere squabs of fat, almost spherical in form, and their bones and muscles so weak that two of them could not stand but a moment, and had to sit upon their haunches ; yet these pigs only weighed 90 lbs. each—at least 40 lbs. less than if they had been fed a properration. It is very un- skillful feeding that will not produce an average growth of one pound live weight per day. If the feeder has plenty of skim-milk, then cooked corn-meal mixed with the milk makes a very desirable ration—the skim-milk being rich in albuminoids and the mineral elements necessary to grow a muscular and rangy young animal. Length and breadth of body are necessary to build rapid growth upon. ‘This devel- opment cannot be attained without the proper food; but with cither of the rations above recommended, and es- pecially the skim-milk and corn-meal ration, the best result may be reached. Skim-milk alone has too large a proportion of albuminoids to carbo-hydrates, being about four-ninths of muscle-forming food, or 1 of casein and albumen to 1.25 of milk, sugar and oil. The proportion should be, as in whole milk, 1 to 2.25. If, then, one quart of skim-milk is added to 1 lb. of cooked corn-meal, the starch and oil of the meal will make the proportion right ; and, fed in this way,a quart of skim-milk is about equal, in food value, to a pound of corn-meal; or 112 Ibs. of skim-milk fed with 56 lbs. of cooked corn-meal, is equal in growth of pork to two bushels of corn. But if the milk 466 FEEDING ANIMALS. is fed alone, the nitrogenous elements are in excess, and not fully utilized. This illustrates the advantage of mingling a variety of elements in the food-ration, and these elements should be selected with reference to the proper balance of all the constituents. The food of the young pig should be in liquid form, and cooked, to render it easier of digestion ; and, as the suckling pig is accustomed to take nourishment from its dam many times a day, he should be fed, after weaning, five times per day for some weeks, and then gradually reduced to three feeds per day. FEEDING WHEY TO PIGs. Whey may also profitably be fed to pigs; but even greater care is required to supply the missing constituents of the whey than in feeding calves, especially if the pigs are young. See pages 242, 243. ‘The young pigs cannot properly be grown upon whey alone, as they get less of other food than the calf. Pigs are usually kept in pen, and there is not food in the whey to grow the bones and muscle ; and this explains the cause of disease among small pigs attempted to be raised at cheese factories upon whey alone. The only case where whey alone may sometimes be fed safely to hogs is, when the hogs are full grown, with well developed frame and muscle, but lean, requiring to be fattened. Such hogs will sometimes fatten very rapidly upon whey alone—the whey furnishing the materials to make fat, rounding out the body into fine proportions. ‘This mode of feeding may be pursued for three months with such hogs, produaia a good result. But when the young pig is to be grown upon whey, it must be mixed with other food, as directed for the calf. The pig should also have green grass given in pen every day. We have found whey to pay a fine profit when fed to shoats of 80 lbs. weight, somewhat lean at the start. To experiment, we put up 5 shoats of 80 lbs. weight on the THE PIG. 467 average, costing 5 cents per pound, or $4 per head. These pigs were fed % lb. oil-meal, 2 lbs. wheat-bran, and 134 lbs. of corn-meal each, per day, in 4 gallons of sweet whey. This was the average ration for six months, or 180 days, commencing on May Ist. The gain was 270 Ibs. each, or 1% lbs. per day. The cost was as follows: 90 Ibs. of oil- meal, $1.35; 360 Ibs. of wheat-bran, $2.70; 270 lbs. of corn-meal, $2.70—amounting to $6.75—add cost of pig, and we have $10.75. The pigs averaged in weight 350 lbs., and-brought 6 cents, or $21 per head. Deducting the cost, leaves $10.25 to be credited to the whey. This is $1.42 per 100 gallons, or, the whey from a cow (500 gallons) worth $7.05 per year. In the West this extra food would cost less, and make the whey still more valuable. The sugar of milk in the whey is very soluble, and will lay on fat rapidly if the other constituents are added. In growing the young pig upon whey, we do not use corn- meal until the pig has reached a weight of some 40 to 60 Ibs.; before that the ration is very similar to that given for the calf. The small pig will increase in weight more, in proportion to the food eaten, than the older shoat, but it requires more care in feeding. It will be found that 2 lbs. can be put on the young pig with the same food that will produce 1% Ibs. on the older shoat; but, as the young pigs cost more per pound, there is not any more profit in feed- ing them when purchased. Shoats of 60 to 80 lbs. weight can be purchased in market for only a trifle more than e pig of 15 lbs so that it is more profitable to buy shoats than young pigs. It must be obvious from this discussion of whey that dairymen are far from making the best use of it generally. They want to grow an animal on whey alone, so that they may make something out of it; but the whey possesses only enough of some elements to keep the animal alive, without growing, and is likely to create disease; so that this penurious use of it is about equivalent to throw- 468 FEEDING ANIMALS. ing it uway. It must be remembered that whey is 93 per cent. water, and, if it were a well balanced food, the water is in too great proportion for the health of animals. If grass were 93 per cent. water it would be likely to produce disease. But the whey when mixed with dry food becomes a healthy ration. The study of the farmer should be to make the most of everything. GRASS AS A PART OF THE RATION. We have before spoken of the pig as a grass-eating animal, and this part of its nature must not be overlooked. Great losses occur every year by confining pigs to concentrated food alone. It is doing no greater violence to the nature of the horse to feed him wholly upon grain than the pig. In a natural state both are supported upon grass. In the winter, hay is substituted for grass with the horse, and no one expects a horse to be healthy without a certain proportion of fibrous food ; and we have no more reason to expect the pig to be healthy and vigorous in digestion and without a small percentage of bulky fibrous food. The rule, in feeding all animals, should be, to follow Nature as closely as possible. We have tried several experiments to test the natural system of feeding grass as a part of the ration, supplemented by grain, in connection with the system of pure grain-feeding. Some of these experiments have been published before, but they will bear repeating. A litter of six pigs were weaned at five weeks old, and divided into two lots of three each and of equal weight. Each lot was put into a separate pen on the first day of June. One lot was fed wholly upon corn-meal soaked twelve hours in cold water, and given ad libitum. 'The other lot had a small portion of green clover, cut short with a straw-cutter, and mixed with corn-meal. Only one quart of this cut clover was given at first to each pig, with all the meal it would eat. This meal being mixed with clover, had its par- THE PIG. 469 ticles separated by the fibrous food, and, when eaten, went into the stomach in a spongy condition, so that the gastric juice could penetrate and circulate through the mass as water through a sponge. It will be noted that the digest- ing fluid comes in contact with every part of the mass of - food at once, and the digestion must thus be accomplished evenly and rapidly. But, when the meal is fed alone, 16 necessarily goes into the stomach in the solid, plastic form of dough, and the gastric juice cannot readily penetrate the mass, but must mix with it, little by little, whilst 1b 1s slowly moved by the muscular contraction of the stomach. The lot of pigs with the clover and meal were always lively, always ready for their feed ; whilst the other lot, with meal alone, ate greedily for a time, and then became mincing and dainty for a few days, indicating a feverish state of system, taking little but water for a few meals; and by fasting they appeared to recover the tone of the stomach and the appetite, ond go on eating vigorously again. ‘This was repeated many times during the five months the experiment continued. On weighing the two lots at the end, the one fed on meal alone averaged 150 lbs. each; the lot on clover and meal averaged 210 Ibs. each, or 40 per cent. more for being treated according to their nature as grass-eating animals. Each lot consumed the same amount of meal. The clover was intended, principally, as a divisor for the meal, and amounted to not more than two quartsatafeed. We have often since followed this plan in summer, giving all the cut clover they would eat, mixed with the various kinds of grain used, and it is a most excellent system when 1ncon- venient to give pasture. This may be considered the SolLING SYSTEM FOR SWINE, and, when properly conducted, is capable of being carried on with a large herd, by simple. subdivision into lots of twenty each. An acre of good clover will soil four times as 470 FEEDING ANIMALS. many pigs as it will pasture, giving them a full ration of grass, with this great advantage over pasture, that you may mingle the grain ration with it so as to produce the most rapid growth with perfect health. Pigs in pasture, fed on grain at the same time, are apt to take mostly to either the grain or the grass, and thus not make as rapid progress as when the ration is properly combined. We have never seen a pig that did not relish green clover and grain mixed to- gether. It may be mingled in any proportion the feeder chooses, and the animal thus be pushed slowly or rapidly, as circumstances require. This system should become the prevailing one in the West —adopted as a matter of economy—producing greater re-. sults from the sime capital and Jabor. A swine-herder, under this system, may prepare the ration and feed 500 pigs, look- ing after all their wants, and producing much more uniform growth than under the present system. The cost of labor per head will be very trivial. A modification of this plan may be adopted in connection with pasture, by feeding the grain, mixed with a small por- tion of short-cut grass, in long troughs. Any green food may be used in lieu of clover; such as green rye, oats, mil- let, Hungarian grass, green peas, etc., but nothing, except the peas, is equal to the clover. ‘This system will be con- sidered more appropriate to Hastern farms, on account of their limited area, and is especially adapted to the great want of the Eastern farmer—more home-fertilizers. The pig-pen will become the great resource of better tillage. THe Pia IN WINTER. The great importance of this class of stock commercially, and the large extent to which its flesh is used for home consumption, demanded a thorough discussion of its man- agement in all its phases. The proper system of winter-feeding requires to be better THE PIG. 471 settled. The old “storing” system, by which a pig is simply kept alive during winter, that it may be ready to grow the next summer, has not yet been wholly given up, but may be found in full operation in many parts of our country. It does seem as if every feeder should have dis- covered the utter improvidence of this practice. If pigs were like a wagon, a bin of grain, or a mow of hay, that might be kept over winter without expense, there would be some excuse for it; but when we reflect that two-thirds of a full ration is used merely as the food of support, without adding anything to the weight or value of the pig, this practice of keeping pigs through the winter, or at any other time, without constant growth, seems absolutely indefensible. As we have shown in previous chapters, time is a most im- portant factor in the problem of pig-feeding. Every week that a pig is kept without growth, the feed is worse than thrown away, because it takes time to overcome the un- thrifty habit, and all the food-is lost till growth begins again. It is thusevident that the skillful feeder must strive after continued and unremitting growth. The winter season should be no exception to this steady growth, although it will require more food to put on a pound gain in winter than in summer, unless the tempera- ture in the pig-pen is raised to near summer warmth. All animals must keep up their heat by the consumption of food, and it makes a great difference whether the surround- ing air is at zero or sixty degrees above. It would seem, therefore, that while thrift is as necessary in winter as sum- mer, the feeder way control the temperature and save a large percentage of the food in winter growth. We have just discussed the importance of grass as a part of the ration of the pig. It might reasonably be sup- posed that the pig would require some fibrous food in win- ter as well as in summer; and if green clover is good in 472 FEEDING ANIMALS. summer, why not nicely-cured clover hay in winter? Having established the necessity of grass, in its season, for the promotion of health, the writer experimented also on the use of clover hay in winter as an addition to the grain ration. Having four pigs of the same age, and about the same weight, they were divided into two lots of two each. Hach lot weighed 150 lbs. at the commencement of the experi- ment. One lot was fed corn-meal, wet up with hot water, and allowed to stand some ten or twelve hours. The other lot was fed about two quarts each of short-cut clover-hay, mixed with corn-meal, wet up with hot water, and allowed to stand the same length of time. Hach lot was fed with- out stint upon its ration, and the experiment continued for 120 days. As in the experiment with grass, the lot on clover-hay and meal had the best appetite, ate the most steadily and showed greater thrift; but the lot on meal alone were apparently healthier than those on meal alone in the other experiment; but they were older, and, the weather being colder, were not so feverish. This latter lot gained 110 pounds per head ; whilst the lot on clover, hay and meal gained 143 lbs. each, or 30 per cent.more. Since this we have often fed pigs upon fibrous food in winter, and always successfully. Feeding clover-hay in winter may be novel; but why should it not be considered as appropriate to feed pigs clover-hay in winter, as to feed cattle or horses clover-hay in winter? ‘The pig eats green clover in sum- mer, if he can get it,as profitably as the cow or horse ; and when farmers understand the true system of feeding, clover- hay will generally make part of the winter ration of pigs. CoB-MEAL AS Pia Foon. As bearing upon the necessity for coarse food in the ration, we will give some experiments made with the meal of corn and cob ground together. THE PIG. 3 A'3 There has been a great variety of opinions expressed upon the value of the cob-meal, many supposing it to be injurious to the coatings of the stomach, even in horses, and the pig’s stomach has been thought by some as inca- pable of managing such hard material as the scales of cob; but we long since experimented with corn and cob-meal, and found all these adverse opinions merely imaginary. We have fed it largely both to swine and horses, and never saw any ill effects from it, but, on the contrary, found it a healthier feed than clear meal. The advantage of grinding the cob and corn together is not altogether in the nutri- ment of the cob, but because the cob, being a coarser and a spongy material, gives bulk, and divides and separates the fine meal, so as to allow a free circulation of the gastric juice through the mass in the stomach. Corn-meal, when wet into plastic dough, is very solid, and not easily pene- trated by any liquid; and when pigs are fed wholly on corn-meal, they often suffer with fever in the stomach, be- cause the meal lies there too long undigested. We will here give the experiment of two farmers’ clubs in Connecticut, to show the value of corn-meal, corn and cob-meal, and whole corn. We condense it to the essen- tial facts. A committee of the two farmers’ clubs appointed to make the experiment, purchased nine thrifty shoats and divided them as evenly as possible into three lots, placing three in each of three separate pens. The experiment began the first of April, and ended the sixth of June. Lot No. 1 was fed 1,332 pounds of corn ground into meal—clear meal, wet in pure water. Lot No. 2 was fed 1,361 pounds of corn and cob-meal, wet up in water. Lot No. 3 was fed 1,192 pounds of corn soaked in water. Results: Lot No. 1 weighed at the beginning of the ex- periment, 453 pounds; at slaughtering, 760 pounds; gain in live weight, 307 pounds; dressed weight, 61514 pounds. 4AN4 FEEDING ANIMALS. Lot No. 2 weighed at beginning, 467 pounds ; at slaughter- ing, 761 pounds; gain in live weight, 294 pounds; dressed weight, 593 pounds. Lot No. 3, live weight at start, 456 pounds; at slaughtering, 689 pounds ; gain in live weight, 283 pounds; dressed weight, 567 pounds. Lot 1 gained in live weight for every bushel fed, 12.90 pounds; lot 2 gained 15.11 pounds; lot 3 gained 10.38 pounds per bushel. Lot 1 took 4.34 pounds of meal for 1 pound gain in live weight, and 5.37 pounds for 1 pound dressed weight. Lot 2 required 4.62 pounds to make 1 pound live weight, and 5.93 pounds for 1 pound dressed pork. Reducing this quantity of cob-meal to clear meal, it will be found that 3.70 pounds make 1 pound live weight, while 4.75 pounds make 1 pound of dressed pork. Lot 3 required 5.11 pounds of clear corn to make 1 pound live weight, and 6.21 pounds to make 1 of dressed pork. This was a valuable experiment, and greatly surprised the committee appointed to carry it out. They say: ‘‘We have long been satisfied that a certain amount of coarse ma- terial fed to cattle with concentrated food was both judi- cious, economical and profitable, but on account of the peculiar construction of the pig’s stomach, we were not prepared for the result, showing the desirability of feeding a coarse material in connection with corn-meal to pigs.” This experiment shows that cob-meal is superior in feeding value to clear whole corn, and that it is nearly as valuable, cob and all, as clear meal. Cob-meal should always be ground very fine. As we are treating of winter-feeding it will be appro- priate to discuss the form and construction of the Swine Howse, and preliminary to the description of a plan of our own, we will give an illustration and description of the breeding pens of a most intelligent practical breeder and feeder at AN} SWINE HOUSE, Ha Fig. 17.—GROUND PLAN, Swill Trough, elevated three feet from the floors on which the Cooking Tub, JF, is placed. Steamer. Water Barrel to feed Steamer. Chimney. Gates to Feeding Floor. C. C. Watering Barrels for Swine. At the top of the stairs, and on the same level with the top of the Cooking Tub, is u meal bin. af ai > a AUF B08 = 476 FEEDING ANIMALS. Neponset, Illinois, Dr. Ezra Stetson. The doctor has been a very successful breeder and feeder for the general market. Weare indebted for the illustration to the Vational Live Stock Journal. The engravings are upon a scale of 32 feet to the inch. Figure 16 shows a side elevation of the building, which is a very plain, unostentatious structure, but substantially built. Figure 17 shows the ground floor, with its sub- divisions. The main elevation at the right (Fig. 16) is devoted to corn-cribs and the cooking apparatus. This part of the building is 26 x 48 feet, and is divided as shown in Figure 17; Z being a corn-crib, 9x20 feet; WV a corn- crib, 9x48 feet; MW a hall, or drive-way, 8x48 feet; P, platform scales for weighing grain, hogs, etc.; O is a plat- form outside of, but adjoining, the corn-crib on the south side, and 18 16 x 56 feet, with doors opening to the corn-crib, as shown in the diagram. ‘This platform is surrounded by substantial fence. Before feeding, the gates G, G, G are all closed, and the platform swept perfectly clean. The corn is then placed on the floors, the gates are opened, and the hogs walk in to their repast. When it is designed to load a part of the hogs in the wagon, to take them to the market, the gates G G are closed, in a line with the west. end of the platform, leaving the southern gate, which swings. across the platform, open. As many hogs as are wanted are then driven into this wing, or Z, of the platform, and the south gates closed across the platform from the fence to the southeast corner of the corn-crib. The hogs are thus securely confined in a small inclosure. The large, outside gate Gis then swung round toward the corn-crib, across the platform, and this reduces the space to which the hogs are confined to about one-half. The wagon is then backed up to the small gate G, which is then opened, and the hogs are loaded without difficulty. K, represents a platform, 18 x 48 feet, constructed simi- THE PIG. AQ? larly to the one at O, on the opposite side of the corn-crib. This is used for feeding the pigs. Dr. S. uses a steaming apparatus to make slops for the sows and pigs. This he be- lieves causes the sows to give much more milk and thus to hasten the growth of the pigs. Long troughs are placed upon this floor, A. The gates are closed; the floors and troughs are thoroughly cleaned; the slop is put in the troughs, as described in the communication of the Doctor, to the Journal, given below; the gates are opened, and the pigs rush to the feast. The long wing to the left of the corn-crib and feeding floors is cut up into pens, as shown by the diagram. These pens are 6x10 feet, and the alley (#), running through the center, is four feet in width, opening at one end on to the feeding floor (4), for pigs. At the extreme left of this wing is a large, inclosed feeding floor or pen (J), 24 x 24 feet. Dr. 8. is strenuously opposed to putting anything between the beds upon which the pigs sleep and the roof which covers them, as he considers free, upward ventilation essential to the health of his pigs. Hence, he is opposed to all two-story pig pens. He usually keeps from 300 to 500 hogs. The following is Dr. Stetson’s explanation of his piggery: “All corn-raisers know that the foundations of a corn- crib can hardly be made substantial enough. Ours rests upon six rows of stone and brick pillars, thirteen in each row, with the bottoms of the sills about two feet from the ground. The feeding floors are on the same level with the floor of the crib, and have a drop of six inches in the six- teen feet, to carry off the water from rains. "The feeding floors rest upon four rows of posts set in the ground, twelve in each row, and sawn off to the proper level. Shoulders are then sawed on one side of these posts, and 2 by 8 joists spiked to them, on which the planks are laid. The outside row of posts should extend three feet 478 FEEDING ANIMALS. above the feeding floor, and be closely boarded up all round except the gate to the entrance. ‘‘The watering barrel may be placed where convenient. Two kerosene barrels are set side by side, connected by a short piece of gas-pipe. Water is let into the barrel with the valve and float from the reservoir, and can rise no higher than confined by the float, and as fast as drunk out will be immediately filled—provided, always, the reservoir is not allowed to get empty. By this arrangement a peren- nial spring is brought to the very place wanted. “The cooking arrangement will probably be omitted by the great majority, should they build upon a similar plan. In raising large numbers of pigs, it is next to impossible to make slops for the sows and their pigs without some sort of a heating apparatus, and I think this has the merit of be- ing convenient. We make the wind do all the lifting of the water, and a very small quantity of fuel, rightly applied, will boil a large quantity of water. The cooking tub may be of any desired size. Ours holds five or six barrels, and is made with a hinged valve; and the food is drpped into the cooling trough, where it is made .of the proper consis- tency by the addition of cold water, drawn from the cooling trough, into a ¢ruck, and wheeled upon the platform, or where desired, and then drawn into troughs. There is no lifting of water or swill at any place. “Our piggery is very cheaply constructed. Large cedar posts are sawn in half and set in the ground, for the frame- work. Ribs, 2 by 4, are spiked to these posts, to which the weather-boarding is nailed. ‘The tops are sawn off to the proper level, and the plates spiked to them, upon which the. rafters rest. ‘These posts are set six feet apart; and as our breeding pens are six feet by ten, they form one side of each compartment. The partitions are removed when not wanted for breeding pens, and the whole space used as a. sleeping floor for the fattening of hogs or pigs. THE PIG. 479 “The floor to the piggery is entirely unconnected with the framework. Stringers are laid crosswise of the build- ing on which the plank floor is laid. ‘The alley is four feet wide, with a door to each pen. With this arrangement of cates and doors, one man can put in place the most refrac- tory old sow, or any other hog. ‘Let me say that our floors are of hard pine plank, 2 by — 10 inches ; have been laid for eight or nine years, and that about 200 hogs have been fed upon them each year, and they now look as though they would last as much longer. ’ ANOTHER PLAN OF SWINE ILOUSE. As pork is largely grown in the West and accommoda- tion is required for large herds, it will hardly be appropri- ate to give the description of a pen with a less capacity than for feeding 200 hogs in winter. As we have seen, economy in feeding requires that the pen should be warm, in order that the temperature may seldom, if ever, go below 60 degrees. With so large a number, the extra food re- quired to keep up animal heat would soon pay for a warm pen. Perhaps the cheapest plan to build a warm pen is to use 2 x 4-inch studding, placed three feet apart, boarded up outside and in, leaving a four-inch air space; or, if the weather-boarding is to be perpendicular, ribs, 2 x 4 inches, may be spiked to outside of the studding, and the weather- boarding nailed to these, leaving a six-inch air space, to be filled with saw-dust or short-cut straw, well rammed in. To prevent this filling from being a harbor for vermin, mix a little coal-tar, or chloride of lime, or fine air-slaked quick-lime with every layer. With this latter plan the out- side may be built of cedar posts, in the manner described by Dr. Stetson, above, placing cedar posts in the ground, six feet apart. The height of the pen at the eaves should be 8 feet. Our plan requires a building 28 feet wide, and 150 feet long, besides corn-cribs, cooking room and breed- 480 FEEDING ANIMALS. ing pens. The floor is placed two feet above the ground. Each pen is to be 10 x 15, accommodating ten hogs. The feeding floor is8 feet wide with a tier of pens on each side. This plan of swine house is intended as the most conven- ient form for economy of labor in cooking the food for a large number of hogs. It is also most convenient for any other system of feeding, if donein pens. A trough, 15 feet long, next the feeding floor, must be provided for each pen, with a swing door over each trough, to shut the hogs off while the feed is being put in. The hogs come out of the pen over the trough on a light bridge through a door in the partition next the feeding floor. A SELF-CLEANING PEN. Still regarding the greatest economy of labor, we would construct the floor as follows: Next and under the trough is a strip of solid floor 2 feet wide; and 5 feet next to this is an open, slatted floor, composed of oak strips, 1/4 inches thich by 2% inches wide, set edgewise, 1 inch apart, for the passage of the manure below. And next the wall is a strip of tight floor, 3 feet wide, for bedding, slanting 144 mches toward slatted floor, so that water will run to slats. Under _ the open, slatted floor is a sliding-board, set slaating to the outside wall, along the side of which wagons can be driven, and, letting down a long swing door, the manure shoveled in and carried away. The pen cleans itself, all works through the slats, and no manual labor is required. If bed- ding is used, it may be placed on the tight floor next the wall for the hogs to lie on. Seldom any droppings will fall on the tight floor. To secure pure air, put a ventilator 2x4 feet in the ridge, every twenty feet, with slats on side to prevent storm from driving in. For the admission of fresh air, a slide 7 x 14 inches may be placed in the outside wall between each two pens, one foot above the floor, which can be opened or closed at pleasure. This will cause a cir- THE PIQ. 481 culation of air and keep it pure. The feeding floor is wide enough to drive a wagon through, and loads of dry earth may be brought in and thrown over the open floor, which mixes with the manure and deodorizes it. This open floor is not an experiment, but was in use by the late J. J. Mechi, in England, for 30 years; and the author has used it for single pens and found it to work well. No bedding is required, and the pigs keep much cleaner than is usual on tight floors where bedding is used. It is intended to have the outside tightly closed below the floor, so as to prevent as much as possible the circulation of air under the slats. With a long-handled shovel the manure is easily loaded and requires no other labor than hauling to the field. Since writing this description of the self-cleaning pen, the author has constructed one with iron slats or bars, one inch wide and ¥;-inch thick placed g-inch apart. This grat- ing may be four or five feet wide ; oursis four feet, and the wooden floor for bedding is also four feet, with a grade 2 inches toward the grating, so that all liquid will run toward the grating. This proves to be a completely self-cleaning pen. This wrought-iron grating, with bars so thin, is not liable to clog, as is the wooden slats, from being so deep up ordown. This floor and grate is elevated 18 inches, and the bottom is concreted so as to save all the liquid and solid dropping. A door one foot wide is let down and the ma- nure is easily taken out with a long-handled shovel from the outside. It will only require cleaning once in three months. It is a pleasure, clean hogs in a clean pen. CookING Hoag Foon. When cooking is to be done for so large a number, economy requires an apparatus in proportion. An eight- horse boiler and engine should be placed in an extension of _ the swine house, which can shell and grind the corn, or bet- 482 FEEDING ANIMALS. ter to grind the corn in the ear, leaving the cob to give bulk in the stomach, and cook the meal into the most palatable mush, for 200 or more hogs. And, that the cooked food may be handled with the least labor, two box-cars, on wheels two feet high, each car being five feet wide, three feet high and sixteen feet long, holding about 200 bushels, are re- quired. There is a track in the middle of the feeding floor on which thesecars arerun. One of these cars, when full, weighing some four tons, may be handled by one man, and run along the track, so as to feed the pigs upon either side of the feeding floor. A small rope runs the whole length of the feeding floor and is fastencd at the other end, whilst at the car end it runs over a small pulley or windlass, and with crank the feeder moves the ear along from pen to pen. The mush, when thin enough, runs through a spout to the trough in the pen on either side. The feeder soon learns how to apportion it to each pen. The car, when full, con- tains 40 bushels of meal, 20 bushels of cut clover-hay and 640 gallons of water, or 16 gallons fur each bushel of meal. The water is pumped by the engine into an elevated tank, holding the requisite quantity, which is heated nearly to the boiling point in the tank, and then drawn into the car through a pipe. There are marks inside the car to indicate each hundred gallons, so as to show the feeder when he has the requisite quantity. ‘This water is brought to a brisk boil in the car, when the meal may be sifted into the boil- ing water through a sieve suspended above. ‘The meal, when ground, is elevated into a hopper over the sieve, and, being drawn through the spout upon the sieve whilst that is swung back and forth, the meal is sifted evenly into the boiling water in the car, and no lumps are formed. After the meal is sifted in, one-half bushel of cut clover-hay to cach bushel of meal is mixed in with a rake. When the mush is too thick to run it is taken out with a scoop and put into the troughs. We have found the best way to ap- THE PIG. 483 ply steam to such a mass, is to run it through a coil inside, placed on the bottom. The coil is in two parts, running backward and forward from the center each way, three turns of the coil, terminating in a goose-neck at each end of the car, which goose-neck comes above the water and de- scends within four inches of the bottom. This effectually prevents the pipe from filling with water or mush ; and the steam, in passing around this coil, keeps it very hot, and, discharging near the bottom, keeps all the heat in. ‘To as- sist in keeping the heat in, a folding cover may be used, which is spread out in a moment, and removed as soon. When mixed, it is allowed to cook for an hour and a half. It requires no stirring, as in boiling over a fire. These cars are lined with No. 22 sheet-iron, riveted and soldered, which prevents any break or swelling of the wood-work of the car. This lining is rubbed over occasionally with tallow, which prevents rusting, and the mush from sticking to it, or, bet- ter still, if the lining of the car is made of galvanized iron, which will not rust for a long time. In the center of the feeding floor should be placed a pair of eight-ton platform scales, for the purpose of weighing any pen of hogs at will. A movable railing placed across the floor at each end of the scales, with a small gate in one to let the hogs in, and the hogs from any pen may be driven upon the scales in two minutes, without disturbing the rest. This is a general sketch of the swine-house proper. The corn-cribs and the engine-house will be at one end, and may be made as roomy and convenient as the feeder chooses. The breeding-pens may be added to the end opposite the corn-cribs and engine-house ; but this same feeding floor should run through all, so that the car can reach every pen. It is intended that there shall be no freezing in this house ; and, with the use of the engine, water is easily pumped into an elevated reservoir, from which it may be run to any part 484 FEEDING ANIMALS. for any purpose. Ventilation is made so complete, that fresh air is constantly admitted and vitiated air carried off. This engine furnishes power for every purpose required ; and when the cost is divided by the number of hogs fed, it is so trivial as hardly to be worth considering. It is intended that 200 hogs shall be constantly fattening, and their places supplied by others as fast as sold. Hog-feeding may thus be reduced to a system as perfect as that of cotton- spinning. No Srorine PERIOD. We have treated, in a general way, of all its various stages of growth to the time of the final fattening period ; and it has been plain, from our illustrations, that we believe in a growing period commencing with the first day of its life, and continuing till the last, and that there should be no stand-still period in any correct system of feeding. But the winter-storing system has taken such a deep root in the minds of pig-raisers that Dr. Andrew McFarland, a former superintendent of the Insane Asylum at Jacksonville, Ill., conceived the idea of placing the pig in compulsory hiber- nation in winter, so as to have him ready for rapid growth the following summer. This, he thinks, a most important object to secure ; and if the storing system is necessary, we cannot dispute his conclusion. He cites the case of a fat hog that was accidentally buried under a straw-stack, in the fall, where it remained several months, and on discovery, came out alive and apparently well, having lost little flesh; and another case of a hog, buried under a snow-drift, re- maining some eleven weeks, coming out alive, though gaunt and lean, having lost its fat in keeping up animal heat. From these and other instances, he supposes it quite possi- ble to devise a system of hibernating the pig much cheaper than feeding it. He would “select a dry spot, and place a young hog, in good flesh, under an inverted box, contain- ing 80 to 100 cubic fect of free air—the box to be perfo- i ue THE PIG. 485 rated with holes, or made of lattice work—then four feet of well-packed straw en the sides, running to a cone above, placing the hog in this position at evening.” We give this ingenious conception of the doctor’s because it may be re- garded as much cheaper, and quite as merciful, as the sys- tem that some feeders adopt during the winter. But if the hog could be safely hibernated, it would scarcely be profit- able, when it is considered that those animals that hiber- nate often come out with a loss of 40 per cent. in weight ; and just think of the amount of food required to bring them back into a thrifty state! But that isnot much worse than the folly of throwing away four to six months’ food to keep pigs alive without growth. Still, as the general system adopted supposes a period when a special effort is made to ripen the pig for market, we propose to treat of this. FATTENING PERIOD. A very large proportion of farmers keep their pigs through the summer on poor pasture and a little refuse from the kitchen, postponing till cold weather the fatten- ing. This is, of course, a very bad plan, unless the feeder has a warm house in which to feed them, and then quite indefensible, as every feeder should make the most of the warm season for fattening, for it will take a large propor- tion of the food to keep them warm—much larger than is generally supposed. We desire to make this matter ‘plain, and will give some experiments that have been made to test it. Mr. Joseph Sullivant, in his pamphlet, gives an experi- ment, tried at Duncan’s Falls, Ohio, in 1859, where a large lot of hogs were weighed, on the 10th of September, and turned into a forty-acre corn-field, where they remained till October 23d. Having eaten down the field, they were again weighed, and found to have gained 16,000 pounds; or ten pounds per bushel of corn, estimating the yield at 486 FEEDING ANIMALS. 40 bushels per acre. He then selected from the lot 100 hogs, averaging 200 pounds each, placed them in large covered pens, with plank floors and troughs, and fed them upon corn-meal, ground in the ear, and well steamed. At the end of a week they were weighed, and found to have gained 20 pounds for each 70 pounds of cob-meal—the weather being warm for the season. The first weck in No- vember (the weather being much colder) these hogs gained only 15 pounds to the 70 pounds of steamed meal ; the third week of the same month (the weather being still colder) they gained only 10 pounds per bushel, and the next week (it getting still colder) they only gained 614 pounds per bushel. This lot was then sold; and he selected another and fed in December. The weather being about the same as in November, they gained 64% pounds per bushel. This lot was weighed again the middle of January, and the corn fed during a week only increased their weight 14 pounds per bushel—the thermometer being down to zero. Another week, on being weighed, they just held their own; the tem- perature being from one to ten below zero. This experiment is a fair representation of the effect of temperature upon the thrift of fattening hogs. When very _ cold, the hog can only eat enough to keep up animal heat, and the food, producing no gain, is thrown away. It must thus be seen that postponing the fattening till winter is very bad economy, and unless the swine-house can be kept at a temperature of about 60° there can be no profit in winter- feeding. This it is not difficult to do; and no large feeder can properly excuse himself on the ground of cost or econ- omy, for his losses from cold in a single winter would build and equip a swine-house in which such a temperature could easily be maintained. | SELECTING PIGS FOR FATTENING. Many of our Western readers buy the pigs they feed, in- stead of raising them, which may be necessary in some THE PIG. 487 cases, but cannot be recommended asasystem. The feeder gets his profit on a lot of hogs, purchased for finishing for market, from the increase in weight and improvement in quality that he expects to make. He will, therefore, be governed by different considerations in the purchase of pigs for fattening than he wonld in rearing his own pigs. In the latter case, he would find his profit in keeping them growing as rapidly and constantly as possible. He would want them always in condition for slaughter; but, in select- ing pigs for feeding, he will look for a well-developed, rangy frame, with more muscle than fat, and healthy, vigorous - condition; and, by good feeding, he will expect to increase the weight rapidly, and add to his profit. But these lean hogs were raised at a loss, which must be pocketed by the seller. When vigorous, lean hogs are put up and well fed, they have simply to fill up with fat, to round out into great weight. Such hogs will stand heavy feeding with clear - corn for a few months, and make very profitable packing pork. PHILOSOPHY OF CookING Foon. Our first inquiry here should be, what is the effect of cook- ing food? The bulk of all our cereal grains used as food for pigs is composed of starch; and starch, as manufact- ured, or as found in the cells of vegetables, consists of globules or grains, contained in a kind of sac, and in order to burst these grains, heat must be applied. Payen, on mixing starch with water, and heating to 140° F., examined it with a microscope, and found only some of the smaller grains had absorbed water and burst, most remained still unaffected, and only bursting when heated to from 162° to 212° F. These experiments have been often repeated, and seem to show, conclusively, that the heat of the animal stomach is not sufficient to fully utilize starch. Pereira, one of the best writers upon food, says: ‘‘To render starchy substances digestible, they require to be cooked to 488 FEEDING ANIMALS, break or crack the grain.” Raspail, a writer upon the chemistry of foods, says : “Starch is not actually nutritive to man till it has been boiled or cooked. ‘The heat of the stomach is not sufficient to burst all the grains of the feculent mass, which is sub- jected to the rapid action of the organ; and recent experi- ments prove the advantage that results from boiling the potatoes and grain which are given to graminivorous ani- mals for food, for a large proportion, when given whole, in the raw state, passes through the intestine perfectly unaf- fected, as when swallowed.” Every housewife is familar with the fact, that starch will not dissolve in cold water. It follows, then, that those grains containing the largest proportion of starch will be most benefited by cooking, and these (corn, rye, oats, bar- ley) are most used as fattening food for pigs. Corn, especially, is considered the standard fattening food, and that contains about 64 per cent. of starch ; rye, 54 per cent.; barley, 47 per cent., and oats 40 per cent. of starch. When corn-meal is well cooked, it is something more than doubled in bulk—the bursting of the grains of starch causes it to swell and occupy twice its former space—and some feeders have considered it as valuable, bulk for bulk, as before cooking; or, in other words, that its value is doubled by cooking. Hon. Geo. Geddes, of New York, a farmer of long experience, says: “T find if I take ten bushels of meal and wet it in cold water, and feed 25 hogs with it, they eat it well; butif I take the same quantity and cook it, it doubles the bulk, and will take the same number of hogs twice as long to eat it up; and I think they fatten twice as fast, in the same length of time. By cooking, you double the bulk and value of the meal.” We have one complete, comparative experiment of our own to offer as illustrating this point. On the first of October, THE PIG. 489 divided six pigs, of the same litter, into two lots of three each, they being of the same weight and thrift—225 pounds each lot—placing them in separate pens. Lot No. 1 was fed upon corn-meal, soaked about 12 hours in cold water— all they would eat—with a little early-cut clover-hay thrown into the pen for them to chew, to promote health. Lot No. 2 was fed corn-meal, thoroughly cooked, and fed lukewarm, ad libitum, with a lock of clover-hay. This experiment continued till the 8th of January, or 100 days. Jot 1 con- sumed 2,111 pounds of meal, ana gained 420 pounds— average 140 pounds each. Lot 2 consumed 2,040 pounds, and gained 600 pounds—average 200 pounds each. This gives 11 pounds gain, for one bushel of meal, by lot No. 1; and 16.47 pounds gain, for a bushel of meal, by lot 2. Lot 1, ate on an average, 7.04 pounds of meal per day, and gained 1.40 pounds. Lot 2 ate on an average, 6.80 pounds of meal per day, and gained 2 pounds. We have no doubt the gain would have been slightly larger in each lot if the meal had been mixed with the clover-hay, cut. We have reached, with a larger lot of hogs, 17.20 pounds to each bushel of cooked meal, consumed, mixed, before cooking, with a little cut clover-hay. This is, how- ever, a larger average than can be counted upon in any large operation. Mr. Joseph Sullivant, before alluded to, who made a thorough examination of all available statistics, summed up the evidence as follows: “T conclude that nine pounds of pork from a bushel fed in the ear, twelve pounds from raw meal, thirteen and a half pounds from boiled corn, sixteen and a half pounds from cooked meal, is no more than a moderate average which the feeder may expect to realize from a bushel of corn, under ordinary circumstances of weather, with dry, warm and clean feeding pens.” He gives thirteen experiments in feeding raw corn ; four 490 FEEDING ANIMALS. experiments (those of the Shakers of Lebanon, N. Y., Thomas Edge, Prof. Miles, of the Michigan Agricultural College, and J. B. Lawes), showing that raw meal will make 12 pounds; five experiments to show that boiled corn will make 1334 pounds; and ten cases to prove that boiled meal will make 1634 pounds of live pork. But although these experiments do prove these conclusions, we cannot expect that common feeding will reach these averages. All these experiments are tried by more than ordinarily accurate and enterprising farmers; and we should cut down the aver- ages as follows: By good management, the general feeder may reach, with raw corn, 8 pounds; with raw meal, ° 10 pounds; with boiled corn, 12 pounds, and with boiled meal, 15 pounds of live pork, per bushel. There would not be so much difference between boiled corn and meal, if the corn were boiled long enough, or steamed under pressure, so as to burst the kernel and. break all the starch grains; but it is not generally so thoroughly cooked as to effect this. The skin or rind of grain is very tough, and intended by nature to protect the interior or more nutritious part of the seed. When this rind is broken and ground to powder, the action of heat is made more rapid and effectual in bursting all the grains of starch, and in rendering it all digestible by the ordinary action of the animal stomach. Witt 1t Pay ro Cook ror Hogs ? The answer to this question must depend wholly upon circumstances. The statement of experiments, showing what may be expected from the effect of cooking, will en- able anyone to determine this question for himself. It will not pay to cook for a small number of pigs, because the cost of labor, fuel and apparatus will be more than the gain. It will cost as much labor to cook for ten pigs, with a small apparatus, as for fifty to one hundred with such an appara- THE PIG. 491 tus as we described a few pages back. Cooking on a small scale, will only be done where the farmer has a warm pen, and does his fattening in winter, when he has little else to do. If ten pigs are fed 100 days upon seven pounds of corn-meal each, per day—whole amount, 7,000 pounds, or 125 bushels—and if we suppose that cooking will give five pounds more to the bushel, or 625 pounds of live pork, and this worth five cents per pound, the feeder will receive $31.25 for the expense of cooking. It is for the farmer to determine whether he could afford to perform this labor for 3146 cents per day. But if he has 100 hogs to feed, he will receive $312.50 for the 100 days, or $3.12’4 per day. It is easy to see that the latter will pay. In our plan of cooking, we exclude all attempts to feed cooked food in troughs in the open air in cold weather. Nothing but failure can be expected of such attempts. The food will be hot or frozen. Great changes in the tem- perature of the food is not relished, and food in a semi- liquid state is to be avoided when the temperature is much below 60° F. If hogs are to be fed in the open air, in winter, it should be with dry food. Corn, then, will do best in its natural state; but if the weather is cold, as we have seen, it will require liberal feeding to produce any gain. In rearing young pigs in winter, some arrangement for cooking will be quite essential to rapid growth. In pre- paring slops for the brood sows, to cause a generous flow of milk, cooking will be required. We quite agree with Dr. Stetson, on page 478, upon this point. Facility for cook- ing, will enable the feeder always to give a greater variety in the diet of young, as well as fattening hogs. In cook- ing, everything may be used to advantage. Pumpkins, potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, cabbages, short-cut clover, oil-meal, wheat-middlings—each or all may be cooked with the corn or corn-meal, making a savory mess, greatly relished by pigs or fattening hogs. As in the near future, 492 FEEDING ANIMALS. little corn will be sold, even in the West, except in the form of pork, beef or mutton, it is reasonable to expect that the economical preparation of food will be more care- fully studied and accurately tested in large experiments, and when this shall occur, we have no doubt that the thorough cooking of the food of hogs will be established as an economy. .. r, ‘ REMEDIES IN DISEASE. 493 CHAP T Bile x LEE WATER REMEDIES. WE may be expected to have something upon the treat- ment of diseases of stock. But we must confess at the be- ginning that our confidence is very slight in the ordinary veterinary remedies, aside from surgical remedies, which should be based upon true science. The attempt to make a specific prescription for a particular disease was long ago called, by a medical man, ‘‘a blow in the dark.” Young practitioners believe in a large number of specifics—those of long experience are not certain of any. The stock-feeder should place his faith in prevention. “An ounce of pre- vention is worth a pound of cure.” The author wrote the following observations some fifteer years ago upon the Uses oF WATER IN THE DISEASES OF CATTLE, and he regards them as yet practically sound : As bleeding, blistering, and all violent remedies for the human subject goes gradually out of date, so the milder treatment and greater trust in nature ought to be applied even to ouranimals. But still, all treatises yet extant for the guidance of the herdsman, after describing the disease, turn only to the medical vocabulary for relief; and the poor animal must be bled, purged, cauterized and irritated, in- stead of being soothed, quieted, assisted. In garget, or swollen udder, for instance, bleeding or a purgative is first recommended. Let us examine the case. 494 FEEDING ANIMALS, The udder has become inflamed, probably the teats are swollen, the milk coagulated, with more or less fever. Now, the prescription says, bleed, purge with epsom salts, ginger, nitrate of potassa, molasses, etc. The operation of this pur- gative is to irritate the stomach, alimentary canal and intes- tines, and, by sympathy, other parts of the system, of neces- sity increasing, at first, the fever and irritation, which it is intended to allay. All purgative medicines operate by irri- tation, andnot asa solvent. It is a direct attack upon the vital functions, which, in self-defense, pour upon it a - watery secretion from the mucus membrane of the stomach and bowels, to dilute it and render it less harmful, while it is conducted along the alimentary canal by peristalic motion, and expelled from the bowels—called a cathartic, because nature kicks it out as an intruder, an enemy, yet this is called science ! But, says the conservative, if this is at antipodes with Na- ture, what shall we do to harmonize with and assist Nature to recover her balance? Let us see: The greater part of the animal body is composed of water. Three-fourths of the mass of the blood, and nine-tenths of the fluid secretions are water. All nutrient matters are con- veyed in water to the blood, and through it to all parts of the system. Water is the only solventfor the alimentary ex- crementitious matter, and through which the wastes or effete matters are expelled by the excretory organs. Water can cir- culate through all the tissues of the body without producing irritation or injury. In short, water is in perfect accord with the whole animal system. Fever and inflammation are caused by some obstruction in the circulation of the system, sometimes by asudden cold which closes the pores of the skin, and prevents the proper excretions. In high fever, or inflammation, it has been said, ‘blood is on fire ; extinguish the flame and the patient will be well.” WATER REMEDIES. 495 What more is there necessary than to cool off the part, to relieve the system of this unnatural heat? Water is the most universal cooling agent in nature, is always at hand, and easily applied. Everything in nature seeks an equi- librium. Apply cold to the surface of the skin, and the hot blood rushes there to resist it, and to equalize the heat. The. tendency to congestion of the internal organs in fevers is relieved by an application of cold to the surface. Water not only cools the skin, but opens the pores and promotes its excretions, and when we reflect upon the large amount of matter that passes off through the pores of the skin, we see the importance of keeping it in a clean, healthy state. GARGET. In case of the garget, the swollen udder only requires to be cooled and cleansed, and to be kept cool for a short time, to be restored to its originally healthy condition. - Water furnishes just the means for this purpose. With- out exciting and irritating the whole system of the cow, which is already too much excited, water will quiet and soothe the inflammation, cool and soften the hot, dry skin of the udder, and soon give ease and comfort to the cow. But how shall the water be applied to accomplish this ? Washing and sponging the bag with water will not an- swer the purpose, unless unremittingly applied, which would require a more faithful attendant than is generally found. But if you take an oil-cloth or india-rubber cloth bag, made to fit the cow’s udder, or nearly so, coming up to the body, flaring at the top, held up by a strap over the back, then filled with soft water of moderate temperature, say 65°, you will have an apparatus that will require very little attention. This can be applied by anybody, and with much less trouble than a purgative can be given. ‘I'his mild water will absorb gradually the heat from the udder and not cause any shock to the system, or much determination of blood to the part. 496 FEEDING ANIMALS. Very cold water should not be used, unless there is much inflammation in the udder, as it will cause a great determi- nation to the part affected. The water must be changed as often as it gets warm. And as there is generally more or less disturbance of the whole system, and an _ inclina- tion to constipation, give the cow an injection of about three pints of soft blood-warm water—simple water, no medication in it. This will produce a movement of the bowels without any irritation, as the water liqui- fies or dissolves the hard feces and cools off the intestines and bowels. If the first injection does not operate in an hour or so, it proves that there is much in- ternal heat, that the water has been absorbed, and another should be given. These injections are perfectly harmless, and can certainly be given as easily as medicated ones; they may always take the place of the purgative, and will answer a much better purpose. When the application is com- pleted, let the udder be slightly chafed with a dry cloth, and rubbed with a little lard. We have several times made this application and always with most gratifying success, seldom requiring more than a few hours. PUERPERAL OR MILK FEVER. It may be thought that this disease offers insuperable ob- stacles to the use of water; that as the cow in many cases cannot stand, the remedy cannot be applied. We admit that this disease, as heretofore treated, has been alarming and difficult to the herdsman ; that, as it sometimes comes on so suddenly, runs its course so rapidly, and is drugged so lustily, if not wisely, it leaves his mind in confusion and uncertainty. But there is no real difficulty in using water in this case. ‘The true method is to treat cows be- fore and at calving, so that this crisis in the disease will not occur. All stimulating food should be avoided and the ani- mal kept where she may have uniform warmth and air, and, WATER REMEDIES. 497 as in most cases, the udder is swollen and hot, make appli- cation recommended for garget; give copious injections of blood-warm water, which will relieve the bowels and in- testines ; then take matting or old carpeting, wide enough to reach from udder to foreleg, and long enough to reach around her, put it under her and bring it together over the back, then pour slightly cool water between the blanket and her side, thus wetting her over the principal seat of fever or inflammation, producing a fomentation and gradual cool- ing of the whole surface, modifying her fever and generally producing relief at once. It is well to wet and rub gently her back, hips and flanks. As often as this blanket begins to dry water should be poured in as before, until the fever passes away, when the blanket may be taken off and the cow gently chafed with a dry cloth until the hair is dry. Moderately cool water should be given her to drink, but no effort made to stimulate her appetite, which will return when Nature calls for food. Let it ever be remembered that this treatment and all treatment of sick animals should be performed in the gentlest manner. Let roughness and cruelty be monopolized by the butcher, and never used by the herdsman. Milk fever is apt to be accompanied by more or less of brain fever, and in this case, what is done must be done quickly, and the best application is a drench of very cold water (ice water), delivered between the horns and on the forehead. This should be repeated several times, if necessary. It should not be continued till chills are produced. But when the disease has reached the brain, veterinarians do not ac- knowledge any probability of cure, yet the author has known of several cases recovering after the use of the cold drench. It is not very different treatment from that of brain fever in the human subject—pounded ice between two linen cloths applied to the brain. When the drench is applied the other applications must also be made. _— 498 FEEDING ANIMALS. If this fever should occur in cold weather, a dry blanket may be put over the wet one, to keep the heat from passing off too rapidly, but if the fever should be high there will be no danger of this. Since writing the foregoing, several experienced dairy- men have reported to us in confirmation of our treatment for milk fever, that finding a cow in the worst stages of this fever, and quite unable to stand, they caused her to be frequently and thoroughly washed, and covered with a blanket to keep the evaporation from being too rapid —that “it worked to a charm,” as they phrased it, the cow soon recovering her usual strength and milk. The reader will readily see how this treatment may be ap- plied to other fevers and inflammations ; in what is called common or simple fever, the same application should be made. In inflammation of the lungs, a similar application may be made to the chest, and in all cases of fevers and in- flammation, injections should be freely used ; they answer in all cases much better than the drug purgative. In diarrhea, the injection is valuable where a change of food is not sufficient to correct it, as it cools off the bowels and intestines, allays irritation, and enables Nature to resume her proper functions. WATER TREATMENT FOR HORSES. Wounds, Bruises, Sprains, etc—The best surgeons now regard water as an important auxiliary in treating wounds. Lavements, pourings, wet compresses, etc., are used for the human subject; and water answers equally well for animals. Simple cut wounds, when cleansed and dressed with water, usually heal without suppuration, especially, if the blood be in a healthy state. There being a tendency in all wounds to fever and inflammation, water dressing, in the form of wet bandages, keep down the unnatural heat, and allow Nature to go on with the healing process. The lips of the fe “ae ¥ WATER REMEDIES. 499 wound may, generally, be held together with adhesive straps, and the water application put over. The most dan- gerous wounds, near some vital part, are frequently healed with the aid of water to keep down theinflammation. We remember a fine mare that stepped on a hoe, the handle of which had been split, leaving a sharp end, and throwing the handle up under her belly, caused a deep, ugly wound, and so lacerating the bowels, that, being in August, it was thought almost useless to attempt saving her. But by dressing the wound constantly with water, the flies were kept out, inflammation prevented, and the wound healed in two months, leaving the animal as valuable as before. Not long ago we had a mare that accidentally struck a nail deep into her foot, and being idle in the stable at the time, it was not discovered till the foot became much swollen; and when the blacksmith took off the shoe, the foct was in such an inflamed condition, that he thought nothing could pre- vent gangrene and loss of her foot. But a shallow tub was put into her stall, filled with water, and the foot placed in it. So much did this relieve the pain, that when the water was changed, the animal would, voluntarily, place her foot init. The inflammation was soon reduced, and the foot became sound. Lruises and sprains are most aptly treated with water, as they are liable to be followed by protracted inflammation. The parts should be immersed in, or poured with cold water, and then kept bandaged with water, often changed, till the inflammatory action is passed. SPRAINED ANKLE. We have seen the most remarkable effect of rubbing with water, followed by a water bandage, which was changed twice per day, upon the ankle of a horse whose foot was caught in a tread power, and doubled over so badly, that parties who saw the accident thought it very improbable 500 FEEDING ANIMALS. that the horse should be able to work again in two months. But by rubbing the ankle in water for one hour, and then bandaging it in water for three days, he went to work again on the fourth day as if nothing had injured him. A few months ago a friend of ours had a wiry, tough little mare who had been growing lame from a sprained ankle for several months, and he had about despaired of much improvement. We advised him to place a heavy water bandage on the ankle of the little mare when brought in towards evening. He did so, and in a few days she was very much improved, and in three weeks she was well. TREATMENT FOR COLIC. The best treatment for this ailment of horses is the pre- ventive treatment in feeding. We do not think a horse ever had the colic without error in feeding too concentrated food, or, perhaps, driving rapidly on a full stomach. But these errors will more or less occur, and then the remedy. It is always caused by indigestion and fever. The best application is, first rubbing the abdomen and chest with cold water, and then placing a heavy woollen blanket under the belly and bringing the ends up over the back, when cool water can be poured in between the blanket and skin, keeping the body wet just back of the foreleg. This will usually give relief in a few minutes. The author thas seen a number of horses with colic led into a creek, in warm weather, when the horse would immediately lay down in the water and get relief in that way. We have never seen a horse with colic that would not make the application himself when given an opportunity. This application can be made in a warm stable in winter, but in that case the water should not be below 60°. If the horse is constipated injections of soft water should be used, i aa REMEDIES FOR DISEASES. 501 Foop MEDICINES. Stock-feeders have not studied sufficiently the effect of foods upon animal ailments. The condition of the system can be completely controlled by food. There are laxative foods and constipating foods and food with other remedial qualities. A laxative food is anti-febrile; in fact, a proper understanding of the management of laxative food will prevent diseases. Fevers often arise from a too free and long use of a constipating food. A close observer can tell at once what variation in food may be required to establish a healthy condition in a horse : that is, in horses constantly under his eye. But he must have studied the effect of foods and rely upon them, instead of the medical vocabulary, A horse should never be al- lowed to get into a condition in which food will not recover him. Flax-seed is, perhaps, the most convenient laxative food. Boiled flax-seed will take effect quite rapidly, and no veterinarian will say that this laxative is not milder, and to be preferred, where it will operate, to a medical laxative. Peas are slightly constipating, beans more so, finished middlings a little binding, and an occasional half pint of boiled flax-seed mixed in will keep the proper balance. 302 FEEDING ANIMALS. APPENDIX: AMERICAN ENSILAGE IN ENGLAND. THERE having been many questions raised in reference to the wholesomeness of ensilage as a food, especially for milk, we regarded the following correspondence and analysis of maize and rye ensilage by Dr. Voelcker, of England, as important enough to be added in an appendix, with other recent statements in this country. Mr. Edward Atkinson, of Boston, who has taken much interest in the development of this system of ensilage in New England, at the instance of an English friend, sent maize ensilage and rye ensilage to Prof. Voelcker for analysis and experiment. The following is Mr. Atkinson’s letter to the American Cultivator, accompanying the report and analysis of Dr. Voelcker : IMPORTANT STATEMENTS BY PROF. AUGUSTUS VOELCKER. An English friend of mine, having become greatly interested in the subject of ensilage, and having seen only samples of French fod- der, carried to England in bottles, I suggested sending to him two casks, one of Yankee corn fodder, the other of rye; upon his assent thereto, the two casks were forwarded to Prof. Voelcker, the leading azricultural chemist of England, by whom they have been analyzed, | and whose report is inclosed herewith. I have been informed that Prof. Voelcker had previously been very skeptical in regard to the value of this method of saving green crops. It may interest your readers to know that I measured off half an acre of good land and planted it in the autumn with winter rye which I reaped a little too late, when the straw had hardened, about the middle of June of last year. I then planted Southern corn, the growth of which was checked considerably by the drought, but which AMERICAN ENSILAGE. 503 reached an average height of ten feet, and which was cut in Septem- ber. I computed the total of the two crops at twenty tons, and I think it would have been four or five tons more except for the drought. I shall carry my two cows from fall feed to summer pas- - ture, with a considerable quantity left over. The fact that this fodder could be taken from the pits, packed in casks and sent to England in good condition, is suggestive—first, as to the feeding of live cattle in crossing the sea. Would not good corn fodder, packed in casks, be better than hay and more suitable, bulk for bulk ? Second, may not persons who live in city or village raise fodder at some distance, permit it to wither on the field, so as to lose its elas- ticity, and then pack it in flour barrels or sugar barrels, using a lever to press it, to be brought in from the farm to the city or village, as needed for the family cow ? I am well satisfied that four cows can be maintained on an acre of good land for twelve months, if they are fed with a small ration of cotton-seed meal in addition to the ensilage, and the manure is all restored to the land. . It would, perhaps, be more prudent to call the ratio three cows to an acre of good land for twelve months. In another aspect this matter of saving green crops for winter fod- der may greatly affect the prosperity of New England farmers. If I have been correctly informed, one of the obstacles to the raising of long-wooled sheep of the finer sorts with entire success, in Vermont and elsewhere in the North, has been the effect upon the staple, at about the middle of its growth, of the change in the habit of the sheep when transferred from the open pasture to the barn, coupled with the entire change in the quality and kind of food thereafter given. It has been stated to me—whether it is true or not I do not know —that during the period when the sheep are becoming accustomed to the changed conditions, a short bit of weak staple is formed, where the fibre breaks when it goes into the combing machine at the factory, thereby greatly increasing the proportion of noils and waste. Now there is no condensed food upon which sheep thrive better than cotton-seed meal, and cotton-seed meal is one of the substances most frequently fed in connection with ensilage. It is to be hoped that some Vermont farmer will try the experi- ment of feeding sheep with ensilage and cotton-seed meal, if it has not already been tried, graduating the change from the open field to the barn in such measure as not to affect the condition of the animal 504 FEEDING ANIMALS. in the process. May it not thus ve possible, not only to increase the quantity of wool in very great measure, but also to improve the quality at the same time? May not ensilage extend the period of feeding upon succulent food throughout the year, and thus assure the production of fine, long- stapled wool of uniform quality? On the other hand, the rich ma- nure of sheep fed in part upon cotton-seed meal will keep the corn land devoted to the ensilage crop in full heart. Boston, MAss. EDWARD ATKINSON. Dr. VOELCKER’S REPORT. ANALYTICAL LABORATORY, 11 Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, Lonpon, E. C., March 10, 1883. Dear Sir: The maize ensilage from Boston reached me in a per- fectly sound condition. The rye ensilage was also sound, but here and there I found a few bits which were slightly mouldy. On exposure to the air the maize ensilage kept much freer from white mould than the rye ensilage. Both were decidedly acid, the maize ensilage much more so than the rye ensilage. My impression is that well-made maize ensilage may be taken out of a silo and freely exposed to the air without becoming mouldy and unfit for feeding purposes. Rye ensilage appears not to keep so well when taken out of the silo; should be consumed without much delay. : The fact that maize ensilage keeps sound and free from mouldiness better than rye ensilage appears to me to be due to the circumstance that maize contains more sugar than green rye. In the silo the sugar in the green food enters into acid fermentation; and the organic acids formed from the sugar are, as you are aware, prevent- ives of decay of organic vegetable matters. In the case of maize, more acids, such as acetic, lactic, butyric and similar aromatic organic acids, are generated than in the case of green rye, for the latter is much poorer in sugar than maize, and this is no doubt the reason why maize keeps better than green rye. The proportion of acids in ensilage I find varies a good deal, and the nature of the organic acids in ensilage also is subject to consid- erable variations. In some instances I have found the prevailing acid in maize ensilage to be non-volatile lactic acid ; in other samples AMERICAN ENSILAGE. 505 lately examined by me most of the acids in ensilage I found to be acetic and butyric acid. A short time ago a sample of maize ensilage was sent to me from Canada, in which I found, in round numbers, one per cent. of butyric and other volatile organic acids. This sample contained 85.69 per cent. of water, or fully three per cent. more than the sample which was sent to me from Boston, and although it has been freely exposed to the air for nearly two months, the ensilage is perfectly free from white mould. The Boston sample, on exposure to the air for about a fortnight, got slightly mouldy on the top layers, but not nearly to the same extent as the rye ensilage. The following are the results which I have obtained in the careful and detailed analysis of the average samples drawn from the two barrels of Boston ensilage. Composition of two samples of ensilage sent from Boston : PERCENTAGE OF DRY SUBSTANCE SOLUBLE IN Rye Maize WATER, 4.08. Ensilage.| Ensilage. MES Sots = Soto dt socks haute» a2 ate 20 ucla Sins eee § 75.19 82140). x Hatty mattersand CHIOLOphYle fo... 6c5 deci c ccieieen seas ces .86 .59 | Sis Butyrieand other vy olainle.< iia. re oe SSeS obese omens Ad 22) oo OT MIG ACIS tase Seine 728 awe as a) ates wistisatalellsieier sis: 6,0siei6 Shs ; le MRCLIC ACId: ASI Sa eh ck eee 9-2 CS OAc BILE: ARCs .02 1.26/57 Soluble extractive matters ........c0.ssscceecsecesesees 1.10 2.58 | 29 PMeolanle albumIMordes vlc; the ek ace sve scsces eeakee 1.01 re aS Soluble mineral matters. o.oo ices cass yokes nee se eefen ans 98 -60) 5 Percentage of dry substance insoluble ‘a in water, 20.73. ie a inddlnble albaminoiday. . 20.5. 33 wie keckot tsa. one. 7 16) 43h PiFestible cellmlarhiore |... ols cecsacs ens ss cufeteisiecs aos 8.41 5.43 | © So Endisestible fibres shi 2iessec jice oe ok «nites mediate barbed et 11.08 5.14f/a8 Insoluble mineral matters............. SEALE aisiale) sia\nraioars -49 J * 2 SSN BS CONTAIN TELOP Olas sical oo ncaik Satals eels Miausinvesie a sers.s:si 16 .08 SECON AINE MIGLOL OMS. teh fos te 2551s ee Bee se a nies 12 12 You will notice that the rye ensilage contains about seven per cent. less moisture than the maize ensilage, and much less acid than the latter. Probably the green rye was too far advanced in growth before it was put into silos, and not so rich in sugar as it was at an earlier stage, when it contained less indigestible woody fibre. Much of the success in making ensilage depends upon:the proper state of maturity of the green food. Green rye, maize, and, in fact, all kinds of succulent vegetable produce, should be cut down 506 FEEDING ANIMALS. neither too immature nor overripe, but when the green food contains a maximum amount of sugar. The sweeter the green food the better it will keep in silo, and the more nutritious and wholesome it will turn out when ready to be consumed by cows or other live stock. There can be no doubt that both the rye and the maize ensilage which you directed to be sent to me from Boston are good and wholesome foods. I prefer the maize to the rye ensilage, and consider ensilage specially useful to milch cows in winter. Decorti- cated cotton cake and ensilage go well together and make rich milk. I may say in conclusion that I sent the ensilage not required for analyses to our experimental station at Woburn, and my farm manager reports to me that the cattle took to the ensilage at once and apparently liked it much, and, as far as Could be judged, did well upon it. On the other hand, fattening pigs did not care for the ensilage, and would not touch it at first. [Signed] AvuGusTus VOELCKER. Mr. Atkinson’s suggestion that ensilage, packed in casks, might furnish an excellent food for fat cattle in transit to Europe, is a good one, but perhaps he overestimates the comparative value, and we can well believe it to be practical from experiments made by us more than 25 years ago. We took a large linseed-oil cask and pressed green clover into it in June, pressing in the head and sealing the seams with white lead. This was kept for a year without the appearance of fermentation, the blossoms looking bright on opening. His suggestion of the use of ensilage in feeding sheep in New England is in the same vein as ours on pages 435-37. There is no doubt that ensilage will make the staple of wool uniform throughout. See experiment with steamed food, pages 456-7. Dr. Voelcker’s analysis and report are interesting and important, as showing that the acid in ensilage is princi- pally lactic, which is supposed to be favorable to the pro- duction of agreeably-flavored milk. The Doctor gives a AMERICAN ENSILAGE. 507 decided indorsement of ensilage for milch cows. His opinion of the comparative value of corn and rve ensilage arose, no doubt, from the too ripe condition of the rye when stored. We shall see that the practical test of com- parison, made on Mr. Havemeyer’s herd, showed rye ensi- lage much superior to green corn. Rye, when cut, just before blossom, shows, on analysis, nearly 50 per cent. more nutriment than green corn ready for the silo. We find the following account of Mr. Havemeyer’s use of ensilage in the American Cultivator : ENSILAGE IN NEW JERSEY. “While the adoption of the ensilage system has spread enormously during the past year or two, it may be doubted whether so valuable and exhaustive a test of its merits has been made as at Mountainside Farm, New Jersey, the property of Theodore A. Havemeyer, of New York City. It was a bold measure, several years ago, to substitute ensilage exclusively for hay in the feeding of one of the finest and most valuable herds of Jersey cattle in the world, a herd that would probably sell at auction for upwards of $100,000, and where the income from the sale of high-bred calves was of the first importance. It was still bolder from the fact that in so doing the grain ration of the cows was cut down to one-half that which had previously been fed with hay, causing greater physical dependence upon the new food. It was still bolder when, having passed through the winter, the cattle were not turned upon pasture in the spring, thus giving a respite from ensiloed food, as has been the custom elsewhere. From October, 1881, until now, the entire herd, old and young, were kept upon ensilage, without intermission, save occasionally when, for a day or two, a change was made for the sake of experiment. The result has been, that, 508 FEEDING ANIMALS, with half the amount of grain formerly fed with hay, the same cows haye averaged over 100 pounds (fifty quarts) more of milk per month than they did on the old diet. Their coats look glossy and sleek, and every indication is that of blooming health. The calves that have been dropped upon the place from silo-fed parents, themselves silo-reared, are pronounced without dissent by the hundreds who visit the place to be of the best quality and in excellent condition. It may be doubted whether another lot of animals equally large, vigorous and healthful at various ages can be found short of a climate that affords pasturage the year round. While much of this condition is due to the fact that the parent herd, both as regards the imported and the native-bred animals, was selected with an eye to constitution and superior physical capacity, their blooming condition is unquestionably due, in a great measure, to the method of feeding. “Notwithstanding the undoubted success of ensilage feeding, Mr. Havemeyer and his foreman, Mr. Mayer, admit there are some facts connected with ensilage that are hard to account for. While it appears infprobable that the feeding value of green forage could be improved upon its natural condition when fresh by stowage under pressure in a pit, the experiments at Mountainside Farm raise the question at least to the dignity of a debatable one. When in August last the working force of the farm was concentrated upon the great work of transporting the fifty acres of green corn-fodder from the fields in which it grew, through the giant cutters and carriers, into the great pits where it was to be preserved for the coming year’s use, a pit of ensilaged rye-fodder which had been stored earlier in the season, and from which the herd were being fed, gave out. ‘To open anew pit would be to divert the use of the machinery and the time of three or four men from the special work of harvesting, to which all energies were being devoted. Mr, AMERICAN ENSILAGE. 509 Mayer, therefore, ordered that several loads of the corn- fodder cut fresh in the field should be placed before the cows instead of their customary feeds of ensilage. “They ate it with great relish, and they ate a much larger quantity than they did of the rye ensilage; never- theless, with the same grain ration, they fell off in milk. Thinking the result due to the fact that the ensilage had had the advantage of having passed through the cutter, the fresh corn-fodder was then submitted to that treatment instead of being fed long, but the milk continued to diminish until at the end of three days the average daily shrinkage per cow was four pounds (two quarts), which, when tested in quality, showed two per cent. less cream. A new pit of ensilage was opened, and in two days the cows were back to their full flow. ‘This comparison be- tween ensilage rye and fresh corn-fodder is the more sur- prising from the fact that as a fresh feed rye-fodder is inferior to corn-fodder. «The discrepancy cannot be attributed to a difference in amount of food, for, as carefully ascertained, the cows ate sixty pounds of the corn against twenty-five pounds of the rye. The chemical theory is that the method of storing ensilage causes it to develop lactic acid, which is in itself a stage of digestion, and so effective in its action that the food renders a maximum of its nutriment to the support of the animal.” The value of the above statement consists in the main and undoubted facts stated—that a great herd of dairy cows had been fed upon ensilage, steadily, for 18 months, remaining in health and satisfactory yield of milk; calves healthy and of vigorous growth, with a large reduction of the grain ration. These are important facts. But the state- ment that the cows lost four pounds of milk each in three days by a change to green corn, and gained it again in two days on being fed corn ensilage, we must regard as_an error 510 FEEDING ANIMALS. in length of time at least. A change of food does not so suddenly affect the yield. ‘Then it is an error to say that green rye in proper condition of maturity is inferior to green corn. It is true that cows prefer the taste of green corn—they even prefer it to green clover, but who supposes it to be superior to green clover! A TRIAL OF CoRN ENSILAGE WITH Dry Foop. Mr. Henry E. Alvord, the very intelligent director of Houghton Farm, gives, in a paper read before the New York Agricultural Society, and published in the last Re- port, an interesting trial of the effect of corn ensilage with grain compared with dry food and grain, in feeding two lots of six Jersey cows each, for twelve weeks. The following is a Statement of the experiment: These twelve cows were fed and treated alike for a fort- night prior to beginning the record, and then for twelve weeks their treatment was exactly the same, except that one set of six (lot A) received only corn ensilage, besides grain, while the other set (lot B) had dry forage only. The uniform grain ration was a mixture of four pounds of corn- meal, four pounds wheat bran and one and one-half pounds cotton-seed meal, fed in two portions. Lot A received sixty pounds ensilage per day, it being of average quality, as per analysis given hereafter, and lot B received twelve pounds of cut stover and five pounds cut meadow-hay daily. The coarse forage in both cases was fed in two portions, one separate from the grain, while at the other time these were mixed. The following is the milk record of the two lots for the twelve weeks’ trial : AMERICAN ENSILAGE. 511 25 i foe et a Bae Ca Se os 25 2g ga DUE 2 ee een = = © : = ' Six Cows—JERSEYS. os Zo on S 308 5 oO. a.F Be eS 2,0) ; 23 = _ 4 Ge ois) ae”. dig 4? eat ooo = oS mex Loire) Sod ~ = ood S ar = 3 Oo Fon > > = Ss a < < Ibs. 0z.| lbs. oz lbs. oz. Ybs. oz. | Ibs. 0Z. Mot A—ensilater ase coe 2622 825. 2 W3l 12 9.295 9 774 10 go NY 6 Lot B—dry feed’.....1....-.. 816 6 722 14 9.375 5 Wel V8 16 WW The periodic loss or shrinkage of milk for every division of four weeks, comparing the quantity on the first and last days of these divisions, was as follows (gains marked + and losses —) : Ga ata ok Ge eee a nore ee Total, Cows. January. | February. March. |49 weeks. Ibs. oz.| lbs. oz. Ibs. Oz. lbs. Oz. TOQUE. ba oc ss sacs mis pashieeh = --60 2 —8 3 —25 0 938 5 TAGE Besse. cis wivisecleie atwinte oueinelsie.ae= +1 0 —24 9 —70 6 93 «15 As to the quality of the milk from the two lots, these facts were ascertained, the figures being averages of the chemical and practical tests: ee 4 S oad gs S = a es iad 3 a) 2 BA Ba bb = es os o ae ao) oo Six Cows—JERSEYS. aes ai Ss me a - =| a2 ag § 9 td = 2 5% ss | 38 SS | S85 ~ a a | cs fs) = lbs lbs Ibs. Tot Ares ipc4stiasearest 1032 14.16 3.95 2016 22.9 TOG Be shee Loew ates es 1029 13.81 3.93 18 20.2 The butter from the milk of the ensilage-fed cows was decidedly better, both in color and flavor, than that from the other lot. In April the ensilage was discontinued, and lot A put on entirely dry feed, the same as lot B. Then, 512 FEEDING ANIMALS. after one week’s intermission, the two were compared for four weeks more with this result: Lot A, 687 Ibs. 0 oz. milk per week, or 16 lbs. 6 oz. per day and cow. Lot B, 702 lbs. 2 oz. milk per week, or 16 lbs. 11 oz. per day and cow. Tracing this trial all through, it is seen that the results in quantity of product are slightly in favor of the dry-fed cows. But this is offset by the better quality of the butter as well as the more thrifty and healthful appearance of the animals fed on ensilage. The great variation in the chemical composition of corn ensilage is shown in the following results of numerous analyses : PARTs IN Albumi- Carbo- Crude 100 LBs. Water noids. Fat. hydrates. fibre. Ash. Maximum ...... 84.9 1.9 9 13.4 7.9 14 Minimum ..... 4A 9 3 q. 4.7 al Average........ 81.4 1.3 9.6 5.9 1.2 It is to be regretted that Mr. Alvord did not note accu- rately the weight of each lot of cows at the beginning and the end of the experiment. This might have shown an important difference. He remarks the better quality of butter and the better and healthier condition of the cows fed on ensilage. ‘These two points alone may furnish a very sufficient reason for feeding ensilage instead of dry fodder. ‘There are some occult facts that chemistry does not as yet explain. Chemists think they have demon- strated that grass does not lose materially in nutriment in the process of drying. But still the great fact remains that cattle can be fattened rapidly upon grass, but cannot be fattened upon hay. It is practical nonsense to say that AMERICAN ENSILAGE. 513 dry food has the same feeding value as it had when green and succulent. There is much yet to learn in reference to the best ensi- lage crops, or, rather, it will be found that a greater variety of green food must be ensilaged, so as to furnish a well- balanced ensilage ration. By referring to page 224, analyses will be.found of 20 green fodders in a proper condition for ensilaging. Dr. Voelcker’s analysis shows that ensilage does not contain any important quantity of acetic acid, but mostly lactic and butyric acids, which muy be considered helps to digestion. 51£ FEEDING ANIMALS. APPENDIX : TO THE THIRD EDITION. FasTENING CaTTLE IN STABLE. It should be the aim of all feeders to give cattle as much freedom of motion and comfort in position as can be done without too much extra labor and expense. The most comfortable method is, of course, the box stall, but this is quite too expensive for common use; will be used only for the most expensive thoroughbreds—and the general dairy- man is content to place his cows’ heads between two sticks, called stanchions. This last mode has simplicity and the minimum of labor to recommend it, but it is really unjust treatment of that most useful animal, the cow, and ought to be abolished. And for this purpose we invented the plan shown at page 98, Fig. 10. A post 4x6 inches (No. 9) stands between each two cows, and 12 inches above the floor is driven a three-quarter inch staple, 12 inches long, into the center of the side of the post, as seen in (J0). There is another staple driven into the opposite post, and a quarter inch cable chain (11) stretching from staple to staple, with a ring on each end, to slide up and down on the staple, and a swivel ring in the middle to which the cow is fastened, by two branches of chain from this swivel ring around the neck. We first used a strap around the neck, with snap instead of these branches of chain, but the snap broke and the chain was APPENDIX. iD substituted for the strap. This chain also gives less slack to the hitch. The cow is thus held in the middle of her space, and cannot move sidewise to annoy her neighbor. But as there is a little slack to the chain, and the strap can slip backward and forward upon the neck, she can move backward or forward, can lie down or get up as easily as if not fastened at all, and can turn her head and lick her shoulders, or any part of her body, as freely as she chooses. Her movement is remarkably free, and her position in lying down as unconstrained as in the field. In order to allow this freedom of backing up without permitting her to pass her horns past the post to annoy her neighbor, a plank 12 or 14 inches wide is set edgewise behind the post, as shown in illustration No. 1, here given. And, not being able to back past this plank, she cannot molest her neighbor on either side. A plank 5 feet long, (12) in Fig. 10, seen also in Fig. 1, is set against the front edge of the post, reaching down to the manger. This plank in front prevents each cow from eating her neighbor’s food. After having tested this arrangement of staples in the side of the posts, and finding that the rings soon wear off by the friction in sliding up and down on the staples, we devised a way of avoiding this wear by stretching a quarter- inch chain 13 inches above the floor, the whole length of the stable, and fastening it to each post by a strong staple driven through or astride of a link. The chain is given a slack between each two posts, so as to allow the center of the chain to rise and fall six inches. This effects the same purpose as the long staples, and the chain does not wear so fast; besides, this fastening costs only about half as much as the other. The ring, in the center of each 516 FEEDING ANIMALS. cow’s space, is made a swivel, so that the cow cannot twist the chain. This swivel is made by forming a link, with one flat side 1 inch wide. The stem of the ring is inserted through the flat side of the link and headed, leaving play enough to turn easily. ANALYTICAL INDEX. Philosophy of cooking food, 487-490. Phosphoric acid excreted, 76, 77. Pigeon grass, 147-153. Plantain, 146. Plants, natural function of, 19. Potato tops, composition, 155, 156. Poppy-seed cake, 157. Potash excreted, 77. Production, food of, 346-349. Products manufactured, ash constitu- ents, 41. Profitable feeding must be done before maturity, 132. Progress of ensilage in United States, 219, 220. Protein, 32. Ptyalin, 46. Puerperal or milk fever, water remedy, 496-498. Pulse—How to find it, 67; kinds, 68. Pumpkin-seed cake, etc., 157. Quack grass, 147, 151, 154. Quality of young beef, 253, 254, Rack for cattle, 199. Rack for sheep, 124. Rape, 155-158, 224, 433-435; straw and hulls, 156; rape cake, 158 ; rape meal, 158. Ration, 30; for cattle, 292, 293; for milch cows, 294-297; for fattening cattle, 304, 305; for oxen at hard work, 305, 306 ; for milk, at Eldena, 325-328; for milk cow, English, 342; Prof. Horsfall’s, 343-345 ; for milk, Ameri- can, 349-351; of milk for colts, 364, 365; standard, for feeding horses, 374- 877; practical, 377-380, for sheep, 415; variety of, 486; for young pigs, 464- 466; grass as part of the, 468, 469. Red clover, 146, 153-155, 188, 225, 357. Reed meadow grass, 147. Respiratory foods, 42-44; products, 76. Respiration, 69; principles of, 42 ; food of, 43. Remastication, 47. Rice meal, composition, 158; rice bran, 158. Reticulum, 51, 58. Ribwort plantain, 146. Roots, ash constituents, 41. Roots for sheep feeding, 432, 433. different 553 Roots, grains and grass, experiments, 441-444, Rumination, 58; conditions essential to, 60. Ruminants, intestines of, 63. Running corn through a cutter, 307. Rutabagas, composition, 155. Rye, winter, 186-188, 398, 426, 427. Rye grass, English, 153; Italian, 153. Rye fodder, 153; straw and chaff, 156. Rye bran, 157; refuse, 158. Saliva, 45; ptyalin, 46. Salivary glands, 46. Satin grass, Shrader’s grass, 150, Seeds, ash constituents, 41. Seradella, 153. Self-cleaning stable, 97-101. Sex-decagon barn, 89, Sheep—Number, value, 14; proportion of parts, 27; store, half-fat, fat, extra fat, composition, 26, 29; rack, 123, 124; shelter, 125; husbandry, 400-402; feeding in New Jersey, 402-404 ; prof- its of feeding, 403; lambs raised for market, 404; double income, fleece and lambs, 405, 406; early maturity, 406-408 ; growth in early lambs, 407, 408; selection of sheep for breeding, 408-411; Bakewell improving the Lei- cester, 409, 410; result of crossing Southdowns and Cotswolds, 410, 411 ; summer feeding of small flocks, 411- 413; hurdle feeding, 413-415; an ex- periment in, 422-424; fertilizing the field, 414; sheep ration, 415 ; compen- sation for food in manure, 415-420; amount of food elements in manure, 416 ; table of Dr. Wolff’s experiments and others, 417-420; value of solid and liquid excrement. 421 ; on worn- out lands, 424, 425; feeding green crops on the land, 425, 426; winter rye asa sheep pasture, 426, 427; winter vetch, 427-429 ; peas as a pasture crop, 429- 431; millet for pasture, 431, 482; roots for sheep feeding, 432, 433 , rape, 433- 435 ; ensilage for winter feeding, 4385- 437 ; managing a flock, 437-439. Sheep fescue, 147, 153. Size of dairy cows, 321-325. 554 Sheep Feeding—Regularity in, 439 ; En- glish, 441-444; experiments with roots, grains and grass, 441-444; feeding young lambs, 444-449; average gain, 445; German experiments, 449-453, table of amount of food, 450; experi- ments by Stohmann, with table, 450, 451; effect of age and weight on the growth of a lamb, 452; table per 100 lbs. live weight, 453; experiments in cutting and cooking fodder for, 453; experiments, 454-456 ; cost of steam- ing, 456, 457. Silos, 212, 213; plan of silo, 213; triple silo, 214; building the silo, 215, 216; preparing the concrete, 216-218; cut- ting crop and filling silo, 251, 232; sorghum, 195; storing several ensilage crops together, 229, 230. “ FEEDING ANIMALS. — Squash-seed, rind, 157. Spurry, 154. Spleen, 66. Stable—Self-cleaning, platform, fig. 10, 97, 98; grating, figs. 11, 12 and 13, 99- 101 ; self-cleaning, for pigs, 480, 481. Starch, dissolved by boiling, 36, 37. Standard ration for feeding horses, 374- 377. Steamed food, 296. Stock barns, 84 ; economy of, 85; form of, 87. Stock industry, capital invested, 14. Stock foods, 143 ; nutritive ingredients, 144; Dr. Collier’s table of analyses 146-148; Dr. Wolff’s table of food analyses, 153-158; comments on tables, 159, 160; tables of food values, 161; waste products, 162; corn-starch feed, Skimmed milk, composition, 158. Skin—Composition, 23; respiratory ac- tion, 71 ; excretions of, "2. Skim-milk ration for calves, 236, 240, 336 ; for colt, 364, 395; composition, 158. Smut grass, 147. Soda excreted, 77. Soiling, 167, 168 ; saving land, 169-171; brewer’s grain, 163; malt sprouts, meat scrap, fish scrap, 164. Stomach—Of solipeds, 47; and intes- tines, illustration, 48, of ruminants, and their functions, 49, 55, 56; Prof. Law on, 50; first, 50, 51; second, 51, 52; cesophagean demi-canal, 53; third, 53; saving fences, 171, 172; saving food, 172, 173; saving manure, 174 effect upon health and condition, 174, 175, effect of soiling upon milk, 176-178 ; effect on meat production, 179-181 ; objections to soiling—labor, 181, 182; an experiment, 182. 183 , cost of labor for 100 head. 184-186, horses, 197, 198; cattle, 198-200; cows, 200-202 ; sheep, 202-204, exterminates weeds, 205, 206 ; how to introduce it, 205, 206; winter soiling, 207; system for swine, 469, 470. Soiling Crops—Winter rye, 186, 187, 426; red clover, 188; orchard grass, lucerne, 189, 190; timothy and large clover, 190; alsike clover and timothy, green oats, 191, 192; peas and oats, common mil- let, 192, 198; Hungarian grass, Italian millet, 195; vetch, fodder corn, 194, 195; sorghum, 195; how to use green crops, 195, 196. fourth, 55; external appearance, 54; internal appearance, 57; use of third and fourth stomachs, 60; proportion in different animais, 64. Stowell’s evergreen corn, 360. Straw, ash constituents, 41; composi- tion of different straws, 155, 156; meadow hay compared, 162. Study the nature of the animal we feed, 135; corn should not be fed alone, 135, 141, 142, 385, 386. Sugar-beet cake, 157. Sugars, cane, grape and fruit, 34-37. Sunflower cake, composition, 157. Swedish clover, Alsike, 153. Sweet vernal grass, 148. Swine—Proportion of parts, 27; num- ber, value, 14; composition, 29; as grass eating animals, 187; early maturity im, 132-134; products of the pig exported, 458-460; care of breeding sows, 461, 462; clover and grass, proper food, 461, 472; milk Special feeding for milk, 331-335. Sprained ankle, treatment for, 499. Sorghum, 153. richer than the cow’s, 462; weight of pigs at birth, 463 ; milk yield by dam, 463, 464; ration for young pig, 464-466; se ier eg. ANALYTICAL INDEX. Swine—Feeding whey to pigs, 466-468 ; grass as a part of the ration, 468, 469; soiling system for swine, 469, 470; the pig in winter, 470-472; the old storing system, 471; cob-meal as a pig food, 472-474; swine-house, 474-479; an- other plan of swine-house, 479, 480 ; a self-cleaning pen for, 480, 481 ; cook- ing hog food, 481-484; no storing period, 484, 485; fattening period, 485; 486; selecting pigs for fattening, 487; philosophy of cooking food, 487-490; willit pay to cook for hogs, 490-492 ; experiments in cooking, 488-490. Table—Of food supply to six cows for 191 days, and composition, 345; of milk rations, 350, 351; of food for horse, 387-889. Tall panic grass, 147. Tall red-top, 147. Temperature, effect in feeding animals, 84, 85, 287, 291. : Temporary pastures, 281-283. Texas millet, 147, 151. Thorax, 70, Timothy and large clover, 148, 190; tim- othy, 153. Trachea, 69. Trefoil, 153, 155. Trypsin, 66. Upland grasses, 153. Urinary organs, 73; ureters, kidneys, bladder, urethra, 74. Uses of water in diseases of cattle, 493- 495 ; garget, fever and inflammation, 494, Value of manure, 77, 345, 346, 415, 425. Value of manure of fattening cattle, 267-269. Value of cow manure, 345, 346; of sheep manure, 421-425. Variety of food for milk, 340,341. Variety of grasses, 355-359. Vernal sweet-scented grass, 146, 153, 280, 358. Vegetable albuminoids, 33. Vetch, 146, 153, 194, 398, 427-420; chaff and straw, 156. 555 * Walnut cake, composition, 157. Waste products, 162; corn-starch foods, brewer’s grains, 163; malt sprouts, meat scrap, fish scrap, 164, 165; in cattle rations, 299-301. Water—Composition, 19; for milch cow, 352-355 ; remedies, 493; uses of, in the diseases of cattle, 493-495; gar- get, 495, 496; puerperal or milk fever, 496-498; treatment for horses, 498; wounds, bruises, sprains and simple cut wounds, 498, 499; sprained ankle, 499, 500; treatment for colic, 500; food medicines, 501. Water grass, 146. Weight and growth of foals, 367-370. Weight of pigs at birth, 463. What age for beef, 247-249. Wheat, bran, middlings, analysis, 156, 157; refuse, 158. Whey rations for the calf (analyses), 242- 246 ; loss of whey estimated, 244; I. Il. Wanzer’s experiments, 246. Whey, feeding to pigs, 466-468 ; compo- sition of, 158. White mustard, 154. Whole cost of the bullock, 273, 274. Wild oat grass, 147. Winter rye, 186, 187. Winter soiling, 207-211. Wire grass, 153, 278. Wood grass, 147. Woody fibre, effect of heat and acid upon it, 35. Wolff’s tables, 153-158; comments on the tables, 159. Wool, composition, 23. Wounds, treatment for, 498. Young animals, how to feed them, 187: care in substituting other food for milk, 139. Young calf, how to feed it, 234. Youatt’s ration for work horses, 871, 372. Young pigs, feeding too much corn, 461; rations for, 464-466. Young foal, weight and growth of, 367= 370 ; handling, 367, 371, 399. 556 INDEX OF APPENDIX TO THIRD EDITION, FEEDING ANIMALS. WITH OTHER REFERENCES. A few definitions, 534. Albuminoids definition, 534. Alfieda, test of, 543. Analyzed rations, 543-4. Ancient use of silo, 212. Artichokes, 156. Ash constituents of plants, 39-41, Author’s experiment, 521. Bes experiment on long horns, 0 Bakewell, 409. Barns—Building gn under old, 535. Beef—Cost of good, 5 Belle of Patterson, Te of, 543. Boxing for concrete wall, 536. Bran, 157. Breed—Improving by feeding, 518. Building stables under old _ barns, 535. Butter—Improvement of dairy Cows for, 537. Butter tests, 544-5. Buttermilk, 158. Calf—Flaxseed to prevent scouring, 238. Calves—Flaxseed gruel for, 235. Carbohydrates—Definitions, 534, Cattle, wild, 288. Cattle, fastening i in stable, 514. Chain for fastening cows in stable, 516. Concrete wall boxing, 536. Comfort of cows in stable, 514. Cost of production, 260-531. Cost, improved stables, small, 537. Cows, improvement of dairy, 537. Cow, Mary Anne, of St. Lambert, test of, 540-2. Cow, Lesbie, test of, 540-2. Cow, Gold Trinket, test of, 543. Cow, Miss Willie Jones, test of, 513. Cow, Alfieda, test of, 543. Cow, Maggie of St Lambert, test of, Cow, Fear Not, test of, 543. Cow, Moth of St. Lambert, test of, 543. Cow—Com., test of, 543. Cow, Olies, Lady Teuazle, test of, 543. Cow, Belle of Patterson, test of, 543. Cows, salt to excite thirst in, 353. Cylinder, mixing, 524-5. Dairy cows, improvement of, for but- ter, 537. Definitions, a few, 534. Description of steam-boxes, 525-6. ReaD of rotary steam- -boxes, Doubling yield of milk, 522-3. Effect of feeding upon quality milk, 540. Effect of feeding scrubs, 521-522. Effect of liberal feeding, 519. Experiment, Bakewell’s long horn, 520. Experiment, Bakewell’s sheep, 409 Experiment by John D. Giliette, 532. Experiment by Hr. I. Groff, 533 Experiment with scrub cows, 539. Experiment of Princess 2d, 540. Fastening cattle in stable, 514. Fat stock show, ee, of, 529-30. Fear Not, test of, 543. Feeding, improvement of breed by, 518. Feeding, effect of liberal, 519. Feeding, effect on quality milk, 540. Flaxseed gruel for calves, 235. ae and production, illustration of, Food, preparing for a large stock, 523. Gain in periods (table), 530. Good beef at 24 months, 533. Good beef, cost of, 528-9. Gold Trinket, test ‘of, 643. Greatest yield may not be the cheap- est, 510, Gradual increase of ration for butter, Grain ration, 521. Grasses, list of, for pasture, 281-3. Heat, animal food for, 485-6. Hay loader, 184. How to make a warm barn, 536-7. Illustration of food and production, 541. Improvement of breed by feeding, 518. ae of dairy cows for butter, Increase of ration gradual, 588. Influence of food in establishing breeds, Is “the greatest yield the cheapest, Bi Liberal feeding, the effect of, 519. Lesbie, test of the Jersey cow, 542. Maggie of St. Lamc ert, test of, 543. bes Anne of St. Lambert, test of, 540. ars effect of feeding on, quality of, 540. Mineral constituents of plants, 39-41. Miss Willie Jones, test of, 543. Mixing cylinder, 524. Moth of St. Lambert, test of, 543. Old barns, building stables under, 535. Olies, Lady Teazle, 543. Pastures, kinds of extra food for, 359. Pig-pen, self-cleaning, 481. Preparing food for large stock, 523. Preventing cows from disturbing others, 515. Princess. 2d, experiment, 540-2. Production, cost of, 531-2. Production, illustration of food of, 541. Fepowien of foodelements in manure, Pumpkins, 157. Pampkin. seed cake, 157. oo 1y of milk, effect of feeding on, nas gradual increase of, 538. Rations anal\ zed, 543-4. Ration of Princess 2d daily, 544. Ration of Mary Anne of St. Lambert, daily, 544-5. “ANALYTICAL INDEX. Ration of cow Lesbie, 545-6. Rotary steam-boxes, 526-7, Saving food by watering in stable, 518. Scouring, flaxseed for in calves, 238. Scrubs, effect of feeding on, 521-2. Scrub cows, experiment with, 539 Skill in feeding more important, 518. Snap to hold cow in stable, 514. Special feeding, 520. Stables, building under old barns, 535. Stables, light in, 120. Staples for fastening cows, 515. Steam boxes, description, 525-6. Steam boxes, rotary, 526. Steers, tables of fat stock show, 530. Stock, preparing food for a large, 523-4, Summary of cattle at live stock shows according to age, 580, 557 Summary of 8 fat stock shows, 530. Sunflower seed, com., 157. Sweet potato, com., 156. Tables of steers at fat stock show, 530, Table of rations for butter cows, 544-6. Test of butter cows, 540, 542, 543, 544, The cost of good beef, 528-29. Value of liquid and solid manure, 421, Wall, boxing for concrete, 536. Watering cattle in stable, 516. _ Watering cattle in stable, how it saves food, 518. Watering trough, 516. Watering trough, how covered, 518. What does good beef cost, 528-9. Yams, com., 156. INDEX TO FOURTH EDITION. Asparagus, ash analyses, 158—D. Apple pomace, 158—B. Barley meal, 158—B. Barley, oats, corn, 158—D. Bran or midds., 158—D. Bran, peas, barley, oats, ground, 158—C Brewers’ grains, kiln dried, C—158. Brewers’ grains, from silo, C—158. Broom corn, seed, B—158. Buckhorn fern, 158—A, ash analyses, 158—D. Buckwheat midds., C—158. Cactus plant, 158—B., ash analyses, 158—D. Clover, orchard or rye grass, 158—D. Co-efficient digestion, 417. Crab grass, 158—A. Crab grass, shucks, corn fodder, 158—D Corn husks, 158—C. Corn, oats, bran, equal weights, ground, C—158. Corn, oats, peas, ground, 158—D. Corn, oats, barley, ground, 158—D. Corn cob, husk, ground, 158—D. Corn cob, oats, ground, 158—D. Corn, rye meal, 158—D. Corn, cow pea, 158—D. Corn, rye meal, 158—D. Corn or cob meal, 158—D. Corn fodder, Hungarian hay, 158—D. Corn meal, ash analyses, 158—D. Cow pea vine, 158—B. Dancel’s experiments, 352. Digestion, co-efficient, 417. Doura, brown, 158—B. Dried sugar meal, C—158, Flaxseed, oats, peas, ground, 158—C. Flaxseed, oats. corn, ground, 158—D. Star compared with meadow hay, Hominy, 158—B. House oat meal, 158—B. Japan clover, A—158, Johnson’s grass, A—158, Maize meal, 158—B. Oats, barely, peas, bran, ground to- gether, C--158. Oats, corn in the ear, 158—D. Oats corn, flaxseed, ground, 158—D. Oats, corn, ground, 158—D, Oat and peastraw, 158—D. Oats, peas, flaxseed, ground, 158—D. Oats, wheat, ground, 158—D. Oat feed, 158—C., ash analyses, 158—D. Peas, oats, flaxseed, ground together, 158 —C. Peas, oats, corn, ground, 158—D. Rice, 158—B. Rice feed, 158—C. Rice flour, 158—C. Rice hulls, 158—C. Rice straw, A—158. Rice midds., 158—C, Rice polish, 158—C. Rye, oat, wheat, hay, 158—D. Rye, bran, ash analyses, 158—D. Salt marsh hay, A—158, Sorghum seed, 158—B, Soy bean, 158—B. . Table, new, for fourth edition, 158—A. Tallant, Improving Pasture, 285. Wheat bran, ash analyses, 158—D. Wheat midds., ash analyses, 158—D Wheat, spring and winter, 158—B. Winter wheat flour, 158—D. Winter wheat, ash analyses, 158—D. Winter wheat bran, ash analyses 158—D. SELF-CLEANING STABLES. All dairymen have felt the necessity of some device that should lessen the daily labor of cleaning the stable, and especially that should succeed in keeping the cow clean, a very necessary requisite to pure and wholesome milk. There have been various plans of using a gutter behind cows or cattle; in all of them the cow was liable to get soiled. Fig. 2. ExPLANATION. — A, iron Al wall; B, graded floor; ©, "| concrete; D, manger; £;sill. Av ee LATS OM We are about to describe, invented by Prof. E. W. Stewart, has been in use in his octagonal barn basement for 10 years, accommodating 40 cows, keeping them clean. Thisplatform made is represented by Fig. 1, page 517. The wooden part of the platform, marked B, is situated next the manger, 3 feet 4 inches wide, with stanchions, with loose tie 3 feet 10inches. Behind this is the iron grating, (3 feet 2 inches wide by 3 feet 3 inches deep), resting on the back wall of manure gutter, and secured to the sill of the wooden platform in front, by eye- bolts so as to turn up, to clean the gutter when full. The gutter or receptacle for manure is under this iron grating, and is made of such depth as is desired, usually about 2 feet. This depth is convenient for shoveling out the manure. This res- ervoir, which will hold all liquid manure, may be made of concrete or brick, well plastered with two coats of Portland cement on the inside, or (which is just as good, and will last for years) 2-inch Norway pine. The gutter, 3 feet wide, will hold one yard under each animal. The iron joists are placed 1844 inches apart; across these, at right angles, are laid wrought iron bars one and a half inches wide, securely fastened. It will be seen that the animal stands with the fore feet upon the plank, and the hind feet upon the flat iron bars. The droppings fall directly through the open- ings into the gutter below, when the manure is thin; and in winter, when dry food is given, the droppings are trodden through by the hind feet. The cow stands across the bars, and has always two bars to stand upon. Cows that have stood on this grating for 8 years have been very healthy, no trouble with the feet. This grating is made of refined wrought iron (weighs 100 lbs. per cow), and its durability must be very great. It is built in sections for two or three cows, according to convenience, allowing 3 feet 2 inches in width and 3 feet 3 inches in depth to each cow; strong enough to hold cattle of any weight, all ready to be screwed by the eye-bolts to the wooden platform; will be shipped at $6 per cow. This low price is now made for the purpose of introducing it among dairymen. We make grates of any special width that is desired, charging in proportion over 3 feet 2 inches. MANURE. Some, when first examining it, suppose that this quantity of manure must nec- essarily give off a worse odor than an ordinary stable, but this is an error, as the manure in the receptacle is undisturbed, and fermentation very slow. It takes less land plaster, or dry muck, to keep this manuré from smelling than to keep a stable sweet that is cleaned every day. POINTS FOR THE SELF-CLEANING PLATFORM. First. It keeps the cows clean—a very difficult thing to do with any other stable, even with a moderate amount of bedding—whilst this requires no bed- ding. Second. It saves all the ordinary labor of cleaning stable, which cannot be estimated at less than $2 per cow per year, and this would pay the whole cost in three years. Third. It completely saves all the liquid manure, or more than double the value of the manure, and the value of this liquid manure is worth the whole cost of the grating in a single year. Fourth. The saving in ‘ila in villages and cities, will fully pay for the grating every year. Fifth. It prevents wholly the rotting of the wood-work of a stable, as the liquid falls through the grating and does not come in contact with the floor, joists or sills. It often costs more to re-sill a barn, where the liquids of the stable have rotted it, than this grating costs. Sixth. This self-cleaning platform may be used in any stable which does not freeze, and all stables may be repaired so as not to freeze, besides no dairyman can afford to keep cows in a cold stable. Seventh. This self-cleaning stable is most admirably adapted to the Ensilage system of feeding, which gives succulent food the year through. Winter dairying will be promoted by this system, because the same succulent food may be given in winter as summer, and this grating will keep the cows clean, however thin the manure, Highth. The undersigned, sole agents and manufacturers of this self-cleaning stable, have adapted it to pig-pens, and with this pigs are kept absolutely clean. Shall be glad to hear from you. Will give you further special instructions about putting it in your stable when you give us a description of your barn and stable, Address, | STEW ART BROTEErs, Lake View, Erie Co., N. Y. EU ded or es NN ae Se The following parties referred to, might give many more: ‘ EK. T. HAYDEN, of Syracuse, N. Y., writes with reference to the form, repre sented in figure 2: ‘*DeEar Srr:—In regard to the ‘self-cleaning floor’ purchased of you, I can say that I am more than pleased with it. I think lL save enough in bedding and labor of cleaning, besides the manure saved, in one year to pay forit. I absorb all the urine with muck, and this prevents all odor and turns the muck into excellent manure. I do not think that a quarter of a pound of manure adheres to my eight cows and heifers in a month. I would not try to do without this grating again.” EpwIn ALLEN, of New Brunswick, N. J., writes; ‘‘Have had my sixteen cows on your grating many months, and find it only nec- essary to clean gutter once amonth. It isa splendid arrangement to saveall the manure, which I cart directly to the field before the valuable salts are washed out. by rains. The cows do not object to standing or lying onit. They stand and get up much easier from this fioor being level, instead of slanting, as in the old way. IT use plaster and sweepings from a button factory as an absorbent and deodorizer for manure. Shall order grating for another row of cows next season.’’ [He has since ordered for sixteen more cows. ] Mr. CHARuus W. Foster, Fostoria, Ohio, writes: ‘*T find your self-cleaning grating gives me clean cows, a clean stable, and in fact is all I expected, and more too.”’ Hon. Lewis F. ALLEN, of Buffalo, N. Y., speaking of these self-cleaning grates in the Country Gentleman, says: ‘*T have recently put these grates into my own stables for fifty-two cows, greatly to my satisfaction, and I regard them as a decided improvement over any other plan I have ever seen. The cows stand with their hind feet upon these grates, without any bedding, yet keeping as clean as in asummer pasture. They lie down comfortably and warm, and chew their cuds as contentedly as if on beds of straw.” Mr. JOHN C. SHERLEY, Anchorage, Ky., writes: ‘*In reply to yours of Sept. 29th, 1884, would say that I have been intending for some time, before receiving your letter, ta write and express my perfect satisfac tion with the grates. I would not be without them for any reasonable amount. do not think they can beimproved. There is but one objection (and that theo- retical) that I have ever heard offered against them, that is, that they would be cold for cattle to stand and lie on in cold weather, but I have never been able te discover any bad effects from them, although last winter was very severe, and my stable rather open. I will take great pleasure in recommending the grates to any one that you may refer to me, as I feel that I should be doing them a favor, and paying a debt of gratitude I owe you for the invention.”’ Dr. J. M. Meyer, Danville, Ky., says: ‘Tam abundantly satisfied with the use of ies grates. I have published a little article of their merits, and Kentucky will use them in the future.” [Dr. Meyer ordered grates in 1882, and has ordered twice since. ] Mr. J. W. BARNES, Memphis, Mo., writes: ‘* The self-cleaning grates, bought of you last May, have been in use continu- ously since September, 1883, and have worked very satisfactorily.” Mr. J.H. Bosarp, Grand Forks, Dak., writes: ‘“‘ The self-cleaning grate I purchased of you in May, 1882, for three cows, has been in use continuously since, to my great satisfaction.” Mr. C. P. CoGaEsHALL, Chicago, Ill., writes: “It would do you good to see how like a charm my new improvements work with your self-cleaning grates. I have not cleaned the offal from the barn for three weeks, and will not need to for one tocome. It saves me their full cost in labor twice yearly.” Mr. 8. R. Harper, Meadville, Pa., says: ‘“T have the grates I bought of you in, and cows on them, and they prove satis- factory in all respects.” A 5 SP Mi, DM, | YY | YY SA 2 5, SO YY WY YY YY SD UY OMY... YS sue MS oa ag oo. % & Ss x o % es ae M8448 We *, Ve < % %, &. © & 8 & x & Z % y MM YY, oe Oe Ne %, 4 4 WM, es FIO NaS MS Nd St NU St WZ SS % er OOK ft w & % “ Y. y, Or y, NA OY YY %% OY net 8 Seg %,% ©, Om ow i oY OY YY m Y < . 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