cod Ppzg at an ata Ts cae an) ray T ed SSNS Seeks “LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Zayas - Ohap. = Coyrprigy! po... A. | Shelf S84 t joes een STATES OF AMERICA. ow FEEDING ANIMALS: AIPRACTICAL WORK UPON THE LAWS OF ANIMAL GROWTH SPECIALLY APPLIED TO THE REARING AND FEEDING OF HORSES, CATTLE, DAIRY COWS, SHEEP AND SWINE, By ELEIOEPLE W: STEWART, ONE OF THE EDITORS OF THE NATIONAL LIVE STOCK JOURNAL; LATE NON-RESIDENT PROFESSOR OF THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE IN CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ACK, ai lib Wee PUBS ED) eB yt HE AWE EnOm: Erie County, New York, 1883. CopyRIGHT BY THE AUTHOR. ALL RiGHTs RESERVED. 1883.. THE COURIER COMPANY, Electvotypers, Printers and Binders, BUFFALO, N. Y. PREP ACE. 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, Alimentation. 4 PREFACE. 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 Vorker, 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 givena 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. PREFACE. 5 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 in 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. ———eye INTRODUCTION. Paar. Number of Horses—Cattle—Sheep—Swine—Capital invested—Importance of understanding all the Economies of Feeding—Science of Feeding.......... 13 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 Prnle! (Sali aogoentceaceoqunbde0d bieeooceodpencc Seniisies secnoacocanasagseadae: IE 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 WOUPStaANces—Sulphates:. coccaceccieciocrceessemmcicns sicejecs ncinosd ae nelstes aeoaa Gy) CHAPTER III. Digestion—Digestion begins in the Mouth—Mastication, Salivary Glands and the Saliva—Mouth—Tongue—Palate—Roof of Mouth—Cheeks—Parotid Gland—Macxillary 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— Qsophagean Demi-canal—Third Stomach—Fourth Stomach—Functions— 8 CONTENTS. Page. Rumination—Conditions Essential—Use of Fourth Stomach—Gastric Diges- tion—Intestinal Digestion—Cecum—The Colon—The Rectum—Intestines 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..... ... ... . 6 CHAPTER IY. 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 Hight-winged Barn—Square-cross Barn—Details of Construction—Basement for Cattle—Laying out Basement—Sheep Barns —Double Sheep Rack—Sheep Shelter ......-.....cccccccccccecsvccccccece -. 84 CHAPTER VY. 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 ........... eiatate S aicieeinicne 126 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 Wiss icsctslcis\ccisie'cle cieeeicetels cle sicine eeteaiciesiasie sa entae 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 Cattlh—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—Euables 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... .... 2.21... cece eee cece cece eee 167 CHAPTER VIII. 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—EHarly 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 Futtening 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 RANTS Sr setct ose oleic eS oissive eed cee iniv'e iWinib'e, o Sa See eC ETOCS ioies oocee ren raes 10 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 Cow as 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 Miik—Tables—Water for Milch Cows—Pasturing Dairy Cows—Variety of Grasses—Extra Food to Fertilize IPASLOTES sc cicesiciens s=l0 Ole tecerepaee Win Sn ele ortcletneare es earlobes dilere rion e stesso aber 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—W eight 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 Oats—Should Feed One-third Beans to Two-thirds Oats—Oats Contain as much Bulk of Fiber as Meal when Ground—Fibrous Food Necessayy—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 Improyve- 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—Moy- able Hurdle Fence Necessary—Fertilizing Land by Feeding Sheep upon it— CONTENTS. Lt 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— COStHO DI SLOANE 3% eteinin te scsvsistare. dears tyermait a slarejors sietmteratomteninionine ts Fotiodeavce- 400 -. CHAPTER XII, 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 at 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 Warm Atmosphere ...... Rirrelsinizel islet otclststnierenalaie HUDOOOCOEStG OnOU Aentatesa cere aug CHAPTER XIII. Water Remedies— Uses of Water in the Diseases of Cattle—The Udder Inflamed—Fever and Inflammation—Garget—Puerperal or Milk Fever— Water Treatment for Horses—Wounds—Bruises—Sprains — Simple Cut Wounds—Sprained Ankle—Treatment for Colic—Food Medicines.,..... .. 493 APPENDi4, American Ensilage in England—Transporting Ensilage in Casks—Succulent Food Produces a Sound, Even Staple of Wool—Voeleker’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............+ee-eeee ers Radome 502 PEE ODWe TION, THE live stock interest of the United States has ex- pauded 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. ETOTSOS ..- 2's «aro 4,000,000 4,336,719 6,249,174 8,702,000 12,000,000 Wralitanin 1880" © 5 crcwiceste recisecs. Ceeeaieaein («Meenas $740,600, 000 MWralesisecc2 26 335,669 559,881 1,151,148 1,242,311 2,000,000 Wealtertm ISSO rin cccxe teccle rouse eel unclentinarce: Naraieciouete $140, 000,000 Wotalevyalue; horses: and -“Mules= 14. <0 sxc sss 0s /eisieie/eitoraslers $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........... $522, 392,000 Other cattle......... 11,993,763 16,911,475 18,348,581 23,982,560 And must now reach 25,000,000, value.............. eeadoasc $481,686, 080 FE OteMl Vale OF CALLIC\ 2 <12-<)cie(o 0: sic > «isto sideleeiceiseicre ston teres $803,078, 080 14 INTRODUCTION. SHEEP. 1850. 1860. 1870. 1880. 21,732,229 22,471,275 28,477,951 40,000,000 Wilt OF SHOP 5 a «,iaiSiace a utas ash a ingettareyoiee eeietcte eisve eve lotoiers leet $95,600,000 SWINE. 1840. 1850. 1860. 1870. 1880. 26,301,293 30,354,213 33,512,867 29,457,500 47,683,951 VOIUSLOL SWANS 2 jclsiotsic slevsincies siclatsie sista vlotereteietsis state stores $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 improye- 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 practical *Animals and Plants, vol. 2, p. 309, | Se INTRODUCTION. 1h - 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 the application 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 ANIMALES. CHAPTER L COMPOSITION OF ANIMAL BODIES. THAT 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. These 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. Vegetable 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. ood, then, must contain all the eléments 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, etc. 1st. The bloodyon 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, erystaline 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 1,000 Parts of Liquor Sanguinis Contain : Contain : Mieahistees ee tet isre cots cheiatis wera 688 .00 Wateria eo. i i 4s. oe ceeee 902.90 Solid constituents .......... 312.00 Solid constituents .......... 97.10 Specific Praviby 22. 3..6...5- 1088.5 Specific pravitiy -.. cl seeeeees 1028 Hbrin i .45- 2 soa eee 4.05 Hemoglobin and proteids of Proteids, otetly serum-albu- EOISEL OMNIA 5 7.00 INIbFO EN -;.../sveeeiomie elects eleineci ee ear 16.00 OXYGEN «. . 2s ccieoeieeielnveiein oateyejelelereletateininlatais 22.50 Sulphur"... .'. .% «crelsielsise-ws«\sisleislelsielelelele/alelvlels 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.) CATION ele onieclenis eye's 51.41 50.99 50.65 51.53 51.99 ELVGTOSON) or cece) <1-/- 6.96 7.07 7.03 6.69 6.72 INTCTOPON 2.10 <1 atels = 15-1 17.46 18.72 17.71 17.94 17.28 Oxygen and Sulphur. 24.72 23.22 24.61 28.84 24.01 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 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. BGR RG Laila teleateincleysi'sieisialale 76.50 11.91 11.59 SMitton abi: <2 osccs icc 76.61 12.03 11.36 OR Ke falteietsieisicelelelsinlelsictsit= 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. Golatine’. 5 isis. a. kes sitet eee nes ta aie ae eae 35 Phosphate of lime.............. eMestentasds (Containing phosphoric acid, 23.38) Carbonate of Timers .sii| 18.0 15.0) 12.0) 7.0)| 16.0) 15.0; 14.0) 12.0) 10.0|) 7.0) 5.0 GIN CS). .% 2 aisle icine IBIOOG Sh aaceceines 4.7| 4.2) 3.9) 4.81) 38.9) 3.9} 38.6) 3.2) 8.21] %.3) 3.6 Skin and horns....| 8.4, 7.4} 6.0; 6.8 eee ee 1.9 1.7] 1.6] 1.9) 9.6) 9.38! 8.0) 7.21 6.5) Washed wool...... Stenniel| le atetes lay sratsrell tats 5.0) 4.% 4.3] 4.0) 3.6)| .... pool ant Ree wercaee Geral ers Seacoast ae Arb = 420 SiC leecelieeeee GAGs cc scicehinconhes i 2.7) 2.6 : ae All’ ss Tongue and gullet..| 0.6] 0.6] 0.5 $4.8]| 4.6) 4.3) 3.7) 3.2) 2.8 0.5 0.4 FRGanG ericson 0.4| 0.5) 0.5} 0.6]/ 0.4] 0.3] 0.4! 0.3] 0.2)} 0.5] 0.3 Lungsand windpipe| 0.7) 0.7) 0.6) 1.2)| 1.5) 1.5) 1.2) 1.0] 1.0)| 1.4) 0.9 Eade ¢----| 1-5] 1.8] 1.8) 1.6|| 1.4) 1.8] 1.8] 1.3] s.0|| 2.6] 1.7 Diaphragm .... . 0.5} 0.5) 0.5) 0.4]| 0.3] 0.3] 0.3) 0.2] 0.2! ae ees: Spleehvne ate ee 0.2} 0.2) 0.2) 0.3}| 0.2) 0.2] 0.2] 0.1) 0.1|| 0.2) 0.2 Stomach, without | | ‘ eontents 2. b) 4.5) 8.01 2.7] 1.2], 2.4! 2.8) 2.3! 2.0) 1.5! 1.2) 0.7 ntestines, with- ¢ nv out contents... § 2.0| 1.5] 1.4) 2.4/] 2.3] 2.2] 1.9] 1.7] 1.3l] 3.9] 2.2 at of omentum y yy rand Nestaee 2.3) 2.9) 4.5] 2.4]| 3.0) 4.11 4.9 6.8] 8.ol] 1.7] 2.5 our quarters, in- cdi tae 47.4) 55.7) 60.3} 60.0|| 43.3) 45.3] 49.4) 52.8! 57.1!| 72.8) 82.1 and kidney fa NGOS Se Reise ard crane Seale til 2.1) 1.4) 4.6)) 1.3} 0.8) 0.5) 0.6) 0.3)| 0.9) 0.4 POT EI wcieinisieve!s 100.0)100.0 100.0/100.0} \100.0|100.0/100.0 a ee 8 100.0)100.0 28 FEEDING ANIMALS. SUMMARY. Ox. SHEEP. SWINE a S| es a q 3 = ag Iz 3 43 x 3 Elm|ealeal a|2| a] &| el el a per ct. /per ct. |per ct. |per ct.||per ct. | per ct.|per ct.|per ct.|per ct.||per ct, |par ct. BO es aes os acter 4.7} 4.2) 3.9] 4.8]) 3.9) 3.9) 3.6) 3.2] 3.2]| 7.3) 3.0 in, head, legs 4 se) piensa te 13.7] 12.4] 10.9] 13.5|| 24.0] 22.8] 20.0] 18.0] 16.1] ....| .... HaVGrails ie |"... | 0266; | 0:02 | .5.. Ses OFZ OL055 11052451) 0:02 OFSIy | yoann 02125 |e neers 0221-0206 |) 0212 }0203" 0244) 0502) 2225 | O02 eee 1.04 | 0.06 | 0.42 | 0.27 | 1.380 | 0.04 | 0.04] .... | 0.17 OL9T 0204) | 0825) |) 1213) |e 755) OLOL Ooi Or On eee 0.98 | 0.09 | 0.19 | 0.12 | 0.88 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.24 0.63 | 0.22 | 0.18 | 0.06 | 0.79 | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.02] «... 1.20 | 0.04 | 0.20 | 0.15 | 1.16 | 0.15 | 0.04 | 0.08 | 0.23 MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS. Wheat bran ....| 5.56 | 1.33 | 0.03 | 0.94 | 0.26 | 2.88 | .... | 0.06] .... Rvelbran ees td 14 | 198s) OL09) I) e138) || O22) | BA ze eee eee tee cee Brewers’ grain .| 1.20 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.14 | 0.46 | 0.01 | 0.39 | .... Malt sprouts....| 5.96 | 2.08 | .... | 0.08 | 0.09 | 1.25 | 0.88 | 1.77 | .... Rape cake...... 5 60 | 1.36.| 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 6.15 | 2.18 | .... | 0.26 | 0.28 | 2.95 | 0.07 | 0.25 | .... Cotton-seedcake 42 FEEDING ANIMALS. The above table is somewhat extended, but as the feeder often desires to know the mineral constituents of his fod- 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. ReEsPrRATORY 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, etc., 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, ete..—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, ete., 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 be fed alone—that is peas, or oil-meal should always be 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 greatest 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 subjects proposed. DIGESTION. 45 CHAPTER LEE. 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. i 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 gland, 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 soljd 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 molar glands are situated parallel to the molar arches. 5. The labial (or lip glands) and the palatine glands (under mu- cous covering of the soft palate), these latter are mostly single follicles, ard each has a separate excretory duct dis- charging its secretion into the mouth. 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. There is an ac- tive ferment, called ptyalin, in saliva, which, although found in very small proportion, possesses the property of changing starch into sugar in the process of digestion, DIGESTION. 47 thus rendering it soluble. The constitution of the saliva is also slightly alkaline, and more so while the animal is masticating its food. A horse or an ox is supposed to dis- 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. It is 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 mastieftion and digestion, will be considered in a future chaptei. 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 48 FEEDING ANIMALS. the intestines. This is called the peritoneum, 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 iacilitating 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 4, 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. #, #. 'vhe colon, showing its cenvolutions, foldings and bands. F. Vhe cecum, the principal receptacle for water. G. The rectum. H. 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 wsophagus 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, 5), 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 the ruminant appears to be an exception to this rule, as the gastric cavities amount to no less than seyen-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 (pauwnch, rumen) 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. il - 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. per 6 OO SES? OT . Guillet. . Portion of the paunch, showing the villous surface. Portion of the reticulum, showing the cells. Gisophagean demi-canal, with its muscular pillars relaxed soas to show the opening into the gullet above and that leading into the manifolds helow. . Opening from the demi-canal into the third stomach. 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. 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- swm), 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. Hach leaf is studded 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. e. 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. “Liquids 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 csophagean 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. 57 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. MI LG H in ni 5 ak 1 Ble Mic i sh f Ali I It x ) ne Fig. 4.—INTERNAL APPEARANCE OF STOMACHS (YOUATT). a. The esophagus or gullet. b. The commencement of the esophagean canal, slit open, with muscular pillars underneath. c, ¢, 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 wsophagean 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 returned 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 aggregated 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 wiuat 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 60 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 cesophagen 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 DiaEestion.—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 DigEsTIoN.—The alimentary canal is con- tinued from the stomach, in the abdominal cayity, 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% 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 moyes its contents along toward the cecum, and the latter is covered with glandular folli- cles which pour out a digestive fluid—an alkaline mucus. The small intestine in its duodenal portion 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 cecum, the large colon, small colon and the rectum. The cecum in the horse (/ 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 mucous membrane of the large intestine. The colon (H #) 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. The rectum (G') 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 76 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 extentit 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 : “Tn oxen about 1114 per cent. of the entire weight of the body. ‘“ In sheep about 71¢ per cent. of the entire weight of the body. “Tn 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 : ‘*TIn the pig to about 614 per cent. ‘Tn the sheep to about 314 per cent. ‘“TIn 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 a given 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 applied 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. Jt 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. its 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 haying 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 haye 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 flow 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. THE Putse.—Asg nature is regular, these beats or the pulse becomes an indication of health or an abnormal state of the system, and it is therefore an accomplishment in a cattle-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 80. 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 ¢hriil 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 wnequal 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.—T'o 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 carried on consists of the nasal cavities, larynx, 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 or less volume of air suited to the requirements of respiration. And in solipeds the nostrils constitute the only entrance 10. 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 laryna, 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 thoraz, 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. val Tue 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 feetus 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 feetus, 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 oe red colored blood. The lung is early developed in the foetus, and its lobular texture is well defined through the whole period of fcetal existence. Respiratory Action of the Skin.—The skin is the geat of a constant and important respiratory action, as it absorbs 12 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 well as its growth, comes from the food. ANIMAL HeAt.—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, 1m 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. Hach 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 wrea, the char- acteristic ingredient inurine. 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 OrGANS.—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 74 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 18thrib. 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- 75 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 (z!, of an ounce). EXCRETIONS. NITROGEN IN DIFFERENCE. PLACE. Length of Feed- ing: Food. |Excrements. Grammes. | Grammes. Grammes. Per cent. OTe Nee ones 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 Mockern...... 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. Carbon 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 CoNSsTITUENTS.—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. cits 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 given. 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 element 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- Vic teee 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 Hurope. 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 conver- 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 fouad 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. A\l- VALUE OF MANURE. 79 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 kind. 80 - FEEDING ANIMALS. Estimated Mon- Value of net ey Value of the ton, 2.000 DEsoRIPTION OF Foon. Manure from Sao tn 0 Ibs., in our ne gross ton ‘Gre nine of each Food. i sop Cie ab $ c. 1. Decorticated cotton-seed operat SnSCORB Sc 6 10 0 27.67 2. Rape cake......... Soneboossoaodasscoc 4 18 0 21.52 3. Linseed cake .. ... 4 12 0 19.54 4, Maltdust neers A D0 18.22 h uentilgy. . scecdeckcsssseewess oO elt, 20 16.44 6. Linseed...... eee 3 18 0 15.65 7. Vetches ve 3 13 6 15.76 8. Beans 3) 4386 15.76 OF Peas i) occ 3° 2 6 13.35 ON MOCHStIDCANS seer cewnccwctne comecaecosisnesiccs cis le 56 4.83 11. DS Rata ~ 1 14 6 7.40 TD TVVIDGRE: aetseine amie nisisicioneisteic ate te disiemiemcinansssicsinet 1) 1870 7.08 13. Indian corn.. Dictsla Sins oleic aiticlsioisia' siotclels on eieeseiniae alee fale 6 6.76 U4 NERNEY oes catsielere svetein vc volo emote caren sieeivic cent Moxieves 4 11226 6.71 15. Barley.. iateiiela/siolai eters elsialeinicteieluiele aleletetsteteiaictele 1 9°06 6.27 16. Clover hay .. BOS esasne Adon necopogcbsstooccc6ds 2.8) 0 9.65 LT MCA dO Wyalia Yair clelcieininicleieateuicielers ace alee ciotelstevers eis eleters LOMO) 6.43 AS ORES ULAWarleiccineieee cisiseicies eeioee wees eelisanciees 0) 13836 2.90 19. Wheat straw . acidic heliote ic eielewicinicleemiootele sisters 0 12 6 2.68 20. Barley straw ..-.... Decisisiscieistewelies cisialeintciee ieee 0 10 6 2.26 21. Potatoes...... Rie teveireists SAgopnoonbosesssop. cebese OFeia0 ABE 22. Mangolds....... pincers nno desrnoe bosatiodadserncacos OP Sbiz0 1.08 PRM OW ECIS TUMMIDS ececesesemesicn: isc sitescicceclcces 0 43 -91 24. Common turnips..... Seen emaciee an caisioncomcine Osa a0 .86 25. Carrots... 2.2 seeeeeer eceseeesceeeeesererseeesee! OLseeda0 | .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 head 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. lee) ar ' a mM o ~~ =| ¢ 8 5 SUBSTANCES. 3 os Zz sting ra =| rs) a aS ) Eth Bis leak ey (ite (=) a Ay Y e 18 cts. | 6 cts. | 10 cle. Ibs. lbs. Ibs. Ibs. 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 IRS DCICRE Eos. s2jsiocsaihcic «aicls sies.s aren’ ais syelste's 9 48.0 13.2 24.6 23.78 WeiMSCCU. CAKES seek ie scecce cs cee cis secnnes 880 45.0 14.7 19.6 21.88 ROUT CA C8 a: ,c ic i nlcieiaissiee ties ene easee 930 25.0 5.5 12.2 12.10 Linseed meal (extracted). ............... 903 59.8 17.0 25.6 28.68 OPP VESEGUCCHICO rye cis f tctsie ecco staple a cieins/e 885 47.8 22.0 40.0 27.84 iemip-FCedieakes sons «citrate oasis «aves 901 44.7 27.6 37.6 26.92 WRAL ENIND CHK cc iacmastee cts eiscise.eciclee sew lees 863 52.2 17-7 23.4 25/59. Sunflower-seed cake ............. 22-55 -| 897 55.9 26.8 35.4 30.42 Malt sprouts . 905 38.0 19.5 17.2 19.46 Wheat bran .. as A 865 22.0 14.8 32.0 16.15 HC VEMOGANI ce, cous iielesincl wislelss 2s cleistate aH jess (ks 23.2 19.3 34.2 16.43 UME LOUD Rare cts e/sicts ofeieie © = 212 lol sateen isversteiate 858 16.8 6.5 8.5 8.52 Maotamtealian . cternc class) cisw sapenciamias ee 860 18.3 2.3 Heo 8.32 SUES Sa AGH GP ae BeoesOnocercdst anne 308 18.0 3.6 1.0 3.45 Backwheat bran) o.)j.asecereamectee eee ee 860 27.3 10.0 17.0 8.52 GRAINS AND SEEDS, IBC AHS eee a acl scislo ona =iete erie Scivis eae 855 41.0 12.0 11.6 18.52 GT eesti erste ce sroteictecnreimto cle simnie ctevaine! 18 cts. | 6 cts. | 10 cts. : Ibs Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. Meadow grass, in blossom............ sewe| 300 4.8 6.0 1.5 $2.24 Young grass .... ... SAshocdse sos CoCo Ocal) be) 5.6 11.6 2.2 2.01 STMNOUILV acl ecels chloe cowie cisiscicesicices we aciscen) | Moi) 5.4 6.1 2.3 1.94 Oats, coming into head...............----| 180 3.6 ok. Ay 1.94 Oats, in blossom ......... Sondoaneboccooca|! PAD 3.0 6.5 1.4 1.61 Rye, in blossom............... oo opoaness |! 8100) 5.3 6.3 2.4 2.51 lEhimnezyabyey eGR ASaarbaoossacoccecdonoc|f 220) 5.3 8.6 1.3 2.54 Red clover ...... DOG SrinDopAnicbadaccdosc 200 5.2 4.6 1.3 2.27 WWdibhiemedtonaesans. woscooHGouonnooserascagall. 2g! 5.0 2.4 2.0 2.15 SWEGISH CLOVEN sie nicleisisiseicleicssisciae Saanriese|) ake 5.2 3.5 1.0 2.18 CERN =—All alia eetatelsietaw otelciate teers esateinete tel | Manoa N) 7.0 4.5 1.5 2.94 Green wWErChed wcecie seis clessienetelstcisian cel] tO 4.9 6.6 2.0 2.35 Green peas,...... Bone) SosdoobcoocoooAanos 185 5.1 5.6 1.8 2.34 GTESNtApe see smeclcsice nieccicleetitec scien esc 150 4.6 4.4 1.2 2.03 STRAWS AND ROOTS. Bean straw..... BBOSrncoasosconoacodonsad|| Bz) 10.0 25.9 4.1 "52 WVAHERUSELAW. con clnctenissaccessieclsleinicmarteiet 857 4.8 5.8 2.6 2.94 IBATIOV SULA Wi wcicenisine tele snicieiels cisielsiaielnioleletnte 850 5.0 9.7 2.0 3.36 Oat straw .....- Thnnaleicceiton dewsureesaecet 830 5.0 10.4 2.5 3.54 Potatoes ....... aeeeas Soodmocedond ances: 250 3.4 5.6 1.8 2.55 Mangolds ...... semeattes Sevens sia esteinre lester 115 1.9 3.9 0.7 1.29 SIWEdES! =. cee ciosinvecis Boviahiceiouisiieaeisnin reais 107 2.4 2.0 0.6 1.22 WarrOlshecancricsiciee iotalctatoterslaicistoteio'eiptevaisievrets 142 1.6 3.2 LO 1.16 MENA DS ste oe lclelecieletsmeiseteisata(aereielelale aeysiiers 83 1.8 2.9 0.6 A 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. 84 FEEDING ANIMALS. 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. Each 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 m 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. Im 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 made 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 neryous 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 Ibs. 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 or BARN. Economy and convenience of space—that form and ar- rangement requiring the least amount of labor to feed and care for a given 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 feet, and this nearly doubles the capacity for storage, with slight addition to the.cost of the barn. A mow 24 feet high will settle 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 sguare 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 thé 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 298 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 25-feet posts (besides a 14-feet floor through the second story) 151,395 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 265% 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, Fig. 5.—OCTAGON BARN (NORTH ELEVATION). EXPLANATION.—7p, 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 50x 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 Up $= V1 17) peer een EES ge UT A t gu “( Fig. 8.—OCTAGON BASEMENT (NORTH SIDE). EXPLANATION.—@ b ¢ d, doors of basement; ¢, drive-way through the center ; ¢, south drive-way for cart to carry out manure; od, north drive-way ; m, spare room for root cellar or any other purpose; Z/, lying-in stall for cows: KKKKKK, horse no separation between these spaces and; g g, cow mangers; A, an open grated pavoem 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 (p), purlin (s), tie-rod (r) and bridging between plate and pur- lin and the two sets of bridging above purlin, ete. It will be noted that, in this form of roof, the roof-boards act as a 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. The 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 nany different ways in which it may be divided for stock and other purposes. We build the basement wall of con- erete. 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. v5 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 OD A i STMT SSS TATA TVTTTNTNNTT TT TTT Tit: Fig. 9.—OCTAGON BASEMENT. EXPLANATION.—This represents an 80-foot octagon basement laid out on acircle ; 6 brepresents 52 cow or cattle stalls, heads toward inner circle; ¢ 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; d represents one method of placing horse stalls convenient to drive-way; ¢, vacant 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 driye-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 on a 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 , and the stalls marked ff, 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 five 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 remoyed. 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 ‘ SELF-CLEANING STABLE. 99 The construction of the grating will easily be understood. Iron joists, 44 by 2 inches (marked 5), set edgewise, reaching from angle-iron sill to wooden platform, placed 1824 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 13g 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 five years have always remained clean, healthy and comfortable. The circulation of air under the platform appears to prevent diseases of the feet. Fig. 11. This platform, above described, was the first one put into use. It was stationary. The next improvement 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 upon a thin timber on the top of the wall. SELF-CLEANING STABLE. 101 This last style of grating was put into the stable of E. T. Hayden, of Syracuse, N. Y., and gives him much satis- faction. The advantage of this style is that the gutter is water-tight to the top, and the grating is lighter and cheaper for the absence of the angle-iron sill and legs. This has been tested in so many stables that it may be con- sidered as eminently successful. 3FT WIDE 2FT DEEP S Fig. 13. EXPLANATION.—A, iron anchor; JS, 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 manure, except in loading it; and the distribution is more complete than can be done by hand-spreading. 102 FEEDING ANIMALS. This iron grating must be credited also with: 1st, 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 will be explained in a future chapter. 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 calculate 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. ach 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 FIFrtTy-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. 8 sills, 8 x 10—22 feet............... Sin isie/aieipicle sislelalsisisieinicle 1,176 4 cross-sills, 8 X 10—26 feet, spliced ......... 22000 ceeeee 692 8 corner posts, 8 X 10—24 feet....... Bae ierabic ciclsinieteisioreisiete 1,280 S plates; 18 X10) 22 LOC rise aya ete slovetelerele erect wet elatcinicrereis’s Zistersie, MLS LO 4 floor beams, 8 x 10—26 feet, spliced ...............000- 692 Adoor- posts, 165K ¢8—1S) Tel... e ctaainnieotecie sacle mierenoteinte 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 floor) ............... 34 girths, 4 x 5—20 feet (5 tiers on six sides and 2 over CACHE GOON: Kigis miss cciaretss eco 6 civicis n= lata beiainrene tes peopel retoe teres lates 1,182 2 girths, 4 x 8—20 feet, over GOOrs...........2.2 cece eens 06 8 hip-ratters,:5 >< 1034 LO6b 2.) 6 siciere's ots etoteinsys =, clei sreerete 1,184 8 middle rafters, 3 K 8—82 feet ......... cence ccccsccccces 512 16 intermediate, 3 X 6—26 feet. ...... ccc cece cencctercsce 624 16 intermediate, 3 x 6—20 feet....... 2 s.c'e' sia a eis clereteteteetsseres 480 16 intermediate, 2 X 6—14 feet... ....ceeccccccccccccccces 224 16 intermediate, 2 x 6--9 feet......... Bicisis seme earners eel eae 128 24 joists, 3 X 10—14 feet (lower floor). ...........eeeee cece 840 34 joists, 3 x 10—17 feet (lower floor)...........ceecee eee 1,335 LG OISLS 10. XeO——lt LEOL! (SCAILOLG)) erie) -tsisivte clereleteislole(ereiereleiele 578 Plank for barn floor, 12 X 50 feet (2-inch)................ 1,200 Hloor under scaffolds 154 inches == <).1t-ccrs cis balejeimerccrsistesteleiels 1,125 Hloonunder bay jl ineh certs ne sercistesice sn eaciteieoeni eee 750 Mloorsnderscateold. sinchiwajciea veisioter stele teisiele aielelseisrenietts 750 44 braces, 4 <6, 7 feet long ..............000 i See ee 616 Roof boards........ SODaCadoaddoO00d eiaetele Fasorospacoancos 3,100 Total rough lumber........ nce Sodoac aieteicieisis clei 20,551 Four thousand five hundred feet 6-inch, well-seasoned, dressed and matched pine, one-fourth added—5,650 feet— for siding and cornice. SUMMARY OF COST. Wall, 1,487 cubic feet (concrete) 10c. per cubic foot....... $147.70 20/551 feet Coarse lumber ip oer iicie's/s\c\si\s/aie's)e/ereisieleresiotelstater 164.40 OD, 000 feeb, PINS SLAIN crete sielelalotel-i=) elevorele)clalet= eletetetetietetsete 96.00 SOO WMS mals: SS iortledestotetnetateretsleisicieters ciersieietsinieteleltteraioe= 15.00 Dash andl Class os. telore wrateteleteteleratererelele/aiainlolaielaieteherefelolerepelete aiare 25.00 Carpenter work and board... ........-.seesecsccecensvecs 275.00 Painting two coats (oxide of iron and Oil)............+-+: 25.00 23 thousand shingles. 2.0.0. ccs- + sessccceeracuercessscs 75.00 Total cost csciccsa Gale cee anicei elise selec eranaiee einen aon PLACE FOR GRANARY. 105 Let us now look at the capacity of this barn. The bay, including half of the scaffold over the floor, will store 50 tons of hay. The scaffold on the other side of the floor, having the same square feet as the bay, and a height of 15 feet to the top of the plate, will hold 1,000 bushels of grain in the straw, or a like bulk of other fodder. The best place for the GRANARY in this barn, or any other, is over the main floor, at one end. Let some strong joists be laid across the floor-beams, and a matched floor, 14 feet long, and of the width of the floor to outside of beams, be laid on these joists. Fasten some standards on the outside of the floor-beams, two feet apart, reaching eight feet above this floor; side these up on the inside with matched pine. Now divide the space between these two sides into three parts, by erecting standards for two parti- tions, eight feet high. These partitions will be four feet apart, and, when sided up with matched stuff, will give three divisions or bins, which, being 4x14x8 feet high, will hold 360 bushels each. If more bins are wanted, these can be divided in the middle, making six bins, 4x7 x 8 feet high, holding 180 bushels each. These bins should all be floored over, with lids on top, through which the grain is emptied. Now make a draw in the bottom of each bin, so that the grain may be drawn down through a cloth spout into bags. The grain is easily elevated into these bins by horses, with the ordinary pitching rope and pulley; and the space occupied by this granary is not needed for other purposes. We have found this arrangement of grain bins to save much labor during the year. The space under the scaffold—735 square feet—will give room for buggies, tools, etc. The floor over it being made dust-tight, it will be as clean as any barn built for the same purpose. Let the small farmer scan closely this form and size of barn, and see if he can get more conveniences for as much money. 106 FEEDING ANIMALS. BASEMENT WALLS FOR STABLES. The stable is, perhaps, the most important single feature about the barn, as upon the merits of this will largely - depend the profits of feeding animals; and as more crops are grown for feeding animals than for feeding man, every- thing in the construction of a stable bearing upon the com- fort and growth of animals should be carefully considered. The season of greatest growth in our domesticated ani- mals is when the temperature of the air is 60° and upwards. If, therefore, we would try to imitate Nature at its best, we must build our stables in which the winter temperature shall approximate 60°. This may be done by building our basement walls of material having very little conducting power. Double walls, having a space of dead air between them, effect this purpose the best; but as such walls are most expensive, we may adopt a concrete wall, which has an infinite number of minute air spaces, rendering it com- paratively non-conducting. A thick stone wall, in which some stones reach across the wall, will be found covered with frost on the inside in winter, and often with moisture in summer. But the concrete wall is never penetrated with frost, and is never damp, when properly constructed. This wall has another important advantage besides its minimum of conducting power, rendering the stable cool in summer and warm in winter—it is the cheapest substantial wall where sand, gravel-and rough stone, or sand and gravel, or sand and rough stone, are not too far off. It can be built in most parts of the country at 10 cents per cubic foot of wall. And as this wall does not require to be as thick as an ordinary stone wall, because a water-lime concrete is much firmer and stronger than quick-lime, as used by masons, for every stone is bedded in water-lime cement, which soon be- comes as hard as stone. The writer has a wall 8% feet high, under a large barn, which has stood the heaviest wind LAYING OUT OCTAGONAL WALL. 107 and a great pressure, although it is only 15 inches thick at bottom and 12 inches at top. This is heavy enough for any-sized octagon, because in this form one side braces against every other side. In a concrete wall under a very long barn it would be proper to have a short pier built against the inside every 50 feet to prevent a side swaying in a strong wind. In building the concrete wall the service of a mason is quite unnecessary. You need only good, common laborers, one of whom is learned in mixing the materials in proper proportions. Anyone who is capable of tending a mason can mix the materials and superintend placing them in the boxes. PREPARATIONS FOR LAYING OUT THE WALL. Tf there is moisture to come to the wall, water-lime must be used, and it is well to carry two or three feet above the ground with concrete. ‘The place should also be excavated one or two feet beyond the proposed wall, so as to leave an air-space on the outside, giving the wall a chance to dry and become hard. If, in any case, you go into the slate rock, which is always full of seams charged with moisture, you must not allow the concrete to be built against this rock, for the moisture in the rock coming into the thin mortar will cause the milk of lime to run out and leave an infinite number of fine pores through which water will run; but if no water is allowed to come to it while drying, it will be water and air-tight. It is also well to have a drain cut lower than the bottom of the wall, on the outside, to carry off any water that might otherwise come against it, which will render the basement dry. How to Lay Out AN OCTAGONAL WALL. The shape of this wall may give some trouble to get it so exact as to receive the lower rim of timber or sills. It 108 FEEDING ANIMALS. should come even with the outside of the sills. The plan we adopt is so simple and easily carried out that it is here given asa guide. ‘The foreman in building this form of a barn will always have a working plan. Let him get the exact measure from the center to one corner. Now let him make a measure of this exact length, with a three- eighths hole at one end—that is, from the center of this three-eighths hole to the other end should be the exact length from the center of the octagon to one corner. Now, having found the center of your proposed space to be walled in, drive a stake here firmly into the ground, saw it off four inches high, bore, and drive a three-eighths pin into the top of this stake, and place the hole bored in one end of the measure on this pin. Now bring the opposite end where you wish the first corner, and drive a peg at the end of the measure to make the first corner. Then take the pattern your carpenter has made for the sill (and he should always have an exact pattern, so that he may make no mistake) and put the outside corner on the center of this first peg, letting one man hold it while the measure is swung round to the other end of this sill pattern; and when the ends of the measure and pattern are brought together you have the second corner, at which you will drive another peg. Now move your sill pattern to the second peg, and carry your measure to the other end for the third corner, and so on till you come around to the first peg driven. If the work is well done you cannot avoid placing all your corners equi-distant from the center and in accurate octagonal form. CoNSTRUCTING THE BOXES FOR THE WALL. Having determined the place and excavated for the wall, construct the boxes as follows: Take 3x4 scantling for the standards, a little longer than the wall is high, place these on each side of the proposed wall, as far apart as the BUILDING CONCRETE WALL. 109 thickness of the wall and the thickness of the plank for the boxes. The plank should be 14 inches wide, 144 inches thick, and of a length to accommodate the wall. If the wall is 32 feet long, then 16-feet plank will be the right length. If these standards are placed 15 inches apart, the plank inside the standards would leave 12 inches for the wall, These standards are held the proper distance at the bottom by nailing a thin piece of board across under the lower end, and fastening the tops with a cross-piece. The wall is built over these pieces at the bottom, and they are left in the wall. The standards are plumbed, and made fast by braces outside. Now, it will be seen that these planks can be moved upon the inside of the standards as fast as the wall goes up. The planks on the outside of the wall will, of course, be longer than those on the inside, by the thickness of the wall. The door frames and window frames will have jambs as wide as the wall is thick, and will make standards for that place. The door frames must be placed before the wall is begun. There will be a pair of standards at each end of the plank; but the pair in the middle of the wall will hold the ends of both planks. To hold the planks from springing out between the standards, take a piece of narrow hard-wood board, two feet long, bore a two-inch hole at each end, having fifteen inches between them; put a strong pin, two feet long, through these holes some ten inches. Now, these pins will just fit over the outside of the box-plank, and by putting a brace between the upper ends will hold them tight against the plank, preventing their springing out. Two of these clamps will be required for each set of planks 16 feet long. Now, when the box-planks are placed all around the wall, begin and fill in the concrete mortar and stone, as herein- after described ; and when you get round, if water-lime is used, you may raise the plank one foot and go around again, raising the wall one foot each day, if you have men 110 FEEDING ANIMALS. enough. You will place the window frames in the boxes when the wall is raised high enough to bring the top of the frame to the top of the proposed wall. The jambs and sills of the window frames will be as wide as the door frames. | PROPORTIONS FOR WATER-LIME CONCRETE. If you have only sand to use, mix five parts with one of water-lime, thoroughly, while dry; then wet into a thin mortar and use immediately. But if you also have gravel, mix the sand and water-lime, four to one, then mix into this five or six of gravel, make into a thin mortar and use at once. This will make a concrete of about nine to one. If you also have stones to lay with it, put these stones into the boxes and cover with this mortar, and all the stone you put in will save so much mortar, and make your wall stronger while new. If you use only sand and stone, then mix the water-lime one to five, and lay the stone with it. The way is to put a layer of an inch of mortar in the bottom and then a layer of stone, then of mortar and so on, letting the mortar come over the edge of the stone. If the stones are not permitted to come quite to the out- side of the wall, the mortar over them will prevent them conducting moisture or frost through. The mortar should be tamped in, so as to fill every crevice. There should be plenty of light in such a basement, for the health of the animals. Light is much more important than is generally-supposed. The light of such a stable should be as great as in the living room of a dwelling- house. New Way oF Bourtpine Lone Barns. We have shown the great economy and convenience of the octagonal over that of the oblong form. There can be no doubt that the circular form brings the labor into much BUILDING LONG BARNS. i Ms smaller compass, this form of barn requiring less travel in feeding the animals and less labor in storing the crops. But the writer knows how tenaciously the farmers hold to old ways and opinions; and since they will largely build the oblong form, it may be of service to show them how cheaply they may avoid many of the interior posts and beams which so obstruct labor in filling such barns. Fig. 14. If the barn is 40 feet wide and the posts 25 feet long, all the purlin posts and beams may be left out, and these obstructions thus avoided by using a long, strong brace from the top of each cross-beam, over the floor, to near the top of each outside post. If the floor of the second story runs lengthwise of the barn, each bent will have a cross- beam, the top of which will be 13 feet above the floor, running across the barn from outside post to outside post. Now, instead of the ordinary short brace from the top of this beam to the outside post, the brace should be 6x8 112 FEEDING ANIMALS. inches square, of hard, strong wood, and haye 12 feet run from the post on top of the beam, and 10 feet run up the post, reaching nearly to the top. (See fig. 14.) These braces should be framed. into a shallow boxing at each foot on beam and post, and firmly held in its place by a 34-inch iron bolt through the foot of the brace and beam or post, and the nut turned up on a broad washer on foot of the brace. The nut may be tightened when the timber shrinks. This will hold the foot of the brace very firmly, and the brace, being so long, will hold the top of the post rigidly in place and prevent the plates from spreading. Then let the roof be between a quarter and a third pitch; the rafters, 3x6 inches, and spread not more than 28 inches from center to center. Collar-beam each pair of rafters, 4 feet below the ridge, with 14 x 4-inch stuff, well nailed. This will hold the roof as safely as purlins, and it will be practically free from obstructions above the beams. It is true these cross-beams over the floor will be somewhat in the way, as compared to the self-supporting roof of the octagon; but there is always room to elevate the horse-fork between the beams, and, there being no obstruction above, the fork may be run to the roof without hinderance. These strong braces from beam to post running to the back side of the bay, and at right-angles with the floor, will not at all obstruct filling or pitching out from the bay. Let us call attention to the great economy as well as convenience of this improvement of the long barn. If this long barn be 40180 feet, to compare with a 90-foot octagon, it would require 12 bents; and, consequently, there would be 24 outside posts, requiring 24 strong braces, bolted as described. The labor of framing these 24 braces would be less than framing the 24 purlin posts. Forty- eight bolts, 16 inches long, required to hold the braces, would cost, with washers, 16 cents each, or $7.68 only, for this large barn. Now, let us see what timber it would BARN ‘FOR ONE THOUSAND HEAD. 113 save. ‘Twelve cross-purlin beams, 8 x 8, 20 feet long—1,284 fect ; 360 feet of 8x8 timber, for long purlin plates, being 1,920 feet of lumber; 48 six-foot braces at foot and top of the posts—576 feet; amounting in all to 3,780 feet of lumber, costing $40 or more, according to location; and the labor of framing the timber and putting together would be at least as much more. The average saving by the improved method would be $100. It will be seen that from this long floor the barn can be completely filled to the ridge with the horse-fork, and would require but little labor in mowing away. In this form the barn may be made any length desired, and may afterwards be extended at will. This form of long barn requires the smallest amount of timber and lumber consistent with its length; but the travel from each end of this barn to the center is 90 feet, whilst in the 90-foot octagon it is but 45 feet, each having the same capacity. This barn is supposed to have a basement for the animals. But to make the basement of this barn as convenient in space for carrying away the manure as the octagon it would require to be 44 feet wide. The great point about this form of oblong barn is the facility of lengthening it at pleasure, and its comparative freedom from interior posts or obstructions. BARN FoR 1,000 HEAD oF CATTLE. Having discussed the best form of barn, and described a cheap and convenient method of building oblong barns, which may be lengthened at any time to suit convenience, without any change in its present form, giving reasons for preferring the octagonal form, except for barns 40 feet square or less, we now proceed to describe two forms for a barn that will accommodate large feeding operations upon western farms, where the large feeders shall be convinced 114 FEEDING ANIMALS. of the greater economy of controlling the temperature in which their cattle are kept in winter by warm barns, instead of exposing them to the cold, external air, with its storms of wind, rain and snow, and expending a large amount of food to produce the heat which is lost by this exposure. The time will certainly come when there shall be an accurate comparison between the two systems of out-door and in-door feeding in winter. As _ heretofore stated, all the comparisons made between these two modes of feeding have been with cattle unaccustomed to in-door feeding, and the nervous excitement counterbalanced the benefit of the warmer temperature, there remaining only the saving in food. This period of out-door feeding has occurred in every state during the first half-century of its erowth, but has gradually disappear em as land and food became dearer. If a large number of cattle are to be fed on one farm large barns will be more economical than small ones. But if it is proposed to feed one thousand head of cattle under one roof, the form of this barn will have much to do with its cost, as well as the expense of labor in feeding. If it were constructed in one long barn, with two_rows of cattle, or 500 head in a row, the barn must be 1,625 feet long, or nearly 100 rods. This would be quite too long drawn out. We must seek for a form of barn radiating from a center, with eight double rows of cattle. This will give a distance of only 203 feet each way from the center, allowing 3 feet 3 inches for each steer. OcTAGON EIGHT-WINGED BARN. But as room will be required at the center for many purposes, in feeding so many cattle, we must have an octagonal center, each side of which is wide enough fora wing to radiate 30 feet wide. This will require an octagonal center 80 feet in diameter, giving sides about 33 feet 2 SQUARE-CROSS BARN. gp 5) inches long. Now, eight wings, 30 feet wide and 200 feet long, each having room for 126 head of cattle, will contain in all 1,008 head. From this octagonal center it will be just 200 feet to the most distant animal in either of the wings. Hach wing will be opposite a like wing on the other side of the octagonal center, and consequently there may be a continuous floor from each through the center and the opposite wing, and from the center either of the eight wings is equally accessible. The reader will see at a glance how compact and conveniently reached all these thousand cattle are. Hach wing should stand upon a base- ment wall, 8 feet high (the basement story occupied with the cattle), and it may be built as capacious as the feeder requires for winter storage. The fodder or grain over the basement can be easily dropped through upon the feeding floors below, so that the convenience in handling food for the cattle could not be greater. But there are some draw- backs in this eight-winged barn which we will point out, and see if they can be avoided by any other plan. These long wings have the prime objection of the narrow, oblong barn—too much outside wall, and ‘too much timber for the space inclosed. This could be improved by building the wings 60 feet wide, giving room for two double rows of cattle, so that each wing should contain 252 cattle, instead of 126. This would dispense with one-half of the wings, and still hold the same number of cattle. But the sides of an octagonal center will not admit of so wide a wing; we must, therefore, have a quadrangular center of 62 feet diameter, with four wings, 62 feet wide and 200 feet long, radiating from the four sides of the quadrangle. This will be a , SQUARE-CRoss BARN, having all its extreme parts equidistant from the center. It will be the same distance from this quadrangular center 116 FEEDING ANIMALS. to the extreme animal in either wing as from the octagonal center. This form will, therefore, be equally convenient. By doubling the width of the wings, we dispense with eight long sides, 200 feet each, or 1,600 feet ; and as the ends of the four wings are the same length as the eight wings, the saving in outside wall is 1,600 feet. And if these sides are 20 feet high, and boarded up and down with a two-inch batten, it will take 36,933 feet to cover these sides thus dispensed with. It will also save all the outside and interior posts of the four wings dispensed with, as it will require no more posts in a wing 60 feet wide than in one 30 feet wide. This will make a saving of about 22,000 feet ; and the outside sills and plates on these eight long sides will be saved, amounting to 24,000 feet, besides girths and braces—amounting in all to a saving of 100,000 feet. The roofs and floors will cover the same number of square feet as in the eight wings, and cost about the same. It would also save 14,400 cubic feet of wall. The whole saving by building the wings 60 feet wide could not be less than two-fifths of the whole cost of the barn; and the convenience and economy of labor must be even greater than with the eight narrow wings. This square-cross barn has the capacity to feed, conveniently and comfortably, one thousand head of cattle; and it now remains to notice some of the details of construction. The quadrangular center, 62 feet in diameter, may be built with large corner-posts, say 14x 14 inches square, 37 feet long, and the plates and girths of the wing may be framed into these posts; but it probably would be better that the wing should have separate corner-posts, and they be bolted to the posts of the center. The quadrangular center should be high enough above the wings to clear the ridge of its roof. ‘This would require the posts of the center building to be 17 or 18 feet longer than the wing posts, as the ridge of the wing roof should rise at least 17 SQUARE-CROSS BARN. LV; feet in 60 feet, and come up under the cornice of the center. _ building. As these wings will cost about the same money with posts 16 feet long as with posts 20 feet, and the latter height will hold about 40 per cent. more, and as this storage room will be wanted for so many animals, it will be better to provide room in abundance, and make the posts 20 feet long. The floor in the wing above the basement will run length- wise of the building, and will be 16 feet wide, so that the posts on either side of the floor, running up to the cross- beam over the floor, may stand on a sill running lengthwise over the basement, and eight feet from the center, sup- ported by the stanchion timbers. These two sills will be strongly supported the whole length by the stanchion posts, placed only 38 inches from center to center, and will con- sequently hold the whole interior structure above. The bays on each side of the floor will be 22 feet wide, and there will be no loss in so wide a floor, as the hay may be mowed one or two feet upon each edge of the floor if more room is desired. There will be 12 bents, the outside posts being about 18 feet 2 inches from center to center. The top of the cross-beams, running from side to side of the barn, will be 13 feet above the sill, and will be spliced at the post, or between the posts, on either side of the floor. On three of the bents the cross-beams should be carried up nearly to the plates, and the posts at the side of the floor must also be carried up to support the beam. The three bents (every third one) will tie the barn together, and, being so far apart, will not obstruct pitching with the horse-fork. These high beams, besides being pinned to the outside posts, should have a stirrup around the post, coming back ten inches upon the beam, with a %g-inch bolt through the stirrup and the beam, turned up tight with a nut; and, if the beams are well spliced in the middle, this will hold the barn firmly from spreading at the plates. Now, to 118 FEEDING ANIMALS. prevent this long wing from rocking or swaying by a strong broadside wind, these bents with the high beams should have a long, stiff brace, running from the foot of the post on the side of the floor to the outside post, just under this high beam. Such a long brace on each side will hold the barn rigidly from rocking. And whilst speaking of braces, let it be remembered that a brace is valuable just in proportion to its length. The braces from the outside posts up to the plates should have a four-foot run. They will assist very much in sustaining any weight upon the plates. It is not intended to have any purlins in these wings to support the roof, even though they be 60 feet wide. The brace on top of the beam, as de- scribed on page 112, for the long barn, will have a run, on beam from post, of 12 feet, running up the post just under the plate, and fastened by bolt, as there described. This will hold the plates absolutely rigid, and the roof will not spread them. The rafters will be as there described, only they should not be placed more than two feet apart, and the collar-beams should be 14x35 inches, and placed six feet below the ridge, with every other pair of rafters double collar-beamed ; that is, with a collar-beam nailed upon each side of the rafters. This will make a strong shingle roof. The collar-beams will be some 20 feet long, and will be about as good a support to the roof as purlin beams. The collar-beams would be as high as the barn would be likely to be filled, so that no room will be lost, and the barn will be practically free from obstructions to pitching with a horse-fork. In the bents, where the cross-beams are raised nearly to the plates, there must be a beam framed into the posts on each side of the floor, 13 feet above the sills, to correspond with the other beams over the floor, upon which scaffold- ing may be placed for using the room over the floor. It remains only to be mentioned that the interior sills are BASEMENT FOR CATTLE. 119 four cross sills, 40 feet apart, to tie the barn together at the bottom, and two sills running lengthwise, one on each side of the floor—that is, the center of each of these long sills is placed eight feet from the center of the barn. The joists for the bays will run from these long sills, on each side of the floor, to the outside sill—about 21 feet, and these joists may be supported near the center by a row of stanchion timbers. Each of these long sills come over a row of stanchion timbers in the basement below. The reader will see that these wings above the basement are built in the simplest manner, using no surplus material, and as cheap as may be consistent, with substance and durability. BASEMENT FOR CATTLE. We will now examine the construction of the basements to these long wings. The wall under each of these wings, if built of concrete, 15 inches thick at the bottom, 12 inches at top, and 8 feet high, being 462 feet long, would contain 4,204 cubic feet, and could be built in most places for 10 cents per cubic foot, or $420 per wing. The wall under the center would be 1,504 cubic feet, and cost $150 ; the wall under the entire square-cross barn would cost $1,830. These long sides would require something to stiffen the wall sidewise; buta pier built against the wall on the inside would be in the way, and on the outside would look unsightly, so, to avoid the necessity for such piers, let a T be made of strong iron, say %x2 inches. The long end of the T should be about 20 inches, and built into the wall, and the cross lie across the top of the wall directly under the sill. The top of the T should pro- ject beyond the sill on each side far enough to have a 54-inch hole punched, into which to insert a piece of the same flat iron, six inches long, rounded at oneend. This will attach the wall to the sill. There should be four of these T’s for each side—one near each cross-sill, 40 feet 120 FEEDING ANIMALS. apart. This will hold the whole wall to the beam and pre- vent any swaying. These long sides will give room for inserting plenty of windows for light, the frames placed in the boxes, and the concrete built over them. The sash may be hung on a pivot in the center, so as to open easily to give ventilation at certain seasons ; but the fresh air should be introduced through the wall near the bottom, through hard-burned earthen or pottery pipes, 15-inch bore, just long enough to reach through the wall. These pipes may be laid in the boxes bedded in the concrete, and the concrete tamped down upon them. They may be placed ten feet apart and will not weaken in the wall. Close covers may be fitted to the inside, so as to shut them _at will; and with proper ventilators to discharge the heated and vitiated air through the upper part of the barn, there will be a constant circulation of fresh air through the basement. One other point must be mentioned in reference to the wall. A concrete wall contains a large amount of moisture, and if the sills are to be placed on before the wall becomes quite dry, which is usually the case, the moisture will pass up into the green timber of the sill, form a coating of lime on it, and prevent the sap from escaping, and the result is a rapid decay of the timber. To prevent this, take well- seasoned pine boards, 12 inches wide, coat one side with gas tar, and bed this tarred side in the mortar on top of the wall. The sills are laid on this leveled board, and no moisture can come through this board into the sill to rot it. This point is important—has been determined in our practical experience. LAYING OUT THE BASEMENT. These long stables must be laid out so as to render the labor as convenient as possible. ‘There must be easy access to every animal in the stable, and this becomes more LAYING OUT BASEMENT. . 121 important when one thousand cattle are to be provided for. Cattle-are most easily attended when placed in double rows, with their heads turned towards one feeding floor. In this long basement, the first row of stanchion posts will be placed 8 feet from the wall, on the side of the first feeding floor, 14 feet wide. On the other side of the feeding floor is the second row of stanchion posts, coming up under one of the long sills, described above. Two and one-half feet being occupied by mangers on each side of this floor, will leave nine feet for a drive-way. Along this floor may pass a cart or a wagon, with green food in summer, or fodder in winter. The third row of stanchion posts will be 16 feet from the last, under the second long sill, on the side of second feeding floor; and the fourth row will be 14 feet from the third, on the other side of the second feeding floor, and 8 feet from the other wall. Here two rows of cattle stand, with tails to the wall, and the two middle rows stand tail to tail, facing upon opposite floors. The largest animals should be placed in middle rows, as there is the most room. ‘These stanchion posts are placed 3 feet 2 inches from. center to center, and the cattle are best fastened to the center of a chain stretching from staple to staple driven into each stanchion post. These chains slide up and down on these staples, as shown in fig. 10. The mangers may be placed 20 inches from the ground, and, with long staples, the cattle may lie down comfortably. One of the best ways to feed cattle, with plenty of bedding and muck for deodorizing, is to let them stand three or four months on their manure, and, the mangers being placed high, the manure may accumulate two feet deep under them, and they may keep quite clean, with the bedding and muck, and the manure will be trodden so hard as to ferment very little. When a lot of cattle is sold, then wagons may be driven through to carry off the manure. We have seen cattle fed in this manner, carded 6 122 FEEDING ANIMALS. occasionally, and kept quite clean standing on their manure for four months. These feeding floors, as described, stretch through the whole length of the barn. A feeding-car passes through two wings, and, by having a turn-table, may pass through any wing. Feed may be dropped through a chute on the side of the upper floor into the car wherever placed on any feeding floor. This form of barn gives every facility for any style of feeding, cutting and cooking the food, or cutting and grinding—a large engine, placed in the center, would do all the work; and this also offers the best facility for soiling this thousand head in summer. SHEEP BARNS. There have been a variety of forms in sheep barns rec- ommended—some contending that sheep should never be wintered in inclosed barns, that sheds are a sufficient shel- ter, and all the confinement that sheep can stand with health. But in all the Northern and Eastern States the best shepherds have discarded the open shed as a protection in the cold season, and now advise barns that can be closed completely or as securely as barns for cattle, when the weather requires it—not forgetting ample means of ventilation. Sheep require roomy stables, but they are as much bene- fited as other stock by a nearly uniform temperature. It is therefore profitable to provide warm and well-ventilated stables, basements, not sunk in the earth, preferable. Per- haps.the style of long barn, we have described, is as well adapted to sheep as to cattle. Sheep require ample room to store fodder, and this long barn, 40 feet wide, with a basement walled in with concrete, would furnish a stable of remarkably even temperature, and affording every de- sired facility for ventilation. The concrete wall furnishes SHEEP BARNS. 123 a much drier basement than a mason-laid stone wall, which often conducts moisture and frost to the inside, whilst the basement with concrete wall is as dry as if wooden-walled. The advantage of the new style long barn is that it may be extended at any time without any change in its con- struction. Such a barn 40x40 would accommodate 150 merinos or 100 long-wools. This basement, with a double rack and trough through the center, dividing it into two apartments, will furnish room for 75 on each side, or if 40 x 60 feet, would provide room for 225 merinos or 150 Cotswold or Leicesters. This barn, with its floor lengthwise, furnishes a very con- venient means, by its door-trap through the floor, of drop- ping the fodder into the double rack below. Here is also | abundant room for storing a full supply of fodder, and of grain or other feed for fattening purposes. The floor over a sheep stable should be dust tight, keeping the wool free from dust; and one of the best ways to make a floor dust- tight is to place pine lath under the joints of the boarding across the joists, and a piece on the joists under each board. The lath laps on each board three-quarters of an inch, and thus makes a tighter floor than one that is matched. The lath is nailed to the under side of the floor between the joists. DOUBLE SHEEP RACK. The form of rack from which to feed sheep is somewhat important. It should be so constructed as to save all the fodder, and to prevent the hay-seed and dust from getting into the wool. The author has constructed a double rack and trough which is represented in fig. 15. This is an end view and will readily be understood. Scantling 5 feet 8 inches long are placed about 30 inches apart. a. Plank 14 x8 inches for the bottom of the trough. 6. Sliding board, reaching down and nailed to the 124 FEEDING ANIMALS. bottom board of the trough, about six inches from the outside. : c. Rack slats 14 x2 inches nailed to the sliding board 6 inches from the bottom, rising 3 feet from the bottom of the rack, and nailed at the top to a scantling (d) 2x 2% inches. The rack slats lean from the trough 4 inches at top to prevent hay-seed from falling upon the head, and are only 3 inches apart. d. A scantling 2 x 2% inches to which the rack slats are nailed at the top. e. Front side of the trough 8 inches wide. Fig. 15,—END VIEW OF DOUBLE RACK AND TROUGH. Ff. Bar across the top of the trough to the rack slat to divide the trough and prevent sheep from getting into it. These bars are placed across at every third slat, and may be placed at every second slat, if a narrower division is found best. Both sides of this rack are precisely alike. It will be seen that nothing can be wasted, for all short bits of fod- der and seed will slide between the slats into the trough, a little meal or bran placed upon this refuse will cause it all to be eaten. This rack furnishes a place for feeding grain SHEEP SHELTER. 125 as well as hay. This double rack placed through the center of the basement above described, will divide it into two apartments, and receive its fodder from the opening in the floor above. If this rack is to be used apainst a wall it can be made single by dividing it perpendicularly in the middle. It can be made single as well as double. If it is to be used asa short rack, and the end not placed against a wall, then the end must be boarded or slatted. This rack would be equally convenient in the yard, where it is appropriate to feed in the open yard. The trough in the illustration is supposed to be 12 inches wide and 8 inches deep, but it may be made wider if desired. We think this rack and trough will be found to prevent the sheep, as far as possible, from rubbing off their wool in eating their food, and that it also prevents the waste of food, and besides saves labor in feeding by providing for feeding grain and coarse fodder together. On the Western plains very little attention is paid to shelter for sheep. Yet we think even there a temporary shelter should always be provided, and if the ranch is large, and little, if any, winter fodder is provided, there should be several warm sheep corrals, made with poles and thatched with wild grass or straw. These may be arranged so as to protect the sheep from wind and snow-storms. Such precaution will often save a large part of the flock, and always bring them through in better condition. Tem- perature has much to do with the necessity for food. Ex- posure to hard storms makes a heavy draft upon the food to keep up animal heat, and if food is short the heat must come from the store of fat laid up in the body. The need of shelter is less in the South, but the temper- ature there often falls so low as to render shelter a matter of economy to the mutton and wool-grower. Shelter, as a. means of preserving animal heat, is cheaper than food, even in the South. 126K FEEDING ANIMALS. CHAPTER V. PRINCIPLES OF ALIMENTATION. THE true and complete office performed by the food in the growth and development of our domestic animals has been quite too little considered by many even of our advanced feeders. Let us instance intelligent Short-horn breeders. Much has justly been written in praise of the Short-horn as the highest and most perfect bovine type of human food; but, we fear that in the minds of many, too great faith is placed upon the constitution and blood of the animal, and too little upon the process by which this perfected type has been produced. They seem to think that this perfected animal has power to change the elements of its food, and add an aroma and flavor to its flesh which was not contained in its food. At the meeting of the National Short-horn Breeders’ Convention, at Cincinnati, a learned member, in an elaborate paper, proposed, as the best means of improving the flavor and quality of the flesh of each breeding animal, to slaughter some of its offshoots—discarding those whose flesh is not of the desired quality, and he made no suggestion of the necessity of appropriate food as affecting flavor; but he instanced the antelope and other wild animals as possess- ing the same flavor of flesh to-day as a thousand years ago; from which we suppose that he regarded the flavor of the flesh as dependent entirely upon the constitution and fixed character of the animal, and not upon the food. But, what would be the effect of domesticating the antelope, and changing its food from that of the broad range and great PRINCIPLES OF ALIMENTATION. 127 variety of sweet and aromatic herbs, to the prepared pas- ture of a few simple grasses, and the allowance, for short periods, of one or two of our cultivated grains ?, Would it take a thousand years, or any considerable fraction of it, to change the flavor of its flesh? No animal has the power of extracting a flavor from food which it does not contain. The animal creates nothing—simply elaborates and appro- priates what it finds in its food. We are not left to mere theory upon this question. Numerous trials in domesticat- ing wild species are on record. The wild turkey and wild goose undergo a transformation in a few years so that the flavor of the flesh can scarcely be told from that of the domestic variety, while high feeding has increased the fat and weight of the bird. The domesticated partridge fol- lows the same law. The deer, under domestication, loses’ the peculiar wild flavor of its flesh. In England large numbers of deer are kept in the parks. Mr. Joseph Harris, writing of a visit he made to England in 1879, said: ‘‘I saw thousands of deer in the different parks. But they have abundance of rich grass in the sum- mer, and during winter they are furnished with hay when- ever necessary. Now, I am very fond of venison ; and so, on our return home on the steamer Gallia, one day, when we had a saddle of venison for dinner, I ordered some, ex- pecting a great treat. But it was not venison at all. It was cut from the carcass of one of those English half-domesti- cated deer that run in the parks and are furnished a regu- lar supply of food. But it was not what we call venison in this country. It lacked flavor—was more like mutton. The flesh was light colored, and there was half an inch or more of external fat, precisely as there is on well-bred and well-fed sheep.” This is a demonstration of the effect of food. The Cheviot sheep of Northumberland hills and Scottish high- lands, feeding upon many wild grasses and aromatic herbs, 128 FEEDING ANIMALS. have a peculiar flavor of flesh which recommends their mutton; and the small sheep upon the Welsh hills possess a great reputation for flavor, and bring a higher price than the sheep of the lowlands. But achange made for a few years with each also changes the comparative quality. The Swiss cow, feeding upon her high-flavored native grasses upon the Swiss mountains, yields higher-flavored milk, butter and cheese than the same cow when fed upon the lowlands. The intelligent dairyman knows that the quality of his milk is dependent upon the food provided for his cows. He does not expect to produce rich milk from straw, what- ever may be the strain of blood in his cows. The finest Jersey is not expected to produce delicious flavored milk upon leeks and garlic; but you might as well attempt to breed a cow that would give as delicious flavored milk upon leeks, cabbages, onions and turnips as upon the sweetest June grasses, as to expect to succeed in breeding animals the flavor of whose flesh will be independent of the quality of their food. It is quite true that an animal of fixed characteristics will select and appropriate such elements in its food as its system requires for the reproduction of all its peculiarities; but the animal which has produced nicely-marbled and highly-flavored flesh under circumstances of appropriate food and conditions, cannot long continue to do this under changed food and conditions, If you wish to imitate the flavor of the wild animal you must furnish the food of the wild animal. These facts are dwelt upon to show the folly of attempt- ing to breed an animal that shall be independent of the quality of its food. If you find offshoots from animals, both male and female, of the highest possible quality of flesh, it will be well to breed from them, because “ like pro- duces like,” under the same circumstances; but the animal EARLY MATURITY. 129° is always dependent upon its food for its quality of flesh. Although one animal, from its constitution, has greater power of utilizing its food elements, and of selecting or rejecting different elements than other animals of the same species, yet it cannot elaborate or utilize what is not there. EARLY MATURITY. Having found that the animal must depend primarily upon its aliment for growth and quality, the next impor- tant consideration is how this aliment should be given— whether the growth should be slow or rapid—should take the longest natural period required by a scanty diet, or the shortest possible attainment of maturity under the most judicious and skillful feeding. That we may form a safe opinion upon this question, it is requisite to examine some of the circumstances attending growth and maturity. While the animal is young and immature, its appetite, digestive and assimilative functions are most active; and these functions grow less and less active after maturity. After the period of perfect development, the natural habit of the animal is to eat and digest only so much as is neces- sary to supply the waste of its tissues; and, consequently, its weight remains nearly stationary. Another most im- portant point is, that while the animal is young, and in an active stage of growth, the percentage of waste in its sys- tem is much less than at and after maturity. The food of support, or what is necessary to supply the constant waste of the system, and keep the animal without loss, has accu- mulated to a large item at maturity. It then becomes very clear, that the interest of the feeder requires that the short- est possible time should be given to the growth of an ani- mal intended for food. It must be evident that in careless and unskillful feeding the cost of simply supplying the waste of the system during four years’ feeding of steers 130 FEEDING ANIMALS. will be as great as to produce animals of the same weight at 24 to 80 months; or, in other words, skillful feeding of young animals will produce twice as much weight at 24 as at 48 months, on the same food. “But,” say some, “your steer cannot be mature at 24 months.” It is true that the marks of full development are that the permanent teeth are complete, the animal fully grown, and all its physical qualities perfect. The ox perfects its teeth at four to five years, the pig at two to two and one-half years. These times of dentition occur in a state of nature, when the animals seek their own scanty food, or under the care of a slipshod and penurious feeder. But the improved breeds, after years of skillful feeding, mature in from one to two and one-half years earlier. M. Regnault, at a cattle fair in France, in 1846, found a bull only two years old that had all his permanent teeth, and all the points of development and maturity in perfec- tion ; and was from this fact led to make investigation of the effect of careful and judicious breeding and feeding in hastening the maturity of animals. He says: | “Thanks to a better system of management and feeding of cattle, and to judicious and advantageous crossings, it is certain that many of our bovine race have experienced in their form, and especially in their precocious development, unmistakable changes for the better. Whatever may be the cause of this remarkable aptitude of certain breeds to acquire their growth early, it is evident that such preco- cious development cannot be confined to any particular organs. If every one has not equally participated in it, at least they are all more or less affected by it. Above all, the digestive system—the part called in to play an impor- tant part in producing such an aptitude for early develop- ment, since all must essentially result from the nature and action of alimentation—must be one of the first to undergo modifications.” EARLY MATURITY. 131 Here, it appears, that thirty-six years ago perfect devel- opment was found at twe years; and the French scientist | states clearly that perfect teeth must, as a general rule, be accompanied with full development of all the parts. So this precocity, when it becomes established, must continue, under favorable circumstances, as a permanent character- istic of the animal. A study of the facts accompanying early maturity shows that the animal is as completely developed in all its parts as if it had been produced, under the old style of feeding and management, at the end of four instead of two years. This quite disproves the objec- tion that all things require a certain amount of time to perfect their construction and growth—that whatever is rapidly produced must be wanting in completeness and perfection. Objectors have regarded this as a demonstration; but it is merely an assumption. All the processes of digestion and assimilation are chemical processes. Combustion is also a chemical process; but will any one say that the slow combustion of wood by rot and decay in the open air is any more perfect combustion than its rapid reduction to ashes by fire ? In the natural state the animal gathers its coarse, fibrous food by long and toilsome exertion; and its small percent- age of nutriment is assimilated into the tissues of its body. But, under the best system of growing animals, the food is given in a more soluble and assimilable condition, and in as large quantities as the animal can digest, which can all be utilized in much less time. Is it reasonable then, as a matter of theory, to suppose that its digestion and assimi- lation will be less perfect ? Our present excellent varieties of wheat are supposed once to have been only wild grasses, with their thin and ‘skinny seeds. Does any one think our varieties of wheat have degenerated ? 132 FEEDING ANIMALS. The magnificent pippin, with all our improved apples, are supposed to have sprung from the wild crab, and each of these improved products ripen earlier than the parent stock. Are they less perfect? The illustration may be carried into every department of vegetable and animal growth It thus appearing that the quality of the flesh must depend upon the quality of the food; and that all food produces a greater profit when fed to young than mature animals—thus showing the great importance of early ma- turity as an element in the profit of growing animals for their flesh. But so far we have treated the subject more from the standpoint of general principle and theory than of definite experiments, which appeal more forcibly to the practical stock-feeder’s judgment, and are more likely to control his action. It may be laid down as an axiom, that PROFITABLE FEEDING MUST BE DONE BEFORE MATURITY. Let us fortify this position by facts and experiments. As we have seen, the digestive and assimilative organs of the young animal are in the greatest activity; and thus the stock-grower must take advantage of this period to pro- duce the best result in feeding. Careful experiments show a constant increase in the food required to produce a pound of live weight, as the animal increases in size and age. Two separate experiments were tried at the Michigan Agricultural College Farm, in 1866-68. In the former, three pigs, and in the latter, six pigs were fed upon milk. The pigs were from four to six weeks old at the commence- ment of the experiment. The average amount of milk to produce one pound of live weight, was: first week, 6.76 pounds; second week, 7.75 pounds; third week, 12.28 pounds; fourth week, 10.42 pounds. ‘The professor says PROFITABLE FEEDING BEFORE MATURITY. 133 the cause of its requiring a greater amount of milk the third week to produce a pound live weight, is explained by a “derangement of the digestive organs during this week, as shown in a tendency to constipation.” He also remarks that ‘“‘the milk to produce a pound live weight constantly increases,” The experiment of 1868 was continued afterward for twenty weeks, upon corn meal. This experiment was divided into five periods of four weeks each. The amount of corn meal required to make one pound live weight is: first period, 3.81 pounds; second period, 4.05 pounds; third period, 4.22 pounds; fourth period, 5.24 pounds; fifth period, 5.98 pounds. In 1869 another experiment was tried, with a larger num- ber of pigs, and very nearly the same result in respect to amount of meal required to produce one pound of live weight, and substantially the same increase in quantity of feed required to produce one pound of live weight as the pigs grow larger and older. An examination of the meal experiment will show that in the fifth period, when the pigs were from twenty-four to twenty-eight weeks old, it took 75 per cent. more of meal to make a pound of live pork, than in the first period, when the pigs were from eight to twelve weeks old. And other experiments have shown that this ratio of increase in food to make a pound live weight, substantially goes on with the age and weight of the pig. In 1874 the writer tried a similar experiment with ten calves fed upon skim-milk. The calves and the milk fed were weighed and calculated for each week. The first week it required 11.02 pounds of milk for one pound of gain; second week, 12.18 pounds; third week, 13.17 pounds; fourth week, 13.40 pounds; fifth week, 14.60 pounds; sixth week, 15.05 pounds; seventh week, 16.71 pounds; eighth week, 16.80 pounds; ninth: week, 17.01 134 FEEDING ANIMALS. pounds; tenth week, 16.08 pounds; eleventh week, 16 pounds; twelfth week, 15.90 pounds. The calves gained very unequally, individually, owing to the constitution of each calf. Some gained much more rapidly than others, and also gained quite unequally in dif- ferent weeks; but the result stated is the average of the ten. We regarded this experiment as very instructive ; not only as showing the constant increase in cost of putting on a pound live weight, but as showing the value of skim milk in growing calves. It will be observed that the amount of milk began to decrease the tenth week. This was caused by the calves learning to eat grass. They increased more rapidly after learning to eat grass, when given at the same time what milk they would drink. It may be interesting to some of our readers to state, that we find skim milk worth from 30 to 50 cents per 100 pounds to feed calves up to the age of six months. By the aid of milk, with abundance of grass, they may be made to weigh from 450 to 600 pounds at that age; and a continuance of this liberal feeding, although grain is substituted for milk, may produce yearlings of 800 to 1,000 pounds weight, instead of little more than half that weight under a scanty system of feeding. The experiments of Sir J. B. Lawes, of Rothamstead, England, also prove that the cost of put- ting on weight is in proportion to the age and size of the animal. This fact appears very plain and indisputable to any one who has studied it; and yet, a want of its practi- cal adoption among stock-growers, causes a loss of not less than $50,000,000 per year in the United States. And this would only be $11.50 per head for the 4,341,824 head received at seven principal live stock markets of the country in 1881. A close examination would have shown that more than $50,000,000 in food had been thrown away in this slow and unprofitable growth. We do not mean that all of them had been grown in disregard of the law of STUDY THE NATURE OF ANIMALS. 135 early maturity; but seven-tenths of them had, no doubt, suffered from ignorance of this law we have illustrated. And next we should STUDY THE NATURE OF THE ANIMAL WE FEED. Stock-growers often neglect this injunction. Forgetting the natural habit of the animal, and anxious to make the most rapid progress, they ply it with too concentrated food, and thus cause fever and other diseases in the system. Ruminating animals are possessed of capacious stomachs, calculated to manipulate bulky and fibrous food. Nature never intended that they should be fed upon concentrated food alone. The grains grow upon stalks having twice the weight of the seeds, and animals naturally eat both seeds and stalks together. The ruminating animal requires to eat grain with the coarse, fibrous stalk, in order that it should go to the first stomach, have the benefit of the macerating process of the rumen, and be raised, remasti- - cated and mixed with the saliva. Some six different exver- iments have proved to me that corn meal, shelled corn, rye, oats and other fine feed do not, to any material extent, go to the first stomach when fed to cattle alone. One or two experiments by others have seemed to contradict these; but we have only to refer the Western feeder of corn in the ear to the droppings of his cattle, to prove most conclu- sively that the corn does not go to the first stomach. For, if the corn descended into the rumen, and was raised and remasticated, how could the large proportion of kernels found whole in the droppings escape unbroken? We have seen them so thick over droppings that there was hardly an inch space between them. ‘This must be considered not only a wasteful way of feeding grain, but injurious to the health of the cattle so fed. But in many parts of the Eastern States, quite as little knowledge of the nature of the ruminant is shown, by feeding fine corn meal alone. 136 FEEDING ANIMALS. This, being moistened with saliva, passes to the third and fourth stomachs in the solid form of the house-wife’s dough. The gastric juice cannot penetrate and circulate through this; and, consequently, the meal is often found in the manure, very little changed. Some respectably- read physiologists will inform you that the muscular coat of the stomach (see page 49), by its contraction, gives a gentle motion to the contents of the stomach, intermixing these with the gastric juice, but in the case of the plastic corn-meal dough, this muscular action could only succeed in rolling it over, but could not break it, or render it porous for the entrance or absorption of the gastric juice. But if this meal is fed with cut hay or straw, so that both must be eaten together, the bits of hay or straw separate the particles of meal, so that the gastric juice can circulate through the mass as water does through a sponge. When thus fed, the meal goes with the cut hay to the rumen; is there softened, raised and remasticated. The Western feeder may save much of this loss of feeding corn in the ear, by running his unhusked corn—stalks, ears and all— through a straw-cutter, cutting one-quarter of an inch in length, and then feeding all together. This will cause all to be remasticated, and the corn very fairly digested. We have practised this mode of feeding as an experi- ment, and found no corn to pass in the droppings un- broken. It would effect a saving to Western feeders of at least 20 per cent. over their present mode of feeding in shock. This poiit will be further discussed in its proper place. Violence is also done to the nature of the horse when he is fed upon grain alone. We have seen a horse that so well understood his own wants that, when fed ground grain, would take a mouthful of meal and then a mouthful of hay, and mix them together himself while eating. This horse understood animal physiology better than his master. IMPROPER FEEDING. 137 Improper feeding of grain is a most fruitful source of dis- ease among horses. But no class of animals is so much abused from a want of proper understanding of their nature as swine. The fact that they are grass-eating animals as much as the ox or the horse, seems to be ignored entirely by the largest class of pig-feeders. Pigs are put upon corn at weaning age, and kept upon it until slaughtered, if cholera does not cut them off in advance. The pig needs for health a little grass or clover hay mixed with the grain diet, as much as other grass-eating animals. We have tested pigs upon meal and grass, and, at the same time, others upon meal alone, in summer, and upon meal and nicely-cured clover hay, softened with boiling water, in winter, and have always found from 25 to 40 per cent. in favor of the mix- ture of grass or clover. But this subject will be further discussed under its proper head. We have seen how very important in the economy of feeding is the element of time, and that the “storing system,” or keeping animals at a standstill for the purpose of feeding at some future period, is always attended with a great loss of food. Let us now attempt to give some prac- tical suggestions on How to Freep Youne ANIMALS. As the reader has seen, we believe much in the teachings of Nature, and that a feeder can never mistake when he follows her as closely as circumstances will permit. If then we take the four great classes of farm stock, cattle, horses, sheep and swine, we find that Nature furnishes for their early growth a very perfect food—milk. She pro- vides, in this elixir for young life, every element required to build the bones and extend the frame—to grow the muscles, tissues and nerves—to lubricate the joints, cush- ion or pad with soft suet the exposed parts of the frame, 138 FEEDING ANIMALS. and to round out into lines of beauty and harmony the whole animal; and if we would study the open secrets of Nature in her dealings with the young animal, we must look into the combination of elements in milk. The fol- lowing is an average of the composition of the milk of the cow, mare and ewe: Cow. Mare. Ewe. Paseine, Ones h-fOrmMers! 25 2h ksiees 10 Sd F410 GVO C9 cO n eS otaanas So at a east PF ee GR Oat SeOnieoor cor 916 HOD HOD OOS HAH Or NNR DHRONONGBOrM0r nar =H han ann hen en he! NQANN mS HSA SISTA EEE TIN? IDC ES ECO 100 GRR 1G S00 Go Nh alit= ‘USV | SS pws was BODO OV Wr OI R SnSooHnRNOSOSOHS AHARNRNAMORNAORAN “194 AA St Sie SS Re SS Seca > SS owe SoS Cert ce SEA GO SH SS SGA CS. Ht HH 1919 WH SH WODnEHoEenR rH WHOM dH dodo baka kokw kak Ee Sosa CZBSeSBSSRSE SSeS SSS Se Se 5 SUMOM TEE ca srieisine Dee eT eeeTTeroe 3 agin Oia aS San 5 REO OOo ras Sirisineics ce OD 5 i oon e Seismic MelLensvisstemenel.« shieimemtenre re ca eee. ae 6 9) 8 3 0. 8 6 (8 “9° a 6 ‘68 © 1a O,.6 6)) 8, 2). ‘67 .@ Choc at be ony oO eo ee Bw ee BY O82 @) Oa 1S es 4s en 6) jal (es) 6.8), © ee @ 8 (ye yea oat ieel e ° see Say el eS GEO) Ob. 8) ere 6) re OO. gals) W678) 8) 6 10 6. 0 6 Ne, © 6, 8) 0, 0 ee see S\) (O) fe) 8.50 aie 0) ene: 08 (0 Gbt @itiGe-e) el ee! 0, 8 ee! ve) wy 8 a> ee 8 eee a0 Oger ee | eneeis lave shcan s)he 6) ewe! 6 aicwisal lenis sions b fh: PeciteMehan grass arrcalelbueneerchescsrt | 388 Beosuetaees Diitoec 5 E Sues SArmtenacas rene ante Premat SaaS Sek: irae es Sess A ners a latte: am eine e™ ere. opr ete ho net he ; Snié erie Pe lenis se ete) te DP ea “cate = jeg Gece aniseed at ata] =) esr epi at jer iah are acacia = Wtaee ee. "ee lo) oe . Op itp mm) Pre ee > Pr - ort 8 & eee & mn SEM a cist shes eles ’s 2 5h . Oar (OG) OOO SG Cer S8 yaa.) ot Wa eee See onset ees PO dO) OS CMC ia eae) CER creemer sicepisisnisiee rev) ceive Seis ewiceere eC O ML eI ISES Gon ern Gt ier aeieren Biel ciatatis SraKe fs Biapischbe rede Ro teas tee sAUt SC 8 g Soca a Orpen Gi:gi: seeds ee anairet eumsiraniatts, cemrenanue A BAe eae cme Hee niaeeta a | 20 8G ato B88 Bo Oia aeai=y es nM erat eae Pare EI rn Wey a nie OD - Ecole -@im f40 Sur Pale, Cer We Wer ten Teac ee aa ry tare lu Seat ene — 57 ee « E Sige gf Gg iiiiiiiiiigg § iggeed if: igs Sei oatins fae8 ig: we oD ‘ | bess) ts> ei fax cee me 420 eohd) ise acta Oise = . . ON cd Bechet oer, o 2 mtn sn 2 Bieta cinerasies oie Smog Se Sit tite 1:83 2 Sone raw seed Boies tage ie: Peat on Si ieod i: "of Soo x eSoegao 8 :Bo OS on pod bo} S| Osmo [Am ea Sec seengia o SaaS Pos gnd's Saag ao bat 8 FYoOog = = onus BEsoSs5 Ses de Soas ses SHOMSBSHSEREG FPR esa So sL3S5 ea q a8 56 F : 252 DHAnERo BOS>ARoeeEO Admomedtedan BeegSeeoaedae 157 AVERAGE COMPOSITION, ETC., OF FEEDING StTurFs—Continued. ANALYSES OF FEEDING STUFFS. SONDAISPIMADOADNONO AIH ON - 1O0 OH a POL OMOHMOWMONHMHORDO ‘sq 00T tad onea | *SESSSRBSRSSERISSS | IRSSHR GF SSHSRRERSSRRHARLRAES ARAM MIARNNRNRNARQNRNOOCS ooeooco So MnO nMnrOOnMOoMAMRNONNSOOSS = ee DO DMOR + 2 5 1ROM MRO 1010 ONsOCD SH WOAOW AMR OS 1d 19 W1N9 De BO rsd O1VEI OATINUON | eH RMAnAAHod PHORM OH 01ND INW MID AMIDAM OHHH OHOMOADND con mone: = —— | = _— mre = ; 9 NASARARNAHNONGDNINRND - - - RO © HOW SCANSHKSANNGSOMRNHAH ug WA | Seaddt$noriwscscsntaoonann ! oso 2 MNNNMANNRNML-INHOROSOSDSS Oe GD SH OD OD C2 C2 SH : rt Ee! ee | -oedag Suipnjour RODNGSDOARNDOLDNDOOLME DOHOO ID DID SSO HONAHRNORROrAON Boece Rete CESS EEet eee ad! inches S advcecomnacnmone amon - ro LO 5 q i") ~~ a soyvapAy-oqatep 19 Waa SUB AAMAS oeHAoa . BeTSS & SRB StRSiBSSSoCRRSCaS 25 a = ag Se Oe eae OAHOD ORR OMIRNOADINDAAOMODOINOD sprout Say UR Gaaentehel ey 2s Sc howe OR pS isa cece Be eat RRO pay Tete chee Ge ok see) Az E W | aSRASARRATSEARWadicd ‘ilocos si SwadgnauginggEe”AsriSS 8 CEE Raia aan Qe a 1D DO RHO 19 191 MAQIDINN+HHRAAA Wd se ateieit GM eee aoe Do Reued) pet RCD CO pein Dar ue ae ice re i TARR ARUIVOGONAYr red | HOSS OD CREP EI AH HAL GD HHO ADDO MOSOOS o8 "sojeapAy ee rae ee Sor EE ai oO TIO1n SHOW 19 HOW DOSS 69 0 = N SOn amr avninan cont < ID MR OOWOORED Zz oqiey 19t1O GRAEGBSAARARERRAGLSRTSSTOOSS © BSSSSHSOAFRRARA CLAP oe Sila eoieedas peo sedate oO HD OME HE NOMNRHHAAMWOOD ‘eaqt Sole os A Oe et gn OCR Sa lero os BRT) Sete pet Soe 68 nf OBRHIG NON OGH OOOH ANAAH Arad x OO HAD GR HO 09 HD OB rt HO 69 CH WHO 09 RD 5 MRDOOSOMWADMOOM HINO HAAROAD 60 AHA SHHOCMIDNADOOMODOMO “sprourmng RO Ene a os cn CRU oe Se a ae Soe eS SU Sa cusaen prour TV 3 RERKRASSE RAO BRawtsconscn Ye] RaINKMOMVOAHAA WOR 39 coo 5 CORAM AHAOMSOWDNSSSOORNRHHEORR PAOD CDA HR Sisia Ar OOM Heras USV | XN amamemnaotissrAntnnRnnnooHnon WORRNNGG Oe HME IDSMOMOIISS ee OO RE ore ea ata 7 TODA SM AAINOM AR ODMDOOONS “J0qe SO aa a Gude eee SUS Biocichet ar sti Wie Be pe erste eee te AN [os Ree CRERGSSSSSSS So renssidgdegdesnsisgag Bie) Oe Suet OF a* 0: ee) mips ee eran of, Sraalges 16) erama we . . . aC) . of . . OO bon G60 Ge O00 nob ao Geno a gg: : 0990 G0 N60 0G 16 O1D-0 90 Ds QOS OQ ID Aceon “0 -o 10 sis soo: oe pedt Fen SOiSAhah emai h ey WLcei en te Shia teutetisiients pee te OO i CORDA CLO Birarey cic tuciercgess lars 6 2m i 0. Gb omen : rest ; lee A BS G Pi tig ie Pe DTM em Ue ctnieh Telia) Ne, co: (ol Wogeaietcee Mma MOOR Rd Mey sys Srey ee Boal shaferecmasttetewil P Niel Caeeaie hath Sane laine lea eeeces iol NEN eax enrBatslecesnie) 6p (8) fol (6. ia a) eon oy = rr eC eR OY Fie RiateC He sO tier tS acne Cle OIE) 02 +O +O ne Dh SOO Drain Et og rp OO |= Ta tO Ce i oe Rog a FB BSED Pe oeO GUE G Ue wa. Sucl Cettre i MO ESE = tse Cae ete Daan AB RSG, Be BS Be Bia ieAla a CO Otay OO mei Otc ae iol iG Brena S, rE er Uae! val Olt oak eaiel tele loner cc an Geicelm's wis "so () ate cease ts! ee etiell ey oY Late. cat multe a Ce abe Ls] Stl Mont osha oa Seon US Geetueo ane bares sa iE Becks Cyril ete aot Y OeD cor Sac Ge mp atita age st ae Scorre 1HeS: BERS ig tt i tigg fi UR eB oe Fy HeSmAcgmiae chrome SiiSctemaeta 14: See? S$ so Pt iMe i tol Cauy 3 ae | Ss Buaincisce Pi Pdiseseses ats: FLea hed: i ed Comat ees MO aera wine twats: fe iar Oo: Of m8 gg Seok : See elustivel tenes Scan aeeieD fatal cacti aoe BES OR ON Re OOS pO m He cg dg Mae olCeae (Oss So DERE SVSESE SSE Sue sos Boe on en EOS SOR TBO wren . = oo o SOaandesn ned Ort gms ®D © CHO woe td rie eee “OOS OnE FOO - - BOS SO pag eR SaaS aS sun Bg O.5.5 -OOOE BOAT s ananB®@OneaiPnaedoaad Fe or Sieoege 1 OREO) ea eg = Aart n ao AgASoogr ann & PROG e GR aos ap Ae ont BER OES Lo Soe Soot keane Seage BOQ CM TOP ee eee om eaters BRSE SE SAR aSSSAOSCCORRREASS ES ag SCCaaamtHneatakakanw ss OSS9RG0n 89SOSeoRsROCVSoOomoOsSsosm Oss Ps ooogso% Tasos okk RAHA ORRERAANOMOAATORR Oh aaAN OP RRNA MAMECnAMmmOoS! FEEDING ANIMALS. 158 AVERAGE COMPOSITION, ETC., OF FrEpiInG Sturrs—Continued. *SqI 00 T tad anvA | & Sea ES eR Oe eS Se eee ia SS spenie BMK~ MeSH MPMNAMMMNDOOSMOO NOMA HOOMOR~ DOM SOCOSSSCSCMOM HHO nN NHNNQnNAANOOnMTArH eae Bae PHA OHSOREAHROMEMOHOMNACBHORONOMm BDrRmNtaonS ore, PORN HAWG SCLHMINE AMORA HHH AHORA SSSSHHANDSS By een! TARNDOO DOHRNARNW SOD eMHONDR DINO NMRNSHrigio RMOSCSroanow We WE |S o:: SAAMDASCHONMRNONERNOGODOSG Hom INO Roo INNODMDORnNOH BZ “eiqy Sulpnpur ~ SOwWOGH MAMOMDMOILAINDNOONNGOMPAMANMgHOWODOD SCOomManag Be ; I I . Sr a ee a at ete ae oe ee ee ee cues Deewel ae soyrapAy-0q.1vp Bo™ SAAB OSRSSSESRASRARBSSSESGRSES Sa iin hes oe S WH 9 GOD M1 GLB OROAMDSOARNSOM o8 ‘soyVIpAy | _, AMOS HPAMARNORRisaMAoCnAAMNHOH-OSHNAAOK TIO SOHanD zi | og =i THO IG 1 FIG WASH SAKSHI igo Re nas tof hidisas tis a oes OgIVy 18T1O BRR SA MRS SSSSIRARRARTE 69:10 10.69.69 RG Site ae ae ge I SEMI HOSMMILOAHONMINEINTONNAIIIOAS of an RRR AAI AHO HIS rsd EIS OID OOMMHMmOMe i+ iis: ot NrimrN eon cn hn + Se n -‘sprouymmqry DOD DaAtOSDAANFA DOD NAMMADINNOMARNDO SMHONDONO™ sprout non OHO OD UG IGOG BSC ABH SOMOS rw ged nid SHOOT Orig SSviadneKOtaSAgeETGSASRntasaa. SEESODASA a 5 SO FOSDAADRERMOSOHAREMRNNSSRALNMO OEE S ae SSH SSSORNSSSSHOHSHL Ewe wTidtwinoMOMisS ‘SSORSS BND SOSSCRGAOG IGA AD AAEM GAAMWAHE ALAND RNAMDINI DOMINOS Tiga RESO Ba a roe ela er ah ho ale aT Oe a gD no DAD Bee Me Re a Se ee SO er PVORESSHSS D oC hap MEVUROROIEG Suan ARE TOD RU aE STAIRS (es ERECT GE SASSER SOIR PIE Sinem to ee Te BR er ae, Bens AO. ante Cc Ou OOO ate ei tt aacescie cen ie 5 Seine Uimemiemen nas text iain ete fer tans) cols hilsie(es nah ss cbse teieeh apave'gt cers RR ADE ang tece es Ie eee Se Mapes RS mnie mates puasierus = ist ws escauieetek waters 2 ine og Ngaio Neiieicis tse ere . o o é z 4 =z ry a =| ° = oO |B | Bl) a een di done: eileen eile Maize fermented in silo; average of 11 AIPA EH on te t- terse sisi tects arereeieieiece prensie m otoeietereverans 82.0 | 1.00 | 10.19} 0.54 | 11.4 | 0.16 Redicloverlensilage.venicccscisesneccn ction. 79.2 | 3.06 | 8.10) 1.70] 4.0 | 0.28 AUSIEG (ClOVOPiy Uaactectetcew econ mince eeene 82.0 | 2.46 | 8.21] 0.49} 3.9 | 0.20 WV INGELSVOLCH Ge nes aetucite pete toeen see cei 82.0 | 2.50} 6.70} 0.45] 8.1] 0.19 THUGERR cccucumeteceb e ashicoee eee eenrees %.3 | 3.50] 9.10) 0.40} 2.9 | 0.25 Greenwape: fiocaessaceceseeeoes Hon daao gases 87.0 | 2.00 | 4.80) 0.40} 2.9 | 0.15 Sorehumeg yea eae c weasels cettenemenacere 77.3 | 1.60 | 11.90} 0.80 | 7.4 | 0.19 Orchard 2rassic cis cecaseeace sce cceecnecents 74.0 | 2.60 | 12.47) 0.40 | 5.1 | 0.24 Modder: peas. -i-mncciemenesiwiencocesoneemes 81.0 | 2.48} 7.8] 0.40} 38.5} 0.19 COW DEdS Sit coee. ce successes seb as icceetoneke 76.0 | 3.0 9.4 | 0.24 | 3.2 | 0.24 MOSPATREELO} comic ice se hacia) dros PR come ares 80.0 | 2.1 8.0 | 0.80 | 4.1 | 0.18 ETAT OMAR Mae sheers cnctanee rene cee eomeee 80.0 | 1.9 8.9 | 0.7 5.6 | 0.18 Canrotleaves istic chess che manceecneneln 82.2 | 2.2 CeO ROeD 3.8 | 0.18 Fodder beet leaves ....... Maitisielaiere ey miciecciic 90.5 | 1.2 4.0 | 0.2 3.7 | 0.10 oabara eaves. a-cee sel agnce sobeoceeee re 88.4 | 1.5 5.1 | 0.3 3.9 | 0.12 Moddersoats Rash. scecccsumremeranchemennee: 81.0} 1.70 | 8.9 | 0.88 | 5.8 | 9.17 MimG iby erass’ occ iose wees * eiclcisonis aioe s cin ath 70.0 | 2.10 | 16.0 | 0.50 | 8.2 | 0.28 Hungarian grass .n bloom...............-. 72.0 | 2.64 | 13.2 | 0.40 | 5.2; 0.24 Hodderimyernuiea diy) sees maa: Semana 76.0 | 1.90 | 12.0] 0.40] 6.8 | 0.21 (Uplandprass, average... o.\s2). ss aecee snes 70.0 | 1.90 | 14.2 | 0.50 | 8.1 | 0.28 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’sbody. 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 will 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 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. ‘Twenty 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 lbs. 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 -erop 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 lbs. 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 well 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 Rys, 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 ata 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— 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 930 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 crop 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 hay- 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. ae a 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. CuTTina Crop AND FILuiIneG 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 canyas 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 232 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. ae 715 | 1,600 | 2.28 Seaear ee ae 437 | _'830 | 1.90 No. 23...... 8s0 | 1,500 | 1.70 + 928 925 | 0.99 Average..| 626 | 1,483 | 2.38 Be 969 975 | 1.00 i 59.6... gsz | 1,030 | 1.16 15 STEERS: AOD i os. 862 | 1.450 | 1.68 No. 109..... 1,034 | 1,905 | 1.84 RTA oe 964 | 1,755 | 1.82 Cer ttle oe fe Otte || et B5On niles Bertie E 872 | 1,935 | 2.21 Spee ih. 1,265 | 2,400 | 1.90 LG Ey ieee 872 | 1,845 | 2.11 peg eRaa 1,174 | 1,945 1.65 : MEE gS eee 1,818 | 1,545 : Average..| 903 | 1,426 | 1.58 COR Nee 1032 17630 | 1.58 d © 5B. ....| 1,077 | 1,940 | 1.80 ug aa eae vie1 | 1765 | 1.57 No. 1,930 | 1.35 es Wepre 1404 | 11865 | 1.32 a 2,150 | 1.64 ORG eae 1,316~} 1,840 | 1.40 a 2,200 | 1.61 BOD eee 1,299 | 2,060 | 1.58 ve 1,875 | 1.00 Cashin ciate 1,305 | 2,335 | 1.94 % 1,855 ) 1.7 WS Gia cns 1,613 | 2,565 | 1.59 ; Sea ens «8. -..{- 1,686 | 1,815 | 1.11 ; 2,08: OT 63 SHR peice 1,644 | 1,880 | 1.14 2. 2145 | 1.80 : a 1,965 1.60 Average..| 1,316 1,956 i55'5} < 1,930 | 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. | i] n = R z ey a = z E 3 = a 3 ove f= 5 2 a = Name oF ANIMAL. Sin a a3 £. nm 2 of Q sb od o = esl Se =e) © aS es | Ba) 25) [es = |S KR) Zo Ais = co = is) Cts. PMRW IN Olt Oilers cher cnis/ Sinise sis eeielawic cheers e serene $31.30 800 $48.00 3.91 PHIXPERIMEME eat. Sos eo ciclereieicreenete cite sabe asic nares 33.50 710 42.60 4,72 BraunepAlberd eens: u.ihem cs ocncesur cite lemsice oer 31.67 1,000 | 60.00 3.47 Kanrsotpuhes Wests NO-aSisccencas. cocmecioscees 34 67 1,000 60 00 3.47 Cassius:4th,, Noy 2036... oes. one siaoteiate ateMeis are 31.47 1,000 60.00 3.15 OHSS HUN IN O29 Ny sions Ratan erat tornaeeewicenes 88 15 1,090 65 40 8.50 EISHIO MPN OS At eae: mene eee mek ae ee en ae 19.75 700 42.00 2.08 Litnah J VETS ERIN CS2((aRe eee ee ARR peereneee ces 27.50 950 57.00 2.89 Canadian’Chammpiony INO. Uii sacs aensees eee. 33.67 1,000 60.00 3.387 From 12 to 24 Months of Age. 5 5 =) BE = | | 2 S| By be i] =x =" NAME oF ANIMAL. 2 x 3. 2 Se os S35 go oa a 22 H EB 5 eee = 8 ee Bae ‘en gs e¢ oie ie (Pe CRS) ao = Re) as ies E = = E > 5 Cts Jim Blaine 950 $57 .00 $37.59 1,390 $83 .40 8.52 AVS eee Canes 800 48 .00 30.31 1,370 82.20 5.31 Young Aberdeen 1,000 60.00 2.12 1,600 96. 8.68 King of the West .. 1,000 60.00 52.138 1,600 96.00 8.68 Canadian Champion ......| 1,000 60.00 52.12 | 1,600 96.00 | 8.68 262 FEEDING ANIMALS. Cost or Propuction—Continued. From 24 to 36 Months of Age. Be es) 24 1, Semen =| A a =| Bo oo So E- = ow Gy Name OF ANIMAL. S & ce Fe co 2 So Yo on & oO = o- mo i Bad a ian Ree hn ep ie = 20.7 Bat ao te Ba, o 29 C6 ine) $48 CRs) Bom o> S [°) S ° = > a 5 > | © Cts. Canadian Champion..... 1,600 | $96.00 | $81.50 | 2,250 | $185.00 | 12.54 King of the West ....... 1,600 96.00 81.50 2,250 135.00 2.54 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 Hast 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 DESCRIPTION. PRIZE CATTLE AT SMITHFIELD, 1878. Average..... Scone snaaoc Acicdd tagodacesc.ce Herefords eee ee PERO PANO) Searels caate ats’a\ole a.ainiats) slain ieianiactaate Short-horns........ alatatste eleicteimatelaiaieieininictenae eee eee ee ee ee Average General average PRIZE CATTLE, CHICAGO SOCIETY, U Steers—4 years and over, Ist prize 4 years and over, 2d prize..... ... 3 years and under, Ist prize...... 3 years and under, 2d prize 2 years and under 3, Ist prize..... 2 years and under 3, 2d prize... .. 1 year aud under 2, Ist prize ..... 1 year and under 2. 2d prize PAV CAPE Oi niare ee aE clerer Weegee Genes NIVERN AIS-CHAROLAIS—FRENCH. General average of all Rothamsted adopted average BEEF. 263 4 23 ‘O : se E Suess , | uo) = i=") nm ~ gp ad 2 Bien ry oS o Die. ao =| a 25 s ) iI oa oo o oo ue a> p > g go ] 0.51 1.32 0.05 SOUNGHTORL-M ORI Me cmncic clsnceinicte tics crclers ceieiereie(ee 2.48 0.29 1.29 0.14 PEVOMMG aK RECHn a ccmyerjaratecisiaiacletaieleletclce’e’sieisialnisiels : 0.17 0.18 0.29 2.09 | 15.50 0.97 Standard for fattening cattle of this weight, 3d POLIO Craters ater cicte aratsteieis nforeveial sccjoie eials.ctsla!etas <' sta 33.70 3.63 | 19.95 0.80 This appears to be a pretty wide departure from the German standard for fattening cattle in the 3d period; but 296 FEEDING ANIMALS. as this experiment was carried out under our own personal supervision, and as great care was taken to have weights as exact as could have been taken in the establishment of the standard, we must conclude that the quality of the food or its condition will vary the ration and its effect. That all the conditions may be understood, it should be stated that the corn, peas, oats and flax-seed in the proportions stated, were mixed and ground together, and then 14 lbs. of the mixed meal was mixed with the 15 Ibs. of oat-straw, cut into inch lengths, and all well cooked together—that is, 420 lbs. of the ground meal was mixed with 450 lbs. of cut oat-straw, placed in a steam-box and well cooked with steam, and this served for three days’ rations for the 10 head, except that 6 lbs. of long hay was given to each at noon. Perhaps the explanation is, that the cooking ren- dered a so much larger percentage digestible, that it was, in effect, equal to the German standard. These steers weighed 1,210 lbs. when the experiment began, and 1,485 lbs. at the end of 90 days; so that 1,348 lbs. was the aver- age weight during this period. The meal ration was but 10 Ibs. during the first two weeks, and increased gradually up to 16 lbs., at the end of 60 days; making the average ration 14 lbs. per day. We have always thought the English feeders inclined to feed oil-cakes too liberally; that they feed albuminoids to excess; and it is quite possible that the Germans err in the same way. If we examine the ration for the “baby bullock,” on page 250, we shall find the albuminoids very large for so young an animal, during the last sixteen weeks, when its average weight was under 1,000 lbs. The 8 lbs. of cake and meal contained 1.89 lbs. albuminoids, the man- golds .33 lbs., and the grass, clover, etc., must have con- tained 1 lb.—making 3.19 lbs. albuminoids ; whilst in the case we gave, on page 252, the 3 Ibs. cake, 5 Ibs. corn- meal and grass, would not exceed 2.13 lbs. of albuminoid substance, CATTLE RATIONS. 297 CLOVER AND CorN. American feeders must Jearn to make the best use of what they can produce easily on their own farms. Clover, with proper management, is an easily-produced and abun- dant crop ; it is also the richest of our artificial grasses in albuminoids. When fed in its succulent state, or cured at or before blossom, its albuminoids are more soluble and digestible, and answer as a substitute for oil-cake or other nitrogenous grain food; and Indian corn, our niost abun- dant grain food, will furnish the needed oil and easily- digested carbo-hydrates. Let us give from the tables a ration combined of these two easily-obtained foods: Clover and Corn Ration for Fattening Cattle of 1,200 Pounds, 3 DIGESTIBLE, E RATIONS. Qe 3 = =| oO Lo} J qd > = I 4 ° ° B Se alae A < 2) & lbs lbs Ibs. lbs. 20 pounds best cloyer-hay..:......-....-...--.« -| 15.20 2.14 7.52 0.42 5 pounds straw or corn-stalks. . 585 4.10 0.04 1.82 0.02 14 pounds corn-meal ............... eave eg 1.17 8.48 0.5 : 31.07 3.35 17.82 0.96 Standard for fattening cattle of 1,200 pounds, 2d DOEIO Gee emaciasccicnw cic wisinleisielteimae Meisio aes cacs 31.20 3.60 a Wek 0.84 Or Peas and Oats, dried in Blossom, with Corn-meal. 27 pounds pea and oat hay .............+ -s.2s00. 20.60 2.16 9.61 0.48 AZ pBOPMOS COLN-MEA Lares bo a a oe ) 8 } ° B 2 | Boal eae A < (S) ay o lbs lbs Ibs. Ibs $ cts 18 pounds of winter-wheat straw......... 14.6 0.14 5.19 0.07 40 pounds corn-sugar meal... ........... 11.2 1.28 7.72 0.72 0.05 4 pounds cotton-seed meal.......sec0+e- 3.6 1.32 3.68 0.64 0.05 29.4 | 2.74 | 17.59 | 1.43 | 0.10 300 FEEDING ANIMALS. Cost of ration. Or this: 9 DIGESTIBLE. FE 2 3 = a > © 3 Rations = = 3 e A P| i = | 4 S) g 3 5 a : E = E A 4 5 a lbs. Ibs. Ibs lbs 12 pounds clover-hay....... aSesoorcoseses|! ie, 1.02 4.59 0.20 6 pounds oat-straw..........ssecee- Sos 4.9 9.08 2.40 0.04 40 pounds corn-sugar meal ....... Aca o00b 11.2 1.28 7.712 0.7 2 pounds linseed-meal...... none Woesac 1.6 0.47 0.70 0.18 3 27.9 2.85 15.41 1.14 Standard German ration........ Seisicas osseehsO 2.50 | 15.00 0.50 Or this: 12 pounds oat-straw............ Fasoconans|| Gas!) 0.17 4.81 0.08 10 pounds wheat-bran.........-.0c0.s+00- 8.20 1.18 4.42 0.30 40 pounds corn-sugar meal .............. 11.20 1.28 7.72 0.7 29.20 2.63 16.95 1.10 Or this: 15 pounds corn-fodder.... ... BacigoceOe oa pe eeate 0.16 5.55 0.04 5 pounds malt-sprouts...... . 4.1 0.97 2.25 0.08 8 pounds corn-meal ....... Bo 8h i 2.5 0.22 "2.05 0.07 40 pounds corn-sugar meal ..... cela see ee 11.2 1.28 7.72 0.72 30.5 | 2.63 | 17.57 0.91 Or again : 20 pounds best clover-hay.. ..........0.. 15.2 2.14 7.52 0.42 50 pounds corn-sugar meal ...... Savecieecs 14.0 1.60 9.85 0.90 , 29.2 3.74 17.37 1.32 It will be seen that the dry matter is nearly the same in all these combinations; but the albuminoids are consider- ably more in the last ration, composed of clover-hay and sugar-meal. If we substitute straw or corn-fodder for WASTE-PRODUCT RATIONS. 301 clover-hay, then we must add some very nitrogenous food to make up that element. Straw might substitute one-half of the clover-hay. But if we take ration No. 4 and omit 3 Ibs. of corn-meal and make the corn-sugar meal 50 Ibs,, it will be a well-balanced ration and cost one cent less. It is evident that the feeder can make a profitable use of this refuse when he can get it at about the price men- tioned, or lower; but if he attempts to feed this sugar- meal with only straw, or some food poor in albuminoids, he will not succeed in the end. A little dry, ground fish scrap—say 2 lbs. per day—would balance the ration with sugar-meal and straw. The reader will see that these com- binations may be very numerous. Where oats are cheap, a few quarts would balance this ration with straw or corn- fodder. Malt sprouts are often purchasable at 40 cents per hundred pounds, in which case this may be the cheap- est mixture, as in ration 4. Marsh hay is very plenty in many places, and may be fed to fattening cattle, to good advantage, with sugar-meal and 2 Ibs. of linseed or cotton- seed meal. It is only profitable to use the decorticated cotton-seed cake or meal. This marsh hay is much better than straw, as it contains three times the proportion of albuminoids contained in straw, and more fat. It will also be noticed, from tables given, that weeds can be turned to account. Even the white daisy, when cut before blossoming, is nutritious food, and the analysis shows it to be quite superior to the best cured corn-fudder. It is a vile weed when suffered to ripen; but, if cut when young and tender, makes a good fodder. LINSEED AND COTTON-SEED CAKE. These waste products, properly utilized in growing beef and dairy products, represent a most important element in American agriculture. The extensive purchase of these products by English farmers during the last 50 years has 302 FEEDING ANIMALS. largely increased the productiveness of British soil. It cannot be a matter of indifference to thoughtful American farmers that the most important elements in the great cot- ton crop, flax crop and hemp crop are exported. The fibre of the cotton contains no important element of fertility, although this is the principal value of the crop, commer- cially; and the oil expressed from the seed contains only carbon and water, which is supplied from the atmosphere ; but the cotton-seed cake is rich in mineral elements derived from the soil, and in nitrogen, regarded as an essential element in our commercial fertilizers. It is the same with the flax crop. The fibre contains little of manu- rial value, and the oil still less; but the linseed-cake is ex- tremely rich in all the elements of fertility; and when this is fed, and the manure returned to the soil, comparatively little is lost to the soil. It is, therefore, one of the reforms needed in our agriculture to use these oil-cakes for home feeding, and thus get a more valuable return in beef for export than if the cakes were exported, besides, saving the great amount of fertilizing matter to replenish our soil. Sir J. B. Lawes estimates the manurial value of cotton- _ seed and linseed-cakes as greater than the average price for which they are sold in this country for export—the former at about $29, and the latter at $23 per ton. This estimate is made by the most accurate experimenter in England. Does it not appeal to the American stock-feeder and farmer to closely study the value of these oil-cakes as’ cattle foods ? These refuse products are estimated, in the tables given, as worth from 60 to 100 per cent. more than corn-meal for fattening cattle—they can usually be pur- chased at the mills at from $20 to $25 per ton—being exceedingly rich in albuminoids, and containing from two to three times the digestible oil in corn-meal. These are very concentrated foods, and only a small ration can profitably be fed. We have often expressed the opinion WASTE-PRODUCT RATIONS, 303 that English cattle-feeders employ these cakes to excess, or beyond the point of profitable feeding. Hight pounds is a common ration with them for a 24-year old steer, and for older animals sometimes 10 to 12 lbs. per day. This ap- pears to be a simple waste of albuminoids and oil; for this part of the ration alone would give from 2.70 lbs. to 3.30 lbs. of albuminoids—when the whole ration, according to German experiments, only requires 2.50 lbs., and from 0.80 to 1.60 Ibs. of oil, instead of 50-100 pounds. The true use for these concentrated foods is as a mixture with straw, poor hay, chaff, corn-fodder and roots, or other food poor in albuminoids. A million of cattle are fattened _ every year in the West upon corn and its stalks. This _grain is our best fattening food, but is deficient in albu- minoids, and, from its excess of starch, is apt to create a feverish condition of the system. Now the use of even two pounds of oil-cake or meal per day will counteract this, and keep the stomach and bowels in proper condition. Cattle that are kept upon corn and dry corn-stalks through the winter are often attacked with what is called “impac- tion of the manifolds,” or third stomach. This would sel- dom, if ever, occur with a moderate use of oil-cake; for this would counteract the feverish tendency, supply what the corn is deficient in, and, by its oil, keep up a healthy condition of the whole system. We have found linseed-oil cake to have a similar effect upon cattle in winter as grass in summer; and there can be no doubt that this and decor- ticated cotton-seed cake are of great value to be fed with other foods. That the reader may see how various are the combinations that may be made of these cakes with other foods, we will give some examples. 304 FEEDING ANIMALS. RATIONS FOR FATTENING CATTLE. Per 1,000 Lbs. Weight. g DIGESTIBLE. Ee 7 al A po] genl aeuipaee g RATIONS. a 2 =) 3 es] > ro bo A a Ce iS) 5 g rs) > 2 om ye 77 a = 5 a | o lbs Ibs. Ibs. Ibs. | $ cts. 20 pounds wheat-straw ............+2---+- 17.14 0.16 4.12 0.88 ee 8 pounds timothy-hay ....... ........... 6 86 0.40 3.47 0.11 0.04 6 pounds cotton-seed cake...........-.-- 5.56 1.99 1.05 0.97 0.06 29.56 2.55 | 11.64 1.16 0.10 Stan dargdirawone-teeteciseieisoiestl acl eeets 27.00 2.50 | 15.00 0.50 se Or this: 20 pounds corn-fodder...... ..........---- 17.00 0.22 7.40 -| 0.06 oie 6) pounds) Indian) corms. -.- cles ene 5.18 0 50 3.63 0.28 0.06 6 pounds linseed-cake ........... -...-- 5.45 | 1.65 1.65 0 62 0.09 27.58 2.37 | 12.68 0.9 0.15 It will be observed that both of these rations are deficient in carbo-hydrates; but the excess in fat will nearly make up the difference, as one pound of fat is equal to two and a half pounds of carbo-hydrates in form of starch, gum, etc. We will give a few more rations, by simply giving the pro- portions of the foods: No. 1. Cost. lbs. cts. MOD t-SOPA Wi wiciocieelalelatete re vieielelel= _ 5 bean-straw ...... pra isferore¥a ste% _ 6 cotton-seed cake........---. -06 No. 2. 20 barley-straw ..... sila celeste 5 pea-Straw .....c.cccccceccces —_ 2 Wheat-Dramierisic s/s seteiereme -O1 5 linseed-meal.........eeeee0e 07 No. 3 2O0imoor hay \:./siesewioneriee eect _— Hrcorn-Meal os. aveee en clceemecke 05 5 cotton-seed cake,,..,--2.... -05 No. 4. Cost. lbs. cts. 20 wheat-straw ....... siatetafaneteta _ 5 wheat-bran .......... daterstets -03 3'Corm-Meal . -decc ec sees .03 4 linseed=meal: ou. co <. s seteniesrere .06 No. 5. 20 fresh marsh hay............ -05 5 COrM=mMeal Pere eelsicieraeleteinte beeen 5 cotton-seed meal .......... - .05 No. 6. 10 good meadow hay........ spe Oo AO Yy.C-SLES Wis seelerelnicis sie eieteirte — 3 wheat-bram: . 2. .....22 cscs ces -02 5 Jinseed-meal :.c:-.cccuesceemeue WASTE-PRODUCT RATIONS. 305 RATION FOR OXEN AT HARD WORE. lbs. Now lbs. No. 9. 20 best meadow hay. 25 oat-straw. 10 ecorn-meal. 5 wheat-bran. 4 linseed-cake. No. 8. 17 clover-hay. No. 10. 3 wheat-bran. 20 corn-fodder. 10 corn-meal. 5 clover-hay. 2 wheat-bran. 3 cotton-seed cake. These rations are not given to be followed strictly, but only as suggestions of the proper combination of food for fattening cattle and for oxen at work. The reader will see what almost endless combinations may be made from the food-tables given at pages 157-8. Oxen at rest do not require so nitrogenous a diet as when at work, or as grow- ‘ing or fattening cattle. The proper nutritive ratio for oxen at rest in stall is 1:12; the same heavily worked, 1:6; cows in milk, 1:5.5; fattening oxen, 1st period, 1:6.5; 2d period, 1:5.5; 3d period, 1:6; young growing cattle, 1:4.7; those older, 1:5; 18 months old, 1:6; 24 months, 1:7. We have dwelt longer upon this matter of rations be- cause it is only recently that farmers have recognized the necessity of a change of ration for all the different condi- tions; and they have been wont to consider a single food sufficient for the wants of cattle. These tables, showing how various are the qualities of the foods given to our ani- mals, and how deficient many of them are as a complete ration, will give a better idea of the necessity for combin- ing the different foods together, that our cattle may have the proper elements to meet all their wants. In our pas- tures all of these wants are provided for in the ten to fifty species of grasses found growing there. Some old pas- tures contain probably nearer one hundred species than fifty, and these furnish a bovine ration in absolute perfec- tion. Young grass contains a larger proportion of albu- minoids than when nearer maturity; and it is found that 306 FEEDING ANIMALS. cattle fatten faster upon grass 2 to 4 inches high than when of ranker growth. Each of these numerous foods of which we have given the analyses has some quality or combination of qualities in excess of all the others. It is, therefore, certain that the practical feeder will be much better quali- fied for his task after he has made himself acquainted with these qualities, and learned to combine them in the rations for his stock. A little study in this direction will enable the farmer to turn into money everything grown upon his farm. LHvery refuse product will then have a definite value, and swell the income of the farm. How To FEED THE CorRN CROP. Indian corn is the great American cattle crop. Any im- provement in handling this crop has a wide degree of use- fulness. A slight saving of labor upon each bushel fed would amount to millions of dollars. It is but a few years since that the general practice in the West was to let the cattle harvest this crop. They fed through the fall and winter in the field, eating the ears and as much of the stalks as they desired. By this plan much of the corn was wasted; but the saving of labor compensated for the loss. The cost of shocking and husking the corn was more than the value of the corn wasted. So it went on for many years, and is still continued by some Western feeders. In the older States the corn has been shocked and husked, and, in most cases, shelled and ground into meal, before feeding. Here is a large amount of labor expended, amounting to nearly as much in harvesting and feeding as in raising the crop. If this great crop can be utilized with a less expenditure of labor, the same result being reached, it will be so much added to the profits of cattle-feeding. Fed in the ear, or, as it is in the West, in the field, the greatest loss in grain occurs from want of proper mastica- tion. Cattle perform the principal mastication of their HOW TO FEED THE CORN CROP. 307 food in rumination. When grain is eaten alone it is not raised and remasticated with the cud, but passes on to the third stomach. This is the cause of so much corn passing Western cattle without digestion, which is found in a soft- ened state by the hogs that follow the cattle. Now if the cattle could eat the corn and fodder together, the grain would be so mixed with the fibrous mass of corn- stalks that all would be raised and remasticated together. The grain would thus be so ground up as to prevent any considerable portion from passing undigested, and the whole would be utilized. The author, some years ago, rec- ommended a method of feeding the whole crop of corn together, by running stalks, ears and all through a large cutter, and reducing it all to fine chaff. By using a power cutter, run by steam or large horse-power, the whole may be reduced to fine shavings with great rapidity—two tons per hour. This renders the stalks much more digestible, because the cutter reduces the fibre to a finer condition than the animal will masticate; and then when this fine chaff is taken into the rumen and softened, and then raised with the grain and remasticated, it gets thoroughly mashed and fitted for the reception of the manifolds and the final action of the fourth or true stomach. When cut into fine shavings, the hard rind of the stalk is broken into shreds, and is eaten without any irritation of the mouth. When cut into pieces one and a half to two inches long, remain- ing there in a solid chunk with sharp edges, they some- times irritate the mouth. We have recommended, where large numbers of cattle are fed, and a steam-engine is em- ployed for cutting, to run the cut chaff into a steam-box, and, turning on the steam, soften it toa pulp. We have no hesitation in saying that, thus fed, corn will lay on as many pounds to the bushel as if it were husked, shelled, ground and cooked; for the steaming more thoroughly dis- integrates the grain than any possible grinding can do. 308 FEEDING ANIMALS. But it is not necessary to success in this method of feed- ing the corn crop to steam it; for cutting, in the manner mentioned, secures the remastication of every part, and the cutter reduces the cob to so thin a scale that it can be easily masticated. This system of feeding the corn crop will enable the farmer to shock the crop while the stalks are still green; and thus the fodder will have thrice the value of stalks standing on the hill with the life dried out of them. As soon as the corn is sufficiently matured as not to spoil in the shock, it should be cut and bound in small shocks, so as to be easily handled when brought to barn for cutting and feeding. If the corn is cut by hand, it would be most convenient to bind in moderate-sized bundles, and set these in shocks. These bundles would be run through the cutter whole, and thus save time in han- dling. The earlier the corn is cut, the more valuable will be the fodder ; and corn does not require to be so far ad- vanced in ripening as farmers usually suppose before it can be safely put in shock. When the kernel is in the dough state, it may safely be shocked if the weather is favor- able. We have had corn ripen properly in shock when cut in the milk, the butts being placed on moist ground. This is a matter of the greatest importance; for the fodder, when cut at the proper time, has a value nearly equal to common hay; and after the corn has stood to fully ripen on the hill the stalks have little value as food. When cut early, the stalks make sufficient fodder to be given to fat- tening cattle with the grain growing on the same ground, and the cost of feeding is, therefore, much reduced. MopE oF CUTTING AND HANDLING. The straw-cutter should be arranged with a carrier, which will deliver the chaff and corn in a feeding-car upon the feeding-floor in the stable below. Over the feeding-car CUTTING AND HANDLING CORN. 809 should be a pipe, from which water may be drawn upon a sieve and sprinkled over the chaff, to moisten it. ‘This sprinkling is done as fast as the cut corn is delivered in the car, The water is regulated by the quantity of corn deliv- ered. Then, by allowing it to remain in mass for 12 to 18 hours, it will become warmed up by incipient fermentation, somewhat softened and rendered more easy of digestion. This is the best way to handle it when not steamed. The author has used it with this slight fermentation, as well as with steaming; and, although the latter is preferable where every convenience is had for it, yet moistening and fermenting is a skillful way of handling it, and will give good returns. An acre of corn will produce about 50 per cent. more beef in this way than by allowing the cattle to harvest it for themselves, even when the weather is com- fortable, and 100 per cent. more in the coldest weather. It will be seen that the labor of harvesting and feeding is no more, on this plan, than of harvesting and feeding a crop of fodder corn. The fact that it is a large crop of grain does not add at all to the labor. Most good feeders in the Hastern States, as a matter of economy, run the fodder corn through a straw-cutter, except when fed green. There can be no doubt that the corn crop is much better utilized on this plan than when husked and shelled and the corn fed whole, for it will not then be remasticated, and much of it will pass the cattle without digestion. This mode of feeding the corn crop can be carried on upon a large or small scale—the larger the scale, the less labor proportionally. Where one hundred head of cattle are fed, it will cost less in proportion than for twenty head, because the power and the cutter will be larger, and the work done more rapidly. With an engine and a large cut- ter, with a proper carrier and sprinkler for moistening it, one man can prepare the ration, feed and care for one hun- dred head of cattle. In this case the manual labor of cut- 310 FEEDING ANIMALS. ting the corn into chaff, depositing it in the feeding-car, and moistening it, consists merely in feeding the corn into the straw-cutter—the carrier delivers it in the car, and the water-pipe moistens it, without any hand labor. It would require 3,000 to 3,500 lbs. of shock corn per day, and an active man could, in good weather, bring this in from the field, prepare and feed it. The feeding-car would run ona track on the feeding-floor, and hold a day’s feed. The cat- tle would stand on each side of the floor, and, as the car is moved along, the cattle are fed right and left. Where a large number of cattle are kept two feeding-cars are re- quired—one to feed from while the other is filling and fermenting. IMPROVEMENT OF THE CoRN RATION. We have just seen how the whole corn crop may be fed together, saving stalks as well as grain, and with much less labor than is usually bestowed. But the stalks and grain, taken together, are too poor in albuminoids to make a com- plete ration alone. It is true that great numbers of West- ern cattle are fattened every year wholly upon corn; but this ration is so easily improved that, where the crop is handled in the manner described, this deficiency may be supphed with two or three pounds of linseed-cake or cotton-seed cake. This cake (or better in form of meal) may be added to each corn ration when fed, and with this addition cattle would be made to fatten most satisfactorily. As before explained, one of these oil-cakes is better than other nitrogenous foods, because of the large percentage of oil, this overcoming the tendency to constipation from dry fodder and the large percentage of starch in corn. Yet four pounds of wheat-bran will answer a very good purpose when cake cannot be had. CORN AND BEEF. 311 BEEF TO THE ACRE OF CORN. It may be of interest to examine the probable result of feeding an acre of corn in this way. Farmers would be better prepared to understand their business if they were in the habit of determining the result per acre of all their crops. We have a small experiment of our own to give as to the pounds of beef produced per acre of corn cut and fed as described, without steaming, but merely slightly fer- mented, as mentioned. We were feeding ten steers, of 1,175 lbs. average weight. The corn was shocked Septem- ber 10th, and we began feeding November 1st. The corn was estimated to yield 40 bushels per acre when properly dried. It was shocked when the ear was in the soft dough state and the stalks were green. At first the average ration was 40 lbs. per head, per day, of the corn in the shock, which was run through a straw-cutter with a 3-16 inch cut. Two pounds of linseed-oil meal was given to each steer per day, mixed with the corn ration. The corn was cut so fine that, after a slight fermentation, it was eaten clean. Four acres were accurately measured, and lasted 70 days. The average weight of the steers at the end was 1,375 lbs., or a gain of 200 lbs. each. The oil-meal cost 2 cts. per pound, and the steers had gained in value $14 per head, or 7 cts. per pound gain. Nowif we deduct the price of the oil- meal, it takes 40 lbs., at 7 cents, to pay it. This would leave as the product of the corn crop 160 Ibs, per head, or 1,600 lbs. for the 4 acres—400 lbs. of beef per acre of corn, or 70 cents per bushel for the corn, not counting the stalks, With this mode of feeding, there is no doubt that good corn may be made to average 400 Ibs. of beef per acre on cattle of 1,100 to 1,200 lbs. weight, and still more in feed- ing younger cattle. The food of support is greater in an animal of 1,100 lbs. than in one of 600 to 800 lbs. 312 FEEDING ANIMALS. CoNDIMENTAL Foops. The true feeder, who, as is said of the poet, must “ be born, not made,” always studies the likes and dislikes of his animals. He knows that the pleasure of eating has much to do with the thrift of his cattle; so he not only takes into consideration the nutriment that a food con- tains, but whether the flavor is agreeable to the taste, and will be eaten with a relish. Mere flavoring materials that contain little or no nutriment often have a decided influ- ence upon the growth and thrift of animals; and it is based upon this fact that the compounders of condimental foods find a market for their cheap materials at such high prices as have left a fortune to some of them for profit. Our readers may, therefore, thank us for showing them how to manufacture their own condimental foods at the simple cost of the raw materials. Sir J. B. Lawes, of Roth- amstead, effectually exposed the pretentions of Thorley in — reference to the wonderful virtues of his “ Condimental Food for Cattle,” showing that it had no such value in fat- tening animals as the price for which it was sold should lead one to expect; that it was a mere appetizer, and should only be used as such. It was sold at $8 per 100 lbs., and had only a nutritive value slightly over that of corn-meal. As there are a good many of these mixtures sold in this country, it may be useful to give the analyses of two of the most celebrated of these foods sold in England. Dr. Cameron, of Dublin, made the following analyses, some years ago: CONDIMENTAL FOOD—ANALYSES. Thorley’s. Bradley’s. Waiter warcsy ac ioteso svereictslatorate reletetetoneltole aia\e(ellsratetsiat= 12.00 12.09 PMloibbrrvis OV CELBe sy eoctyenoGcacoc iatelcheceielatalsisiete 14.92 10.36 Or RAE Mbomasbd cbossek onus sfannouaticocs 6.08 5.80 Supar,, SUM MUCIAre aac cree eeielatcletcle talelele 56.86 60.21 Wioody fibre ses Sinacaceisjelieteieamie see eraser 5.46 5.82 PAS) atis:s0 soe Dinpeveis avetatater sie tatelelelaieletentebeenelerererstaters 4.68 6.22 Totialsc< icc siersisioisisieisie eleleieielolelele steleteiaislersisteye 100.00 100.00 CONDIMENTAL FOODS. ale It will be noted that neither of these foods is as nutri- tious as linseed-cake; but they compare favorably, except in an excess of albuminoids and sugar, with corn-meal. This large proportion of sugar explains an important point in condimental foods. It seems that these compounders had noted the fact, that animals are very fond of sweet foods. The author became aware of this many years ago, and employed sugar, in the form of cheap molasses, not only as an appetizer, but as an excellent fattening food. It is well known that a horse is very fond of his lump of sugar; and cattle, pigs, and sheep are equally fond of it. Sugar is wholly carbonaceous; and although it is more easily digested than the carbo-hydrates of the grains and grasses, yet it can only be used properly with some other very nitrogenous food. ‘Take the best quality of clover-hay, which has an excess of albuminoids, and a small quantity of molasses will give a remarkable relish to the clover for cattle; so that they may be rapidly fattened upon merely clover and molasses. We have had steers gain, in Septem- ber, three pounds live-weight per day upon 28 Ibs. of early- cut and well-cured clover-hay sweetened with three pints, or four pounds, of sorghum molasses. Nine pounds of cut clover-hay were moistened with six quarts of water, in which had been dissolved one pint of molasses. This feed was given three times daily. This experiment was tried on six steers for forty days. Let us see how this ration com- pares with the German standard for cattle weighing 1,100 Ibs. ‘Twenty-eight pounds of best clover-hay has, of dry organic substance, 21.42 lbs., and 4 lbs. of sorgham 2.80 lbs—making 24.22 Ibs.; of albuminoids, the clover has 2.99 lbs., molasses none; of carbo-hydrates, clover has 10.52 Ibs , the molasses 2.80 lbs.—making 13.32 lbs.; of fat, clover has .58 lbs., and molasses none. It will be seen that the carbo-hydrates are deficient nearly 3 lbs., the other two elements not quite so much; but this ration, although 14 314 FEEDING ANIMALS. apparently deficient in quantity, is very nearly right in proportion, and proved, practically, a full ration for these steers. It is quite certain, in this case, that the 4 lbs. of sorghum molasses added much to the gain. We had pre- viously tried a like experiment upon a work horse that had become thin, and added 100 lbs. to his weight, in 35 days, with the three pints of molasses upon clover-hay, but the clover-hay was given ad libitum, and not weighed. The author has often used one pound of molasses simply to flavor the food, and found it to pay excellently well, by in- ducing a better appetite for food, so that more has been eaten. In England, the locust bean (so called, being made from the fruit pods of the locust tree raised in Southern Europe), which contains a large amount of sugar has been used; but I am not aware that it has ever been imported here. A very good condimental food may be made by combin- ing the following materials: Articles, Lbs. Articles. Lbs. Linsed oil-cake.............. 25 Gentian \iosicceicts asec tices 01g iMbEpesteiets WAAR aa doodeabbocooe 10 Cream of tartar ............ 0% MIGIASSES cist elect oie cite 20 Hulphurces isc seaecee 1 (Cornmeal lcs t einer eee 40 CWommonisaltieecsiias aaeiceticte Ground turmeric root....... 11g | Coriander-seed.............. 05% GIN POP eee cies ieioicle oiotctontetene A : Carraway-seed............06- 0% Total ic F- sien s caer 100 The flax-seed may be boiled in 10 gallons of water until it forms a thin mucilage; then stir in the turmeric, ginger, carraway, gentian, cream of tartar, sulphur, common salt and coriander; new add the molasses, then the corn-meal and ground oil-cake, stirring it well together. If it is de- signed to keep it long, it may be dried in a hot-air chamber or oven, at about steam heat, after which it will require grinding for convenient use; but the materials may all be eround together in their natural state if manufactured for commercial purposes. There may be a great variety of formulas; but this is as good as any of the condimental foods, and is not expensive. GARDEN-TRUCK FARMS. 315 FEEDING ON SMALL FARMS. There are many small farms in the Eastern and Middle States, near cities and villages, on which grain and garden truck are raised almost constantly; and the question often arises, “ How shall this system be continued without a ruinous outlay for commercial fertilizers, or the absolute exhaustion of the soil?” Those farmers of this descrip- tion who have been fortunate enough to obtain manure cheaply from the city or town have continued to raise good crops for a long series of years, whilst others, not so suc- cessful in obtaining manure, have seen the soil constantly growing less and less in production, year by year, and yet appear never to have discovered the great resource they may have at their own doors for constant renewal of the fertility of their lands. There is usually a large amount of straw and various kinds of coarse fodder produced upon such farms, which might furnish that part of the ration for feeding cattle; and by purchasing freely of grain, bran, oil-cake, corn-starch feed, malt sprouts, cotton-seed meal, or any .of the various kinds of cattle-foods, manure, in large quantity, may be made upon each of these farms, the growth in beef paying the cost of purchased food, leaving the fertilizer free. By having well-arranged stables, each of these garden farmers may keep one or two head of cattle to each acre; and, under this management, everything raised—not even excepting weeds—will be saved, and turned into active ma- nure for his crops. With warm stables, a large part of the feeding may be done in fall and winter, when the crops do not require attention, and the labor will be little felt. Young and thrifty steers are always to be found at the cattle-markets in cities; and, when these are fattened, a market for the beef will usually be found at the village or market town. 316 FEEDING ANIMALS. When feeding is conducted for the fertilizer, as in this case, there will be no motive for scanty feeding; as the richer the food, the richer and more valuable the manure. These farms are particularly favored for this kind of feed- ing, as the cattle and the teeding stuffs are all near at hand. We know of a few instances where a steady profit is made upon the animals fed, besides all the manure, which is indispensable for the land. In these instances there is good judgment used in the purchase of the cattle and the feeding stuffs, and then the animals are pushed till well fattened, and find a ready sale, at good figures, in the local. market. Dairy cows may be kept instead of steers, if the situation is favorable for the sale of milk, which always pays better than other branches of dairying. Dairying interferes more with other work than does steer-feeding, and the manure from milch cows is not so rich as that from fattening cat- tle; but the milk produced from a cow often pays more money than the greatest growth in flesh. Milk, at 4 cents per quart, will give a daily income through the year, from an extra cow, of 40 cents, which cannot be made from the growth of flesh and fat. The dairyman, under such cir- cumstances, can afford to give the best and richest food, so that the manure will be excellent. Butter-making may also be conducted on these small city or village suburb farms, and then the refuse milk may be fed to pigs, with grain; and the manure, in that case, will be worth quite as much as that from fattening cattle. One of these systems of feeding may be practiced, with great profit, oa all these small farms, and will, in the future, be their great resource for keeping up fertility. FEEDING DAIRY CATTLE. ol CEA EP ER EX. DAIRY CATTLE. “ Frret catch your hare,” was the preliminary advice for cooking it. So, likewise, first select your dairy cattle before you feed them. We do not propose to determine which is the best breed for the dairy, but merely to mention a few general principles that apply in the selection of dairy cows of any breed. The dairy cow is almost an artificial creature. In a state of nature the dam gave only milk enough to furnish food © for the calf during a short period, when her milk secretions ceased. The capacious udder of the improved cow; the long period of lactation; her wedge shape, caused by the broadening of her hips, to make room for her great labo- ratory to work up raw materials into milk, the stomachs ; her greater rotundity and fullness of frame—all these represent a great many generations of special breeding and feeding to these ends. The bull that represents the longest line of great milk-producing ancestors, on both sides, is the most prepotent for the purposes of the dairy- man. Those breeds that have been longest bred and used specially as milk producers, must contain the largest pro- portion of profitable milkers; and selections from these will be the best breeders of dairy stock. The common dairy stock in this country has such a mixture of blood, that they cannot be depended on as breeders, especially when bred to males of the same class. 318 FEEDING ANIMALS. Every dairyman who desires a herd of great excellence must use females only of the common stock, and breed these to the best thoroughbred male of the strain of blood he thinks best adapted to his specialty in dairying. These females should be selected with great care. SELECTING Datry Cows. Look first to the great characteristics of a dairy cow—a large stomach, indicated by broad hips, broad and deep loin and sides, a broad or double chine—these indicate a large digestive apparatus, which is the first essential re- quisite to the manufacture of milk. Secondly, a good constitution, depending largely upon the lungs and heart, which should be well developed, and this is easily deter- mined by examination; but the vigor and tone of the constitution is indicated by the lustre of the hair and brightness of the eye and horns, and the whole make-up. Thirdly, having determined her capacity for digesting surplus food for making milk, look carefully to the re- ceptacle for the milk—the udder—and the veins leading to it. The cow may assimilate a large amount of food which goes mostly to lay on flesh and fat; but if she has a long, broad, and deep udder, with large milk veins, it is safe to conclude that her large capacity for digestion and assimilation are active in filling this receptacle. In fact the udder is the first point to look at in a cursory examina- tion of a cow, for Nature is not apt to create in vain. If it reaches to the back line of the thighs, well up behind, reaches well forward, is broad and moderately deep, with teats well apart, and skin soft and elastic, it may be inferred that Nature has provided means for filling it. If the udder be a small round cylinder, hanging down in the front of the thighs, like a six-quart pail, the cow cannot be a profitable milker, whatever digestive apparatus she may have. SELECTING DAIRY COWS. 319 A yellow skin and a yellow ear (inside) is almost univer- sally regarded as present in a cow that gives rich yellow milk ; but after you find the indications mentioned above, you may admire as many other points as you please; such as a first-class escutcheon, a long, slim tail, a beautifully- turned dishing face, a drooping, waxy horn, a small, straight, slim leg, or any other fancy points; but do not look for these till you have found the essentials. Again: When you have found all these essentials, if the cow is five years old and does not yield 5,000 pounds of milk per year, she is not worth possessing as a milker or breeder. Let good appearances be coupled with perforim- ance; yet, if the cow be five years old, and actually yields 6,000 or more pounds of good milk, you may safely buy her, without regard to her points. She must digest the food to make it, and her machinery is so far above criticism. But the length of her period of lactation must not be forgotten; this is a quality inherited as much as her capacity for quantity. A cow that, well fed, will not milk for ten months, is not to be desired. A moderate and nearly uniform quantity continuing for ten months, will produce a larger aggregate yield than heavy milking for a short period. ‘T'wenty-three pounds per day for ten months will give 7,000 Ibs.; while a short period of seven months would require 33 lbs. per day. Nearly all great annual yielders of milk have long periods. This is a matter of so much consideration, that a cow having a short period of lactation should be rejected as a breeder, as this would be inherited by her offspring. Still another important consideration, even in the selec- tion of a common-blood cow, is her pedigree. If you can find her descent from a large-milking dam, grandam, and great-grandam, this will greatly increase the probability of your success in breeding her to a thoroughbred bull from deep-milking ancestors. 320 FEEDING ANIMALS. Now a few cows selected with all these requisites will lay the foundation for breeding such a herd of dairy cows as will be a source of perpetual delight and profit to the owner. On the other hand, it is simple folly to rear a calf for the dairy from a poor milker. It is bad enough to keep an unprofitable cow for a season, but it is deliberately throwing away good food to breed from such a cow, with the proof before you that the heifer will never pay for her keep. Of course no males will be kept of such crosses for breeding purposes. A thoroughbred male must always be used to insure any proper measure of success. A large dairyman may replace his herd with cows of his own breeding on this plan, by hay- ing one-third to one-half of his cows selected for breeders. But the calves from these selected cows, sired by a thorough- bred bull, must also be selected after they have grown to sufficient age to determine their qualifications. This process of selection should be also rigidly enforced in thorough- bred breeding. Had this been done rigorously with all our pure dairy breeds, it would now be simply necessary to purchase a Jersey, an Ayrshire, or a Holstein, to possess a good cow of either particular breed; but they have been bred so indiscriminately, and all their progeny kept till a thorough weeding out is necessary. Let no dairyman be content to purchase the first male or female he may find of either of these breeds, but in all cases learn the actual performance of the animal and its ancestors. A poor Jersey or Ayrshire is no better than any other poor cow; and if it be a male, he is likely to do great harm, by distributing his worthless blood, and thus bringing disappointment to the purchaser and discourage- ment to the extension of the breed. The male in a system of improved breeding is chosen for his prepotency ; and it is not sufficient that his blood is of the breed desired, but he must bring with him the blood of a long line of SIZE OF DAIRY COWS. 3821 ancestors, proved, by actual performance, to possess the qualities desired. The only pedigree of real value repre- sents performance in the ancestors of the animal. It is necessary to make this point strongly, because breeding, for the last twenty years, has had little reference to any- thing save purity of blood and sundry fancy points. We have entered upon a realistic period, which demands real merit first, leaving fancy where it belongs—in the rear. Witness the tests of butter cows for the last few years ; the great prices brought by those having the great butter yielders in their line of ancestors. SizE oF Datry Cows. The question of size in dairy cows has a bearing upon the economy of feeding, but the exact law practically governing the expenditure of food proportioned to the size of the animal in production has not been fully settled ; yet experiments have been made which throw some light upon it. Natural principles applied to it would appear to favor large cows, as they have less external surface for the radiation of animal heat than smaller ones, in proportion to weight. It is well settled that two animals weighing 2,400 pounds will consume less food of support than three of the same aggregate weight. It may be stated as a general law, that the food of support decreases propor- tionally with the increase of size in animals. We find an article in a paper illustrating this point, without credit to the author; but we think it was written by Prof. Arnold. He sets out by stating this difference in the food of support according to size, but doubts its application, practically, to the production of milk; and he illustrates it by reference to three dairies: the first grade Short-horns, the second natives, and the third Jerseys and their grades. He says: “The dairy of Mr. I. Boies, of Illinois [about 100 cows], is 322 FEEDING ANIMALS. a good one for setting the use of large cows in its best light. In the first place, Mr. Boies is widely known as one of the best of dairy managers. He buys and milks a great many cows, and his experience and close observation have made him one of the best judges of milking qualities. He never selects a poor cow. He buys large cows, and, feeding with a very liberal hand, his herd is heavy. Reviewed in June, the year following their yield of 314%¢ lbs. of butter per cow, they were estimated to have an average live weight of 1,200 lbs. per head. They were in high order, and many of them could have been sent to the shambles at a good price. It would be very interesting to compare the pro- ducts of his dairy with those of another having an equal number of Jerseys, or other small cows, which were treated as well as he treats his. But no such herd can be named. Good managers of less herds of smaller-sized cows are © often met with. Mr. Oliver Bronson, of Chautauqua County, New York, has a herd of twenty natives which, viewed in May last, were estimated to weigh 150 lbs. per head less than the herd of Mr. Boies. They are kindly cared for, and produced last year 302 lbs. of butter per cow. Mr. O. C. Blodgett, of the same county as Mr. Bronson, has a herd of twenty-five Jerseys and their grades, all small cows. Viewed also in May, they were estimated to have an average live weight of 780 Ibs. Though very skillfully managed and fed, their yield last year was 23414 Ibs. of butter to a cow—a diminutive yield, compared with those of Messrs. Boies and Bronson, of 80 lbs. per cow less than one, and 67’2 less than the other. Judged by the usual standard of product per cow, this dairy would by most dairymen be at once set down as the least desirable and the least profitable of the three. But, in fact, the reverse is true. Mr. Blodgett’s dairy is the most profitable in the list, for he gets the most butter in proportion to the food consumed [that is the question at issue]. As 234 is FOOD AND SIZE OF DAIRY COWS. 320 just three-tenths of 780, each of his cows (omitting the odd 4 lb. of butter per cow) produces annually three-tenths of her live weight in butter.” The conclusion here is based upon an assumption con- tradicting his statement, that the food of support decreases in proportion as the size increases. Had the food actually consumed by these herds been noted, the results, compared, would have been of great value. But, although we have no carefully-tried experiments in this country to determine the comparative economy in milk production of large and small cows, and the opinions of those who keep the dif- ferent breeds is in accordance with the size kept, yet this question has received practical attention in Europe, where, by numerous experiments, the relation of food to product, in dairy cows of different weights, has been very well settled, so far as to quantity of milk; but as to quantity of butter, we are not aware of any experiments settling it. Baron Ockel, of Frankenfelde, experimented with Ayr- shires and Holland cows, with the following result: The average weight of the Ayrshires was 806 lbs. and of the ‘Hollanders 1,016 lbs. The Ayrshires ate 3.3 lbs. of hay for each 100 lbs. live weight, while the Holland cows con- sumed 2.8 lbs. Of the feed consumed, 1-60th of their live weight only was required as food of support to the Hol- landers, while 1-50th was required as food of support to the Ayrshires. He then tested the effect of size on the same breed. He took four Holland cows, the two heaviest of which weighed 2,112 lbs., on June 14th, and the lighter two 1,537 lbs. He then placed the two heaviest in one stall, and the two lightest in another, and fed them sep- arately for 16 days, the feed being weighed as fed to each lot, and, if not all eaten, what remained was weigned and deducted. Their live weight remained unchanged during the time—with the following result: 824 FEEDING ANIMALS. © b = s EE | a 2 |s3. ° om 2 > 3 8 ° Ae: Cows. He to wR lone af ba Lo re os 4 2 3 ao on f= io) as o°F xO i) me se o =) =| 4 lbs qts. qts Tbs Heavy cows.......... alata evel wreicie scat acters sheicieinarcists 4,921 340 7.4 14.6 HTPMUCOWS snetewece cs cas cclccsseeeribcn ses ler: 3,859 240 5.5 16.0 This experiment shows that the same law holds with different weights of the same breed, as in different weights of different breeds; and that it is the natural effect of size upon the food of support, and that this is probably in proportion to the area of outside surface of the animal. In 1852, a series of experiments were made at 11 different localities in the kingdom of Saxony, by order of the Royal Agricultural Society, during a period of five years, the cows selected being of the best “scrubs,” Allgauers, Olden- burgers, and Hollanders, the last two being really of the same breed, the difference relating merely to the manage- ment in different localities. The results, per annum, for five years, were reported as follows: With ComMMoN FEED AND CARE. Scrub cows averaged.:............. 1,457 quarts per annum. Allgauers Sean tetsrcreicrersarscieveters 2,334 oe iG @ldenburgers 2G ectmtsaetssreverenie 2,220 ss w Hollanders SEE CSAC CSA SOON OO 2,062 ee (3) oS lmoenesleteite~ <1 3,712 Js UC Hollanders pe lsmagdopDedose 3,282 fe cc The scrub cows were much lighter than the others. One dairy of Hollanders, of 190 cows, averaged 4,076 quarts per cow. These latter experiments seem to have been undertaken principally to determine the breed of cows producing the largest product, and these were found FOOD AND SIZE OF DAIRY COWS. 325 to be the largest cows; but it does not appear that an account was kept of the amount of food given to each kind. In regard to size, Caspari made 18 experiments in feeding © milch cows, with a view of ascertaining how many pounds of hay, or its equivalent, it required to make 100 lbs. of milk. He found, in Prussia, 100 lbs. of hay, fed to Hol- land cows, made 25% quarts of milk; and the same fed to - the Allgauers, made 30.98 quarts of milk. At 11 dairies in Saxony 100 Ibs. of hay fed produced, in— OldenburGersi. cain cicccie nets clemlei se ciclo siviscis eseiersies seDe nH quarts. ROMAN OTS Gah ais ais) oes =| =| ~ ; ; SS, — s | gs | Be | Be Bs E e a 22 ies) Om Sar’ 5 H 3 E 6 B ee | hed a 1 | Ibs. Ibs. Ibs Ibs. | days Ibs! Ibs. Doct aoe eaisicoreses July 28) 303% 1,064 1,148 2556 203—5,202 84 Geccbinc ve mae eee Aug.25 | 46% 1,12 1,260 4i 189—7,749 140 r PS ee MASS ane CARs} tc Gi 952 1,12 381g | 217--8 354 168 Ny 8 Rae cree Sept. 8| 41 1,176 1,204 386 | 175--6,725 28 (CR TINO ID BAO coe Sept. 8| 41 1,176 1,232 3844 175--5,833 56 5 ae ein seers Aug.25| 41 1,036 1,064 341g 189—6,652 28 Average of all.. “| 414 1,0873g | 1,1713g | 352 191—6,752 84 VALUE OF COW MANURE. - 345 Foop Suppiy To Srx Cows Durine 191 Days, AND ITS COMPOSITION. = el ae 3 Sau hen leslie ir, : o te S ° A plates Pee: 2 Bul g a bo) mo = - ohm 5 cS) 2 s s ee) R 2 Og 2 5 5 5 a ® om ° ° se) = 8 = 2 a a4) a o eH | -E a an}|o & | < lbs Ibs. lbs Ibs. Ibs. | lbs. Meadow hay..| 56| 10,696 $17.76] $84.90} 9.420] 990] 4,257] 287] 2,933] 953 Rupe cake ....| 30) 5,740 | 28.80) 73.67) 5,456) 1,803] 2,177] 611 494} 17 Malt combs... 9} 1,722} 24.20/ 18.46) 1,660} 411 791 51 320 88 Le Bee ee 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 [74 34 176 53 Roots and cab- : bages....... 204] 39,032 | 2.22} 388.88] 5,740] 862} 3,074} 115! 1,448] 541 Oat straw. .... 50} 9,566) 7.77) 33.08] 8,407] 287] 38,066} 100) 4,526] 428 Bean straw...| 12} 2,296) 7.7 8.00} 1,964] 3876 725 51 594] 217 Total .....¢| 379) 72,496 |...... $311 09) 35,647 | 5,489 | 15,664 | 1,845 | 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 Ibs.—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. Nitrogen, fsahe cna ne AVA ee meh a aaa @20 so cieesle $ 82.80 Phosphoric acid....... BOS feel eee 12 Sencar ere ed 1G Potashiwarnateawaceees oo PERMEASE CDC Scene wel ve) 40:00 346 : 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 $1'7.28 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 Ibs. of milk per day, and, besides, to increase the weight of the cow 84 lbs. in 273g 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 about 8 to 10 lbs. 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 FOOD OF PRODUCTION. 347 feeder; that is, what part of a full ration is really used for production 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., 1t would require — 21.74 Ibs. 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 4g of the ration given by Mr. Horsfall 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 Ibs. of lean flesh. This would give only 46 lbs. of dry flesh, or fibri, and about 270 lbs. of solid fat. The 40,512 Ibs. of milk would contain the following substances: Casein (albuminoid).............. SBURIOA oC OCR HOS 1,815 Ibs. SU ROLMOULLOL: pas oeeeE Pas cetteteieis elas < seleiere yee ween oe 1,276 ‘° VE SUP AT orange tre terecatyers oe Bet aiaesieie'e'aleia,c aise, wa avelaeiays Ia Monoralltm atten (ASW) ie slesicterscte.ci +) 4:6 \c\arala eee aleiatersia 243 «SS NWiALerNiSi. per COlbeaperscrite. c's «sells ¢ eomerieneee 35,246 ‘ 40,512 If we add the fat and fibrin of 500 lbs. gain, it will stand— Caseimiand fibivin 2 cies. ce 2 ts 5<.2 Wa erejahare le og Sete 1,861 lbs. Bieber CEs OULGUON ss etese\ ere oss 410\eis oa arsvale io1a(eyclele nae orate 1446" 38° METIS BUPA A= o > win nvoystarale o/ ave ois ain: sleiepeisiereretoee Bretvclsttetns i Oa20 348 FEEDING ANIMALS. One-third of the elements of the food is— Albuminoid (% of 5,489 Ibs.)..........ceeoeee eeboA 1,813 Ibs. Oil (4 of {/ BAD IDS!) iziiara tase ave ere olcforerstn o eiaratals "442 Starch (4s of 15, OGLATIS:) Sajstelcleictels sictcieies recreate 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 imcrease 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 1t must be derived from the carbo-hydrates of the food. The surplus starch over main- tenance amounts to 5,221 lbs.; and 1f 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 Ibs. of fat in the butter, and gain of the cows, it leaves a deficiency of 1,004 Ibs.; and if we estimate 244 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 lbs. 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 m the milk and fibrin in the increase of werght in the cows. Butt 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 Ibs.) 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 Ibs, 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, ete., 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 Ibs. of oil-cake in combination with bran, or oats and ground together, and good hay. to 4 corn 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 1Onbs I Clovernay catechins tice later eee 4.0 cents. LO Sthawintccn cigs ce siren pate en ee emit 20 ess q.~ Sh sLanseed-o1l CKO s7).ccecite oda ooo een G6 Ole 428 Wheat brarivssataince cee eect een O20 nee 2s Cotton-seed icalkkaasccce eee chins Cees 2D avin Bf, 3S COrmtMOdlss cece eek eee CEE OL ON pes Average value of ration ............... 20.5 cents This ration is fully equal to Mr. Horsfall’s, and yet only three-fourths as much, or the following: Cost. LGMibs: Moadowrhayes yee. we ckan a akicceaen cee 6.4 cents. tN oneal AMG) ATSTENIRG OL: WAS, corals, ete, eee OREN nea Groves De engl NSCCU IVICA NMictne chien toe ects Gem eehee eres Gyre? (Corn=meallac ys PA Sa De SEM 8 20.4 cents Or this: Cost. 18 Ibs: (Corn-fodder's oss. encloch eee oe eee eee 4.5 cents. Seo “Wheat brani. sha gceuieean oer eee eee ee GOW es 4: i Cottonsseed mealtteaesces occar co cee eee DOr a8 4x" Corn=mneal as Ga see pines Been ee ee syle 4 4 18.5 cents Or this: Cost 15 bs! SStraiw: tissu 5 Aa. os eeeteeiees cee Reale once 3.0 cents eee 3 1h carn eRRISEMe oir, 78.6 t'o 6 bon Aa ooo DaltS Pas Obs 8 4 <= Cottou-seed neal eereemeeeee erence SLO! eae 4 8 -Branc cS 2 hat ae eee eee en ete rie Pi )e ty 4- %¢Corn=mealle(soe5.c2 ee eee ERE ae ee SLO ts 3,‘ . Malt'sprouts! lic suseeeeerenererr sn aeeer Bae 18.0 cents. costs RATIONS FOR MILK. 351 The following would be easily obtained in many districts: TOs bs.4C orn=fod aire aan aa cus eee ee aon ce t= 2 2.0 cents. LO oon Oar SURE ye de retere ttc avel acc cle e vie ete ate cies mie ole Olan Share eM SC OU GIOIA Seyi 5,2 aici s, te A 2 4 e = 5 rs = is ® to 2) 3 i) a5 Shacleo hii Gas | eral te & |) Bol peo eae I eal > S I 3} z 3 nets woes a) © © a 3 2 a & aS So & 5 A = si = = a 3S = a E 4 4 a) a & Ss) a 4% | days lbs lbs Ibs, lbs, tbs. lbs. ibs 475,000 62 1,078 18 6 1.3 0.4 7.9 9.6 69 —10 475.000 28 1,157 24 0 18 0.4 10.5 12.7 6.4 00 600,000 14 1,197 18 5 1.4 0.1 Gee 8.7 5 6 —2.0 600,000 14 1151 16.7 2.0 0.1 67 88 3.4 —3 3 600,000 56 1,093 21.3 3.1 0.1 8.8 12.0 3.0 00 600,000 25 1,084 | 24 7% 40 0.1 10 9 LAO) pees +1.1 600.000 30 1,065 | 25 0 3.3 02 12.3 15.8 3.9 +10 600,000 39 1,146 24.9 2.2 0.4 13.4 16.0 6.5 +2.1 Ordinary Work 1,108,000 40 1,120 24.0 1.8 04 10.8 13.0 6.7 —1.4 1,800,000 30 1,010 21.4 39 0.1 8.7 11.8 3.0 28 The experiments with hght work show the amount of food required to sustain a horse of this weight under such circumstances, showing a loss in weight when the amount of dry food digested fell under 12 Ibs., and when it exceeded 13 lbs., there was a gain in weight, But when the horse was put at ordinary work he lost 1.4 lbs. per day on 13 lbs, of nutriments utilzed, and under heavier work, with shghtly less food, lost 2.5 lbs. per day. The great omission here is that a full ration for heavy work, or even average work, was not given, and therefore 1t does not appear what ration would haye been sufficient to keep his normal weight under full work. It 1s probable, that under the 7th and 8th rations for ight work, with which he gained from 1 to 2 lbs. per day, would have sustained him under heavy work. These experiments seem to have been tried, primarily, to determine the digestibility of the foods, but they might have been made equally valuable also in the determining the proper standard for work, é FEEDING HORSES. 377 Dr. Wolff recommends the following: FEEDING STANDARDS FOR HORSES, Per 1,000 lbs. Live Weight. E DIGESTIBLE = Co) bo | 3 E | & | 3 £ lo} ' ie mbes £ ex g 62 = 3 B a5 3 = | < § & A Ibs. lbs lbs lbs DI EWOK: Sos slerscic s ciction eis 21.0 deb OFT 0.3 6.5 OrdinaryiwOrk.< Iss ss. cssce 22.5 1.8 11.2 0.6 7.0 IOAVVP AOL: Sloe cca erecas ess 25.5 2.8 13.4 0.8 5.5 It is to be regretted that these experiments could not have been tested upon at least five horses, so that their teaching could have been given a confident, general application. PRACTICAL RATIONS. We shall now consider the practical rations established in this country, as applied to large numbers of horses devoted to special work. The establishment of street railroads in cities has given steady and exacting employ- ment to many thousands of horses. The cost of feeding so many animals has been the large item which has called for careful study to determine the most economical ration consistent with highest efficiency of service. Many experiments were made with various kinds of grain, and various methods of preparing the ration. Hay was fed long, and the grain, ground or whole, fed alone; but it was soon found that much more long hay was required than when cut into short lengths, and the ground grain fed upon the hay. ‘Their experience was similar to that of the London Omnibus Company, many years ago. This eompany had 6,000 horses, and determined to test the 378 FEEDING ANIMALS. relative value of cut and uncut hay, as well as ground and unground grain. ‘To this end, 3,000 horses were fed ground oats, cut hay, and straw; and 3,000 were fed upon uncut hay and unground oats. The allowance to the first’ was—ground oats, 16 lbs.; cut hay, 74 lbs.; cut straw, 24 Ibs. To the second was allowed—unground oats, 19 lbs.; uncut hay, 13 Ibs. The horses which had 26 Ibs. of ground oats, cut straw, and hay, did the same work as well, and - kept in as good condition, as those that had 32 Ibs. of unground oats and uncut hay. This was a saving of 6 lbs. per day on the feed of each horse, and was estimated at 5 cents per day, per horse, or $300 per. day upon the 6,000 horses. This was demonstrating the economy of machinery over horse muscle in the mastication of food. These figures have a significance that would not attach to an experiment with a few horses. The result of a ration applied to 3,000 horses must be accepted as an unques- tionable fact. In this it isa great contrast to the German experiments upon a single animal. ‘The real advantage was not all in saving animal muscle in cutting and grind- ing; but the grinding reduced the grain to finer particles than the horse would masticate it; and, besides this, it assisted the hard-worked animal in eating its meals in so _ much less time; and ‘this, giving so much more time to rest, would have a favorable effect upon its condition. The ration of thousands of horses on street railroads in this country has, finally, been fixed upon the same princi- ples. The ration“for summer is half oats and half corn, ground together, 16 lbs. to each horse, with 12 Ibs. of cut hay. In winter, 16 lbs. of corn-meal, with the same amount of hay, forms the ration. Corn-meal alone, in summer is too heating; but, in winter, the corn-meal seems well adapted to keeping up animal heat and con- dition, and, being cheaper than oats,is generally adopted in New York City; but in many other cities half oats is a \ { 8 FEEDING HORSES. 379 used the year round. If these companies would substitute clover hay for timothy, corn-meal would make a well- balanced ration. The clover would make up for the deficiency of the corn-meal in muscle-sustaining food. Clover is rejected because it is liable to be dusty, which may develop heaves; but this fear is groundless under the plan now adopted of moistening the cut hay and mixing the meal with it. It is fed in a damp condition, and, therefore, no dust can be present to affect the lung. Clover hay is not properly appreciated as a food for horses. It has a higher value than timothy, and is usually sold $2 to $3 per ton lower in market. There are, probably, fifty thousand horses fed in our cities, for railroad and omnibus lines, on a ration very similar to these described. And if we go back forty years, we find that the Germans and Hungarians fed a ration very similar. Mr. C. L. Fleischman gives the ration used upon the manor of Alcsuth, in Hungary, about 1840. Horses at labor were fed 12 quarts of heavy oats, 6 lbs. of hay, 4 lbs. of oat-straw, and 5 lbs. of steamed chaff. This is very similar to the London Omnibus Company’s ration, being about the same weight as the ground oats, but less valuable, because unground; yet the steamed chaff would compensate for this. The ration of all corn-meal and hay is not to be approved, except in winter, and not wholly then. The horse is used simply for his muscle, and corn is especially a fattening food, and not the best to replace wasted muscle. It is most admirably adapted as a respiratory food—producing animal heat and *fat—and requires to be combined with more nitrogenous food. And a careful examination of the facts relating to the health and durability of horses, where corn-meal is fed almost wholly for grain, will show that they do not last so long as where oats are fed for the 380 FEEDING ANIMALS. whole or half of the ration. The heating nature of corm will cause horses to perspire more easily, and thus subject them to the dangers of many diseases. This heating food is also a fruitful cause of diseases of the feet, which soon disable horses upon city pavements. The New York and Brooklyn car companies say that the average usefulness of a horse to them is four years. This is quite too short a time, if all the proper conditions of food and care are observed. ‘These companies feed principally upon corn- meal, and sometimes the year round wholly upon corn as the grain food. There are other cities, employing 300 or more car horses, that feed half oats and half corn, ground together, upon 12 lbs. of hay, the average usefulness of whose horses is six years. It is also found that horses which have been raised largely upon corn are too tender- footed to stand city pavement. It is for this reason that Canada horses are preferred for street-car service; they having been raised upon grass, oats, roots and peas. Corn is the standard food for beef raising; but not for build- ing up the best horse muscle and bone in rearing colts, or as an exclusive grain diet for hard work. Western horse raisers should study this question of the effect of an exces- sive corn ration upon the stamina of their young horses. Oats and barley should furnish the grain food for their colts. Corn may properly enter into every ration for work ; and we shall soon consider the various combinations that may be made with corn as the basis of the ration. As has been seen horses digest concentrated food, such as grain, when that forms part of the ration, better than coarse fodder, when that forms the whole ration. And it is at this point that we wish to give a short discussion of the necessity for Butky Foop as part of the ration for the horse. We have incidentally referred to this before, but it requires a separate and special FEEDING HORSES. 381 consideration, as it does not seem to be clearly understood even by some veterinarians of high standing. For in- stance, Dr. Spooner, of England, in discussing rations for horses, in Morton’s “Cyclopedia of Agriculture,” after speaking of the small comparative size of the stomach of the horse; says: “It seems evident that he was intended by nature to consume concentrated food, such as grain; and the formation of the molar teeth strongly corroborates this view of the matter. These molar teeth, or grinders, as they are very expressively termed, are broader and less cutting than those of the ox, but decidedly better adapted for grinding corn, as in a mill; for the teeth of the upper and lower jaw do not exactly correspond, but the teeth of the latter are narrower, as well as the jaw itself, so that the lower jaw is moved from side to side, and the grain is thus triturated and ground as between two millstones.” From this he concludes that “such poor, bulky food as straw or roots is unwholesome and innutritious as a diet for working horses, as unwholesome as for man to live entirely upon potatoes.” This view is certainly reasonable; and then he goes on to speak of good hay being the cheapest food for horses, considering its nutriment, but that it is too bulky as a complete ration for labor. Oats, he finds dearer, but con- taining just the nutriment to sustain and replace muscle wasted in labor. Beans are still more concentrated than oats, and contain a larger proportion of muscle-sustaining food, and are cheaper; but if given freely are too heating and stimulating, and are apt to produce inflammatory swellings of the limbs. Beans may be given in combina- tion with oats—one-third beans and two-thirds oats. He says it has been proposed to overcome the too concentrated and heating nature of beans by feeding with bran: that beans are astringent and bran laxative, so far as they supply each other’s deficiencies, but closely resemble each 382 FEEDING ANIMALS. other in abundance of albuminous elements; and both are deficient in starch, etc. He tried the experiment of sub- stituting a bushel of beans and a bushel of. bran for two bushels of oats, but he soon found that the horses did not do so well on this diet. This is the substance of his explanation. It appears evident that he did not quite see that the bean-and-bran ration lacked husk or woody fibre to make a proportional bulk to the nutriment contained. Oats contain as much bulk of fibre as of concentrated meal when ground, and therefore, when masticated, the food goes into the stomach in a light, porous condition, and the gastric fluid can pass freely through it and act upon every part at once, while the bean-meal and bran would form a more compact mass, ~ and the gastric fluid could not so completely act upon it, and the result is the inflammatory swellings which he mentions. The result was not caused by the defective nutrition contained in the food, but from its compact nature. The horse’s digestive organs are adapted to a larger proportion of concentrated food than those of the ox, but cannot be healthy upon concentrated food alone. In a state of nature the horse is nourished upon the grasses, and it must have a proportion (at least one-half in bulk) of fibrous food; and this fibrous food must be mingled with’ the concentrated, so as to render the food as it goes into the stomach porous. This is the significance of bulk in food. It is quite true that the horse must have aration well balanced in all the constituents required to keep up animal heat and to supply the natural waste of the system, but this ration must also be so made up, mechani- cally, that the digesting fluid can properly act upon it. Inattention to this point has been, perhaps, the most fruitful cause of all his ills. In the use of bean-meal as a grain ration, if Dr. Spooner had mixed this bean-meal with three times its bulk of cut hay, all danger from its con- FEEDING HORSES. 383 centrated nature would have been avoided. This is not theory ; we have thoroughly tested pea-meal (a food almost exactly similar, chemically) by feeding horses under heavy work upon 16 lbs. of pea-meal, mixed and fed with one bushel of cut hay, the hay being moistened so that the pea-meal would adhere to the hay and all be eaten together. Long hay was given in addition, making about 12 lbs. of hay. .ifour horses were thus fed for four months, per- forming full daily labor. The average weight of the horses at the beginning of the experiment was 1,050 lbs., and at the end, 1,065 lbs. We carefully watched the con- dition and health of the horses, and found both quite satisfactory. There was no indication of a feverish state of the system, or any disturbance of the digestive functions, and the appetite remained very uniform with every appear- ance of content. We should have continued this ration indefinitely but for the higher price of peas than of corn and oats. If we examine this ration of pea-meal and hay, we find it well adapted to heavy work—the digestible albuminoids being 3.82 Ibs., carbo-hydrates 13.91 lbs., and fat .44 lbs — the entire digestible nutrients amounting to 18.17 lbs., with a nutritive ratio of 1:4. This is slightly deficient in fat, with an excess of muscle-forming matter; but we regard it as better than Wolff’s ration for heavy work, given on page 377. The fact that the horses made a slight gain in weight proved that the extra muscle-forming food was well applied. But the principal object was to determine the effect of mixing this concentrated food with hay to give bulk and a porous condition to the food in the stomach. This effect was emphasized from an opposite experiment, tried at the same time, by a neighbor who did not think it made any difference whether the pea-meal was mixed with the hay or fed separately, with the hay given uncut. He also fed four horses, of about the same weight as those in 384 FEEDING ANIMALS. my experiment. His were engaged in lumbering, and often hauled heavy loads. He fed 16 lbs. of pea-meal per horse, in three feeds. Within six weeks two of his horses had severe attacks of colic, and both of the others had to be treated for constipation. The writer then prevailed upon him to feed the pea-meal with one bushel of cut hay, in the manner above stated, and in a few weeks they were all in apparent health and able to do efficient work. The effect was so favorable, that he continued to feed meal— whether of peas, corn or other grain, mixed with cut hay —and told the author that-he never had a case of colic afterwards. CoRN-MEAL FOR HORSES. v -Corn-meal has long been a staple food for horses, as well as other stock in the United States, and 1s now largely purchased in England and Europe as a part of the ration for work-horses. It is quite as concentrated as bean-meal, and more heating in its nature, because 1t has a larger pro- portion of carbo-hydrates than beans, peas, oats or barley, and is comparatively deficient in muscle-forming elements. Corn, when ground into fine meal (the best condition for feeding) and moistened, becomes very plastic and adheres into a solid mass, not easily penetrated by any liquid. When corn-meal is masticated by a horse it becomes satu- rated with saliva and takes the form of a plastic adhesive mass, and in this form goes into the stomach of the horse. It is obvious that the muscular movements of the stomach can only move or Toll this mass about, but cannot separate or loosen its particles so as to render it sufficiently porous for the circulation and operation of the gastric juice. It is for this reason that whole corn, or that coarsely ground, may be fed alone to a horse with less danger of colic or other diseases induced by a fevered stomach, because in the form of cracked kernels it cannot adhere into such a solid, plastic mass, and what is not digested will be passed in the FEEDING HORSES. 385 droppings. But as the object of grinding is to reduce the grain to such fine particles that the digesting fluid may saturate and completely act upon it in the shortest time, the value of grinding is in proportion to the fineness of division. And when this finely-ground corn-meal is mixed with a little more than half its weight, but several times its bulk, of cut hay, as above described, this fibrous hay so completely separates the particles of meal as to form a spongy, porous mass, that fluids will pass through freely. When the horse masticates the meal he also masticates the hay, and the whole goes into the stomach together. This seems to be in imitation of nature, for when the horse eats grain or ripened grass in its natural state, he eats the stalk with the seed. When man, therefore, separates the grain for the purpose of grinding or making a more economical use of, he should again mix it with fibrous food, that the horse may not suffer from too concentrated a food. And, as we have seen, the street railroad companies and omnibus lines have discovered the necessity of remingling the grain with coarse fodder. These great practical ex- amples are sufficient authority for the practice, but we thought it important to give the reasons on which the practice is founded. Indian corn is the great food crop for animals in this country, and is produced in nearly every county of every State, and probably more cases of horse colic arise from feeding corn-meal than from all other foods combined; and this especially occurs among farm horses, because farmers study the philosophy of foods very little, or the effect of condition in foods upon animal health. They feed what is most convenient and cheapest, without considering that any good food can be other than healthy. We have known of the death of at least a dozen horses which, on examina- tion, proved to be caused by feeding corn-meal alone. Some feed wet and others dry. But, when fed alone, it is more geet ore wet than dry, because the wet meal may 386 FEEDING ANIMALS. be swallowed with very little mastication, while the dry meal must be masticated till the saliva saturates it before it can be swallowed, and the saliva assists digestion. It is, therefore, in better condition for digestion when fed dry than wet. But four of those who had lost horses by feeding meal alone, when they changed the system and fed the meal upon cut hay, moistened, so that both must be eaten together, had no further losses or even illness of their horses. In our experience of about thirty years in feeding work horses, no ill effects have arisen from feeding corn-meal, ground as fine as burr millstones can properly do it, when mixed with cut hay or straw. We have had cases of colic, but it was always traced to carelessness of the feeder and violation of orders in not mixing the meal with cut hay. We have fed horses, from four years old to twenty, upon various concentrated grains, ground into fine meal, and they were always in good health when the rule of mixing fine meal with cut hay or straw was strictly adhered to. The following fatal case occurred: In our absence an acquaintance called, on his return from a pleasant drive of a hundred miles west, in June. Putting his fine, sixteen- hand, iron-gray horse into the barn, piloted only by a little boy of seven, he was proceeding to give his horse a good, round measure of fine corn-meal, when the boy warned him that it would make his horse sick if he did not mix it with cut hay; and he replied, “I will risk it.” Starting an hour later to drive eight miles, he was scarcely able to get his horse that distance, and he died before morning. Speaking of it afterwards, he said: “'The boy warned me, but I was not humble enough to learn wisdom from babes, and I lost my horse.” But he consoled himself with the reflection that this experience saved him other horses afterwards. The universality of corn everywhere, and its excellent quality as a fattening food and for keeping horses with FEEDING HORSES. 387 light work, it becomes a matter of great importance that horse owners should study the best use of this food, and how to combine it with other foods. As we have often said, Indian corn is deficient in muscle-sustaining food, and the skill of the feeder consists in combining this with other grains or feeding stuffs that are rich in the elements in which corn is deficient. We can better point out these combinations after giving a table of the analyses of the dif- ferent grains and by-products used in different parts of the country as food for horses, to which we add the different grasses used as hay, and some straw. 0S So eS SS SSS SSE DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS. VALUE. Rat SSR a S 3S E Foops. = 4 S ad ie a Pm oO a & a z ~g | 2'5 Py g }$ BS | Ze|eo 2 5 a : 2 a2 | Sng ge Wee || eee at es teeters Ee ) oO =e NAME AND ADDRESS. a a a S 3 3 A q lbs. 1|Professor Low—Elements of Agriculture.......... 56* 2\H. a nunous —Book of the id Far 3\J. GIbEGn, W oolmet— H. OCR IADO Perec sae aces eek Nistete:sye'sizrare 4|Binnie, Seaton 5 Thompson, Hanging Side. 6|W. C. Spooner—Ag. Soc. Journal, vol. ix... . Saf OCS “IT. Aitken, Spalding, Lin- POSIT. neces ad lib. (24) 8G. W. Baker, Woburn, Bediordshire = ann. sleds esas 9|R. Baker, Writtle, Essex. . 70 10|J. Coleman, Cirencester ..|........ qT PS Dodsshexham: . 20 te seas. 12|J. Cobban, Whitfield ..... 84* 13|S. Druce, Jr., Ensham.... ns bd its 14'C. Howard, Biddenham. _ {ad lib. (25) 15|J. J. Mechi, Tiptree ..... 49* 16|W. J. Pope, Bridport..... 2* 17|S. Rich, Didmarton, Glou- cestershire ....:..se...- 168 18/H. E. Sadler, Lavant, Sus- BOR ecion wicaeiact isasiestos 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 lbs. 28 Oats, per week. 4 “4 a4 foo) o oO ro) 2 me 7) 5 ES E 4 E 3. 5 5 : 5 8 i= = oj iz > a gZ as) a? Sabe ve = B 3 o ° = ~ ia) ia n MD = lbs.| Ibs. lbs Ibs. Potatoes BOPE, Pessicicnae 56* ($1.56 Turnips DEO serciaca stereia lectetierteiate 1.44 Potatoes 2177 Q17t 112° | 2:16 Barle 28* | 243+ 42t ad lib. | 2.76 14 336 14 ad lib. | 2.28 CON aaa eens ee 196 | 1.14 BBA noe a ad lib. (34)].........| 216 20* se reeeiuRcor PEE Ome e aenanaes 140 | 1.20 Gia? |Psaeh ioe als eetore cee ad lib. 1.74 eas i ened een cr ad lib 1.92 Linseed Ph re 33g | ad lib.* | 1.74 Swedes Ba eel Pee ceastos 2 bush.* | 1.68 17 Baty oes eer ad lib. (3)*} 2.04? M. Wurzel ANE LO) yah ers as ad lib.* | 1.80 SNES Paveteicray) Sar cete ses ad lib. | 2 16? Grains Ala Ree 2 bush ad lib. | 2.56 s| hints SJeleisio (| sratecterere alle sesterees 2.24 Carrots 350 .--,-| adlib. | 2.58 Bran al eee 12 ad lib, 1.32 Tail corn 7 105 21 adlib.* | 1.32 Bran SER AA 21 ad lib. 1.56? cut oat sheaf |......... adlib.* | 1.92? 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 chaff. Wherea dagger (7) 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: “T give all my cart horses a bushel per day of pulped mangel, mixed with 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 haye recommended, cow’s milk after weaning. But amoment’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 milke 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 74; 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 4 cent per pound or 2%2 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 mineral 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 % 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. ftye 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, ‘he 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 a ration. 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 haying 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. ~ CHAPTER XL 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 isa 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 _yalve. 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 profitin 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 Hastern 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 used 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 Dovusie 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 824 lbs. of dry food increased the live weight of sheep as much as 1224 lbs. the live weight of cattle. Sothat, 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 bringsas 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 Ibs. 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 lbs. 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 asin 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 Merinos, 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 selected 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% 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 Ibs. at three months. The significance of this double growth is not measured by doubling the value of the lamb, however ; for the 40-lb. 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. arly 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 proportion 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 scruple 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 18 410 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 asta 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 minutie 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 England 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. Here, 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 3.5 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 te 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, ¥% Ib. of oil-cake and ¥ lb. 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. 417 EXPERIMENTS WITH SHEEP. Table No. 1. PROPORTION OF PERCENTAGE OF EACH CONSTITUENT DIGESTED. Oh E } =r & 2 Foon. Bp al i 85 rs) o2 & oO =] azo E ac 3 pee te |g. Sen es a 897 55.9 26.8 35.4 Beans......- Rr stawitee clertevels stale sivienisiaice Smee 855 41.0 12.0 11.6 JERE VGnGa eOne ROOOUGRTOSCONDOOC Racin miele sem eenioe 857 36.0 9.8 8.8 WEts Soeeh hon oaqndtonoggsedesopouscocscsnoss: 905 38.0 19.5 17.2 VEAL DLA cassie cecisswitcic te cefetaeiste ain eile micinenisians 865 22.0 14.8 32.3 Oats ....ccsccccccccccccecsencs SgcnbatAG oddonade 70 20.6 4.5 6.2 WHEAL ccne clicmsicciiseSicimaleleeicin aloe aisielemisiois oeieee 856 18.8 5.4 8.0 Barley. ec. ces ocaiaindcetmaciesmisisaieaalshslatcisionint 860 7.0 4.9 7.3 IMGIZO cnc viccivenecscesccsiainsie ADDQOOCOGTINS 450c0 886 16.6 3.6 6.1 CIOVEL-NBY.. wccccccccccccecccecsesccccccccce 25 5n¢ 840 19.7 19.5 5.6 Meadow Day... cecccccccccscccccescece om ceccess 857 15.5 16.8 3.8 IBCANESUPA Wi isis cele sto vines viatsiolnnleeln oteiaaie tel RAosoS 840 10.0 25.9 4.1 WHOSESLPAW. cc-/cccsivissiniccies cise sicsiccesre Sieofeieieten 857 4.8 5.8 2.6 Barley-Straw...cccccesccccecnne Seeinice as ceo nese 850 5.0 wer 2.0 OatF-SITaW cen ces cncootecswebescemerecnaueaeonee 830 5.0 10.4 2.5 POLALGES ce clea cence ret ohicclekisisisltciisistes eam met 250 3.4 5.6 1.8 ManrOldsi ese. AAR SonNdcpcbocogadoqossAr 115 1.9 3.9 0.7 SPU efo caosecisncr coda DDO SA codSad sssesoodase 107 2.4 2.0 0.6 Carrotsieacouses cesencccenscnese semetnece inert 142 1.6 3.2 1.0 TOINIDS posoatnemock caceiseew in eitetberintae asec 83 1.8 2.9 0.6 It will be noted that clover-hay is more valuable than any of the cereals as manure; and common meadow hay has a value above corn-meal. If the nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid are estimated at the usual commercial yalue, then wheat bran, malt sprouts, linseed-meal, and many of the richer feeding stuffs, are worth all they cost as fertilizers. Wheat bran figures at $18 per ton; malt sprouts at $20.80; linseed-meal at $30.48 ; cotton seed (decorticated) VALUE OF EXCREMENT. 421 at $33.64. These prices may be beyond the real money value ; but it shows the intelligent feeder what foods he may buy with safety, expecting to get back the cost of them in growth, and increased weight in fattening, besides get- ting a large return in the manure. VALUE OF SOLID AND Liquip EXcCREMENT. We riust study most carefully the proportionate value of the solid and liquid manure. ‘Table 4 shows the propor- tionate amount of nitrogen found in the solid and liquid excrement, and the amount is seen to be three to four times as much in the urine as in the solid excrement. ‘The amount voided in the urine will depend very much upon the digestibility of the food, for only what is digestible and soluble can pass in the urine. But when the farmer be- comes aware that considerably more than half of the fertil- izing matter of manure is to be found in the urine, he will begin to consider his means of saving this most important part of the excrement. Not only is more than half of all the fertilizing matter of animal excrement found in the urine, but this is much the more valuable, according to quantity, as this is all soluble, and becomes immediate and active plant food ; while much of that in the solid excrement requires time for decomposition before becoming food for plants. The solubility of the fertilizing matter in urine renders it so much more difficult to preserve from loss. It is liable to be exhaled or evaporated in the sun, washed away by rains, absorbed by the earth under the manure pile, and temporarily lost in a great variety of ways when the manure is kept in the ordinary careless manner. The great effect of the proper application and saving of all the liquid excrement is seen in the English custom of feeding off crops with sheep. It appears quite evident that this mode of application greatly increases the effect over that of applying the manure made from the same amount 422 FEEDING ANIMALS. of food in yard or stall, when the manure is thrown into the yard. When a crop is thus fed off upon the land, or when other food is brought and fed upon a field, during cool or damp weather, all droppings are saved, and all urine is at once absorbed by the soil, and stored as plant food—noth- ing is lost. Itisin such applications of manure that we may see an effect to warrant the prices mentioned for the fertilizing constituents of foods. Sheep are the best animals for making an even dis- tribution over the soil of the fertilizing ingredients of excrement. AN EXPERIMENT. To test the comparative effect of feeding a definite quan- tity of food to sheep upon the land, or applying the ma- nure made by sheep in winter under a shed, from the same kind of food, the author confined 50 large sheep between hurdles, upon 25 rods of ground, for three days, commenc- ing early in June, and feeding each sheep 20 lbs. per day of green clover, cut before blossoming, in racks; and the parts of stalks not eaten at first were fed each day in troughs, with %4 Ib. of corn-meal and a pinch of salt, to each sheep, spread over them. Thus treated, the clover was all eaten. At the end of three days, they were moved along upon an equal space adjoining; so’ that each rod of land received the droppings from 120 Ibs. of green clover and 4% lbs. of corn-meal in six days. This was equal to 4.06 lbs. of dry food to each sheep per day—the clover having 83 per cent. of water—each rod thus receiving the excrement from 24.36 Ibs. of dry food; or an acre received 3,264 lbs. of dry clover, and 633 Ibs. of dry substance of corn-meal. This would yield, approximately, in the excrement 90 lbs. of nitrogen, 84 lbs. of potash, and 22 lbs. of phosphoric acid to the acre. ‘lhe sheep were moved until one acre had been gone over. ‘The land had been in oats the previous year, with- out manure, and not seeded. Fifty sheep, of about the J VALUE OF MANURE. 423 same weight, had been fed under a close shed for 30 days of the previous winter upon clover cut and cured in good order, before blossoming, with one pound of corn per head, per day. 200 lbs. of clover-hay were fed each day, or 4 lbs. per head. The shed was bedded four inches deep with cut straw before the feeding began. The clover was eaten up closely. Here were fed 6,000 lbs, of clover-hay, or 5,160 Ibs. of dry clover, and 1,500 lbs. of corn, or 1,296 lbs., de- ducting water. Placing this upon one acre, it gives the excrement of 40.54 lbs. of dry substance of food to the rod; or it will give to the acre 130 Ibs. of nitrogen, 119 lbs. of potash, and 40 lbs. of phosphoric acid, not counting the cut straw used for bedding. It is proper to state, that the sheep fed upon the green clover gained 3¥ Ibs. per head, per week, while those in the shed only gained 244 lbs. per week. The experiment to show the effect of the manure was conducted thus: When the acre was fed over with sheep to clover and corn-meal, this acre was plowed, June 21st, five inches deep, preparatory for winter wheat; and the manure from the shed was hauled upon the adjoining acre, and this was plowed to the same depth. About the 20th of July each acre was plowed again six inches deep, and afterwards thoroughly worked with cultivator and harrow, and wheat drilled in August 25th. Grass-seed was sown with the wheat. Result: The acre fertilized by feeding clover and corn-meal upon it yielded 30 bushels of wheat, the acre with the shed manure 25 bushels. The grass crops which followed were considerably better upon the former acre for two successive years, after which the Gtteetee was not perceptible. This experiment showed very strongly in favor of feeding the animals upon the land to be fertilized. We may say, however, that when applying fresh the excrement of ani- mals taken from a water-tight receptacle, where both solid 424 FEEDING ANIMALS. and liquid were completely preserved, we found the effect quite equal to feeding upon the land. We have, therefore, adopted a water-tight receptacle under the platform on which our cattle stand in winter, and cows, during night, in summer, and the excrement is hauled fresh to the field, thereby preserving all its fertilizing elements. SHEEP ON WorN-ovUT LANDS. We have illustrated this matter of the return for the food in the value of the manure at considerable length, be- cause it has a strong bearing upon the profits of sheep husbandry in the older States. At most of the agricultu- ral discussions in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and in some of the Middle States, the great complaint is that their agriculture is in a state of decay, their farms are deteriorating—the product being less year by year. In the first two States named, many of the farms, once profitable, are abandoned, as haying no agricultural value, although these farms are near the best markets of the country. These farms are mostly upland, that had a fair natural fertility ; but by long cropping, and little return of the drafts made upon them, have ceased to respond to labor so improvidently bestowed. ‘There must be reciprocity in agriculture as in other matters. The great law of equiva- lence is here enforced—something for something. It is evident that a regular system of mutton and wool- growing upon such lands would very soon produce an im- provement, and that these lands might profitably be brought back to their original fertility, and to a much higher market value than they have everheld. Sheep-hus- bandry takes the preference of dairy-husbandry for this pur- pose: First, because the competition in the latter is much greater; in fact, there is properly no competition in sheep- husbandry in this country; for the whole product of wool is much less than the home demand, and good mutton is VALUE OF MANURE. 425 far from an overstocked market; secondly, because mutton and wool-growing, as we have seen, make a much smaller draft upon the soil than dairy husbandry, and may return to the soil, under.a proper system, 95 per cent. of the fertil- izing matter of all the feeding stuffs used. These deteriorated lands may, therefore, be rapidly im- proved by feeding to sheep the richer foods mentioned in our tables, with a return in growth and fattening of sheep equal to the cost of the food, and, at least, 80 per cent. of its cost returned in effective fertilizers to the soil. Nitro- gen, potash, and phosphoric acid can be furnished to the soil in this way at fifty per cent. of the commercial cost of these fertilizers. And another important point is seen in the fact that the standard of quality in these foods can much more easily be determined than that in commercial fertil- izers. When one ton or ten tons of decorticated cotton-seed meal, linseed meal, malt sprouts, wheat bran, corn-meal, or other food, is fed to sheep upon the land, you may deter- mine, quite accurately, the amount of each of these impor- tant food elements added to the soil; but when you apply a ton of commercial fertilizer, purchased at the full value of a proper standard, the ordinary farmer knows very little of what he really adds to the soil. Under a proper system of feeding, the sheep farmer can scarcely err in applying fertilizers to his soil which are obtained by passing rich foods through the digestive system of his sheep. This will be a chemical analysis and determination which he may rely upon for accuracy. FEEDING GREEN CROPS ON THE LAND. This return made by sheep for their food, in manure, based as it is upon reliable German experiments, is most encouraging to those who would feed sheep for the recovery of fertility. This result follows in feeding off large crops grown upon the land, such as turnip, or other root crop, 426 FEEDING ANIMALS. clover, vetches, rye, oats and peas, peas alone, the different varieties of millet, and many other green crops. The cloyer, vetches, rye, oats, peas, millet, etc., may be fed over several times in a season; as, if fed off when a few inches high, each of these crops will spring up again, on good land, like pasture grasses. ‘This point is worthy of close considera- tion in feeding for the renovation of worn-out lands in the Eastern States; for some of these crops may be raised upon most lands, and thus furnish green pasturage for sheep; and if fed off within hurdles, in a manner to confine the sheep upon small spaces, the extra grain food will produce an immediate result in improving the second or future growth of the green crop. ‘These portable hurdles are easily moved, and the sheep may be passed on to fresh ground each day, not allowing them to eat the green crop too close. In this way the land may be made to furnish the green food for summer, to be cropped off the ground, saving all labor of feeding, except that of moving the hurdles, and distributing a certain quantity of linseed meal, corn or other grain in troughs, daily, for each sheep. This labor could not exceed one-half hour per day for fifty sheep.. Let us now consider the crops that may be fed off green by sheep. Winter Rye. A crop of winter rye would succeed for this purpose prob- ably better than most other crops, and might be fed off, successively, for the whole season, and then furnish pasture, or mature a crop, the second season. It does better for pas- turing than cutting for soiling, for which it is often used ; because in pasturing it will be kept cropped off too low for the seed panicle to start, and thus keep up a constant growth, whilst in soiling it is seldom cut before some of the seed-heads are formed, and these plants will not grow again, and, therefore, the second cutting will be small, compared to the first. Rye furnishes a good pasturing crop, also; GREEN CROPS FOR SHEEP. 427 because, being sown in the fall, it gets well-rooted, and when pastured early in the spring, starts up again at once. If the soil is in such heart as to grow a good crop of rye, it will furnish a large amount of sheep pasturage—six acres may be fed over continually by 50 sheep during the whole season. As soon as they have passed over the field between hurdles, they may be brought back to the starting point, and go over it again. It is evident that, if each of the sheep are given four ounces of linseed-meal, and the same amount of Indian corn, per day, during the season, although light feed, this six acres will be qualified for raising a good grain-crop the following season, and that the gain in the sheep will pay for this extra food, with a good margin for other expenses. Liebig has stated that rye, when cut often during the first year; will mature a crop the following year, and it is reasonable to suppose that, if properly pastured, it will also continue through the following seasons, which must render it a favorite crop for feeding off on the land, as it must give pasture one-third longer than a spring crop. WINTER VETCH. The yetch has not been so thoroughly tried in the United States as it deserves, as, where it succeeds, it has many _ qnalities to recommend it; but having been raised in Can= ada, north of Montreal, at latitude 46, over a belt of terri- tory from Lake Erie of more than two hundred miles, it is reasonable to infer that it is suitable for the territory of this country from New York to Oregon—that it has proba- bly nearly as wide a range as clover; in fact, Nuttall enu- merates some five species of the vetch as natives of the United States, some being identical with those found in Kurope—as the Vicia sylvatica, growing on the borders of woods, and banks of the Missouri river; the Vicia crocea, growing in a wild state in bushy meadows, and sometimes troublesome in gardens in Pennsylvania and other Middle 428 : FEEDING ANIMALS. States. He also enumerates Vicia sativa, the most valua- ble species grown by English farmers. So that there can be little doubt that the vetch, or tare, can be profitably grown in all the Eastern, Middle and Western States. English farmers regard the vetch as only second to clover, because of its nutritiousness, and the relish with which all kinds of stock eat it, as well as because of its easy cultiva- tion. It is the favorite crop of the sheep-farmer for feed- ing off on the land; and, like clover, will furnish pasturage upon which sheep may be NAS at successive periods, dur- ing the whole season. For this purpose the winter vetch is chosen, because, being established over winter, the roots ramify more extensively, and produce a larger amount of fodder than the spring vetch, and it has been found, on several tests, to be more nutritious per weight. This winter vetch would be even better for bringing forward sheep and lambs in summer than winter rye, because it is much richer in albuminoids. Dr. Voelcker found the green food to contain $2.16 per cent. water ; 3.56 albuminoids; 12.74 carbo-hydrates and fat, and 1.54 per cent. ash ; and, when deprived of water, it con- tained 20 per cent. albuminoids—thus being richer than clover. It possesses all the elements, in due proportion, for growing lambs and fattening sheep. This food, being so rich in nitrogen, it might be fed with Indian corn to better effect in bringing up a worn soil than rye or millet. It is eften grown upon che heavy clay loams in England; and a rich clay loam will produce maximum crops. It will readily be seen what an important agency this crop may become, when fed off by sheep, in recovering the worn farms of New England and the Middle States. It is not better, with the same weight of crop, than clover for this purpose; but can be grown upon land where it is dif- ficult to seed to clover, and this crop may be the means of fitting the land for the growth of clover. Rye is the easiest GREEN CROPS FOR SHEEP. 429 crop to begin with, which, being fed off by sheep, with the addition of linseed-meal and oats, corn, or some nitrogen- ous food, the land would be well-prepared for the winter vetch, and the winter vetch would prepare it for clover, and clover would prepare it for any crop. The land need not be plowed more than 414 to 5 inches deep for vetches; but should be worked into a very fine tilth before the seed is drilled in, at the rate of two bushels per acre. The time for seeding is the same as for wheat. : The spring vetch is also much grown in Europe, and may be grown in this country where spring grain succeeds better than winter; but the spring vetch should be planted as early as the condition of the soil will permit. A frost occurring after the seed is sown will not injure the plant any more than it does the pea. On early land, the spring vetch may be brought forward so as to furnish pasture early in June; but care must be taken not to feed it close, as this will much retard its future growth. PEAS AS A PASTURE CROP. As we are considering what crops may be grown for feeding sheep in summer, and at the same time result in the improvement of the soil, we must not omit the common field pea. This crop has not been adequately appreciated as a renovator of the soil. It has been little used as a green pasture crop, either in this country or in Europe, most of our farmers thinking it only adapted for being cut. at maturity. But when sown thickly upon properly-pre- pared land, and fed off at six to eight inches high, it starts again immediately, and makes a vigorous new growth, the ground being more closely covered the second than the first time. This has been our experience on several trials. But the sheep must not be permitted to feed it closely, and should, therefore, be passed over the ground before they have time to do this. If the season is favorable, peas may 430 FEEDING ANIMALS. be fed over three times, and thus yield a large amount of green food. If the season is likely to be too dry, the second feeding should be commenced when the peas are in blossom. It has then the largest amount of nutriment, ° and of the best quality. The nutritive ratio of peas, vetches, and the clovers, each at the first blossom, is nearly the same; they all stand in the first-rank of fodder plants, © especially for growing young animals, as they are all rich in the elements to grow the muscles, bones, and nervous system. Peas will flourish upon a variety of soils, either light or heavy; dry clay soils bring large crops. The land does not require to be rich; but a soil containing abund- ance of lime and potash succeeds best. The pea plant is a large appropriator of lime and potash, and the seeds of potash and phosphoric acid. Land highly manured grows more vine than grain; but lime, wood ashes, and bones are quite appropriate fertilizers. The land should be in fine tilth and smooth, and peas are best planted with a drill which will deposit the seed at an even depth of 2% inches, at the rate of 2% bushels per acre. If further practice should discourage feeding the pea crop off upon the land, then it should be grown and cut green at ‘the time of first blossom, and fed to sheep between hurdles on parts of the same field which have been cut. This will require little carriage, and all the valuable manure will be saved; but we think that it will be found practically as safe to feed off peas as winter rye. The pea may be planted as early as the land can be tilled in spring, as it is not injured by frost ; and heavy lands should be plowed in the fall, so as to be ready to work as soon as a few inches of the surface is dry enough to be made mellow. Peas will furnish pasturage for sheep in dry weather the last of May or first of June in latitude 40° to 43°. A variation of this pea crop is to sow one-third oats with the peas—that is, two bushels of peas and one bushel of oats per acre. This will GREEN CROPS FOR SHEEP. 431 generally produce a larger yield of green food than peas alone or oats alone, and the combined crop may be pastured as early as peas alone. OATS are an important crop for pasturing when sown alone, ‘The oat is also frost-proof in the spring, and may be drilled in the first moment that the land is fitted for it, and, on warm, early soil, will be six inches high and strong by May 20th; and, on being eaten off by the sheep, will start anew at once. If left till the seed head is formed, there will be no second growth. The struggle in all plants is to perfect the seed ; and most of our annual plants, if cut when small, will grow again, and when having a strong and vigorous root will push on the second growth very: rapidly. The second feeding of the green oat crop should be when the plant has reached the flowering stage; and if the crop be rank, sheep may waste too much of it when fed off upon the land. If mown and fed to them in racks, it will have the largest amount of nutriment when the seed is in the milk. But the sheep, at that stage, are not inclined to eat the whole stalk unless tempted by a small allowance of meal upon the left stems. As we have seen, this extra grain food will be refunded by extra growth, and the land will get the benefit of the enriched manure. This is the end towards which sheep-feeding on worn lands should point. The oat has the advantage of being adapted to nearly all soils, and it may be the best crop with which to begin the improvement. MILLET FOR PASTURE. Millet is grown in all parts of the country, more or less, both for the seed and fodder. It requires dry, warm land to produce the best crop, and the soil must be made very fine, or the seed, which is small, will not grow. In a fine, rich loam millet produces a very large growth of excellent 432 FEEDING ANIMALS. fodder, When the land is appropriate, it springs up rapidly, and soon covers the ground. When it reaches the height of eight inches, and its root has become well estab- lished, sheep may be folded upon it, and crop off four or five inches. The hurdles should be moved each day, to prevent its being eaten too close. It will spring up anew, and more completely cover the ground than before. If care is taken it may be folded over three or four times in a season, at from 14 to 20 days apart. This food is highly relished by sheep, because the leaves and stems, at that stage of growth, are very tender and succulent. Small pieces may be sown at different times, so as to be ready for feeding one after the other. A good crop will produce, at three or four feedings, ten tons of green food on an acre, and pasture 50 sheep 25 to 30 days. There are several varieties of millet, but the common (Panicum milliaceum), Hungarian grass (Panicum Germanicum), and golden mil- let are the kinds most grown. The latter produces the largest growth, and for pasturing may be found the most profitable. We have given these numerous annuals which may be cultivated as pasture plants for sheep, to show the re- sources of sheep feeders in providing green food which may be eaten off by the sheep during the summer; but we do not mean to set these annuals up as preferable to the perennial grasses and the biennial clovers. These annuals are only to be used to assist in fitting the land for growing profitable crops of the perennial grasses and. clovers. The perennial grasses and the clovers are the sheet-anchor of successful stock-feeding, for they yield successive crops without annual labor. But the annual grasses are often necessary in the preparation of the soil for the permanent ones. Roots FOR SHEEP-FEEDING. The question of economy in the production of root crops for stock-feeding in this country has never been settled be- GREEN CROPS FOR SHEEP. 433 yond grave doubts in the minds of judicious farmers. The rigor of our northern winter climate is not favorable to out-door feeding of roots; but the modern improvement of warm, well-ventilated stables has done much to obviate this objection, so far as temperature of stable-feeding is concerned. But we cannot adopt the English practice of feeding off turnips and beets on the land; yet many of the most intelligent English farmers think it much better for the sheep to receive their roots in sheds, and that their better thrift will pay for lifting and carting the roots. We think, for sheep feeding in our northern climate, the most profitable use to make of roots is to feed them off on the land during October and November, before the weather becomes too cold. The turnip and beet may be so matured as to be quite ready for feeding in October; and sheep may then be folded upon them, with a little late-growth clover, and thus continue succulent food of the best quality to the beginning of winter. The comparatively high price of labor has usually been regarded as fatal to the profitable production of roots here; but Hon. Harris Lewis, and many others, have declared that beets or turnips can be raised, lifted, and stored for six cents per bushel; and at this cost of labor they must be profitable food for sheep, especially as a small ration of green food in winter. But there is a plant, belonging to the same class as turnips and cabbages, which is extensively raised in Germany and France as a food for stock and as an oil plant. It is a bien- nial, and has a spindle-shaped, stringy root, running deep, instead of being bulbous, like the turnips, and the value of the crop is in its succulent stalks, leaves, and seed. This is RAPE (Brassica napus), and is grown upon the same sort of land as turnips, beets, etc. Rape has both a winter and spring variety. If the winter variety can be cultivated here, it will furnish excel- 19 434 FEEDING ANIMALS. lent and abundant food for sheep and other stock in May, June and July. Itis so hardy as not to be injured in the coldest parts of Germany. Professor Brewer, who exam- ined this crop with care in Germany, believed it well adapted to the United States, and highly recommends it. It seems to have a great superiority over the turnip in fat- tening qualities. It is exceedingly succulent, haying, in its green state, 87 per cent. water; albuminoids 3.13, carbo- hydrates 8.20, ash 1.60 per cent. When deprived of water, it contains 24.19 per cent. of albuminoids; being richer in this important element than clover, and twice as rich as the Swede turnip. The American edition of Johnson’s “ En- cyclopedia ” states that this crop has been tried in New York and New England, and found to stand the winters well. Mr. Samuel Thorne, of Dutchess County, N. Y., writes that, in 1863, he folded lambs upon it very late in the fall, and that frost did not injure this plant. It pro- duces, under good tillage, extraordinary crops. Mr. Blackie, an English writer upon the ‘Improvement of Small Farms,” says that, when well manured, the stalks are juicy, and grow to the height of from five to six feet; and that he believes an acre, with the addition of some straw to counteract its great succulence, will keep 30 head of milch cows in full milk for a month. It is, no doubt, an over- estimate, as it would be equivalent to keeping a cow 900 days on the crop of 160 rods of land, or 180 sheep 30 days on an acre, or 8394 sheep one day upon one rod of land. If we can estimate its capacity to feed cows and sheep at one-half these figures, it is an exceedingly desirable crop. It is generally regarded in Germany, and in all parts of England, as one of the very best crops for fattening sheep ; and as it is ready for feeding June and July, or if fed ear- lier in spring would give its largest crop later in the season —say September—it must prove to be one of the most profitable green crop that can be raised, and especially GREEN CROPS FOR SHEEP. 435 adapted to the improvement of the land. Its seed has long been used for the production of rape oil; and the rape cake, so much used by English feeders, is the refuse of the seed after the oil has been expressed. Many estimate the labor in producing a crop of rape as about the same as that required for a crop of wheat. There can be no doubt of its success on the deep rich prairie soils of the West; and when stock-feeding on these lands shall be conducted for the pur- pose of preserving their fertility, as well as for profit, this is likely to become one of the most important crops. It has greatly the advantage of the turnip, beet, or carrot, on ac- count of its richness in albuminoids, thus supplementing this deficiency in the corn crop, and on account of its easier cultivation. Being a deep-rooted plant, it will recover very quickly after feeding off by sheep, and soon fur- nish a second growth of stalks and leaves for the same purpose. It is certainly worthy of a careful trial. ENSILAGE FOR WINTER FEEDING. Sheep are extremely fond of succulent food, and one of the difficulties encountered by the sheep-feeders during our long winters is the want of a due proportion of green food. The recent invention of the improved silo, for the preser- vation of green, succulent food for winter use, will wholly remedy this defect in winter sheep-feeding. Every descrip- tion of green crops may be preserved in silo, for winter use ; and as the sheep is particularly fond of variety in its food, and will travel over a large field, most industriously selecting the greatest variety within its reach, the silo ena- bles the feeder to gratify this appetite of the sheep. If a large variety of grasses is sown upon our meadows, they may all go into the silo together; thus not only gratifying the appetite, but greatly adding to the thrift of the sheep. All the crops we have mentioned as appropriate for feed- ing off upon the land are also appropriate for preserving in 436 FEEDING ANIMALS. silo for winter use. This green food in winter will enable the sheep-farmer of the older States to make as good progress in winter-feeding as the sheep-farmers of Hurope with the aid of succulent roots. The great advantage of turnips: for sheep in winter is, that they counteract the effect of the dry food given. A most important consideration in favor of the silo is, that the feeder may not only give variety in the ration, but he may give a ration containing the proper proportion of food elements. The silo has been discussed in this country almost wholly as a means of preserving fodder-corn ; but as fodder-corn is only a partial food, and must be fed with some more nitrogenous food to produce a satisfactory re- sult, the silo could only be a very partial success if it only preserved this one green food. Its great result must be © looked for in enabling the feeder to mingle in the silo sey- eral different green foods which unitedly contain the food elements in the proper proportion for growing or fattening animals. As sheep will fatten very fast upon a good pasture which contains a variety of the best grasses, so they should gain as rapidly when fed from a silo upon green fodder-corn, clover, millet, rape, peas, oats, etc., containing a combination of the same food element in as digestible a condition. Itisa common opinion among farmers (which we do not wholly share), that grain is the most expensive food, and that sheep are kept much cheaper upon pasture or hay than upon hay and grain. It is only necessary to feed grain because hay is less digestible than grass. Now, the silo, if successful, will enable sheep to be fed upon grass in as succulent a state in winter as in summer. This may render the older States, which have reached a diminished capacity for grain raising, independent of Western grain in the production of meat. These States are still well adapted to the production of the grasses and every green food required for winter feeding, when preserved in silo; MANAGING A FLOCK. 437 and as green, succulent food goes much farther than the same food dried into hay, so the capacity of these States . for the production of mutton and other meat will be vastly increased. Ensilage being nearly as succulent as the fresh green food itself, root crops will become much less important. When the silo shall come into full use, sheep will really be fed the same winter and summer ; and progress in fattening will be nearly the same, a little extra food being given in the winter, to keep up the animal heat. This succulent winter food will have an important effect in improving early lambs, causing the ewe to yield more milk; and the lambs may make as good progress as if their dams were upon pasture. MANAGING A FLOCK. The mode of conducting a breeding flock for profit will vary according to locality and cost of food. Near the large Eastern markets, and on land upon which sheep are kept as the best compensation for the food consumed, the ram lambs of the flock will principally be disposed of at a few months old, as affording better profit at this than at any subsequent period. The forty-pound fat lamb costs less in food than any forty pounds of growth added afterwards, and brings about three prices per pound. If, then, a flock of common ewes is being crossed with a pure-blood South- down or Cotswold ram, for the purpose of laying the foundation and building up an improved breeding flock, it will be profitable to keep only the ewe lambs—grade rams should never be kept for breeding, but grade ewes will be a great improvement over common ones when bred to a ram of the same blood as their sire. So, in grading up a flock towards a pure-blood mutton breed, about half of the lambs each year may be sold for the early market. Each generation will approximate nearer and nearer to the pure blood until they are practically equal for mutton or wool. 438 FEEDING ANIMALS. It will be seen that the expense of grading up this flock over that of common breeding is hardly worth considering ; that, in fact, the ram or wether lambs marketed each year will be enhanced in value much more than the cost of the pure-blood ram over a common one. But while these ewe lambs are growing up to breeding age, the defective ones must be weeded out, and not permitted to breed. Only those of good form and prime feeders should be kept for breeding. The first requisite of a profitable animal is a good appetite and active digestion. A habitually mincing eater should always be discarded, whatever beauty of ex- ternal form it may possess. No profit ever comes from a slow feeder. The breeding ewe, if she raises good lambs, must secrete a liberal quantity of milk, and this can only be done by a large consumption and digestion of food. The young ewes should not be bred before 14 to 16 months old; earlier breeding is not conducive to vigor of constitu- tion. As the flock increases in numbers, greater care can constantly be given to selection of the ewes to be bred— breeding always from the best. The third cross will give ewes of % pure blood, and this can be accomplished in four years; two years more would give +8 blood; so that six years would grade up common ewes to fifteen-sixteenths blood Southdown, Cotswold, or other pure blood. It is not, therefore, long to wait for a thoroughly-improved flock, which will practically give all the profit of the highest blood. Even the half and three-fourths blood usually feed about-as well as the higher blood. After the fifth cross with pure-blood rams, or thirty-one-thirty- second part of the pure blood, the rams of this cross may be considered prepotent, and may be used for breeding— often even the cross below this wil! be found prepotent as males. The English Short-horn Herd Book admits four crosses to record as Short-horns ; and the same rule would hold with sheep. But we think breeding together grades MANAGING A FLOCK. 439 of low degree tends to bring pure blood into discredit, and is unprofitable. REGULARITY IN FEEDING. All feeders who have studied the habits of the animals they feed, have discerned that they take special note of time, and are disappointed if the time is delayed only a few minutes. It is a cardinal point to observe great regularity in time and quantity for feeding sheep. It has been observed that a careful and regular feeder will produce a better result with inferior food, given at equal times and in even quantity, than an irregular feeder as to time and quantity with the best quality of food. It is said that “the master’s eye is worth two pair of hands,” and it may as truly be said that “the shepherd’s eye, which takes note of the individual wants of his flock, is worth a large amount of carelessly-given food.” The late John Johnston, of Geneva, N. Y., to whom we have before alluded as a successful cattle-feeder, has also been, under the old system, a successful sheep-feeder. In a letter to the Hon. H.S. Randall, in 1862, he describes his common mode of winter feeding. Mr. Johnston was a very successful wheat and barley raiser upon a 300-acre clay- loam farm, completely tile drained. He had large quanti- ties of straw, and studied how to turn this into the largest quantity of manure. He says: “JT generally buy my sheep in October. Then I have a pasture to put them on, and they gain a good deal before winter sets in. I have generally put them in the yards about the 1st of December. For the last 23 years I have fed straw the first two or two and a half months, a pound of oil-cake, meal, or grain, to each sheep. When I com- mence feeding hay, if it is good, early-cut clover, I generally reduce the cake, meal, or grain one-half; but 440 FEEDING ANIMALS, that depends on the condition of the sheep. If they are not pretty fat, I continue the full-feed of cake, meal, or grain, with their clover, and on both they fatten wonder- fully fast. This year (1862-63) I fed buckwheat, a pound to each per day—half in the morning and half at 4 Pp. M— with wheat and barley straw. I found the sheep gained a little over one pound each per week. It never was profit- able for me to commence fattening lean sheep. Sheep should be tolerably fair mutton when yarded. I keep their yards and sheds well littered with straw. “Last year I only fed straw one month. I fed each sheep one pound of buckwheat. From the 20th of October to the Ist of March they gained 1% lbs. each per week. They were Merinos—but not those with the large cravats around their necks. I have fed sheep for the Eastern markets for more than 30 years, aad I always made a profit on them, except in 1841-42; I then fed at a loss; and it was a tight squeeze in 1860-61 to get their manure for profit. Some years I have made largely. ‘Taking all together, it has been a good business for me.” This account of sheep-feeding is on a different plan from the one we have been considering, of making it a sys- tematic business—the feeder breeding his own sheep. But we give it to show what a careful feeder may do on a grain farm to keep up its fertility. Mr. Johnston’s gains per week are small besides those we shall give of feeding the mutton breeds ; but his results are remarkable, considering the fact that the sheep he bought were those of slow growth and late maturity. His success in winter-feeding on that plan was largely owing to his custom of buying in October, and giving them good pasture for some two mouths. His straw-feeding would also have been much less successful had he not fed oil-cake with it. The very nitrogenous oil-cake balanced the carbonaceous straw, and this oil-cake greatly enriched the manure. MANAGING A FLOCK. 441 ENGLISH SHEEP-F'EEDING. Sheep husbandry has become so important an element of our agriculture, that the American shepherd should make a careful study of the methods of feeding adopted in other countries where this branch of husbandry is successfully carried on. In growing mutton and wool together, Eng- land has been pre-eminently successful, and her method of feeding must be well considered. It is hardly to be ex- pected that the American feeder can use precisely the same crops as the English farmer to feed his flocks; but he may, at least, find substitutes which are better suited to our soil and climate, and have the same nutritive value. We shall give some of the best-authenticated experiments of English feeders, that may serve to give a clear idea of their plan of winter feeding—a period attended with more obstacles than any other, as the summer produces Nature’s best ration for sheep—the grasses. EXPERIMENTS WITH ROOTS, GRAIN AND GRASS. The experiments recorded in Mr. Robert Smith’s essay on “The Management of Sheep”—for which the Royal Agricultural Society granted him a prize in 1847—are full and carefully made, and represent the effect of the most commonly adopted ration, and many important variations of it. Experiment 1.—Hight lambs were weighed on the 20th December, 1842, and placed upon turnip land to consume the turnips on the field where they grew; and being supplied with all the cut swedes they would eat, were found to consume, on an average, 23%2 lbs. per head,. per day. They were again weighed April 3d (15 weeks), and gained 2544 lbs. each. He. 2.—Same day, eight lambs were placed in a grass paddock, under same regulations, and found to consume 442 FEEDING ANIMALS. 19 lbs. of turnips per day, and gained, in 15 weeks, 26% Ibs. each. fx. 3.—Same day, eight lambs were placed alongside No. 2, and allowed to run in and out of an open shed during the day, but were shut up at night. They had half a pound of mixed oil-cake and peas per day, and ate besides 2024 lbs. of turnips, and gained 33% lbs. each. Hz. 4.—Same day, eight lambs were placed under same conditions as No. 3, but supplied with one pound of mixed grain (oats, barley, beans) per day. They consumed, during the ten following weeks, 20 lbs. turnips per day; were weighed February 28th, and had gained 26% lbs., average. Ex, 5.—EHight lambs were placed in a warm paddock, with a shed, during the day, but were shut up during 18 hours, and fed upon 14 lbs. of mixed grain perday. They consumed 1844 lbs. of turnips each, and in ten weeks gained 33/4 lbs. each. Lx. 6.—January 5, 1843, sixteen shearlings were equally divided—eight placed in a grass paddock, and given each one pound of mixed grain per day, ate 24 lbs. of Swedish turnips, and gained, in eight weeks, 21% lbs. each. Ex. %7.—The other eight shearlings were placed along- side No. 6, were allowed an open shed during the day, and were shut in at night, had one pound of mixed grain, consumed 20% Ibs. of turnips, and gained, in eight weeks, 24 lbs. each. Hx. 8.—On the 3d of April, eight lambs (No. 3) were weighed and placed upon young clover, and supplied with half a pound of mixed grain, as before. They ate also 12 lbs. of turnips per day; and, on the Ist day of May, had gained 1124 lbs. each—having had a shed during the day, and being shut up at night. Hx, 9—On the 29th of May, the eight lambs (No. 8) were again weighed, having been allowed, as before, half a pound of mixed grain upon the clover, but no turnips, MANAGING A FLOCK. 443 with shed to run under at will. They gained 16 lbs. each during the month. To prove the effect of less heating food in hot weather, he placed the two lots of shearlings (Nos. 6 and 7) upon moderate growth of clover, July 1, 1843. Ex. 10.—The eight shearlings (No. 6), being weighed, were allowed one pint of peas per day, and again weighed at the end of 21 days; had gained 9% lbs. each. Fx.11.—The eight shearlings (No. 7) being also weighed, were given one pint of old beans, and, at the end of 21 days, had gained 6 lbs. each; the beans proving to be a too heating food, and the sheep eating them being found to be getting humors, even in this short time, while those fed upon peas were looking very healthy. This is a very doubtful criticism upon the heating qualities of beans and peas, since, as the percentage of carbo-hydrates and oil is about the same in both, the heating qualities must be the same. Desiring to test the qualities of the various vegetables in the fall, he divided 30 lambs into equal lots of 10 each, on the 2d of October, 1843, and placed them upon overeaten stubble fields (which the English call “seeds”). To each were fed different vegetables by an experienced shepherd. Hx, 12.—Ten lambs, fed upon cut, white turnips, were weighed again November 13th (six weeks), and had gained an average of 11 lbs. each. Ez. 13.—Ten lambs, fed on cut swedes, gained, during the six weeks, 11 lbs. each. Ex. 14,—Ten lambs, fed on cut cabbage, gained, during the time, 16/4 lbs. each; showing that, at this season, cabbage is superior to turnips; but as cold weather came on, he found the value of the white turnip and the cab- bage grew less, and the swedes improved. This is owing, no doubt, to the larger percentage of water in cabbage and white turnips, which is unfavorable in cold weather. 444 FEEDING ANIMALS. To test grass land, in comparison with cole-seed (a species of rape or cabbage) and cabbage, in the autumn of 1844 he put ten lambs upon each, on the 14th of October. Hz. 15.—Ten lambs penned upon green.cole-seed (rape), with eut clover chaff, gained, in one month, 1244 lbs. each. Hx, 16.—Ten lambs, penned on drum-head cabbage, with cut clover chaff, gained 10/4 lbs. each in one month. Ez, 1%.—Ten lambs, upon grass, and fed upon cut swedes and cabbage, in equal quantities, with clover chaff, gained 9°4 pounds each. Hx. 18.—Ten lambs upon grass, and fed upon cut white turnips and cabbage, in equal parts, with clover chaff, gained 11 lbs. each. To test carrots, as against swedes, he fed No. 16 all the swedes they would eat, and No. 17 all the carrots they would eat. Hx. 19.—Ten lambs, fed upon cut swedes and clover chaff, were found to have gained, in one month, 10 lbs. each, and had eaten 22 Ibs. of turnips per day. Fz. 20.—Ten lambs, fed upon cut carrots‘and clover chaff, gained, in the month, 9% lbs. each, and had eaten 2226 lbs. of carrots per day. It will be noted that the ten lambs upon green rape gained more than those upon swedes and cabbages. This series of experiments very well represents the feeding of lambs with roots, grain, grass, etc.; but it has not gone much into the use of oil-cake, and has not given the results in feeding older sheep. FEEDING YouNG LAMBS. We will now give a series of somewhat different experi- ments, representing the lambs at an earlier age with their dams. This is from Mr. T. E. Pawlett’s essay, which was highly commended by the Royal Agricultural Society of England. His views are based upon a long-continued MANAGING A FLOCK. 445 habit of weighing his sheep and lambs every month, alive, so that his statements are based upon actual figures, like ‘those just given. He gives, preliminarily, the average gain he has had in lambs during the year commencing soon after birth. In small lots he has found the gain as follows: Young lambs in month of PATE aye feveraryateetavoleistatereiace\s ARESOD OO OOO NOOO OG [ V0) Fey yer BOr ESE ORS tn aero odGE November ’ 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 : POM BY. car sels eas vialslatee, dem steve haters Siete crcnthars eeerarerae 18 Ibs. AY wether lamb nog. 5:2 /cisrci€sic/siasers ves) arsiele ieee she acictae earale 2055 Asran lam b-NOg ee -.cic sas sl isles eros steam ec Sales eee 22 ** A-shearline: wether. ~)..02-0...220--s.6 sooCbobECUCO DOadeor 22 %* ‘A: feeding? Or DreeGINey CWO) siedesa:c'ssejaisied<’storalavercteres aieste 24 BAS SUGKAMOVEWO ln ctiaci noise aievaiele ree eicieie.nieicisiela sicicis size stasisie 28 ** ASA aHOVE bywOny ars Old .-% aq cie aj cries viele oe cl etee eee 30 “ 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 244 lbs. per week, at a cost of 21 cts.; and : - n a ee ec 446 ‘FEEDING ANIMALS. oem a the other six were fed each 1633, lbs. of swedes, costing 17 cts., and 244 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 Ibs. 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 4% lbs. This difference of 14 Ibs. 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 on vetches, 164 Ibs. each. Fx. 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 Ibs. per lamb per week. Ex. 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, 16% 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% Ilbs., showing the gain about equal; but Mr. P. remarks that those weaned early wintered best. Lz, ?.—T wo 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 6% lbs. in favor of dry food. Hz. 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 324 Ibs. each. Here the gain is nearly double with the dry food, and this is no doubt owing to the temperature. Hx, 9.—Hight 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 lbs. 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. AAS FEEDING ANIMALS. These were weighed as against a like number fed eight weeks in a turnip field : Those;in field gained each. . .\.\..5. cs. estscmiciecieleln siete esie 18 Ibs. Those in yard only gained each.............++--2eeee s Apparent balance against yard feeding................ LOU 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 144 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 ¥% |b. of oil-cake and peas with 2042 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 #4 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 Ibs. 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 8% 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 17% 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.: = DIGESTED. op oe a ; ae J = : : 3 g 2 a C0) ra n s PERIOD. 3 & s = z z a oS = © w S 2 fo) a a a i) a = s 5 3 Slee > 3 =| ‘ 2 a a So a R) = = 5 3 Ee; ) lbs. Ibs. Ibs. lbs. lbs. lbs. SUE R Pera aati c(s ion), (ariel iere 0.38 0.07 1.67 0.73 0.29 0.09 23.7 Deen iw eR as close tie 0.33 0.07 1.66 0.54 0 26 0 07 21.2 us SOSOR SOOO OED BREED 0.26 0.06 1.41 0.41 0.23 0.05 17.9 Bese Pea ie a ners can eae 0.28 0.06 1.36 0.31 0.22 0.06 24 4 Oe rstianiadeleretere. is ieisie ele 0.24 0.05 1.23 0.17 0.20 0.04 16.7 GEN st ba) wakes sess 0.23 0.06 1.22 0.13 0.19 0.04 17.4 YP OB OSO DATS OCCUR CRETOEe 0 22 0.05 isa ls} 0.17 0.17 0.05 22.7 Bota cas is riteisieslsrae s.aie's 0.20 0.05 if salil 0.19 0.16 0.04 20.0 OB irae ens Ge ol aos 0.19 0.06 1.09 300% sities oot LQ ee ene laters he neien 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 346 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 8y5 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 CooKkING FoDDER FOR SHEEP. Lhe preparation of the winter food for sheep is an import- ant matter to be considered. ‘he 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 Ibs. 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 Ibs. per day left uneaten. We found, also, that this hay was not left because of over-feeding, for when fed 75 lbs. 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 less than 2 Ibs. average per day uneaten, On increasing this cut hay to 60 Ibs. 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 cut 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 #5 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 lbs. corn-meal, 100 lbs. 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 and a half. The sheep, of about 100 lbs. 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 24 lbs. per head per week. Upon this cooked ration the sheep seemed ag ‘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. ‘Phe 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—tue 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 jar, 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. “It 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 it 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. 20 458 FEEDING ANIMALS. CHAPTER XII. 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 atin. .en ese seniccieseeie $39,664,456 Pork, Smet Ca. eee a ees 5,744,022 Lard, RE ae Oe ee Senet 22,429 485 Lard oil, OE Soe aaa etcle Rane allele sieve 149.156 Live hogs, fC Sndaateioebitcle mie ekoee ae 670,042 Total value of pig exports, 1876..............-- $68,657,161 Totals 188Le7 weasel a ais oes Ce ee ee $105,790, 779 If we-take the entire range of cattle products exported during 1876, we find the following items: Beef, valuediatnci.5 eeepieehiose nanan Sere eee $3,186,304 Preserved meats, valued at...........c:..-ecescces 998,052 Butter, tt. AGHA TERIOR Oks Aon 1,109,496 Cheese, Bie a Ai coke te AAO ODD OAS 12,270,085 Tallow, One Tetra i ela ste atalateee asta 6,784,378 Hides and skins, UE Renee Pines a Nao Se Sb 2,905,921 Leather, OE otra mise Ramer siisiete 8,394,580 Total cattle products exported, 1876............. $35,598,814 Cattle products; 188ihiss-cane scene eeeeeeciiacce $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 a pound of pork than a 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 rts food, while cattle utilized but 8 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 14 per cent. of the whole weight of the animal, whilst in sheep it was 742 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 3%, and in oxen only 24 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. Italso 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 isthe 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 view 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 elements, 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. Butin 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 oe except among hogs brought from the West. ‘lhe 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 flooy, 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. WEIGHT oF Pigs 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 lbs., the average being 2.75 lbs. each. This seems a very small beginning for an animal that has sometimes reached over 1,000 lbs. 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 lbs. per day. On the 15th November, they weighed 177 lbs.—an increase, in 35 days, ef 90.2 lbs., or 18 Ibs. per head, being 0.50 per day. In another case, he fond 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. MILK YIELDED By Dam. We have weighed many pigs at four to six weeks old, and found the weight to range from 12 to 18 lbs. Thus it 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 1m 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 334 lbs. of milk each, per day, the first week, and nearly 7 Ibs. 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 YOUNG PIe4s. 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 Ibs. less than if they had been fed a proper ration. 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 deyel- opment cannot be attained without the proper food; but with either 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 Jarge 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 Ib. 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. f 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, 248. 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 Jean, 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 fen may be pursued for three months with such hogs, pr Hilo: a good result. But when the young pig is to be grown upon ae 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 6 shoats of 80 lbs. weight on the ‘ ee be | ae ee THE PIG. : 467 average, costing 5 cents per pound, or $4 per head. These pigs were fed 74 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 lbs. each, or 1% lbs. per day. The cost was as follows: 90 lbs. of oil- - meal, $1.35 ; 360 lbs. of wheat-bran, $2.70; 270 Ibs. 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 37.05 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 Ibs. 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 2 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 away. 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, it 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 it 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, and 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 lbs. 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 incon- venient to give pasture. This may be considered the Sorting 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 same capital and labor. 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 Eastern 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. Tue 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 durimg 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 thus evident that the skillful feeder must strive after continued and unremitting growth. he 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. Al 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. Each 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 Pra Foop. 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. 473 There has been a great variety of opinions expressed upon the value of the cob-meal, many supposing 1t 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. Wecondense 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, 6154 pounds. Av4 ' 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 ANS SWINE HOUSE. ‘ Fig. 17.—GROUND PLAN. A. Swill Trough, elevated three feet from the floors on which the Cooking Tub, J’, is placed. ls B, Steamer. G #. Water Barrel to feed Steamer. i D. Chimney. See G. Gates to Feeding Floor. iG 0. C. Watering Barrels for Swine. At the top of the stairs, and on the same level with i the top of the Cooking Tub, is a meal bin. ee Fi g. 16. —SIDE ELEVATION. 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 Mational Inve Stock Journal. 'The engravings are upon a scale of 32 feet to the inch. Figure 16 shows a side elevation of the building, which 1s 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, 9 x 20 feet; N a corn- crib, 9x48 feet; MZ 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 1s 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 1s 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 @ @ 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 ZL, of the platform, and the south gate 1s 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. &, represents a platform, 18 x 48 feet, constructed simi- THE PIG. 47? larly to the one at O, on the opposite side of the corn-crib. This is used for feeding the pigs. Dr. 8S. 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 isa large, inclosed feeding floor or pen (J), 24x 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 448 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 dropped 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 truck, 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 gates 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 HOUSE. 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 10x15, 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, 142 inches thich by 244 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 ches toward slatted floor, so that water will run to slats. Under the open, slatted floor is a sliding-board, set slauting 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 '’ x 14 inches may be placed in the outside wall hetween each two pens, one foot above the floor, which can be opened or closed at pleasure. This will cause a cir- THE PIG. 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 zs-inch thick placed $-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 Hog 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- 21 482 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 these cars 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 fastened 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 for 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 each 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 eyery 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 Storing PEriop. 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, I1., conceived the idea of placing the pig in compulsory hiber- nation in winter, so as to have him ready for rapid growth the following simmer. 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, haying 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 feet of free air—the box to be perfo- THE PIG. 485 rated with holes, or made of lattice work—then four feet of well-packed straw on 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 ofthe 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 haye gained 20 pounds for each 70 pounds of cob-meal—the — weather being warm for the season. The first week 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 6/4 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 4s 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 Pics 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 would 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.” MRaspail, 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 niore 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; but if 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. Lot1 con- sumed 2,111 pounds of meal, and 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 1314 pounds; and ten cases to prove that boiled meal will make 1614 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. WILL it Pay To 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 3144 cents per day. But if he has 100 hogs to feed, he will receive $312.50 for the 100 days, or $3.124% 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. REMEDIES IN DISEASE, 493 CHAPTER XILE. 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 fifteen years ago upon the Usss 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. ‘This 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 asit 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 recoyering 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 ina 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 _ 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 wouad 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. Bruises 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- yentive 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 has seen a nunrvber 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, 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. APPEND Te. 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 agricultural 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 ? Tam 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 imaprove 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. WALTON er sesrafcal ents ae seers See aac mae alasaine aerate areata onesie 75.19 82.40) Bax Fatty matters and chlorophyle' jie... .ccecescesecesece 86 .59 | Sts Butyric and other volatile. /..............6. miinleeiecieaiate eal 22) oo OrenViG AClaS ys. cpr reseaneeboie nar =isislereiieicl aclacs SOAS AnoeCAC os TPAD HYCO BE Aedes one nade ange anoHOCoC becunds Containimme mitrogen ss anictlae =n el ieces aces see BBE See 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 22 506 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 a8 ensilage, and would not touch it at first. [Signed] AUGUSTUS 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 rye 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 have 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 a new 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, us 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 a4 Ma ag Moh on se | 82 | 284 | gk | See ae < Bact oy +5 B 3 S1x Cows—JERSEYS. 5s 52 oss we. 5 39 ASD, AS Ee a5 pa wos 40 Se5 o°8 Soy ges ae 0° AA > aE oes P= = a” < < Ibs. 0z.| lbs. oz.:| Ibs. oz. | Ibs. oz. | Ibs. oz Lot A—ensilage ............ 825 2 %31 12 9.295 9 774 10 hsp) Lot B—dry feed ............ 816 6 722 14 9.3875 5 781 8 16 W 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 —) : Total, Cows. January. | February. | March. {19 weeks, 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: | 3 Ex S qa ae 2 of Z BE SS bh . = = Os oa Srx Cows—JERSEYS. or 9 a Ss si Be - Sq =2 AM geo Mie =) aS ah os =e gS 6s B48 2a “EB n a | 0-5 eve “9 9 >i & = aNc D9 8 Oc = ~ 5" oO aes aie 3 2 fz 2 ® O€& € Se « b. FREE CATALOGUE S ie 3 ec on a es 28 ro) ke B25 @ 2° Oy Stat fet, Bes @ OP . O05 gee eo oO 55 mM oO Z£E co 5B roy x i] WELLS, RICHARDSON & CO.’S N FW RAVES aD Ww Let ED TESTED SIDE BY SIDE with other Colors, it always proves its superiority. If you wish to use the best, do not fail to give it a trial. THE ONLY DIPLoM Awarded by the Vermont State Fair for Butter Color 1 v was given this Color, at the Fair held September 115; 1882: THE ADVANTAGES ARE: It will not Color the Butter-Milk ! It will not Turn Rancid ! It Gives a Brighter Color ! It is the Cheapest Color Made ! It has these good qualities because it is the strongest and brightest color, and because it is prepared in a specially refined Oil by a process which makes it impossible for it to become rancid. DO NOT FAIL TO GIVE IT A TRIAL. Thousands of tests have been made, and they always prove it the best. Re- member, it is not our old Perfected Butter Color, but an entirely new one, greatly superior, and warranted better than any other, BEWARE OF ALL IMITATIONS, and of all other oil colors, for every other one is liable to become rancid, and spoil the butter into which itis put. Ask for WELLS, RICHARDSON & Co.’s IMPROVED CoLoR, and take no other. If you cannot get it, write to us to know where and how to get it without extra expense. 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Our vats are beating any device used for this purpose in the world, so far as we know, and with them we have obtained an average for the entire season, from April Ist to November 15th, of over 4 lbs. of butter from each 100 Ibs. of milk, leaving the milk perfectly sweet, and ir the best possible condition to use for cheese. Other parties have obtained . 1. of butter from 22 Ibs. of milk as the ave- rage for the entire season, setting the milk 24 and 36 hours. This has*not been equalled by any other system of raising cream in use in this country, which is prac- tical in large creameries. It saves one-half the labor over the Cooler and Pail system. BURRELL & WHITMAN Ser LB SEATS. AN oe, THE “CYCLE” CUTTERS. Hither for dry fodder or ensilage. Are effective, la- bor-saving and safe. The facility of adjustment, sim- plicity of parts, and freedom from breakage by stones, impossibility of clogging, all ‘ commend to the prudent (ONE PAIR OF GEAR WHEELS.) farmer. They are instan- The ‘*‘ Cycle ” Cutter. taneously stopped from either side. POUR SLiZHS: $50.00 xo 175.00: The largest size is equal in capacity to any ‘‘Giant.” They are so well made that they do not jar, even at very high speed. Be i el = Z WEY HARROW Is the Right One! It adjusts to kind of soil and works horizontally, as well to So =—— = =e inequalities of ground. It lev- els, pulverizes, crushes out clods, smooths surface. It folds for riding on road, and then is an excellent Corn Marker. By removing a portion of the blades, it cultivates two rows of corn, &c. And all this for the moderate price of $24.00 at New York. WE ALSO MANUFACTURE STH MTL PLOW SS, icuss "ta tows Steel Swivel Plows; Horse Powers and Steam Engines; Field Rollers and Lawn Rollers; Farm Mills; Cider Mills. THE NEW YORK PLOW CO, No. 55 Beekman Street, NEW YORK. es Ensilage Congress Proceedings, 1882 and 1883, 80 cents each. ke For South Seed Corn, best for ensilage, per bushel, $1.50 to $2.50. ~ SELF-GLEANING STABLE. All dairymen would like to be relieved of the daily labor of cleaning the stable, and especially would prize a device that will keep the cow clean, insuring clean and wholesome milk. There have been various plans of using a gutter behind cows or cattle ; but in all of them the cow was liable to get soiled on the flank, and the tail would fall into the gutter, and render the milking disagreeable and the milk foul. 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 Self-Cleaning Grating Invented by Prof. E. W. Stewart, does all this, aud has been in use in his octagonal barn basement for the last five years, accommodating forty cows. The wooden part of the platform is situated next the manger, 3 feet 4 inches wide, and is usually raised 8 to 12 inches above the basement floor. Behind this is the iron grating, rest- ing on the back side of the gutter.—Fig. 1. The gutter or receptacle for manure is under this iron grating, and is made of such depth as is desired, usually about 16 inches below the floor, and raised 8 inches above the floor, making a depth of 2 feet. This depth is convenient for shoveling out manure when carrying to field. This reservoir is concreted or otherwise made tight, so as to hold all the liquid manure. If the width of the cow’s stall is 3 feet 2 inches, and the gutter is 3 feet wide, it will hold nearly one yard under each animal. This will hold the droppings of a large cow for about four weeks. The iron joists are placed 18% inches apart, if the stall is to be 3 feet 2 inchea wide. across these at right angles are laid wrought-iron bars, one and a half inches wide. There are 11 of these flat bars placed one and five-eighth inches apart, which makes the grating 3 feet 3 inches wide. The animal should stand with the fore-feet upon the plank, and the hind feet upon the flat iron bars.—Fig. 2. 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 fall through from the treading of the hind feet, so as to keep the bars clear of manure. The cow stands across the bars, and has always two bars to stand upon; some large cow’s feet reaching the third bar. Cows that have stood on this grating, for five years, have been very healthy with no trouble from the feet. The plan which is preferred, is to build the wall of the receptacle for manure as high as the under side of the grating, and let the back side of the grating rest upon this wall._Fig. 1. The front side of the grating is fastened to the wooden platform by eye-bolts, and turns up.—See Fig. 3. This grating, made of the best wrought-iron ( weighs about 100 lls. per 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 $6.00 per cow. This low price is now made for the purpose of introducing it among dairymen. 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 bedding. Srconp.—It saves all the ordinary labor of cleaning the stable, which cannot be estimated at less than $2.00 per cow per year, and this would pay the whole cost in three years. TurRD.—It completely saves all the liquid manure, or more than doubles 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 bedding, in villages and cities, will fully pay for the grating every year. Firtu.—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. ; SrxtH.—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 assummer, and this grating will keep the cows clean, however thin the manure. E1eHTH.—The undersigned, sole agents and manufacturers of this self-cleaning stable, have adapted it to pig-pens, and with it pigs are kept absolutely clean. Should be glad to hear from you. Will give you further special instructions about putting it in your stable when you give us a statement of your situation. Address : STEWART BROTHERS, LAKE VIEW, Erie Co., N. Y. RY eee Nees. ———— ey —_— ——. Mr. E. T. HAYDEN, of Syracuse, N. Y., writes with reference to the form represented in Fig. 1, Gentlemen—‘‘In regard to the ‘self-cleaning floor’ purchased of you, I can say that Iam more than pleased with it. I think I save enough in bedding and labor of cleaning, besides the manure saved, in one year to pay for it. 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 ina month. I would not try to do without this grating again.” Mr. CHARLES 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.”’ Mr. EDWIN ALLEN, of New Brunswick, N. J., writes: ‘* Have had my sixteen cows on your grating many months, and find it only neces- sary to clean gutter once a month. It is a splendid arrangement to save ali the manure, which [ cart directly to the field before the valuable salts are washed out by rains. The cows do not object to standing or lying on it. They stand and get up much easier from this floor being level, instead of slanting as in the old way. I 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 just ordered for sixteen more cows.] Fig. 1. EXPLANATION: A, iron anchor; B, grated floor; C, concrete; D, manger; E., sill. a] = eo « = = mn & a 5 » ini