The Book of the Farm ... [2, 4 ed.]

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The book of the farm Henry Stephens

University of Wisconsin LIBRARY .

No. 2.209.6

-

--

THE

BOOK

OF

THE

DIVISION

II.

FARM

Wherefore come on, O young husbandman ! Learn the culture proper to each kind . VIRGIL.

THE

BOOK OF THE FARM DETAILING THE LABOURS OF THE

FARMER, FARM -STEWARD, PLOUGHMAN , SHEPHERD, HEDGER , FARM-LABOURER, FIELD-WORKER, AND CATTLE -MAN

BY

HENRY STEPHENS , F.R.S.E. CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL AND CENTRAL SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURE OF FRANCE ; OF THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF GALICIA ; OF THE AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE OF GOREGORETZK IN RUSSIA ; OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SWEDEN ; OF THE ROYAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY OF NORWAY

FOURTH EDITION REVISED, AND IN GREAT PART REWRITTEN, BY

JAMES

MACDONALD

OF THE ' FARMING WORLD ' ; AUTHOR OF FOOD FROM THE FAR WEST ' ; JOINT AUTHOR OF

" POLLED CATTLE ,' ' HEREFORD CATTLE ,' ETC. , ETC.

IN

SIX DIVISIONS

DIVISION II.

WILLIAM

BLACKWOOD

EDINBURGH

AND

LONDON

MDCCCLXXXIX

All Rights reserved

AND

SONS

1

St.

CONTENTS OF DIVISION II .

PRACTICE_WINTER ( continued ). PAGE

FOOD AND FEEDING — continued .

Peas for sheep . Lupin

Preparing and using linseed Boiling linseed Growing flax for fibre and seed

For horses

267

257 Green rape 258 Furze, whins, or gorse

268

As winter food How fed to stock .

Storing linseed-cake

259

Preparing, as food

Adulteration of cakes

259 259

Furze masticator .

260

Grasses and clovers .

Rape - cake

Preparing do. for cattle Impurity of . Cotton -cake

Caution in using

260 260 260

Composition of Rye -grass and timothy Analyses of pastures Composition of clovers . Composition of grasses .

Uses of .

260

Preparing, for feeding

261 | Hay .

Palm -nut meal Cocoa - cake

Poppy -cake Locust or carob beans

Molasses or treacle

Injurious to breeding stock . Useful properties of For young bulls Turnips

261 261 261

261 262 262

262

Damaged hay Hay v . artificial food Clover and meadow hay Straw

Feeding value of . Composition of different kinds of

262

Straw.chaff

263

Preparing and storing -

Turnip -meal

263 Advantages of stored straw.chaff . Fermentation of straw . 263 264 Condimental foods 264 | Vetches

Turnip - tops .

265

Nutritive value of

Advantages of storing Economising

Mangel-wurzel Advantages of storing

Medium v. large Sugar-beet

Nutritive value of

How fed to stock :

265 | Green maize 265 Sorghum . 265 Lucerne 265 Sainfoin

265

Prickly comfrey Sugar v . starch

Beet-root pulp .

266

Sugar

Carrots

266 266

Fish -meal

Carrot - tops Parsnips . Kohl- rabi

Cabbages .

Thousand -headed kale.

22096

267

Utilising diseased

258 258

Linseed - cake

15 S'91

.

Value of, for cattle

267 267

257 257 257

Linseed

PAGE

Potatoes

266 266

266 266

Cod -fish soup for cattle Herring -meal for do.

267 268 268 268 268

269 269 269 270 270 271 272 272 272

272 273 273

273 274 274 274

275 275

276

276 276 277 277 277 277

278 278 278 278 278

Composition of

279

Value of, as food

279

CONTENTS.

vi Utilising fish -offal

279 279

Value of fat per unit . Oil and milk -production

280 280

Oil and beef-production

Feeding value of For pigs For sheep

280

Fish -guano as food Flesh -meal

305 305 306

Practical conclusionsas to oily 306

food .

280

For cattle

280

Albuminoid ratio

EXHILAGE .

280

Illustration of

ensilage .

Of different foods .

280 History of Introduction into GreatBritain 281

Balancing foods

281

Ratio for different classes of stock

282 Silos

Hints on the purchase of foods Chemical analysis essential . Guaranteed analysis

282 282 282

Purity of linseed -cake . Testsof cake

Manurialvalue of foods Urine . Solid excreta

284 288

289

Food RATIONS. Mr Lloyd on food rations

290

What the foeder has to determine The animal's requirements Feeding standaris Composition of foods

290

Precision in feeding .

292

Rations for fattening oxen Making up feeding rations

293 293

Rations for cows in milk . Rations for dry cow #

295

Silo with lever-pressure

309 309 309 310 310 310 310

Concrete slab silo

310

Wooden silos

311

311 311

Mechanical pressure Potter's patent Reynolds's patent Stock # 's patent Stack ensilage .

311

311 311 311

Stacks y, silos

311

290 Sweet and sour wilage 291

Making sweet silage

291

Relative value of sweet and

295

Rations for yearling heifers Rations for two-year-old heifers Rations for heavy milkers Feeding rations in a herd of Guern . key cows

295 295 295

Rations for small and large cows

312 312 sour

silage

Temperature in silage inaking

.

.

Silage thermometer

Analyscy of sweet and your sílage Examples ofstack ensilage Johnston's enrilage prens

Reynoldu's method of pressure Blunts patent Choice of methods

Amount of pressure Chaffing for ensilage Crops for silage 3001 Meadow -grang nilage Silage and hay compared 301 298

The nutritive ratio .

299

The nutritive ratio the essentiai point

Rations for horses .

303

303

Clover silage

320

o

Rye- grая

320

Maize

Value of fat as a food constituent

303

Fat in foods .

304 304

Oily food decreasing inilk Oil' valuable for sheep

Maize v. grage wilage Grain cropa for vilage

312 312 313 314 315

319 320

Lucerne and sainfoin Tares

OIL AS FOOD.

312

315 316 316 317 318 318 318 318 319

Pearson'sroller system 297

A word of caution A disturbing element

.

Methods of pressure

Unexhausted value of consumed food .

New silos M. Goffart's silo Hillside silos Chezelles silo Section of do . Concrete milo Bentall's wilo

Theoretical and realised manure values

Lord Egerton's silo

283

283

voided

Lawes's manurial tables

307

307 307 308 308 308

Converted silom

Silos above orbelow ground

Proportion of food assimilated and

307

Progress of ensilage .

282

283 283 283

306

320 .

321 322

Minor vilage crop

322

304

Special silage crop

Source of fat

304

Peerling value of silage

Value of oilin fooli

305

Hay v. silage Oat wilage 0. roots

322 323 323 323

305

Rearing stock on silage

324

Albuminoid want of oil

compensating

for 305

.

CONTENTS.

General advantages of ensilage Independence of weather in sav ing crops

Increasing the productive capacity of farms Advantages of silage in feeding dairy stock

Advantagesof, in breedingstock : Advantages of, in store stock Advantages of, in fattening stock Advantages of, for farm -horses Conclusions of ensilage Commis sioners

325

In the Netherlands

An Irish system Mr Richard Barter's system Ayrshire methods

347 347 347 348 348 348 349 349 350

In Lord Egerton's dairy In a Tyneside dairy

350 350

MrCarrington Smith's practice 325

In Norfolk dairies

325

Cost of feeding cows In herds of Jersey cows Food record in

326 326 326 326 326

326

Ensilage competitions The future of ensilage

vii

327

327

PREPARATION OF Food.

Wintering dry and breeding COWS Professor M'Connell on Injudicious to stint dry cows Caution against milk-fever .

350 351 351 352 352

Rations for dry cows

352

Putting cows dry

Feeding cows in pure-bred herds

Advantages of preparing food .

328

Washing roots .

328

Alnwick Park shorthorns

Frozen roots

328 328 329

Dereham Abbey shorthorns Ardfert Abbey shorthorns Polled Aberdeen - Angus herds .

Cutting turnips Pulping

my of pulping Econo Economises

329

fodder

329

Turnips as cattle food Nutrition in dry and green food

330

Proportions of foods

Motive powerin preparing food

.

Food -preparing compartment Cooking orsteaming Beneficial for dairy cows

Chaff-cutting

.

.

aff- cutters

Trials of chaff-cutters

Bruising grain .

Cake-breaking Recapitulation

354 354

Mr Richard Barter on

331

332 333 333 333 334 334 335 335 335

STORE CATTLE.

Classes of stock kept Winter feeding of cows

Regulating food by yield of milk Rotham sted experiments

Home-grown and purchased foods

337

Keep of a cow with artificial foodi

Economy in rearing cattle Turning over a new leaf The first essential

356 356

Houses for cold districts Cattle - sheds in southe Cattle -courts

districts

Economise turnips

357 357 357 357 358

Foods to be bought or sold :

358

food .

358

.

338

Ages ofstore cattie

358

338

Care in beginning winter feeding Turnips and straw for store cattle Study the animal's appetite Feed sparingly and frequently Feeding hours

358

338 338 339 340 341 341

Kindsofroots for store cattle cattle

342 343

Pulped food for store cattle :

A liberal ration

343

Proportions of pulped mixtures

Skim -milk as food for cows Feeding for milk -selling

343 344

Brewers'grains for cows

345

Silage and mangels for cows Mr Carrington's system

346

Milk -fever preventive .

346

An American example

347

.

Daily meals for store cattle . Southern systems of feeding store

Winter rations for dairy cows

Composition of mashes

354 355 355 355 356

Fresh air for cattle

Loss from exposure

Advantage in using home- grown

Keep of a cow without artificial food .

Winter housing of store cattle

336 Winter feeding of store cattle . Apportioning home-grown foods 337

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

Warm mashes for cows

Hereford herds

Winter dairying

331 .

Method of mixing food

Method of cooking food

C

352 352 352 353 353 353

330 .

Evidence in favour of pulping Preparing pulped mixtures

.

359 359

359 359

359 359

360 360 .

360

FATTENING CATTLE.

345 Fattening cattle in winter

361

Early maturity

361 361

Mr Henry Evershed on

Improvement in sheep

361

viii

CONTENTS.

Early maturity and perfection of form

A group of English rations Feeding without turnips

380

380

Rapid fattening in Sussex

362 362

Calves for early maturity, Examples of rapid fattening

362

Winter feeding on fields 363 Cattle- feeding in Ireland .

382 382

Rapid fatteningon pasture .

364 | History of a butcher's beast 364 Fall in the price of beef Calf- rearing 364 364 Wintering calves 365 Attentionto health of stock

382 382 383

Return for rapid fattening .

Feeding cow and calftogether

.

Rapid fattening on a Surrey farm

Rapid fatte fattening of sheep

ning Lamb Mr de Mornay's system of sheep feeding

365

Covered folds

366

Extra feedingand care in autumn Shelter in fields Winter feeding

Grazing young cattle 366

Cost and return

Rapid fattening of sheep in Hamp 366

shire .

Earlymaturity profitable

367

Sheep on heavy land Breeding from lambs Weights of cattle

367

.

Rest and comfort .

385 386

set

Weights of sheep Early maturity in Scotland

368

Lawes on high-pressure and pro fitable feeding Cheaper meat from young animals

369

Different types

369

Choosing the show calf

367 367

than old

.

388

371

Rations for first winter Summer feeding

388

371

Baneful influence of sugar Milk - fed show animals .

371

Scotch feeding customs

Daily allowance of turnips

Feeding hours Turnipsor cake for breakfast ? Daily allowance of cake and grain Thepulping system for fattening Mr D. Buttar's pulping system Pulped mixture Cost of pulping system

.

Its calfhood .

372 372 372 372 373 373 373 373 374 375

388

The calf for fat-shows .

388 388 389 389 389

The bullock's first winter

390

The “ secret ” of successful feeding

390

Preparing fat-show cattle Early maturity at fat-shows.

Winter feeding and treatment

390

Summer feeding

391 392

Cattle -cart

.

.

HORSES IN WINTER.

375 Housing and winter management of farmı-horses Dimensionsof stable 376

Cost of ordinary system

Sliced roots preferred to pulp. Cattle- feeding in Aberdeenshire

375

Mr M‘Combie's system .

377

Stable windows “ Hit -and -miss ” window Large v . small stables Stalls for horses

Allowance of cake, corn, &c.

377 ,

Swung bale v . travis

Return for a month's keep

377

Floors of stables

Tying cattle . Vetches and clover for fattening cattle

.

376 376

.

393 394 395

377

Ventilation of stables

378

Vitiation of air by animals

Feeding ina prize herd

378

Temperature of stables.

378 379

Revolution in system of feeding

379 379 379 379

Hay -racks for horses

.

Linseed -oil and oats

Cattle -feeding in England Housing of fattening cattle Roots and green food for cattle Hereford examples Norfolk systems

.

396 397

horses

397 397

.

Metalmangers and racks Fire -clay mangers

Harness -pegs

380

Harness - room

380

Binding horses

392 393 393

Mr G. Wilken's system

A popular Scotch “ blend "

392 392 392

.

Feeding in a polled herd Cattle- feeding in Easter Ross

387 387 387 387 387 387

Exercise

371

.

Fattening rations Balancing food properly

Preparing cattle for breeding shows " Fancy " cattle

371

Methods of fattening cattle in winter

386 386

The type to cultivate

Professor Wrightson's experiments 369 Professor Stewart on early maturity A golden maxim to feeders .

383 384 384 384 384 385 385 385

Cattle-rearing in Devon and Somer

Age for feeding Weight of Devon steers 368 Preparation of show cattle

Whatfood is to be used

381

Mr Charles Randell's system

.

398 398 398 399 399

1

CONTENTS .

Boxes for horses Foaling -box . Hay-house Corn -chests

.

.

Measuringcorn to horses

ix

399

Feeding in a Clydesdale stud

399

Feeding young horses .

400 400 400 401

Importance ofcareful rearing

Watering horses

401

Stable -brooms Morning feed of corn

402

Bulk of food

.

402

Mid - day care of horses .

402 402 402

Hours of work

Long yokings undesirable Work expected of horses Rubbing horses Evening care of horses . Grooming horses . Brushing preferable to combing Rubbing wet or heated horses Littering horses Working horses in winter

.

417 417 417

418 418 418 418 419

Straw as litter

Peat-moss litter

Other varieties of litter

402

General hints

403

Exercise

403 403 403

Rest

404

417 417

Frequency of feeding

402 | Littering horses

416 416

.

Quietness at feeding-time

Feeding outside

.

Rations for tramway horses . Rations for ponies

Riding and driving horses Quantity of food

Treatment of farm -horses

415 415

.

419 419 419 419

Washing horses' legs Clipping and singeing Injurious to clip legs of horses

419

404 404 405

Protection to skin from wet .

405 405

SWINE IN WINTER.

Work for bad weather

Breeding horses Working mares in foal .

405

Old men and brood -mares

405 Early maturityin pigs

Weaning foals Wintering young horses

406

Housing necessary in cold districts

406

Exercise for young horses

Weaning pigs

Handling younghorses

406 406

420 421 421 421 421

Castrating pigs

422

Nomenclature of horses

407

Feeding young pigs

422 422 422 422

.

Exercise for horses

405

406

weather

Intelligence of horses Namesfor farm -horses .

Feeding horses Articles of food for horses

Food requirements of horses Ration for idle horses

.

Additional food for work

Quick pace and food requirement. Force exerted by horses

Rations for degrees of work . Winter feeding of horses . Preparing food for horses

.

.

.

Ball-feeding for show pigs

422 422 422 423 423

409 409 410

Feeding farrow sows Condimental food for pigs

Cooked food forpigs

423

410

Kitchen “ slops ” for pigs Feeding old pigs unprofitable

423

Mixed food for horses

413

412

Green food forpigs

Exercise for feeding pigs Keep pigs cleanly Pigs in cattle-courts

Rest for feeding pigs Litter for pigs Nomenclature of pigs

423

423 424 424 424

424 425 425 425

POULTRY IN WINTER.

English methods A group of English rations

413 Neglect of poultry

Ration for hard -worked horses

414

Roots for horses Carrots ,

414 Varieties of farm poultry

413 .

Chickens in winter

426 426 426

Turkeys

427

Geese Ducks .

427

Furze for horses

414 414 414

Furze for broken -winded horses

415 Catching poultry

Parsnips

.

.

Variety of food Meals for pigs Mr James Howard's rations for pigs

412

.

Attention to pig-rearing Feeding the sow and her litter

Feeding pigs .

408 408 408 408 409

Steamed potatoes for horses Overdoing soft food

.

420

Cod -liver oil for pigs A golden rule inpig -feeding

Cooked food for horses . Hard food for horses Mashes for horses . Oats for horses Substitutes for oats

.

winter .

407 407

410 410 411 411 412 412 412

.

Disadvantages of feeding pigs in

Cocoa -nut meal for pigs

Work for ploughmen in bad .

420 420

Method in stable management

427 427

CONTENTS.

X

Common pigeons Wood -pigeons

Characteristics of old birds Poultry -houses Movable poultry -coops Pigeons hatching Catching pigeons “ Weeding " pigeons . Daily treatment of poultry Regularity in feeding poultry Rapid fattening of poultry

Hanging -doors in steadings .

445

Preservation of wooden floors

445

Roofs of steadings

428

Truss - roofs

429

Upper barn Conveying sheaves to the sheaf

446 446 446

430

430 430

barn . Granaries

446 447 447

Precautions against vermin . 431 Threshing-machines Scotch threshing machine 431

430

Time and place forfeeding Eggs in winter. Young broods in winter “ Brooders ”

Table poultry all the year round Pampered fowls Fattening fowls

427

428 428

.

French system

Fattening cages Dressing table fowl Cramming ,

432 433 433 434 434 434 434 435

435

Saving of labour

448 449 450

.

Portable threshing machines

451

Hands required for threshing machines

452 453

Safety -drums Straw -trusser

454

Hand threshing machines

454

Motive power machines

for

threshing 454

Nomenclature of poultry

435 Steam -power 435 Water-power 436 Undershot water -wheels

Feathers

436

Bucket water-wheel

Diseasesof poultry

437 437 437

Measuring the water-supply

455 455 455 455

Mill -dam

456

Catarrh Bronchitis

Roup Indigestion

437

Crop-bound .

437 437 437 437

Soft crop Egg -bound Soft or shell -less eggs Leg weakness

438 438 438 438

Diarrhoea Liver disease

Bumble foot .

.

.

Forming mill-dam Dimensions of the bucket-wheel . The arc Construction of the wheel Overshot or breast ?

Trough and sluices Speed of the wheel

438

Lice

438 438 439 439

460 460

Driving horses in threshing

Carting corn to be threshed Ladders

Preparing for threshing Care in feeding Removing straw

CORN AT THE STEADING.

Mows of straw 440 440

440

Rick - stands .

Stack foundations. Formation of stacks

Roofed stackyards

Ground-plan of stackyards Hay - barns .

.

English barns

440 441 441 441 441 442 442

Threshing - mill, straw - barn, and granaries

Door of the corn -barn .

442 443 444 444 444

Floor of the corn -barn .

444

Straw -barn

Straw -barn door Corn -barn

461

The poncelet turbine

Irregular driving

The stackyard . Fencing the stackyard Forming into ridges

460

The Thomson turbine .

438 Threshing and winnowing corn

Poultry farming Imports of eggsand poultry

457 457 457 457 459 459

The turbine .

438 Horse-power

Scaly legs Diphtheria Goose fat .

454

Carrying straw to the courts Straw -screen

Dressing corn . Corn -dressing machines

.

462 462 462

464 464 465 466 466 467

467 467 467 468 468

Modern winnowers

470

Corn - screens

472 473 473

Barn implements . Riddles

Sieves . Barn wechts or baskets Barn - stool Barn -hoe

Corn -shovels Barn -brooms

Winnowing in olden times Care in dressing corn Measuring grain

474

474 474

475 475 475 475 476

476

1 xi

CONTENTS.

Ancient superstition regarding

Hummellers

476 478

Arranging sacks of corn Lifting sacks of corn Loading a cart with sacks

478 | Peas . Produce of peas 478 Consumption of peas 480

Bagging grain

Corn -sacks

480 482

Weighing machines

beans

496 497

497 497

Wheat - straw Ash of wheat - straw

498 498 498 498

Wheat- chaff . Barley -straw .

VARIETIES OF CORN.

Ash Wheat

Simple classification

483 483 484 484 485 485

.

Colour of wheat . Classification by the ear

Classifying by the grains Relation of ear and grain Vilmorin's classification

499 499 499 499 499 499 499 499

Strength of straw . Barley - chaff . Oat-straw . Ash

Oat -chaff Chaff as a foot -warmer .

485 Rye -straw 485 Bean and pea straw . Ash of straw 486 Straw as food or litter . 486

Judging wheat Wheat for flour

Wheat varying with soil Weight of wheat .

Number of grains in a bushel Wheat for seed

Preserving wheat in granaries

.

500 500 500 500

486 486

Yield of straw Ancient uses of straw

486

An ancient threshing -machine

501 501

487

Ancient practice in storing Storing v. immediate selling

487

Production of an acre of wheat Kernel and husk .

487 487

Origin of wheat Antiquity of wheat cultivation

487 488

487

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE.

Losses from want of care . Forming dunghills . Carting out manure

501 502 502

Different kinds ofdung for differ ent crops

Limits of wheat culture Barley

488 489

Mixing dung

Classifying by the ear . Classifying by the grain Judging barley

489

Position of thedunghill

489

Loss of time in carting dung Careless strewing of litter in

490 490

Yield andweightof barley Grains in a bushel

490 490

Utilisation of barley Barley -meal Malting Limits of barley culture

502 •

courts

Howlitter should be spread in courts

502 502

504 504

490

Chaffing litter

490 490

Turning dung

491

Art in forming a dunghill

Classification by the grain

491

Classification by the ear

492

Preventing fermentation Covering dunghills

Yield and weight of oats

492

Dung-spade

505 505 505 506 506 506 506 507

Grains in the bushel

493 493 493 493 494 494 494 494 494

Manure - court

507

Oats

Kernel and husk . Oatmeal

Yield of meal Composition of oatmeal Oats as food for stock .

Antiquity of oat culture Origin of the oat . Limits of oat culture

.

Rye.

495 495

Yield and weight of rye Limits of rye culture

495

Rye -flour Beans

Field -bean

Leguminous plants Yield and weight of beans Consumption of beans .

495 .

495 495

496 496

496

Emptying courts of dung .

.

Is winter carting -out injurious to the dung ?

507

Field - sheds for inanure

507

Winter industry lessens spring work

Dunghills injurious to drains Covered manure -pits Fermentation in dung The manure -pit

Oozing of liquid from heaps Manure-pitsat steadings Flooringof manure-pits Extra value of covered - court dung

The art of “making” manure . Well-made dung . .

The art

How the urine may beutilised

508 508 509 509 509 509

510 510 510

510 510 511 511

xii

CONTENTS.

511

Injury from “ washing " Mischief from defective water spouts

“ Fire- fang »” in manure

512

Horseand cow dung compared Pigs' dung

dung

of surplus liquid : 512 Utilisation Noteworthy attempt

512

Different kinds of dung

512 513

.

Incorporating the liquid with the .

s . Outlay greater than the return Suitable for exceptional crops

Application by cart

Sheep's dung

513

Heat from various kinds of dung . Quantities of dung from stock

513 Making compost with liquid manure 513

Water - carts

Advantages of the compost system Amountof carting

LIQUID MANURE.

Composition and character of liquid manure Complexcharacter of excreta : Conditions influencing excreta

.

Fresh and stale urine

Forming a compost reservoir Irrigation with liquid manure . An Irish example 514 Preventing loss of ammonia 514 The problem solved in Sussex .

515 Fresh urine injurious to vegetation . 515 Time for application 515 Advantage of incorporating with

521 522 522 522

522 523 524 525 526 526 526 526 527 527 527 527 527

Decomposition of urine . Fixing ammonia

516

the dung

528

Changes through decomposition

516

Town sewage

Specific gravity of urine . Composition of its saline and min

516 Construction ofliquid -manure tanks Pressure

528 528 528 528 529 529 529

eral ingredients

Valuablecharacter of liquid manure Variation in its composition Drainings from yards and dung

of fluids

516

Depth the chief element

517 517

Disadvantage of deep tanks .

Johnston on liquid manure

Covering tanks

Average composition of liquid man ure

.

Shallow tanks

517 517

heaps

Pit or well form

.

529

CLAYING LANDS.

518

Liquid manure acts quickly Advantages of the liquid form Utility of the water Disadvantages of excess of water

.

518 Benefits of claying . 519 | Clay pits .

519

Spreading the clay

Neglect of liquid manure

519 Is claying soil injurious to sheep ? 520 Mixing soils

Rainfall and loss of liquid manure

520 Top-dressing bare heights

.

Preventing loss in liquid manure Liquid -manure tanks Liquid -manure pump Dispensing with pumps Size of tank required A Mid -Lothian system

.

520 520 521

.

521 Wheat-sowing Forming compost

521 .

521 | Collecting sea -weed

530 530 531 531 531 532

532 532 532

-

-

---

-

1

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN DIVISION II.

PLATE

DOUBLE - HORSE CART AT WORK - OLD STYLE

I

.

ANIMAL PORTRAITS.

SHORTHORN BULL ( 1850)

IO

.

HEREFORD BULL .

13

RED POLLED BULL SOUTHDOWN RAM

15 26

LINCOLN RAM

30

.

GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS. WINTER - continued . PAOE

FIG .

268

118. Furze masticator

119. Section of Lord Egerton's silo, showing its condition at the end 308 of the third day's work 120. Transverse section of M. de Che zelles's “ Grange Silo " 310

121. Self-registering thermometer . 124. Blunt's ensilage press 125. Pearson's ensilage roller system 126. Ensilage cutter and elevator .

313 314 315 316 316 318

127. Root-washer .

328

122. Johnson's ensilage press 123. Reynolds's ensilage press

128. Combined pulper, slicer, and finger piece cutter 129. Root -pulper

131. Chaff -cutter

132. Horse -gear

133. Steam food -preparing machinery

.

134. Food -steaming apparatus 135. Chaff -cutter 136. Self-feeding chaff-cutter

335 335 336 337 337 391 392 394 394

137. Corn -grinding mill

138. Hand flour or grist mill. 139. Cattle -cart 140. Stable window 141. Stall for a work -horse stable

142. Stall with cast-iron hind -posts 143. Support formanger 144. Position of improved manger . 145. Corn - chest for work -horses 146. Birch broom for stables .

398 .

398 400 402

147. Curry -comb, brush, foot - picker, and mane- comb .

329 332

148. Water -brush .

332 333 333 334

149. 150. 151. 152. 153.

130. The “ Union ” bruising and grind ing mill

PAGE

FIG.

Common straw -fork Steel straw - fork Boiler and furnace Hand whin -bruiser Peat-breaker .

.

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404 404 404 405 411 415

418

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66 HEREF BULL ORD ,

GOOD 7 663 .",BOY OF COVENTRY EARL OF PROPERTY THE ,W COURT .CROOME ORCESTERSHIRE

PLATE 13

E.P. COLMAN J. OF PROPERTY MTHE O ,N HOUSE .CARROW SQ F ORWICH

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PLATE 05

HIGHNESS ROYAL HIS OF PROPERTY THE

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PLATE 26

PROPERTY THE

LINCOLN RAM . N .BUTLER OTTINGHAM ESQ SMITH HENRY OF T C ,GROVE ROPWELL HE

PLATE 30

FOOD AND FEEDING .

undigested, if it does not also produce indigestion by the way.” 1 Peas for sheep . - Peas are capital food for sheep - along with linseed -cake

257

He is now less dependent upon it than when he first began to use concentrated

foods extensively. But although many other useful articles of food for farm

there is perhaps no better as a concen- live stock have been brought into notice trated food. In a series of experiments in recent years thanks in a large conducted at Woburn in the winter of

measure to the application of science

1882-83, by Dr A. Voelcker, on behalf of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, pea-meal was contrasted with barleymeal and malt as food for sheep, eachalong

to the question of economical stock

feeding — it is still true, as remarked by the late Mr R. O. Pringle, that “whether in the building up and developmentof the

with turnips, hay and straw, chaff and young growing animal, or the enriching linseed -cake. In summing up the re- of the produce of the dairy -cow , or the sults, which were favourable to the pea- final preparation of the animal for the meal, Dr A. Voelcker says that " lin- butcher, linseed is an article of the

seed-cake and pea-mealin equal propor. highestimportance totheagriculturist.” The following analysis of linseed is by

tions, and usedat the rate of 14 lb. each

per head per day, in conjunction with Dr Anderson : some hay and straw , chaff and swedes,

given ad libitum , is a better food for young sheep than either a mixture of linseed -cake and barley-meal, or linseedcake and malt.” 2

Water Oil

7.50 34.00 24.44

Albuminoids

Gum, mucilage, sugar, & c ., and woody fibre Mineral matter (ash ) .

30.73 3.33

Lupin. 100.00

The following is an approximate anal ysis of the seeds of lupin : There are, however, a great many varieties of linseed. The kinds grown in different Water 14.0 Albuminoids

33.0 5.0 33.0

Fat

Starch, & c. Woody fibre

I 2.0

Mineral matter

parts of Russia, in India, and in America, differ among themselves in the percent ages of oil and albuminoids they contain, as well as in shape and size. The pro

portion of oil in Indian linseed is often considerably more than 40 per cent. Linseed of fine quality, weighing 52 The seeds of the lupin contain, therefore, lb. per bushel, readily yields from 11 to a larger proportion of flesh -forming sub- 12 gallons of oil per quarter (8 bushels), stances than either beans, peas, or lentils. weighing 9 lb. per gallon, or about 25 3.0

100.0

The cultivation of the plant is quite per cent of its weight.

simple, and it grows well on poor, sandy, and gravelly soils.

It is cultivated ex-

Preparing and using Linseed as Food . It is thus seen that linseed is an

tensively in the northern parts of Ger- exceedingly rich food.

It is not advis

many, and it has also been partially able, however, to use it in its natural introduced into England.

The stems

state, as, when so used, a considerable

make excellent hay, and the seeds are proportion of the seeds will be found to

found to be very superior food for sheep, pass undigested. Being of a laxative na lambs, and fattening wethers. They ture, it requires to be used with caution , are also given to horses andcattle, mixed and in combination with other articles

with oats or beans ; and lupin-meal is which have a counteracting effect. given with milk to calves. Linseed.

The seed is sometimes boiled in order

to prepare it for use as the food of animals, but a better mode of prepara

Linseed has not inaptly been described tion is to grind it. When this is done, as the sheet-anchor of the stock -feeder. chaff, or the husks which are separated from oats in the process of milling, i Parming World , June 1 , 1888, 429.

2 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., xix. 430. VOL. I.

should be passed through along with the linseed, as either of these articles helps R

258

CATTLE IN WINTER .

to prevent the linseed from " clogging ” the plants, alleging that when this is done the millstones ; and besides, theyabsorb the fibre is injured , andconsequently they

a portion of the oil which exudesfrom the steep the flax without first removing the seed in the grinding, and thus they be- seed . The result is that the seed is lost ; come useful articles offood, although they and the loss of feeding material fromthis are of little value in their natural state. cause alone which takes place in Ireland Boiling Linseed . - Meal made of pure cannot be estimated at much less than

linseed may be given in combination with £ 500,000 per annum . other kinds of food, such as bean -meal,

The prevalent idea entertained in Ire

barley -meal, Indian meal, &c., but it is land on this subject has been combated also frequently prepared for use by boil- by Mr Charley, who is a grower of flax ing. When the seed is prepared in this as well as a manufacturer . Mr Charley way, it is generally steeped for some describes “the old -fashioned system of

hours in hot water and then boiled, but taking the flax to a watering-place with it is very apt to burn duringthe process its valuable freight of seed unremoved ,” of boiling unless it is carefully watched. as being wanton waste of rich feeding In order to prevent burning, it has been material.1 found better to raise the water to the When the “ bolls ” are saved , they are

boiling -point before putting in the lin- driedon a loft in a strong current of air, seed, instead of putting the linseed into and then ground up with the outer husk cold water and then boiling it.

When

or chaff. Even when the seed is ex

the linseed is put into boiling water, tracted from the bolls, the residue, or add a little cold water, and then let it chaff, makes excellent food for milch again come to the boil, and allow it to cows when prepared in the form of a

remain boiling for twenty minutes, stir- hot mash . The bolls are also steamed ring it occasionally. This mode of pre- along with other materials, and given as paring linseed has the effect of splitting a mash to horses as well as to cattle. the seed, and thereby rendering the Linseed -cake. operation much more effectual than it is when the skin does not burst, as is

Linseed -cake is the refuse part of the

usually the case when the linseed is seed left in the process of extracting lin put first into cold water which is after- seed-oil. Formerly, although most part wards brought to the boiling- point. of the oil was extracted by crushers, there

For calf-rearing no kind of food sur- always remained from 10 to 12 or 14 per cheaper commodities, it is very largely in extracting the oil does its work so passes linseed, and in conjunction with cent ; but the machinery now employed

employed for this purpose.

efficiently , that from a fourth to a third

Growing Flax for Fibre and seed . less oil is left. -Flax is grown very extensively in the The following is an average analysis north of Ireland, but, as was pointed out of linseed -cake of the good old type

by Mr R. O. Pringle, the chief object in still sometimes met with ; and side by growing flax thereis — owing to the im- side is given an analysis ofgood American portance of the linen manufacture in cake, hard pressed , and therefore low in

Ireland — the production of a fine class oil but rich in albuminoids : of fibre, which is incompatible with a large crop of seed . If the value of the Water seed as a fattening material were incul Albuminoids

cated more strongly than it has been by Mucilage . those who advocate the extension of flax- Oil .

cultivation, it is probable thatflax-grow. Woody fibre

ing would be more largely practised Mineralmatter (ash)

High -class American Western . English . 10.05 9.00 25.14 37.00 36. 10 34.50 11.93 7.50 7.00 9.53 7.25 5.00

throughout the kingdom than it is at 100.00 100.00 present. As it is, we have to depend upon foreignsources of supply for the linIt is thus apparent that linseed -cake is seed required for various purposes. Irish a highly concentrated description of food , flax-growers in general are averse to sep arate the “ bolls ” or seed -capsules from

1 Plax and its Products.

FOOD AND FEEDING.

259

and is suited for the use of all kinds of been known to keep for 12 months with

farm live stock, with the exception of out any appreciable depreciation .” 2 swine — the objection to its use in their

Adulteration of Cakes. - Unfortun

case being that it imparts an oily flavour ately, it has become so much the practice to the meat, and makes it soft or flabby.

to adulterate cakes of all kinds in the

Horsesbecome extremely fond of oilcake, process of manufacture, that the great and 3 lb. per day has been given to farm- est caution is necessary in purchasing any article of the kind. Impurities also Linseed - cake is crushed into small exist in the seed, varying from 134 per pieces before being given to stock. cent to 70 per cent ; and these impuri The dung of cattle fed on oilcake is ties are sometimes added artificially . Dr very rich, nearly half the weight of the Voelcker states that “ occasionally barges ash of oilcake consisting of phosphate of laden with siftings ” ( i. e., impurities) lime; and one result of giving cake to are sent out a little way to sea to meet cattle or sheep feeding on grass land ships having on board linseed, and com during summer and autumn is to im- ing from one of the ports in the north. horses with good effect.

provethe pasture,besides hastening the An amalgamationof the siftings with the fattening of the animals.

linseed is effected on the high sea, and

Storing Linseed -cake. — The late Dr the mixture, containing a greater or less

A. Voelcker remarked — and this is a quantity of siftings, is then imported, and point of the very greatest importance sold as linseed ' genuine as imported .' -that “the nutritive value of feeding“ A good deal of so -called genuine lin cakes depends not merely upon their seed -cake is made from such seed. It is proximate composition, butlikewise upon well to bear in mind that a guarantee their physical condition. Like all other which describes a cake as made from

perishable articles of food, linseed -cake, linseed ' genuine as imported ,' in point

when kept in a damp or badly ventilated of fact is no guarantee at all; for it is place, rapidly turns mouldy, and after well known that very dirty seed, not un sometime becomes unfit for feeding pur- frequently containing more than half its poses.” 1 weight of foreign weed-seeds, is freely " Linseed -cakes should be stored in as imported into Hull and other ports.' dry a place as can be found. The floor Cakes may now be purchased with a "

3

should be a wooden one if possible. If guarantee as to their purity which can it be of plaster or concrete it is advisable be relied upon ; and on this point the to lay some old timbers on the floor, reader is referred to the remarks under >>

forming a stool, and pile the cakes in the heading of “ Purity of Cattle Foods.” stacks thereon, about 8 or 10 inches from

Rape-cake.

the walls, so that a current of air could

get round. The cakes, which generally

Rape-cake, when pure, is a valuable measure 30 inches long and 12 inches food for cattle. The German green rape broad and about 1 inch thick, should be cake is the best kind ; and of a good packed in such a way that the air can sample of this sort, the late Dr A. Voelck get through the pile and come in contact er gave the following analysis :

with all the edges of the cake. “ The ventilating of the store should be good, and as much air as possible

Water Oil

10.82

Albuminoids

33.81 28.06 11.49 7.10

8.72

Mucilage, sugar, &c. allowed to get inside when the atmosphere is dry, but the doors and windows Woodyfibre Mineral matter should be closed when it is damp. “ The same remarks are applicable to 100.00 cotton -cakes, but these do not keep well In “ flesh-formers " -albuminoids — rape beyond a month or six weeks. “When good linseed -cakes, manufac- cake is thus richer than even the best of tured without the use of water, are stored linseed -cakes.

in the manner thus described, they have 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng., ix . 3.

? Parming World , 1888, p . 801. 3 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., ix . 7.

CATTLE IN WINTER.

260

Decorticated . Undecorticated .

It is not much relished by cattle at

first, but if care is taken toprevent it Water . Oil

from getting damp and mouldy they will Albuminoids 1 take to it by degrees. If the animals re Mucilage, sugar, &c. fuse to eatit in its fresh state by itself, Woody fibre. Mineral matter the difficulty may be got over by cover

ing the cake for some time with sawdust, chaffed straw , or any substance that will prevent it from becoming damp or

9.28 16.05 41.25 16.45 8.92 8.05

32.52 20.99 6.02

100.00

100.00

6.58

3.67

11.46 6.07 22.94

1

Containing nitrogen

moulded .

Preparing Rape - cake for Cattle.-

As in the case of linseed -cake, the im

The cake is of course crushed, and it is provements in the crushing machinery of advantage to pour boiling water over have reducedthe percentage of oil in cot the crushed cake, and allow the mixture ton -cake, so that there is now rarely more

to stand for a time before it is used. than 12 or 13 per cent of oil, and often as

Steaming the cake along with chaffed little as 8 or 9, in decorticated cotton-cake. straw is also a good mode of preparing

The decorticated variety is of a uni

it for cattle ; and in so preparing it bean- form yellow colour, while the presence of meal or bran is added,in the proportion the dark -brown husks in the undecorti of 4 lb. of cake to 2 lb. of bran or 1 lb. cated at once indicates its nature . of bean -meal. With these articles, 16 lb. Caution in using Undecorticated of chaffed straw should be blended before Cotton - cake. — The undecorticated va

steaming. Impurity of Indian Rape -cake.— DrA.Voelcker statesthat Indian rape-cake is generally “ contaminated with so much

riety is not only less valuable than the other, but it is also apt to produce in flammatory symptons in the animals fed upon it, and death has frequently been

wild mustard or charlock ( Sinapis arven the result.

This arises from the quan

sis), that it is not safe to feed animals tity of cotton which adheres to theseed,

upon it. Several actions having been and from the harsh nature of the husk. tried in our law courts, in which the Although undecorticated cotton -cake may

plaintiffs obtained verdicts for damages be employed as food for cattle when used caused by feeding cattle upon cake which turned out to be Indian rape-cake, it is now seldom sold for feeding purposes; but is either bought for manuring purposes, or employed for adulterating linseed -cake, or

cautiously, it is generally safer to use the decorticated variety, which, as will be gathered from the above analysis, is also superior as a feeding material. It ought to be mentioned, however,

preparing mixed feeding-cakes."

that the undecorticated cake (often called

From 74. lb. of Indian rape-cake, Dr “ English ,” to distinguish it from the de Voelcker obtained enough essential oil corticated or American cake) has, in the of mustard to convince him that half a eyes of graziers, a certain value beyond cake of it, if not a smaller quantity, might its mere intrinsical value as a food, owing kill a bullock . to its astringent properties, which render Even the best rape, when mixed with it very useful to obviate any scouring linseed -cake, imparts a turnip-like flavour tendency amongst cattle or sheep when to the latter, which of course reduces its on young or luxuriant pasture. value.

Uses of Decorticated Cotton - cake .

-Decorticated cotton -cake is very rich Cotton -cake.

in flesh -forming matters, as well as in phosphates, or “ bone-formers," and is therefore specially adapted for growing stock and cows giving milk ; but for calves and lambs it is not so suitable indeed, for these young animals it is somewhat dangerous — on account of its husks of theseed . being too indigestible for them ; and The following is an average analysis of should be given to them, if at all, only the two varieties by Dr A. Voelcker :in very small quantities. This cake is made from the seeds of the cotton -plant. There are two varieties of it in use the decorticated , from which the husks have been completely removed , and the undecorticated, which contains a considerable proportion of the dark -brown

FOOD AND FEEDING.

261

Preparing Cotton - cake for Feed- ing properties to linseed oilcake, and ing . – Some think it better to have the considerably less in cost. cake ground into meal than merely broken by the usual cake-crusher . If

the cake is to be merely crushed, it

Cocoa -cake.

Cocoa -cake is manufactured from the

would be useful to have this done some outer shell with fragments of the kernel

time, perhaps ten or fourteen days , be- of the cocoa-bean. It is a wholesome fore giving it to cattle, so that it might food , and cattle take to it readily. It is, absorb moisture, and thereby get softened however, inferior to pure linseed -cake, and more easily digested. as the following analysis by Dr Voelcker Manurial Value of Cotton - cake .

Cotton -cake imparts an exceptionally high value to the manure of the animals fed upon it. As will be shown presently, in

dealing with the “ Manurial Value of Foods,” it stands above all other foods in this respect.

will show : Water

14.95 8.02

Oil Albuminoids 1

19.87 18.26

Woody fibre

Mucilage, sugar, &c. Mineral matter

32.46 6.44

.

100.00

Palm -nut Meal.

The following is an analysis by Dr A.

3.18

1 Containing nitrogen

Voelcker of a good sample of palm -nut meal :

Oiland fattymatter :

20.01

Albuminoids 1

13.87

The ordinary cocoa-nibs, as sold by grocers, are occasionally employed to supply a feeding material for young calves. This is done by boiling the nibs

Mucilage, sugar, &c.

38.24

over a slow fire for two or three hours

Woodyfibre Mineral matter

18.56

6 or 8 quarts of water to 1 lb. of nibs. The nibs are then strained out, and the

Water

5.92 .

3.40 100.00

liquid is mixed with milk and given to calves when it is milk -warm .

1 Containing nitrogen

2,22

Poppy -cake. The following is Dr A. Voelcker's remains in pressing the oil out of the analysis of poppy-cake This meal is made from the cake which

palm -nut. There are some very inferior kinds of palm -nut cake or meal in the market, and these have been used in

adulterating linseed - cake -- not so much lately, on account of the vigorous and

Water Oil

11.63 5.75 31.46

Albuminoids 1

Mucilage, gum , and woody fibre 38.18 Mineral matter 2

12.98

commendable efforts that have been made

to put down the adulteration of all feed ing-stuffs as well as of manures. Palm -nut meal of first -rate quality may now be had, and is extensively used in

100.00

1 Containing nitrogen ? Containing sand

5.II

:

7.58

rearing and fattening stock , more particularly in calf-rearing. It has been

There are two varieties of poppy -cake, one a light-coloured or whitish cake, found a most admirable food for calves, made from white poppy ; the other a and for them it is prepared by being dark or brownish cake , made from com

steeped in hot water for several hours, mon poppy-seed. Poppy -cake must be used when quite It is also well suited for cows in milk - increasing both fresh , as the oil is apt to become soon the quantity and quality of the milk . It rancid . When fresh , it is a useful feed

perhaps for a whole day.

gives good results in feeding pigs, if used ing material. with such other foods as barley -meal,

Indian meal, beans or peas. An equal

Locust or Carob Beans.

These are the beans or pods of the cated cotton -cake is equivalent in feed- locust -tree (Ceratonia siliqua ). Dr A.

mixture of palm -nut meal and decorti-

CATTLE IN WINTER.

262

Voelcker has given the analysis of three Treacle is a most useful, but, in the hands of the unskilled or carelessbreeder, a somewhat dangerous article of food.

samples of locust -meal as follows : No. 1. No. 2. No. 3.

It possesses special properties of consid sprinkled over a pulped mixture, it ren

erable value. Water Oil .

17.11 1.19

12.61 1.08

0.96

Sugar

51.42 13.75

50.30 20.13 5.87

54.07

7.14

5.88

2.87

2.74

100.00

100.00

100.00

1.20

0.94

1.25

Mucilage and digestible fibre Albuminoids 1

7.50 6.01 3.02

Woody fibre Mineral matter .

1 Containing nitrogen

.

14.22

14.41 7.72

Diluted with water, and

ders the food more palatable to the stock , and its laxative characteristic makes it a

useful ingredient in many food -mixtures with an opposite tendency. Then its

own intrinsic properties inlaying on fat are very high ; and therefore, properly and carefully employed, treacle is of con siderable service to stock -owners.

Professor Tanner acknowledges the its weight of sugar, but it is deficient in high fattening properties of treacle, and Locust-meal contains, therefore, fully half

albuminous compounds or flesh -formers ; remarks that it has “ the effect of sup

consequently it should be given to stock, pressing these periodical returns of rest

in combination with peas or bean -meal, lessness which prevent heifers feeding as or with decorticated cotton - cake. The well as steers ;" and adds that, “ whilst beans are either roughly crushed or avoiding it for breeding animals, we may ground into meal, and either way are encourage its employment when cows or much liked by cattle and sheep. heifers have to be fattened .” 1 Treacle for Young Bulls . — There is Molasses or Treacle.

no doubt that, in spite of all the warn

Treacle risky for Breeding Stock . ings that have been given, treacle is -It is pretty generally accepted as an still used extensively for breeding stock ,

established truth that food excessively rich in saccharine matter, while highly valuable in the fattening of stock, is unsuitable for breeding animals, in that it

notably in forcing young bulls and heifers into blooming condition for show or sale. We are aware that it is included in the

feeding mixture for young bulls in sev

tends to impair their procreative powers. eral of the leading herds of the day; but About three - fourths of the weight of

in almost all these cases there is a skil

molasses or treacle consist of sugar, so ful hand at the helm , and the tasty but

that it lies very specially under the above dangerous treacle is given sparingly and judiciously, so as to benefit the animals

condemnation .

In his instructive paper on “ The Re- without impairing their fecundity. We productive Powers of Domesticated Ani- say “ almost," because, unfortunately, as mals ” contributed to the Journal of the

we are also aware, there is too good reason

Royal Agricultural Society of England to believe that in some cases harm is really in 1865 , Professor Tanner lays great being done to the breeding properties of

stress upon the detrimental influence young animals, bulls more largely than of " sugary " foods upon the reproductive heifers, by the too liberal and imprudent powers, and considers it very doubtful use of treacle. if any stock which have been fed for a

How Treacle is used .- Treacle is

length of time upon food largely mixed often given to sickly animals mixed with with molasses ever regain their breeding bran or gruel, and it is sometimes put amongst milk for calves. Owing

powers.

These extreme views have not been to its highly laxative nature, from doubt that the general drift of the con- can be given with advantage even to and from 14 lb. to i tentions emphasised by Professor Tanner full-grown beasts, according to the age of the universally accepted, but there is no 2 lb. to 3 lb. per day is the most that

are well founded .

The whole matter Ib. to a calf,

depends upon the skill and care — or the animal. want of skill and care — with which the article is used .

Useful

Properties of Treacle .

The late Dr R. Thomson of

1 Jour, Royal Agric. Soc. Eng., sec . ser . , i. 267.

—

FOOD AND FEEDING .

263

Glasgow found that about 3 lb. of mo- of the kingdom , particularly in the north

lasses mixed with 9 lb. of barley-meal, of Scotland, will, with the aid merely and given along with 25 lb. to 30 lb. of of fresh oat-straw, be found to fatten hay, kept milch cows in full milk, and cattle without using much artificial food

did nearly as well as 12 lb. of either of any kind; whereas large quantities of linseed -cake or bean -meal. A few ounces

cake and hay must be given along with

per day, diluted with hot water, and the same kind of turnips to effect that sprinkled over the dry food of horses or object, when such turnips are grown in of fattening sheep, will be found beneficial.

some other districts.

This is more espe

As already indicated, treacle-water is a cially the case with turnips grown in the most useful addition to a pulped mixture south and east of England. for fattening cattle. Advantages of Storing Turnips. Turnips become more nutritious after they have been stored for some time than

Turnips.

Roots form one of the principal ele- they are when taken fresh from the field. ments of winter food for cattle, and are By storing they lose a proportion of the also consumed largely by sheep, and to a water which they naturally contain ; and much smaller extentbyhorses and pigs. there are also some chemical changes

Turnips, with the swede as the chief which take place in them tendingto variety, supply the largest proportion of render them more nutritious. this description of food.

When turnips are allowed to remain in

Variation in Nutritive Value of Roots.— The nutritive value of turnips varies with the variety, the climate, soil, and also the manures used in their cultivation, so that any description of their constituent elements can be regarded as only an approximation to the truth, even

the field until the leaves begin to put forth a fresh growth, as they will be found to do early in spring, a decided deterioration intheir quality is the result, owing to certain of their elements be coming changed into indigestible woody fibre. Hence the necessity for storing

in the caseof the samekind of turnips if turnips at the proper season, say in grown

under different circumstances. All November and December. the varieties of the turnip contain a large The following table gives the average

percentage of water - namely, from 86 to composition of five varieties of turnips, as 94 per cent, and from 6 to 14 per cent of deduced by Cameron from the results of

dry matter. Turnips grown in some parts the analyses of Anderson and Voelcker : Swedes .

Aberdeen Yellow ,

Purple-top

Norfolk

Globe.

Yellow .

Turnip .

91.200 1.117

92.280 1.737 2.962

White

Water Albuminoids

89.460

90.430

90.578

1.443

1.143

1.802

Sugar, &c. Woody fibre

5.932 2.542 0.623

5.457

4.622

2.342

2.349

4.436 2.607

0.628

0.649

0.640

1.021

100.000

100.000

100.000

100.000

100.000

Ash

2.000

The means of the analyses of 60 differ- Composition of dry matter : ently grown roots of Fosterton hybrid

turnips gave Dr Aitken ? the following

Albumen Woody fibre

7.7 10.8 5.8

11.7

75.7

74.4

100.0

100.0

results on soils at Pumpherston and

Ash

Harelaw respectively

Carbohydrates (sugar ),

Water .

Dry matter .

& c. .

Pumpherston. Harelaw . 92.6 91.3 : 7.4 8.7

7.5

6.4

The mean results of 27 somewhat more 100.0

100.0

1 Trans. High. Agric. Soc., xvi., 1884.

detailed analyses of Aberdeen yellow turnips, grown with a great variety of manures at Carbeth, Stirlingshire, gave

CATTLE IN WINTER .

264

Mr David Wilson , jun ., the following dry food as well as roots, it is forced , in figures : 1 order to obtain sufficient solid nutriment, In fresh In dry to consume a very large quantity of roots. matter . water — very much more, in cold weather, Water 91.09 than is necessary for it. This water 4.72 52.94 Sugar .

Woody fibre

1.03 0.54

11.54 6.06

0.60

6.76

1.36 0.66

15.23 7.47

100.00

100.00

Albuminoids

Non - albuminoid nitro

gen x 6.25

at the expense of the heat of the animal, which has simultaneously to be replaced

by fresh heat — so that part of thesugar,

Extractive matter free

of nitrogen Ash

when swallowed has to become warmed

& c., of the roots, instead of going to fatten the animal, is wasted in furnish

ing fuel to warm the superfluous water swallowed in the root-substance. Desirability of Economising Tur

of Tur nips. — Over and over again, in various in Composition Variation of nutritivematter — The quantity nips.

this work

, prominent reference parts of in the same variety of the turnip varies is made to the great and avoidablewaste

-in white turnips from 8 to 13 per cent, which thus takes place in the old -fash and in theyellow turnip from11 to ioned and time-honoured system of tur

17 per cent ; so that 20 tons of yellow nip-and-strawfeeding. It isneedless here may be as valuable for feeding as 30 to reason out the point at great length. important The statement deleterious

above

tons of white, which is an

as to the

fact, and may account for the discrep- influence of the excess of cold water the ancies experienced by farmers in feed- animal has toswallow in a full meal of ing stock .

roots will suffice here for that part of the

Inasmuch as feeding-roots are contain essen subject. It is also unnecessary toenter tially sugarcrops,the sugar they

into any lengthened arguments to show is very valuable for meeting the respira- that other reasonsexist which make it tory requirements of sheep and cattle, also for fat-forming,and for milk-produc very desirablethat the more economical

rearing and feeding of roots in the tion . The following table, based on the use be practised of stockshould . The root Bennett Lawes crop isa very costly one to grow , and experiments of Sir John , records Dr Gilbertat Rothamsted and unfortunately its cultivation is attended estimates of the approximate average with great risks of loss from unfavour

percentages of dry matter, and of sugar, able weather, and fungoid and insect in the kinds of roots mentioned : Sugar per cent. Dry matter.

In dry

attacks. In dealing with the practical work of feeding the different kinds of stock, we have therefore given special

attention to the question of how turnips may be most effectually and satisfactorily

In fresh roots .

matter .

economised .

per cent.

per cent.

great plea in favour of giving sheep in the turnip-fields a small daily allowance of cake or corn. They will then eat less of the roots, but will turn what they do

The avoidance of this waste is the per cent.

White turnips Yellow turnips Swedish turnips Mangel

8.0 3.5 to 4.5 | 44 to 56 9.0 4.0 to 5.0 44 to 56 11.0 6.0 to 7.0 55 to 64

12.5 7.5 to 8.5 60 to 68

eat to much better account. Turnip - meal. — Swedes have been

A bushel of turnips weighs from 42 lb. converted into meal, to be transported to 45 lb. Excess of Water in Roots .

anywhere for the use of cattle. They In feed-

are washed, and their juice squeezed out

ing with roots farmers are sometimes apt by means of rollers ; and the squeezed to forget or overlook with how much fibre, being dried in a kiln and chopped, water the feeding matter in the roots is is easily ground into meal by mill associated . Unless an animal gets some stones.

Professor Johnston found the composi 1 Trans. High. Agric. Soc., xviii., 1886.

tion of this meal to be as follows :

-

FOOD AND FEEDING. Undried .

Protein compounds 13.68 Gum

Sugar Oil Water . Ash

17.72

4.14

5.36

48.72

59.23 1.44 10.49

I.II

Fibre and pectin .

Dried at 212 °.

8.10 22.82 4.27

5.53

following as the average composition of mangel-wurzel : Water Albuminoids

87.78 1.54 6.10 2.50

Sugar . Gum, &c. Woody fibre Ash

102.84

265

I.12

0.96

.

99.77 100.00

Turnip -tops. — As a rule, it is better to leave turnip -tops on the field, for they

The solid matter here shown is 12.22

possess considerable manurialvalue, and, per cent. In some cases, however, the except when other food is scarce,will proportion of solid ordry matter falls 10 per cent— while in dry seasons give a better return in that way than below it sometimes is as high as 16 per cent. used as food . Still, they contain more

Medium v. Large Roots . — It is to be nutritive matter than some wouldim- borne in mind,withreference to both

agine, and are useful when scattered on turnips and mangels, that moderate-sized more nutritious than or sheep . They should , however, be rootsare commonly The huge over -sized given with caution,forwhen eaten too very large ones. a green field for the use of young cattle

roots often seen at root -shows are com

freely they are apt to produce scour. monly watery, and such dry matter as The ash of turnip -tops contains a large they do containis intrinsically less valu

quantity of phosphate of lime and able than in normal roots. potash . Mangel-wurzel.

This is a most valuable root, grown

Sugar-beet. Sugar-beet has given excellent results food in the feeding of dairy-cows;

but as

extensively and with great success in for stock it is cultivated only to a very England and Ireland. It needs a warm extent. climate, and is grown in Scotland only limited The following is the analysis of Irish to a very limited extent. The orange

globe and long yellow kindshave been grown sugar-beet, which Dr A. Voelcker

found contained a larger proportion of

of the sugar than English -grown roots : a larger amount to contain found elementsthan or fat-forming respiratory Water . 76.58 the long red variety, which agrees with Albuminoids 2 , 10 the practical results obtained by the use Crystallisable sugar 14.81 of those varieties in feeding cattle. Advantages of Storing Mangels.-

The tendency in fresh mangels to pro duce scour when these are given to cattle

Pectin and extractive matters

0.66

Crude fibre ( pulp)

5.01 0.84

Ash

100.001

is well known to all who have used them ,

and so also is the fact that this property

Considerable attention has been given

disappears after the roots have been stored for two or three months. Like good wine mangels improve by keeping, and it is desirable, as a rule,to delay the consumption of them till spring.

to the cultivation of sugar-beet for the production of sugar, and the late Dr A. Voelcker published the results of some very elaborate investigations made by him as to the composition of sugar-beets

In comparison with turnips, it has grown under different circumstances. been considered that 75 lb. of mangel

Nutritive Value of Sugar -beet. -

are equivalent in feeding value to 100 Dr A. Voelcker considered that the farmer lb. of turnips ; but the two varieties vary

“ will run very little risk in trying the

so much in nutritive value that these experiment to grow sugar-beets instead proportions cannot be relied upon . The of common mangels ; for although he leaves of the mangel are also useful, may not get so heavy a crop as he does especially for milch cows, but have a when he plants common mangels, it has scouring tendency. The late Dr A. Voelcker gives the 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., vii., sec. ser .

CATTLE IN WINTER .

266

to be borne in mind that i ton of sugar

Water

beets is equivalent, in nutritive qualities as cattle-food, to at least 1/2 ton of good

Albuminoids

Sugar,starch, &c.

common mangel.”

Ash

82.00 1.30 7.75 8.00 0.95

Woody fibre .

Farmyard -dung should not be used in growing sugar-beet, as it renders the roots coarse and less nutritious.

100.00

From

3 to 4 cwt. of superphosphate is suffiParsnips thus contain more starch, but less sugar, than carrots. The starch in cient to produce an average crop. parsnips exists only in the external layers Beet-root Pulp. of the root, none whatever being found in Beet-root pulp is the refuse left in the heart. There is nearly double the

extracting the sugary juice from the quantity of solid matter in parsnips to beet-root . It is much esteemed on the

that in turnips ; so that i ton of pars

Continent for its fattening properties. nips ought to go as far, as a fattening It is, however, deficient in flesh -forming material, as 2 tons of white turnips. compounds, and requires the addition of Kohl-rabi. some cake or meal to supply this de The following analysis of the bulbs ficiency. Dr A. Voelcker recommends cotton - cake for this purpose. Milch and tops of kohl-rabi is given by Dr

cows fed on beet-root pulp and a fair Anderson : allowance of bean -meal or cotton -cake produce abundance of milk of good quality. Pigs also thrive on the pulp

they get some barley -meal or pea-meal if mixed with it.

Dr A. Voelcker considers

Top . 86.68 2.37

Bulb .

Water

86.74

Albuminoids Sugar, & c. . Woody fibre

2.75 8.62 0.77

Ash

I.12

1.45

100.00

100.00

8.29 1.21

beet-root pulp at 128.a ton a cheap and The following analysis, as given by Voelcker, shows its average

valuable food .

composition : Water

70.0 1.5 2.5

Sugar Albuminoids . Crude fibre, & c.

24.0

Ash

2.0

Kohl-rabi is thus a valuable food ,

especially for milch cows, as it not only increases the milk , but does not impart

to it any particular flavour of a disagree able kind , such as is produced by turnips. The leaves of kohl- rabi form an excellent

description of food for cattle and sheep. 100.0

Carrots.

Cabbages. The following analysis of the cabbage The following is the analysis of the white Belgian carrot by Dr A. Voelcker : was made by Fromberg : 88.50

Water

Albuminoids

0.60

(including

Fat - formers

woody fibre )

10.18 0.72

.

Ash

Water Albuminoids

Sugar, digestible fibre, & c. . Ash

.

93.40 1.75 4.05 0.80 100.00

100.00

The carrot does not contain any ap

Cabbages are not cultivated anything

preciable quantity of starch, but this de- like soextensively as they deserve to be. ficiency is counterbalanced by its having Dr A. Voelcker stated that " weight for about 672 per cent of sugar. Carrots weight, cabbages and swedes possess are esteemed for horses. nearly the same nutritive value.” Cab Carrot-tops are most admirable food bages are excellent food for sheep and other stock , and few other crops will for cows giving milk. give as good a return per acre.

Parsnips.

Thousand -headed kale of the cabbage

The following is the average composi- variety is most valuable as a green food tion of the parsnip for sheep or cows in autumn, early winter,

-

FOOD AND FEEDING.

267

or spring. Sprouting broccoli and winter The albuminoids, or flesh -forming mat greens are also cultivated for similar pur- ters, it will be seen, are deficient, but there is an exceptionally high percentage

poses.

of the respiratory or fat-forming elements,

Potatoes.

which constitute the largest part of the

The demand which exists for potatoes dry matter. For cattle, therefore, pota as human food, generally renders them too toes should be used in combination with

expensive to be employed largely in feed- such other foods as cotton - cake, bean ing animals, although as food for most meal, or pea-meal. Utilising Diseased Potatoes. — When kinds of stock they are valuable. Value ofPotatoes for Cattle.

It has

the potato is attacked with disease, it is

been stated that when potatoes can be the albuminoids, or flesh-forming con purchased for £ 2 or £ 2, 1os. per ton , stituents, that are destroyed ; these are

they will pay to be employed infeeding partially converted into ammonia and cattle ; but this will always depend upon other volatile matters, and hence the circumstances which are liable to varia

offensive smell which is emitted from

tion, such as the market price of other diseased potatoes. The starch, & c., re

foods, and the selling price of beef. mains intact, and advantage is taken of Second and small - sized potatoes are this by employing diseased potatoes in equally useful for this purpose ; and as the manufacture of starch . the potato is a bulky and therefore an

Diseased potatoes may, for the same

expensive article to send a long distance reason , be turned to account for feeding to market, those who grow potatoes to animals, particularly swine. In order to

some extent in remote districts will be do this, it is necessary to thoroughly by converting the small tubers into meat steaming — the latter, when practicable,

able to turn their crops to better account cook the potatoes either by boiling or than by selling the entire crop in its being the better way — and then pack the natural state. It is necessary to give cooked potatoes into flour-barrels or

potatoes to stock with caution, as the casks, ramming them well down, and excess of starchy matter, unless counter- sprinkling some salt occasionally through acted by other foods, may injure the the mass. When the barrel or cask is filled to the top, it must be closed from There are many farmers who have an the air, and the potatoes will keep for

health of the animals.

objection to potatoes as food for cattle.

some time fit for use.

The late Mr M‘Combie of Tillyfour said :

Potatoes for Horses.- Potatoes are

ather throw potatoes to the dunghill thangive them to a store bullock, though I would give them to my fattening bullocks." He would never give them to animals intended to be afterwards grazed. Potatoes vary in composition, but the general results will be gathered from the following analyses given by Dr Ander

often fed to horses, but when freely given in a raw condition, they are liable to produce colic.

“ I would

son :

Water Starch

Sugar, &c. Albuminoids Fibre

Ash .

Regents.

Skerry

76.32

76.60

12.21

11.79 3.09

2.75 2.37 5.53 0.88

100.06

Flukes.

Blues.

2.06

5.41 0.94

99.89

Water with Potatoes . — Water should

not be given to animals fed on either raw or cooked potatoes, for some time after

the meal. Green Rape. Rape in a green or growing state

is usually fed off with sheep, or cut and used as soiling food for house -fed

74.41 12.55

cattle.

It is a nutritious and valu

2.89 able plant for these purposes, and for 2.18 spring and autumn food " it should be

6.71 grown much more extensively than it is. 0.98 Pr A. Voelcker gives the following as the composition of green rape, and it will be 99.72 interesting to compare this analysis with that of turnips

1 Cattle and Cattle- Breeders, p. 13.

268

CATTLE IN WINTER . Water

87.050

Albuminoid Sugar, digestible fibre, & c. Woody fibre Ash .

3.133

4.649 3.560 1.608 100.000

being so common , and of its tendency to grow where it has not been sown and is not wanted . Nevertheless, as food for cattle, sheep, and horses, it possesses very considerable value, and for this purpose

it may be grown in any part of the country with success, financially and

Furze, Whins, or Gorse. Like many other useful and beautiful

otherwise.

uitum

The sowing of furze comes into the plants indigenous to this country, furze spring work, and in the spring section of —in some parts called whins, in others this volume information will be given as gorse — is not so highly esteemed as it to the best means of cultivating the crop. Furze as Winter Food. The chief ought to be, perhaps on account of its

So Fig. 118. - Furze masticator.

value of furze is as a green food for the cutter, or, better still, bruised and cut by It should be cut at a machine which has been specially de least once every year, so that the plants signed for the purpose, aptly named the maynotbe allowed to become too woody " Masticator," and made by Mackenzie & and hard. When sown thickly on fairly Sons, Cork. This useful machine, which

winter months.

good land the shoots come up fine and may be driven by horse, water, or steam juicy, growing to a length of from 2 power, is shown in fig. 118. to 27/2 feet. The crop may be cut with Some think it desirable to chop or the scythe, or with a strong mower masticate the furze daily as required ; past its best for regular harvest work but others perform this work twice a -generally with the scythe. week, and find that the chop keeps well Preparing Furze as Food. — Before enough. being given to stock the furze should be How fed to Stock . — A correspondent, cut into short pieces by a strong chaff- who has had thirty years' experience of

FOOD AND FEEDING.

269

furze as food for stock , writing to the ledge as to the habits and characters of our grasses, has, no doubt, been gained says: “ Cut up the furze with hay for in recent years, but investigations and

Agricultural Gazette of May 7, 1888,

milking cows, and you will make first- experiments must be prosecuted much quality butter, but pale — with hay for further before it can be said that we horses, but do not feed too heavily , add know our pastures and our hay crops 3 or 4 lb. mangels to counteract a as well as we do our crops of roots and

resin the furze contains. Young stock grain. thrive amazingly upon it. Furze -fed There are special circumstances which cattle are hard to be fattened on other render the investigation of this subject food ; oaten straw , with cut furze for very difficult. Root and grain crops are usually matured, or almost so , before they

them .”

Mr R. O. Pringle stated that horses are fed to stock, and thus it has been may be kept through the winter on furze comparatively easy to obtain reliable without hay, and only a moderate allow- information as to the average composi ance of oats; and the furze gives the tion of food -mixtures consisting of these horses a fine coat of hair. An acre of commodities. With grasses, however,

well-grown young furze, which is regu- especially those which are constantly grazed, the case is different. They are cows during the winter and early spring eaten at all stages of their growth, in

larly cut, will keep four or five horses or

months with very little assistance in the shape of hay or roots. For hard -working horses it should be accompanied by a liberal allowance of bruised oats or other concentrated food. Both horses and cattle take to it readily, but sheep do

extreme youth, full bloom, old age, and all the intervening stages. It is well known that the nutritive properties of plants vary at different stages of the development of the plants ; and it does not follow that all grasses which show a

not eat it willingly except when there is useful compositionwhen fully grown, are equally useful and suitable for grazing food for sheep, the crop is not cut, and by stock in the earlier periods of their in a snowstorm a few acres of young growth. Again, plants which would not stand well in an analysis of hay, may be juicy furze are most valuable for sheep. Composition of Furze. — That furze extremely serviceable as an element in should, in practice, prove to be a useful pastures to be regularly grazed. food, will not surprise any one when its The determining of the amount of snow on the ground. When grown as

composition is considered and compared nutrition — the grazing value - possessed with that of roots, rye-grass, and clover.

by the different plants which compose our

The followingis the analysis by Cameron pastures, sown and natural, temporary of the composition of fresh furze cut in and permanent, is thus at once a matter August, perennial rye-grass and common of the greatest difficulty and the utmost red clover being shown alongside for importance. No subject could more worthily engage the attention or employ

comparison :

Perennial

Common

Furze ,

Rye -grass. Red Clover, Water Albuminoids

72.00 3.21

Sugar, fibre, & c. Woody fibre Ash

71.43 3.37

81.01

9.38

12.99

4.27 9.14

13.33 2.08

10.06

3.76

2.15

1.82

100.00

100.00

100.00

the resources of the leading agricultural societies ; and it is a matter, too , in which

a great deal of good might be done by private experiment and investigation by farmers who have opportunities of study

ing their pastures, and watching the pro

Grasses and Clovers.

gress of the animals which feed upon them . Composition of Rye -grass and Tim

It may seem strange, but it is never- othy. - As indicating the differences in theless true, that farmers possess less the composition of grasses at the various reliable knowledge as to the relative stages of growth, the following tables, cropping and feeding value of the various arranged by Mr John Speir, will be inter grasses which

cover their pastures, than esting :

as to any of the other leading crops of the farm . A good deal of fresh know-

1 Jour. Brit. Dairy Farm . Ass., iv. 34.

CATTLE IN WINTER .

270

ANALYSIS OF RYE -GRASSES AND TIMOTHY CUT IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF GROWTH AND MADE INTO HAY. STAGE WHEN MOWED.

Head

coming out

Head well out.

In bloom .

After

bloom .

PERENNIAL RYE -GRASS HAY Water . Ash Fat

Carbohydrates

10.8 17. I i to 5.3

Fibre

Albuminoid ratio

7.9

6.9

3.5 51.3

22.3

2.4 52.3 7.0 23.4

i to 6.5

i to 7.8

8.2

5.8

10.4

10.3

7.8 8.0

I to 5.4

53.6

Albuminoids

6.6

7.8

7.0 7.4 3.3 52.7 10.3 19.1

7.0 8.0 3.3

8.4

ITALIAN RYE -GRASS HAY Water Ash Fat

7.0 12.3 4.5 39. I

Carbohydrates Albuminoids Fibre .

20. 1

16.8

Albuminoid ratio

I to 2.2

3.5 44.7 13. I 19.9 I to 3.7

2. I

48.7 13.6 19.2 I to 3.7

3.6 49.6 10.6 20. 1

I to 5.0

STAGE WHEN MOWED .

Head visible .

Head

invisible.

Early

Full

Early

bloom .

bloom ,

seed .

5.6

6.3

5.7

5.3 3.35 55.0 9.2 20.5

TIMOTHY HAY Water Ash Fat

7.8

8.8 5.8 3.10 52.2

Carbohydrates

8.0 4.2 50.0

Albuminoids Fibre

11.5 18.3

10.8

19.1

54.0 9.6 21.4

I to 4.7

i to 5.1

I to 6.0

Albuminoid ratio

3.63

i to 6.3

5.95 9.9 3.2 47.0 11.3 22.4

I to 4.4

Analyses ofPastures. — The following column, with the high albuminoid ratio analyses indicate the nutritive value of of 1 to 3.6, gives a food capable of feed ing rapidly.

poor, good, and rich pastures : Upland pasture. 70.0

Water Ash .

Albuminoids

Good pasture grass .

Rich pasture

80.0

78.2

2.1

2.0

2,2

a great deal of valuable information as

grass.

3.4

3.5

Fibre

10.1

4.0

4.5 4.0

Carbohydrates

13.4 1.0

9.7 0.8

IO. I 1.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Fat .

Thanks to the investigations of Dr Day, Dr Anderson, Dr Augustus Voel cker, Mr Martin John Sutton, Dr John A. Voelcker, Mr W. Carruthers, Mr

Mr John Speir remarks that this

ир-

Faunce de Laune, and others,we do possess to the composition and characteristics of the leading grasses in regular cultivation, when they have either become matured or attained a pretty full measure of growth . Composition of Clovers. — As to the

land pasture, with an albuminoid ratio of clovers, which occupy a prominent place 1 to 8.1 , must be considered poor ; that in pastures as wellas in hay, it will be the grass in the second column, with an seen from the following analyses, made of albuminoid ratio of 1 to 4.4 , gives a very

fair feeding -power ; while that in the last

1 Jour, Brit. Dairy Farm . A88., iv, 23.

----

FOOD AND FEEDING .

271

fresh plants cut in the third week of grasses, made specially for the purpose June, that they possess very high nutri- by Dr John A. Voelcker. These analyses are the most exhaustive and most useful

tive properties

of the kind yet published ; and in them , for the first time, the relative amounts of true albuminoids have been determined

directly, and not, as in previously re corded results, merely given by calcula Water

81.01 81.05 79.71 76.80 4.27

3.64

3.80

5.70

8.82 4.91

9.03

Woody fibre

9.14 3.76

5.38

8.67 6.32

Ash

1.82

1.38

2.08

2.51

Albuminoids Sugar, diges tible fibre,

tion of the total nitrogen into albumin oids. A precise and clear description of each grass accompanies the analysis, and this,with the beautifully coloured il

&c. .

100.00 99.80 100.00 100.00

lustrations of grasses, and Mr Sutton's practical directions as to the formation and treatment of temporary and perma nent pastures, renders the work one of remarkable value.

Dr J. A. Voelcker explains that each

Alsyke clover, which is much esteemed variety thus analysed was grown sepa

for damp soils, and is specially suited for ratelyand was perfectly pure; the sample meadows, shows uponanalysis a rather being taken, in every instance, as nearly higher nutritive value than either of these as possible at the time when it would have varieties. In composition lucerne and been cut for hay. And the analysis of sainfoin closely resemble the clovers.

eachgrass is shown in its natural state and

Composition of Grasses.— Mr Mar- dried at 212° Fahr. — that is, until noth tin John Sutton's valuable work, or- ing but the solid or dry matter remained . manent and Temporary Pastures (the The following analyses of four of the

first edition of which was issued in 1886, grasses, taken from this volume, will the third in 1888), contains a series of indicate the great value of the work to analyses of the principal agricultural practical farmers : COCKSFOOT. Grass in natural state .

Dried at 212° Fahr,

Water

60.74

Soluble albuminoids1 Digestible fibre

.25 1.50 11.30

.62 3.81 28.78

Woody fibre

16.24

41.36

2.04 .91

Insoluble albuminoids ?

Soluble mineral matter 3 Insoluble mineral matter

Chlorophyll, soluble car . bohydrates, &c.

1 Containing nitrogen 2

Containing nitrogen Albuminoid nitrogen Non -albuminoid nitrogen Total nitrogen

3 Containing silica * Containing silica

MEADOW Foxtail . Grass in natural state .

MEADOW FESCUE.

Dried

Grass in

Dried

at 212 Fahr .

natural state .

at 212

Grass in natural

Fahr.

state .

62.01

55.58 .50

RYE -GRASS .

Dried at 212 Fahr.

71.04

1.13

.38

1.00

5.38

1.13

2.56

5.75

2.06

14.22

32.01

7.98

21.01

8.91

16.42 2.58

36.96 5.81

46.62 7.64

12.51 1.05

2.32

.94

2.II

17.71 2.90 .78

43.19

5.19

2.05

.64

2.21

16.30_4.72

16.33

3.88 30.77 3.62

16.23 2016

6.18

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

.IO

.08

.61

.41

.18 .92

.06 .33

.16 .86

* .18

.62

7.02

17.92

7.20

100.00

100.00

.04 .24

.28

.71

.49

I.IO

.39

.18

.46

.30

.67

.38

1.02 1.00

318

.62

.46

1.17

.79

1.77

.77

2.02

.36

1.24

.35 .51

.89

• 37 .52

.83 1.17

.05 .32

.13

1.29

.39

1.35

.84

CATTLE IN WINTER.

272

to state that in the process of making, hay may be so much spoiled as to be

Hay.

Loss in Hay -making. - In consider- almost worthless as food for stock. In ing the feeding value of hay it must be experiments at Rothamsted it was found

borne in mind that the analyses of fresh that sheep would increase in weight on grasses cannot be relied upon as a key to the nutritive properties and value of hay made from these grasses. If hay were simply dried grasses and clovers, then therewould be no loss of nutriment and no deterioration in feeding value— water only would have passed away. But in farm practice it is impossible to secure

well-made hay alone;but in experiments conducted by Dr A. Voelcker, and lasting three months, it was shown that, fed

wholly upon hay which had been damaged by wet weatherin making, sheep actually lost in weight. This result proves at once the great importance of exercising skill and care in hay -making, and the im

this. In hay-making, even in the best of prudence of attempting to maintain stock weather and under the most careful man- solely on damaged hay. It thusbecomes apparent that, in giv agement, there always will be some loss ing hay to stock , the physical condition of feeding material.

In dealing with the important subject as well as the original quality of the hay of “ hay-making " in its proper position must be carefully considered ; and the in the work of the summer, full infor- quantities of it and accompanying other mation will be given as to the risks in- foods regulated accordingly.

curred in hay -making,and as to how Composition of Hay. - The following these may be most effectually avoided are average analyses of good clover and or minimised . meadow hay, arranged by Professor Damaged Hay . — Here it will suffice Way : CLOVER -HAY.

MEADOW -HAY. Dried at

Dried at 212° Fahr .

Moisture Fatty matters

16.60

Albumen, and similar nitrogenous compounds ( flesh - forming matters)

Gum, sugar, mucilage, and carbohydrates, readily converted into sugar Indigestible woody fibre (cellulose) Mineral matter (ash )

1 Containing nitrogen

212° Fahr.

18.96

14.61 2.56 8.44

2.99 9.88

3.18

3.81

15.81 34.42

41.27

41.07

48.09

22.47 7.52

26.95

27.16

31.80

9.01

6.16

7.24

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

2.53

3.03

1.35

1.58

Hay v. Artificial Food. — Mr G. H. Hay is now selling at from £4 to £5 C. Wright, Sigglesthorne Hall, Hull, per ton on all farms having reasonable makes some interesting calculations as to access to a market ; it therefore costs per

the relative cost and value of hay and unit ?! shillings, or is. 6d. a unit, taking

artificial foods in the feeding of stock. £4, 108. as the mean value of a ton of He says : "The analysis of good meadow- hay. hay shows that it contains : Flesh -formers Heat-producers

8.44 X2 = 16.88 43.63 60.51

The flesh -formers are considered to be

worth twice as much as the heat -pro

“ A mixture of decorticated cotton -cake and rice -meal shows the following analy sis : Flesh - formers

Heat -producers

26.92 X2 = 53.84 49.24

103.08

ducers, therefore the value of hay may Multiplying the flesh-formers in the same correctly be stated to be about 61 units. way, we find the value of the food may

FOOD AND FEEDING .

273

be taken as 103 units. A ton of rice- a tinge of green in the straw , is much meal and decorticated cotton - cake, in more nutritious than that which has been

equal proportions, costs £ 5 , 28. 6d., allowed to become over -ripe. therefore a unit of value of this food costs

Strong,

coarse straw is, of course , not so much

relished by cattle as that which is finer “ The manurial value of hay is set in the growth. down as £ 1, 98. 10d. per ton consumed, Composition of Straw . — The follow while the manurial value of a ton of de- ing analyses of different kinds of straw corticated cotton -cake and rice -meal is are by Voelcker : estimated at about £3, 118. 5d. It No. 1 . Whcat Wheat would be necessary in practice to deduct over just 183, or rather less than 1s. per unit.

still further from both these estimates ;

but still it is clearly shown that on every

side the artificial food is the cheaper of Albuminoids the two.

There can be no doubt what-

Oil .

ever that a certain quantity of hay, used Sugar, mucilage, & c . . in conjunction with artificial food, is ne Woody fibre (digestible) cessary ; but I maintain that the use of

13.33

ripe.. 9.17

2.93

2. I2

ripe.

Water

(indigestible ).

Mineral matter

1.74

0.65

4.26 19.40 54.13 4.21

3.46

82.26 2.34

hay in large quantities is far more costly than a judicious mixture of artificial food used in conjunction with a smaller quan

100.00

100.00

No. 2.

tity of it. For dairy stock, green hay

Barley

Barley

is superior to that which hasheated in

dead

not too

ripe. 15.20 4.43

the stack sufficiently to turn it a dark Water colour . " 1

Albuminoids Oil .

Straw .

ripe.. 17.50 5.37 1.17

1.36

Sugar, mucilage, &c.

ible) The value of straw as food for stock Woody fibre (digest indigest ible) has not yet been fully understood and Mineral matter .

2.24 5.97 66.5 4.26

71.44 4.52

appreciated by the general body of farm In recent years more prominent at tention has been given to the subject, and

ers .

100.00

100.00

No. 3.

much good will be done if farmers are induced to exercisegreater carein the utili

Oat-straw dried for stacking. Cut Over Fairly ripe. ripe. 16.00 16.00 16.00

sation of straw . A large quantity of straw must no doubt be used as litter for cattle Water

green .

8.49

4.08

3.65

1.57 Oil : when hay is scarce and dear, it will be Sugar, & c. 16.04 found advantageous to substitute, say, Woodymucilage, fibre(digest

1.05 10.57

1.25 3.19

26.34

30.17

27.75

24.86 6.70

31.78 6.35

41.82

100.00

100.00

100.00

and horses ; but in many cases, especially Albuminoids peat-moss as litter, and utilise the straw ible) for feeding purposes. In any case there Woody fibre (indi. should be no wastemno more straw under

the cattle than they can effectually con vert into manure , and — what is still more unsightly - no loose bundles or handfuls of straw lying about the steading where no straw should be. Feeding Value of Straw .

The value

gestible). Mineral matter

No. 4 .

Water

of straw as a feeding material depends Albuminoids not only on the kind of grain to which it Oil belongs, but also on itscondition as re- Sugar, mucilage, & c. . .

gards ripeness when it is harvested, and Woody fibre digestible) on the land and climate where it is grown.

The straw of grain which is cut just as the grain is ripe, while there still remains * Jour. Brit. Dairy Farm . A 88., iv. 17. VOL . I.

6.34

(indigestible) Mineral matter .

Bean

Pea

straw .

straw .

19.40 3.36

16.02 8.86 2.34 8.32

1.02

4.18

16.74

2.75

65.58 3.71

42.79 4.93

100.00

100.00

2 Jour. Roy. Agric. Soc. Eng ., xxii. 1862. S

274

CATTLE IN WINTER .

The above analyses justify the prefer- mer. The system is pursued with great success by many farmers, and particu for stock . Fine oat - straw, cut before larly when roots are scarce the straw the crop has become quite ripe, is rel. chaff thus prepared will be found most ence which is given to oat-straw as food

ished alike by cattle, sheep, and horses, valuable.

and is given extensively to all, especially Mr Samuel Jonas, Chrishall, Saffron in the northern parts where the oat is Walden , carried out this plan for many the prevailing cereal. Indeed in many years. The straw is cut into chaff as it

parts of Scotland good oat- straw ( given leaves the threshing-machine by one of with a small allowance of roots or per-

Maynard's chaff-cutters, which carries

haps a little cake)forms the main portion the chaff into the barn where it is to be of the winter food of young store cattle stored. It is well trodden down and and dry cows. In pea and bean straw it mixed, says Mr Jonas, with " about a will be seen there are also high feeding bushel of salt to every ton, and also a

properties; while wheat and barley straw, certain quantity of green -stuff. Tares or although less nutritive, likewise possess rye cut green into chaff are sown by the considerable value as food for stock . hand as the chaff is brought in. This Straw -chaff . - When straw is used as causes it to heat: and adding the amount feeding material, it is given either in of green -stuff required to give it a proper

its natural state, as it comes from the heat is the secret of the successful opera threshing machine, or it is cut into very tion of storing chaff. short lengths by a machine constructed “ Respecting the quantity of green for the purpose, in which state it is chaff to be mixed with straw -chaff to known as straw -chaff or chaffed straw .

cause a proper fermentation, I use about

The latter method is by far the more

I cwt. to the ton of straw -chaff, and i

economical, as by it the amount of waste bushel of salt (56 lb.) to the ton of chaff. may be reduced to a minimum . In But some judgment is required as to the order to render straw -chaff more palat- state of the green -stuff. If it is green

able to animals, it is either moistened rye on the ear, a full cwt. is required; with treacle mixed with water, or it is employed to absorb a quantity of linseedmeal gruel. The dry chaff is also mixed with the oats given to horses, as such admixture has the effect of causing the

if very green tares, a rather less quantity will do, as the degree of fermentation depends upon the quantity of sap con tained in it. This is done in spring and summer — the chaff is not usedtill Octo

horses to masticate their oats more fully ber and the winter months.

I can thus

thresh and dress the corn crops, and cut than theymight otherwise do. Then in the straw into chaff, in one process, the

pulped mixtures straw -chaff is very extensively employed ; and it has been expense of cutting and storing the same clearly proved by experience that by the being about is. per acre : the principal economical and careful use of cut straw additional expense is for about 4 cwt. of and concentrated foods a greatly in- coal per day, and we thresh and cut from creased stock of cattle and sheep may 8 to 10 acres per day.” Some now use be kept. pulped mangels instead of vetches or rye Preparing and Storing Straw . for mixing with the dry straw -chaff as chaff.— There is perhaps no better way it is being stored, and get better results

of turning straw to good account than therefrom . by cutting it into chaff and storing it for

Advantages of Stored Straw.chaff.

a few months in large quantities with a -Mr Jonas states that this mode of pre

slight admixture of chaffed green food, salt, and perhaps ground cake. By this system straw remaining over from the previous winter is cut into chaff in

paring and preserving straw -chaff "has in two seasons, with no turnips, enabled me to winter my sheep and fold the land , leaving sufficient folding to pro

spring or summer and stored in barns duce a good crop of barley, not from the till the following winter, when it is con- chaff alone, but from its being the means

sumed ; thus enabling the farmer to hold by which I enabled my sheep to con over a quantity of the fresh straw for similar treatment next spring or sum-

1 Jour. Roy. Agric. Soc. Eng ., vi. , 1870.

FOOD AND FEEDING .

275

sume with it large quantities of bran, and the palatable conditionwhich is con malt - combs, and oilcake, sufficient to keep them in health and good condition,

ferred upon the straw in the process of fermentation as another recommenda

and toleave the land in a good state for tion.

The prepared straw -chaff has " all

the following crop of barley, which I the agreeable smell which characterises could not have done by any other means. good green meadow -hay;" and the liquid The turnips were such a failure that, the produced by pouring hot water upon it same two winters, all my fat cattle were “could hardly be distinguished from

fed without having a root to eat. I had hay-tea.” two coppers hung in the mixing-house,

Making Fermented Straw equal to

ground my corn , and broke my cake Hay.— Dr A. Voelcker recommended with an American mill.

These were

that about 2 cwt, of decorticated cotton

mixed together with malt - combs and cake, ground into meal, should be added boiled, and, after a certain time, were to i ton of fermented straw -chaff, and

emptied, boiling -hot, into a prepared stated that by means of this admixture bed of very old straw -chaff : these were the proportion of flesh - forming com

stirred over and mixed well together, pounds in fermented straw -chaff could be brought up to what it is in good They did well so fed , and became good meadow -hay.

and used for the stock in a warm state.

fat bullocks, and paid for the expense of food and attendance, which they very seldom do.”

Condimental Foods.

Great ingenuity and enterprise have

Mr Jonas prefers the chaff of wheat in late years been directed to the pro or oat straw , as

these may

be cut with- duction of “ condimental cattle foods,”

out loss in a far greenerstate than is comprising composite cakes for cattle and generally done ; but barley, to be of sheep, mixedfeeding-meal for young calves good quality, cannot fairly be cut too and grown-up cattle, milk substitutes for calves, compounded lamb food, poultry ripe. "

Fermentation of Straw . — Straw- food, and appetising spices for all kinds chaff, as prepared by Mr Jonas, formed of farm live stock . In the early days of the subject of a paper read by Dr this industry adulteration was rampant,

Augustus Voelcker, who ascertained by and exorbitant prices were the rule. (wheat) is one-fourth richer in flesh-form- excessive competition, have banished ing compounds, or the materials which both these evils — not perhaps com analysis 2-1 . That fermented straw -chaff The wholesome craze for analysis, and

produce the lean fibre of meat, than pletely, but to a very large extent; and ordinary wheat-straw ; 2. That fermented now the greatbulk of the vast quantity straw -chaff contains nearly two and a of these condimental foods made and

half times the amount of sugar, gum , sold in this country is not only of high and similar compounds, which is found quality and well adapted to their vari in common wheat-straw ; 3. That nearly ous purposes, but also moderate in price. 51 per cent of the woody fibre in fer. There is no doubt that farmers have

mented straw -chaff was soluble, whilst derived much benefit by the enterprise the soluble portion of vegetable fibre in and skill which have been employed in

common wheat-straw doesnot amount to bringing out these prepared foods, more more than 26.48 per cent. Effect of Fermentation in Straw.-

especially those which are designed as substitutes for milk in the rearing of

Dr A. Voelcker further states that “the calves. fermentation to which the straw is subWe shall not attempt to describe the

mitted in MrJonas's plan thus has the composition and individual characteristics effect of rendering the hard and dry of these condimental foods. It may be

substance which constitutes the bulk of well, however, to advise farmers never straw more soluble and digestible than on any account to purchase any of

it is in its natural condition .” He also these foods without receiving therewith notices “the extremely delicate flavour a warranty as to its freedom from adul teration, and a guaranteed analysis of its chemical composition. With this * Jour. Roy. Agric. Soc. Eng., vii., 1871.

CATTLE IN WINTER .

276

analysis before him , and a reference to this purpose. Vetches are also con what is said in this work as to the ele- sumed on the land by sheep. ments of nutrition in cattle foods, the Green Maize. farmer will be able to form a tolerably correct idea as to the value of the food.

There is reason to hope that maize

A sample of the food may be analysed for a mere trifle, and if it should fall short of the guaranteed analysis, the vendor is fully responsible for the de-

(Indian corn ) may prove a valuable ad dition to our green forage crops. The subject of its cultivation in this country will be considered fully in later portions

ficiency.

of this work. It will be a great gain to

British farmers if it can be successfully Vetches.

acclimatised , for maize is capable of pro

Of all green forage crops, the vetch is the most extensively grown in the United Kingdom. In almost all kinds of soils it can be grown easily, and at

ducing an enormous yield of succulent food, which is much relished by cattle, and which is well adapted for feeding in a fresh condition along with other foods,

comparatively little expense. As will such as chopped hay or straw and de be seen from the following analyses corticated cotton -cake, or for converting

feeding. of samples, cut at different periods into silage for winterGreen Maize. of growth, it possesses high nutritive

properties : 1 Full Bloom bloom. bloom . and seed . 6.0 7.8 7.8 12.0 10.6 11.4 4.0 3.6 3.9 31.9 35.7 35.4 II.2 18.5 14.0 34.8 27.6 23. I Before

Water Ash Fat

Carbohydrates Fibre Albuminoids Albuminoid ratio

i to 1.0 i to 4.0 i to 1.9

Composition of

chemical composition in this form has been found to vary greatly. Green maize

grown in France gave the following an alysis Albuminoids Fat

1.22

0.25

Soluble carbohydrates .

10.41

Sugar

Vetches cut when in full bloom , and

relished by all

For

use as a forage crop, maize is cut green, and before the cobs have formed . Its

0.58

Green maize is not a rich food.

Its

before seeding, are much kinds of stock,and aswill beagain urged meritliesinthegreat quantity of palat upon the farmers — in speaking of sowing acre able. succulent food it will produceper It is deficient in nitrogen, but along with highly nitrogenous foods such this crop should be grown much more as decorticated cotton -cake it is most

vetches in spring — it is desirable that

extensively than it is.

How Vetches are Fed to stock.- suitable and acceptable to all kinds of Professor James Long found that As is shown in the analyses, vetches con stock. 120 lb. of green maize and 2 lb. of decor

tain an exceptionally high proportion of ticated cotton -cake made an excellent albuminoids, and they are thus very

suitable for giving tostock along wită food for his dairy-cows. The nutritive starchy foods, such as rice -meal and ratio in this mixture he shows as fol Indian corn -meal.

For this same reason

lows : 2— Albu

desirable to give highly nitrog it is not enous foods, such as decorticated cottoncake and beans, along with vetches, for

120 lb. of maize 2 lb. of cotton -cake

Carbo

Fat. minoids. 0.60 1.45 0,10 0.82

hydrates . 12.00

0.42

then the food would be badly balanced —there would be an unprofitable, even a dangerous, excess of albuminoids.

2.27

Vetches should be sown in successive

A sample of green maize silage from

0.70

12.42

15.39

patches, so as to afforda continuous M. Goffart's silo in France, was analysed When cut just by Dr A. Voelcker, and gave the follow before becoming fully ripe, vetches make ing results : 3_

supply of fresh food.

excellent silage, and are much used for 2 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng., xxiii. 132. 1 Jour, Brit. Dairy Farm . Ass ., iv. 43.

-

1

3 Ibid ., xx . 489.

FOOD AND FEEDING . Water

277 Albu .

78.80

Albuminous compounds?

Fat. minoids.

I.12

Soluble carbohydrates

100 lb. of sorghum .

4.55

Crude fibre

2 lb. of cotton -cake

13.64 1.89

Mineral matter (ash):

1.60

12.00

0,82 2.42

0.58

12.42

acetic acid

15.42

Lricerne. 0.07

Lucerne is exceptionally rich in al buminous matters , and is even more nutritious than red clover. Its analysis

acids, calcu .

lated as lactic acid .

0.42

0.18

Volatile acids, calculated as Non · volatile

hydrates. 0.30 0.28

100.00

1 Containing nitrogen .

Carbo

0.06

In a dry summer, when grass is scarce, shows the following : green maize, chopped and mixed with Water . Fat

chaffed straw or hay, will be found to be a valuable food for cows

young cattle.

70.00

0.82

Albuminoids

3.82 A sprinkling of crushed decorticated 13.60 Carbohydrates cotton -cake - 12 or 2 lb. per head would make this a nutritive mixture for It affords a large yield, under favourable

cows giving milk .

circumstances sometimes close on' 20 tons per acre ; and is most useful when sown in a small patch near the steading, to be

Sorghum .

Sorghum saccharatum is a tall-growing cut as required for consumption. Young plant, similar in appearance to maize, but lucerne given alone, or as the principal

finer in the stem . In warm climates it food, has a tendency to cause the ani grows with great luxuriance, and when cut green , forms excellent forage for stock . It is hoped that hardy varieties of it may be raised, so that it may be successfully cultivated in this country,

mals to become blown ; but this danger is avoided by giving it along with straw , the two being chaffed together -- an ex cellent method of turning straw to good account as food. As yet experiments have been confined Lucerne delights in a dry soil and dry

to the south and centre of England, and weather, and will not give good results so far the experience has been variable. on wet soils or in rainy seasons. Sir Professor James Long has grown it John Bennett Lawes describes it as “ the

very successfully at Gravelly Manor, crop for a drought.” Stevenage, Herts, and he states, after two Sainfoin. years' experience of it, that there is no Sainfoin is a valuable plant, whether succulent food which is more relished by cattle, or upon which they thrive better . for cultivation by itself to be consumed

Green sorghum gives the following as green food or made into hay, or as a leading ingredient in temporary pastures.

analysis : Water

Albuminoids

77.0 1.6

Carbohydrates

I 2.0

Fat

.

For the latter purpose it is best adapted .

It is peculiarlyvaluable in sheep -farming districts, and seems to sustain little or no

0.3

injury by being grazed by sheep. Un like lucerne, it has no tendency to cause Sorghum is exceptionally rich in sugar, and therefore Professor Long found it blowing in cattle. As the following specially suitable for feeding along with analysis will indicate, sainfoin is less decorticated cotton -cake.

Fed alone to nutritious than lucerne, and does not

cows it has a tendency to cause looseness ; give nearly so large a yield per acre : but 2 lb. of decorticated cotton -cake to

100 lb. of green sorghum corrected this, and made an excellent daily ration for

cows in milk.

The nutritive properties

Water Fat .

80.0 0.0

Albuminoids .

2.1

Carbohydrates

8.o

in this mixture Professor Long states as follows : 1

* Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., xxiii, 137.

Prickly Comfrey. There is much difference of opinion as to the value of prickly comfrey as a

CATTLE IN WINTER.

278

forage crop. It is a hardy and prolific words, a pound of one, properly used, can produce no more increase in our will afford a large yield. There is pro- stock than a pound of the other." bably no forage -plant that has made Remarking upon the exaggerated value warmer friends or more bitter enemies which had been placed upon sugar as a plant; and in good soil, well manured,

than prickly comfrey. It is a some- food for stock, Sir John Bennett Lawes what coarse watery food, not much rel- states that it is nevertheless an excellent

ished by cattle at the outset, but very food ; and that the only question is, what useful as a greenfood for dairy -cows. price is sugar worth ( in comparison with

Dr Augustus Voelcker considered that other foods) for feeding purposes ? Sir John considers that it would not be advisable to use sugar with such foods

prickly comfrey “has about the same feeding value as green mustard, or mangels, or turnip -tops, or Italian rye-grass grown on irrigated lands ;" and gives its general composition as follows : Water

Calculated

state .

dry.

90.66

.

Nitrogenous organic com1 pounds (flesh-formers) Non • nitrogenous com • pounds (heat and fat producers) . Mineral matter (ash)

1

Natural

Containing nitrogen

.

0.00

2.72

29.12

4.78 1.84

51.28 19.60

100.00

100.00

0.434

4.66

as cereal grains, maize, rice, roots, or even meadow -hay, as all these are some what low in nitrogen ; and to dilute the nitrogen that exists still more, by the use of sugar, would tend to waste it. On the other hand, foods containing a large

amount of nitrogenous substance, such as leguminous seeds —especially lentils, tares , and beans — as wellas linseed -cake, cotton -cake, and clover-hay, might be safely diluted with sugar. But for this purpose, is sugar at £10 or £ u per ton cheaper than the other foods, those rich in starch, which are

capable of performing the same functions as sugar ? Sir John thinks not.

Sugar.

“ When

ordinary barley can be purchased at £ 4,

The great reduction in the price of

Ios. per ton, and Rangoon rice-meal at

sugar naturally gave rise to the question, whether it mightprofitably be employed as food for stock. With the view of testing this point, Sir John Bennett Lawes, Bart., carried out some experi ments with pigs ; and the results re

£3 to £ 4 per ton, it would appear that sugar is too dear to compete with starchy foods at their present extremely low prices." Fish -meal.

ported in the Journal of the Royal

Cod -fish Soup for Cattle . — For ages

Agricultural Society of England (vol. xxi., sec. ser., p . 81) are tantamount to an answer in the negative — that is, unless the price of sugar falls considerably lower still. It was then ( 1885 ) selling at from £10, 155. to £11, 5s. per ton

the frugal farmers of Norway haveto down the heads of cod -fish into a kind of soup, which they mix with straw or other fodder and give to cattle, and by the

for feeding purposes.

means of this cheap and nutritious food

some extent utilised fish -offal as food for cattle. Their custom has been to boil

Sugar v. Starch . - In animaleconomy, many Norwegian farmers have been able sugar and starch perform similar func- to maintain a much larger stock of cattle tions ;

and the experiments conducted by than would have been otherwise prac

Sir John Bennett Lawes showed that, ticable. " whether for the purpose of supporting Herring -meal for Cattle. The suc the functional actions of the body, or of cessful results obtained from this “ cod .

ministering to the formation of increase, fish soup ” for cattle naturally led to starch and sugar have, weight for further experiments of a similar kind, and weight, values almost identical. from the refuse of herring a cattle-feed Starch and sugar, therefore, as foods, ing meal of a very useful kind is being appear to be equivalent ; or, in other made in Christiania. Dr A. P. Aitken, chemist to the Highland and Agricultural 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., vii. 388.

Society, formed the opinion that this her

FOOD AND FEEDING .

279

ring -meal might prove a useful addition unfrequently, on account of excessive catches ” and a consequent glut in the spring of 1886 he procured a supply of herring-market, large quantities of her

to our list of cattle foods ; and in the it, and arranged with Mr John Speir,

ring have to be returned to the sea .

Newton Farm , Newton, Glasgow, to have Now, if it could be shown that these the herring -meal tested as food for dairy- surplus boat-loads of fish — as well as the cows, compared with other feeding ma- great quantities of fish -offal at the curing terials. yards- might be converted into a palat Mr Speir put the herring -meal to the able and useful feeding-meal for cattle, test in two sets of experiments, the one a point of considerable national import conducted in the summer of 1886, and ance would be gained. Stock -owners

the other in the winter of 1887. The would be benefited, and a helpful stimu results are fully reported by him in the lus would be extended to the important Transactions of the Highland and Agri- industry of herring- fishing. cultural Society.? Fish -guano as Food . — Fish -guano

Composition of Herring -meal.- has become a favourite manure with Upon analysis, this Norwegian herring- many farmers in this country ; yet it is meal was found to contain about 40 per contended by some scientific men that

cent of albumen , and 20 per cent of oil; the proper use of this fish product — meal and being an animal product, there was or guano - is in the first instance as a

of course, no starch. It smelt strongly of food for stock, and that the manure herring, and did not look as if it would made by the consumption of the fish be relished by cattle ; while it was also guano will be more readily available as

feared that its fishy taste and smell plant-food than is the fish-guano itself, might unpleasantly taint the milk and when applied directly to the land. butter. After a day or two, however, Fish -guanos contain from 2 to 12 per the cows ate it readily enough, and no cent of oil, and this oil is not only value traces of injury to the flavour of the less as manure, but acts injuriously in milk or butter were discovered . the soil by preventing the manure from

Value as Food . — The results of both rotting andyielding up its nitrogen to experiments were favourable to the her- the crop. On the other hand, oil is a ring-meal, and Mr Speir considers that it is proved ( 1) that herring-meal is a useful cattle food ; ( 2 ) that it would be injudicious to use it largely alone ; (3) that the best results are obtained when suitably mixed with very starchy food ; (4) that it is fairly palatable, as cows take to it as readily as to most manufactured foods,

most valuable element in food, and Dr Aitken supports Weiske's suggestion that this fish meal or guano usually sold as a manure should be used in the first place as food, and that it should not be spread upon the land until it has been improved by passing through the digestive ap paratus of farm -stock . linseed and condimental cakes excluded ; Fish meal or guano is rich in nitrogen, (5 ) that it appears to be easily digested ; which usually ranges from 5 to 10 per

and (6) that as far as this experience cent, and thephosphates in it range from goes, it has not conveyed any fishy or 15 to 50 per cent, so that it forms an other unpleasant taste to either the milk excellent ingredient in the food of young or the butter.

stock. As to digestibility, the fish -guano

The price of this Norwegian herring- would compare favourably with the ma meal in bags at Glasgow was then ( 1887) jority of good feeding-cakes — recent ex

£7, 128. 6d. per ton, but Mr Speir con- periments having shown that stock digest siders that before it could come into ex-

tensive use in this country, its price would have to be very much reduced .

90 per cent of its albuminoids.

In the process of fish -curing, there is considerable loss in disfigured fish ren

Utilising Fish - offal. — In view of dered unfit for the market, and in the the vast extent of the herring -fishing heads of the fish, which are chopped off industry in this country, this experi- in millions. Dr Aitken states that these ment possesses peculiar interest. Not two kinds of fish material, if properly dried and ground to powder, would make a food which, for cleanness and whole 1 Fourth ser., XX . 112.

CATTLE IN WINTER.

280

someness, would leave nothing to be desired .

For Cattle. It has been tried as food for cattle on several occasions on

the Continent, and the results were on the whole satisfactory. They eat it readily This is a by-product in the manufac- enough, and it isgiven at the rateof from ture of Liebig's extract of beef, which is 1 to 3 lb. per day. Along with other food carried on upon an extensive scale in it produced favourable results both in South America. The residue derived increase Flesh -meal.

of live weight and milk -produc

from that manufacture, consisting of the tion.2 wholesome and nutritive fibrin of flesh, is dried and ground into a powder and sold as food for stock, under the name of

Liebig's meat-meal.

ALBUMINOID RATIO. The term “ albuminoid ratio ”

has

Feeding Value. - Dr A. P. Aitken occasionally been used in the foregoing regards this meal as auseful kind of con- pages, and as it is a term which very centrated food for stock, and believes that often occurs in referencesto the composi

it will be more appreciated as its nutri- tion of foods, it is desirable that it should tive qualities become better known. It be briefly explained. It means the ratio contains no starch, and consists chiefly or proportion which the albuminoids in of albumen . It should therefore be any given food bear to the non -nitrogen given along with starchy food.

ous food -constituents, of the nature of

For Pigs. — Experiments upon pigs by fat, starch, sugar, or digestible fibre. Haubner and Hofmeister have shown

But as fat or oil is a very much more

that a pound of the flesh -meal is equal to concentrated food , regarded as a fat,

about 334 lb. of barley-meal in the pro- heat, or force producer, than sugar or duction of live weight in feeding pigs. starch, we must, in order to instituteany Professor Lehman fed four pigs on a useful comparison between two articles mixture of flesh -meal and potatoes, and of food, be able to translate, as it were, one upon potatoes alone. The experi- fat into its equivalent in sugar or starch. ment lasted 44 days, and gave the fol- Sugar and starch, as already said, are practically equal in feeding value; so that lowing result : Food consumed per head .

Potatoes.

Flesh -meal.

Increase in live starch, sugar, and digestible carbohy. other soluble cellulose, & c. drates— dextrine, weight per head.

- can be set against oneanother, unit for unit. But oil or fat is equal in force-pro ducing power, and therefore in feeding It is thus seen that all the pigs consumed value, to 27/2 times its weight of sugar or about the same quantity of potatoes, and starch, so that to compare fat with sugar that every pound of flesh-meal eaten pro- or starch we have to multiply it by 22 . duced with the potatoes 11/3 lb. increase The following illustration will serve to Lot 1, 422 lb. Lot 2, 41572

2034 lb. nong

52/2 lb. 25

in live weight.

show how, with the assistance of this

The soluble salts being all dissolved factor, the albuminoid ratio of a food is in making the extract, the flesh -meal calculated. Let us take analyses of has very little flavour, which is rectified

linseed - cake and rice, and compare by the addition of chlorides and phos- them :

phates of soda, potash, and lime. For Sheep.-Dr Hofmeister conducted

experiments with flesh -meal as food for

sheep at Dresden, but the results were

Water Albuminoids Oil

Mucilage , starch, & c. not so favourable. He reckoned that 4 Woody fibre . lb. of barley - meal produced the same Ash

result as 3 lb. of flesh -meal, and as the latter was very much dearer than the former, he did not consider the flesh -meal an economical food for sheep.

1 Trans. High. Agric. Soc., XX .,

1888.

Linseed -cake.

Rice.

10.00

12.00

14.00 5.30 0.40

36.00

78.10

10.00

7.00

1.50 0.70

100.00

100.00

25.00

Taking the linseed -cake first, 12 of oil

multiplied by 2/2 gives 30, as the starch 2 Ibid ., 4th ser ., XX . 109.

ALBUMINOID RATIO .

281

equivalent of the oil. Adding this 30 loss of valuable feeding material, but the to the 36.0 of digestible carbohydrates health and progress of the animal may

(mucilage, &c. ), we get 66 as the starch also be seriously impaired. For instance, equivalent in the linseed - cake. The the injudicious use of too concentrated " albuminoid ratio " is then as 25 to 66, food may induce fever or other serious

or dividing 25 into 66 , as 1 to 2.64, or, ailments, and thus by a turn of illness expressing it in the ordinary proportion destroy all possibility of profit. Then form , 1 : 2.64.

In the case of the rice

as to the economy of the food itself, this

we have only 0.4 of oil, which, multiplied can be fully ensured only by having the by 272, gives 1. This, added to 78, gives mixtures of it which are given to the

79 asthe starch equivalent of therice. animals prepared so that their various in The albuminoid ratio ofthe rice then is gredients shall be present in the proper as 5.3 to 78, or, dividing by 5-3, as i to proportions. Assuming that a certain food -mixture

14.7, or 1 : 14.7 .

The albuminoid ratio of average speci- contains an unduly large proportion of mens of many of the foods in common carbohydrates, the animal feeding upon I : 1.5

it, in order to obtain the amount of nitrogenous matter its system requires, will have to consume more carbohydrates

I : 2.0

than it can assimilate.

1 : 2.4 I : 1.6

still further, let it be supposed— ( 1) that

use is as follows : Albuminoid ratio .

Cotton -cake, decorticated . undecorticated Linseed -cake Rape-cake Beans

To illustrate this

the requirements of the animal for a cer tain time are 3 lb. of nitrogenous matter, to

Peas

1 : 2.5 1 : 3.1

Wheat-bran

1 : 5.2

15 of non -nitrogenous or carbohydrates;

Malt -dust

Brewers' grains

I : 3.5 I : 3.0

Oats

1 : 6.1

Barley

1 : 7.9 1 : 9.5 I : 5.9

and (2) that the mixture of food given to it contains only 2 lb. of nitrogenous matter to 15 of carbohydrates. Now , in order to obtain the necessary 3 lb. of nitrogenous matter, the animal

I : 7.4

has thus to consume 20 lb. of carbo

Maize

Pasture grass Clover -hay (new) Meadow -hay (medium ) Barley -straw Oat - straw

Vetches Swedes

Turnips Mangels Potatoes

.

1 : 9.4

hydrates. What then becomes of the

1 : 19.0 1 : 22.3

extra 5 lb. of carbohydrates ? The ani mal's system cannot assimilate more than 15 lb., the other 5 passes away in the dung. And in the manure this non -nitro genous matter is worthless, its ultimate products being carbonic acid and water. There is thus a complete loss of the 5 lb.

1 : 9.8 1 : 9.8 I : 10.1

1 : 17.0 1 : 17.2

Some difficulty is presented in this of carbohydrates. Let the uneven pro branch of the subject by the considera- portions of the food be reversed, so as to tion that the various constituents of one have an excess of nitrogenous matter and

and the samefood are not equally digest- a deficiency of carbohydrates, and the ible by all animals, and a givendietmay result is a similar loss of nitrogenous practically have a different albuminoid matter. In this case the excess of food ratio for oxen from that which it has for —nitrogenous matter — which is excreted sheep or for horses. by the animal, increases the ammonia of Importance of properly balancing the manure-heap ; but it is a costly way

Food. — The proper balancing of the of purchasing that valuable element of various elements of nutrition in the food plant-food, and does not compensate for

given to animals is so essential to eco- the loss by having the food unevenly nomical feeding, that its importance can- balanced .

The strength of a chain depends upon not be too strongly or too often impressed upon farmers. This balancing, indeed, the endurance of its weakest link - an is more important than mere bulk or often -used and serviceable illustration. It

quantity ; for by giving a ration which is a familiar representation of Liebig's law is rich to excess in certain elements and of minimum , which is quite as forcible in poor in others, there will not only be feeding as in manuring. Let there be no

CATTLE IN WINTER .

282

weak " links " in the" chain" of ingredients tural Societyof England in publishingthe composing the feeding mixture.

Con- names of defaulters, these reprehensible

sider and measure the demands which practices have to a large extent disap the wants and assimilating capacity of peared. Still, in purchasing food as well your animals are likely to make upon as manure, the buyer should take every

the nitrogenous and non- nitrogenous precaution to ensure the delivery of the “ links ” ( or elements) respectively, and genuine article. have each made exactly, or as nearly as possible, equal to the strain upon it.

With such foods as grain , peas, and

beans, farmers can, by careful examina

Ratio for Different Classes ofstock. tion, satisfy themselves as to their purity, -It is important that the ratio of albu- quality, and condition. minoids to non - albuminoids should be Chemical Analysis essential. high in the case of the diet of young With cakes, meals, and other mixed

growing stock and of dairy cattle, as the foods, there is greater risk of deception,

former have to build up their muscle and and more difficulty in detecting it. As bone, and the latter have to supply the to their general quality and soundness, albuminoids of the milk and to produce experienced farmers can, as a rule, decide calves ; while in the case of fattening ani- by sight, touch, taste, and smell ; but mals, which assimilate comparatively lit- without the aid of chemical analysis com tle nitrogen, the ratio of albuminoids to plete or sufficient certainty cannot be attained . non -albuminoids may be lower. Probably the best average ratio, takGuaranteed Analysis . - Farmers ing one class of animals with another, should be careful to buy all kinds of is about 1 of nitrogenous matter to 6 of foods upon a guaranteed analysis, and non -nitrogenous — that is, an albuminoid with a written guarantee that each food ratio of 1 to 6. For young growing is “ pure ” of its kind as described . The stock and milch cows it should , as a rule, guaranteed analysis should state that the be a little higher - perhaps 1 to 4 or 5 , food contains not less than certain per and for fattening stock a little lower- centages of the various useful ingredients sometimes as low as I to 8.

of foods, nor more than a certain per

A study of the foregoing table will centage of " impurities," and a written show which foods, by their addition or statement should beadded declaring that introduction into an animal's diet, tend the food is in good, sound, wholesome

to raise, and which to lower, the albu- condition, and free from ingredients of a minoid ratio. The desired elements of poisonous or deleterious nature. Most food should of course be drawn from of the leading firms now habitually sell their cakes and foods upon certain guar-, teed analyses. For a fuller discussion of this subject, Purity of Linseed - cake. — Linseed readers may be referred to the various cake has perhaps been more largely

whatever sources are for the time the cheapest.

manuals of agricultural chemistry.

adulterated than any other variety of Among the commodities most frequently used for adulterating linseed cake are rape - seed, cockle - seed, buck cake.

HINTS ON THE PURCHASE OF FOOD .

wheat, and what is termed “ mill-sweep It is desirable that farmers should ings." Absolutely pure linseed - cake exercise great care in the purchasing of that is, cake containing nothing but lin In times past much de- seed — is not to be had, for the seed is

artificial foods.

ceit was practised by unscrupulous manu- certain to contain some small percentage facturers and sellers of these foods, and of impurity. The question then arises, farmers often sustained heavy losses by what should constitute a pure linseed

having adulterated and inferior material cake " ? There has been considerable dis

supplied to them , instead of the genuine cussion as to this, but there has beena Thanks mainly to the active pretty general agreement thatthe amount efforts of agricultural and analytical asso- of impurity should not exceed 5 per cent.

article.

ciations, led by thecourageous and com- Acceptingthis limit, Dr John A. Voelc mendable course of the Royal Agricul- ker has submitted the following as the

THE MANURIAL VALUE OF FOODS.

283

essentials for a cake being considered a

The value of

pure one, viz. : 1. That it be made from sound seed of

manure has been recognised perhaps as long as we have any records of agri

animal

excreta as

a

not less than 95 per cent purity, subse- culture. quently well screened . Chemistry teaches us that — apart from 2. That it contains no ingredients of a mere mechanical effects on the texture of the soil — this value is due to the pres poisonous or deleterious nature. 3. That it be entirely free from sophis- ence of nitrogenous and mineral com tication of any kind. pounds, of which latter the most import 4. That it contain not more than 2 ant are the compounds of potash and of per cent of sand.

phosphoric acid . Seeing that, directly

5. That it be sold in good, merchant- or indirectly, all the constituents of ani mal excreta are derived from the food

able condition .

Tests of Cake. — The late Dr Augustus it consumes, it is at once reasonable to

Voelcker gave the following simple tests suppose that the composition of the as to the quality and character of cake :- food must influence that of the excreta 1. Examine a bit of the cake as to its

derived from it — that food , rich in nitro

taste and smell ; observe that it is fresh, gen and in phosphates, for example, and free from any mouldiness.

should produce manure rich in these

2. Examine another piece with a com- materials; and that food, comparatively mon pocket-lens.

This examination will

showwhether the cake is a linseed or a

poor in these respects, should produce manure comparatively poor in them .

rape cake, inasmuch as the form of the Urine. — The urine is the richest part linseed and rape-seed is widely different. of animal manure, for it is the means Much more difficult is it to distinguish whereby is eliminated from the animal

by the lens mustard from rape cake.

system the waste nitrogenous materials

3. Mix in a tumbler about i oz. of the which have undergone digestion, and cake, broken into small pieces, with 6 oz. served their purpose physiologically. It of cold water. Good linseed -cake will is rich also in soluble salts of potash

form , under these circumstances, a stiff, and phosphoric acid agreeably tasting jelly, without separatSolid Excreta . — The solid excreta ing any water. Rape-cake will become consist only of those materials which

less gelatinous, and separate a yellowish have passed through the animal undi or brown rather bitter tasting liquid. gested ; and if an animal could be fed Mustard - cake, likewise, will become a on theoretically perfect principles, they little gelatinous, and separat a brown would possess hardly anymanurial value.

an animal always con But practically, liquid which possesses the characteristic sumes more nitrogenous and phosphatic food than it really digests, and the ex

taste and smell of the essential oil of Rape - cake fraudulently or mustard .

naturally mixed with mustard -seed under

cess thus consumed gives value to the

these circumstances, will exhibit a similar solid excreta, although this value is

behaviour to that of mustard seed , and generally small compared with that of by the degree of pungency of taste and the urine if the animal is properly fed . Proportion of Food assimilated smell, when compared with pure mustardcake, will afford the means of estimating and voided . - An animal in order to

approximately the amount of mustard gain a given increase in live weight has which the cake contains.

to

consume

an

enormously greater

quantity of food than would be required to produce that increase alone, for the THE MANURIAL VALUE OF FOODS.

In the economical feeding of farm live stock, the manurial value of the foods used forms an important consideration. In some notes written specially for this

mere sustenance of life involves a large daily assumption of food -material. What

becomes of the carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (see the article on " Food ”') that is consumed by the animal beyond what it stores up as increase, does not here concern us ; but it is of essential

edition, Mr Bernard Dyer, F.Č.S., says : consequence as a basis of knowledge of

284

CATTLE IN WINTER .

this branch of agricultural chemistry, it is a growing animal, having to build

that we should know what is the destina- up its bony frame and muscles, or tion of the nitrogen and of the mineral whether it is an already adult animal adding little but fat to its carcass-weight; or whether again it may be a cow having

matters in the food consumed . Much attention has been devoted to

this point at Rothamsted, and without to produce its calf, and yield a flow of going into the details of experiments too milk, which will make a heavier demand elaborate to be here quoted, it may be on the food than will the mere fat-form

at once stated that careful experimental ing processes going on in the case of a stall fed ox

inquiry has shown that, of every 10 lb. ofnitrogen consumed by an animal

-

.

Lawes’s Manurial Tables. — Taking in its food, not more than about 1 lb. one case with another, however, it is

will be stored up as increase of live possible to arrive at an average which weight, the remaining 9 lb. or so being voided in the manure, partly as undigested matter, partly as soluble nitrogenous compounds, which readily become converted, first into ammonia, and

shall in no case err very widely ; and the careful experiments and calculations made at Rothamsted have furnished us with classical tables, indicative both of the original proportions of the chief

then into nitrates, when applied to the soil. Similarly, only from about one-fifth to about one-tenth of the phosphates in food are stored up by the animal, and a

fertilising ingredients contained in the various foods, and the proportions of these which will, on the average, be voided by animals consuming, say, a

still smaller proportion of potash salts, ton of any of them . the great bulk of both going to enrich The latest edition of these tables the manure.

was that published by Sir John Bennett The actual proportion of any of these Lawes and Dr Gilbert in the Journal

fertilising ingredients retained in any of the Royal Agricultural Society of given case will depend upon how liberally England in 1885, and their importance the animal is fed, and also upon whether justifies their quotation here in full.

[ TABLES.

THE MANURIAL VALUE OF FOODS.

285

SIR J. B. LAWES'S REVISED TABLES OF COMPOSITION AND MANURIAL VALUE OF FOODS.

TABLE I. - AVERAGE COMPOSITION , PER CENT AND PER TON, OF CATTLE FOODS. PER CENT.

PER Tox.

FOODS.

No.

Minerall Phos

Dry Matter .

Phos

Nitrogen. Matter phoric Potash . Nitrogen . ( Ash ). | Acid.

phoric

Potash ,

Acid .

per cent.

per cent.

рег cent.

per cent.

per cent.

Ib.

Ib.

Ib.

90.00 88.50

3.60

1.54

1.37

80.64

34.50

4.75

4.00 6.50

2.00

1.40

106.40

44.80

30.69 31.36

90.00

6.60

7.00

3.10

2.00

69.44

44.80

91.00

2.50

1.20

0.50

26.88

II.20

cotton -cake 5 { Cocoa -nut -cake

87.00

3.75

2.00

2.00

84.00

90.00

3.40

3.60 6.00 6.00

147.84 56.00

2.00

76.16

44.80 44.80

Rape-cake

89.00

4.90

7.50

1.40 2.50

44.80 31.36

1.50 109.76

56.00

33.60

2.50 3.00 4.00 2.50

1 2

3 4

6 7

8 9 10 II

Linseed .

Linseed - cake : s Decorticated cotton - cake Palm -nut- cake

.

Peas

85.00

3.60

Beans Lentils

85.00

Tares ( seed )

84.00

4.00 4.20 4.20

Indian corn

88.00

0.85

0.96

80.64

19.04

I.IO

1.30 0.70

89.60 94.08

24.64

21.50 29.12

0.75

16.80

15.68

0.80

0.80

94.08

17.92

17.92

0.60

85.00 94.00

0.85

0.37 0.53

40.32

19.04

8.29 11.87

Malt

1.40 1.70 2.50

13.44

Wheat

14

1.70 1.80 1.70

38.08

13

0.80

0.50

17.92

II.20

15

Barley

84.00

1.65

0.75

0.55

2.00

1.90

7.50

(0.60) ( 0.37)

(13.44)

(8.29)

Locust -beans i

85.00

1.20

2.50

44.80 42.56 26.88

16.80 13.44

12.32

Oats

0.60

Rice -meal 1

86.00 90.00

2. 20 2.80

38.08 36.96

3.90 2.45

8.00

2.00

2.00

87.36

44.80

2.90 3.50

1.46

54.88

2.50

5.50 6.40

1.50

64.96 78.40

2.50

6.50

3.60

1.45

56.00 56.00

2.40

7.00

1.50

6.50

0.57 0.40

1.50 1.60

53.76 33.60

0.35 0.24

1.00 1.00

22.40

7.84

II.20

0.24 0.18

0.80

10.08

1.00

8.96

5.38 5.38 4.03

22.40

0.30

1.00

20.16

6.72

22.40

0.15 0.09 0.19 0.06 0.07

0.55

5.60

3.36

12.32

0.28

4.48 4.93

2.02

6.27 8.06 4.93

16

.

88.00

19

Malt- combs

20

Fine pollard

21

Coarse pollard

22

Bran

90.00 86.00 86.00 86.00

23

Clover -hay Meadow - hay

83.00 84.00

Pea - straw Oat - straw Wheat - straw

82.50

1.00

5.50

83.00

5.50 5.00

28

Barley -straw .

85.00

29

Bean - straw

82.50

0.50 0.45 0.40 0.90

4.50 5.00

30 31 32 33 34 35

Potatoes

24 25 26

27

36

.

Carrots

Parsnips Swedish turnips Mangel-wurzels Yellow turnips 1 White turnips

84.00

25.00 14.00 16.00 II.00

0,25

1.00

0.20 0.22

0.90 1.00

0.50

0.36

80.64 12.77

8.96

4.26

II.20

44.80 32.70

33.60 32.48

33.60 35.84 22.40 22.40 17.92

0.65 (0.06) ( 0.22)

5.60 4.93 4.48

( 1.34)

8.96 (4.93)

0.68

4.03

1.12

6.72

0.25

0.60

12.50

0,22

1.00

9.00

0.20

8.00

0.18

0.05

0.22

0.40 0.30

1.34 1.57

i In the case of neither rice-meal, locust-beans, nor yellow turnips, have records of ash analyses been found. For rice-meal the same percentages of phosphoric acid and potash as in Indian corn , and for yellow turnips the same as in swedes, are provisionally adopted ; but in all the Tables the assumed results aregivenin parentheses. For locust -beans no figure has been assumed, and the columns are left blank .

CATTLE IN WINTER .

286

TABLE II . — SHOWING THE DATA, THE METHOD, AND THE RE OF CATTLE FOODS NITROGEN .

Fattening In crease in Live

weight ( Oxen or Sheep ).

3

In Food .

In Fattening Increase (at 1.27 per cent ).

DESCRIPTION OF Food . Per Food to I

In crease

In

per ton

crease

of food .

Per cent.

Per ton .

From cent of 1 total ton of con

уола

Linseed Linseed - cake

5.0

448.0

6.0

373.3

Decorticated cotton

6.5

344.6

% 3.60 4.75 6.60

7.0

320.0 280.0

2.50 3.75

8.0 | 280.0

3.40

lb. 2

cake Palm -nut - cake . ton - cake 5 { Cocoa Undeccaticated cot-} -nut - cake

8

8.0

Ib .

80.64

106.40 147.84 56.00 84.00 76.16

lb.

5.69 4.74 4.38 4.06 3.56 3.56

ure .

monia ,

per lb.

( 10)

(224) 4.90

Peas Beans

320.0

3.60

80.64

320.0 320.0

4.00

320.0

89.60 94.08 94.08

Ib.

£

8. d.

91.0

5

6

4.45

123.4

2 3

I

8

2.96

143.46

174.2

4

7

I

7.25

51.94

63. I

III

7

4.24

80.44

97.7

2

8 το

4.67 2.59

72.60

88.2

2

4

106.92

129.8

3

4 II

4.06 4.06

5.03 4.53

93.0 76.58 85.54 | 103.9

2

6

4.06 4.06

4-32

109.3 90.02 90.02 | 109.3

2 14 2 14

8 8

34.13 36.37

I

109.76 2.84

Rape- cake

Lentils

7.0

12

Indian corn Wheat Malt

7.2

311,1

1.70

38.08

3.95

10.37

7.2

311.I

1.80

40.32

3.95

9.80

7.0 7.2

320.0 311. I

1.70

4.06

10.66

1.65

38.08 36.96

44.80

3.79 3.79

8.46

42.56 26.88

3.16

Barley

at 6d .

lb.

Tares ( seed )

15 16 17

Am

monia

Am-

74.95 101.66

II

14

gen

equal

Man

%

7.0 7.0 7.0

13

Nitro . Value of

ing for

7.06

10

9

Total remain

Food . sumed .

I

In Manure.

4. 20 4.20

3.95

4.32

1

6

2 II II

41.4 44.2 41.3 40. I

o

9

I

2

1

o

1

o

I 8 1

I

4 II

34.02 33.01 4IOI

49.8

8.91

38.77

47. I

I 3 6

11.76

23.72

28.8

O 14

10.69

Locust -beans

19 20

Malt - combs Fine pollard

8.0

280.0

3.90

87.36

3.56

4.08

83.80 | 101.8

7.5

298.7

2.45

62.0

2 IO II I II o

8.0

280.0

2.50

63.7

I

Bran

9.0

248.9 | 2.50

56.00

6.35 5.64

52.44

22

3.79 3.56 3.16

51.09

Coarse pollard

54.88 56.00

6.91

21

52.84

64.2

r 12

1

2.03 1.90

3.78 5.65

51.73

62.8

III

5

31.70

38.5

o 19 3

O 12 6 0 5 10 o 5 4 o Oi 6

23 24

Clover -hay

14.0

Meadow -hay

15.0

160.0 149.3

2.40 1.50

33.60

53.76

25

Pea -straw

16.0

140.0

1.00

22.40

1.78

7.95

20.62

26

Oat- straw

18.0

124.4 0.50 106.7 0.45

II.20 10.08

1.58 14. II 13.49 1.36 1.24 | 13.84

9.62

25.0 11.7

8.72

10.6

7.72

6.39

18.87

9.4 22.9

5.13 4.15

27

Wheat- straw

21.0

Barley -straw

23.0

97.4

Bean -straw

22.0

IO1.8

0.40 0.90

8.96 20. 16

1.29

30

Potatoes

бо , 0

37 3 : 0.25

5.60

0.47

8.39

31

Carrots

32 33

Parsnips Swedish turnips Mangel-wurzels Yellow turnips White turnips .

85.7 75.0

26.1 29.9 20.5 23.3 16.8 14.9

4.48 4.93 5.60

0.33 0.38 0.26

7.37 7.71

0.22

4.93

0.30

0. 20 0.18

4.48 0.21 4.03 0.19

34 35

36

109. I

96.0 133.3 150.0

0.20 0.22

0.25

4.64 6.09 4.69 4.71

4.55 5.34

6.2 5.0 5.5

ооооооо

18

7.5 298.7 2.00 7.5 298.7 | 1.90 9.0 248.9 1.20

Oats

Rice-meal

II

5

IO

26 2 9 3

3

4.63

5.6

2

10

4.27

5.2 4.7

2 2

7 +

3.84

287

THE MANURIAL VALUE OF FOODS.

In Hattening

In Fattening In Manure.

In Food .

ton of Food .

Total re main

From

at 3d.

ing for per lb. Man

Per

Per

cent.

ton.

%

lb.

Ib.

34.50

3.85

at

ing for

2 %3d .

Food .

Man

2.00

44.80 69.44

3.21 2.96 2.75

2.00

26.88 44.80

1.40 2.50

31.36 56.00

2.41

0.85

19.04

I.IO

0.75

3. 10 1,20

0.80

30.65

7.17

41.59

10

4.26

66.48

o

0.50

%

Ib .

1b .

%

Ib.

8.

1.37

30.69

0.49

1.60

30.20

6

5

1.40

31.36 0.41

1.31

30.95

16 8

2.00

44.80 0.38 0.85 44.42 11.20 0.35 3.13 | 10.85 44.80 0.31 0.69 44.49

d.

8.

7 8

6

10.23 24.13 5.38 42.39

10

7

2.00

7.68

28.95

7

2.00

1.93

3.45

54.07

13

3 6

24.64

2.75 2.75

14.44 11.16

16.29 21.89

16.80 17.92

2.75 2.75

16.37 15.35

14.05 15.17

2.75

19.94 14.08 15.35

10.76 16.36 15.17

2.68

15.95

14.12

2.41

0.60 | 13.44

2.68

9.85

2.68

19.04

0.80 17.92 0.75 16.80 0.60 | 13.44

2.57 | (19.12) 10.87.

per

ure .

% 11.16

1b.

Value

ton of

1

ure .

1.54

Total re main

Value

44.80 0.31 1.50 33.60 0.25

0.69 44.49 0.74 33-35

4 1 0.96 | 21.50 0.35 5 6 | 1.30 29.12 0.35 3 6 0.70 15.68 0.35 9 0.80 17.92 0.35

1.63 21.15 28.77 1.20

2

8 | 0.37

8.29 0.34

2.23

15.33

d. £

3

S. d .

2 19 5

6 5

3 18

6

9

3

5 13

0

2

3

I 19 10

5 II

3

5

4

93

3

o

7

6 11

4

5

4

2 15 3 3 3 I

0 5

2

I

3

1.95 | 17.57

4

8

4.IO

7.95

1

0.53

11.87

0.34

2.86

5

3 90.50

3.13

2

12.32

0.35 0.34

11.53 10.85 11.98

2

II.20

2

3 6

I

6

II.20

0.33 2.94./ 10.87

2

3

I

9 IO

I

3 2

6 8

0.55 0.50

2.76

O0-OV

I

In Manure.

Nou OO

cent .

Per ton .

of cent Per total . consumed

From

Per

Increase at

(0.11 per cent). of cent Per

Increase at

( 0.86 per cent).

total . consumed

In Food .

of ton per value Manure

POTASH .

original Total

PHOSPHORIC ACID .

consumed .Food

SULTS OF THE ESTIMATION OF THE ORIGINAL MANURE VALUE AFTER CONSUMPTION .

8

...

...

...

2.14

...

...

...

...

...

...

0.27

...

(0.60 ) (13.44 ) 2.57 |( 19.12) (10.87) (2 8) (0.37) (8.29) 0.33 (4.00) (7.96) ( 1 8 ) ( 1 7 10 ) :

12.77 8.96

1.38

10.81

11.39

1.28

14.28

7.84 1. 20 15.31 5.38 1.07 19.89 5.38 0.92 17.10 4.03 0.84 20.84 6.72 0.88 13. 10

0.57 0.40

0.35 0.24 0.24

0.18

0.30

0.15 0.09

2.14

3.36

0.32

2.02

0.22

5.38 42.39 3.96 62.39 3.07 | 75.99 2.65 78.50

9.52 10.89 6.10

2.00

44.80 0.31 0.69 44.49

7

1.46

32.70

1.01

32.37 33.29

0.33

19

o

19

8

1.50 1.45

7.68

2 10 I II

1.50 1.60

33.60 0.18 0.54 35.84 0.16 0.45

6.64 4.31 4.46

1

8

I I

1 I

1.00 1.00

3.19

o 9

5.84

I

3.04 1.80

4.26 1.34

0.18

13.43

4.00 1.16

0.07

1.57

0.20

12.74 ,

1.37

0.26

7

15

33.60 0.31 0.92 32.48 0.27 0.83

0.06

0.19

IO

5

0.80 1.00 1.00

o 90.55 05 0.28 I 0 0.36 O

4 4

0.22 0.40

32.21

9 3

3 Io 9

9 6 II 6 8

2 13 2 17

35.68

7 7

22.40 0.15 0.67 22.25 22.40 0.14 0.63 22.26

4

8

4

8

O II

7

Ο 1Ο O IO

1 I

O 17

7

33.42

I

3

I

8

7

17.80

3

8

0.49

22.29

0.49

22.29

4 4

8 8

0.12 O.IT O.IT

12.32 6.27

0.04 0.32

12.28

2

0.03 0.48

6.24 8.03 4.91 8.93

I

8.96

2

5

0.67

17.92 22.40 22.40

8.06 4.93

o

0.03 0.37

0.41 0.03 0.34.

0.02

7 4

O 18 10

o 6 5

I 1

I NO

(0.06) (1.34 0.14 ( 10.78 ) (1.20 ) (o 4) (0.22) (4.93) 0.02 (0.34) (4.91) ( 1 0) (o ) 0.13 1.12 0.05 II.61 0.99

o

3

0.30

4 9

2 18

6.72

0.02

0.30

6.70

1

5

a wuran

2.41 2.57 2.41

OAV O

44.80 2.90 64.96 3.50 78.40 3.60 80.64 2.00

CATTLE IN WINTER .

288

In the first of these tables we have the

the case of decorticated cotton -cake is as

total quantities of ingredients capable of high as £5, 138., while for maize it is contributing to the fertility of the land but £1, 58. id .,or for barley, £1, 68. id.,

contained in the principal varieties of and for turnips it is less than58. foods in use on the farm , stated both as percentages and as pounds per ton .

There can be no doubt that the pro

portions which these " original manure

These figures represent the manurial values ” bear to one another, correctly matter that would reach the land, sup- represent the proportions borne to one posing that the foods were simply ground another by the actual manurial values up and applied directly tothe soil, with- realisable in the field , provided that the out the intervention of the stock that

circumstances are favourable for their

consumes them.

comparative realisation ; though it has

In Table II. we have indicated to us happened, as in the Woburn experi the average destination of this fertilising ments, that practical trial has occasion matter - how much of it, that is to say, ally shown that manure made by the

may be assumed to be retained by the use of a food like decorticated cotton

animal increasing its weight, and how cake has done no more immediate good much will find its way into the manure. than manure made from a like quantity Then we have the theoretical money value of maize. But this has no doubt been of this latter portion calculated for each because the land was in such good heart fertilising constituent; and finally, we that the maize manure was in itself suffi have stated what would be the total cient to bring out its maximum fertility, value of the manure from a ton of the and that the richer manure supplied by food, supposing its value to be completely the decorticated cotton -cake was of the nature of a superfluity. To make the matter clearer, we will It is of course to be borne in mind that select an instance — say that of linseed- the values calculated in each case are cake. From Table I., we learn that average ones, and any given ton of lin realised .

linseed - cake contains 88.5 per cent of

seed - cake, for example, may differ a

dry matter, which includes 4.75 per cent good deal from another ton ; but it is ofnitrogen, 2.00 of phosphoric acid, and only on the average quality of each kind 1.40 per cent of potash ; or otherwise of food that a table for general reference stated , one ton of linseed -cake contains could well be based without becoming

106.40 lb. of nitrogen, 44.80 lb. of phos- bewilderingly cumbersome. phoric acid, and 31.36 lb. of potash. Theoretical and Realised Manure From Table II., we learn that 6 lb. of Values. — But even putting aside this linseed -cake go to make 1 lb. of increase consideration, there are obviously a vast in live weight, so that i ton of cake

number of circumstances affecting the

yields 373.3 lb. of increase in live weight. question of how far the theoreticalvalue We also learn that of the 106.40 lb. of given in the tables is capable of actual nitrogen in the ton of cake, 4.74 lb. are realisation in the field . The nearest

retained by the animal, while 101.66 lb. approach to the perfect application of This quantity of the wholeof the manure to the crops is nitrogen is equal to 123.4 lb. of ammonia, found in the consumption of food on the

pass into the manure .

which, at 6d. per lb., is equal to £3, 18. land itself, as when grazing cattle or 8d. per ton.

In like manner we find

sheep consume cake in the field .

Their

that of 44.8 lb. of phosphoric acid in excreta go directly on to the land, and so

the ton of cake, 3.21 Ib. are retained by the whole of the manurial matter at least the animal, while 41.59

Ib. pass into the

reaches the soil.

manure, which, at 3d. per lb., would be The other extreme is found where the worth 1os. 5d. Of 31.36 lb. of potash in food is consumed in the farmyard, and the ton of cake, 0.41 lb. is retained , 30.95 the manure badly cared for — as when it Ib. passing into the manure, giving at is left to lie about in the open, exposed

272d. per lb., 6s. 5d. The three money to the free and prolonged action of rain, figures added together give £3, 188. 6d. in such a way as to allow the drainage as the “ total original manure value ” of from it to be lost. Wherever the rich one ton of linseed - cake. This value in drainings from dung are allowed to run to

THE MANURIAL VALUE OF FOODS.

289

waste, there isa serious loss of fertilising gested that in the case of an outgoing matter; for the most valuable part of tenant claiming compensation for the manure is the soluble ammonia, salts, &c., unexhausted value of consumed food, which it contains.

the " original manure value ” of each

What proportion of the manurial ton of food (as shown in Table II.) value originally contributed to the dung should be discounted to the extent of really finds its way on to the land from 50 per cent for the food consumed

the farmyard depends, therefore, upon within the last year. In the case of individual care and management, of food consumed last year but one, he which no exact account can be taken suggests a deduction of one-third of the in tables. allowance for last year— while for food Furthermore, a herd of dairy cows will consumed three years ago, deduction

rob the food of much more nitrogen and of one-third from this sum should be

on, for whatever number phosphoric acid than a herd of fattening made; and sodown to eight — may be oxen, since oxen, while fattening, store of years up but little of these materials compared taken. Let us, as an instance, take again the with that which is required by the cows to produce a flow of milk, and to build case of linseed -cake, the " original manur

up the bodies of the young calves which ial value” of which is £3, 188. 6d. For they have yearly to produce. There are each ton of this cake consumed in the last obviously, then, difficulties to be sur- year of tenancy, it would be assumed

mounted in forming an estimate of the that a practical unexhausted value of farm , manurial value that may fairly be as- £ 1, 198. 3d. remained on the Fo r a sumed to be realisable in any given realisable by the new tenant. case .

ton of cake consumed last year but

As far as regards the guidance of the farmer to the prices which the various foods are worth, considered comparatively, and as to the best foods to use in

one, this sum would be reduced by one third, making £1 , 6s. 2d. If con sumed a year previously, it would be still further reduced by a third, making

order to at once fatten his stock and best

178. 6d., and so on.

In the eighth

fertilise his land, the mere " original year back, the compensation would be manure values” supply sufficient infor- only 28. 4d. mation ; but when the question at issue

As a matter of fact, most farmers

is as tothe realisable unexhausted value would , no doubt, object to paying“ com of manure from food consumed, such pensation values ” for food used more complexities as we have glanced at arise than two or three years previously ; but and give serious trouble. Unexhausted Value of Consumed

the principle of compensation suggested -taking it as far back as may be deemed

Food . — The "county customs” which are judicious — appears to be a sound one, often brought in to assess, under the pro- and one that can hardly be charged with

visions of the Agricultural Holdings Act, pressing too hardly on the incoming the compensation due to an outgoing tenant. In applying it, the valuer, if tenant for unexhausted manurial value he knows his business, will be influenced for foods consumed , are in most cases by his observations taken on the farm as

absurdly fallacious, being too often based to the mode in which manure is treated , on the cost of the foods used, which has and as to the information available on

no relation whatever to their manurial the matter of consumption.

Sir John

value. The difficulty which the valuer Bennett Lawes and Dr Gilbert, in the who proceeds on rational principles has paper already quoted from , very rightly to face is to decide on how much of the observe: “ It is pretty certain indeed that

“ original manure value” is to be assumed every claim for compensation will have com to be settled on its own merits ; that the pensation value," as Sir John Bennett character of the soil, the cropping, the Lawes has called it. state of the land as tocleanliness, and With a view to putting the matter on many other points, will be taken into

to be still left on the farm — the “

a broad general basis for practical pur poses, Sir John Bennett Lawes has sugVOL . I.

consideration both for and against any claim .” T

290

CATTLE IN WINTER. FOOD RATIONS.

sider the composition and market price of each article available and suitable as

The secret of success in economical food. The mixture must not only be per stock -feeding lies in the perfect arrange- fect in weight and composition, but also ment of " Food Rations ” —that is, in be made up at the lowest possible cost. so arranging the kinds, quantities, and The Animal'sRequirements. — First,

proportions of the different articles of then, how are the requirements of the food as to ensure the maximum result at animal to be determined ? In consider

the minimum cost. To provide this it is ing this, only the amount of dry matter necessary, not only that the mixed food required in the food need be taken into shall contain in perfect proportions and account. What water the animal wants in palatable and easily digestible form a to drink by itself or to moisten its food

sufficiency, and neither more norlessthan may always be had free of cost. Mr F. a sufficiency, of all the elements of nu- J. Lloyd, F.C.S., contributed a paper to

trition which the animal needs both for the Live Stock Journal Almanac,1888, its own sustenance and for the produc- which deals with the subject of “ Feed tion of milk, or the increase of bone and ing Rations,” and which has excited a muscle, flesh and fat ; but also that the good deal of attention. As presented

market price and feeding value of the by Mr Lloyd, the information is so im different kinds of food be carefully con- portant and so full of interest to stock sidered, so that these elements of nutri- owners, that we venture to produce here

tion may be drawn from the cheapest the substance of what he wrote. sources .

In other words, economical

As to the quantity and kinds of food

feeding demands that the relative cost required by animals, Mr Lloyd says:

and feeding value, as well as the relative “ By feeding animals with weighed quan amounts and proportions of the vari- tities of food, the dry matter in which ous articles of food, shall be carefully is known, and by weighing back that studied .

which is not consumed, we may obtain

What the Feeder has to deter- valuable information as to the quantity mine. — What quantity of food should of food (dry food) each animal requires each animal receive per day ? What to maintain it. If, further, we analyse should be the composition of that daily the food, so as to obtain a precise know ration — that is, what proportionate quan- ledge of the quantity of each constituent

tities of the various elements of nutri- given, and subsequently analyse the ex tion should it contain ? In what articles creta to discover what quantity of each of food can these elements of nutrition constituent the animal has utilised , we be provided in the required proportions obtain, in addition to our knowledge of at the lowest relative cost ? These are the quantity of dry food necessary, a the questions which the feeder has to knowledge of what quality that dry food determine; and they should be consid- should possess. The quality is made up ered in the above order. The guiding of three constituents — flesh-formers, heat conditions in regard to the first two producers, and fat; or, in chemical lan will be the size and class of the animals guage, albuminoids, carbohydrates, and and the purpose in view — whether being fat. Many such feeding experiments

fed for increase in size, for breeding, for have been conducted, those inGermany milk production, or merely for taking on with greater care than anywhere else, flesh and fat. The feeder, in deciding as and abrief résumé of the results ob

to the third of these questions, has to con- tained is given in the following table :

[ TABLE.

FOOD RATIONS .

291

FEEDING STANDARDS. Food required per Day. Live

Digestible.

Animal.

Weight.

Nutritive Ratio .

Dry Matter,

Albumin . oids.

Oxen , growing , Age, 6-12 months. 12-18

18-24

11

Oxen, fattening, per . First period

lb.

Fat.

hydrates.

lb.

Ib.

I 2.0

1.3

16.8

1.4

Ib.

lb.

20.4

1.4

6.8 9. I 10.3

27.0 26.0 25.0

2.5 3.0 2.7

15.0

0.50

1-6.5

14.8 14.8

0.70 0.60

1-5.5 1.6.0

1000

24.0

2.5

12.5

0.40

1-5.4

61

1.7 1.7 1.8

0.17 0.16 0.14

0.04 0.04 0.03

1.5.5 1-6.0 1-7.0

26.0 25.0

3.0 3.5

15.2 14.4

1000

22.5

1.8

11.2

100

3.4 4.6 5.2

500 700

850

0.30 0.28 0.26

1-6.0 1-7.0 1-8.0

1000

Second ! Third

Cow in milk , per

Carbo

Sheep, growing , Age, 5-8 months. 8-11 11.15

11 11

First period Second 11

1000

.

...

.

...

Horses at work, per .

0.86 0.85 0.89

-

Sheep, fattening, per .

75 82

1.5.5 1-4.5 0.60

1.7.0

Pigs, growing Age, 3-5 months . 11 5-8 8-12

Pigs, fattening, per First period Second

Third

11

.

170 250

0.50 0.58

2.50 3.47

1.5.0

0.62

4.05

1-6.5

1-6. I

1000

36.0

5.0

27.5

31.0 23.5

4.0

24.0

1-6.0

2.7

17.5

1-6.5"

1.5.5

Composition of Foods. — These being description of foods for live stock ; and the wants of the animals, by what articles the reader is commended to make him of food can they be most effectually and self familiar with what is said there, be

most cheaply supplied ? To be able to fore attempting to arrange the feeding determine this a farmer must make him- rations for his animals. For convenience here we present the self acquainted with the composition and

relative nutritive properties of the vari- following table given by Mr Lloyd, to ous foods, and study these in view of show the average amount and composi market prices. Upon this important tion of the dry matter in the most com point information is given in this work mon foods : in the section specially devoted to a

[ TABLE

CATTLE IN WINTER.

292

COMPOSITION OF PRINCIPAL FEEDING STUFFS. Percentage Composition . Dry Matter .

Alburnin

Carbo

oids.

hydrates.

Percentage Digestible. Fat .

Albumin oids.

Carbo Fat.

hydrates.

Barley-meal

83.5

10.0

63.9

2.5

8.0

Barley -straw

81.6

82.4

36.7 45.9

1.4

Bean -meal

3.5 25.5

1.3 23.0

50.2

1.4

Beans (green ) .

11.7

2.8

5.1

2.0

5.2

0.2

Brewers' grains Cabbage .

22.2

11.0

3.9

10.8 8.2

1.6 0.3

58.9 40.6

1.7 0.5

8.9 9.7 38.2

0.6

1.7

8.7

0.8 0.4 0.4

1.0 2.2

2.2

III

0.6

38.1

1.2

30.5 19.5 9.7

6.1

7.0 17.5 31.0 2.5 5.4 24.8 27.7 9.1

14.9

5.5

18.3

12.3

9.9 41.0

0.4

27.5

8.9 3.2

I.I 0.7

Clover, red (hay )

78.7

4.9 2.5 3.0 3.4 12.3

Cotton -cake

82.3 81.2

23.6 38.8

18.0 79.5

3.5 9.7

29.5 32.9

Maize -meal

79.0 84.0 87.0

38.3 69.7

0.8 2.5 9.9 3.5 5.5

67.1

4.2

Mangels .

11.2

I.1

9. I

0.1

1.1

10.0

0.1

Oat - straw

81.7

4.0 3.2 23.7

36.2 7.6

2.0

1.4

40.1

Clover, red (green ) Clover, red ( silage ). .

Cotton -cake (decorticated) Grass meadow (green ) Hay (meadow ) Linseed -cakes .

Linseed-meal (extracted )

13.7

18.3 21.6

Peas (green )

17.0

Pea -meal

85.1

Rape -cake

81.6 79.5

Rice -meal Swedes

I 2.0

10.6

8.1

41.4 29.9

31.6

54.5 29.9

10.9 1.3

47.6 9.5

I.I

13.7

1.8

34.7

1.0

2.2

7.4

0.7 0.3

55.4

2.8

23.8

7.7 8.8

0.1

20.9 25.3 8.6 1.3

O.I

I.I

0.6 3.5

9.6 9.9

47.2 10.6

Turnips (white) Vetches (green )

7.3 16.2

3.5

5.3 6.6

2.5

Wheat -bran

80.5

15.0

52.2

0.6 3.2

6.1 6.7

12.6

42.7

Wheat- straw .

81.1

3.0

36.9

1.2

0.8

35.6

0.1 0.1

0.3 2.6 0.4

It is not to be supposed that the farmer extract the following: “Here and there can in every case have his foods ana- are to be found exact statements of the lysed, but as a rule he may assume, if quantity of meal or cake,and the propor

they are fairly good of their kind, that

tion of each, but generally with this re

their composition will approximate pretty mark - Mixed withchaff, roots, &c. How closely tothe above table of averages. Want of Care and Precision in

much chaff and roots ? and how much was eaten , how much wasted ? For this

Feeding. — Now , with the knowledge information one seeks in vain. Why thus obtained of the requirements of the should they be considered ? Presumably animal, and the composition and market they cost nothing — at least one would price of the various foods, the farmer will assume so, for it is seldom that their

be better able to make up an economical value can be found in a balance-sheet. feeding ration for his stock than if he And yet, if a scientific man's opinion is

were, as of old, simply groping in the worth anything upon such a matter of dark, or following some antiquated rule, the “why and wherefore ” of which may be totally unknown to him , and which may, as likely as not, be sharply at variance with the principles of profitable

practice, I venture to think that it is this very chaff, roots, & c., which is the dearest food fed. And whether that opinion be right or wrong, one thing is certain , that much of the meal and cake given with

stock -feeding. Remarking upon the all them is absolutely wasted, and affords too prevalent haphazard system of feed- no profit, because, without knowing the

ing stock without due attention to the exact amount of the other portions of the

proper mixing of foods, Mr Lloyd makes food, it is impossible to estimate the some pertinent remarks ; and as a little proper quantity of meal and cake to criticism now and again is wholesome, we give."

FOOD RATIONS.

293

- viz.,84 lb. of swedes, 14 lb. hay, and 3 lb. linseed - cake, and proceeds : “As

Rations for fattening Oxen .

By way of illustrating the application suming the substances to have been of of the information supplied in these two . average composition, we find by the tables, Mr Lloyd takes up a common table of analyses that ration used to fatten oxen for the butcher Digestible. Dry Matter.

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates.

lb.

100 lb. swedes contain

Ib .

12.0

0.1

8.904

0.084 1.0

41.0 5.74 27.5

0.756 24.8

79.0 2.37

100 lb. linseed -cake contain

Therefore 3 lb. contain .

Ib.

10.6

1.3 1.092 5.4

Therefore 84 lb. contain ( x84 and divide by 100) 10.08 100 lb, hay contain Therefore 14 lb. hay contain ( xi4, divide by roo) 11.130

Fat.

Ib ,

0.14

8.9 0.267

0.825

0.744

“We will now combine these together, and we have the following : Digestible. Dry Matter.

In 84 lb. swedes In 14 lb. hay

.

In 3 lb. linseed -cake In total ration

Ration required as shown in table

.

“ It will be seen that this farmer, totally unknown to himself, was really giving his animals a food as efficient as it could be in all respects save one — it did

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates,

lb.

lb.

10.08 II.13 2.37

1.092

Ib.

8.904 5.740 0.825

0.756 0.744

Fat.

lb.

0.084 0.140

0.267

23.58

2.592

15.469

0.491

27.0

2.5

15.0

0.5

ration was excellent for the commence ment of fattening, it was not suited for continuanceinto the latter stages, when

more albuminoids and fat are needed, but

not contain quite so much dry matter as less carbohydrates.

It is evident that

is usually necessary ; but thiswas due to these could best be supplied by the addi the large quantity of roots employed, and tion of more linseed - cake, and, as it is not the easy digestibility of their dry matter; necessary to increase the total quantity whereas most substances, to afford the of food, some portion of the swedes or

same amount of digestible food, would have possessed more dry matter. “There is an important lesson welearn from this example, that while the above

hay might be withdrawn. We will with draw 2 lb. of hay and add 1 lb. of lin

seed -cake ; the ration would then be as follows : Digestible.

Dry Matter.

84 lb. swedes 12 lb. hay

4 lb. linseed - cake Total

Standard for last period of fattening

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Ib .

Fat.

Ib .

Ib.

Ib .

10.08 9.54 3.16

1.092

8.904

0.084

0.648

4.920

O. I20

0.992

I.100

0.356

22.78 25.00

“ It is evident that we now comply

2.732

14.924

0.560

2.7

14.8

0.60

are merely guides to be aimed at and approached as nearly as possible ; but they are not hard and fast limits, which must be strictly adhered to to the third place

Making up Feeding Rations. As a second example, Mr Lloyd ex plains how to build upa ration for a cer tain purpose and with definite foods. He says : “ We will assume that roots are scarce, and that, until the tares are fit to

of decimals . ”

cut, the farmer is confined to the use of

with the standard very closely, and it is to be remembered that these standards

CATTLE IN WINTER .

294

silage as the only succulent food he pos“ As the basis of the ration , he takes sesses ; that of this he has but little, 10 lb. hay, 10 lb. oat-straw , and 10 lb.

owing to the failure of his clover crop, clover-silage. By referringto the table and so must do the best to make upthe of analyses we find these will contain the following :-

rest of the ration with purchased food.

Digestible. Dry Matter.

10 lb. meadow -hay 10 lb. oat- straw 10 lb. clover -silage Total .

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates.

Fat ,

Ib.

Ib.

7.95 8.17

0.54

Ib. 4. 10

0.14

4.01

2.16

0.22

I , II

0.07 0.06

18.28

0.90

9.22

0.23

“ Now compare these figures with the rich in albuminoids.

Ib . O.IO

We can choose

ration as shown in the table, still assum- bean -meal, cotton -cake, linseed -cake, or ing that oxen are being fed during the first period of fattening ,and each weighing 1000 lb. Here itmaybe stated that for animals weighing more or less, the

pea - meal. I will take for example a substance which has recently been intro duced into England as ' Cleveland Meal,' but which has for some years past been

quantity they require is in proportion to employed in America as · New Process their weight.

Oil Meal,' and which is given in the

" It will be seen that about 9 lb. more

table of analyses as ' Linseed -meal ex

dry matter are required, and that, while the ration already affords nearly twothirds of thecarbohydrates, it only supplies one-third of the albuminoids requisite ; hence we require at least one food

tracted . It will serve as an example by which a farmer may judge how to employ with advantage any new food, or food new to him. Take, then, 5 lb. of this meal, it will contain the following : Digestible.

Dry Matter.

Add former part of ration Total .

Fat.

lb.

ib.

Ib .

18.28

1.39 0.90

1.73 9.22

0.16 0.23

22.48

2.29

10.95

0.39

Ib .

5 lb. linseed -meal extracted

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates.

4. 20

“ It will now be seen that nearly 5 lb. supplying the highest amount of digest more dry matter is required, of which 4 ible carbohydrates, and we will choose 5 lb. should be carbohydrates — in fact, a lb. maize-meal, which would contain the

starchy food . Maize-meal stands first as following : Digestible. Dry Matter.

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates.

Fat.

Ib.

lb.

4.35

0.45

3.36

0.21

Adding these to the above total, we obtain 26.83

2.74 2.50

14.31 15.0

0.60

5 lb. maize -meal .

Ration required by table

27.00

Ib .

Ib .

0.50

“ Such is an example of what may be “ In a similar way to the above ex termed making the best of a bad choice amples, it is possible to calculate out of feeding stuffs, owing to the want of the rations for sheep, pigs, or dairy roots and succulent food ; and it is an cattle.”

example of how the farmer may make use Mr Lloyd very properly assumed that of science to help him in his difficulties. those who might attempt to put his

The ration may not be a good one, looked directions into practice would meet with at from all aspects; but this much is cer- difficulties at the outset, and so he inti tain, that if so prepared as to be palatable mated that, through the columns of the and digestible, it would supply all the Live Stock Journal, he would be pleased requirements of the animal. to consider any questions that might be

FOOD RATIONS.

295

addressed to him on the subject. The Rations for Cows and Young Stock. result was a plentiful crop of questions, Mr James E. Platt, Bruntwood , and these, together with Mr Lloyd's replies, were read with much interest by Cheadle, Cheshire, submitted for Mr stock -owners.

Several of these queries Lloyd's opinion the following calculations

and replies are worthy of space in this of food rations for cows andyoung stock, work. based upon Mr Lloyd's tables Mr Platt's Ration for Cows in Full Milk . Digestible. Dry Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Fat. Ib .

Ib.

Ib .

6.66 2.16 0.42

1.17

3.24

0.24

Іо

0.22

I.IT

0.06

0.17 0.52

2.46

0.13 0.23 0.81 0.52

0.01

1

0.82

24.44

Ib . grains 1b . ensilage 12 lb. linseed

30

Ib. bean - flour

15

Ib . hay

59/2 lb.

0.01

6.15

0.15

0.44

0.01

3.08

11.63

0.48

6.00 14.70

0.65

0.05

1.21

0.46

5.30 7.21 0.27

12.78

0.35

11.92

lb. cotton -cake (undecorticated)

3

Ib.

Ration for Dry Cows. 50 18

Ib . turnips lb. oat - straw

1/2 lb. cotton -cake (decorticated ) 69 % lb.

0.25

1.36 Ration for Heifers from 6 to 12 months old . 21.91

2.12

0.02

4.01

1.62

0.26 0.14 0.62

0.36

0.07 0.24

12.19

1.02

6.49

0.33

3.71

20 lb. turnips

2.40

10 lb. oat -straw

8.17

2 lb. cotton -cake (decorticated) 32 lb.

0.12

0.18

Ration for Heifers from 12 to 18 months old . 35 14

Ib . turnips

1.21

0.45 0.19 0.46

0.27

0.03 0.09 0.18

16.84

I.IO

9.59

0.30

0.58

4.20 11.43

Ib. oat - straw

i %2 lb. cotton - cake (decorticated) 50/2 lb.

5.61

Ration for Heifers from 18 to 24 months old . 45 lb. turnips 16 lb. oat- straw

1 lb. cotton -cake (decorticated) : 62 lb.

5.40 13.07 0.81

4.77

0.04

0.22

6.41

O.IT

0.31

0.18

0.12

19.28

I.II

11.36

0.27

Ration Heavy Milkers are now getting. 30

Ib. brewers' grains

6.66

40

Ib. swedes

4.80

1.17 0.52

3/2 lb. linseed gruel

3.08 1.64

0.46

2

14 4

Ib. bean - flour

Ib. hay lb. cotton -cake (decorticated )

3.24

0.24

4.24

0.04 1.23 0.03

11.13 3.24

0.75 1.24

0.66 1.04 5.74 0.73

30.55

4.64

15.65

0.50

0.14

0.49 2.17

Mr Platt says : “ I should feel very mostly large Shorthorns, and some much obliged if you would let me know Guernseys.

The Shorthorns are big,

whether you consider the portions and heavy -framed beasts, and when in full the rations generally will be right to use milk give very often from 20 to 24

in my dairy. I keep about forty cows, quarts a-day. My cows are exception

CATTLE IN WINTER .

296

ally good ones, every one beinga special- to six months, and getting on in calf

ly heavy milker. "To keep the newly again.

They would want, I should

calved ones up to such big results re- think, something between the highest quires a large quantity of rations. ration and the ration for dry cows, but Therefore, would the ration you lay with the dry matter, albuminoids, carbo

for milch cows be sufficient in my hydrates, and fat properly apportioned. down case -I mean the proportions of dry Feeding dairy cows is a very delicate matter, albuminoids, carbohydrates, and process, and is not at all understood by fat ?

You will notice I have added at the

foot of the list of tables the portions and

bailiffs and head -cowmen .'

To these questions Mr Lloyd replied :

analysis of what they are now receiving. “ The ration given in the table of I am much troubled with cases of abor- standards is for a cow weighing 1000 tion, and I consider we have been over- lb.

feeding, and have not the food properly apportioned, as the dry matter, albuminoids, carbohydrates , and fat seem ever so much higher than your table. Again, in my proposed table would 10 lb. of ensilage be enough with 30 lb. of brewers' grains ?

A ration containing 30 lb.of dry matter would therefore be sufficient for

a milch cow weighing 1250 lb. Calcula tions which I have made from the state

ments of feeding practices prove that

this is practically the same amount as Mr Turnbull and other feeders have found necessary :

The quality of this

“ I should be much obliged, if not ration will best be studied after placing

troubling you too much, if you would together the quantities required accord give me your opinion, and also give me a ing to the feeding standard and the table for cows about half through their quantities which were given by Mr note - say, that have been milking five

Platt. Digestible.

Dry Matter.

Standard ration for milch cow of 1250 lb. Mr Platt's ration

30.00 30.55

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates . Fat. 3.12

15.62

4.64

15.65

0.50 2.17

“ There is a great waste here of both mate weights for which these are calcu The former, in lated are stated . fact, would have to be given to counter“ It need scarcely be mentioned to a albuminoids and fat.

practical man like Mr Platt that there are many points to be considered in cows in full milk. The proportions here feeding besides mere chemical composi are fairly well balanced, provided the tion. While my paper was an endeavour

act the effect of the other.

“ Next, as regards the new ration for

linseed is not whole linseed, but " ex- to draw the attention of farmers to the

tracted, ” or Cleveland meal. If whole chemical side of feeding, the practical

linseed is referred to, the figures given needs of an animal_bulk, palatability, in the table are inaccurate, and must be digestibility, and variety in the food corrected according to the analysis given. were not mentioned, as being familiar to

At present the albuminoids are slightly my readers, and points uponwhich they too high : they might be reduced by were better able to judge than myself.

givingtwo-thirds the amount of grains, Whether a ration of turnips, oat-straw, the quantity suggested being, in my and cotton - cake would meet these de

opinion, rather too high, making up the mands, I must therefore leave to Mr loss with starchy food .

Platt to decide.

Readers of my notes

“ The rations for heifers err slightly in must please to remember that these an opposite direction : they are not suffi- points, although not mentioned, are not ciently rich in albuminoids.

“ In applying all these tables, it must

to be overlooked .

Next, as to a ration for cows whose

be remembered that the proportion of milk is falling off and which are getting food must vary with the weight rather on in calf. The falling off in milk is

than with the age of the animal, hence, partly due to the call of the fætus upon in the table of standards, the approxi- the cow, and hence upon her food. We

FOOD RATIONS.

297

do not know exactly what this call is, me that I may be wrong, or, at any rate, but probably it will be very largely that an improvement can be made, so albuminoid , so that these compounds as to have the proper proportion of dry must be well maintained in the ration.

matter, &c., &c.

I do not sell milk , but

The composition of the calf, and the butter. I do not use decorticated cotton composition of the colostrum , or food cake, as I think it too dear for its value. naturally prepared for its first demands, I may be wrong in this. in winter when in both point to this. Therefore it would

“ Food for cows

not seem wise to diminish the food until milk , for one day : 4 lb. bran . shortly before calving, when other con4 lb. ground oats, beans, or peas. i bushel hay-chaff (8 lb.)

siderations demand a little restriction . Mr Platt's ration for dry cows may

3 bushel parsnips pulped ( 20 lb.)

therefore be dispensed with .” Feeding in Sir John Lennard's Dairy.

“ Half of the above to be mixed in a

large tub, as soon as the mixture pre

Writing_to_the Live Stock Journal, viously made has been given to the cows, Sir John F. Lennard, Bart., Wickham pressed down, and covered to cause fer Court, Beckenham , Kent, says : “ I shall mentation. Two tubs required. To be be very much obliged if you will advise given morning and afternoon. me as to the food I give my cows.

“ 3 lb. cotton-cake, i bushel hay -chaff,

I

have used it for many years — about mixed and moistened, and given between twenty. It was my own recipe, and I the two mashes. have never yet found a better. My cows “ Some oat-straw chaff at night (4 lb.

are Guernsey, all the females descended each ). " from one cow. I have been much interIn reply, Mr Lloyd says : “ The above ested in the information lately given by ration would contain the following con Mr Lloyd on this point ; and it occurs to stituents : Digestible.

Dry Organic Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. 4 lb. bran If pea -meal 4 lb. if bean -meal

3.22 3.40

3.29

If oats .

3.32 12.72

0.36

1.73

3.26

0.86 0.32 0.52 0.05

2.24 0.44 1.60

27.26

3.08

14.76

27.15 27.18

3.17 2.61

14.55

16 lb. 20 lb. 3 lb. 4 lb.

hay parsnips cotton - cake oat -straw

51 lb., containing — if witn pea -meal. If with bean -meal If with oats

0.50

2.20

2.46

“ The albuminoid or nutritive ratio of these three rations is — with pea -meal 1 to 5.28, with bean -meal 1 to 5.01 , with oats i to 6.12. It will be seen at once that

Fat.

1.71

0.10

0.83

2.21

O.IT

0.92

2.00

0.05 0.19 0.16 0.04

6.56

14.28

0.16

0.03

0.60 0.54 0.68

cake, because it would augment con stituents which are already present in slight excess, and would not sufficiently augment those which are at present de

the substitution of peas or beans by oats ficient. is not good, pea -meal and bean -meal be“ The ration leaves little room for im

ing rich in albuminoids, but not so oats. provement, except that oats must no The cause of the success of this ration is longer be substituted for peas or beans,

evident. While it supplies ample, prob- though 1 lb. oats and 3 lb. beans might

ably more than sufficient, dry matter, with advantage be substituted for the the constituents are so well balanced as

to be, on an average, almost identical with the standard nutritive ratio.

“This further accounts for the fact

4 lb. beans.

“The quantity of dry food is, how ever, very large, especially for Guernseys; and it would be well to see whether it

that decorticated cotton - cake has not could be gradually diminished without

proved so beneficial as ordinary cotton- causing the animals to fall off in their

CATTLE IN WINTER .

298

yield of butter. To begin with, for every quantity of the meal ; but the cowman twenty cows, instead of preparing twenty says the meal is the best.

A careful

times these quantities, I would suggest study of Mr Lloyd's tables has brought that nineteen times the quantity be me to the conclusion that the meal is

prepared. No doubt, a record of the superior to the mixture in carbohydrates, butter, if not of the milk, is kept ; and but is not so good in albuminoids; and if, after some time, there is no undue which is of the most importance, when falling off in these— that is, no more butter is the object in view , I don't know .

than the natural decrease resulting from The fats seem to me nearly equal. the lapse of time since calving — then “ Mr Lloyd's calculations as to the the food may be further reduced to rations of a dairy cow are founded on

eighteen times this ration for twenty the supposition that the cow weighs COWS. 1000 lb. I shall be greatly obliged if, Rations for Small and Large Conos.

A correspondent, signing himself “ J. D. L.,” asks Mr Lloyd to tell him what quantity of hay, oats, straw , cabbage, or silage (meadow -grass) should be used in combination with a " dairy meal” having the following analysis : S per cent.

Oils .

Albuminoids Carbohydrates .

16 48

Dry matter

88

in your next issue, you will tell me if I should be justified in assuming that a

Devon or Jersey cow, weighing, say,500 lb., could well be kept on half the rations he describes.”

“ In reply to the first question ,” says Mr Lloyd, " I must assume that the sub stances may be given in any quantity that we like.

Generally, good results

seem to be obtained when the succulent 11

food is double the weight of the hay and straw , and the rest of the ration made up

in order to makea perfect daily ration with dry food. Take, then , the following for dairy cows— Jerseys and Devons basis for the ration : 7 lb. hay, 7 lb. oat the object being to produce butter of the straw , 28 lb. cabbage. The constituents

finest quality. " A friend of mine," he would be as in the following table, and adds, is strongly in favour of equal show that 10 lb. of meal would be quantities of maize - meal and decorti- necessary to make up the ration in dry cated cotton -cake, as superior to the same

matter : Digestible.

7 lb. hay 7 lb. oat-straw

Dry Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Fat. 0.38 2.87 0.07 05.56 05.71

0.10

2.80

0.05

28 lb , cabbage

3.83

1.47

0.II

Io lb. meal

8.80

0.50 1.60

4.80

0.80

23.90

2.58

11.94

1.03

“ This, probably, would be more meal rations of 10 lb. each hay and straw, 30 than could be given profitably, so we will lb. cabbage, and 5 lb. meal. That would increase the quantities of the other in- contain : gredients andgive less meal. Take the Digestible.

10 lb, 10 lb. 30 lb. 5 lb,

hay oat -straw cabbage meal

“ It will be seen at once that this ra-

Dry Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. 0.54 4.10 7.95

Fat . 0.10

8.17 4.II 4.40

0.14 0.54 0.80

4.01

0.07

2.46

0.12

2.40

0.40

24.63

2.02

12.97

0.69

ration with such a meal, it would be

tion is deficient in albuminoids, hence it necessary to use a very large quantity follows that, in order to obtain a perfect of it.

FOOD RATIONS.

“ The question then arises, Would

299

same quantity of the meal ? ' The ration

equal quantities of maize-meal and de- would then contain the following con corticated cotton -cake be superior to the stituents : Digestible.

Dry Matter. Albuminoids, Carbohydrates. Fat.

272 lb. maize

2/2 lb. decorticated cotton-cake . Added to hay, straw , and cabbage, giving “ The maize and decorticated cotton-

2.17 2.03

0.23 0.77

1.68

0.IO

0.46

0.31

24.43

2.22

12.71

0.70

are many reasons and statements made

cake would therefore be superior to the which would support the view that one meal, if ground as fine. The want of half this ration would be sufficient. But this fine grinding is usually the cause the subject may be considered from an

of cakes not giving such good results as other standpoint. The ration of the they are capable of giving - hence, prob- milch cow has to satisfy two functions ably, the cowman's opinion and its just to sustain the body, and to form milk. ness. It is evident that the ration would These two portions may be divided, as in be further improved by increasing the the following table. To sustain the body quantity of decorticated cotton -cake, so of an animal weighing 500 lb., we might as to bring the albuminoids well up to

rightly assume one- half the sustenance

the standard. The importance of this is allowance alone to be necessary ; but, in pointed out in a former reply to inquiries. addition, we should require the quantity Albuminoids make butter . necessary for the supply of milk . Judg “ Whether the demands of a COW ing from the average production of the weighing 500 lb. could be met by one- animals exhibited at the Dairy Show for half the quantity of food necessary for a the past eight years, this may be taken 1000 lb. animal is somewhat difficult to

say, and is a subject well worthy of ex-

as one - fifth less than the Shorthorns.

“ The following table gives these fig

periment on the part of the admirers of ures, and compares the rations necessary

Jerseys, Guernseys, and Kerrys. There by the two methods of calculation : Digestible. Dry Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates . Fat. Milch cow of 1000 lb. Sustenance ration

Milk -production ration Milch cow of 500 lb. 12 sustenance ration

4-5ths milk production allowance Total ration

8.0 4.5

0.15 0.25

0.35 1.44

4.0

0.075

3.6

0.200

1.79

7.6

0.275

1.25

6.25

0.20

17.5

0.7

6.5

1.8

8.75 5.20 13.95

If reckoned as half the ration of 1000 lb. 12.0

animal

The Nutritive Ratio.

“It would be interesting to see the relative merits of these rations tried by

experiment.

Another correspondent asked

Mr

Personally, I think the Lloyd's opinion of the following rations

richer would give the better results. "

which he was giving to his cows: Digestible.

3 lb. long hay

50 lb. mangels

13% lb. chaff oat-straw , 634 lb. hay, 634 lb. 3 lb.ground oats 3/2 lb. decorticated cotton -cake Proposed ration Model ration

.

Dry Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Fat. 0.162 2.385 0.030 1.230 5.600 0.550 5.000 0.050 0.047 0.094 2.706 5.514

5.366 2.571 2.842

0.364

2.767

0.067

0.270

1.299

1.085

0.640

0.141 0.430

24.278

2.525 2.500

13.642

0.765

12.500

400

24.000

CATTLE IN WINTER .

300

Mr Lloyd replies: “Upon looking at the figures of this ration, one would think that the apparently slight difference between the proposed ration and the standard would have little effect. But the object of a feeding standard is

divided by the albuminoids, shows that for one part of albuminoid there are 5.4 parts ofcarbohydrates. “If we perform the same calculation

with the ration quoted, the proportion of albuminoids to carbohydrates is found to to fix the relation of the albuminoids to be i to 6.1 . Hence the proposed ration the carbohydrates and fat quite as much does not meet the requirements of the as to give the absolute quantities re- standard — it does not possess the correct

quired. The correct relation of the al- “nutritive ratio . " In order to make it buminoids to the carbohydrates, &c., is do so, we must increase the quantity of I to 5.4.

This relation exists in the albuminoids and simultaneously reduce

standard. Fat is considered to have two the carbohydrates. A near approach to and a half times the value of carbo- the standard would be obtained by tak

hydrate. By multiplying the 0.4 of fat ing 5 lb. decorticated cotton -cake instead

by two and a half,we obtain 1.o as its of the 372, and by This entirely leaving out would give a equivalent. Adding this to the 12.5 of the ground oats.

carbohydrates makes 13.5 in all, which,

ration containing Digestible.

5 lb. decorticated cotton -cake

Dry Organic Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Fat. 0.618 0.915 1.55 4.060 0.809 2.72 12.418 22.92

.

Total ration

which possesses a ratio of 1 to 5.3.

“ I must explain I take the weight as

“ When a ration shows a deficiency of 1250 lb. not 1000 lb., my cows being dry matter and excess of digestible com- large. Taking this as a basis, what would pounds it is evidence of a deficiency of the poor bulky foods. This ration would Mr Lloyd recommend to make up the 66

allow more oat- straw to be used .”

ration ?

“May I further ask if an excess of The Nutritive Ratio the Essential Point.

any constituent, say of fat, in a ration is simply wasted, or will not the cow there

Another correspondent, “ M. R. M.,” by either fatten herself or produce richer asked if Mr Lloyd would “ kindly say milk ? From the reply to Mr Platt, Mr

if in mixing a food ration the proportion Lloyd seems to say that all excess is not given in the standard must be strictly only waste, but requires other excess and followed ; or supposing a ration to show waste to counteract it. Will he kindly

I per cent of fat instead of 0.40, would it explain this ?” be considered properly balanced if the Mr Lloyd replies : “ M. R. M. is quite carbohydrates were reduced by 1.50 — that right in the view he takes as to the is, two and a half times as much as the method of correcting an excess of fat by fat is increased ?

Thus :

Matter,

Albu minoids.

hydrates.

24.0

2.5

I1.0

Dry

Carbo

Nutritive Fat.

Ratio . 1.0

I to 5.4

diminishing the carbohydrates, and the standard he gives would satisfy the re quirements of the nutritive ratio, which

is of primary importance. [For a full

The nutritive ratio is preserved here, and reply to this last question see Mr Lloyd's I infer this is the essential point.

" I ask this because, with my present

article on the “ Value of Fat as a Food

Constituent,” given in this work.] Ex

stock of roots, hay, and straw , I have not cess of fat is wasted, so far as milk pro

been able to compile a ration with so duction is concerned ; it may , however, little fat as 0.40. tend to fatten the animal. In replying “ I can only allow 10 lb. swedes, 12 lb. to Mr Platt, I was considering simply the hay, and 10 lb. of oat-straw ; to this Iadd question of milk production. To make

5 lb. of mixed oat-shellings and oat-dust, excess of fat useful would necessitate the which I take as equal to oat-straw, albuminoids being raised. By this means although I do not know the analysis.

more food would be given than was neces

FOOD RATIONS.

sary, and hence waste.

301

* Now , to build up a ration, taking as

I trust these

replies will make my former answers

the basis the foods mentioned .

clear.

will contain the following :

These

Digestible. Dry Organic Matter, 10 lb. swedes

1.20

12 lb. hay

9.54 8.17

10 lb. oat - straw .

5 lb. oat-shells and dust," say

4.08

Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Fat. 1.06 0.01 0.13 0.64 0.01 4.92 0.14 4.01 0.07 2.00 0.03 0.07

22.99 30.00 7.01

Ration required Still required

0.98

11.99

0.12

3.12 2.14

15.62 3.63

0.50

0.38

? I cannot state the exact composition ; the shells are very similar to straw , the dust prob ably richer.

“ Thus the difference must be made pea-meal would contain too much carbo up of a meal containing 372 parts of hydrates, about 5 to 2. Linseed and carbohydrates to 2 of albuminoids, and cotton -cake too little, only 2 to 2. A

2 parts of albuminoids in 7 of dry matter, mixture of both would neutralise this. which represents over 20 per cent of al- Try 4 lb. pea -meal and lb. decorticated buminoids — consequently there are very cotton -cake. These would contain the few substances available . Bean-meal and following : Digestible.

4 lb. pea -meal

Dry Organic Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. 2.21 0.83 3.40

Fat . O.IT

3.24 0.43

1.24 0.05

0.73 0.33

0.49

Make up with 72 lb. maize Supplying

7.07

2,12

3.27

0.62

3.10

15.26

0.74

4 lb. decorticated cotton -cake

Added to former ration makes

30.06 Fat equivalent

0.02

1.85 3.1 ) 17.11 (1 to 5.5 ratio . 15.5 16.1

“ These substances were the first I ground, and our loss by deaths, owing tried ; it would be possible to get nearer to colic and other ailments, brought the standard by a little further altera- about by the unnatural conditions under tion .” which the horses work , amounts to about £800 per annum . Rations for Horses.

In reply Mr Lloyd says : “There are The chairman of a colliery company, many difficulties to be met when the employing 72 horses for pit purposes, feeding rations of horses come to be asked if Mr Lloyd could suggest a more considered .

economical feeding ration for these horses than they were now using, which for strong thick horses of 14.2 hands high cost about 148. per horse per week, or for the 72 horses £2600 a -year. He adds : “ I am told, at the pit, that the

With horses at work in the

open , the chief difficulty lies in counter acting the constant fluctuations of tem perature; and a ration which to -day, it being warm and dry, may be all-suffi cient, will to-morrow , if it be cold and wet, prove quite inefficient. There is,

daily feed given to each horse is as fol- therefore, always a certain amount of lows :-21 lb. meadow -hay, 13 lb. oats, loss or want in a fixed ration for horses and 5 lb. beans ; the oats and beans working out of doors. The temperature

being crushed, and the hay chaffed. The of a colliery will presumably be less horses are worked very hard under- liable to fluctuation, and on an average

CATTLE IN WINTER .

302

Hence there will be a smaller those albuminoids are difficult of diges quantity of the heat-producing elements tion and the main part fails to be di required. On the other hand, the work gested in the stomach. For example,

warmer .

is excessive, and the muscular exertion peas and beans are usually considered being great, the proportion of albumin- more liable to produce colic than barley oidsor flesh -formers must be high, and or oats. And again, when animals are

it must be accompanied by a high proportion of oil, for it has been shown that oil has the remarkable power of diminishing muscular waste, and it is supposed that on this account the oat, being of

changed to a feed of rich clover there is, I believe, a tendency to disarrangement of the digestive organs. This view would further explain the statements made by practical men that cooking the food of

cereals the richest in oil, has been found horses renders them less liable to colic, for Thus a food by so doing the food becomes softer, and

so beneficial for horses.

will be required peculiarly rich in al- is more easily acted upon by the gastric buminoids. juice. The food of heavily workedhorses “There is another and important con- should, therefore, be easy of digestion. sideration. The digestion of albuminoids “Having cleared the way with general takes place primarily in the stomach, and principles, I will next pass to the con what escapes the stomach undergoes di- sideration of the chemical aspects thereof. gestion in the intestine. It appears to From experiments hitherto made, the me that with all animals a food rich in following standard was drawn up for

albuminoids tends to produce colic when horses heavily worked : Digestible. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Fat. 13.4 0.8 2.8

Dry Organic Matter.

Per too lb. live weight

25.5

This would have a nutritive ratio of 1

Dry Organic

Albu

Carbo .

Matter .

minoids.

hydrates.

Fat.

13.0

0.8

to 5.5 . 25.0

3.0

“ The colliery horses would probably

require less carbohydrates and more This would have a ratio of 1 to 5. “ The food now being given would albuminoids, with food not more bulky than the above, say contain approximately Digestible.

Dry Organic Matter.

20 lb. hay 13 lb. oats 5 lb. beans

Standard for horse of 1200 lb.

“ The nutritive ratio of the present

Fat.

1.15

8.20 7.24 2.51

30.81

3.79

17.95

1.05

30.0

3.6

15.6

0.96

15.90 10.79 4.12

.

Álbuminoids. Carbohydrates. 1.08

1.56

0.20

0.78 0.07

“ I would suggest that an experiment

ration is 1 to 5.4. Unless the animals be first made with some of the horses, weigh 1200 lb.,itwouldappear that they giving them the following ration, and are receiving too much food, and in that the results carefully watched, to deter case the excess of food is consumed to mine the quantity they eat and its

get at the albumen they need. The ratio effect : is probab too ly

wide.

Digestible.

15 lb. hay 10 lb. oats

4 lb. beans 2 lb. Cleveland meal

Dry Organic Matter. Albuminoids. Carbohydrates. Fat. 0.81 6.15 11.93 0.15 8.30 1.20 0.60 5.57 3.29 1.68

0.92

2.01

0.55

0.69

0.06 0.06

25.20

3.48

14.42

0.87

VALUE OF FAT AS A FOOD CONSTITUENT.

303

“ The nutritive ratio of this ration is come wise by learning not their own i to 4.8. It would supply very nearly ignorance only, but also the many points as much albumen as the present ration, about which science is at present ignor and would probably be more easily ant in this matter. digested.” A Disturbing Element.- Roughly speaking, the cause of the difficulty in

A Word of Caution .

getting sufficient reliable data on this

As would be expected, a good deal of scepticism has been expressed as to the soundness ofthese precise directions submitted by Mr Lloyd for the mixing of feeding rations. Mr Lloyd himself has

subject is that success depends more upon knowledge of the peculiarities of the individual animal than upon aunit or two of difference in the albuminoid

ratio. It is all very well to arrange the

explained clearly that the standards” food scientifically, but every practical he has given are merely guides, and not feeder knows that fattening oxen often to be regarded as “ hard and fast limits.” stick up on their food — as they say

here

It is well that all new teaching should —and you have got to change it for a

be received with caution, and carefully little, and study the appetiteand diges

tested in the light of practice. It may tive powers of each,

the state of therefore be useful to give here the fol- their bowels, &c. If and the scientific far lowing extracts from a letter addressed mer is fortunate enough to get a really by “ Ă Scottish Farmer ” to the Agricul- good cattle-man, who is interested in the tural Gazette of April 30, 1888 :

animals, and manages to keep their ap

“The article upon Feeding Rations, petite always fresh, he will find it wiser in your issue of the 16th inst ., suggests the question whether there is yet a sufficient basis for principle represented in this case by Mr Lloyd - dictating in such a very exact way to practice. The

not to force such a man to use scientific rations weighed out to a pound for each beast daily. This is especially true in these days of pleuro, when one cannot always get a great choice of store cattle,

chemistry of manures has suffered much and has sometimes to take those that at the hands of its friends, and it would have been hungered in their youth, and be a pity if the science of feeding, from whose digestion ever after needs a deal which much may be expected in the of pampering. future, were as much dragged by the Many scientific reasons may be given premature theories of its professors. Ex- to show that it is not wise to basehard

perience of feeding 70 to 90 bullocks for and fast rules on the German data . the butcher yearly has taught me that In the meantime I do not know that the judgment of practical feeders, as any more scientific advice about feeding

shown by the market price, is a better should be given to the farmer than this index of the relative feeding values of Check your judgment and test your suc different concentrated foods, such as lin- cess by weighing your cattle as stores, seed - cake, rape - cake, and cotton - cake, and occasionally after, though of course

than the ordinary chemical analyses not so frequently as to seriously disturb made at present, though of course the them .” latter have their value in detecting adulteration . Moreover, I know practi cal men whose master -eye can fatten

their cattle more quickly than I can, though my rations are probably nearer those indicated by scientific data.

VALUE OF FAT AS A FOOD

CONSTITUENT.

This important point was discussed by

" It would certainly be a great gain if Mr F. J. Lloyd in a paper contributed to experienced feeders were so far educated as to enable them to see how far science and practice agree , for when they became interested in the subject they could lend the most valuable help in advancing

the Journal of the British Dairy Far mers' Association (vol. iv., part i., 1888). It is now generally understood that the three functionsof food are-( 1 ) to main tain the heat ofthe animalbody; (2) to

the science by explaining the cause of maintain or buildup the flesh ; and (3) seeming discrepancies. They would be- to produce fat. The question which Mr

304

CATTLE IN WINTER .

Lloyd has set himself to consider is-

Oily Food Decreasing Milk .— “ Ex

“ Out of what portion of the food and in periments have shown that by increasing what manner is this fat produced ? ” the fat in an animal's food the fat in the Formerly it was generally assumed milk is decreased ; and the explanation that the fat present in the food went of this has been found in the fact that

directly to build up fat in the body. Recent scientific research, however, has driven physiologists to the conclusion that that is not the case, but that the

fat retards and does not facilitate that decomposition of protoplasm which re sults in the production of fat. To the dairy-farmer and to the fattener of live

fat in the food is entirely broken up and stock this fact is of immense importance, the fat of the animal formed anew - in and proves that large quantities of oilin other words, as expressed by Mr Lloyd,

the food are objectionable ; hence, in

“that the fat formed in the animal body stead of being a constituent which ma is formed by decomposition of the proto- terially enhances the value of linseed or

plasm or living nitrogenous matter of cotton cake, it may be deemed, for their the animal; and that fat taken as food purposes, of secondary importance. is not converted directly into fat, but,

Oil Valuable for Sheep.— “ But if

like other portions of food, is taken into oil has this remarkable power of pre the blood and supplies nutriment to the living protoplasm . Fat in Foods. — Explaining the circumstances which give this subject its special importance at this time, Mr Lloyd says : “ The amount of fat present in the ordinary crops of the farm raised for

venting a waste of the nitrogenous con stituents of the body, it is evident that

for animals like sheep, which have to wander far to get off scanty herbage their necessary food, any artificial food which contained oil would be likely to prove of greater advantage than one

feeding purposes is exceedingly small: deficient in oil. it is only in those bye -products which

Source of Fat.-

-" Then , what con

have to be bought by the farmer, such stituent in the food is it which contri as linseed and cotton cakes, that oil butes to this formation of fat in the

exists in large quantities. These cakes animal body ! This must depend partly

are, however, made by those whose chief upon whether the fat so formed isstored object is to extract the oil, and conse- up, or whether it constitutes milk, and

quently of recent years, what with im- for this reason, in the former case there proved machinery and experience gained, seems to be less nitrogenouswaste than the amount of oil which has been left in

in the latter.

these bye-products has been gradually diminishing. By a new process — rapidly extending in America, and not unlikely to render in course of time the linseed-

large is the quantity of nitrogenous matter ( casein ) whichis secreted simul taneously with the fat. But in the building up of fat in the body, it would

In milk we all know how

cake obsolete — oil is now being extracted seem that less nitrogenous waste takes

with chemicals from the ground seed or place. It has been so frequently pointed meal, without pressure, leaving an ex- out to farmers how the food contains, tracted meal, instead of, as formerly, a and must contain, nitrogenous matter to

hard - pressed cake. Hence it behoves build up the nitrogenous constituents of the farmer to ask at once, Was it the oil the body, that they will readily realise contained in these cakes that made them the necessity of supplying large quantities

valuable ? and to what extent, if any, of this nitrogenous matter where the

are they depreciated by this diminished waste is large, as in the formation of proportion of oil ?

milk.

And the well -known properties of

Had the old notion that oil in the bean-meal and pea -meal to increase the cake went direct to form fat in the ani- flow of milk, and to augment the fat in

mal been true, undoubtedly these cakes, that milk, it is now easy to understand,

when rich in oil, would have possessed seeing that these substances are among does not take place. What is more re- and so eminently adapted to meet that great value. But we have seen that this the richest in nitrogenous constituents,

markable is the fact now proved, that nitrogenous change which produces milk. the direct reverse is what happens. “ But, in the fattening of the pig,

VALUE OF FAT AS A FOOD CONSTITUENT.

305

while the protoplasm of the body is 2.5 grams of albuminoids can replace i producing fat there seems to be little destruction of nitrogenous matter, and hence it is possible to satisfy the wants of this protoplasm by merely supplying those elements which are being thrown off as fat. These elements are, in the language of the chemist, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and there can be no doubt that we might supply them to the protoplasm by feeding animals on oil. But fortunately they can be supplied at far less cost, and with equal efficacy, either as starch or sugar, both of which also contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen ; and hence it is that starch and sugar are the chief constituents of those

gram of fat ; or in other words, that in two cakes, one rich in oil and the other poor in oil - one, say, containing 10 per cent, and the other 4 per cent-- the dif ference in the amount of oil would be amply compensated by the latter contain ing 15 per cent more albuminoids— that is, two and a half times as much as the deficiency of oil. But this excess of albuminoids would more than amply compensate for the deficiency in oil : it would add to the value of the cake by that portion of the nitrogenous matter not so utilised. Where wehave linseed cakes poor in oil, it will be invariably found that they are richer comparatively

foods which have from time immemorial been known to produce fat. Value of Oil in Food.—“ If, then,

in nitrogenous matter, hence the albu minoids will, to a certain extent, compen sate for the loss of oil.

the conclusions that we have arrived at

Value of Fat per Unit.— “ We have

are correct, that oil in the food does not thus seen that 2.5 grams of carbohy produce fat in the animal directly, while drates, and 2.5 grams of albuminoids, are this fat can be equally well produced each equally capable of replacing 1 gram from starch and sugar, what is the value of fat ; and probably the true value of of this oil ? Every substance which is fat as a constituent of the food of animals absorbed into the blood becomes, sooner will lie between these extremes. In an

or later, oxidised, and by that oxidation article written some years ago, I came to produces heat; hence it is that the heat the conclusion that a fair price for the of the body is maintained. Owing to a constituentsof feeding -stuffs was is. per larger quantity of carbon and hydrogen unit for carbohydrates, and 28. per unit

in fat requiring oxidation than there is in for albuminoids; and I then estimated starch or sugar, the heat that one pound the fat as worth 28. per unit. I am now of fat will produce is more than two and inclined to think this was a little below a half times as great as the heat pro- its real value, and that 28. 6d. might with

duced by one pound of sugar ; and so fat advantage be tal

as a more correct

may be said to have two and a half times standard. the value of sugar.

Oil and Milk -production .— “ After

“ Again, nitrogenous matter also con- carefully studying the facts stated above, tains carbon, which, by its oxidation, gives rise to heat in the animal body. Having performed its chief function of supplying nitrogen, there will then be a quantity of carbon still unused and capable of being oxidised. This quantity has been calculated , and it is found that the residual carbon in 2.5 grams of nitrogenous matter would generate by its oxi. dation about as much heat as i gram of fat. Further, it is highly probable that this residual carbon is the very portion

I do not think the dairy-farmer will in any way fear the diminishing amount of oil found in linseed -cakes. That it is

of its food out of which the protoplasm

Dairy Farmers' Association had been partly fed upon this meal, and the

forms fat.

not essential to milk -production may be

considered as proved in theory ; and the remarkable results which have been ob tained by the use of Cleveland meal that is, linseed -meal from which the oil has been extracted chemically - show that practicalresults confirm that view. Sev eral of the prize-winners at the recent milking trials at the show of the British

Albuminoids compensating for owners of the cows so fed have one and Want of Oil.— " But that I shall not all certified to the improvement in both

discuss here, suffice it that for our pur- the quality and the quantity of the re pose we may safely estimate that every sulting milk -supply. VOL. I.

U

CATTLE IN WINTER .

306

Oil and Beef- production .— “ With, immemorial the storage of grain in however, fattening animals, such results underground pits for preservation has would not be obtained without the addi- been practised in Eastern countries.

tion of large quantities of carbohydrates. Pliny speaks approvingly of this method For, if too large a proportion of albumin- as being adopted, in his time, in Thrace, oids be given to fat animals, it will result Cappadocia, Barbary, and Spain. Varro in a loss and not in a further gain of fat. indorsed his opinion of its merits, and Practical Conclusions as to Oily asserted that wheat could be thus kept

Food.— “ The practical conclusions to be sweet and entire for fifty years, and millet derived from this study are many and for a century. The main object, especi important, and some will be evident to ally among nomadic tribes, was to pre

those engaged in the feeding of dairy vent marauders or victorious enemies stock. They will see that the desire, from obtaining their stores of food. which so many have, for cakes rich in oil

In

later days the

practice was

is one which they can afford to dispense with ; that the feeding with linseed-meal —whole meal I refer to — is a mistake; and that equally good results would at-

adopted — in Spain for example — for commercial reasons, as by its means the surplus in years of plenty and low prices could be kept for disposal in times of

tend the use of the same meal after the

scarcity and high prices.

In Mr H. M.

oil had been extracted . And it would Jenkins's valuablearticle in the Royal

have a further benefit: it would admit of Agricultural Society's Journal (xx., a certain amount of the inferior corn pro duced on the farm and not saleable, being used with advantage as food in the place of this oil. While, lastly, I would especially urge the attention of those who

second series, 1884 ) on " The Practice of Ensilage at Home and Abroad," some interesting details are given of the adop tion of the system for the preservation of grain in France. consider it advantageous to buy oil and It appears to have been in Germany mix with the food to the facts contained that thesystem of ensilage was first ap

in this paper, for I cannot believe that plied to the preservation of fodder crops, one tithe the money so spent is ever

as distinguished from grain . So far back

recovered .”

as 1843, Professor Johnston gave a de tailed description of the German system

of making "sour hay,” in an article in

ENSILAGE.

the Transactions of the Highland and

The preservation of food for live stock Agricultural Society; and extracts from being the sole aimand end of Ensilage, the article were given in two former edi

a description of this excellent modern tions ofThe Book of theFarm. development may appropriately enough In 1874, Professor Wrightson in his be presented here. The feeding merits " Report on the Agriculture of Austro of silage, which is the product ofthe pro- Hungarian Empire,” published in the

cess of ensilage — the food preserved by Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, the system — will be more easily estimated when the theory and practice of ensilage are clearly understood. And before pro ceeding to describe the different methods

remarked that “ the system of making ' sour hay ' is also well worth the atten tion of English agriculturists. It is done by digging graves or trenches, 4 feet by

of feeding cattle in winter, it is desirable

6 or 8 feet in depth and breadth, and

to learn all that is worthy of being cramming the green grass or green Indian learned about all the kinds of food in

corn tightly down into them , covering

use.

the whole up with a foot of earth. The

Ensilage is an entirely new branch of preservation is complete, and the wetter farm practice, its development in the the fodder goes together the better. ...

United Kingdom dating from 1882. In This sour hay affords a capital winter a sentence, it may be defined as the pre- fodder, and when cut out with hay spades servation of green food by the exclusion it is found to be rich brown in colour, and the practice very palatable to stock. ” Herr Reihlen,

of air. In a modified sense is an ancient one. History of Ensilage. -

of Stuttgart, was one of the earliest ad

From time vocates of this method, in letters pub

ir

1

ENSILAGE.

307

lished by him in 1862 and 1865. These were indorsed by the Government, and

were translated and communicated to the embodied in official Blue-books — sat and

Journal d'AgriculturePratique of France, collected a massof invaluable evidence. by M. Vilmorin -Andrieux, in 1870. To M. Goffart, however, unquestionably belongs the honour of first directing general attention to the subject. This

The Agricultural Returns first included

ensilage in their survey in 1884, and enumerated 610 silos as being in exist

ence in Great Britain . The progress of he did by his book, Manuel de la Culture the movement is shown most concisely

et de l’Ensilage des Maïs et autres four- and vividly by the figures for the follow rages verts, published in 1877. The ing years. In 1885 there were 1183 translation and publication of this work silos ; in 1886, 1605 ; and in 1887, in New York, in 1879 , moved American 2694. In the last-named year there were

farmers — who had, however, somewhat also recorded 1362 " persons proposing to earlier given attention to the subject — to make ensilage in stacks,” to which further vigorous adoption of the system . Sev- reference will be made . eral accounts of their successful endeav

ours crossed the Atlantic, and served to

Silos.

awaken some interest among British

A silo was originally a pit — the word being derived from the Greek oipos

agriculturists in the subject. Introduction into Great Britain.But it was from France that the first real

impulse came in 1882 — although before then several stray silos had been tentatively erected by experimenters in various parts of the country. At the Reading show , in that year, Vicomte Arthurde Chezelles -- one of the largest and most prominent practitioners in France was present, and by his description aroused the curiosity and in-

which, according to Liddell and Scott, is " a pit or hole sunk in the ground for keeping corn in .” The word came to us through the Spanish and French, in which languages the r was naturally changed to l. Very soon, in practice, “ a pit or hole ” was found to be adaptable only to special soils and situations, and a large variety of receptacles for ensilage, both belowand above ground, have been con structed, which have very widely extended

terest of those with whom he came in the original term silo. contact. In particular, Mr Kains-Jackson It would be impossible even to enu

was impelled by his accounts to accept merate the different descriptions of silos his invitation to see for himself what he which have been adopted. From the

was doing. In the autumn of that year most elaborately designed and expensively the result of his investigations appeared in the columns of the Field and the Times, and at once attracted widespread interest. Mr Kains - Jackson brought back with him — after some difficultieswith the

constructed buildings to the simplest and cheapest " converted ” structure, the variety of methods adopted has been re markable. Some idea of their diversity may be gathered from the fact that the

Custom -house authorities, who impound- cost per ton capacity has ranged from 8s. ed the novel product on suspicion of its up to 30s. or 40s., and even 5os. being some kind of tobacco — samples of Converted Silos. - In many cases old ensilage, and from that time the growth ice- houses or barns have been converted of the system in this country dates. into silos at a comparatively trifling ex Since that period its progress has been pense. One or two instances may be

astonishinglyrapid, and its development in various directions altogether unexpected. In 1884 the Royal Agricultural Society took up the subject in its journal,

mentioned. Mr W. J. Harris of Haliwell, Devon, made a silo out of a disused man ure-shed. It was 35 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 10% feet deep, with a capa

by the article above referred to, and the city of 130 tons.

The work was sub

Bath and West of England Society car- stantially done, a good slate roof was ried out some interesting demonstrations added, and the cost was £110, or nearly in connection with their Maidstone show . 179. per ton . On theMarquess of Bute's Progress of Ensilage .-- In 1883 the home farm a silo, 18 feet long, 6 feet

Ensilage Commission - a private but wide, and 8 feet deep, wasformed in highly influential body, whose labours part of a barn, by running a brick parti

CATTLE IN WINTER .

308

The size was - diameter, II feet 6 inches ; height to square, 12 feet 6 inches ; area, 104 square feet. A sec tion of this silo is represented in fig. 119, which , by kind permission, we produce from the Journal of the Royal Agricul

tion across, and cementing the floor and the top.

walls. The cost was £ 10, 168., and the capacity 17 tons, or about 12s. per ton. Lord Egerton of Tatton converted an old ice-house in his park into a silo ( fig. 119). The walls on the inside were plastered

with cement, the original entrance being tural Society of England (second series, blocked up , and a new entrance made at XX . 175). Mrs W. P. Paige, of Ongar, GROUND E

F R U S

D

E BВ

F

Fig. 119. - Section of Lord Egerton's silo, showing its condition at the end of the third day's work . AAA Boxes filled with bricks.

B Archwayfrom the side of the bank , by which the silo is emptied . c New brickwork .

D Height at which silo was weighted and settled ; condition of grass, juicy and damp with dew. E Section of grass quite dry and top grass dead . F Height to which grass put in on 4th and sth July had sunk to when opened on July 27. o Man -hole used for filling.

adapted an old straw -barn at an expendi-

Silos, Above or Below Ground —

ture of only ios. , which was for the con- The first question in making a silo is ob

struction of a door in one of the gable- viously whether it shall be dug out or erected . Sunk silos are in many respects ends, the old door being boarded up. New Silos. — Of the variety of spe- preferable, but the cost of excavation has cially constructed silos there is no end. to be considered . Work of this kind In many instances the first silo erected may be said to have a fixed rate of cost

was intended merely for experiment, and in proportion to size, because, for a pit of 10 cubic yards of capacity, it is necessary tures and their cost in a practical account to dig out 10 cubic yards of soil; and if it of the system . The judges in the silo be wished to make it two, three, or ten and silage-stack competition, instituted times larger, there is two, three, or ten by the Royal Agricultural Society in the times the amount of work to be done. winter of 1885-86, found that the average On the other hand , with a building the cost per50 cubic feet of six new silos in- cost is proportionately decreased accord spected by them was 18s. 6d. It may be ing to the size. If, for instance, the it is scarcely fair to consider such struc-

mentioned that 50 cubic feet is commonly length of each wall be doubled, the capa calculated as equivalent to i ton of silage capacity. The judges reported that “ with skilfuland efficientmanagement” the cost for building a moderatelylarge silo ought

city is quadrupled, while the cost is, of course , only twice as much. It must be borne in mind that with sunk silos it is almost invariably necessary to line them

not to be more than ios. per cubic foot with masonry or concrete. Many instances of capacity .

are recorded - notably in America — where

ENSILAGE.

309

the simple “ hole in the ground ” silo has Counties Association in 1884, for a series been found practicable and profitable ; of interesting operations, which were, in but for thesuccess of this special condi- fact, the first in connection with any tions of soil and situation are required, agricultural exhibition in this country. which are very seldom found in this The silo was thus described by Mr R. É. country. Rew , assistant-secretary of the Ensilage

From returns collected by the Agricul- Society, in the Journal of the Bath tural Department of the Privy Council and West of England Society : " Taking in 1885, giving details from persons pos- advantage of a slope in the ground, the sessing silos in Great Britain, it was earth was banked up on the upper side, found that 420 silos were entirely above and a roadway cut on the lower side, so

ground, 450 partly below, and 100 al- that while the top of the silo was flush together beneath the surface.

with the land, the bottom was also ac

M. Goffart's Silo . — The plan of a silo to which Lord Walsingham's £10 prize at the Norfolk Agricultural Show in 1885 was awarded, was after the model recommended by M. Goffart_viz., with straight sides and semicircular ends, the total length in clear being 32 feet, the

cessible to carts upon the level. The silo was subdivided into six equal compart ments, three on each side of a central passage. All the walls, both external and internal, as well as the floor, were substantially built of concrete, and the silo formed a permanent erection of the

width 9 feet, and the depth 1072 feet. most durable kind.

..

Each of the

Mr Í. Potter, in his admirable book six compartments had an area of 12 feet on the Construction of Silos, remarks,

x 10 feet. The uniform depth through

that to construct a silo of this description out was 10 feet 6 inches. Two rolling

would require 76 lineal feet of walling, roofs of corrugated iron were placed on and contain 270 cubic feet for every foot rails running from side to side. Each of in depth ; whereas the same amount of these covered three silos. Subsequently,

walling would build a square silo contain- however, a third roof was added for the ing 333 cubic feet for every foot in depth, passage, and the rails were altered to run or a gain of about 23 per cent in capacity from end to end. Each of the compart In fact, there seems to be no advantage ments had a doorway about 2 feet 6

in rounding the ends of the silo, in spite inches x 6 feet, giving access for con of M. Goffart's high authority for the venience of cutting out the ensilage. design .

These, of course, were bricked up before

Mr Potter sums up a consideration of filling. The capacity of each of the com the subject from an expert point of view partments - adopting 50 cubic feet to the thus : " For all practical purposes there- ton as the standard of computation

fore, the site of silos, their depth in the would be theoretically about 24 tons, or ground, their height above ground, their a total capacity of something like 220 length and width and general contour, tons for the whole silo, including the whether elliptical, circular, or rectangu- central passage.” lar, is a matter of convenience and local

The cost of this structure was consid

circumstances ; but if the cost is to be erable, being as follows: silo, £135, the main point, and simplicity of con- 98. 6d .; weighting, £57, 6s. 6d.; roof, struction the second, then a square silo, £ 200 ; total, £ 392, 168., or about 35s.

or group of silos, whose boundary -line per ton of capacity. The silo was, how forms a square, and the individual silos ever, put up without special regard to contained therein are also square, is un- cost, being intended in the first instance doubtedly the best."

for experimental purposes. Some four or

Hillside Silos. — A very favourite form five different methods of pressure were of silo is one constructed against a hill- also tried, and this, of course, added to side, so that it can be both filled and the outlay. emptied on the level. One of the earliest Chezelles and best of this kind was that of Mr H.

Silo.- One of the most famous silos is that of Vicomte Arthur

A. Brassey, which was utilised during de Chezelles at Boulleaume, Chaumont the Maidstone Show of the Bath and en -Vexin (Oise), France (fig. 120 ). It West of England Society and Southern is 206 feet long by 21% feet wide,

CATTLE IN WINTER .

310

and 15 feet deep , being, it is said, the of concrete, with corrugated iron roof, at largest in the world . It is entirely be- a cost of £113. Bentall's Silo. - Of above- ground silos low the level of the ground, and is contructed of masonry, covered with a coat- that of Messrs E. & H. Bentall is a notable

The walls are about type . It is a rectangular building, 25 234 feet thick at the bottom , and about feet in height, divided by a party-wall

ing of cement.

into two equal chambers II feet

square, eachchamber being capable of containing 50 tons of silage. An opening 2 feet 6 inches in width , which commences 5 feet from the ground, and continues to the top of the silo, is left in the middle of the front wall in each chamber. Through these openings the silo is filled and SHED FOR GRAIN STRAW &c

emptied. A crane which swings between the two openings, and a winch standing on the ground di

rectly beneath it, constitute the 18.0 Ft EARTH

necessary appliances for filling, emptying, and weighting the silo. Dead weight in the form of basket

ENSILACE

Fig. 120. - Transverse section of M. de Chezelles's “ Grange Silo," 7

fuls of pebbles supply the pressure. Silo with Lever-pressure. — Mr C. G. Johnson erected in 1883 a silo with special lever-pressure. It was built of brick, with slated roof. It was 18 feet long, 10 feet wide, and

28 feet highupto the eaves, but 6 1/2 foot at the top. The Vicomte commenced with an uncovered silo, and succeeded very well by covering the top with a mass of straw . He soon “ recognised the necessity " of sheltering this same

feet of this height was left for work

ing the machinery, so that the total capacity, at 50 cubic feet to the ton, would be about 80 tons. But Mr John son's silage weighed very much more

straw under a roof, and by this means to than usual, as it reached 60 lb. per cubic

make a large shed where he could place foot; and at this rate, if the whole space

his wheat and oats instead of stacking were occupied, fully 100 tons could be them . The silo cost £160, and the put in. The total cost of the silo and covering £ 240 : total, £ 400.

apparatus was about £ 150, of which

In 1882 the produce of 170 acres of £ 65 was for masonry, Z40for pressing trifolium , sainfoin, lucerne, tares, and apparatus, and the remainder for roof, artificial grasses was ensiledin this silo.

& c.; but Mr Johnson was his own en

Concrete Silo . - In 1882 a silo was gineer, and the cost would have been erected on the estate of Lord Ashburton higher had a professional man been em

at Alresford, on a very convenient plan. ployed to superintend the work. Deduct A very eligible situation was found on a ing £ 40 for pressing apparatus, the cost,

spot where two roads ran parallel with at the same rate as in other cases, would each other, with just a suitable distance between to give ample room to build a silo, one road being level with the adjoining farm -buildings, and the other an ascent to higher ground. A silo with

be about 228. per ton.

Concrete Slab Silo . — Among special forms of silos, those made of portable

concrete slabs have been a good deal used.

Mr A. M. Cardwell gave in The

three compartments, and a total capacity Field the following estimate, based on of about 96 tons, was substantially built his own experience,of the total cost of a concrete slab silo, 24 feet long, 12 feet 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., XX . , sec. wide, and 12 feet deep, including roof, ser ., 208 . bricks for weighting, & c. : silo, £ 25 ;

ENSILAGE.

311

fixing, £1 ; concrete floor, £ 2 ; car- the silage,and many others might be riage, £ 2 ; bricks for weighting, £10 ; mentioned. roof, £ 10_total cost, £ 50 . Stack Ensilage. Wooden Silos.- Wooden silos have also been a good deal recommended since

Since 1885 the system of ensilage has

it was discovered that lateral pressure developed in a direction which was cer

was practically non -existent in making tainly not contemplated at its introduc silage. Messrs F. W. Reynolds & Co. tion to this country . Its whole history in particular brought out a serviceable —not only from the earlier practices of form of this kind of silo, being of a cir- Eastern nations, which gave the first idea cular shape, and the planks jointed so of the principle, but among those who in as to exclude the air .

France and America had extensively used it before it became known in Great

Methods of Pressure.

Britain - implied that the making of en

The methods of obtaining pressure in silage necessitated a silo. silos are as varied and numerous as the When, however, the subject became forms of the silos themselves.

Dead

one of careful and scientific inquiry, it was

weights - earth, stones, bricks, iron, &c. found that there was no lateral pressure -were the elementary form , and are in the silo, whatever weight might be still largely used . The labour of putting imposed. This having been realised, the on and taking off the weight is, however, obviously great, and thisled to the introduction of mechanical appliances. Mechanical Pressure . — Space would fail to give an adequate idea of the

idea of taking away the sides altogether -or, in other words, making a stack followed before long. It is perhaps due to

that healthy spirit of dissatisfaction which is so thoroughly British that no sooner

many ingenious mechanical contrivances was the practice of ensilage as carried which have been adopted for pressing out successfully in France and America

silage. Jacks, screw and hydraulic, have introduced here than efforts were imme formed one of the favourite modes of diately commenced to improve upon it. obtaining pressure. In the silo of Mr Not content merely to accept the ex

John Morris, which won the prize in the perience of such men as M. Goffart,

silo competition of the Royal Agricul- Vicomte Arthur de Chezelles, and MrJ. tural Society of England, for instance, a M. Bailey, and to imitate them , British screw -jack was used . agriculturists have struck out entirely

Potter's Patent. — The first applica- new lines for themselves, and have, no

tion of mechanical pressure for which a doubt, carried the principle of ensilage claim for patent rights was made, was very far beyond anything which these

by Mr T. Potter, who introduced the use pioneers of the system contemplated. of a hydraulic jack.

A pair or more

Stacks

V.

Silos.

Ensilage stacks

of loose transverse beamsbeing placed start, as will be generally admitted, with

across the " covering boards” on the top two points of great advantage in their of the silage, the jack was applied at favour. The first is the saving of capi each end of each beam by inserting the tal. The erection of a silo is an under foot into successive notches in iron up- taking which only comparatively few

rights fitted to the wall of the silo for the tenant-farmers canseriously contemplate. purpose.

But supposing they obtain the landlord's

Reynolds's Patent. — One of the ear- consent, so as to enable them to bring it

if required under the Agricultural Hold ings Act, and supposing also that they have themoney to sink in building, there is still a second important consideration. A silo, being fixed, necessitates a great the transverse beams, where they are deal of cartage, and green fodder, as

liest patents taken out wasthat of Messrs F. W. Reynolds & Co., which has come into extended use . This consists of pairs of chains, each imbedded in the floor of the silo, and meeting over

drawn together by means of a screw- everybody knows, is not a cheap sub stance to carry long distances. A stack , tightener . Mr S. H. Stocks has a well-known on the other hand, may be erected, like

method of screws running right through a hayrick, wherever the crop is, or

312

CATTLE IN WINTER .

wherever it may be most handy for cut- and almost as aromatic as well-made hay, has been made by Mr George Fry, and ting out. On the other hand, against the stacks could be made by anybody who would must no doubt be placed a larger per- strictly adopt the directions which he

centage of loss, not only by reason of the gives for making sweet silage.” 1 waste atthe sides, but also probably by Relative Value of Sweet and evaporation . The latter loss, however, is one as to which very little accurate information appears yet to exist. Sweet and Sour Silage.

Sour

Silage.-- Into the vexed question of sour

versus sweet silage it would not be profit able to enter at any length. The weight of evidence has certainly gone of late

against the intense acidity which distin There is one other point which may be guished some of the silage first made.

mentioned as between stacks and silos. The progress of “ sweet ” silage has, as just indicated, been greatly accelerated It is as to sweet or sour silage. “ Sweet and “ sour are arbitrary terms which by the introduction of stacks. In a silo have perhaps been somewhat abused in the natural form of silage made is, under the ensilage controversy. Perfect silage ordinary conditions,more or less acid ; in —that at which all makers should aim-

is neither the one nor the other.

a stack, on the other hand, the natural

But it form is “ sweet. ” The difference is merely

may be observed that it is easier to make “ sweet ” silage in a stack, and “ sour

a matter of temperature during making.

As a matter of practice, from 130° to silage in a silo. That is to say, in a stack 140° will be found, as a rule, to make the temperature rises very rapidly, and first-rate silage, without any unpleasant

the difficulty lies often in preventing too odour, and with the food constituents great heat. In a silo it may be necessary of the crop as well preserved as is possi to wait at intervals for the temperature ble. The tyro may find slight variations to rise, and the work of filling has thus in dealing with different crops, in varied to be interrupted.

stages of growth, and under diverse con

Making Sweet Silage. — The credit ditions of weather, &c., but these experi of discovering and making known the ence alone can properly teach him . He

process by which sweet silage may be will find that in a silo the difficulty is produced belongs to Mr George Fry of usually to raise the temperature suffi Chobham . Until the results ofMr Fry's ciently, and in a stack to keep it down experiments were made known in 1884, sufficiently. the invariable custom was to apply presWith the aid of a stack -thermometer, sure directly the silo was filled, and the it is easy to ascertain exactly the rise

product was sour silage. Mr Fry filled and fall of temperature in either a silo his silo without close packing, and de- or silage stack . An ingenious thermo

ferred weighting the mass for two or three meter, designed for thepurpose ( Vipan days, until the temperature of the silage & Headly, Leicester), is represented in rose to about 120° or 140° Fahr., when fig. 121. See also fig. 5. the top of the silo was covered and

This thermometer is constructed of

pressure applied. Mr Fry's theory is, light steel tubing, pointed with a taper

that this temperature, about 120° Fahr., spiral and cranked handleat the other is sufficiently high to kill the bacteria end. By turning the handle the spiral which produce acid fermentation ; and if cuts its way and draws the tube into the A self - registering then covered and weighted, the enclosed thermometer, protected by another steel mass of green fodder will remain sweet, tube, is lowered or allowed to slide to the bacteria be thus killed, and the silo position required.

and be practically preserved under the the bottom of the steel tube, and, after same conditions as fruits, vegetables, or remaining for five minutes, raises the meats are preserved when canned .

mercurial index to the maximum tem

The late Dr Augustus Voelcker at- perature ; it is then drawn out of the

tached great importance to Mr Fry's tube and the exact temperature can be experiments, and remarked, that " it cer- read off at leisure as the index remains tainly is a fact that silage, showing not more than a trace of acidity, and as sweet Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng.,xix. , sec. ser ., 483.

ENSILAGE.

313

stationary. This is a most important of interrupting operations at intervals to point, as it is not easy to ascertain by allow the temperature to rise. However, an ordinary thermometer the correct as has been previously remarked, dogma temperature, owing to the mercury run- tism is not possible with regard to the

all ning back while drawing it out of the best kind of silage, seeingthat, with are varieties, records of admirable results

tube and reading off the temperature.

With a silo the making of sweet silage in evidence.. is almost impracticable, owing to the need

It has, in many cases, been found that

А ** FRP 119

1201212122200

201

B

Fig. 121. - Self-registering thermometer. A Thermometer, showing self -registering index. B Showing thermometer in position when lowered to the bottom of the tube. c Generalview of ensilage thermometer.

sweet silage does not keep fresh and free of the great heat produced in the manu

from mould solong, after being cut out of facture of sweet silage, there does not the stack or silo, as do most kinds of sour appear to be any greater loss of moisture than in sour silage. The steam was al silage.

Analyses of sweet and Sour Silage. ways found condensed on the upper layer —The extensive and successful experi- of grass. The waste on the top of the

ments made by Mr Colin J. Mackenzie of silos was about equal, and did not exceed Portmore, Eddleston, have done much to 3 inches." From sweet and sour silage bring the merits of ensilage under the made by Mr Mackenzie at his farms of notice of Scotch farmers. He has made Earlypier and Harcus from grass cut

both sweet and sour silage very largely, from lea which had been saved from and the results have been most satisfac- pasturing for the purpose - Dr A. P. tory . He remarks that “the cattle pre- Aitken took samples for analysis. The fer the sour to the sweet silage; that no silos had been filled in the autumn of

harm appears to occur if a silo be left

1886 , and the samples were taken from

without addition being made to its con- the silos in the following March . They

tents for many days ; and that, in spite gave the following results EARLYPIER .

HARCUS.

Sweet.

Sour .

75.09 24.91

76.08

69.39

23.92

30.61

77.77 22.23

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

6.52

6.33

6.71

6.33

Carbohydrates

4.43 44.55

3.64 46.18

Ether extract

6.20

9.45

5.95 25.15 12.75

100.00

100.00

Water Solids

Sweet.

Sour.

Solids ( dried at 212 ° Fahr.) Albumen

Non -albuminoid nitrogenousmatter reckoned as albumen

Woody fibre Ash

.

28.85

2.02

2,28

46.05 6.85

47.87 6.35

30.20

28.70

8.17

3.47

100.00

100.00

CATTLE IN WINTER . 314

Commenting upon these analyses, Dr A. Voelcker of sweet silage made by

Aitken says that, “ upon the whole, it Lord Middleton, Applecross, Ross-shire, would seem that there is very little dif- from oats cut green and chaffed : 74.80 ference between sweet and sour silage ; Water 2.18 but what little difference there is, is in Albuminous compounds favour of the former . ” 1

Dr A. Voelcker gives the following as the analyses of two samples of sweet

Sugar and other carbohy. drates soluble in water Crude vegetable fibre

Mineral matter (ash ) .

2.78 18.84 1.40

silage sent to him by Mr G. Fry of 100.00

Chobham : Silage from

Silage from

Clover and

Meadow

Rye- grass .

grass.

75.80

74.40

Albuminous compounds1 2.53

2.56

Moisture

1 Containing nitrogen

0.35

Volatile acids, calculated as acetic acid

0.07

Non -volatile acids, calcu lated as lactic acid

.

0.01

Sugar and other carbo

hydrates soluble in water

1.43

18.31

Crude vegetable fibre Mineral matter (ash )

.

1.93 100.00

1 Containing nitrogen Volatile acids, calcu . lated as acetic acid Non -volatile acids, cal culated as lactic acid

0.40

0.01

2.99 17.90 2.15

100.00 0.40 0.02

These analyses by Dr A. Voelcker are taken from the Journal of the Royal

Agricultural Society of England, vol. xx ., part ii., second series, to which he con

tributed a valuable paper upon the “ Chemistry of Ensilage."

Examples of Stack Ensilage.

The best method of bringing the ad vantages of the stack system under the The following is the analysis by Dr attention of practical farmers is to quote 0.01

0.02

Fig. 122. - Yohnson's ensilage press.

the experience of those who are now carrying it out. This might be easily 1 Trans. High. Agric. Soc., xix., 1887.

done to a great extent. It will suffice, however, to give one or two recent com

ENSILAGE.

315

munications from representative men who food which otherwise he would not have use different methods to secure similar provided for himself. ” ends.

Johnson's Ensilage Press. — Mr G.

M. Allender, ex -chairman of the London Farmers' Club, has extensively used ensilage made in stacks by the well -known method patented by MrC. G. Johnson of Croft, Darlington, fig. 122. The Aylesbury Dairy Company ,of which Mr Allen-

Reynolds’s Method of Pressure. The name of Messrs F. W. Reynolds

& Co. has already been mentioned in connection with their methods of pres sure for silos.

Since the introduction of

stacks they have adopted the same sys

tem of chains and screw -tightener for use in stacks as well as silos, fig. 123.

der is managing director, are sole agents

in the United Kingdom for this " wire rope " method . The method , especially

in its lately improved form, has been very successful in winning honours in

competitions held by the Royal Agricul tural Society, the Ensilage Society, and

other public bodies. Writing in August 1887, Mr Allender gave the following as his experience with silage stacks : “I consider that the outside ' does

not exceed 2 per cent, by weight, of the stack — that is, of a 75 or 100 ton stack -neither is this outside' altogether

waste, as our experience is, that thrown to store cattle in a yard, they pick out

Fig. 123. - Reynolds's ensilage press.

a good deal of it - indeed , very little is actually lost. I do not know of any As to their experience of the stack and means for preventing this small amount silo systems, they write :

“ We have always held, and still main of ' outside,' neither do I consider that any precaution is necessary, as the loss tain, that the silo is best, as it excludes is not greater, by weight, than in any the air more perfectly, thereby prevent ordinary hayrick . Care should be taken ing waste at the sides, and at the same not to allow the stack to be cut or time stays the excessive evaporation that trimmed, as thereby much greater waste goes on continually in a stack. The first is caused — when left rough ,only pulled, cost of a silo is no doubt a great draw

the ends form , as in a rick of hay, a back ; but the saving effected by its use natural coat.

is far more than the interest on the capi

“ The advantage of the stack over the tal invested . On account of this saving silo, I think , does not admit of argument. in first cost, we have sold probably as

In the stack system the stack may be made in the field in which the crop is grown ; and as a good crop of ' green stuff ' will weigh from 8 to 12 tons per

many sets of our patent appliances for stacks as for silos; but our own practical experience, and the reports we have re ceived from purchasers of our system ,

acre, as against 35 to 50 cwt. of hay, the tend to show that the loss in a silo sel haulage at a busy time of year of such dom exceeds 10 per cent, whilst in a

a bulky crop is of great moment. In stack it is always over 30 per cent.

winter, when the food is required, haul- Our principal competitor once agreed age is cheaper — further, I think the food with us that the loss in a stack wasfully isof better quality. one-third of the weight put into it, and “ I do not say that silage is a cure for we have seen on his farm at least 18

all evils, but in a wet season it enables inches of waste in places, or varying the farmer to store a lot of useful food

from this to I foot.

for the following winter, and in an ex“ Mr C. S. Roundell (late M.P.) once cessively dry season such as this, it made some useful experiments in stack

places at his disposal a breadth of green silage with our patentpressure. He put

CATTLE IN WINTER .

316

Pearson's Roller Process. The suc in sixteen waggon -loads, the produce of about six acres, taking four days. After cess of the method of pressing silage by four days they cut down the sides, and water-ballast rollers, patented and manu

added the trimmings to the top. The factured by Messrs T. Pearson & Co., temperature was as follows: 3d day, 90° Fahr. ; 4th and 5th, 120° ; 12th, 130° ;

22d, 135° ; 430 , 137 °; 53d, 140°.

It

remained at this heat for a month, when

it gradually declined to 122° during six weeks, when it was cut out.

ENS

ILA

With refer

GE

ST

AC

ence to the silage he remarks as follows: The silage is turning out very satis factory, only 2 or 3 inches of mouldy stuff or waste on the outsides, with 4 or 5 inches of ditto on the top. The cows and horses eat it readily, cut out and mixed with hay and chaff.' “ A stack we built at our works in Blackfriars reached a temperature of

K

Fig. 124. - Blunt's ensilage press.

156° : this had from 6 inches to 1 foot Wolverhampton, has done much to pop of waste on the outsides, the remainder ularise the practice of ensiling in open

being excellent. The loss from evapora- stacks. This process is illustrated in fig. tion , however, was considerable, and was 125, which is almost self-explanatory. stack is fully one-third of the weight put in. It will be seen that the widthisofmade up The following is Dr A. Voelcker's anal- 15 feet ; the length of stack yses of two samples cut from different of the 5-feet sections (which may be 6, parts of the stack : Light.

Dark .

Per cent.

Per cent.

Moisture Acetic acid Lactic 11

72,24 0.16 0.33

59.53

Digestible fibre, &c.

11.30

9.35

12.28 14.57

93.38

88.53 "

Indigestible (woody) fibre

0.67 1.48

making it 30 feet or more, if desired ) The grass is first laid down in 12 -inch

thicklayers ( or courses), and then taken in sections of 5 feet as shown on Nos. I and 2 .

The roller being 5 feet long,

covers this space in rolling . The roller has just finished the pressing of No. I ( from side to side in the direction the

boards run ), and has been turned to be It may be mentioned that at the latest raised, on the two small angular blocks

competition of the Ensilage Society the marked A , to No. 2 section, where the “ silver medal” was won by Mr J. G. boards are being laid to receive it. No. Platt with a sample of ensilage made in I section, before was pressed, was same

a stack by Messrs Reynolds's system of height (or thickness) as No. 2 - viz., 12 pressure, the “ gold medal” being won by inches. Other sections are added, till a sample made in a silo with dead weights. the desired length of stack is reached ; Blunt's Patent. — A system of pres- the boards on No. I are then removed sure very largely in use is that known as and relaid on the unpressed grass. The Blunt'spatent ( fig. 124), which is manu- boards are 16 feet long (6 inches allowed factured by the Ensilage Press Company to overlap each side of stack ) and 9 of Leicester. It combines the two prin- inches by 1/2 inch thick, Strips of ciples of the screw and lever, and one wood, 2 inches by 2 inches, are nailed on

main advantage claimed for it is that each end to act as " stoppers” against by its means continuous pressure " is the roller. The 12 -inch thick layers of secured .

grass are pressed to about 5 inches ; there

Mr E. T. Blunt, who is a practical fore the height from No. 1 to No. 2 is farmer, farming a mixed farm in the only about 7 inches for the roller to neighbourhood of Leicester, was one of ascend, which occupies a few seconds the earliest adherents to the ensilage only, system , and has devoted a great deal of The ensilage roller is 5 feet by

time and attention to its investigation.

2

feet diameter, made hollow and closed

-

ENSILAGE.

The material is plate-

at both ends.

317

Messrs Pearson give the following

steel. There is an inlet at one end for filling with either water or sand, which gives the ballast a weight for pressure, But although the rollers are supplied in this convenient form , Messrs Pearson's patent covers the use of any description of

directions for the making of sweet silage by their process : ( 1) You cannot press too hard to exclude all air ; (2) under pressed grass — sour silage ; (3) effectively pressed - sweet silage ; (4 ) build stack in layers ; (5) grass should be wet or roller or device used to press and make damp. ensilage in silo or open stack. The The roller weighs, say, 20 cwt. when roller, it will be seen, has no gearing or filled, and is 5 ft. x 2 ft. diameter.

mechanical attachmentsfor its movement, Thus every foot is equal to 4 cwt. The no frame or handle, but is simply moved roller rests or grips on every two inches by the man pushing it in front of him . of surface as it moves, and by the A larger size is made, 5 feet by 22 feet,

passage to and fro of such a weight

for the strongest - stemmed grasses, it is obvious the amount of pressure inflicted must be great.

bracken, &c.

PAT

ENT

15

3

Fig. 125. — Pearson's ensilage roller system .

Messrs Pearson were the first to patent down a rigid rule. The first must be mechanical presses for ensilage stacks. decided mainly by local or individual

They patented four systems early in 1884, two of which were illustrated and described in Silos for British Fodder Crops ( Field Office, 1884). One of

circumstances. The result is — with due care, equally necessary in both cases , practically the same. Silage of the best description can be obtained either by the

these was their combined wire - rope,

one or the other.

winding -drum , and lever system , which

Neither is the method of pressure

they have since abandoned in favour of adopted, whether on silo or stack , a their roller process .

Choice of Methods.

matter for dogmatism .

Any one who

sets out for the first time to make silage will have to investigate the matter for himself.

For a silo he will have the

It will thus be seen that the farmer choice between dead weight and various

who wishes to make silage has a wide mechanical appliances ; for a stack he choice of methods. The two initial will be practically restricted to a very 1. Silo or stack .

few mechanical methods. Dead weights have been used on stacks, but the diffi

2. Method of pressure.

culty of preventing them from slipping

On neither point is it possible to lay

off, as well as the labour of lifting up

questions to decide are—

E

CATTL

318

R IN WINTE .

and down, virtually preclude them from ously arisen ), what to put in it ? In many cases less weight is employed , but

practical consideration.

-Having de- then the risk of making bad silage is cided for a silo or stack, and having greater. Chaffing for Ensilage. In the ma arranged for the securing of sufficient Amount of Pressure.

pressure — which, by the way, cannot be safely calculated at less than a minimum of 100 lb. per square foot on silos, and 200 lb. per square foot on stacks

jority of cases the crop is put into the silo or silage stack in its natural length. In a good many cases, however, it is first cut into short pieces. This no doubt

-the question arises ( if it has not previ- helps the success of the system , especi

Fig. 126. - Ensilage cutter and elevator,

ally with rank material; but it, of course, than possibly to make them more palat adds considerably to the expense. There are many excellent chaff-cuttersmade specially for this purpose, one (Crowley's) being represented in fig. 126. Crops for Silage.

able or digestible to stock . No forma tion of food constituents goes on in the silo or stack , and practically that which a farmer puts in, that will he — if the silage be well made — take out. It fol lows, therefore, that those who wish for

The crops available for silage are many valuable silage must make it of a valu and diverse.

It is well to bear in mind

able crop.

Meadow - grass Silage. — The crop that the quality of the silage is directly has been this country dependent upon the quality ofthe mate- most used in At the Smithfield com rial from which it is made.

This may meadow -grass.

appear to be a simple truism ,but it is by petition of the Ensilage Society for 1885, no means unnecessary to insist upon it. a prize was offered for the best sampleof In the early days of the system there meadow - grass silage, to be decided by seemed to be a common idea that silage analysis. Thirty -seven samples were re

was silage — so to speak — whatever it ceived, and all of these were duly ana might be made from .

Thus a good lysed by Dr John Voelcker.

In the

many people favour the notion that t'ield the thirty - seven analyses made coarse, useless grass, or waste substances, were epitomised in a table which estab might be ensiled and transformed into lishes a useful standard of value.

The

valuable food. That such materials may average percentages of the constituents be, and are , made into silage with advan- of the samples were worked out as fol tage, is no doubt true ; but it is essential

lows in their natural condition, and also

for those who use them to remember that when dried, with the addition for com the process of ensilage does not give parison of the average of fifty samples of them any higher feeding value, other meadow hay :

ENSILAGE.

319 Average of 37 samples of ensilage.

In natural state.

Water

Albuminoids 1 Indigestible fibre

Digestible fibre Soluble carbohydrates Volatile acids . Non -volatile acids Mineral matter ?

1 Containing nitrogen . 2 Including silica .

71.42 3.17 9.33 10.39 2.53 0.28

Dried at 212° F.

Hay .

Average of 50 samples.

11.09 32.65 36.35 8.85

0.985

10.83 30.35 51.53

2.46

1.47 8.61

7.29

100.00

100.00

100.00

0.51

1.77

1.73

0.56

1.96

0.42

Water and Dry Food in Silage and quality being otherwise equal in all, and

Hay:—The following table shows the that the bay is worth Sos. a ton of 2240 relative quantities of water and of dry lb. In a ton of hay, at the ordinary feeding substance in a ton of hay and a average of 15 per cent of water, there ton of meadow -hay silage of different de- are 17 cwt. of dry food and 3 cwt. of grees of moisture - onebeing the average water ; and, at Sos. a ton, the value of of the 37 samples above alluded to, the dry material is a small fraction over another being the driest sample in the a halfpenny a pound. The quantities series (No. 26 ), and the third the wettest and values are as follows : sample (No.27), on the supposition of the Water. Gallons.

Hay

34 49

Dry Food .

8.

d.

1904

80 73

0 6

Driest silage (sample No. 26) Average of 37 samples

160

1748 640

Wettest silage(sample No. 27)

191

334

The above shows the number of gallons

Value.

Ib .

26 II

14

o

Under such conditions, haymaking is

of water contained in a single ton of si- no enviable process, and one can readily lage with different amounts of moisture. appreciate the remark made by Mr D.

But if we look at the quantity of water Wood, in concluding his report from which would have to be evaporated in Blairmore, Argyleshire, to the Ensilage order to make the respective grasses into Commissioners : “If some of our scien hay instead of silage, the facts become tific experts hadjust one season's experi even more striking . To turn the driest ence inthese wet Western Highlands, they (No. 26) into hay of 15 per cent moist- would bless the man who invented silos.' ure, it would only be necessary to evapoHere, again, it may be remarked that rate 20 gallons of water in making a ton there are very considerable differences in of hay ; and except as an experiment, it the qualities of grasses ; and correspond

seems needless to put such very dry grassing differences will be found in them into a silo. With the average samples, after conservation in the silo or stack. however, at 71.42 per cent of moisture, there would have to be 442 gallons of water evaporated in making each tonof hay. And with the wettest sample ( No. 27 ) 1054 gallons, or more than 472 tons

The rough " fog " of marshy grounds, or the coarse herbage of woodlands, will producevery different silage from that of good upland grass. Clover Bilage . — Clovers make a fav

of water, would have to be evaporated ourite crop for silage. All kinds of clover for each ton of hay made.

may be ensiled with advantage, and are

CATTLE IN WINTER.

320

readily made into good silage. For cake, no ensilage. All the beasts have second or third cuts of clover, as for the same weight of bran, meal, and cake. aftermath crops

of

grass, many have I have no means of weighing the animals

used silos or silage stacks who would not to give an accurate test of the results of

grow special crops for the purpose. Mr George Fry of Chobham remarks: “ Trifolium incarnatum with us is cut in May or early in June, and is a very heavy, succulent сгор..

the different ways of feeding, but will give you the best I can from observation. From my shorttrial of ensilage used in the above way, I am of opinion my beasts

I have always found it have done the best on a mixture of ensi

necessary, even in sunny weather, to cut lage and roots ; indeed, better than either this crop in the morning and cart it to all roots or all ensilage, with chaff, corn , the silo in the evening. In dull weather bran, cake, &c., as stated above . " it should be allowed to dry on the ground Lucerne and Sainfoin . - Lucerne has

for at least 24 hours before it is carted .” made very satisfactory silage both in In the Ensilage Society's competition France and in this country. In 1879 M. for 1886, Mr H. M. Proctor of Spalding Pornay was awarded a silver medal at

took a prize for clover silage, and he the district agricultural show at Bourges describes his practice thus : My en- for an excellent sample which he exhib silage was made of green clover in an ited there. Sainfoin is another legumin open stack. On the top and outside of ous plant which has been ensiled with the stack we have some waste, eight or success . ten inches at least. I bought some railTares. - Tares or vetches have been

way-sleepers for the bottom and the top found somewhat difficult to make into of the stack. Under and above them I good silage. There have perhaps been placed transverse beams, so as to fasten more failures with them than with almost the end of the fulcrum by which I re- any other crop. Nevertheless, with care

ceived the needed pressure at one end of the stack. By the same means I secured the chains of the patent screw -press of Reynolds at the other end of the stack .

they may be easily made into valuable silage, especially if the development of acids be checked. Tares and oats have been made into some of the best silage.

I pressed the green clover in the above Rye-grass . - Rye-grass has also been way so as to prevent over-heat. made into silage, and for sewage farms

“ I made my ensilage stack at four the system has been of much advantage.

times. The first cut was stacked as soon Sewagerye-grass needs care in making, as cut, and is good. Each time I raised but we haveseen many first -rate samples the stack to about 12 feet high, as high of silage from it. as we could conveniently lift the green Maize. — Maize, cut green , has been clover.

The heavy pressure we put on very largely ensiled in

France and

the stack soon made it ready to raise

America. The recent introduction of its again. The second time the clover was cultivation in this country was a result cut and stacked after a very heavy rain. of the ensilage system . In fact, many The next morning cut as we stacked the people seemed to think that it was neces

ensilage. This is very good. The third sary to grow maize to make silage. This time we raised the stack, the clover was was owing to the fact that in America ,

not carted and stacked as soon as cut; it, where maize is grown so extensively, the too, is good ensilage. The fourth time system of ensilage has been applied most the clover was getting old, and is not largely to it. good. More waste, too. I am afraid to One reason for the fact that recent

name the weight of a cube yard of ensi- attempts at the growth of maize have lage, it is so very heavy.

been successful is, that in America the

" I may briefly mention how I am area of maize-growing is being pushed using my ensilage for feeding beasts gradually farther north, so that now it is

viz., I give two beasts ensilage, mixed possible to getseed from thence which is with chaff, bran, meal, and cake ; two practically acclimatised to this country . beasts half ensilage, half roots, mangels, Professor Long, in the Journal of the chaff, bran, meal, and cake, as above; Royal Agricultural Society (vol. xxiii .

two beasts roots, chaff, bran, meal, and part i.), remarks : “There is fortunately

ENSILAGE.

now little difficulty in showing that the

321

Value of One Acre of Green Maize made into

Ensilage. uncertainty of the crop is reduced to a minimum , and that its profitable nature I acre of maize, cut green, weighed 28 tons,

is beyond doubt. This minimum of uncertainty relates chiefly to the north of

and produced 26 tons of ensilage, value 26s.

8d. per ton, being one -third value of hay at £ 4 per ton

£34 13 4

England , for observations extending over

Deduct rent and tithe, cost of cul.

several years lead me to believe that south ofthe Trent maize germinates and grows almost as readily as the cereals common to this country.” The advantage of maize as a fodder plant is beyond question, though its

tivation, manure, seed, cutting, carting, chaffing, filling silo, and all other expenses, including in terest on cost of barn silo .

14

3 10

Net value of ensiled maize per acre

£20 9 6 Value of One Acre of Grass made into Ensilage. I acre of grass weighed 1234 tons, and produced 12 tons of ensilage, value 26s. 8d. per ton , being one third value of hay at £ 4 per ton £ 16 0 0

value lies not so much in its inherent

richness, as in its abundant growth and consequent cheapness where soil and climate are suitable. It is, no doubt, de ficient in nitrogen, and is not so nutri-

tious, weight for weight, as many of the Deduct rent and tithe, costof cut ting, carting, chaffing, filling silo, ordinary fodder crops of this country. and all other expenses, including

Its chief merit, however, lies in the enor mous weight per acre which a crop of

interest on cost of barn silo

maize willproduce.

5

4

9

Net value of ensiled grass per acre

In cold, wet seasons maize would no doubt be a risky crop in this country ;

.

£ 10 15 3

Mr F. Sutton, F.C.S., in an analytical and this year ( 1888 ) it has given unsatisfactory results in several instances in examination of Mr Wood's pamphlet the south of England. points out that the maize is put down at

Maize v . Grass Silage. — On Lord the same value per ton as the grass, a Walsingham's estate in Norfolk maize conclusion whichis not borne out by the has been largely experimented upon and chemical facts. The following table grown, and his lordship’s agent, Mr quoted from Silos for British Fodder Henry Woods, who was one of the ear- Crops, a valuable and exhaustive work

liest and ablest advocates of ensilage, published at the field office, gives the gave the following comparative statement percentages of food constituents in the in a pamphlet published by him :-

two crops above referred to : Percentage Composition.

Tons per Acre.

Constituents.

Water Albuminoids

Carbohydrates Woody fibre Ash

Grass

Maize

Grass

Ensilage.

Ensilage.

Ensilage.

73.530

86.280 1.149

8.82 0.34 1.39 0.98 0.47

2.805 11.605

5.186

8.140 3.920

5.075 2.310

100.000

100.000

12 tons

Maize Ensilage.

22.43 0.30 1.35 1.32 0.60 26 tons

Among the constituents there are, acre of maize, while the chief difference says Mr Sutton, “ only two classes of in the two crops consists in the excess really nutritious matters — namely, albu- of water in the maize — the extra 14

minoids or flesh -formers, and digestible tons being wholly worthless material; carbohydrates or fat - formers.'

These yet all this is included in the account

nutritious matters are both shown to be at the rate of £1 , 6s. 8d. per ton. If,

higher in the acre of grass than in the however, this excess of worthless ma VOL. I.

X

CATTLE IN WINTER .

322 terial were deducted

from the sum

can be made available as useful food for

quoted above, the net value of the stock in the form of silage. Special Silage Crops . - Among spe cial crops for silage none are more worthy Nevertheless the culture of maize is of note than those advocated by Mr C.

maize would not compare well with that of the grass.

likely to progress in this country on G. Johnson of Croft, Darlington, and account of the great weight per acre- described by him in the Year -Book of

from 20 to 30 tons being not unusual, and the Ensilage Society. He writes there maximum crops ranging much higher- in: whic ma be and h

y

grown,

as a valuable

« The stack for which I was awarded

bulky fodder crop, useful for the pro- first prize in Class X. was put up from duction of both meat and milk when 8/2 acres of forage crop specially grown supplemented by a little concentrated for ensilage. Half the field was as under, food, such as

cotton - cake,

Profes-

half was without the peas, their propor

sor Long says, “ If it is true that, tion being added to the tares and oats. chemically speaking, those foods are the I prefer that with the peas. It was

most valuable which approach in the spring sown , and cut when fully podded ; nearest degree the requirements of the in fact, the oats were just beginning to animals for which they are intended ,

turn, but stalks still succulent.

both as to their constituents and their

facility of digestion, then maize must, upon these grounds, be one of the most profitable crops which can be used ; but

1/4 bushel 12 12 X

11 11

11

Tares , Peas. Oats. Beans.

how much more so is this the case when

we consider the bulk it produces, the fact that it can be taken as a second

272 bushels per acre.

“ I intend to have 16 acres next season ,

crop, and the facility with which it can and have sown in September : be cultivated ? " 1 Sorghum has been recommended for 134 bushel

silage, and the advantages claimed for maize apply in about an equal degree to this somewhat similar crop.

A

12

11

Tares. Wheat. Beans.

2/2 bushels per acre.

Grain Crops for Silage. — Cereals, “The reason of the change of mixture, and especially rye, have been largely used for silage. They are cut before they be- of course, is that in this neighbourhood come fully ripe and when full of sap, oats and peas would not stand over the winter. and make first-rate silage. Minor Silage Crops. Spurry ( Sper“ I consider this crop has an important

gula arvensis) is a crop largely cultivated future in connection with ensilage stacking in Germany for fodder, and it has been to take the place of wheat-growing and grown and ensiled in this country by its attendant expensive roots, especially Lord Walsingham, with marked success. on strong land ; and am now feeding Buckwheat has been tried both in France bullocks for the butcher on it alone,

and in this country ; but although it might well be grown for silage, no very favourableresults have yet been recorded with it. Among other crops which may

without cake or meal, to prove how far it will take the place of roots and hay or straw, with cake or combined, and so far have every reason to be satisfied. The

be mentioned as having been made into above crop appears to provide the succu silage, are prickly comfrey, beetroot, Jerusalem artichoke, turnip-tops, potatohaulms, hopbine, bracken , thistles, and gorse. Some of these, notably hopbine and bracken, have proved that substances at present valueless for feeding purposes 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., xxiii., sec . ser . , 133.

lence of the roots, & c., the bulk of the hay or straw , and an even more bountiful supply of grain than is usually given in the form of cake or meal. “ The stack was begun on August 11 ,

base 19 feet by 12 feet ; and stacking continued every day until finished , when 90 loads, computed at 25 cwt. each , had been put on. Weather dull, and several

ENSILAGE.

323

The experiment was continued with stoppage. I have about 40 head of out alteration of any kind for 30 days

very wet days, for which there was no

cattle, all ages, including fatting stock longer, and on March 10, 1887, the latter also get nothing but ensilage); and the result was different - the hay -fed about 40 lambing ewes — they all prefer bullocks having an average gain per and milch cows; also farm -horses (which weights were again taken. This time

this tares mixture to any other ensilage. head of 1.4 lb. per day , and the silage They have seeds and clover and meadow- fed bullocks having gained 1.8 lb. per grass ensilage to vary the diet. I use day. Over the whole experiment, there

no roots, straw, or hay; find ensilage forei.e., during the 84 days— the gain in every way the better food ; and am per head per day stood thus : growing nothing else for next season . Hay 1.96 lb. The above -named stack never reached 1.98 lb. Silage a higher temperature than 145° Fahr.;

The experiment came to an end be is very uniform in quality from top to bottom ; and was made by my patent cause the hay was consumed ; but it is wire -rope and lever and ratchet press .”

noticeable that “ a little of the silage

still remaining, the bullocks were kept on Feeding Value of Silage. it for a few days longer.” It would have With reference to the feeding value of been interesting to have known the exact silage, the amount of evidenceof a fav- amount of this surplusage, but its exist ourable character is overwhelming. The ence tends to show that grass made into

judges for the silo and stack competition silage will keep a certain number of stock of the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng- longer - in other words, will “ go further ” land, Messrs G. W. Baker, J. K. Fowler,

than a similar, and, indeed, somewhat

James Long, T. Rigby, John Wheatley, and Tom Parry, after delivering their awards, remarked that the success of the system of ensiling green crops had been

larger breadth made into hay. Inasmuch as it also gave a slightly greater increase of weight, the economy of the silage would seem to be appreciable.

incontestably proved in every district which they visited . “ In every instance, cattle of all descriptions did well on the silage ; and in many instances, the opinionwas conclusive that decidedly more

borated in its results by a similar experi ment carried out on 8 Welsh bullocks at Wilmington. Here the experiment lasted 80 days, at the end of which period the 4

The experiment at Woburn was corro

stock could be carried per acre with silage bullocks receiving hay had gained, on an than with hay." average, 1.3 lb. per head per day, while Hay v. Silage. - At Woburn , in the those receiving silage had gained 1.6 lb. winter of 1886-87, twelve bullocks were So far, therefore, there is conclusive

carefully experimented upon - six having evidence that good silage is equal to hay and six silage. The hay and si- good hay in feeding value, which is, lage, with water, were given ad libitum , perhaps, more than many of its most and each bullock also received 3 lb. of ardent advocates would , primâ facie, decorticated cotton -cake and 5 lb. of have ventured to claim for it.

maize-meal per day. The hay and silage Oat Silage v. Roots . - At the Woburn were made from the samefield of grass, experimental station some trials were in

each alternate cart-load going to the rick stituted, during the winter of 1885-86, or the silo respectively. Altogether, upon the relative feeding value of oat 22/5 acres of grass was made intosilage, silage and roots and straw -chaff. The

and 24/s of grass into hay. The experi- following were the results of two experi ment began on December 16, 1886 ; and ments on a couple of bullocks, during

at the end of 54 days the bullocks were periods of 82 and 28 days respectively : weighed, when it was found that the

average gain of weight per head per day was, for the hay-fed bullocks 2.3 Ib., and for the silage-fed bullocks 2.1 lb., giving, up to that time, an advantage of 0.2 lb. to the hay.

Total gain in live Daily gain weight in 82 days.

per head .

cwt. qr . lb.

Ib .

Two bullocks 2 Oat silage 3 II Roots and straw.chaff i 3 25

2

1%

Daily gain in favour of oat silage, 23 lb.

CATTLE IN WINTER.

324

of Leicester, published, at the end of January 1888, some interesting details

Total gain inlive Daily gain weight in 28 days. per head . cwt. qr. lb. Ib .

of an experiment made by him , with

Two bullocksI Oat silage Roots and straw.chaffo

O

21

2

21

a view to arriving at the result of feeding a steer on silage from birth

24

Daily gain in favour of oat silage, 1 lb.

to slaughter. lows :

Rearing stock on Silage. — Mr Blunt,

The account stood as fol

First month . - 172 gallon new milk per day, 30 days = 45 gallons at 6d. per gallon Second and third months :.-2

£i 26

.

gallons skim -milk per day, 62 days 0 15

124 gallons at 1720. per gallon

6 £ 1 18 0

SILAGE. Months.

lb. per day.

From 3 to 6

28

6 to 8 8 to 10

35 45 50

!!

11

10 to 12

1b.

days. 92

2,576

60 61

2,100 2,745 3,000

60

tons cwt. qr. lb.

10,421 = 4

13

16,775 7 The production of 112 acre of clovermown twice

9

o 3

5 3

I2

2

3

8

12 to 22

55

305

м ол

---

£ o 2

Sowing Seed

I

Carting manure 2 years

I

OOO

Estimated cost of growing i acre clover, and making it into silage (3 years lay ) :

2 19 6

£O 15 8 for 1 year. I o o two cuttings, carting and stacking o 4 o weighting the ensilage stack. £ 19 8 for I acre = £ 2, 195. 6d. for

For 3 years

£27

o

112 acre .

LINSEED -CAKE . Months .

From I to 3 3 to 16

Ib. perday.

days.

02

60

I

11 16 to 19

2

19 to 21

4 7

" 11

21 to 22

395 92 30 30

Ib . 30

= 395

184 I 20

=

210

cwt. qr. Ib.

939

8

I

15 at 8s. = £3 7

o

o 16

9

2

8

0

I

4

0

Allow quarter for manurial value

2 10 4

o £ 2 ton

Allow half its cost for manure

1

Labour and attendance 6d. per week (no chaff -cutting ), 96 weeks at 6d. March 22, 1886, cost of calf

Live weight, January 25 , 1888 Dead weight, January 27, 1888

2

S

I

5

7

0

3

£19 5

0

.

.

IO

3

5

3

3 ооо

Straw or moss litter for bedding : 4 cwt. of moss litter per week , 96 weeks 1

8

16 = 8 score 5 lb. per quarter,

at 7d. per lb. £ 19 5 o Balance

£7, os. 3d. balance for rent, rates, and taxes and profit on 1/2 acre of land, £ 4, 138. 6d. for i acre .

With reference to the above, Mr Blunt mixed partly new and partly skim , de writes :

“ In every instance I have given the maximum amount of milk, silage, and

pending somewhat on the requirements of the dairy.

“From inquiries I have made of deal cake ; for instance, the calf was reared ers, I find it pretty generally admitted with the others, and the milk, at the end

that a crop of clover mown twice will

of the first fortnight, would be probably produce from 10 to 12 tons of green

ENSILAGE.

clover to the acre.

325

I take the lower conclusions of the Ensilage Commission

figure , and deduct 20 per cent for loss already referred to. in making it into silage.

The Commission

If the ensi- classify the advantages claimed for ensi

lage is made at a temperature not exceeding 140 ° Fahr., I believe the loss by fermentation will not be more than 10 per cent. The loss by waste

lage under these three heads : “ 1. In rendering the farmer independent of weather in saving his crops. 2. In in creasing the productive capabilities of

so damaged at the sides of a stack farms : (a) in greater weight of forage should not be more than 5 per cent, saved ; (b) in greater available variety which together makes a total of 15 per and rotation of crops ; (c) in increased cent, so that I think an allowance of 20 facility for storage . 3. In connection per cent is a very liberal one. with feeding: (a ) dairy stock ; (6) breed

" The cost of cutting, carting, stacking, ing stock ; (c) store stock ; (d) fattening and weighting (this latter by my own stock ; (e) farm -horses.” Taking each of

press, which, I believe, is the cheapest), I these points in order, the Commission have arrived at by actual experiment; of remark upon them as follows : course a little will depend upon the dis“ 1. Independence of Weather in sav tance the crop hastobe carted. I need ing Crops.In this respect it has been scarcely say the silage has been of the abundantly proved to us that ensilage

best quality - viz., the sweet and green is of great economicvalue. In Scotland, made at a temperature of about 140°.

in Ireland, and in the north and west of

Once I tried sweet dark - coloured si- England, few seasons occur in which lage, but soon found this would not do ; more or less difficultyis not experienced and once with some sour green silage, in reducing green fodder crops to a suffi

but thiswas not satisfactory . The silage, ciently dry conditionfor stacking in the for the first eighteen or nineteen months, ordinary way. This is especiallythe case was a mixture of clover and meadow- with second crops of clover and after math. The loss occurring through in

grass ; the last three months it was prin-

cipally trifolium and tares, with a slight effectual attempts to dry such crops, or mixture of the meadow -grass. I feel through their inferior condition when sure the quality of the meat will be carried, is often very considerable ; and

first class, and I believe they will show it is obvious that any system which en ables a farmer to store these in good a small profit even at 6d. per lb. “ I think we may fairly conclude from condition for future use must be a great

the experiment (at any rate it is worth a saving of expense and anxiety. trial on a larger scale), that the best and “ 2. Advantages in increasing the Pro

cheapest way to feed our stockis to keep ductive Capabilities of Farms: (a) In them altogether in covered sheds or yards greater Weight of Forage saved . — It is (never let them lose their calf flesh ): feed obvious that unless the forage in a them during the winter on silage, straw, weighty condition be of more feeding and cake; and in the summer substitute value per acre than when saved in a less

the green crops for silage, as I consider weighty form , there can be no gain to this would rather lessenthe expense. A the farmer. It has been contended that few roots the last three or four months the loss of weight in the process of dry

would also be an advantage. Feeding ing is simply loss of water by evaporation, beasts always do so much better with- and that by avoiding this nothing is out water, and this can only be dispensed saved. If such were truly the case, dry with by the use of a few roots. ” forage should give the same feeding re

The experience of Sir John Bennett sults per acre as green forage. No prac Lawes, and others, with ensilage as food, tical farmer would contend that it does will be found referred to in the descrip- so, and the difference is especially notice tions of different systems of feeding.

able in the case of dairy stock.

So far

as we have been able to ascertain the

General Advantages of Ensilage. opinion of competent men on this sub No better evidence as to the general ject, we estimate the value of green for advantages of the system of ensilage age well preserved in a silo at somewhat could beadduced than is furnished in the more than one-third, weight for weight,

326

CATTLE IN WINTER .

of the value of the same material made doubted advantage of the system for the into hay under favourable conditions. The verywide difference of value between good and bad silage cannot be too strongly insisted upon . It is found that grass

feeding of dairy stock. The effect of dry winter food given to such stock has always been to reduce in quantity and to deteriorate in quality milk, cream , and

well preserved in a silo, after deduction butter, as compared with the same pro for loss, will yield approximately five times the weight of the same grass made into hay. We have therefore, say, five tons of silage, which, taken at one-third the value of hay per ton, yields a profit of over 60 per cent as compared with one ton of hay. If we take it at one-fourth, it still leaves a profit of 25 per cent. Any waste that may occur to reduce the weight of nutritious forage, whether by evaporation or by excess of chemical

ducts resulting from green summer food. Although thedegree of perfection attain able in summer has notbeen reached, it has been at least much more nearly ap proached by ensilage than by the use of hay and other dry foods, while at the same time the objections inseparable from the employment of roots for this purpose have been overcome. A sensible improvement in the colour of butter been especially noticed .

change, must necessarily affect this cal-

“ (6 ) Breeding Stock.Green fodder

culation, which is based upon the high- preserved by ensilage has been success est degree of perfect preservation so far fully employed in feeding sheep and known to be attainable. cattle at the timeof breeding ; and as it

* (6) In Available Variety and Rota- has been shown to increase theflow of lage many crops can be preserved which for this purpose, although the proportion

tion of Crops. - By the process of ensi- milk , it will undoubtedly be found useful

would not otherwise be found profitable of its admixture with other kinds of food if used in the form of green forage. Rye, must always require care and judgment. “ (c) Store Stock. It forms a complete oats, millet, maize, barley, and even wheat, if cut about the time of attaining and wholesome food for store stock. " ( d) Fatting Stock . - The value of their full development, but before the seed begins to harden, have been suc- this process for the purpose of forming cessfully used as foodfor cattle through fleshand fat has not yetperhaps been so the medium of the silo. Such of these widely demonstrated as in the case of crops as are found to reach the required dairy produce. At the same time the condition before the middle of June, if results attained show that it compares

cut before that time, will leave the land favourably with the use of roots, and, if free for a second sowing, and thus increase given in proper proportions with other its capabilities of annual production, while maintaining the fertility of the soil. Where land is well treated, maize, buckwheat, or, in some parts of England, also turnips, can be sown after green rye

food, it affords a cheap substitute for the same bulk , which would otherwise be required in some different form . The

advantage of its use is most apparent in the degree to which it enablesa farmer

or oats are cut and carried, and thus à profitably to consume straw -chaff, rough second crop may be secured for preserva- hay -chaff, and other drymaterials, which, tion in the silo, or for consumption by without admixture with some kind of sheep on the land. moist food, would not be palatable or

" (c) In Increased Facility for Storage. advantageous to the growth of stock. “ (e) Farm -horses.Strong as the evi --- This advantage has been forcibly impressed upon us. It enables farmers to dence has been of the advantage of en

guard themselves against emergencies, silage for keeping all stock in healthy by no means such as frequently arise in our climate condition, farm -horses have received highly

through prolonged cold in February, been excepted. We have

March, and April, causing great scarcity satisfactory accounts from several quar of food for cattle and sheep, where the ters of the health of working teams when supply of roots is inadequate. given alimitedproportion ofsilage mixed “ 3. Advantages connected with Feed- with other food.”

ing : (a ) Dairy Stock. — We have re-

In conclusion, the Commissioners state

ceived the strongest evidence of the un- that they endeavoured to discount all

ENSILAGE.

327

exaggerated estimates,as well as to make put - in whole - in all cases the practice allowance for a considerable amount of

was successful, and in every instance

prejudice and incredulity which they met cattle of all descriptions did well on the with, and they add : “ After summing silage, and in many instances the opin up

the mass of evidence which has ion was conclusive that decidedly more

reached us, we can without hesitation stock could be carried per acre with affirm that it has been abundantly and silage than with hay.

O

In conclu

conclusively proved to our satisfaction sion, we would say that we consider the

that this system of preserving green system of ensiling will probably affect fodder crops promises great advantages the future of agriculture on strong land, to the practical farmer, and, if carried as in most instances, especially in such where it is necessary to obtain winter and efficiency, should not only provide foods for the stock , a crop of winter him with the means of insuring himself grown tares or trifolium , or other strong to a great extent against unfavourable growing green crops, may be sown in the out with a reasonable amount of care

seasons, and of materially improving the autumnat little expense, and mown and quantity and quality of his dairy produce, put in the receptacle by the first week in but should also enable him to increase June, and thus do away with the im appreciably the number of live stock that mense expense and great uncertainty of

can be profitably kept upon any given the cultivation and consumption of roots whether

of pasture or arable on such land.” land, and proportionately the amount The judges wind up their verdict as of manure available to fertilise it." follows: “ The chief advantages of silage acreage,

The judges on the competition for making against hay -making is its com

£ 100, offered by Sir Massey Lopes, parative independence of the weather ; “ For the best Silo in England and Wales that the fodder is handled, while green, in actual work during the winter of without any risk of the tender and nutri 1885-86 ” (conducted by the Royal Agri- tious leaves being lost on the ground, as

cultural Society of England), reported in hay-making ; that the resulting silage quite as strongly in favour of ensilage is succulent and palatable; and that on as did the Ensilage Commission. The purely grazing farms it is now possible judges who examined the silos in the to obtain a portion of the grass crop for northern districts of England thus sum- winter in such a state as to equal the

marise their experience : “ We are of effect of summer-fed grass for the pur opinion that the great question of satis- poses of the dairy." factorily ensiling green crops has received The Future of Ensilage.

ample confirmation. It has been proved to us incontestably, that its success has

What the future of ensilage in this been manifested in every district. We country maybe it would be rash to pre

have seen silos of brick, of stone, and of dict.

Whether it may develop in the

wood ; we have seen old barns and other future in anything like the same ratio of buildings converted into silos ; we have progress which it has achieved during the

seen them sunk into the ground and past five years — in which case it may built on the level ; we have seen them well effect an agricultural revolution or containing 20 tons, and we have inspected whether it has now reached the stage

others capable of containing 700 tons ; when all its features are before us, it we have found silos constructed at a

may at least be urged that farmers in all

little over £ 20, and others at £400 ; we districts should carefully consider its have found them filled with all sorts of adaptability to their circumstances. green crops, and we have found some It surely behoves agriculturists in sour and some sweet the latter in by these times to cultivate an " open mind ” far the greater proportion ; we have seen with regard to all improvements which them weightedwith bricks, with stones, come before them in what Hamlet terms with slates, with sand, with earth, and " a questionable shape.” Ensilage has also with ingenious mechanical contriv- already been well questioned by all sorts ances ; we have inspected some chaffed, and conditions of inquirers. There is and in hers the fodder spread out and ample evidence available for all who wish

CATTLE IN WINTER .

328

to form anindependent judgment of its they should, by some means or other, be merits. That it deserves from all who washed before given to cattle.

Where

have not yet tried it so much of their there is a small brook or stream at hand,

unbiassed attention, will not be denied it is easy to do this by turning the load

by any who have considered either its of roots into a shallowpond prepared for achievements or its possibilities. the purpose, the roots, after being stirred so as to get clear of the mud, being thrown out of the water by a graip. A much slower method is to wash them in

PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR CATTLE .

small quantities in a large tub or tank, the roots being thrown in and out bya It is desirable that the best methods of graip. Several machines havebeen made preparing food for cattle, so as to ensure for washing roots, one of the best of the bestpossible results in the progress these being the Archimedean Root of the animals, should be carefully Washer (Crosskill, Beverley ) shown in thought out by farmers. In this, as in fig. 127. These machines wash tur most other farming matters, it

is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules which would be

equally applicable to all cases. Certain well-known methods of

preparing food for cattle will be explained, and farmers must decide for themselves which of

these fit in most advantage

ously with their own peculiar circumstances.

This much,

however, is applicable to all let the food be prepared and presented to the animals in as cleanly and palatable condition

6

as possible. There is perhaps almost as much in “ good cook ing " for cattle as in “good cooking ” for human beings. Depend upon it, the animals,

HARY

Fig . 127. - Root-washer.

be they mere calves or old cattle, will nips, potatoes, and other kinds of roots.

amply repay in increased progress any The roots are put into the hopper, and extra care required in presenting their by turning the cylinder (which is partly food to them in a cleanly, inviting, and immersedin water) they are effectually wholesome condition .

washed ; and by simply reversing the

Washing Roots . — Dirty roots should motion, the Archimedean screw delivers never be placed before cattle, either cut them at once into the basket. Large

or uncut. Very often turnips literally sizes are made for turnips and mangels. covered with mud are given to cattle ;

Frozen Roots.

It is very unwise to

yet a little consideration might surely give frozen turnips to cattle. The ani lead the cattle-man to see that it must be mals get chilled eating the cold roots, bad forthe animals to have to eat dirty and the temperature of thebody becomes food.

In a little dry earth there may be so much lowered that there must be con

no harm , but the filth on roots is more siderable waste of food or of condition in

frequently in the form of wet muddy the animal in raising it to the normal earth, which is well known to have a ten- degree. A speedy way of thawing tur dency to cause scouring, and thus seri- nips is to steep them in a pond or tank ously retard the progress of the animals. of cold water . But here, as in many

If, therefore, by unseasonable storing other cases, prevention is better than cure. Timely storing prevents the neces

and carting, or by any other means, tur-

nips should become very wet and muddy, sity of having to use frozen roots.

1

PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR CATTLE .

329

Cutting Turnips. — Young cattle and

Pulping. The pulping system consists in this. roots, and should never be expected to The rootsare cut by machines into pulp do so . Fully grown cattle can quite or small chips, and mixed with cut straw ,

sheep, with tender, imperfectly developed teeth, cannot comfortably consume uncut

well eat whole roots; yet even with these chaff, or other fodder, and this mixture is

it is desirable, in all cases where practicable, to have theroots cut beforebeing given to them . The slicing is the most common method of cutting turnips for cattle. The slices, as a rule, vary from a half to three-fourths of an inch in thickIt is bad practice to slice more ness .

given to cattle either with or without the addition of crushed cake, meal, or other concentrated food, according to the class and condition of animals receiving it. Economy of Pulping . — The pulping

system is an outcome of an enforced

desire to economise costly roots. That turnips at one time than can be used im- it does so has been proved beyond doubt, mediately. In the juice which exudes To be sure it increases the cost of labour

from the cut surface nutritive matter somewhat, and on this account it has passes away, and if the slices lie even for lately been argued that the pulping sys

a few hours they become withered and tem should be discouraged , and that the unpalatable to the cattle.

For every animals themselves should be left to do

meal, therefore, a fresh supply should be the work that is now done for them by

pulping.

sliced .

This, however, is superficial

Turnip - cutting machines are almost reasoning. The subject demands deeper innumerable. The barrel and disc forms consideration than is here indicated . are in general use throughout the coun- The real question to determine is not try, and they both do excellent work . merely whether pulping increases the

One of the best known is Samuelson & labour bill or outlays of any kind, but Co.'s Gardner's cylindrical cutter, shown whether it enables the farmer to turn in fig. 81. Fig. 128 represents an excel- his roots, straw , and chaff to better ac

VINSAMEMUUD CE

RI

count — in short, whether it is more profitable than the older method of giving the roots by themselves whole

or sliced. For the pulping system may be more costly and yet more profitable. Experience has proved it to be both ; and, as would therefore be expected, it is now practised very extensively through

IG

out the country.

A common expression

amongst farmers who have pursued the pulping system is that it makes their roots “go a great deal further than under the old method. That means that by this system they have been able either to curtail the extent of their risky and

costly root crop, or maintain a larger stock of cattle, or perhaps part of both. Economises Fodder. — Another great virtue in the pulping system lies in the lent combined cutter made by Bamford fact that in the sweetly flavoured heap Fig. 128. - Combined pulper, slicer, and finger piece cutter.

& Sons, Uttoxeter.

It is of the disc of pulped roots cattle readily consume,

form , and is made so that by it roots and thrive well upon, fodder such as

may be pulped , sliced, or cut into " finger- chaff, which they would not willingly pieces," as desired. There are large turnip -slicers for driv-

eat by itself. If judiciously and time ously allocated, every particle of the

ing with horse, steam , or water power ; pulped mixture will be consumed by the and in very many cases the old -fashioned animals, and it thus at once becomes

hand-lever slicers, with some modern im- evident that the pulping system is an provements, are still in use .

excellent economiser of fodder as well as

330

CATTLE IN WINTER .

of roots. By it no particle of wholesome be said the absolute necessity, if profit

straw , chaff, or hayneed be wasted, and able stock -feeding is desired — of giving every practical farmer will readily under- turnips to cattle, not in large quantities stand the advantage of this.

as the sole or main food as in former

Turnips as Cattle Food. — It has times, butin moderate quantities, along long ago been proved to demonstration with a judicious mixture of other drier that turnips in large quantities, such as and more concentrated foods. were usually given before the introducOn behalf of turnips it is contended

tion of the pulping system and other that their succulent character renders improved methods of feeding, are both them a useful and correcting accompani

costly and unprofitable food for cattle. ment of the hard and dry food such They are much more so now than ever, as hay, straw , and grain , which are for through insect and fungoid attacks, usually given to cattlein winter. It is

and the land becoming tired or “ sick " argued that turnips are a serviceable of turnips as it were, the cultivation of substitute for the fresh succulent grasses the crop is now attended with greater upon which stock subsist during sum risks than prior to 1870. It has been mer. No doubt they are so to some

shown in the analyses of turnips that extent, if used within moderate limits.

they contain only a very small propor- But on the other hand, it is asserted tion - barely 10 per cent — of dry or solid that, merely as the source of this nec nutritive matter; and that as much as essary amount of succulent matter for

from 90 per cent of the bulb is made up of water. Now it becomes quite obvious that where turnips form a large proportion of the food of cattle, the

winter feeding, turnips are by far too costly. Indeed scientific men have con tended that “ as the water in a turnip is just the same as that out of the pump,

animals must swallow an excessive and it would be far better — far cheaper and

unnecessary quantity of water before quite as effective to give the solid food

obtaining in the watery roots a suffi- in other forms diluted with water. ciency of dry, solid , and nutritive food. Practical farmers ara slow to swallow

Cattle undoubtedly require a consider this doctrine in its entirety. They cling able quantity of water in some form or other, for water enters largely into the composition of their frames. Still the proportion of water in roots is far be-

to the belief, perhaps with some little justification, that there is in the sweetly flavoured juice of the watery turnips

some peculiar virtue not possessed by

yond the requirements of the animal, the " pump water.” Nevertheless it is and the absorbing of an excessive quan- most desirable that farmers should have

tity of cold water is positively detri- enforced upon their attention the true mental to the progress offattening cattle, character of the turnip as an article of

besides being wasteful of valuable food food, so that it may be used in more constituents.

moderate quantities, and with greater

Let it ever be remembered by farmers care and better judgment than in former that in fattening or rearing stock a cer- times.

tain portion ofthe food is required for Nutrition in Dry and Green Food . the mere purpose of maintaining the -In this connection it will be interest

heat of the animal. Anything, there- ing to read the evidence of a recognised fore, which lowers the temperature of American authority, Professor Sanborn, the animal's body, be it exposure to in- as to the relative feeding value of green

clement weather, or a bellyful of cold and dry food. He refers particularly to water or of raw , cold, watery roots,

silage, but his remarks are equally appli

causes loss to the feeder, by the greater cable to roots. Two extracts run thus : quantity of heat-giving food which the “ 1. Is green food more nutritious

animal must consume to enable it to than dry food ? Out of the abundance raise the depressed temperature of its of critical data so far gained there are body, and torepair the unduly increased none at my command that show any waste of tissue which the abnormal material difference, while a cloud of

lowering of temperature had occasioned . trials witness to their practical equality, Hence the importance — it should rather and to the lessened value of the green food

PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR CATTLE.

in winter when fed in large quantities. For four years I fed the various root crops in weighed rations, and weighed cattle, milk, and butter, and found that

331

Clarke described it as “ decidedly a fine thing for the arable farmer who may have been wastefully expending large quantities of straw in litter - a large por

a pound of digestible organic matter in tion being now saved for use as food.” roots had no more value, if as much, than He adds : “ There is economy of food ; for the roots, being pulped and mixed with “ 2. “ Cattle need green food in winter.' the chaff, render the whole mass of cut It is said to aid digestion, &c., &c., when stuff very palatable to the animals, no fed in winter with dry food. It can part of the cut hay or straw , or of the only be said, as under No. 1, that this chaff from the threshing-machine, being popular view conflicts with the facts rejected. The animals are not able to ascertained to date, both at home and separate the chaff from the pulped roots, abroad. By many weighings, I find that as is the case when the roots are merely 3 pounds of water is all our American sliced by the common cutter ; neither do cattle care to drink in winter for each they waste the fodder, as when given

the same in hay and meal, or hay alone.

pound of organic matter eaten. Succu- without being cut. We can thus utilise lent food forces stock to warm up a

mean and inferior hay or straw.

After

double portion of water to blood -heat, being mixed with the pulp for about and to vaporise from lungs and skin an twelve hours, a fermentation commences,

extra amount at a great tax for nothing, and this soon renders the most mouldy as is well known. But of course a full hay palatable, and the animals eat with ration of green food need not and should avidity that which they would otherwise not be fed alone.” 1 reject. This fermentation to some ex Proportions of Foods. — The con- tent, I believe, softens the straw , putting cluding sentence in the above extract it in a state to be assimilated more

touches the kernel of the whole question. rapidly. The pulper is of great value, Certainly " a full ration of green food particularly upon corn farms, where need not and should not be fed alone.” large crops of straw are grown , and What is it to be fed with ? What should where there is a limited acreage of pas

be the proportion of the green food and ture, as by its use a larger proportion of of its accompaniment ? Herein lies the the pastures may be grazed, the expen

secret of the science of cattle -feeding. sive process of haymaking reduced,and In detailing various methods of feeding consequently an increased number of

pursued by successful farmers, which cattle kept. The accident of choking tions— certain quantities of green and hove is less frequent than under the

shall be done presently, certain propor- with large pieces of root is avoided, and

dry food — will be stated. Here, in con- sliced -root system .” 2 nection with the consideration of the Mr Thomas Duckham , M.P., Baysham

pulping system , it may be said that the Court, Roos, Hereford , relates similar introduction of that system has done experience of the merits of pulping, and

much good by demonstrating to farmers . adds: “ Choking is utterly impossible ; that the former practice of giving cattle and I have only had one case of hove in wasteful and unprofitable , and that a mixture had not fermented . There is new and much more excellent way of an advantage in mixing the meal with rearing and feeding stock has been the chaff and pulped roots for fattening opened up for them . animals, as thereby they cannot separate

all they could eat of watery turnips was three years, and that occurred when the

Evidence in favour of Pulping.- it, and the moisture from the fermenta There is at hand an abundance of evi-

tion softens the meal and ensures its

dence showing the benefits of the pulp- thorough digestion, whereas when given ing system , but the practice has become in a dry state without any mixture, fre so well established that there is no need quently a great portion passes away in to produce all that could be said in its the manure." favour.

The late Mr John Algernon

1 Farmers' Review , Chicago, June 15, 1887.

Mr Thomas Buttar, Corston, Coupar 2 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., xiv. 242.

CATTLE IN WINTER .

332

Angus, placed the pulpingsystem upon pose, as already explained. It may be its trial alongside the old method of driven either by the hand, or by horse, sliced roots, and the results were so steam , or water power, according to the

decidedly in favour of the former that he extent of the farmer's operations. The has since used the pulper persistently machine shown in fig. 128 is devised so and extensively. Mr Buttar found the as to be capable of pulping as well as advantage from the pulping system was slicing roots. A very good pulper is that

more marked in rearing store cattle than represented in fig. 129, made by Wood in fattening. See Mr Buttar's notes on roffe & Co., Rugeley. his system of fattening cattle in winter. The grain has either to be bruised or

The pulping system has been pursued ground into meal.

In former times it

with great advantage in the rearing and was no uncommon thing for farmers to feeding of sheep, as well as in the case of give whole grain to cattle as well as to cattle. horses; but in both cases the practice is Preparing Pulped Mixtures. The bad, and leads to great wasteof valuable pulping process is very simple. The food. The animal cannot fully digest pulped mixture should be prepared every and assimilate the grain unless it has day, and allowed to lie from 12 to 24 first been well bruised or ground into

hours before being given to the animals. meal. Implement- makers have lately The fermentation which takes place in given much attention to the devising and this time is entirely beneficial. It softens perfecting of machines for bruising and

the fodder and cake or meal, or what- grinding corn, and there are now in the ever else there may be of dry food,

market many admirable machines or mills

sweetens the whole mass, and renders it of this kind . Fig. 130 represents a mod not only more pleasant to the palate of

the animal, but also more easilydigested and assimilated than if the roots and dry

food had been given separately. Never on any account allow the pulped mixture to lie so long as to become mouldy or sour. If made the one day and con sumed the next the mixture should with

ordinary care be in good condition for using.

The principalingredients in the pulped mixture will, of course, be turnips and

fodder ; but there will also most likely be

some crushed cake, maize-meal, or bruised Fig. 130.- The “ Union " bruising and

grinding mill .

ern and very ingenious mill which has

been brought outby R. G. Morton, Errol, and which, like a certain historical article of furniture, “contrives a double debt to

pay,” for it either crushes flat or grinds into meal, as may be desired , doing both

perfectly and with great rapidity.

The fodder maybe of straw or hay or Fig. 129. - Root- pulper.

chaff. As shown in a previous section, all these possess useful feeding proper

grain, with a sprinkling of salt, and per- ties, which are in this system utilised to haps a small quantity of dissolved treacle the fullest extent. The straw and hay sprayed over the heap. The turnips are have to be cut into short pieces by

pulped by a machine made for the pur- specially designed machines called chaff

PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR CATTLE.

333

cutters. Fig. 131 represents one of the intention being, say, to mix in the fore best of these very useful machines, made noon the entire quantity required for the cattle next day. Clean a portion by Richmond & Chandler, Manchester. The cake has to be broken into small of the floor in the food -preparing com

pieces, and there are several excellent partment, and begin by laying down a layer of the cut fodder ; follow with

layers of pulped roots, meal, or cake,

nal

or both, as the case may be, and repeat layers in this order till the heap is com plete, sprinkling a handful of salt now and again , and pouring the treacle-water

over all, or amongst the layers now and again, as may be thought best. Then ACNINE.CO

Fig. 131. - Chaff -cutter.

machines for this purpose, driven by hand or other power. See fig. 85. Motive Power in Preparing Food . - These food -preparing appliances, as already indicated,are sometimes driven by hand-power, and sometimes by other agencies. Where there is a water-sup-

turn the entire heap over three or four times, taking care to have the various ingredients thoroughly intermixed . Let it lie still now till next morning, when the first meal will be taken from it.

In Mr Buttar's case, already referred to, “ the pulped mixture is made up each forenoon, and allowed to lie till

next day before being used. A layer of straw is laid down first, then turnips,

then cake, and, lastly, the diluted treacle. The heap is at once turned over three times, and then left untouched till close

ply, the providing of the motive power on, but never more than, twenty -four is a simple and inexpensive matter ; hours.

In two hours, two men and a

it may be taken by a shaft from the boy make up a mixture for a day's feed mill-wheel. Where steam is the motor,

for over 120 head of cattle.

The pulp

Where ing and bruising apparatuses are driven there is no water, horse-gear is usually from the turbine -wheel of the thresh

moderate cost is unavoidable.

preferred to steam , as being better ing -mill, so that there is no extra cost .

adapted to moderate holdings. Several for the motive power.”‫ ܙܙ‬1‫ܠܐ‬ very convenient forms of horse-gear

In many cases for store cattle no cake

have been brought out— some for one, or meal is added to the pulped mixture ; and others for two or more horses.

and, in regard to fattening stock, it is often found desirable to give only a portion of the more concentrated food, such as cake and grain ,along

with the pulped roots and chaffed fodder, the other portion being retained to be given by itself. Many animals will be found to Fig. 132. - Horse-gear.

appreciate this arrangement, and it is well to humour them .

Then ,

Fig. 132 represents a very useful form of in determining the proportion of cut horse-gear, made by Richmond & Chan- fodder to be introduced into the mix ture, it is important to bear in mind Method of Mixing . – Now , when the that it is necessary to give an allow

dler.

roots have been pulped, the fodder cut ance of long straw or hay as well, for

into chaff, the cake broken into small cattle require bulky food to suit their pieces, and the grain bruised or ground digestive system .

into meal, the mixing of the “ pulped mixture "

Food - preparing Compartment .

may proceed. The total and Where pulping, or any of the other

the relative quantities of each ingredient will have been arranged beforehand, the

1 Trans. High. Agric. Soc., xiii. 4th ser .,

1881.

334

CATTLE IN WINTER .

modern systems of feeding are pursued, dropped through hoppers into the apart it is found convenient to have a food- ment below, where the mixing of the preparing compartment adjoining, or food takes place. This system is, of part of, the turnip - store. Adjoining course, subject to many variations and this also, or in the same house practi- modifications in detail, in accordance cally, should be the cake and meal com- with the peculiarities of different stead

partments. A handy arrangement is to ings, and the extent of the holding. have the cake and meal stores on a The chief points to be aimed at, are

floor right over the food preparing com- convenience and the saving of labour, partment. In this floor the cake-breaker these two terms being, in this connection

and grinding orbruising mill are situated, mainly, but not entirely, synonymous. as also the chaff-cutter; and the broken Fig. 133 represents one of many excel cake, cut fodder, and bruised grain are lent and convenient food-preparing sets

IL CAK

GRINDING MILL

SALAKER

STLIWUNCIL

STEAMINC PANS

ROOTPILPER

ECHAFF CUTTER KARE

Fig. 133. - Steam food -preparing machinery.

erected in farm -steadings, by Barford & farmers have found that the flow of milk Perkins, Peterborough . Provision is also is increased by the high temperature of

made in this set for steaming the food. the cooked food . “ They say that Fife The small vertical engine is fixed in shire does not suit dairying, but I suspect an outhouse or lean -to ,and in addition to driving the grinding - mill, oilcake-, breaker, root - pulper, and chaff-cutter, &c. , it supplies steam to the two steam-

it is that Fifeshire farmers do not know how to conduct it. Why, they do not even know how to feed their cows .

They give them raw turnips and straw ;

ing-pans, one of which is used for roots, and just think of that for cows giving chaff, &c., and the other for boiling milk .” The speaker was an Ayrshire milk or compounds. The cost of a farmer's daughter, who had been resid complete set of this kind is rather less ing for a time in Fifeshire, and was

than £150. shocked to see the careless manner in which the farmers in " the Kingdom " Cooking or Steaming. And how do attended to their cows. The cooking or steaming system of you feed your cows in Ayrshire ? "

preparing food for cattle is gaining in “ Well, we steam it, and give it to them favour in certain districts of the country,

warm .

Cold food, likea cold day, is bad

and is losing ground in others. It was for milking-cows. milking-cows." Who that has had at one time practised to a considerable anything to do with cows, has not ob

extent in fattening cattle ; but for this served a sudden falling off in the yield purpose the pulping system , and other of milk , as the unfailing result of the economical methods of feeding, have cows being exposed on a cold , wet, or superseded it. In dairying districts, stormy day ? Professor Primrose M'Connell says, “ It however, the cooking system is extensively pursued . has been proved over and over again as

Beneficial for Dairy Cows. — Dairy the result of direct experiment and gen

PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR CATTLE.

335

eral practice, that cold food retards the and grain and dry fodder. Apparatuses flow of milk, while if it iswarmedit pro- for steaming food for stock have been motes it.” 1 ' And Mr Gilbert Murray, brought out by several leading firms, Elvaston Castle, Derby, states that "by and fig. 134 represents a safe, economical, far the best method of using home- and durable apparatus, made by Rich

grown cereals, is to steam or cook the mond & Chandler, Manchester. be done grain .” “ This,” he adds, Where a steam -engine is used in work can

at a trifling cost, rendering the food ing the threshing-mill, arrangements may more nutritive, and entailing less exer- bemade for utilising the steam in cook tion on the organs of digestion and as- ing food for stock.

similation. ” 2 Mr George Bryer, Mark eaton Park, near Derby, winner of the

Royal Agricultural Society's first prize

Chaff-cutting It has been well proved in practical

in the Large Dairy Farm Competition experience that hay and straw are econo in 1881, pursued the steaming system, mised by being cut into short pieces, or and the judges speak well of it, remark- chopped, as it is generally termed. In ing that “ the steaming renders damaged the short condition fodder is not so liable hay palatable , obviates any danger from to be wasted by the animals to which it dust, and kills the seeds of all weeds that might be in the fodder." 3 Method of Cooking Food . — On a

small or moderate scale food may be cooked for cows either by being boiled

over a fire, or by hot water beingpoured over it. Steaming or cooking boilers are frequently built in a corner of the food preparing compartment or other conveni ent division of the steading. The food is usually cooked in the form of a mix

ture, consisting most probably of a few turnips, cut straw or hay, and chaff, a

little grain , or perhaps the “ shorts " or " tails " from the corn -dressing machine.

Fig. 135.-- Chaff-cutter.

Some boil it and give it to the cows

moist and warm . Many, however, prefer is given as food, as when it is put before them in its natural length. On the score of economy, therefore, chaff-cutting is to be commended, while it has the further advantage of rendering hay and straw more suitable for mixing with linseed

gruel, warm mashes, or with meal, cake, பபாாபா THE AREBUTTO

DES

Fig. 134. - Food -steaming apparatus.

and roots, as in the pulping system . Modern chaff - cutters accomplish their work most admirably, and it is wonder ful how long some of them withstand the great tear and wear they undergo. See fig. 131 . Another excellent chaff cutter, made by John Crowley & Co.,

simply heating the food by pouring hot Meadowhall Ironworks, near Sheffield, is water over it and giving it in a wet represented in fig. 135 . Highland and Agricultural So “ sloppy ” condition— this warm mash, as it is called in some parts, being alter- ciety's Trials of Chaff- cutters. — At nated with other foods, such as cake the Highland Show at Glasgow in July 1 Trans. High. Agric. Soc., xix ., 4th ser. , 1887.

1888, a prize of £ 25 was offered for “ the best combination ofmachinery for cutting

2 Live Stock Jour. Almanac, 1886 . 3 Jour. Ro Agric. Soc. Eng ., xvii. 479.

dinary threshing -machine, and transport

chaff as the straw is delivered from or

CATTLE IN WINTER .

336

ing by blower or otherwise the cut chaff bagging chaff- cutter, fitted with auto for storage in bulk or in bags.” Four matic feeder, and £10 for his patent competing machines were tested in con- portable combined sifting and bagging nection with a threshing machine at the chaff-cutter, which is similar to the other, farmof Bellahouston, near Glasgow, and but adapted for hand- feeding. The the judges divided the prizes between judges, in their official report, remark

two machines entered by Robert May- that the former machine, which is re

nard, Whittlesford, Cambridge- £ 15 for presented in fig. 136 ,is " simple in con his patent portable combined sifting and struction, and admirably adapted for the

CHAFF

CHAFF

Fig. 136.-Self-feeding chaff-cutter.

purposes required ."

As to the latter, raw grain, perhaps even whole grains,

they say it is “also a machine of great pass through the animals and become merit .” Bruising Grain . The importance of having all kinds of grain bruised flat or ground into meal before being given as food to stock , has already been pointed out. More care is now exercised in this matter than in for-

mer times ; still it is only too true that even yet farmers not unfrequently permit the feeding of whole grain, especially to

wasted in the manure-heap. Farmers may have their grain bruised

or ground for stock -feeding at any of the country meal-mills ; or, which is much better, they may have it done at the steading by one of the many first-class little mills now made for the special purpose . About a dozen leading firms have given careful attention during the past two years to the perfecting of grist mills for farmers, and they have succeeded

It is a very wasteful practice, so well that their mills leave little to be and should not be pursued on any ac- desired in their working. In the im

horses.

count. This for the simple and sufficient proved modern grinding -mills the stone reason that the raw grain overtaxes the has been supplanted by metal plates, animal's organs of digestion and assim- which can be replaced at will, and which ilation , and that therefore a portion of render the mill more serviceable.

A

valuable nutritive matter supplied in the combined bruising and grinding mill is

PREPARATION OF FOOD FOR CATTLE.

337

represented in fig. 130. One of the best Cake-breaking.

known grist-mills, with metal grinding

For all kinds of stock , cake, as ob surfaces , is the Royal First Prize Mill, which has long been made by Barford tained from the makers, has to be broken into small pieces. Where only very small quantities are used, a hammer is made to do the work ; but, except in these few cases, the cake-breakinghas to be done by machines, which may be driven by

hand or by other power. Fig. 85 repre sents a machine for this purpose . Recapitulation.

Since the foregoing was put in type, a valuable paper upon the preparation of food for stock has been published . Mr H. F. Moore, Frome, Somerset, sent a

Fig. 137. — Corn -grinding mill.

series of leading country, perience

questions to about two hundred stock - owners throughout the asking them to give their ex and practice as to ( 1) chaffing,

( 2 ) mixing, (3) cooking, and (4) steaming

foods. The replies are printed at con intelligent summary Mr Moore states the conclusions that may be arrived at from

and this has to be supplied by steam ,

the investigation.

water, or horses. A wonderfully service-

( 1) There is a general consensus of opinion in favour of chaffingfoods. No

MELILLA

& Perkins, Peterborough, and which is illustrated in fig. 137. As would be expected, grist -mills require considerable power to work them ,

siderable length, and in a concise and

less than 70 per cent show chaffing to be adopted, while in 20 per cent more it is

L

partially adopted, and in 10 per cent only is the answer in the negative." Reference is made to the utilising of straw as food and using moss-litter for

bedding, a practice pursued by forty -six of the two hundred correspondents,who indicate that “there is a saving of 55 per cent in the cost of moss- litter as com

pared with the value of straw . ”

(2 ) The replies are entirely in favour of mixing foods; but Mr Moore has found it impossible to evolve any very general rules as to what the mixture should be.

(3 and 4) Experienceand opinion have

.

varied greatly as to cooked and steamed foods. Sir John Bennett Lawes points

to recent experiments at Popplesdorf, which showed that the digestibility of hay was decreased by steaming, and he adds that the digestibility of concen able little flour or grist mill for hand- trated fodder is not increased by cook Fig. 138. - Handflour or grist mill.

power has lately been brought out by R. ing.

Still, several of the correspond

A. Lister & Co., Dursley,Gloucestershire ents refer to certain practical advantages —fig. 138. It can be worked by one man or two women, means being provided for attaching a second handle. VOL. I.

1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng., xxiv ., sec. ser ., 447. Y

E

CATTL

338

ER . IN WINT

in cooking and steaming - such as the ulate these variations are, the class or avoidanceof waste by making the most breed of cows, the purposes for which

of the foods so prepared, and by the they are kept, the locality, and general more thorough incorporation of the systems of farming pursued. As would various mixtures employed ; in the re- be expected , where dairying is the sole storing of damaged hay, and making it or dominant feature in the system of

more palatable for stock ; and for aged farming, the cows are fed and managed or young cattle with defective teeth .

differently from what they are in mixed

Reference was made by several farmers farming, where cows arekept chieflyto to the tendency of cooked and steamed breed and rear calves, and provide milk.

food to impair the hardiness of animals ;

and butter to the farmer's household

and some gave “ a very decided opinion Again, even within the limits of dairying that animals that have been fed with itself, there are distinctive conditions cooked or steamed food in covered yards which induce different methods of feed ing. Where the main object is the do badly afterwards when grazing."

In connection with this point, atten- production of milk for disposal as milk, tion may be directed to the advantages the feeding differs — unfortunately, some claimed for warm food in the feeding of times differs too much for the quality of cows giving milk . See “ Winter Feeding the milk — from that considered best for of Cows."

butter - production.

Then surrounding

circumstances, such as the varieties of food which may

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

be most easily and most

cheaply grown or procured, also tend to regulate and modify the systems of feed

In describing the various systems of ing ; while it is well known that food feeding cattle,it will be convenient to which does well with one lot of cows is deal separately with the different classes often less acceptable and profitable as of stock .

At the beginning of winter,

food for others. Thus it becomes mani

then, there are in houses, to be fed by fest that there are good reasons for great the cattle-man : ( 1 ) cows in calf - most variations in the systems of feeding of them still giving milk , and some dry,

COWS.

or almost so, according to the date of

Regulating Food by Yield of Milk .

their next calving ; (2 ) young store cattle

– There are few points of greater import

to be kept in good growing condition ; ance in connection with the management maintaining the and ( 3) cattle from 18 months to 3 years of cows than that of the allowance of

old to be fattened - some in good con- proper relation between

dition, and intended to be sold at the food and the production of milk. Un Christmas markets, when beef is generally fortunately it is very imperfectly under

at a high price, and others only just be stood ; and it is desireable that, before go to the “ pole -axe " as they get fat, or methods of feeding cows, we should earn reader to carefully as the tone of the markets may suggestestly commend thelate, our ginning tobe fattened, and intended to proceeding to describe any particular

between January and June. Calf-rearing is more fully identified with Spring, so that consideration of it may be conveniently left for that division.

peruse, and contemp

and endeav

to bear in mind, the following remarks which Sir John Bennett Lawes, Bart., made upon this subject at the Dublin

There are many calves dropped during Dairy Conference in April 1886. Sir winter - more now than formerly — but it John was describing an experiment will be easy to look ahead and see what which he had been conductingat Roth is said upon “ Calf-rearing ” in the Spring amsted, upon silage and mangels as food portion of this work.

for dairy cows, and he says: " When so much of our attention was directed to the

weighing of the food and milk, we thought that the opportunity should be taken to In the winter feeding and general ascertain whether a considerable saving treatment of cows practice varies greatly. might not be effected in the more costly WINTER FEEDING OF COWS.

The conditions which most largely reg- foodsby regulating the amount each week

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING .

339

to the yield of milk of the previous week. dryness, there is far more scope for In every large dairy there will be newly economy in the feeding of a milking calved cows coming in which may yield,

cow than there is in the fattening of a

possibly, 5 gallons of milk per day, while bullock . ” others,which may be coming nearly dry, Home-grown and Purchased Foods. 1

may not be yielding more than 72 a gal -A prize of £ 25 , offered in 1887 by lon. From an estimate of the composi- Lord Vernon for the best report on tion of milk, we calculated that it would

“ How to make the most of Home-grown

require nearly the whole of the 4 lb. of Produce by the Addition of Purchased cake and 4 lb. of bran to furnish thein- Food ,” brought out some very useful in

gredients contained in 3 gallons of milk . formation. The successful report, written Such being the case, we decided that while each cow yielding 3gallons of milk per day should receive 4 lb. of cake and 4 lb. of bran, 14 lb. of each of these foods should be added or taken off for

by Mr G. H. C. Wright, Sigglesthorne Hall, Hull, appears in the Journal of the British Dairy Farmers' Association, vol. iv., part 1 , 1888. Mr Wright is strongly in favour of the use of purchased foods

each rise or fall of 2 lb. of milk. By this means, a cow which yielded only 2 gallons instead of 3 would have 114 lb. less food - or, altogether, only 234 lb. of

considers that, notwithstanding the fall

along with home- grown produce, and in the price of beef, cakes, which are cheaper now than in the memory of man ,

each food ; while a cow which yielded 4 are more than ever a profitable invest gallons would receive 5 % lb. of each ment. He regards linseed -cake, or cot food. ton -cake, bran , rice, or brewers' grains, as “For the last two years the whole of the most useful artificial food for cows. Mr Wright urges the importance of 50 to 60 cows, has been weighed daily ; keeping in view the difference in the and the purchased food has been regu- weight of cows in arranging the quanti the milk and foods of our dairy, of from

lated in accordance to the yield of the ties of food for each animal.

To a cow

milk in the way I have mentioned . The weighing 100 stones he would give ex mass of figures accumulated is exceedingly actly twice as much as to one of 50 large, and no attempt has been made at stones, and to one of 70 stones two

present to prepare them for publication. thirds of the quantity allowed to the 100 There is, however, evidence of a very stone cow. He states the following as

considerable saving of food having been effected ; and it could hardly be otherwise, when we consider the vast differences in the yield of milk in different

the proportions of the different elements of food required by a cow weighing 70 stones : 2.50 albuminoids, 12.5 carbo hydrates, and .40 lb. fat ; and for a 50

cows, and the large amount of nutritive stone cow, 2 lb. albuminoids, 10 lb. carbo .30 lb. fat. The foods

ingredients in the milk itself.

hydrates, and

“ A practical farmer cannot be ex- which have given the best results in milk,

pected to weigh all his milk and food butter, fat, or beef, are those which great trouble, adopt some scale by which 5 or 5-5 - that is, 1 part of nitrogenous his more costly foods could be used with to 5 or572 partsof non-nitrogenous com day by day ; still he might, without any show an albuminoid ratio of about i to

economy. The engine - driver regulates his fuel to the work done by his engine: why should not the farmer regulate the food of his cow by its yield of milk ? In these times of severe competition and low prices, more accurate methods of feeding must be introduced ; and each pound of food given to our stock must be made to

pounds. And Mr Wright also mentions that experiments and practice have shown that cattle consuming 12 lb. of dry matter per 100 lb. of live weight per week, will give 1 lb. of increase for that 12 lb. An interesting feature in Mr Wright's

report are two tables of rations showing the summer and winter feeding of a cow

do its full amount of work. Owing to of 1400 lb. live weight, ( 1) where no pur the large amount of nitrogenous matter chased foods are used, and (2)where pur in milk, and the fluctuation which neces- chased foods are employed. These tables sarily takes place in the yield of each are produced here, and it will be seen

cow ,from the time of calving to that of thatthe figures work out strongly in

CATTLE IN WINTER .

340

favour of purchasing and using artificial further advantage of being able, with the foods along with the home- grown pro- help of the artificial food, which is in duce. In cost there is a balance of itself a profitable investment, to main £1 , 48. id. per cow in 44 weeks in favour tain a larger stock of cattle upon the of the artificial food, while there is the farm : TABLE I.

SUMMER KEEP OF A COW WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL FOOD. Length of time.

Food per day.

weeks.

Turnips.

Dry matter,

Meal.

Straw .

Cost .

per day .

tons. tons cwt. tons 12

...

...

24

cwt. tons cwt. qrs.

...

...

...

Manurial value.

Net cost.

£ s.

A s.

d.

£ s.

1b .

...

24

...

12 stones grass

Hay and

Grass. Chopped

з3 100

...

d.

No

d .)

з 10 о

allow ance .

3 lb. meal..

4 2 131

0

...

I 10 0 0 67

1 3 5

At ros ,

per stone. 413 5 WINTER KEEP OF A COW WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL FOOD. 1

...

20

...

2 stones hay (mea dow and clover)

15

2 12 3

4 7 9

1314 2 12 6 015 9

I 16 9

I 5 0 0 5 3

0 19 9

7

0

0

at £4 per ton . ...

20

...

2 cwt. roots

3

IO

at 158.

per ton .

3 lb. meal .

20

o

3

3

WHEN DRY. ...

o 8 I

...

4

...

12

...

2

IO

...

12

o

...

52

17

O

Total .

o

...

8

II 17 8

...

Acreage required. 50 cows will therefore con . 600

sume 11

11

11

11

60 acres 20 12

22

O

170 acres . 200

130 0

11

O

14

74

...

11

1 The dry matter contained in Cakes and Corn is about f of the total weight. 11 11 11 Mangels 11 11 12 White Turnips 11

11

Hay

10

11

[ TABLE II .

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

341

TABLE II.

SUMMER KEEP OF A Cow USING ARTIFICIAL Food . and Length Grass. Hay Chopped

Food per day.

of tiine.

Artificial

Turnips .

. qrs

. cwt ...

...

12

...

tons.

24

...

weeks.

12 stones grass

Cost .

Food.

Straw .

tons cwt. qrs. £ 8.

d.

3 10 0

Manurial value .

Net cost.

£ s . d.

£ s.

No allow .

d.

3 10 0

ance .

24

...

3 lb. cotton -cake (unde.

o

2

4

I

2 6 0 14 6

o 8 0

at 25

corticated ).

per ton . 3 18 0 WINTER KEEP OF A COW USING ARTIFICIAL FOOD . 20

20

...

- stone hay (meadow and clover ).

013 010 3 8

...

I 15 0013 ....

20

o 8 3 at 67 per ton . o 8.3

...

4 stone straw

0 17 2 at 158. per ton .

...

094

I

2

O

stone roots

17 6 0 4 9

0 12 9

0 19 0013 3

o 5 9

4 16 3 0 10 6

4 5 9

o 0

at £2 per ton . ...

...

...

20

...

3 lb. rice -meal and decor. ticated cotton - cake.

0 3

3

at

£ 5, 28. 6d. per ton . ...

...

I stone brewers' grains or silage ad lib.

20

o 17

2

at

£5, Ios. per ton .

WHEN DRY.

...

...

...

...

...

I 17 2 1 7 2

...

12

...

52

Total

0 17 0 O IO O

...

8

10 13 7

Acreage required .

50 cows will therefore consume .

600

60

68 15 0

11 11

93 15 o

472 55

acres 11

}1193

119 % acres.

Warm Mashes. — Professor Primrose contract to supply specially rich milk, M'Connell, Ongar Park Hall, Ongar, and to ensure this he gives a more liberal

Essex, already quoted as an advocate of allowance of rich food than is given by “ cooked ” or warm food for dairy cows, states that twenty years' experience with “ boiling, " with the experience ofa previous generation superadded — and with

many whose principal business is milk selling. The mash " which he has used mostlargely is composed principally of oat-chaffor chopped straw , bran , bean

results always pre-eminently satisfactory meal, and groundoats, mixed with boil -has confirmed him in his good opinion ing water, and allowed to infuse for from 6 to 12 hours. He gives a bucket ful of this daily to each cow in place of of the Ayrshire breed , and he directs his the usual allowance of turnips, and the attention mainly to the production of proportions of ingredients thus allowed of the " warm mash " as food for dairy COWS . His herd numbers about 70 cows

milk for sale in London. He makes &

to each cow are 4 lb. of chaff or chopped

CATTLE IN WINTER .

342

fodder, 4 lb. of bran, 2 lb. of bean -meal, and the dry mash at Sos. per ton, Pro

2 lb. of ground oats, and 24 lb. of water -total 36 lb. The 12 lb. of solid matter in this mixture costs about 5d . — or nearly £ 4 per ton. About 450 gallons of

fessor M'Connell makes the following comparison as to the relative value of these articles as food for cows : It will be best to take the same equal money

water are required to make a ton of this value of each — that is, one ton of tur dry matter into a sloppy mass suitable nips, two-thirds of a ton of ensilage, and for the cows, and with coals at 158. per one-eighthof a ton of the dry material ton, Professor M'Connell found that

of the mash — and in the absence of direct

the firing required to heat this quantity of water up to boiling-point is under is. , so that the total cost of a ton of mash, plus the warm water, is just about £ 4.”

experiment, take their chemical food

66

equivalents as a basis of calculation. One

ton of swedes contains 89 per cent of water and 11 per cent of solids, or tabu

Mash compared with Turnips and lated, all three will appear thus, taking Silage. — Taking the market value of the valuable ingredients only into ac turnips at ios. per ton, of silage at 159., count : Turnips Silage ( 3 ) Dry mash (78)

Albuminoids.

Fats .

1.4 1.5 1.7

0.20

0.04 0.35

Carbohydrates. 7.1 9.0 4.5

Ash .

0.60 1.60

0.36

“ From these analyses it will be seen ing to cows, warm mash is given once a that the dry material of the mash con- day during one half of the winter, and tains 21 per cent more albuminoids than twice a day during the other half, the the turnips, or 13 per cent more than the cost of heating ( with coals at 155. per ensilage ; or, in other words, the same ton) was only is. 3d . per cow for the moneycan buy 14 tons in the turnips, or whole winter. He adds : Suppose we

15 in the ensilage, and 17 in the mash. double this — surely no one will argue So also 20 tons of fats in the turnips,

that 28. 6d. is a serious item in a cow's

4 in the ensilage, and 35 in the mash, annual cost, which averages, say, £ 20 ." all cost the same. The case is, of course,

It is also pointed out that in the warm

reversed with the carbohydrates; but mashes, by -products, such as chaff of all then these are the least valuable of the kinds, tails, or dressings from grain , three ; two and a half parts being re- overheated or inferior hay which would

quired to equal one of fat for feeding, otherwise be liable to be wasted, may be

while for milk -production they (in theform turned into good and palatable food. of starch, sugar, &c.) have have been shown Wheat, barley, and bean straw , which do to be of very little importance, as it is not make good fodder for cows by them the albuminoids which are used in the selves, are very suitable for the mash body for this purpose . We find this in when chopped . Bean -straw emits a most

practice, and exemplified in the fact that delightful and appetising aroma when maize and other starchy foods do not give good results with cows, so that a

soaked in the hot water.

Mangels and Turnips for Cows.

superabundance of them is not desirable. -In another paper ? Professor M'Connell Taking only the albuminoids and fats into gives additional information as to his

account, therefore, we find the mash is experience and practicein the feeding of 28 per cent better than the turnips, and dairy cows in winter. He conducted an

33 per cent over theensilage, all at the experiment extending over four weeks, same money -value, shilling for shilling ."

with the view of testing the relative

He further points out the advantage value of mangels and turnips as food for of warm food to cows, which has been dairy cows, and he found that, weight explained under the heading of “ Cooked for weight, mangels gave 6 per cent less Food ," p. 334. Replying to the argu- milk and slightly less cream than tur ment that warming the food entails cost, nips. he states that in his case, where, in winter 2 Trans. High. Agric. Soc ., xix ., 4th ser . , 1 Live Stock Jour. Almanac, 1887.

1887.

SluNNNNNO

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING. Winter Rations for Dairy Cows.

In the article last referred to, Professor M'Connell gives the following tables of rations, " taken from some in actual practice by different people, . . . to illustrate

A mixture of cut hay and straw

the winter food of a cow in milk .”

Bran

Bean -meal Ground oats

5 A.M. 7

.

8

11

2 2 2

3 P.M. 6 11

.

5

60

Mr Murray recommends the whole, ex

cepting the hay, to be cooked or steamed,

warm mash . 8 lb. oat - straw .

.

25

Long hay divided into two rations

4 lb. oat-straw 8 lb. hay.

.

12 NOON

2 2

Linseed

2 lb. decorticated cotton - cake . warm mash .

.

Ib. 20

A mixture of wheat and barley-meal Roots

I.

343

mixed with a large quantity of pure

The warm mashes in the above consist water, and fed in a semi-liquid state at each of about 5 lb. chop, 2 lb. ofmeal a temperature of 55° to 60° Fahr. Skim -milk as Food for Cows. In (bean and oat mixed),2 lb.ofbran, the paper just referred to, Mr Gilbert

20 lb. water — all together forming a bucketful. 2.

lb.

Maize-meal

Decorticated cotton -cake Pulped roots . Chop with pulp

4 4 20 IO

Hayad lib. 3.

Murray commends the utilisation of sweet skim -milk as an ingredient of mixed food for dairy cows. He states that in some butter dairies it is difficult to dispose of skim -milk, and that in some instances it

is being returned to the milk -suppliers at 2d. per imperial gallon. “At this price, mixed with other foods, it is cap able, when used in moderate quantities,

Rape -cake

6

of being profitably used as an adjunct to

Malt -combs

1

the food of cows in milk.

Roots Bran

Contrasted

28 2

can be used . ”

(All cooked together.) Hay

with other foods, it is the cheapest that

9

Professor Arnold, a leading American authority, also speaks highly of the value

2

Bean -meal Pease -meal Maize -meal

172 12

Bran

132

Linseed - cake

Chop

of sweet skim -milk as a food for milk

He says : “ All easily di production. gested foods which contribute to the building up of flesh and the framework

I

of the body are especially efficient in

7

stimulating a flow of milk . Among the

18

foods of this kind are cotton -seed meal,

(All mixed with boiling water.)

linseed - meal, bran from the various cereals, and every kind of clover and

Straw - chop Straw ad lib.

every species of peas. These foods influ

5.

ence the quantity of milk by reason of

Cotton - cake undecorticated

Turnips .

150

Hay orstraw ad lib.

the high per cent of albuminous or flesh forming matter they contain. The com

position of skim -milk would entitle it to A Liberal Ration. — Mr Gilbert Mur- be classed with that sort of food, and its ray, Elvaston Castle, Derby, considers use as a milk -producing food proves it

28 lb. of roots per day the “ extreme worthy of the position. Just as flesh limit to a dairy cow in full milk .” He when used as food is perfectly adapted

submits the following asanaverage daily to forming flesh again, the use of milk ration for a cow giving full milkinwin- by milk - giving animals is perfectly ter, which may be regarded as a liberal adapted to reconstruct milk. It is de ration :

cidedly an albuminous product, and con

sequently contributes to swelling the 1 Jour. Brit. Dairy Farm . Ass. , vol. ii., No. 2 , for .

flow .

“ To secure the best results, skim -milk

CATTLE IN WINTER .

344

should be fed in good condition.

Its rience that by using an excessive propor

value is not destroyed by souring, but it tion of weak succulent foods such as is thereby considerably reduced . Sweet brewers' grains, the flow of milk may be skim -milk is believed tobe about 50 per considerably increased, but its quality so cent better than sour milk as cow -feed.

much reduced as to bring it under the

“ It would have a special value for legal standard, and thus expose the seller producing milk for cheese-making, but it tothe risk of punishment. The milk also contributes to making milk rich in sellers, as a rule, therefore, endeavour to butter.

Like all other foods rich in

hit the happy medium .

Some are able

albumen , it does this in an indirect way. to obtain a contract to supply milk of

One source of fat in animal bodies lies in exceptionally high quality , at aspecial the destruction or waste of bodily struc- price, and accordingly they can afford to, ture. The more structure there is built and indeed must, use rich food . But,

up, the more there is to be dissolved for generally speaking, milk -sellersget little the evolution of fat.

Milk , like other

or no benefit by supplying milk of very

albuminous matters, is active in building high quality, and naturally enough — ex up the structure, and hence also in the cept where they pursue the system of production of fat, of which the newly fattening off the cows as they become

formed milk gets a share. Feeding milk dry, when high feeding is necessary , to cows also contributes to the richness they aim at feeding their cows so as to

of their milk by utilising the fat the produce the maximum quantity of milk butter-maker leaves in it - usually from of sufficient quality to reach the required

5 to 10 per cent of the original quantity. standard. To do this, to go as

near

When fed back , cows utilise every atom the wind ” as possible, and yet keep on

of the fat, and in the course of a whole the “ respectable side ” of the standard season it amounts to enough to make line, requires experience and good judg from 25 to 50 lb. of butter, and add to ment. It is highly reprehensible, cer

their product from 10 dols. to 20 dols. tainly, to carry too far the practice of each in a season . “ As a milk -producing food its value is also affected by the quality of the food used with it. Milk is a highly nitrogenous food,and should be fed with those that

feeding for quantity, regardless of the quality of milk; yet it is but natural and reasonable that, within proper limits, milk - sellers, as well as others, should pursue an economical system of feeding

abound in unctuous matters and starch

the most economical food in their case

and sugar, to makeit a part of a properly being that which will at the lowest cost balanced ration. It would not be so effi- produce the maximum quantity with cacious fed in connection with cotton- moderate quality . seed and linseed -meal as corn -meal or Mr H.-A. Howman, Halloughton, fodder corn or sweet ensilage, or with Coleshill, Warwickshire, who from his

most soiling plants except clover, which, two farms sells about 60,000 gallons of like milk, is highly nitrogenous. When given as a part of a well-balanced ration, sweet skim -milk gives about equal results whether fed to good new milch cows or to thrifty calves or young pigs.”

milk annually, states that in his expe rience the best milk-producing foods have been silage, cabbages, roots, vetches, and brewers' grains. He does not believe that such rich artificial foods as linseed

Feeding in Milk -selling Dairies.- cake, cotton -cake, and grain will increase Feeding cows for the production of milk the flow of milk ““ in proportion to their is a subject that demands the most care- cost. ” He tried an experiment on four ful study. It is illegal, and therefore cows in the winter of 1885, with the view

punishable, to sell, or attempt to sell, of testing this point. The cows were milk which does not contain at least 10 being fed with a full supply of the milk per cent of solid matter. In ordinary producing foods just mentioned, and their practice it is found that liberal feeding milk was accurately measured. In addi with rich food is required to raise the tion to the food formerly given , 5 lb. of percentage of solid matter very much meal was given to each cow per day, and above the standard ; and, on the other again the milk was measured twice &

hand, it has been demonstrated in expe- day for a week. The cows put on flesh

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING .

345

rapidly, but they did not gain an ounce placed on hay and mangels, with meal in the quantity of the milk. In this case of barley, and bean or Indian corn, or the cows had no doubt been receiving a decorticated cotton -cake ; and in summer full allowance of food before the meal and autumn of course, both in town and

was given , so that very little increase in country, the dependence is largely on the flow of milk might be expected from clover and vetches and cabbages, in » 2 any kind of food, be it succulent or dry. addition to grains and meal. " Still, the experience of Mr Howman, as Silage and Mangels for Dairy

an extensive milk -seller, upon the econ- Cows. - In the winters of 1884-85 and

omy of cake and meal in milk - produc- 1885-86 Sir John Bennett Lawes, Bart., tion, isworthy of being recorded.

carried out an important and instructive

Mr Howman remarks that as milk series of experiments, mainly with the contains about 88 per cent of water and view of testing the relative merits of 12 per cent of total solids, it seems absurd silage and mangels as food for dairy to give dry food to produce water ! What COWS . Sir John thus describes the ex

dry food the cow requires to sustain life periments and their results : is supplied in sufficient quantity in the “For 3 months we fed 20 cows on milk -producing foods spoken of . clover-silage and 20 cows upon mangels, Brewers' grains are the characteristic the rest of the diet, which consisted of food in milk -selling dairies in or near 4 lb. of decorticated cotton -cake, 4 lb. of towns — indeed wherever they can be bran, and 10 lb. of chaff (half hay, half

reasonably or conveniently obtained. straw ) per day, being given equally to These grains consist of the spent malt the lot. The daily amount allotted to

which has yielded the saccharine extract the 20 cows which received clover-silage was 50 lb., and for those fed on mangels,

from which beer or spirit is obtained.

Mr J. C. Morton says that in town 90 lb. The 50 lb. of silage contained dairies " a bushel or more, sometimes about the same amount of dry food as

go lb. of mangels. two bushels,are given daily to each cow , the 90

The average

besides which she has mangels, hay, and amount of milk yielded per cow by those meal. In fact, the object is, having pur- which received the silage was 25 lb. chased a good shorthorn cow, not only 12 oz. per day, and that of the cows

to stimulate her milk - produce to the which received the mangels, 27 lb. 5 oz.; utmost, which grains are especially sup- they had therefore rather the advantage posed to do, but to feed her so well that of the two lots.

she may begin to lay on flesh as soon as “ The cows were all weighed at the the season of greatest milk -produce be beginning and end of the experiment, gins to decline. A cow which will fat- and the silage cows showed the larger

ten, as well as yield milk abundantly, is increase ; it was also evident to the eye the agent by which the cowman realises that they showed more tendency to fat his profit. She is milked at 4 A.M., re- ten. When the clover was finished , the ceives perhaps 2 or 3 pecks of grains' cows were fed with silage made from

immediatelyafter milking is over ; then meadow -grass, the result being, that al 4 or 5 lb. of hay are given, and after though the milk did not decline, the being cleaned out, she gets at 9 A.M.

cowsbegan to lose weight. As regards

from 20 to 25 lb. of chopped mangels, the quality, both to the eye and the and another 3 or 4 lb of hay. At 1 P.M. taste,the silage milk had the preference ;

the cows are milked again, and again fed but careful analysis showed a slight as much as before, being well watered in superiority in thebutter-fat of the milk

the course of the afternoon. Or, when yielded by the cows fed on the mangels. “ These experiments were carried out

they have meal andoilcake, this is given

3 or 4 lb. a -day, either with mangels or in the winter of 1884-85 , and a second in a gruel over the grains.

year's experience does not alter the

“ In the country, where grains cannot general conclusions. The cows have easily be had in quantity, dependence is been fed all through the winter with clover -silage and mangels - not separ 1 Jour. Brit. Dairy Parm . A88. , vol. ii. , No. 2 , 15 .

2 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng., xiv. 405.

CATTLE IN WINTER .

346

ately, as was the case last year, but to- than in previous years, when fed on gether — and careful observation leads us roots, grain, and cake, at a greater cost to the conclusion that the addition of than that entailed by the above mixture. The mixture of meal, mangels, and si silage to mangels has a tendency to lay

on flesh, more than would be the case if lage was allowed to lie in a heap for 12 the cows were fed on mangels alone. It hours before being given to the cows. will be observed that the silage and The silage consisted of tares and oats

mangels formed but a small part of the sown together, which were cut, chaffed, whole of the food consumed by the cows, and put into the silo at the end of July. which were large shorthorns, weighing The cows evidently relished the flavour about 1200 lb. each, and consuming of the silage, and rarely have we seen daily about 25 lb. of food, calculated as dairy cows in such high condition as dry. Of this amount the silage did not these were in the month of April 1886, supply more than 10 or 11 lb. when they were all milking heavily. “ A very considerable amount of the The cost of the above feeding,reckoning

home-grown food — the hay, straw , roots, the silage at £ 4 per ton , and including or silage — was consumed by the animals attendance, is estimated at iod. per head for what we call existence purposes, that per day. is to say, to keep life and warmth in the Mr Carrington's System of Feeding body, while purchased food furnished Cows.—The late Mr Carrington, who

the material to form the milk. I may pursued dairy -farming extensively in say that it would be impossible to keep Staffordshire, was recognised as one of

up anything approaching to an average the highest English authorities of his yield of 3 gallons of milk per cow ,over day. In 1878 he described his system

the whole number, during the winter of feeding cows in winter as follows: months, without having recourse to pur- “ The cows are wintered on straw or chased foods.” 1

hay and roots ; those which have not

Sir John further explains that all the calved are turned out for a few hours cows did not really receive 4 lb. each of in a sheltered sound field of turf, near

cotton -cake and 4 lb. of bran all through the homestead, every day, except when the experiment. These quantities were the weather is very bad. I consider the set apart for each cow , but, as explained fresh air and exercise beneficial... “ A few days after calving I commence at the outset of this section, an attempt was made to economise food by regu- to give the cows from 4 to 6 lb. of cake

and hay each week by the yield or meal, with plenty ofmangelsmilk, latingits amountprevious kept . A cow in full

week ,-a point or cut straw of milk of the specially deserving the most careful con- on hay and roots alone, rapidly loses

sideration and attention of dairy -farmers flesh, and her milk will neither be so -of all, indeed , who keep cows. abundant nor so rich in butter or curd Silage in the Duke of Manchester's as when extra stimulating food is sup Dairy. --Silage has been extensively plied . Decorticated cotton -cake is a valu

used as food for the cows in the Duke able food for milch cows, either alone or

of Manchester's large dairies at Kim- in conjunction with maize-meal, which is The results have on the whole very largely used for all kinds of stock been very favourable. In the winter of in Lancashire and Cheshire, within easy bolton .

1885-86 , from the opening of the silo in reach of the Liverpool market. Palm November till the end of May (when the nut meal (a food very rich in oil) is a silage was exhausted ), the cows received valuable food where it can be mixed with

daily, in two feeds, a mixture composed chop and pulped roots ; it is not, how lb.

of 9

of tail wheat and oats ground

ever, palatable to stock unless mixed

into meal, 30 lb. of cut mangels, and with other food. ” 2 44 lb. of silage each, 7 lb. of long hay Milk -fever Preventive. - In connec being allowed in addition. With this tion with the above, Mr Carrington says : treatment the cows gave more milk , and “To those of my cows which are in

maintained a much higher condition high condition I give 1 lb. of Epsom 1 Paper read at Dublin Dairy Con. , 1886 .

Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng., xiv. 391 .

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING .

347

salts and 1 oz. of ginger just before calv- tities of distillery refuse are used as food ing, and in some cases I give this dose for cows giving milk . In winter the twice before calving. This I consider a cows are in many cases fed chiefly on safeguard against milk-fever.” 1 hay, linseed -meal, linseed -cake, beans, and An American Example. - Mr Ed- distillery refuse, some giving as much

ward Burnett's dairy at Deerfoot Farm , as 6 to 7 lb. of linseed -cake per day. Southborough, Mass., has been regarded Mr Carrington Smith's Practice. as one of the most successfully conducted Anexperienced Staffordshire farmer, Mr in the United States of America.

Writ- T. Carrington Smith, Adamston, Rugeley,

ing in 1880, Mr Burnett thus describes says : “ It is my practice to chaff all the his system of winter feeding: “ The straw used as fodder, with the addition essentials to produce the best results are of chaffed bay and pulped swedes.

good cows, good feed, regularity, cleanli- Whilst the chaffing and pulping are ness about the stables ( cowhouses) and going on simultaneously, some rice-meal dairy, and a thermometer. I will give is added to the whole mass. From this youmy own method of feeding, and in heap all the dairy cows, whether dryor

so doing those dairymen who aim at in milk, are fed, and they all receive also quantity will realise that we are shoot- one foddering of long hay, say at 5.30 ing at different targets, for with me P.M. Those cows which are in milk re quantity is secondary, quality being the ceive in addition 4 lb. of linseed or cotton When in seed cake, and 2 lb. of meal.

greatest desideratum .

I do not

winter quarters I begin feeding at about attempt to weigh chaff,pulp, or long hay. 5.30 in the morning with hay, a little The cows may be said to be fed ad libi jag or wisp at a time, not so much but tum , and the proportions of straw, hay,

what the cowswill eat it up clean. Then, and swedes are regulated principally by after milking, the grain — from 3 to 6 the actual qualities of the hay and straw quarts, according to the cow - consisting and the quantity in store of the roots. of two parts of Indian -meal and one of

“ Cows vary so in their appetites that

shorts or bran ; or feeding entirely on it seems to me almost impossible to lay

ordinary cabbage (corn [Indian] and cob downa standard ration applicable to ground together). After this more hay, all. We try to fodder all in such way I begin that there shall be no waste, and careful again at 3 P.M. with a little hay, fol. regard is had to apportion the constitu lowed by roots (mangels) cut fine, a ents of food used relatively to each other bushel being divided between three in such sort as to keep the evacuations

which lasts until about 9 A.M.

cows; then more hay again, which lasts in the right degree of thickness, avoiding them until about 6.30 P.M.

I maintain

scour on the one hand, and constipation

that, if more shorts are fed than are on the other. Again, the cows not in necessary to counteract the heating milk during the winter are turned out in

the pasture fora considerable portion of quality and condensed richness of the 2

" corn -meal, it deteriorates the butter.'

the day, and therefore they supplement

Feeding Dairy Cowsin the Nether . the fodder they receive in the sheds by lands. — The late Mr H. M. Jenkins,

the grass and foggage to be found out in

Secretary of the Royal Agricultural the open field . In winter the first feed Society of England, in his most useful of chaff-mixture takes place at 6 A.M., reports in the Society's Journal) on the second at 7.30, the third, on coming Continental dairying, has explained the in from pasture, at 3 P.M. , the fourth at systems of management pursued by the 4.30 , thefifth (long hay) at 5.30. If the

successful and enterprising dairy-farmers weather be severe, an additional serving " 3 of the European continent.

In the of chaff-mixture is given .

methods of feeding, except as to the

Feeding in Norfolk Dairies. — At

exclusion of turnips, there is not much Necton Hall, Swaffham , Mr R. Harvey

variation from the systems pursued in Mason keeps a herd of well-bred red this country. There, also, large quan- polled cattle, largely but not entirely for dairying, “ therefore the health and 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng., xviii. 483. ? Ibid ., xix . 391.

3 Live Stock Jour ., May 13, 1887.

CATTLE IN WINTER .

348

Immediately on being

breeding of the cows has the first atten- had the roots.

tion." His system of feeding, and the milked, theyare turned loose into a large covered yard, but whilst in it they get

cost of the food, are stated thus :-

nothing to eat. The hay, meals , and cake are all mixed together, and given to the cows to eat‫ܙܙ‬while tied up in the ‫ܠܐ‬

Cost of Feeding Cows. Each cow .

From May I to September 18– 20 weeks on grass £ 0 2 6 = £2 10 0

house for milking. ” 1 Mr G. M. Chamberlin, Stratton Straw

From September 19 to October 31

less Hall, Norwich, states that during the winter months he gives his cows (Shorthorns, Ayrshires, Jerseys, and

Grass

£o

16

2 bushels roots (white turnips, 1os. per ton ) o

o

Guernseys ), according to their size and

6

7 lb. cotton -seed meal,

milk -product, from 3 to 372 bushels per

0 o £5, 158. per ton 472 7 lb. palm -nut meal, £ 4, 28. 6d. per ton o o 3

day of a mixed food, consisting of man gels, bran, surplus corn of the farm , lin seed , malt-combs, hay and wheat chaff.

.

Six weeks at tO 2 772 = 0 115

Feeding in Jersey Herds. - In the

9

leading herds of Jersey cattle in Eng From November 1 to March 4

land, avery careful and systematic course

7 bushels roots, swedes and mangels, 138. 4d. per ton .

of feeding is pursued . These delicate and heavily milking little cows require liberal feeding during winter. The sys

·£ o 2 o 472

7 lb. cotton -seed meal 7 lb. palm -nut meal . 3 % stone meadow -hay, chaffed , £4 per ton

o

o

3

tem pursued by Mr J. F. Hall, Er

O

I

9

good management.

leigh Court, Reading, is a fair sample of He endeavours to

Eighteen weeks at £ o 4 842 = 4 4 9 feed so as to increase butter productive ness . Artificial food — i.e ., ground oats, maize -meal, decorticated cotton -cake, and

From March 5 to April 30 372 bushels roots, swedes and mangels . · £ 0 I 272 o O 3 7 lb. palm -nut meal 14 lb. undecorticated cotton - cake, £ 4, 128. 6d. per ton .

bran — are given in limited quantities all the year round, but forcing has never been attempted. The soil being gravel, the grass is of a light character . The

o

07

194 stone meadow -hayo o 10% Eight weeks at £ o 2 11 = 1

cows are turned out to grass in the latter end of May, and remain out till mid

3 4 September. During the winter months they receive, in addition to artificial food,

Each cow , total the year

.

£8 13 10 hay, carrots, and parsnips, and ensilage (meadow -grass stored in silo ); also man

“From May 1 to October 11 the cows gels in late winter. The daily allow were out both by night and day, and ance of each food is given in the table

only in the house at milking-time, during which time, from September 18, they were fed as above. During the whole winter they were on the pasture a portion of every day, at which time they

annexed. Sweet ensilage is very valu able, as it is a cheap food, easily pro cured, and gives an excellent colour to

winter butter, besides promoting the flow of milk

Food RECORD , EXCLUSIVE OF GRASS, 1886 . Carrots

Per Cow per Week .

Mixed Meat.

Hay.

Bran .

Ensilage.

and

Parsnips. lb.

Jan. to March

42 · 56

April to June July to September

35 · 38 %2

October to December

3372-42

1 Live Stock Jour., May 13, 1887.

5272-35

Ib .

bush .

lb.

56.112 56 - 14 .28

%

196

bush . I

196

I

2 Toid .

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING .

349

In Lord Braybroke's herd of Jersey An Irish System .-- Mr Smith Barry cows at Audley End, Essex, the winter has a large dairy herd of cross-bred and feeding is as follows : shorthorn cows in County Cork, and the October. food given in winter consists of 50 lb. Pecks. roots,10 lb. hay, and 4 lb. of barley-meal Crushed oats ½ .

and crushed oats ; the roots are grated ,

Wheat-germ meal

12

Malt -dust

%

and about 5 lb. of hay chaffed and given to the cattle in equal portions with the corn, at 6 A.M. and 4 P.M. every day ; the

Straw and hay chaff and cabbage

On grass about nine hours each day.

rest of the hay is given the last thing at

November to March . Crushed oats

night.

The cows have a run over the

pasture every tolerably fine day. In summer the cows are on pasture day and night, except in very hot weather, when

Wheat-germ meal Malt -dust

Dried grains Straw and hay chaff and cabbages Carrots, parsnips, or mangels . .

they arekept in during the hottest part

2 or

10 lb.

of thesoiling. day and given some vetches or On grass from one to four hours each day, other according to the weather. I

Mr Richard Barter's System . - At

Mr John Swan, Stonefield , Lincoln, St Ann's Hill, County Cork, Mr Richard feeds his Jersey cows in winter with Barter maintains a large dairy of mixed silage (made from grass, rye, buckwheat, bred cows, chiefly shorthorn crosses. As

vetches, and maize), and 2 lb. oatmeal faras he can he pursues winterdairying ; and 2 lb. of bean -meal, or an equivalent and his cows, when in full milk during of cotton -cake or linseed -cake and bran the winter, are fed as shown in the fol

daily. The same quantities of these con- lowing table, which also indicates the centrated foods are given summer and cost of the ingredients of the food and the value of the manurial residue 2 :

winter. Dry sub

Daily Food .

Al. bumin . | Fat.

stance .

Carbo hy. drates.

oids,

Gorse

7 42

Mangels

42

6. 10.5 4.83

8.

d.

d.

o

O

.12

.036

1.33 .5

. 37 3.35 .042 3.44

0 12 оо

O o

1.5 2.7 2.25

.276 .074

.074 .029

I.

.05

.03

.003

.04

.064

.028 .029

lo

Oats and barley 6

5.19 1.72

.7 .28

.

106

Acid.

£

•336 .098

Total

phoric Potash.

2

1.58 2

Phos Nitro gen .

.17 | 2.87

Grains Bran

Cost of

Ration .

.67

lb.

Hay

Price per Ton .

.679

.13

.168

.164

18

}

per bus. }

.24

3.52

4 10

0

2.89

.08

1.

5 15 0

1.21

. 108 .044

11.55

.672

.273

.522

.16

.051

.046

.512

.222

.476

29.82 3.816

1. 14.859

Deducted for 10

Equivalent of fat ,

quarts milk .

1X2%

2.333

17.192

Albuminoid ratio, i to

4.5

Value of residue s.

Cost of ration per week Value of residue per week

1 Live Stock Jour., May 13, 1887.

4%d.

d.

6 874 2 574

5d. per lb.

Taking nitrogen at Phosphoric acid at

3d .

Potash at

2 /2d.

? Jour. Brit. Dairy Far. A880c., ii. 127 .

CATTLE IN WINTER.

350

Feeding Cows in Ayrshire . - The

cotton and linseed cakes are mixed in

great development of the cheese industry equal proportions. in Ayrshire has induced the farmers in

Feeding in a Tyneside Dairy. - Mr

this county to give careful attention to William Trotter, South Acomb, Tyne the feeding and management of cows. side, states that in winter he gives 6 or In this part of the country the Ayrshire 772 lb. of barley, or a similar quantity of

breeds hold undisputed sway. Mr An- equal proportions of barley and maize drew Allan, Munnoch, is well known as meal, with about 21 lb. of hay and 42 lb. an experienced and successful breeder of of turnips per day. The most satisfac

Ayrshires, and his system of feeding tory and economical mixture he had cows in winter and spring is as follows: tried was made up thus : The cows are allowed to go dry for about three months during winter, as is the case on most farms where cheese is made,

and in that period they are fed thus :

2 tons of coarse barley, at I ton best barley -meal, at

Per ton .

£3 5 0

i ton of wheat sharps, at i ton of oatmeal-dust, at

5

O

4 10

o

I

O

10

5 A.M., oat - straw, 5 lb. each ; 7 A.M.,

soft turnips, 20 lb. each ; 7.30 A.M., oat- The cost of this mixture comes to 572d. straw, 5 lb. or so each ; 10 A.M., oat- for 14 lb., or £3, 138. 4d. per ton. Mr straw, 5 lb. or so each ; 11 A.M., out for Trotter has given up using cotton -cake exercise and water ; 2 P.M., brought in-

as food for cows.

When it was used he

side and get oat-straw, same quantity as had often lost cows from milk - fever ; but

before; 4.30 P.M., soft turnips, 20 lb. since discarding the cotton-cake he has each ; 5 P.M., oat-straw, 20 lb. each ; 8 not lost a cow from this cause. P.M., oat-straw , 20 lb. each.

The cows

WinteringDry and Breeding Cows.

mostly calve in March and April, after which the feeding is as follows: 5 A.M., hay, 4/2 lb. each ; 7 A.M., boiled roots, with chaff or cut hay mixed with bean-

-It will be observed that the foregoing notes relate mainly to the feeding of cows where the production of milk is the chief, or at anyrate a specially import

meal, 272 lb. of meal each ; 7.30 A.M., ant consideration, and where, on this hay, 4/2 lb. each ; 10 A.M., ditto

; II account, the cows are fed with such A.M., put out to a court for water, and quantities and qualities of food as are hay when brought in, same quantity as calculated to stimulate and maintain a before ; 4.30 P.M., steamed or boiled roots bountiful flow of milk. In herds in

with chaff or cut hay, and 2/2 lb. of which the yield of milk is a secondary bean -meal per cow ; 5 P.M., hay, 472 lb. consideration, the systems of feeding are per cow, with the same quantity of hay somewhat different, and, as a rule, the at 8 P.M .; then left for the night. rations are arranged upon a more mod Feeding in Lord Egerton's Dairy .

-Lord Egerton of Tatton keeps a dairy

erate scale.

Then, in all cases, cows are fed more

herd consisting of Dutch and shorthorn sparingly when not giving milk. By far crosses.

The amount of cake and corn the most general practice is to feed dry

allowed per head is 4 lb. daily ; but the cows upon oat-straw or hay and turnips

quantities each cow receives depends depends or mangels. The Ayrshire system , as upon her size and the milk she is giving. described above by Mr Allan, Munnoch,

To a cow in full milk as much as 7 lb. is fairly representative of the prevailing daily is given both in summer and winter ; and for the first fortnight after calving all heavy milking cowshave two quarts of oatmeal-porridge, with a small quantity of skim -milk added, twice daily.

custom in Scotland, although there is, of course, considerable variation both in the hours of feeding and the quantities al lowed . Formerly turnips were given to cows much too freely. Large meals of

The cake and corn are mixed with cold watery turnips are positively in chopped hay and straw in winter, and jurious to cows that are heavy in calf ;

with green meadow -grass or comfrey in and in all respects it is better practice to Fr Indian summer. The

corn and peas are

feed roots sparingly to cows.

om 40

sent out from the mill in the form of to 50 or 60 lb. of roots per day, given in meal, ground together in the proportion of two of Indian corn to one of peas. The

1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., xxiv . 231 .

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

351

two meals, are now very general quan- lb. daily per head - is meted out, usually

tities in well-managed herds, and with in the morning immediately after milk plenty of good sound fodder, either oatboth, the cows should thrive well and sustain no harm upon these allowances. Still dry cows may be kept in good condition with even less

straw or hay,

ing. In this way the objectionable flavour is dissipated before the next milking comes round. Cabbages are generally the first to be used, followed next in order by soft turnips, then

than 40lb. of roots, as is often the case swedes, and so on according to the where the pulping system is pursued , or supply of each. Cabbages have ob

where recourse is had to warm mashes tained a pre-eminent name as food for composed of cheap food, largely of dairy cows; and all dairymen — especially chopped hay, straw , chaff, and perhaps a those holding clayey land — endeavour to

few roots. In England, as already indi- have a good acreage of them . cated, dry cows are usually kept on hay

“ Some farmers scatter a supply of

and straw and turnips and mangels, and roots about the pastures, and also the in many cases they receive noroots of tops of those being raised and pitted. any

kind. With plenty of good hay, or This, however, cannot be called a good

hay and silage, a run out daily - in fine practice, for thereason that the animals, weather, of course — free access to water, in place of looking after grass, will con and perhaps a small allowance of bran tinue to nibble away at the roots, and or some other cheap food, they thrive thus increase the chances of tainting the milk . Moreover, an excess of such fairly well. Professor M'Connell on Wintering Dry Cows.

watery food as turnip-tops often ends in an attack of scouring verydifficult to cure. “ As soon as the nights become cold

Writing (for this edition) upon the and stormy,the animals are kept indoors, wintering of dry cows, Professor Prim- and must then, in addition to the fore rose M'Connell says :

going, get a supply of oat - straw or

“ These cows, it is assumed, have been meadow -hay as fodder -- say, 4 lb. per yielding milk during the previous sum- head in the morning, and 8 lb. as the mer, having dropped their calves some last thing at night. Where ensilage is time in the spring months, and it may used, it ought to take the place of roots ;

also be assumed that their produce has and it is probable that in the nearfuture

been made into cheese or butter, or dis- turnips and other root crops will give posed of in some way that does not require place to ensilage for milch cows. a supply of milk to be kept up through Putting Cows dry .— " Towards the the winter. In such cases it is usual to middle of November the animals are gen

have the cows keeping up a flow of milk erally put dry, partly by stinting their for about eight or nine months out of the foodfor a few days, and partlyby refrain twelve, not because they are not able to ing from milking as long as the animals

milk for a longer period, but because that do not feel any distress. They usually

at the appearance of winter their united require to be stripped out at intervals yield has fallen so low as to make it less while being dried, so as to prevent the worth the trouble of manufacture, and engorgement of the cavities of the udder because the quality of the produce from from the coagulation of the milk, and the

hand -feeding is liable to be inferior to giving rise to mammitis, with suppura that produced on the summer pastures. The feeding of the actually dry animals is thus in winter carried on over a period of only some three or four months. The

tion and sloughing of a part. Mild cases of mammitis - called “ weed,” or catarrh of the udder - often arise from a chill, and require to be treated with a mild

change from pasture to this diet is gen- blister, such as ammonia liniment. “ It is usually not difficult to put the erally very gradual, and covers a space of at least one month, about October and milk off the cows, and when dry they the beginning of November. may then be turned on to a cheap and

“ As soon as the grass begins to fail simple diet. In many cases this consists in autumn on farms where roots are

of turnips with hay or straw alone — mere

grown, an allowance of these - say, 28 'maintenance diet '-in which the animals

CATTLE IN WINTER.

352

get only what keeps them living in health and no more .

“Straw ad lib. , and the bean - meal

made into a dough with hot water and

Stinted Feeding of Dry Cows Inju- thoroughly burst ' before giving in a dicious.-- " Modern experience has taught lump. us, however, that this is a mistake, and that something more ought to be added on .

It must be remembered that the

cow is carrying a calf, and at the time of putting dry is about the fifth or sixth

month ofpregnancy, when she requires al

3.

5 A.M. 7

Mash . Straw .

12 NOON . Hay. 4 P.M. 7

2 lb. linseed - cake. Straw ,

“The mash in above consists of 5 lb.

most as much food for the development of the fætus as was necessary before chop with 2 lb. of bean-meal, allsoaked

for yielding milk. In addition to this, in boiling water it is found that if the animal's system has been allowed to get too low before

3 4.2.

parturition, she never milks so well dur

12 NOON . Hay.

In fact the sum

ing the next season . mer may be half over before she can be

4. 11

4 P.M.

5

11

raw. St 28 lb. roots . 28 lb, roots . Straw

again worked up to a full-bearing state by extra food. For these reasons, it is

generally a wise policy to feed the dry

Feeding Cows in Pure-bred Herds.

In high -class herds of pure-bred stock

cows fairly well, and give a pound or two there is,perhaps, even greater variety in

of linseed -cake daily,or some bean -meal the system of feeding cows than in other in the mash , or whatever other concen- stocks. Some breeders always keep their trated food may be at hand.

stock in high condition, giving the cows

in winter not only straw, hay , and “ Care must be taken, however, not to roots, but also 2, 3, or 4 lb. of cake or overdo cows in this respect, for fear of meal, or a mixture, perhaps, of cotton the deadly disease known as ' milk -fever,' cake or linseed -cake, and bruised grain , Caution

against

Milk - fever.

which is induced by overfeeding, and a Indian corn , or bran - feeding them as too plethoric state of the body at partu- liberally, in fact, as represented in any of rition. the dairy herds referred to above. Cotton - cake and Milk - fever . Alnwick Park Shorthorns. In the

Decorticated cotton - cake in particular Duke of Northumberland's valuable herd has a bad name in this respect, its great of shorthorn cattle at Alnwick Park, richness in nitrogenous material produc- “ the food of the cow in winter, when ing, as it were, a corresponding excess she is in milk , consists of hay, with an

allowance of two mashes (a mixture of bran and bean and Indian meal) given suming it. Rations for Dry Cows.— “ The fol- night and morning ; and when not in in the blood and tissues of animals con-

lowingtables will exemplify the methods milk, it is hay and 2 or 3 lb. of bruised of feeding and times adopted by farmers

cake in the day. When turnips or man

in different parts of the country for cows gel-wurzels are plentiful, an allowance of

actually dry in the dead of the winter. 6 A.M.

Straw .

pulp

turn

20 lb. ips, 10 lb. ed chop stra ped w. {20 12 NOON . Hay: 8

3 P.M. !!

1/2 lb. linseed -cake. Straw .

“ The fodder not restricted . 2.

34...

Straw .

56 lb. ruots.

12 NOON. Straw . 3 P.M. !!

three or four stones per diem to each cow has a most beneficial effect.

I.

England, that of Mr Hugh Aylmer, West Dereham Abbey, Norfolk, the cows are fed sparingly. During the summer months they get grass only ; in winter long hay, if

4 lb. bean -meal. Straw .

An

outrake in winter, where a good deal of rough herbage has been left from sum mer, is considered almost indispensable, especially if no roots are given ." .' 1 Dereham Abbey Shorthorns. - In one of the best-known shorthorn herds in

1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., xvi. 395.

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

hay happens to be plentiful; if not, cut hay and straw mixed . They have no roots, butgo out to grass every day in winter. If the ground is clear of snow, they thus get a little picking of grass ; while the snow lies they have no green food, yet the air and exercise keep them in health,

353

nothing during winter to his Polled Aberdeen -Angus cows excepting turnips and straw , until within six weeks of their calving, when they get 3 lb. of oilcake daily,and this allowance is usually con tinued for a month or so after calving.4 Hereford Herds.- In the milderand

and they can help themselves to water richer grazing parts of England, cows ad libitum .

Mr Aylmer's opinion is spend a great deal of their time, and

confirmatory of the belief that too large pick up not a little of their food, out of

a proportion of turnips has a tendency doors all through the winter. This is the to cause abortion, and he never allows case in many noted herds of Hereford his in -lamb ewes to have any. cattle. In Mr John Hill's valuable herd

Ardfert Abbey Shorthorns. — In Mr W. T. Talbot-Crosbie's celebrated herd of shorthorn cattle at Ardfert Abbey, County Kerry, Ireland, a very careful system of feeding is pursued. " In the winter

of Hereford cattleat Felhampton Court, Church Stretton, Salop, the earlier calv ing cows are put up at nights about November and fed with straw - a little hay and a few turnips if they can be

the breeding cows get nothing but straw, spared. When they calve their food is turnips, and water, until they calve, ex- increased, perhaps a little meal is added cept for about a week before calving, —to keepup the supply of the milk in

when they get scalded bran . Soon after winter, this is often necessary.

The late

calving their warm bran -mashes are dis- calvers are wintered entirely out of doors

continued, and they have hay, turnips, on the pastures, where there are rough and bran wetted with cold water.

If, as

sheds. These fields are allowedto grow

is sometimes the case, a calving cow has well in the autumn, and get full of fog become on this ordinary keep very fat, a gage. In the winter of 1885-86, about little linseed -oil is given to her on pulped 50 cows were thus wintered , and had no

turnips. As a rule, very little, if any, assistance before February, when they medicine is given . Regulation of the received a little straw and rough hay

system of diet is preferred to physic. drawn on to the fields in the mornings. No cake is given to breeding cows ; but As the cows spring for calving, they are if, as is not usual, a yearling heifer hap- put into the house . pens to be in calf, she has, if she seems At Rockview, in the fine grazing dis to need it, a little oilcake to keep up her trict of Killucan , Ireland, Mr R. S. strength and condition. In the ordinary Fetherstonhaugh also leaves his cows out way the heifers live their second winter

on straw and turnips." ?2

on the pasture all winter, only taking them in just before calving. These in

Polled Aberdeen -Angus Herds. - In stances, however, although very numer Sir George Macpherson Grant's famous ous, are exceptional, and are confined to herd of Polled Aberdeen -Angus cattle at first-class grazing districts. The general system is to house the Ballindalloch, cows get from 40 to 50 lb.

of turnips in two meals, supplemented by cows assoon as winter sets in, and feed a mixture of about 1 lb. of bran, 1 lb. of crushed oats, and 1 lb. of linseed -meal, in a mash of cut straw and chaff. For about three weeks before and three weeks after

them upon straw , hay, and a moderate allowanceof roots, or upon hay and straw alone, with plenty of fresh water, or per haps with the addition of a little bran,

calving, cows get about 2 lb. of linseedcake per day. The overfeeding of breeding stock is studiously avoided, and the

cake, or bruised grain. When the weather is dry and not very cold, it is desirable to let the cows and all store cattle have a

result is that the herd has been more than ordinarily prolific.3

run out in the fresh air about mid -day. When the weather is wet and stormy, or

Mr Hannay of Gavenwood, Banff, gives very cold, they are much better in the house. 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., xvi. 416. 2 lbid ., 423.

3 Hist . of Polled Aberdeen -Angus Cattle, p. 386 . VOL . I.

4 Ibid .

5 Hist. Hereford Cattle, p. 275. Z

CATTLE IN WINTER .

354

Winter Dairying.

April and in May, and yield during the summer nearly as well as if calving in

The various systems of dairying will March ; (3) the calf is reared in time for the grass, and so has the whole summer of the work . Here it may be mention- to grow and mature, and, if vealed, is be noticed fully in subsequent divisions

ed that increased attention has lately sold when veal is dear ; (4) a large

been given to the production of both quantity of manure is made, and the milk and butter in winter

the months. land steadily improves from the quantity At this season of the year fresh butter of feeding stuffs consumed on the farm ; is always scarce and dear, and it is con- (5 ) a market at home for most of the

tended by manythat the extra price ob- farm produce, and not selling grain, & c., tained for both butter and milk in win- at such prices as are now ruling; and (6) ter would more than counterbalance the a much better chance of commanding a greater expense involved in maintaining higher average price through the year cows in milk during the cold months of for milk and butter by keeping up a winter. Latterly the consumption of continuous supply. ” 1 fresh milk in towns has increased vastly, and in winter the supply is rarely equal WINTER HOUSING OF STORE to the demand ; thus giving additional CATTLE . stimulus to winter dairying.

This winter dairying is confined mainly to farms near railway stations and towns where the new- milk trade is followed, or where there is a good demand for fresh winter butter. The expense of maintaining the production of milk and butter in winter must be considerably higher than it would be in summer, and itcould not be safely attempted except where there is a ready sale and high

The influence of locality is very great,

and must be carefully considered by the successful stock -owner.

In the cold re

gions of the north, even the young store cattle have to be housed throughout the entire winter. In the greater part of Ireland , and in the southern and milder parts of Great Britain, young growing cattle spend a good deal of the winter, when the weather is dry and favourable,

on the pasture - fields. Between these prices for the produce. Where this system is pursued, cows two extremes of in all winter, and out

drop calves at various times throughout all or the greater part of it, there are the year, so that there are some in full many gradations, which farmers must ju

milk in the winter months as wellas in diciously and carefully arrange for them Cows giving milk in selves. So much depends upon local cir

other seasons.

winter have to be fed liberally and kept The various methods of feeding to stimulate a full flow of milk have already been described, some of the warm rations recommended by Professor M'Connell being specially adapted for this purpose .

in comfortable well-aired houses.

cumstances as to climate, house and field shelter, class of cattle, supply of outdoor and indoor food, &c. , that a series of hard and fast rules cannot be laid down. Err on the side of Shelter . — This

one rule, however, we would lay down

with all the emphasis and firmness that Mr R. Barter, St Ann's Hill, County can be given to it. It is better to err on Cork, is an enthusiastic advocate of win- the side of caution - better to have the

ter dairying. He thinks that the extra animals inside when you think they cost it incurs in labour and food will might perhaps suffer little harm by being be more than made up by the following out, than outside when they would have

advantages which he claims for the system : " (1 ) Cows carried through the winter, and in profit, at a season when milk and butter command the highest prices; (2) cows calving in December

been better in. How often is it the case that even a reputedly careful fariner allows his cattle to remain out on the fields when he thinks they might be as well in ? As well in ." Depend upon

and January give the largest return of it, that means that the animals ought milk - for, say, ten months in milk — as to be inside. The thought may or may they come on a second spring of milk when they get the grass at the end of

1 Jour. Brit. Dairy Par. Assoc. , iii., 128 .

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

355

not be expressed — when there is thinking rendered less able to turn to good account in the play, be it ever so little, always good food and judicious treatment when

let the animals have the benefit of the these are bestowed upon them. Farmers doubt and the shelter too ! Fresh Air for Cattle . — Not for a

think little of having their cows or lean stock exposed to an excessive cold or wet.

moment would we depreciate the value How great an error it is ! They would of fresh air for cattle. Fresh air is never think of so exposing animals being

most essential, more particularly perhaps prepared for slaughter, because the ill for young growing cattle. But it is effects of the exposure would thus at once easyto provide this without exposing the become manifest. But all the same,

although the loss may not be so great cattle to excessive cold, and drenching, Cattle or so apparent, the exposure of cowsand

chilling sleet, and winter rains.

certainly cannot thrive well in close, young lean stock is certain to cause dam

stuffy, ill-ventilated houses. But while age to valuable property. a few farmers are so careless as to let

“ If the animals do not go back in

their cattle suffer in health, and be re- condition, the cows fall off in milk , the tarded in progress by want of proper young stock lose flesh and rate of growth, ventilation orfresh air, the prevailing they must be consuming an excessive error is entirely the other way. Loss from Exposure to Bad Wea-

amount of food — because under expo sure to cold, an abnormal amount of

ther.— It is not in the least overstating food is required to keep up the neces the case to say that for shillings lost by want of cattle - houses, there are pounds sterling sacrificed

every twenty ventilation in hundreds of by the expo-

sary standard of animal heat. So much of thefood consumed goes to keep up the animal heat, the rest to promote growth, lay on flesh and fat, or encourage the

sure of cattle to inclement weather. If flow of milk .

the value of property, in the shape of raw material for producing meat and dairy produce, which is lost every year through the imprudent and avoid-

The greater the cold the

animals are exposed to, the more food is required for the vital functions, and, as a natural consequence, less of the food

consumed becomes available for increase

of cattle to inclement of size, condition, or of flow of milk. weather , could be accurately stated in These are mere truisms, but I repeat plain figures, the vastness of the sum them here, with the view of urging them able exposure

would astonish everybody, no one per-

upon the attention of those who are

haps more so than the defaulting stock- mainly concerned in the matter. It is owners themselves. It would certainly sad to think how easy-going farmers are run into millions of pounds sterling per on these points, which so very materially annum !

affect their welfare." 1

For be it remembered that exposure

These remarks are applicable to all to bad weather does more than retard classes of cattle, but they are intro the progress of cattle. It likewise incurs duced here because it is in the manage

great waste of feeding material. While ment of store cattle that the careless and injurious custom prevails most is required to maintain the animal heat, largely. Again, harm is done to cattle the animals are thus exposed more food

not to speak of increase either in size by exposure to excessive heat as well

or condition. It is a proverbial saying as to extreme cold. Fuller reference amongst observant if not always pains will be made to the former point, in taking farmers, that cattle will thrive speaking of the summer treatment of better upon moderate feeding with suffi- cattle. And we discuss the question of cient shelter, than with all the food they housing here, because the housing and can eat in exposure to cold and wet. feeding are in this particular connection “By exposure to wet or extreme cold, quite inseparable.

and by lying, through cold nights, on wet Economical Rearing of Cattle. beds, cattle are not only retarded in pro- The proper housing of cattle has much gress, but often thrown back in condi- to do with their economical feeding. tion, and perhaps permanently injured in constitution - stunted in growth, and 1 Our Resources in Live Stock . J. Macdonald .

356

CATTLE IN WINTER .

It is perhaps not overreaching the mark very far to say that the thriving of store cattle in winter is regulated almost as much by how they are housed or sheltered as by the system of feeding. This

milk, and cattle being pushed on for slaughter, should be housed as soon as the weather begins to get chilly. The young store cattle are still on the fields ; but now the question of how they are to

statement will suffice to show the young

be efficiently protected from the rigours of

farmer that, if he wishes his cattle to winter must have immediate attention. make satisfactory progress, if he desires

The First Essential. — The matter

to secure in his storecattle the greatest of feeding will not be touched till that possible progress, at the lowest possible of housing or providing shelter has been outlay of time and money, he must give satisfactorily settled . First, let us see as careful attention to shelter as to feed- that the young animals are provided with ing. Unfortunately this is not always protection from the winter blasts, that done.

they are, as it were, rendered indepen

dent of the weather provided with known systems of cattle-feeding are as quarters in which the severest storms good as they might be, for we are always and frosts of winter cannot reach them , learning - constantly discovering that in or retard their progress. Let this be the some little point orother former practice first essential ; and, when it is fulfilled, was in error. But, as a rule, greater at- we can consider the systems of feeding It cannot be said that even our best-

tention has been given to the question of with the confidence that, however they

feeding than to housing, and other points are fed, the animals will be able, in spite in the management of cattle. In very of the character of the weather, to turn

food to the best possible account. manycases, farmers who are known to be theHow , then, is thiswinter shelter to be liberal and careful feeders, are lamenta-

bly negligent in providing proper shelter provided ? By various means, regulated for the stock . More particularly does mainly by the climate - by a close house this remark apply to England and to with substantialwall and roof, an open

Ireland — still more notably to thosevery wholly or partially covered court, or by districts in which comparatively little a temporary-looking shed, with light side house or shed accommodation would sup- walls and just roof enough to ensure a dry bed for the stock.

ply all the shelter that is required.

Page after page might be written illus-

Houses for Cattle in Cold Dis .

trating the mischief that is done by the tricts . — Where the winter is long and

imprudent exposure of stock. The prac- usually severe, as in the greater part of tical man, however, must already be fully Scotland and higher parts of England aware of the character and extent of the and north of Ireland, substantial houses

evil, and the student is assured that he have to be provided for all kinds of cattle need have no hesitation in accepting the in winter ; but where the winter is usually

open, very cheap erections are truth and soundness of the general state- mild and quite sufficient for store cattle. In cases ments just made on the subject. Turning over a New Leaf.— Now, turning our back on the errors of the past, we will endeavour to proceed with the winter feeding and management of young store cattle, upon lines and in a manner calculated, according to our present lights, to ensure the best possible results with the greatest possible economy.

where close houses or courts are required, care should be taken to have them well

ventilated ; for, as already stated , " stuf fy ” houses, which get filled with impure air, are very detrimental to the health and progress of cattle, while fresh air, properly admitted, is highly beneficial. The words properly admitted are empha

The winter is before us, with its many sised, because it is very important that moods of weather — rain , sleet, snow, bit- live stock of all kinds should be pro

ing winds, and bitter frosts, interspersed tected from draughts — that is, the cur with occasional bright genial glimpses, rents of air necessary for ventilation

which are always welcome, sometimes deceptive. Most probably the cows and fattening stock are already assigned to their winter quarters,—for cows giving

should not be allowed to play directly upon the animals. Let out the foul and in the fresh air by carefully placed ventilators. Depend upon it, cattle, by

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

better health and increased progress, will

357

The finer points, as to the relative

amply repay the farmer for careful atten- merits of feeding in boxes, stalls, wholly tion to the matter of ventilation . Cattle - sheds in Southern Districts .

and partially covered courts, will be re ferred to later on. Here enough has

-Going at once from the one extreme been said to show the desirability of to the other, from where the winter is exercising great care in the housing or severest to where it is mildest, we find sheltering young store cattle during in the latter parts simple forms of winter winter. shelter for store cattle used with satis factory results. Very often it is a large WINTER FEEDING OF STORE open court, with access to a roofed com CATTLE . partment where the animals can take shelter from rain or snow, eat their food, The variations in the systems of feed

and lie over night. Perhaps a roof is ing young store cattle in winter are reg thrown over a portion of the court - a ulated mainly by ( 1 ) the locality and

roof of sheet-iron or wood resting upon methods of cropping and general farming the wall of the court at one side and pursued ; (2 ) the condition and time at upon pillars at the other. The roofed which the animals are to be sold ; and compartment may be merely a “ lean -to " (3) the class and character of the stock . on another building.

It matters little

Apportioning Home-grown Foods.

how it is provided, and in these mild dis- —The farmer will have to consider and tricts it need not be costly, substantial, or arrange at the beginning of winter what

elaborate. Be sure that there is plenty proportionsof his supply of home-grown of roofed space to protect the cattle from rain, to enable them to eat their food in comfort, and have a dry warm bed. A drenching with rain in winter is exceedingly injurious to cattle, and above all guard against this. Store cattle need not be kept in such a warm temperature as milking cows and fattening cattle.

winter food, such as roots, straw , hay, silage, and grain, he is to allocate to the various kinds of stock. The proper al location of the home supply of food amongst the various kinds of stock, and the careful distribution of that supply so as to make it extend evenly throughout the entire season, are points of the very

Keep them dry and comfortable, and so greatest importance in farmmanagement. long as comfort is secured, the young For instance, too free use of roots or fod growing animals will be allthe better of der at the beginning of the winter may before the next grass some open space to move about in when cut short the supply the weatheris favourable. It is easy to season comes round, and the blank thus discover when the animals are comfort- created through want of forethought may

able ; the merest tyro can tell by their have to be filled up at disproportionate when they are not so. Never outlay by the purchase of expensive foods. At this particular time the farmer will cold, and shivering, that great and avoid- take special note of the quantity of roots appearance

forget, when you see your cattle wet,

able waste is going on - waste of food available for the young store cattle, so and waste of time, which mean in the that he may be able to decide and explain to the cattle-man not only what daily al end considerable waste of hard cash . Cattle - courts . Between the close lowance of roots is to be given to these byre and open court and shed there are store cattle, but also what kinds and pro

many forms of winter shelter for store portions of other foodwill have to be pro The most general is the partially vided for them . Probably the supply of covered court, which is perhaps, upon roots available for the store cattle may cattle.

the whole, the most serviceable andad- decide whether or not the pulping system vantageous of all.

With surrounding is to be pursued . If the supply of roots

buildings and boundary walls the court is veryabundant, possibly the farmer is usually well sheltered in “ a ' the airts may think it better to give the store the win' can blaw ” ; and with a half, cattle a liberal quantity of roots in the

two-thirds, or three -fourths of it roofed, ordinary way by themselves, than to give there is ample protection from rain and a larger proportion of the roots to other snow .

kinds of stock or to buy in more store

CATTLE IN WINTER .

358

cattle. Circumstances alter cases ; and bodies of well-conditioned cattle, sheep, the farmer must, at the beginning of and swine. every winter, consider carefully how he No Hard and Fast Rules . — Yet far can turn the produce of his farm to the mers must not be tied by rules. They should sell their farm produce, and buy best possible account.

Economise Turnips. — Now that the food

it is advantageous todo so. turnip-break is being curtailed, it is more Thuswhenever it will be seen that if the farmer probable that the supply will be scrimp is to turn his produce to the best possible than abundant.

In any case, it may account, and rear his cattle as economi

prudently be urged as a generalprinciple cally and efficiently as may be, he must be that farmers should endeavour to econo-

able to watch the condition and tendency

mise the turnip crop.

It is the most of market prices, as well as the quality costly and most risky crop in the ordi- and quantity of his own crops, with keen

nary rotation ; and, all things considered, intelligent perception, and sound, ready, it is not by any means cheap food. As and careful judgment. a rule, therefore, farmers should be en-

Ages of Store

Cattle.

Formerly

couraged to adopt methods which would there were two generations of store cattle advantageouslyeconomise the supply of to receive attention at the beginning of

roots, and render them less dependent winter - namely, the calves of this and upon the turnip-break than they have the previous year. Latterly, however, the adoption of the " early maturity ” move

been in the past.

What Foods to be Bought and ment, of which more anon, has advanced the latter, the calves of the previous year, tained what quantity of roots can be had now from eighteen to twenty months old, what Sold . — When it has been ascer-

for the store cattle, the farmer will next into the ranks offattening cattle. consider what kinds and quantities of

Now , therefore, the winter feeding of

other foods are to be given to them. Whether these other foods are to be home-grown or bought, or part of both, will depend upon the supply of such home-grown foods as straw , hay, silage,

store cattle begins with mere calves, some of them eight or ten months old, others considerably younger. Late calves may be either sucking their dams or receiving milk at the beginning of winter;

and grain, and the current market prices but as a rule the calves will have been of these and other commodities used as

weaned

food for cattle . For instance, hay may be worth more in the market than as

before then, and have become well

from

two

to several months

accustomed to eat such foods as grass,

food for store cattle, so that it may be hay, cake, and meal.

advantageous to sell hay, and -- if the Care in beginning Winter Feeding. home supply of straw be deficient — buy –In dealing more particularly with calf

oat - straw or some other food. Again, rearing, the importance of keeping the " ups ” and “ downs” in market prices calves progressing steadily from birth may enable the farmer to derive profit will be strongly enforced . “ Never let by selling grain and buying maize, cake, your cattle lose the calf- flesh , " is sound or other food ; or the home-grown grain advice to give to farmers ; and it is one may be selling so badly, and the cattle so which the farm -student should store up

well, that he may find it beneficial to use the grain in pushing on the live stock. Advantage in Using Home-grown Food. — There is a growing tendency to

carefully in his mind.

In this particular

section of the work we take up the care

of these young cattle at the threshold of winter. They are, as indicated, of various

use more and moreof the home-grown ages, mostlyfrom six to nine months, and produce as food for cattle and sheep, in good thriving condition. As the sup the great reduction in the price of grain plyof grass diminished andthe evenings being the chief influence in bringing became chilly, the calves had been re

this about. Other things being equal, ceiving indoor food, such as cake, meal,

is an advantage in consuming in- vetches, grass, or hay. By degrees they there stead of selling farm produce. It is true are worked into their winter rations. economy to make the produce of the It is well to avoid sudden changes in the

farm “walk itself” to market, in the feeding and treatment of cattle. Giv

SYSTEMS OF FEEDING.

359

small quantities of the new food at the breath, as are roots or other food lying in

outset, increasing the new and lessening a box or crib lower down. Still it will the old, until almost imperceptibly the be found more advantageous to supply complete substitution has been effected . the fodder sparingly and frequently than Turnips and Straw for Store Cattle. in large quantities ata time. The fresher

- In thecolder districts the young store and sweeterit is, the more keenly will cattle, which may now be said to have it be relished by the animals ; and if too

emerged from calfhood, will be entirely much is given at a time, the cattle are dependent upon house-feeding by the apt to pull out more than they eat and time the winter has fairly set in.

In the waste it amongst their feet.

turnip -growing districts thefood through-

Feeding Hours. — The most general

out the winter will consist mainly of custom where the turnip and straw sys

turnips and oat-straw. Very many far- tem prevails is to give the roots in two mers still give the young cattle all the meals, one in the forenoon, between 8 and turnips they can eat comfortably ; but as

10 o'clock, and another between 2 and 3

has already been indicated sufficiently, in the afternoon ; and the fodder in three the allowance of roots is being lessened meals, between 5 and 6 in the morning, with advantage.

between 11 and 12 in the forenoon, and

Study theAnimal's Appetite. — Where between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. In it is intended to feed the young store

some cases a fourth meal of straw is given

cattle solely with turnips and straw , and between 6 and 8 o'clock at night. where there is an abundance of both

In many instances the daily allowance roots and straw , the cattle -man may of turnips is divided into three meals,

decide for himself, from time to time, by given at 6 A.M., 10 A.m., and 3 P.M.; and

carefully watching the appetite and the young animals will be more contented progress of the individual animals, what and most likely thrive better with three quantity of each kind of food is to be small or moderate meals of roots than given to each animal. He will be care- with the same quantity in two meals.

ful not to gorge the young beasts with

Different Kinds of Roots for Store

cold roots, for in all probability some of Cattle. — At the outset, perhaps for two them , of a greedier disposition than or three weeks, soft white turnips are others, would eat more turnips than given whole, " tops and all,” but if the would be good for them . Keep within tops are very wet and muddy, they the limit of sufficiency rather than over- should be given very sparingly, or, bet step it.

Do not on any account give ter stil not at all, as in that condition

more roots at one meal than will be eaten they will be apt to cause scour.

The

up cleanly without delay at that time. white turnips are succeeded by yellows, It is a bad, wasteful practice to have and where a large proportion of swedes Val- is grown, these take the place of the uable food is thus destroyed, and the yellow turnips perhaps as early as the

roots lying for hours before cattle.

animals thrive best when they have their second or third week in November, prob stated meals at fixed hours, getting no ably not for several weeks later, accord

more roots at each time than will be at ing to the proportionate supplies of the once consumed . The same remark ap- two kinds of roots. It is not often that the soft white plies to meals and cake, but with straw turnips need to be cut ; but in every and hay the case is different. Feed Sparingly and Frequently.-

instance yellow turnips and swedes should

The long fodder is usually, and ought always to be, supplied in a rack sufficiently high to be within easy reach of the animal's head. Many good farmers think it beneficial to have a little fodder always

be cut for young cattle for all kindsof cattle, indeed, whose teeth are not fully developed and in good order. Roots, Cake, Meals, and Fodder

for Store Cattle . — From choice or neces

in the rack, so that the animals can take sity store cattle are now being reared

a mouthful when they feel the desire for with much smaller allowances of turnips it. There is something to be said for than in former times — say, prior to 1875. this, and the fodder in the rack is not The advantages of this change have

so liable to get spoiled by the animal's already been noticed . In certain cases

CATTLE IN WINTER.

360

the curtailment of the root -supply has ture, and where care is taken to have the been moderate, and little or nothing in- animals comfortably housed at night and

troduced in place of that withheld , ex- in wet or exceptionally cold weather, the cepting an increased quantity of straw or young cattle thrive wonderfully well hay, and an offering of fresh pure water. The more general plan, however, has been to give, along with the lessened allowance of roots, small quantities of

under this system , with but very little

extra food of any kind. Most likely no roots are given, perhaps nothing but long oat-straw , or a little hay or silage, once

other more concentrated foods, such as or twice a -day.

In other cases a small

cake, bruised grain, bean -meal, or Indian allowance of cake or meal, from 1 to 2

corn meal, and the usual full supply of lb. per day, is given. long fodder.

With two small rations of

Occasionally in these parts the extra

roots, from 35 to 50 lb. the two, plenty food is given in racks and boxes outside. of good oat-straw or hay, and from 1/2

This, however, is not a good plan.

to 3 lb. of cake or meal per day, young store cattle will be foundto thrive admirably. The allowance of meal or cake is usually given early in the morning,

the animals have it under a roof, with a dry place to stand upon, where theywill have plenty of fresh air, but be free from draughts.

Let

perhaps about 6 A.m., and the roots at

It is not uncommon, indeed, to see

from 9 to 1o, and about 3 P.M. ; the turnips given to cattle on fields even in fodder as already stated. It is considered cold days in winter. In an exception

undesirable to give a large feed of cold ally mild dry day there may be little roots upon an empty stomach in the harm in this,but, generally speaking, the practice is to be condemned.

morning In other cases where still fewer roots

The ani

mals will turn the cold roots to better

are allowed , these are given at one time, account if allowed to consume them in perhaps about 10 or 11 A.M., the con- comfortable quarters.

centrated food being given early in the

Pulped Food for Store Cattle . — As

morning and afternoon, the former meal already indicated , the pulping system is smaller than the latter. Again, in some specially serviceable in the feeding of farms the whole of the cake or meal is

store cattle.

It enables the farmer to

given in the morning, and the roots re- turn his straw and chaff to better ac served till the afternoon.

It cannot be

count as food for stock than could be

said that any one plan is best for all cases ; but as a rule, at any rate where the animals run out daily, it is considered most suitable to give the turnips in the

done otherwise. The straw of wheat and barley are not much relished by cattle when given by themselves, and cattle will not willingly eat chaff. Yet there is

forenoon .

considerable feeding value in all these,

Where the animals are able to pick up and in a judiciously prepared pulped a little grass outside, they will relish mixture cattle will eat them with appre a feed of cake or meal as soon as they ciation. There is not the same advan

come in, and an allowance of fodder may tage inpulping good oat-straw and hay, be reserved till later in the afternoon. for if given in afresh condition, and in Where no food is to be had outside, the small quantities at a time, cattle will animals, after a run in the fresh air and a consume these in the long form with ex

drink of cold water, will welcome a sub- ceedingly little waste. But the utilisa stantial ration of oat-straw or hay. tion of the less palatable kinds of fodder Southern Systems of Feeding Store is an important consideration, and this, Cattle. — In the principal grazing dis- together with its great influence in econo

tricts of England and Ireland, and also mising roots, commends the pulping sys in the south -west of Scotland, where the tem very strongly as a most useful agent climate is mild, and the winters com- in the rearing of store cattle.

paratively free from frost and snow, the young store cattle are out on the pastures almost daily throughout the winter - out many a day when they ought to be in Where there is a good deal of rough pas-

Proportions of Pulped Mixtures .

Already, in describing the pulping sys tem, full details have been given as to the manner of preparing pulped mixtures. The proportions of roots to other foods

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER .

361

will, of course, depend largely upon the and food. They are now turning both supply available for the store cattle. to better account than their forefathers Some mix equal quantities, bushel by did. The progress that has been made

bushel, of pulped roots and chopped in the matter of " early maturity ” -in fodder ; but a much smaller proportion of the rearing of stock at a more rapid rate, roots is more general. One bushel of and fattening them at an earlier age

pulped roots is often made to serve for two, three, or even more bushels of chopped fodder, and when the allowance of roots is very small, it is desirable to add to the mixture a little crushed cake, meal, or bruised grain, perhaps from 1 to 272 lb. for each beast per day. Decorticated cotton -cake is most largely used for store cattle, but many give a mixture of this

has been very marked and gratifying. Along with this movement — as an essen tial element in it, in fact — has come a great saving of cattle food . Apart from the question as to the influence which this early “ forcing ” of stock may exercise upon the constitutional stamina of the bovine race — in regard to which some misgivings are entertained by eminent

and linseed - cake or linseed -meal. The authorities, and as to which something market prices should be watched care- may be said at a later stage— there can

fully, and the kind of cake or other food be no doubt that substantial immediate bought which is comparatively cheapest benefit has resulted from it to feeders at the time. Many careful feeders of cattle. In feeding cattle, as in most

sprinkle a little common salt over the other industries, time means money . It pulped mixture, and still a larger number is important, therefore, that time as well sweeten it with dissolved treacle.

as food should be economised. Indeed,

When it is intended to push the ani- the economical use of the one involves mals from their youth, and have them the thrifty use of the other, and by a care fattened at an exceptionally early age, ful study of these considerations farmers the richer and more concentrated foods have raised their system of “ meat manu

are increased in quantity.

facture” to a decidedly better footing. The progress of the early maturity movement in the south of England is

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER. traced in the following notes, contributed to this edition by Mr Henry Evershed : “ Meat manufacture," the chief func tion of the bovine race , is coming more and more within the domain of science.

Quick feeding has become the order

of the day.

As a certain quantity of

We are still, so to speak, but on the food is necessarily required for respira

threshold of the great subject of the tion, the maintenance of heat, and other “ science of cattle feeding." We have vital functions, a system which matures not kept pace with some other countries

an animal for market at an early age

in the investigation of it, yet wedo know must be based on a sound principle, a great deal more aboutearly maturity, since it reduces the total quantity of and the economical production of beef, food required for these purposes. than was known prior to 1870. There With the progress of farming during is still so much more to learn, and the the past 150 years a constant advance

spirit of inquiry has been so thoroughly in the early maturity of stock has been aroused, that in all probability the acquisition of fresh knowledge within the next fifteen or twenty years will bring about greater changes in the practice of rearing and feeding cattle than have taken place

accomplished. Southdown sheep , previ ous to the improvements of Ellman, were rarely fattened earlier than three

years old . “ They are now usually fat tened ,” says Youatt, writing just before

in this industry during the past two sec 1830 , “ after having completed their ond year."

decades.

EARLY MATURITY .

Improvement in Sheep.- Mr Ell

man had begun his improvements by Farmers have, fortunately, learned to 1790, and through his system of careful set a higher value than most of them selection he moulded the Southdowns seemingly did before both upon time into perfect shape and form , and by

CATTLE IN WINTER .

362

so doing placed them at the head of flated parallelograms set up on fine legs, The early maturity of with the breast near the ground, just as improved Hampshire Downs and Shrop- they are seen at the cattle-shows. shires, and the recent improvements in id Fattening of Cattle in Sus. Suffolk sheep, are all derived from ad-

Sex . —

- The earliest reported examples of

mixture with Ellman's breed, and they the very rapid feeding of recent years

are all accompanied by improved shape. in the south of England came from Mr J. J. Colman's “Royal Newcastle,” a Southdown, and the champion ram of the year (1887), is of course a perfect model. His length is great, but the extraordinary depth and thickness of the carcass make him appear a short sheep. His neck is the shortest possible, the head appearing almost to spring

Sussex, not far from Mr Ellman's parish of Glynde ; and for the sake of showing the modern date of the system, it may be here stated that the earliest account of this practice in Sussex appeared in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in 1878.1 Sussex System of Feeding for Early

from the shoulders. A grand masculine Maturity . — The Sussex method of pre

head, with bright eye and fine fleece, paring bullocks for slaughter at from

complete the picture of this perfect meat- 15 to 20 months old does not differ making creature. The judges described materially from that pursued in other him inthe Journal of theRoyal Agri- districts.

The calves are weaned at

cultural Society of England as a wonder- birth. The new milk they at first re ful sheep, whose leg of mutton surpassed ceive is soon replaced by skim - milk anything they had ever seen before in thickened with boiled linseed or oatmeal. a one-year-old sheep. This picture is They are gradually induced to feed on worth painting, because when “ Royal linseed - cake and hay. At 3 or 4 Newcastle ” was required on one occa- months old, up to 7 or 8 months old,

sion to prepare himself for exhibition in their daily rations consist of 3 or 4 lb. quicker timethan usual, he clothed him- of linseed -cake and bean -meal in equal

self with meat with unparalleled speed. parts, with a little hay and straw, half Perfect form , then, implies aptitude in a bushel of roots, and a small quantity feeding. Mr Youatt speaks of “ those of salt. The cake and meal are gradu properties of form which evince a tend- ally increased, till at 12 months old

ency to arrive at early maturity of muscle they get about 6 lb. each daily. and fatness.”

In summer their succulent food con

The Southdowns having been endowed with model form — by selection, not by inbreeding — sooner than any other breed, their earlier maturity was assured, and they were naturally used, as Youаtt states, in modifying other breeds far beyond the limits of Sussex, whose shortwoolled sheep formed the original type.

sists of various forage crops, such as trifolium , tares, grass, and second - cut clover. Some feeders allow the young bullocks to feed in a cool pasture during the daytime in summer. Others prefer keeping them indoors, in which case they do not quit their sheds till they are

Early Maturity and Perfection of

The same principle of feeding is pur

sent to the butcher.

Form . — The same physiological law sued in all cases, and the food is gradu

which connects early maturity with per- ally increased, so that the beasts continu fect form ,from a butcher's point of view ally outgrow it, so to speak, till they are -a parallelogram without the angles— sold for slaughter. applies to other animals besides sheep. All the breeds have been improved in modern times. Probably the earliest example of a perfect model of form among shorthorns was the famous bull which Mr Collings “picked up in a But there are now four or five

Calves for Early Maturity . - Un der ordinary circumstances a cow rears five calves while in milk ; and the pur chase of well-bred calves,which are alone adapted for early fattening, is an essential part of the system here described. It is most important that the calves

breeds, besides the crosses between some

should be of the best possible quality.

lane. "

of them, which are alike finished ex

amples of what cattle should be - in-

1 " Early Fattening of Cattle,” xiv. part 1 .

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER.

363

Examples of Rapid Feeding. – Mr Ill-bred ones are always very unprofitable, and particularly so when quick feed- Joseph Blundell of Southampton, a fre ing is attempted. In the larger dairy quent prize-winner for young bullocks at districts, calves in the season are plenti- the cattle-shows ofthe Botley and South ful, and are often sold at very low prices Hants Farmers' Club, sold one of his

compared with their value elsewhere. It first-prize shorthorn heifers to Mr Lunn

would be worth while, therefore, for of Southampton, 18 months 3 weeks old, those who rear calves for early fattening, weighing 98 stone (of 8 lb.) 6 lb., and to obtain them direct from the dairy his skilful treatment of the young animals

counties, instead of buying them second- is well worth recording. He says : hand. They should be sent off in pas-

“My calves are weaned at a few days

senger trains at a week old, tied up in old, fed with new milk at first, gradually bags packed with straw , with the head introducing with the skim -milk , linseed at liberty.

cake, meal, and barley -meal, with a little

Calf - rearing for Early Maturity. sweet meadow -hay for a time in the rack - The rearing of calves successfully is allowed them until they can safely take

a knack dependent on experience and to green fodder, which they get in suc painstaking, and is so important in the cession — first rye, second trifolium , third business of early fattening that one or clover, with a portion of old mangel,, two other examples will not be out of then early. turnips. To commence the

place. A Staffordshire dairy-farmer with winter they get hybrid turnips, carrots, 100 cows, who has been successful in or swedes ; and lastly mangel, until the this department, says :

green fodder comes in again , being sup " It is my practice to rear nearly 40 plied with clean fresh oat or barley straw

of my earliest heifer calves. They are always in the rack whilst feeding either not allowed to suck their dams; they on green fodder or roots, the portion not have from 4 to 8 quarts of new milk per day, according to age, for three or four weeks. They are then fed with skim -milk , thickened with boiled linseed

eaten being removed for littering the boxes daily. As soon as they begin to take green fodder, they are allowed a small portion , say 2 lb., of cake-meal per

or oatmeal, and are taught as soon as day, mixed with the old mangels, which possible to eat hay and a small quantity are cut with Gardner's turnip -cutter. of linseed -cake. They are allowed to run As soon as root-feeding commences, they

out in a grass-field in May and June, and get 4 lb. of cake per day, and continue are then generally left out altogether, to receive this quantity until they are with a shed to run into in very wet sold at 18 to 20 months old ; having, weather, or to avoid the heat of the sun however, during the last three months,

and the teasing of flies. The wet-nursing 1 lb. of bean or barley meal extra ; but is generally discontinued when they are at no time after they once take to their

about four months old. They are,how- green food are they allowed hay, as this ever, supplied with about 1 lb. each per would be found to absorb the profit and day of linseed -cake all through the year. “ In order to have all the milk available for cheese-making, we have hitherto often fed the calves ,when taken from

injure the health of the animals also, for since I adopted the method of straw feeding I have never had an animal hovenor unhealthy ." Another excellent manager, having new milk, with whey thickened with meal.” But he thinks skim - milk a safer food . His i lb. of linseed - cake

some good pastures, feeds as follows: “ Two calves are put on each cow, and

all through the year would , of course , are suckled by them from March or

not suffice for fattening bullocks. The following detailed dietary is a good one : 6 quarts of new milk daily for fourteen days from birth, and for the next six weeks 2 gallons of skimmed milk , warmed and mixed with 72 lb. of linseed -cake, 1 lb. boiled linseed, and 12 lb. split beans.

April till July or August, when they are weaned on the rowans ( leys) and get 272 lb. of linseed -cake each daily. They are placed in the yards in October, and win tered on the same quantity of cake , with

one- third of a bushel of roots daily, straw and rough hay. In April or May, when 12 or 13 months old, they

CATTLE IN WINTER .

364

areput on a good pasture andsummered, may be accomplished in pastures. Irish with 27/2 lb. of cake daily. In autumn heifers may be brought tocalve in March. they again come into the yards in ex- They suckle their calves for about five

cellent condition , and they are then fed weeks to the value of £3 or £4, and on 5 lb. of linseed -cake and 1/4 bushel with a little trouble they then accept of roots daily for three months, and good shorthorn calves as changelings. finished in April or May with the addi- În May the heifers and calves go on the

tion of 5 lb. of pea and barley meal.” pastures, with 4 lb. of decorticated cot With this treatment they weighed at ton -cake daily to each heifer. The calves the neighbouring butcher's one year : suck through the summer and following

May 23, a steer, 108 stone 5 lb.; a heifer, winter till February, and in May, at 14 100 stone. May 27, a steer, 117 stone months or 60 weeks old, such calves I lb.

May 29, a steer, 106 stone ; a

have been sold (beef being then very

steer, 101 stone 7 lb. June 5, a steer, dear) at £24 each. June 7, a steer, 122 97 stone i lb. Return for Rapid Fattening. stone 2 lb. June 26, a heifer, 79 stone These calves had gained 8s. per week, 9 lb. June 29, a steer, 115 stone 4 lb. which is almost the maximum recorded —that is, stones of 8 lb. The heaviest gain at that age for ordinary farm stock.

of these cattle was just 105 weeks old . On arable farms, under more costly

Rapid Fattening onPasture. — Bul- management, when beef sold at 6s. 2d. locks are never fattened so cheaply as or 6s. 4d. per stone of 8 lb., a farmer with the aid of good pasture. There are in Sussex disposed of his young animals

several methods by which early maturity at his sale as follows : Guineas.

II months old Shorthorn steer 11 steer 13 11 11 heifer 14

15 16 18

11

1872

11

11

heifer steer steer

steer

Feeding Cow and Calf together.-

Return per Week . 8.

d.

16

7

O

22 20 22

8

3

2772

8

25

6 9

28

7

4

Rapid Feeding on a Surrey Farm .

In rich pastures mother and calf are --Anagriculturist in Surrey found, in sometimes fattened together to great ad- closing his year's accounts in October vantage — that is, in cases where, from 1885,that he had fattened and sold 170 some defect or other cause, it is not in- youngbullocks during the year. All of

tended that the cow should breed again. themhad been reared at home, and he But it is occasionally done in a more considered that the business had been systematic manner, when Devons or profitable. The bullocks had all been Herefords, or a cross between Sussex sold at market under the hammer at the

and Devon, produce their calves at two average net price of £17, 158., the price years old . These breeds are not good of beef having averaged 5s. 6d . per stone

milkers; but a heifer nevertheless lends of 8 lb., so that the weight of the ani agreat deal of help to two calves at grass. mals must have been 65 stone each. She receives cotton -cake ad libitum , and Their average age was 16 months, and if she calved in March, she will fatten each bullock had returned 55. 3d. per fast on grass, and be as ripe as summer week. The result had not been quite so beef should be in July at 27/3 years old. satisfactory as in former years, when the

The calves will be summered on grass price of beef had ranged from 5s. 9d. a second season, going to the butcher at to 7s. per stone for choice young bul

16 to 18 months old. It is a great ad- locks. But 58. 3d. per week is regarded as a good return, vantage in the fattening of young animals- by this large feeder manure free of cost.

that they grow and fatten simultaneous which leaves the ly, and may be either sold as early as Some of the calves were bred on the

15 months, or kept three or four months farm , and the rest were purchased at about a week old, at prices varying from longer, according to circumstances.

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER.

365

508. to 6os. each. On arrival, the calves Owing to good breed, capital condition passed to the care of an excellent cattle- from birth, and the warm sheds in which man, whose management was thus de- they were wintered, the young fattening

scribed by his employer : “ The calf is bullocks ate comparatively little , even fed on new milk, which is gradually re- when nearly ripe. Nothing like the ex

duced in quantity, as this food of nature is travagant quantities of corn given by in great demand, and must needs be used I did not question the feeders closely, hoping to do so another day, but here is a hint they gave me. They find that in substituting other food for new milk , it is better to bring the calves gradually to take the equivalent in the form of dry food. Mixing linseedwith economy.

old -fashioned feeders had beenallowed. The quantity of roots had been very small,and that of straw , chaff, and the cheaper kinds of dry food proportion ately large. In fact, many bullocks were fattened on this farm , after the drought of 1885, without any roots. It must suffice to say that mixed meals had been

cake dust in the milk was tried, but used, and a well-balanced ration care

apparently it occasioned scouring. We fully adhered to. With regard to the the

allknow that hay -tea is mixed with the quality of the beef,

young animals

milk by many farmers, who can have it from this farm were always eagerly bid

prepared by some careful person indoors ; for at the auction -mart at Guildford ; and and in a farmhouse kitchen, with a good the feeders of older bullocks were morti

careful Mrs Poyser to prepare the food, fied to find that their costly cattle, fin linseed -cake dust might prove as safe in ished perhaps with 10 lb. each of linseed the milk as hay-tea. But in the case be- cake daily, were neglected in favour of

fore us we have only cottagers for this the younger bullocks, especially in sum

grandmotherly sort of work, with large mer, smalljoints suiting customers better families, and owing to this the calves are managed entirely by the men, and it may be they avoid pot-boiling on thisaccount. At all events, they prefer teaching the calves to munch several sorts of dry food as soon as they can be induced to do so .

A nice sweet piece of hay helps them greatly at an early age, and it is given to them long, instead of being cut into chaff, so that the young things may amuse themselves with nibbling and chewing it.

than large ones.

Rapid Feeding of Sheep . — The age

of sheep has been shortened quite as much as that of bullocks. Before the time of Ellman, as already stated, South down wethers were rarely killed till the end of their third year . They are now

commonly killed at ten months and a year old, and frequently younger.

Previous to 1874, comparatively few “ lambs,” born in the year of the show ,

At the time of year when were exhibited at the show of the Smith

the calves are allowed to run out in the field Club. In 1875, and two following pastures —— that is, during seven or eight years, only 76 such lambs were exhibited. months of the year — they are never al. In 1885,and two following years, between lowed to remain out all night. In warm 70 and 80 were exhibited in each year. weather they spend the whole day in the In December, when the show is held, the

pastures, running out afterthe first meal, age of these sheep, called lambs, would and remaining out till night, when they be ten or eleven months; and at that age, are brought in for shelter. As for their Hampshires are made up to the weight sleeping -places, the scattered homesteads of 16, 17, and 18 stone of 8 lb. each. of Surrey sand farms are well known for Lamb Feeding, by Messrs de their big barns. A big barn,thatched or Mornay .-- Lambs were first admitted

5, to competition at Smithfield in 187de tiled, forms the main building of each through the exertions of Messrs At the date just mentioned , the price Mornay, of Col d'Arbres, Wallingford,

little homestead .” 1

of calves had fallen to 40s. each . Good who were early in the field as breeders calves had been carefully selected, many and feeders for early maturity. In 1877 of them being the offspring of large their own pen of three lambs won the

shorthorn dairy cows by a pedigree bull. first prize, and the animals weighed, when dead, 1772 stone each. At the present time MrAlfred de Mornay, of Col 1 Field , December 26, 1885.

CATTLE IN WINTER .

366

d'Arbres, fattens the whole of his wether lambs at from seven to nine months old. A show -wether at ten months old scaled

18 %2 stone, dead weight.

The great difference in the result in the two years was caused by the fall in the price of mutton and wool, and the smaller number of twin lambs in the year 1884.

System of

The produce per ewe ranged from +5

Feeding Sheep. — Mr de Mornay's farm

1os. 2d. in 1883 to £ 4, 39. rod. in

Mr A. de Mornay's

consists of 583 acres, of which only_20 1884, or an average, for the two years, of acres are in permanent pasture. The £ 4, 175. per annum . Each ewe paid rest is mainly fertile land in the upper

IS. rod . per week, a sum which would

greensand, with 80 acres on chalk . It allow of the profitable use of a large

is all admirably suited for sheep- farming. quantity of artificial food, by which the The flock, in spring, is placed on rye, fertility of the soil and the yield of the consumed with roots, and after that crop crops would be much increased .

they are folded on Trifolium incarnatum ,

Rapid Feeding of Sheep in Hamp

and on succession crops of vetches, which shire. — Very high returns from early form the main summer food. A quantity fattening have been made in Hampshire, of mangel is reserved for the summer. where an annual competition takes place

During the winter, the ewes eat all the among neighbouring flocks. The highest barley and oat straw, and a good deal of recorded prices are those of pens which the wheat-straw, and in yearsof drought have won the prizes at the local fairs. they have been maintained through the On October 23, 1882, Mr G. Judd , of

winter in good health, almost entirely Barton Stacey ,Micheldever, penned 200 on dry food. A portion of the land is wether lambs, born in January, and aver

always in sainfoin, laid down for three aging nine months old.

They were sold

or four years, and this is most valuable by auction at an average of 848. each, sheep food , both green and as hay. within a fraction, for the 200, besides

The following statistics, relating to the £ 70 won in prizes, and they brought flock, are borrowed from the pamphlet, their owner and breeder 91s. each, less the auctioneer's charge. Mutton was “Early Maturity of Live Stock .' very dear at that time, and the lambs

Thenumber ofewes lambed down in 1883 probably sold at 75. per stone, their

was 461. The produce of the above sold for

estimated weight being 12 stone. At 918., they brought their owner 2s. 4d. per week from birth ; or, omitting the prize -money, they brought him nearly

as follows : Ram lambs

£ 879 16 7 189 wether lambs (fat mutton from 7 to

10 months old)

708 94

Draft ewes

641

6

200

4

IIO

O

2s. 2d . per week.

Wool (unsold ), say,

The number of ewes

With regard to management, Mr Judd says of these lambs, that they “ were born in January, or early in February,

O

143 tods at 28s. Increase of ewe flock, 22 at £5

and were weaned as soon as the water

O

£ 2539 16 5 lambed

down in 1884 was 483. The produce of the above sold for as follows : · £ 619 18 0 Ram lambs 157wether lambs ( fat mutton from 7 to 503 4 4 10 months old) Draft ewes 647 29

allowance reached about 1/2 lb. of oil cake, with 72 lb. of split beans; and during the last six weeks immediately preceding the show , turnips were substi tuted for rape ."3

Wool ( unsold ), say, .

175

4

o

Mr Judd's weights are not unrivalled, 80

O

146 tods at 248. Increase of ewe flock , 16 at £5

meadows were fed off, about the 13th of May. They were fed on tares, sainfoin, and oilcake till July, when rape took the place of tares, and the amount of cake was gradually increased, until the daily

0

however ; for Mr W. Parsons, in reading 2025

Gross total

9

I

£4565 5 6

a paper before the London Farmers' Club, on

Early Maturity of Live Stock,"

1884, recorded that Mr East of Long 1 " Early Maturity of Stock .” By H. Evershed.

stock, Stockbridge, took the first prize at Winchester Fair that year for 100 lambs,

---

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER. which were sold, by auction on the spot, at Sos., and were estimated to weigh 1272 stone. There were 500 lambs in the class, weighing not less than 11 stone each on the average.

Early Maturity Profitable. — These

details prove that early maturity is profitable.

It enables us to sell the wether

367

his prize-winnershave been the offspring of ram lambs. Like many other breeders, he finds that ewe lambs can be profit ably bred from . Every year he selects some of his coarser ewelambs, and breeds from them with success.

Many others might be named who have tried the same experiment, includ

lambs in autumn, and consequently to ing Mr James Stratton of Chilcombe,

increase the number of ewes, and to Winchester, who has bred from 300 ewe reserve a larger number of ewe lambs for lambs in a year ; while a breeder of the breeding. The Hampshire and Wiltshire Southdowns, within the writer's know

sheep-farms are, no doubt, particularly ledge, always pursued this practice with healthy for sheep, and adapted for carry- out observing any deterioration of his ing them through the summer, by means flock, and his lambs were always as good of a succession of forage crops. as his neighbours '. Sheep on Heavy Land. — But many

Mr de Mornay, however, is the most

heavy-land farms, on which a great deal systematic experimenter in this depart of money has been lost in recent years, ment. His idea is to induce a habit of might, too, pay their way well under early breeding in the ewe lambs, by

sheep breeding and fattening. One-third selecting the most forward and matured or more of the land should be in pasture, among them, and mating them with a to carry the ewes in winter ; and in spring lamb of the same stamp. His selections and summer the flock could be main are made from a flock where early

tained on mangel, trefoil, and rye-grass, maturity has been already encouraged clover, tares, aftermath, and early tur- during some years past ; and Mr de

nips. Few roots should be given, with Mornay has good reason to anticipate plenty of chaff and corn , and the flock, that the habit of early breeding will be whether on arable or pasture, should be established . It is, of course , indispen frequently shifted, and well supplied sable that the young ewes should be with water. It is a great error to over- well fed , and carefully managed ; and

stock . In the Vale of Aylesbury a few ewes are kept on the rich cow pastures -formerly Hampshires, crossed with a Cotswold ram , or, in modern times,

this expense can readily be afforded, since a flock of ewes at four years' old will produce four crops of lambsinstead of three, which they would yield under

Oxford Downs. The lambs are sold, as ordinary circumstances. lamb, at twelve and fourteen weeks old, Weights of Cattle.- The weights at at 458. and 50s. each, and the ewes are tained byprize animals, as shown by the

fattened off the grassin August and Sep- reports ofshows at Chicago, where the tember. Little, if any, corn is given carcasses are weighed, and Smithfield , either to the ewes or lambs.

where the live weight only is taken,

By supplying corn liberally, poorer have no very practical bearing on our pastures may be made available for early subject. We have already given some fattening, as described above. maximum weights of picked animals

Breeding from Lambs. It has been under ordinary feeding, and some average well said, that successful feeding depends weights, as estimated from the price at upon good breeding. The sheep usually which the animals were sold. As a mat selected for early maturity are the Downs, ter of curiosity, however, it may be

rather than the heavier and coarser long- stated that a Hereford at Chicago weighed woolled breeds. It is the general prac- 920 lb. at 350 days old, having gained tice in Hants to use ram lambs, and

2.62 lb. daily ; a Devon steer at Islington

some persons attribute the habit of early

weighed 809 lb. at 388 days old, having

maturity, in great measure, tothat prac- gained daily 2.09 lb. ; but a champion tice. One of the most eminentof South- shorthorn at Chicago, 1372 days old ,had down prize-winners informs the writer only gained from birth 1.74 lb. daily. that rain lambs produce better and bigger Taking account of the cost of production, progeny than older sheep, and that all the Chicago Society found that the beef

CATTLE IN WINTER .

368

Steers under Three Years.

made by fiveanimals in their second year

Average gain per day in pounds in

cost 4d. per lb., in the third year it cost

672d. per lb. The Smithfield and Birmingham So Aberdeen - Angus

cieties have found, by weighing the live Shorthorn animals, that bullocks well fed up to Sussex about 1 year 8 months old have very

Hereford

little to show for the expens e of feeding Cross-bred them another year. The average live Norfolk . weight of steers at 1 year 8 months old has been 11 cwt. 2 qr. 19 lb., and at ayear

Devon

1881 .

1887.

1.62

1.99

1.90

2.00

2.00

1.89

2.03 1.75

1.71 1.79

1.89

1.89 1.48

2.01

1.81 1.61 1.49

1879.

1.59 1.45 Steers over Three Years. Average gain per day in pounds in 1.22

older they weighed only 15 cwt. 20 lb. The following Smithfield Club statis

tics afford similar comparisons as to live Welsh weights in a more elaborate form :-

Cross -bred Shorthorn

Steers under Two Years.

Aberdeen -Angus

Average gain per day in pounds in 1879.

1881 .

1.91 2.07 2.35 1.63

2.26 2.35 2.06 2.09 1.71

Aberdeen -Angus Cross -bred Hereford

Sussex Shorthorn Devon

1.74 1.57 1.73 1.53

1.58 1.56

Highland

2.19 2.17 2.07

Weights of Sheep. — Birmingham statistics afford the following striking

1.43 1.47

1.60

I.20

1.24

1.19

1.09

1.37

1.55 1.43 1.31 1.23

1.81 comparisons with regard to sheep : Weight of each Sheep.

Age.

Oxford downs

20

Cross-breds

21

First Prize.

Weeks.

Shropshires I

lb.

Ib.

191 180 144 197

OZ .

7734 774 615 672

758

Daily gain of each Lamb from birth .

ооооо

agaano

9

since birth .

311 321 244 251 297

Weight of each Sheep

Age.

Months.

Ib.

Daily gain per Sheep

OOOOO

21

OOOO

22

Shropshires

Weeks.

21

Cross -breds .

1.78 1.60 1.13

1887. 1.64 1.61 1.60

2.21 2.20

1887 .

Months.

Oxford downs

1881.

1.64

Lincolns Cotswolds

Hampshire downs .

1879 .

Sussex Hereford Norfolk Devon

First Prize .

Lincolns Cotswolds

1.85

Ib.

Oz .

11 % 972 824 II

O

246

1372

46

192

92

Unfortunately there are no lamb England, but the fattening of cattle for classes for Southdowns or Leicesters, slaughter under twenty months old was and no older classes for Hampshires. pursued in some parts of Scotland before But these figures suffice to show that even the earliest examples referred to

sheep make mutton most rapidly when in the preceding notes by Mr Evershed . they are under a year old.

Throughout Scotland generally, as in

England, the movement for early matu Early Maturity in Scotland . — The rity has made rapid progress since 1875. fattening of lambs has not been carried It is now seldom that a bullock is kept to such a great extent in Scotland as in beyond its third year, and the great ma

-

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER .

369

jority are fed off when about two years pound of growth, Sir John Bennett old. A very large number of cattle go to Lawes says: “ I quite accept the fact, the butcher when from 18 to 22 months and am prepared to account for it. Pro old, and the proportion fattened off under fessor Stewart is not quite correct when two years old issteadily increasing. he says that our investigation on the cost

The systems of feeding cattle have of the production of beef bears mostly undergone important changes to suit this on the cost of putting on weight during more rapid fattening. It is, of course, the fattening period . Our early in to the more modern methods that atten- quiries began upon lambs, calves, and tion is here mainly directed .

store stock, and we traced their growth

Lawes on High -pressure and Profitable Feeding. - Sir John Bennett

and composition from birth to the store,

fat, and very fat state. These experi Lawes has been an able and persistent ments are recorded in the transactions of He has the Royal Society for 1860. advocate for early maturity. He often pointed out, however, that the “ A reference to the composition of

“ high -pressure system of feeding " may, a store and very fat sheep will show in the sense of economy, be overdone. at once why every additional pound

He says : " Every day of an animal's we add to the weight of an animal is life, a certain amount of food is required more costly than the previous one. Our for sustenance purposes alone. An ani- store sheep contained, in every 100 lb.

malwhich does not increase in weight is kept at a loss, as it merely turns food into manure . On the other hand, if you require to produce as much weight of beef in one year as is produced under

of live weight, 39 lb. of dry substance, and 61 lb. of water. The very fat sheep contained in each 100 parts, 63 lb.dry substance, and 37 parts water. Two store sheep, each weighing 100 lb., would

ordinary feeding in three years, it can contain 75 lb. dry substance and 122 lb. only be done by a large expenditure in water. The very fat sheep under ex

costly foods; and, except for show pur- periment weighed considerably more than poses, this very rapid fattening is not

t

double the weight of the store sheep.

necessarily the most profitable. As the Taking its weight at 200 lb., it contained rate of increase is limited, however highly

74 lb. water and 126 lb. solid matter.

an animal is fed , much waste of food takes The very fat sheep of equal weight with place under a high - pressure system of the two store sheep would contain 45 lb. feeding ; while on the other hand, an more solid matter, almost entirely fat. animal is unprofitable if it does not in- Each pound of fat requires about 272 lb. crease in weight every day. Between of starch, or some similar digestible non these two extremes there ought to be nitrogenous substance for itsproduction. some point which marks the minimum

“ However, while these experiments

cost at which a pound of beef can be pro- show why the displacement of water by duced.

I have once or twice tried to fat is one of the reasons why each pound

construct a table for my own satisfaction, added to an animal is attended with ad but without much success. ditional expense, they do not touch the Cheaper Meat from Young Ani. question of early maturity, or the relative

mals than Old. — In the experiments of economy of one, two, or three year old Sir John Bennett Lawes, Professor E. beef. ” 1 W. Stewart (United States ), Professor

Professor

Wrightson's

Experi

Wrightson, and others, it has been clearly ments.— Evidence of a similar import demonstrated that a greater consumption is provided by the following account, of food is required to form a pound of given by “ H. F. M. ” . in the Field , of meat upon an old and heavy animal than some interesting and instructive experi

upon a young animal of smaller size — in other words, that young meat can be manufactured at a cheaper rate than old Referring to a statement by Professor E. W. Stewart, to the effect that every additional pound put upon an animal costs more in food than the previous VOL . I.

ments carried out at the Oollege of Agri culture, Downton, by Professor Wright son , in 1886-1887. The experiments were intended to demonstrate to the

students the increase in weight per day ? Albany Cultivator, 1886 . 2 A

CATTLE IN WINTER .

370

and per 1000 lb. of live weight, and the In February this was altered , and the increase also during the various stages following richer food given : Cake (half of fattening

The experiment lasted each cotton and linseed ), 7 lb. ; maize

from April 10 of 1886, through the and bean meal, 4 lb .; bay, 3 lb .; chaff summer and winter, and on till May 11, and roots, with boiled linseed mixed,

1887, when the animals were sent off to 47 lb. the butcher.

Six animals were taken ,

In the middle of March the food was

of different ages, and during the summer again made richer, when the following were grazed, having, in addition, a mixed foods were given : Linseed -cake, 8 lb.; food, consisting of chaff over which an maize and bean meal mixed, 4 lb.;

emulsion of boiled linseed was thrown. hay, 8 lb.; roots and chaff (as above ), 21 lb.

In the winter they received a food con sisting of the following : Mixed cotton

The results of this feeding, together

and linseed cake ( 1 lb. linseed ), 7 lb.; with the weights and details of increase hay ad lib. ; also chaff and pulped at various periods, is given in the fol lowing table :

mangel.

Cherry

Date .

cwt. qr. ib . 4 I 7 5 0 2

April 10 (weight) May 21 (weight) Increase per day per 1000 lb.

2.27 lb. 4.60 lb.

June 25 (weight)

o

Increase per day . per 1000 lb.

August 6 (weight)

Increase per day . 11

Snowflake.

Prince.

per 1000 lb.

October 21 (weight) Increase per day .

per 1000 lb.: November 19 (weight) 11

8

2

o

3.89 lb. 8

I 24

.

per 1000 lb.

February 16 (weight) Increase per day . per 1000 lb.

March 16 (weight ) . Increase per day . per 1000 lb.

April 9 (weight) Increase per day . per 1000 lb.

May 11 ( weight) Increase per day . per 1000 lb.

4 2 24 1.31 lb. 2.72 lb.

I 15

9

09

7

0

0

10

1

1.40 lb. 1.25 lb.

II

0

7

3

0

4.59 lb. 3.58 lb.

ο το

1.44 Ib . 5.27 lb.

1.73 lb. 6.68 lb.

3

1.57 lb.

I 27 1.68 lb.

3 3 3 2.66 lb.

4.54 lb.

5.06 lb.

8.06 lb.

0.25 1.71 lb, 4.26 lb.

1.74 lb. 4.45 lb.

1.43 lb. 3.38 lb.

2.12 lb. 8.18 lb. 3

5

2

9

3 0

4

0 16

4

5

I

7

2 21

7 13 1.34 lb. 9.42 lb.

6 ο το 1.31 lb. 2.03 lb.

5 3 19 1.14 lb. 1.80 lb.

6 0 3 1.31 lb. 2.05 lb.

2 17

7 2 14 2.79 lb. 3.42 lb.

6 I 14 2.29 lb.

6 0 27 2.57 lb. 3.88 lb.

2.50 lb. 3.70 lb.

7

5.95 lb. 2 23

7

3 10

0.46 lb. 0.53 lb.

1.85 lb. 2.17 lb.

2 6 2,26 lb. 2.62 lb.

8

8 3 14 1.80 lb.

8

1.88 lb.

9

2

0

2.53 lb.

12

3

cwt, qr. Ib . cwt. qr . Ib . 2 I 21 2 I 7 2 3 22 2 3 24

7 0.7 0.24 lb. 0.30 lb.

2.50 lb.

I 21

7

2.03 lb. 4.20 lb.

2.83 lb. 1.75 lb. 1.41 lb.

I

5 2 14 2.18 lb. 4.70 lb.

3.25 lb. II

2

2.25 lb. 4.75 lb.

8

o

0 2

cwt. gr. lb.

2.72 lb. 4.62 lb.

7

o

7

Knight of Whitefaced White Bar. Roan .

Charford .

2.97 lb. 5.32 lb.

9o 472

2.56 lb. 2.53 lb.

I 10

1.67 lb. 3. 16 lb.

4.71 lb,

το

5

1.60 lb.

3.26 lb.

4.93 lb. 5.20 lb.

per 1000 lb.

January 27 (weight) Increase per day

4

4 3 26

...

December 16 (weight) Increase per day .

3.73 lb.

6 27 1.50 lb. 2.23 lb.

per 1000 lb.

per 1000 lb.

5. 80 lb.

1.71 lb. 3.96 lb.

Increase per day .

December 3 (weight) Increase per day.

cwt. dr. Ib . cwt. qr. Ib. 30 2 3 2 26 4 I 6 3 3 II 2.02 lb. 1.56 lb.

2.46 lb. 4. 19 lb.

2.86 lb.

Hereford Duke.

9 2 23 0.95 lb.

0.94 lb. 10

2

6

2.75 lb. 2.53 lb.

2

3.35 lb. 6

2 24

2.92 lb. 4.09 lb.

6

1 10

2.77 lb.

6 1 27 1.31 lb.

3.96 lb.

1.84 lb.

6

2

7

7 27 2.26 lb.

7

1.76 lb.

1.93 lb.

6 3.11 0.95 lb.

2.00 lb.

3.00 lb.

2.62 lb.

1.30 lb.

o

I

4

O

0.35 lb. 0.36 lb.

0.65 lb.

7 2 16 2.00 lb.

2.25 lb.

0.76 lb.

2.40 lb.

2.93 lb.

9 0 14 2.25 lb. 2.34 lb.

8

9

2 7

1 18

1.33 lb. 1.30 lb. IO

1

O

2.63 lb. 2.49 lb.

7

2 20

2

0

:

8

19

7

1

7 3.6

3.28 lb.

2.75 lb.

2.21 Ib .

3.81 lb.

3.21 lb,

2.72 lb.

8 39 1.54 lb. 1.61 lb.

8 30 1.95 lb.

8 0 15 1.54 Ib . 1.76 lb.

9

O 12

0.97 lb. 0.98 Ib.

2.09 lb. 9

I 18

2,31 lb. 2.46 lb.

8 3 14 2.59 lb. 2.84 lb.

-

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER .

371

In explaining these results to the weight, as the animal increases in size students, Professor Wrightson pointed and weight." out that the weights of cattle are generA Golden Maxim to Feeders . — What

ally given as they are obtained perhead. But it is evident that a bullock of 10 cwt. ought to increase more rapidly than one of 7 cwt., if the feeding of both is to be equally economic. It is therefore

has been submitted under the heading of early maturity may be fittingly summed up in the following “ golden maxim ” to the feeder : “Early maturity at a min imum of expense, with a maximum of

very instructive to calculate the increase meat and manure .'

per 100 lb., or, better still, per 1000 lb., of live weight. METHODS OF FATTENING CATTLE

Calculated in this way, there is no doubt but that young stock weighing from 3 cwt. to 5 cwt. increase propor-

IN WINTER .

When we enter upon the round of the

tionately much more rapidly than heavier farm -work at the beginning of winter, cattle, and it is now being stated widely we find, as already indicated, that all that the expense of increasing the weight the cattle being fattened for slaughter of cattle becomes heavier and heavier as have already been comfortably housed. they increase in actual weight.

In what manner they may be accom

The above table is a powerful argu- modated has been noticed under the ment in favour of the economy of early heading of the “Housing of Cattle in maturity. Cherry Prince, when weigh- Winter.” ing 4 cwt. I qr. 7 lb., increased at the

What Food is to be Used 2 - The

rate of 2.27 lb. per day, and of 4.6 lb. question to be considered at this point is, per 1000 lb. of live weight. The same What food should be given daily to the

bullock, when weighing 10 cwt., increased cattle that are being fattened ? It has at the rate of 2.56 per day, but only at the rate of 2.53 lb. per 1000 lb. of live weight. For this to be accomplished thefood had to be much richer and more expensive. Again, Snowflake, when weighing 3 cwt., increased at the rate of 2.02 lb. per day, and of 5.8 lb. per 1000 lb. of live weight. The same animal, when close upon 8 cwt. in live weight, increased at the rate of 2.26 lb. per day, but only of 2.62 lb. per 1000 lb. of live weight. The whole experiment shows

been seen that in the methods of feeding breeding and milking cows and store cattle in winter, there is almost endless variety. In the winter fattening of cattle the variation of practice is quite as great. The system of cropping and thesupply of home-grown food are lead ingfactors in determining the method of feeding pursued. The farmer should , of course, consider carefully the market price of thevarious recognised articles of food and of his own produce, and after

that the heavier an animal gets, the due deliberation he will decide whether

more food is required to maintain the hisown home-grown or purchased foods system before any can be utilised in the will be cheapest and most profitable. manufacture of beef.

Other things being equal, he will give

Professor E. W. Stewart on Early Maturity. - In his volume on Feeding Animals — one of the best works of the age- Professor E. W. Stewart (U.S.A.) lays it down as an axiom that “ profitable

the preference to his home-grown food, for, as already pointed out, there is econ omyin makingthe farm produce “ walk itself to market.” An important point at this time is

feeding must be done before maturity.” to estimate the supply of fodder and He submits numerous experiments in roots, and so apportion the daily use of these as to extend them over the sea support of this axiom , and remarks that son ,

Want of care in this matter may as the digestive and assimilative organs are in the greatest activity in the young lead to inconvenience and loss towards

animal, “ the stock - grower must take the end of the winter or house -feeding advantage of this period to produce the period. Feeding Rations. best results in feeding. Careful experiThe fattening ments show a constant increase in the cattle will most likely be at various

food required to produce a pound of live stages in their advance towards maturity.

CATTLE IN WINTER.

372

Some, already in high condition, may be perfectly adapted to the requirements of intended for the Christmas markets, when the animal. See in particular the infor winter-fed beef usually brings the max- mation given under the heading “ Albu imum price. Others, most probably minoid Ratio."

younger animals, will be leaner, and Scotch Feeding Customs.

may require from 4 to 6 months' feed

ing. Both classes will be accustomed to As already indicated , great economy the house-feeding before winter sets in has been introduced in recent years in (for all fattening animals should behoused the use of turnips; yet, as a rule, Scotch as soon as the cold nights of September cattle-feeders still place much reliance begin to be felt ), and both should now upon them . On nearly all Scotch farms

be liberally fed. They should not be gorged, but have as much as they can eat , given to them at fixed intervals in as palatable and tempting a form as possible, and in such quantities as will

turnips still form a dominant or import ant element in the rations of feeding

cattle. Yellow turnips are used at the outset, and these may last for one month, two months, or longer, as the case may

ensure that, without any food being left be. The more advanced feeders, espe or wasted, the animals will be perfectly cially those intended for the Christmas satisfied .

As to the gross bulk , there market, will receive swedes as soon as

may be little difference in the food given practicable, perhaps about the begin

to the cattle, but the riper animals will get the richer food. As the cattle approach maturity, the more concentrated foods, such as cake and grain or meal,

ning of November. All changes in the food should be introduced gradually. In putting cattle on roots in winter, small quantities should be given at the are increased, and the bulkier commo- outset ; full meals being allowed only dities, such as roots and straw , may be after the animals have become accus slightly lessened. tomed to the new mode of treatment. As to this variation of meals, no hard

Daily Allowance of Turnips . — What

and fast lines can be laid down. It would quantity of turnips should a feeding be worse than useless to attempt to do bullock receive daily ? This, we have

80 ; it would be positively unsafe. The seen , is a vexed question, as to which

immediate wants, the condition, progress, opinions of practical men have under and appetite, ofeach individual animal gone, and are still undergoing, consider must be carefully considered, and in able change. Not a few still give the accordance with these and these alone animals all they can comfortably con

is it safe to arrange or modify the daily sume in two meals daily. That would be meals. Thus, again, it is seen that the perhaps from 8 to 12 or 14 imperial office of cattle -man is a responsible one. stones, according to the size of the ani. The success or failure of the feeding mal.

We have endeavoured to show

operations is largely dependent upon that this is improvident feeding, and that him , for by careful and constant at- a more prudent and more profitable sys

tention to the adapting of the meals tem is to give much smaller quantities to the wants and capacities of the of roots and larger proportions of other animals, he may greatly facilitate the foods. The general tendency now is in fattening, as well as economise valuable the latter direction. The majority of the more successful feeders nowadays limit

food .

Balancing

Food properly .

As the daily allowance of roots to from one

to the importance of having the foods half to about three-fourths of what was properly balanced, a good deal has al- given in the “ turnip and straw ” days ready been said. And at this critical prior, say, to 1870. From 60 to 1oo lb. time, when the feeder is arranging or per day to cattle from twenty months to

modifying the food to suit his fattening three years old are now very general

cattleat the different stages of their pro- quantities. The smaller allowances are gress , we would strongly urge him to usually given in the pulping system , consider carefully the questionof mixing which, as we have seen , helps greatly in oods, so that the various ingredients economising roots. shall be present in the proportions most

Feeding Hours . — When cattle have

FATTENING CATTLE IN WINTER.

373

all the turnips they can eat, or nearly so sists of a mixture of decorticated cotton

-say from 112 to 140 lb. — the roots may cake and linseed -cake, or these two and be given in three meals, about 8 A.M., bruised oats, peas, beans, or perhaps In early in the afternoon, and in the even dian corn . Some lessen the proportion

ing,thefirst two meals being the largest. of cotton -cake andincrease thequantities Under this system very little, ifany, cake of linseed -cake and meal as the finishing or grain is given, seldom more than about time approaches, the maximum allow 2 lb. a -head, till within two months or six ance of concentrated food being given

weeks of the time of slaughter, when the for a period of about six weeks at the allowance of roots is slightly lessened, end. Where a still smaller quantity of tur and the quantity of cake or meal, or both,

increased by degrees to perhaps from 4 nips is allowed, perhapsunder 60lb. per to 6 lb., given in two equal meals, fore- day, it is usual to give the roots either in noon and afternoon .

two pulped mixtures, one in the morning The more general plan is to give the and the other in the afternoon, or by turnips in two meals, about 8 or 9 A.M., themselves in one feed early in the fore and from 1.30 to 3 P.M.

Some give the noon.

In either case, with this small

roots as the first meal in the morning, allowance of roots, the quantities of the following with oat-straw or hay, cake or meal, or both, about 11 A.M., turnips again early in the afternoon, followed by straw or hay, and cake or meal, as in the

more concentrated foods must be in

forenoon .

Others think it better to give about

grain. The Pulping System for Feeding.

half the daily allowance of cake and

-When the minimum quantity of tur

creased . The necessary bulk will be made up by straw or hay ; the essen tial nutriment mainly in cake or bruised

meal, say at 6 A.M., to be followed by nips is allowed, the pulping system will turnips at 9 A.M., and thereafter a mod- be found specially serviceable. As al erate supply of good oat-straw or hay ; ready shown, it permits of greater econ the afternoon meals coming in the same omy of roots than can be secured by

order, beginning with cake and meal any other method. Comparatively speak at i P.m., and ending with straw and ing, it is perhaps more useful in rearing hay at 8 P.M. Others, again, give a store cattle than in fattening. The lay very small feed of straw or hay as the ing on of flesh and fat cannot be accom

first mouthful in the morning, say from plished without the employment of a 6 to 7 A.M. Turnips or Cake for Breakfast ?

Some experienced feeders contend that

it is unsafe to give cattle a feed of cold watery turnips upon an empty stomach in the morning, yet many successful feeders have all their livespursued the system of giving roots as the first meal, and say they have never discovered any evil effects from it. Upon the whole, the

certain amount of rich food, which, of course, is as costly in a pulped mixture as by itself. But the pulping method turns the small allowance of roots to bet ter account with fattening as well as with store cattle, and it is easy to add the re quired cake or grain. With mixed foods used as in the pulping system , it is easier to ensure that the ration shall be properly balanced, with all the essential elements

weight of experience is in favour of giv- present in due proportion , than when ing a small allowance of cake and meal turnips, cake, grain, and fodder are each given separately. It is possible, also, as the first feed in the morning.

DailyAllowance of Cake and Grain. by careful preparation , and perhaps by -Where the allowance of turnips is re- a sprinkling of a little condiment or

stricted to from 80 to 100 lb. per day for diluted treacle, to present the pulped cattle weighing from 6 to 8 cwt. (esti- mixture in an exceptionally palatable

mated dead weight), the quantity of cake and inviting condition. In the fattening and meal may vary from 4 to 8 or 10 lb. of stock both these points are of much per day, beginning the winter with the importance. Mr D. Buttar's Pulping System. smallest, and finishing off the fattening

period with the largest, quantity. The Mr David Buttar,Corston, Coupar-Angus, concentrated food atthe outset often con- has long been an advocate of the pulping

374

CATTLE IN WINTER .

system . He pursues it not only in the rearing and feeding of cattle, but also in the feeding of sheep ; and all through,

the results are decidedly favourableto

Ib .

One skullful of cut straw or chaff, weighing about

14

Which, at 558. a ton , would cost

weighin about

4

56

of pulped turnips, the system. In response to our request, One skullful g Mr Buttar thus describes his system of feeding cattle :

d.

Which, at 1os. a ton, would cost

“ The class of cattle I generally feed Of decorticated cotton -cake, about 4 are well - bred shorthorn and Which , at £6, ios. a ton , crosses, numbering from 120 toAngus would cost 140 ses or locust- bean meal, ly h Ofmolas mere kept, are head. A few milc cows about 1742 to supply the house and servants with milk . These feeding cattle are generally

3

272

Which, along with 2 oz. salt, would cost

and as I believe in early feeding, I bu

them young, generally rising two years old, at prices ranging from £6 to £10

|-

purchased about the month of October, Altogether, per day, about . 75/2 At a daily cost of

10%

each. For the first two or three weeks These ingredients, after being carefully they are put to some distant field of turned over two or three times, and well grass, till I am satisfied that they are mixed together, are allowed to ferment

free from disease. They are then brought for 24 hours or so before being used - in into the courts during night, and get a other words, the pulp for to-morrow's little pulped food evening and morning, feeding is always made up to -day. and going out to the pastures during the

“ More than this allowance the cattle

day. This treatment is continued till about the end of November, after which they are kept in day and night, and get during the whole winter pulped food

do not care to eat, and cattle ought never to get at any one time more than they are able to eat and to digest, otherwise they do not go with the same relish to

three times a- day. The first feed is their next feed, and consequently never given about 5 A.M., the second between do so well. About the ist of April, 10 and 11 A.m., and the third between however, the pulped mixture is enriched 4 and 5 P.M.

by from 1 to 2 lb. additional linseed -cake

"The cattle at Corston are mostly all for every beast being fed. “ I also at this time ( ist of April) fed in covered courts and loose -boxes, which I prefer to stall-feeding, especially draw out generally from 80 to 100 of the for young growing cattle.

As their food

best of the cattle — those which show a

by the pulping system is comparatively tendency to take on fat most readily dry, it is absolutely necessary that they and give them, at about 8 P.M., an extra should have ready access to plenty of feed of from 2 to 4 lb. each of linseed water, which they have in the courts at cake, grain, &c. By the month of June these are generally all prime fat, weigh all times, as they require it. “ During December the cattle are fed ing from 5 to 772 cwt. dead weight, and very sparingly, as I have found when are then sold to the butchers at prices

they are first put on this kind of food ranging from £ 17 to £22 . The other they are sometimes apt to eat more than 40 shotts or winterings are either kept

they can well digest. They therefore on, or sold about the beginning of May get only about 30 lb. a -day ofthe pulped for the grass, at prices ranging from £12 mixture during December. After the to £ 15each. When they are kept on month of December, I increase the daily by myself, I put them on the best pas

allowance to 45 lb., and on the first day ture I have, and continue to give them a of every month thereafter 15 lb. more are daily allowance of from 4 to 5 lb. cake added , till by the first of March each

animal is getting its full allowance of

or other artificial food.

“ I am sorry I cannot give the actual

from 70 to 75 lb. daily of the pulped weight gained by each animal every mixture. This mixture is made up as month of their feeding, as at present I

nearly as possible in the following pro- have no meansofweighing cattle alive, portions :

which I much regret ; but I can give the

RY

438

POULT

R IN WINTE .

to see that the passages are clear. Wash pedicular parasite, but the most frequent out with a mild disinfectant, and then is the Lipeurus variabilis, which has a stitch up, sewing each skin separately. narrow body, the head rounded in front,

Soft Crop. This is an enlargement the general colour dirty white, smooth with water or air, which can usually be removed by kneading. Egg -bound. — Cause — Obstruction in egg-passages, or too large egg, so that the hen is unable to lay. Symptoms—

and shining, the margins with a black band, the abdomen having a brown in terrupted strip down the middle. AC cording to Mr Denny, it prefers the prim ary and secondary feathers of the wings,

The hen is continually about the nest, among the websof which it moves about and looks uncomfortable. On examination, the egg may be felt. Treatment— Oil the vent and parts around . If that fails, steam them. And finally, give a

with great celerity. Menopon pallidum is almost equally common in poultry, running over thehands of those who are plucking their feathers, and difficult to

dose of warm treacle in which some

brush off from the smoothness of their

chopped groundsel has been mixed . bodies.

The peacock has a large and

Cease forcing food, to restrain laying very singularly formed parasite of this for a time.

nature, named Goniodes falcicornis. An

Soft or Shell-less Eggs. — These may other, not unlike the one just mentioned be due to want of shell-forming materials, in general appearance, occurs plentifully or to undue forcing, and will disappear on the turkey. Geese and ducks are in with removal of the cause.

fested by similar foes, particularly ducks,

Leg Weakness.— Cause — Damp, or on which the Docophorus icteroides, a

too rapid growth in chickens. Symp- species common to the whole anserine toms-- Inability of bird to walk ; falling tribe, is usually very abundant. To cure lice, which frequently result from apparent weakness of legs. Treatment — Rub with turpentine, and feed on from a bad habit of body (and it is thus

bone - forming food ; also give a good necessary to see that the health of the body is as it ought to be), wash the body Rheumatism , which is very similar, is with Sanitas fluid, and anoint the head, usually found in old birds. Case the under the wings, and thighs with mer legs in flannel, which keep moist with curial ointment, giving in the food flower tonic.

turpentine. of sulphur. Bumble Foot. — Cause - Cut on, or in

jury to, ball of foot. Symptoms— Limp ing. On examination, a corn or swelling is seen on foot. Treatment — If a corn, cut it out ; if a small swelling, paint with iodine ; if a large one, cut, and let out matter. Bandage to keep out dirt until

Goose Fat.

The useful properties of goose fat are worthy of notice. It is useful in anoint ing the udders of cows in spring, should they become hard , and it has the pro perty of evaporating slowly. It also better. keeps a poultice moist until it should be Scaly Legs. - Cause and Symptoms- renewed ; and on account of this pro ( 1 ) An insect ; or (2 ) dryness, causing perty it constitutes a good ingredient of

the scales to enlarge, and the leg to be grease forsmearing the axles of cart Treatment— (1) Wash wheels. This fat may be rendered in the well, and rub in sulphur ointment; (2 ) same manner as mutton -suet and lard,

come offensive.

rub in equal parts of zinc ointment and and kept in a jar covered with bladder. Goose fat “ is colourless, and has a pecu

vaseline.

Diphtheria .— This has of late been liar taste and smell, rather agreeable. rather frequent amongst poultry

Birds

If melted, it congeals at 8072 Fahr .

affected with it show the same symptoms into a granular mass, having the con as in the human subject.

It is better to

sistence of butter.

When exposed to

the birds at once and bury them in pressure between the folds of blotting kill lime.

paper at 28/2, it is resolved, according Lice. - As to vermin , fowls, like other to Braconnot, into

animals, are affected with lice. The com

mon hen is infested by more than one

Denny's Mono. Anopl. Brit.

-

CORN AT THE STEADING .

439

Fusible 111°. Fusibleat126°. Fusible 113°. large return, and they will provide valu Gooseat fat. Turkeyatfat. 28

26

able manure for the land.

32 68

72

74

about in the manner we have already in

100

100

Stearin Elain

If scattered

dicated ,they will also help to clean the loo " 1

Professor Johnston says that the solid fat of the goose is the same asthatof man, and of olive-oil and of butter,and is named margarin ; and that thesolid fat of the ox , the sheep, the horse, the differs from that of man, and is pig,

land. Farmers could maintain in this

way a considerable number of fowls; and cottagers mightadd greatly to their com forts by maintaininga moderate stock of poultry. In this matter we might take an ex ample from France . There are no purely

known by the name of stearin . The poultry -farms in France, but the vast

elain or fluid part of fat is identical in all animals,and is exactly the samething as the fluid part of olive-oil, of the oil s, of many other fruits, and as of almond the fluid part of butter; and it exists in a larger quantity in the fat of the pig than in that of the sheep, and hence itis

quantity of fowls and eggs produced are due to the multitude of peasant pro prietors and small farmers there, all of

that lard is always softer than suet.”

Paris and other markets.

whom keep a few fowls.

The dung of a single fowl is estimated in France at 1 franc .

Poultry-farming.

There are,

however, fattening establishments in the great poultry districts of Le Mans, La Fleche, Louhans, &c., which supply the The feathers of a

white fowl fetch 3 francs for dyeing to

It is often said that it is impossible to be made into flowers. feed fowls with a profit. It seems strange that fowls should not make a return for Imports of Eggs and Poultry. their keep when the other animals on The following are the import of eggs a farm do ; yet modern experience tends in certain years since 1865 : to show that poultry farming as such

cannot be made to pay. The rock upon

1865

which the fair bark is shipwrecked is

1870 1875

that the land becomes foul from the

droppings, that disease coming into so large a flock ruins the enterprise,and that

thefowls do not thrive so well when kept in small runs as upon a farm .

1880

1885 1887

£ 928,247 1 , 102,080

2,559,860 2,235,451 2,929,085

3,080,561

The following are the imports of

But in conjunctionwith other branches poultry and game— including rabbitsof agriculture or horticulture there canbe in the same years : no questionas to poultry -rearing being profitable. The fowls will need but little

1865

special attention, they will occupy either arable or cultivated land without inter

1870 1875

ference to other crops or stock ; their produce will command an immediate and

1885 1887

1880

4148,642 158,482 328,044 421,645 655,238 721,049

CORN AT THE STEADING .

The providing of suitable means of straw , dressing and storing grain , are stacking and threshing corn, storing matters whichdemand careful consider i Thomson's Ani. Chem ., 138.

ation in furnishing a farm with the neces sary equipments. These should be in

2 Johnston's Lect . Agric. Chem ., 2d ed ., keeping with the extent and character of the holding, and the purposes for which

1011 , 1012.

440

CORN AT THE STEADING .

it is best adapted . Economy and con- tirely unenclosed, and left exposed to the venience, combined with substantiality trespass of any animal. and efficiency, are the main principles to Forming into Ridges. — As most of be kept in view in the providing of all the stacks must stand on the ground, the ground should receive that form which farm equipments. will allow the rain -water to run off and

The Stackyard .

not injure their bottoms.

This is done

Careful consideration should be given in some cases by forming the ground into It ridges.

to the preparation of the stackyard .

The minimum breadth of these

should lieclose to thecompartment which contains the threshing - machine, most probably on the north side of the steading. It is desirable to have the stackyard exposed to the north -east and west winds. The ground should be thoroughly

ridges may be determined in this way : The usual length of the straw of the grain crops can beconveniently packed in stacks of 15 feet diameter ; and as 3 feet is little enough space to be left on the ground between the stacks, the ridges should not

under -drained and levelled. Fencing the Stackyard . — The stack-

be of less than 18 feet in width.

Rick -stands. — It is preferable to have

yard should be enclosed with a sub- the stacks placed on stands of some sort, stantial stone-and -lime wall of 472 feet in which will not only keep them off the height. In too many instances it is en- ground, but in a great measure prevent

Fig. 162. - Wooden rick -stand .

d Stone bonnet, at least 2 inches thick .

a a Plank of Scots fir or larch, 15 feet in length . b Stone flag sunk in the ground. c Upright stone support, 18 inches high and 8 inches square, 8 in number, and one in the centre.

vermin getting into the stacks. 162 represents a wooden stathel.

e e Bearers, 9 inches deep, 2 inches thick from bon net to bonnet.

ff Fillets of wood, nailed up on the scantlings.

Fig. are neat and efficient ; but of course If rather expensive, and liable to be broken

the wood of the framework were previously preserved by Burnett's process, it would last perhaps twenty years, even if made of any kind of hometimber. Stack-

by accidental concussion from carts. Malleable-iron stathels would remove the objection of liability to fracture, but not that of expense. One point in favour of

stools, or stathels, or staddels, as they are rick -stands is that they promote ventila variously called, are now most frequently tion, which is often a matter of great im made of cast-iron, and stands of this kind

portance.

--

CORN AT THE STEADING .

Stack Foundations . — Where stands are not provided, a foundation should be made for each stack of some material which will prevent the lowest layer of the corn from being damaged by contact with

441

towards the interior of a cylinder, while their butt-ends form its circumference, or towards the interior of a rectangle, with the butts to the outside. In either form the stacks must be firmly thatched with

damp earth. A good plan is to have a straw and rope. Unless there is pro vision made for thatch and rope, it

circle formed of rough stones, about 12 to 18 inches high, the centre made up of broken stones and floored with flagstones. A still better foundation is obtained by building the outside circle with stone and lime, and filling the centre with broken stones, which are run in

not unfrequent happens that thatch is awanting, andlypart of the new crop is obliged to be threshed in a hurry to pro vide for it, and then where the threshing machine is moved by horse-power, the new -built stacks remain uncovered while

with concrete. Here, as should always the horses are carrying part of the crop be the case, the foundation is highest in from the field . Roofed Stackyards . — Were the stack the centre, so as to throw any moisture outwards. As a further barrier to ver- yard covered in, farmers would be at

min, the circle wall might be built pro- liberty to make any form of stack they jecting outwards towards the top, and pleased, and be freed from providing

madesmooth with a coating of cement, thatching and ropes. The cost of this, so that rats and mice could not climb however, would be great ; and although it has been strongly recommended by some

and get into the stack .

In hilly districts strong heather is used writers, a roofed stackyard is rarely seen. Still roofs may now be thrown over a for this purpose, and it suits admirably. A rough layer of stones is perhaps the large stackyard much more easily, and at

most general foundation, but this forms less expense than in former times, when a capital nursery for mice.

Some lay the proposal was first urged upon far

mers. À galvanised or corrugated iron down a thick covering of coarse hay, roof or series of roofs could be erected at which must be thoroughly dry.

Formation of Stacks. — As stacks con- a comparatively moderate expense, which taining corn in the straw are exposed to some contend would be repaid by dis the weather in winter, they are so con- pensing with thatch and ropes for the

structed as to resist rain and wind, and stacks. Fig. 163 gives a representation give protection to the corn . This is of a galvanised or corrugated iron roof attained by placing the sheaves of corn of 18 feet span . This is just the width A

d

d

b.

Fig. 163. - Truss for a galvanised corrugated iron roof. a a Covered rib or rafter. bb Shoes bolted to the beams,

cc Beams. dd Tie -rod .

e e Struts of wrought -iron .

a stack stands upon, and by erecting this were removed, such a shed would be most

side by side, and inlengthto any extent, useful for clipping or bathing sheep, or any number of stacks would be under for tying up oxen in summerupon forage. cover as desired .

With this protection

the stacks could be built round or rec-

A more expensive form of covering in a stackyard is represented in fig. 164,

tangular, and in large mows as hay-stacks with roofs of galvanised iron, and cast of the same kind of grain. They could iron hollow pillars, 32 feet in height. be left open at the eaves at any height, Ground -plan of Stackyards.—The without a head , and could be carried in ground -plan of a convenient stackyard is

dry to the machine in all weathers. A shown in fig. 165. This stackyard, it hay -stack could be built without a cover- will be seen, is interspersed with road ing sheet, and a loaded cart of corn left ways wide enough to permit of a horse until next morning. When the stacks and cart being turned round in them , so

CORN AT THE STEADING .

442

that any particular stack may be carted tution, the modern hay-barn, is a modi to the threshing machine or elsewhere, fication of the schemefor covered stack without disturbing the other stacks. yards. Hay-barns constructed entirely

In some cases a roadway runs round of iron are now plentiful, and their value upon a farm is very great. Reference

the stackyard, but this, of course, requires more space. When there are trees close to the wall of the stackyard, it is advisable to have as much space between the wall and the outer row of stacks as will prevent water from dripping on to

hay-making.

the stacks from the trees.

steadings. Some old English barns are

will be made to them in the chapter on English Barns . — A barn of vast di

mensions, constructed principally of wood, is a characteristic feature of English farm

Hay -barns. — That most useful insti- marvels alike for their venerable age and

a

d

a

Fig. 164.— Isometrical perspective of an iron -roof covered stackyard . a a Stackyard wall, 3%feet high. d d Cast-iron hollow pillars, 32 feet Cart entrance , 32 feet high , 12 feet wide.

c Outlet to upper barn .

high.

g Vent in any number. h h Valleys of roof, along which

e e Ironbracings supporting roof. ff Roof of galvanised iron .

rain -water runs to hollow

pillars.

great capacity. Unthreshed corn is often and granaries are placed conveniently to stored in these barns, and threshed as each other, so that the labour of con opportunity offers. In many parts of veying the straw and the grain from England large quantities of corn are the threshing machine may beeconomised

THRESHING -MILL, STRAW -BARN , AND

as far as possible. The building which contains the threshing machine usually forms the centre of the back range of the steading, and often stretches out at

GRANARIES.

right angles from the main wing of the

stacked in sheds roofed with iron and

other material.

steadinginto the stackyard, perhaps the In steadings where there is a built - in length of the threshing -machine and the threshing - machine, the compartment sheaf-barn, or compartment for holding which contains it and the straw - barn

the unthreshed corn.

But the exact po

-

--

CORN AT THE STEADING. 443

sition of the threshing -machine will vary with local circumstances.

Straw -barn . — The straw -barn is pur posely made of the height of the upper

A common arrangement is to have the barn, to contain a large quantity of straw, threshing machine placed above the corn- as it may be convenient in bad weather barn, the building here being made ex- to thresh a considerable quantity of corn,

ceptionally high on purpose. The sheaf- when no outdoor work can be proceeded

barn is sometimes large enough to hold a with, or when high prices induce farmers small-sized stack, but as a rule it is small- to take the corn to market. There is another good reason for giving er, the corn being carted from the stack as the threshing proceeds.

Q000

room in the straw -barn . All sorts of straw

O

d a

Fig. 165. - Ground plan of a stackyard. a End of house containing threshing -machine.

b Gate .

c Roadways between the rows of stacks.

d Hay-shed or barn . e Hay -stack .

are not equally suited to every purpose, whole state, but is useful food in pulped one sort being best suited for litter, and mixtures. another for fodder. It is then desirable to

To give room to litter and fodder straw

have always both kinds in the rn, that at the same time, it is necessary to have the fodder-straw may not be wasted in a high -roofed barn ; and to give access

litter, and the litter-straw given as fodder to the injury of the animals. Besides, the same sort of straw is not alike acceptable as fodder to every class of animals. Thus wheat-straw is a favourite fodder with horses, as well as oat-straw, whilst oat-straw only is acceptable to cattle.

to both sorts of straw , it is necessary to have a door in the straw -barn from each kind into each court. Thus four doors, two at each side near the two ends, are

often found in a large straw -barn. Slit like openings should be made in the side walls, to admit air and promote ventila

Barley-straw is used mainly for litter. tion through the straw . A skylight in It is not relished as food by stock in its the roof, at the end nearest the thresh

444

CORN AT THE STEADING .

ing-machine, is useful in giving light to those who take away and store up the straw from the threshingmachine when the doors are shut, which they should

machine the corn is almost perfectly dressed before it escapes from the ma chine, and is conveyedby elevators right away into the granary, where the corn is be whenever the wind happens to blow seen for the first time after its separation strongly against the straw from the from the straw . Thus the corn -barn has lost much of its former importance. The corn -barn, however, still exists, and into two vertical leaves, as is usually in many cases has yet to be used for the machine.

Instead of dividing straw -barn doors

done, they should be divided horizontally into an upperand lower leaf, so that the lower maybe kept shut against intruders, such as pigs, whilst the upper admits both light and air into the barn. One

old purposes of dressing and temporary storing of the threshed corn. Door of the Corn - barn . - The door

of a corn -barn is divided into upper lower halves , and opens inwards.

and

A

of the doors at each end should be fur- more convenient method is to have it in

nished with a good stock -lock and key and a whole piece, and to fold back into a thumb-latch, and the other two fastened recess in the outer wall, over the top of with a wooden hand- bar from the inside. which a plinth might project to throw off Straw -barn Floor . — The floor of the

the rain .

In this case the ribats and

straw -barn is seldom flagged or cause- lintel of the doorway must be giblet

wayed, though it is desirable it should be. Concrete is now largely used in barn floors, and it answers the purpose admirably. Whatever substance is employed, the floor should be made firm and dry, to

checked as deep as the thickness of the door, into which it should close flush, and be provided with a good lock and key and a thumb-latch. The object of making the door of this form is to avoid

prevent straw moulding. Mouldy straw the inconvenience of opening into the at the bottom superinduces through the barn. As to size, it should not be less

upper mass a disagreeable odour, and in the opening than 772 feet in height imparts a taste repugnant to every ani- and 372" feet in width. A light half mal. That portion of the floor upon door can be hooked on, to prevent the which the straw first alights on sliding intrusion of animals and the wind sweep

down the straw -screen of the threshing- ing along the floor. machine, should be strongly boarded, to Floor of the Corn -barn . —

The floor

resist the action of the forks when re- of the corn -barn is frequently made of

moving the straw. Blocks of wood, such clay, or of a composition ofashes and as the roots of hardwood trees, trimmed lime— asphalt or concrete would be better and set on end causewaywise, into the than either ; but wood is best of all ground, form a durable flooring for this sound hard red -wood Drahm battens,

purpose. Stone flagging would destroy ploughed and feathered, and fastened down to strong joists with Scotch floor theprongs of forks. The straw -barn should communicate ing-sprigs driven through the feather with the chaff -house, having an opening edge. A wooden floor can be depended

with a shutting door, to enable those on being constantly dry in a corn -barn ; who take away the straw to see whether and in a barn for the use of corn, a dry the chaff accumulates too high against floor is indispensable. It has been sug

gested that a stone pavement, square the end of the winnowing -machine. Corn -barn . — This is the name usually jointed, and laid on a bed of lime over 9 given to the compartment underneath inches of broken stones — or asphalt, laid the sheaf - barn and threshing -machine. on a body of 6 inches of broken stones, The corn as it is separated from the straw covered with a bed of grout on the top

by the threshing machine drops into this of the stones — would make a dry and a compartment, and before the threshing more durable barn -floor than wood, and and dressing appliances were so admira- which will not rot. No doubt stone, bly developed as they now are, the corn asphalt, or concrete would be durable,

had to undergo subsequent dressing here and not liable to rot; but there are ob by machines driven by hand -power.

In jections of a practical nature to these

the most improved modern threshing- in a corn - barn, and it is certain that

| CORN AT THE STEADING .

445

the best stone pavement is not proof a strong plain -deal door with lock and against the undermining powers of the key placed at the bottom or top of each. brown rat; whilst a wooden floor is dur- And there should be a bin to contain

able enough, and certainly will not rot, light corn for the fowls. if kept dry in the manner recommended, Hanging -doors in Steadings.- As and illustrated in fig. 166. hanging-doors on a giblet-check should Floors, which are perfectly vermin - be adopted in all cases in steadings where proof, are now often made of concrete, doors on outside walls are likely to meet with obstructions on opening inwards, the subject deserves illustration. Fig. 167 is the inside form of a strong door,

d

Fig. 167. - Corn -barn door. a Inside of door. 6 Recess in the wall.

d Giblet-check in lintel. e Giblet-check in ribats .

c Lintel of doorway.

f Light movable door.

Fig. 166. --Section of the corn -barn floor. bo Strong rough flags to support the sleepers.

folded back into giblet-checks, mounted on crooks

c Wooden joists, 10 by 22 inches, 16 inches apart, resting on ends on sleepers. d Wooden floor, level with the door -sole. i i Skifting -boards. e Stone supports of floor. Upper barn, with roof of couples and slates.

liable to decay unless precautions are used to prevent it ; but a much more

a a 12-inch thick stone and lime sleepers.

and if care is taken to have the surface

and bands. Preservation of Wooden Floors. The wooden floor of the corn -barn is

common cause of its destruction is vermin A most effectual me

rats and mice.

made as smooth as possible, is well suited thod of preventing destruction either by for barns.

vermin or damp is provided by support

The objections to all stone pavements ing the floor as shown in fig. 166. The as a barn -floor are, that the wooden scoops earth, in the first instance, is dug out of

for shovelling the corn pass very harshly the barn to the depth of the foundation over them — the iron nails in the shoes of walls, which should be 2 feet below the

the work -people wear them down, raise a door- soles. In the case of building a dust upon them , and crush the grain- new steading, this can be done when the and they are hurtful to the bare hands foundations of the walls are taken out.

and light implements, when used in tak- The ground is then spread over with a ing up the corn from the floor. For true layer of sand, sufficient to preserve steadi comfort in all these respects in a barn- ness in the strong rough flags laid upon it pointed in good mortar. The building floor, there is nothing like wood. The walls of this barn should have between the joists, to the level of the floor,

hair-plaster, and the joists and flooring should be donewith squared rubble stones, of its roof planed, to facilitate the re- and on no account should the mortar come

moval ofdust. The stairs to the grana- in contact with the joists, asnothing des ries should enter from the corn -barn, and troys timber, by superinducing the dry

CORN AT THE STEADING .

446

rot, more readily than the action of mor- only 1 foot below the square. All roofs tar. Vermin cannot possibly reach the of steadings should be made of foreign floor but from the flags, which are nearly timber, for strength and durability ; but,

2 feet under it, and the void freely admits unfortunately, on too many estates home the air, and affords room for cats or dogs timber is used, and one balk employed to hunt the vermin .

instead of two, the consequence of which

Roofs of Steadings. — The roof, fig. is, that when the covering is of heavy

168, is very common for farm -steadings, grey or blue slates, the couplesyield and the plane of the roof becomes depressed.

and of strong construction, the balks ties being notched into the couples or

Truss - roofs . — Another form

of roof

rafters, and its pitch above the walls is has been adopted, in the truss-roof. In

d d

f b C

Fig. 168. - Wooden king -post truss -roof. dd Rafters abutting on tie -beam , with span of 18 to 24 feet .

bb Tie -beam .

cc Wall-plates.

fig. 168 is a wooden king-post truss-roof.

6 e Struts abutting on the straining -sill. f Straining -sill let into the tie- beam .

Upper Barn . — An upper barn, as

Fig. 169 is an iron king-post truss-roof. frequently arranged, is represented in fig . Modifications of these truss-roofs may be 170. The position of the door c in this made thus: In fig. 168 the struts e e may

plan is not so convenient as could be de

meet at f, and an iron rod pass from f to the apex of the roof, and in fig. 169 an iron rod be placed from fh and e i. Roof, fig. 168, is of wood, fig. 169 of iron.

sired . The sheaves should be so laid into the straw -barn as that when thresh

d

h

ing is going on the women employed in supplying the feeder with loose sheaves

i

a

g

Fig. 169.- Iron king.post truss- roof. dg Tie -rods , 34 inch diameter, a to b Rise of tie-rods, 6 inches.

a to c Rise of tie -rods, 4 feet.

b c King -bolt, 5 inch diameter . cd, cg Rafters, bedded into shoes, secured to wall -plates. be, ofStruts .

should be able to lift them in exactly the leaves, to open outwards, one to fasten reverse order from that in which they with a cat-band, the other with lock and

had been put in — that is, the last put in key. sheaves should be first threshed .

In any

There should be a window in the wall ,

other order it is difficult, and causes much or a sky-light in the roof, immediately

delay to draw the sheaves out of the opposite or over the feeding -bench. heap.

It is more convenient, therefore,

Conveying Sheaves to the Sheaf

to have the sheaf-door situated so that the sheaves first put in may be placed furthest from, andthe last put in nearest to, the feeding-bench of the threshing-

barn . - Formerly it was the custom in some parts, where the sheaves were car ried to the sheaf-barn from the stack by hand and not on carts, to have a gangway

machine.

from the door of the upper barn. This

The sheaf-door may be in two upright was used as an inclined plane, upon which

CORN AT THE STEADING .

447

to wheel the corn -barrows, and formed a a semicircular arch of masonry from the road for the carriers of sheaves from the

wall.

stackyard . This road was at all times

This practice of carrying sheaves to

kept hard and smooth with small broken stones, and sufficiently strong to endure the action of barrow - wheels. To prevent the gangway affecting the corn-

the barn has now entirelydisappeared. The general plan now is to employ carts in conveying the unthreshed corn from the stacks to the threshing - mill. In

barn with dampness, it was supported on deed, with the great speed accomplished a 冈 &

m2

9

Fig. 170.- Upper barn and granaries. a Upper barn. b Site of threshing -mill. c Door, 6 feet wide, for taking in sheaves of corn .

d Skylight.

e Hatch in floor, 3 feet by 3 feet. ſ Bole for air. g Opening from stråw -barn, 4 feet by 3%.

i Wool- room .

k Granary , 18 feet by 55. 1 Granary, 18 feet by 47. m Pigeon -house.

h Straw - barn .

by modern threshingmachines no other Another form is the “ hit-and -miss window, described on p. 392. plan would , as a rule, be practicable. Granaries.The roofs ofthe granaries Precautions against Vermin . - Rats in fig. 168 ascend to the slates.

Their

wooden floors should be made strong, to support a considerable weight of grain ; their walls made smooth with plaster; and a high skifting-board should finish

the flooring:

The numerous windows

d 7

should admit sufficient light and air ; and

a good way of affording both freely is shown in fig. 171, where the opening is 472 feet in length and 3 feet in height. The shutters revolve bytheir ends on a round pin, in holes of the side-posts of

the frame, and kept parallel by a bar

Fig. 171. - Granary window and section of shutter. a Glazed sash ı foot high,

c Section of shutters and

and two rows of panes. b Venetian shutters.

d Side - posts of frame.

bar .

attached by an eye of iron, moving stiff

on an iron pin passing through both the and mice being destructive and dirty vermin in steadings, and particularly so

eye and bar.

1

448

CORN AT THE STEADING .

in granaries, means should be used in sides on the tops of the walls, and find the construction of steadings to prevent access into apartments through the floor.

their lodgment in any particular part. Many expedients havebeen tried to destroy them in granaries, such as putting up a smooth triangular board across each

To prevent lodgment in those places also, it will beproper to lay the strongest flag ging and causewaying upon a bed of mortar spread over a body of 9 inches

corner, near the top of the wall. The of small broken stones, around the walls

vermin come down any part of the walls of every apartment on the ground -floor to the corn at their leisure, but when

where any food for them may chance to

disturbed run to the corners, up which fall, in the stables, byres, boiling -house, they easily ascend, but are prevented calves'- house, implement -house, hay

gaining the top of the wall by the house, pig -sties, and hen -house, corn triangular boards, and on falling down, barn, straw -barn, &c. The best means of prevention in those places are, to make the foundation of the easily destroyed . But preventive means, in this case, are walls 2 feet deep, and fill up the space either on the corn or the floor, are there

much better than destructive.

If at all

between the walls with broken stones.

possible the granaries should always be This of course would entail considerable kept free of vermin , so that the grain outlay, yet someregard it as money well may be saved and may remain sweet and invested. A well-laid concrete floor will clean . The best method of prevention effectually resist rats, and this is not is, to deprive vermin of convenientplaces very costly. to breed in above ground, and this may be accomplished in all farm -steads by THRESHING -MACHINES . building up the tops of all the walls by beam -filling between the legs of the

Great improvement has been effected couples with stone and mortar - taking in recent years upon threshing-machines.

care to keep the mortar from contact The old - fashioned forms of built - in

with the timber. These places form the threshing machines, at one time so ex favourite breeding -ground of vermin in

tensively used in Scotland, and some of

farm -steads, and should therefore be which were illustrated and described in filled up with stone and mortar. The former editions of The Book of the Farm , top of every wall, whether of stables, are now rarely met with Machines of á

cow - houses, hammels, or other houses, much more efficient character have taken should be treated in this manner; for, their place. The portable threshing if one place be left them to breed in, machine is now largely used, and is the young fry will findaccess to the growing in favour. Still a great many

granaries in some way. The tops of the farmers, especially in Scotland, prefer to walls of old as well as of new farm- have a good modern threshing machine, steads should be treated in this manner, either from the inside, or, if necessary ,

built in permanently in their steadings, to be always at their hand for use when

by removing the slates or tiles until the desired . alteration is effected .

These built-in machines now, as a rule,

Precaution is necessary in making accomplish their work in a most admi beam -fillings, especially in new buildings, rable manner, threshing the grain at a to leave a little space open under every rate formerly undreamt of, and in many couple face, to allow room for subsidence cases not only at the same time dressing

or bending of the couples after the slates the grain so as to be fit for market, but are put on . Were the couples pinned conveying it into the granaries, which firmly up with stone and lime, the stone may be some considerable distance from would form hard points as fulcra, over the threshing machine, and also carrying which the couple, while subsiding with the straw to the remotest end of a long the load of slates upon it, would act as a straw -barn — all this being done auto

lever, and might start the nails from the matically, no human hand touching wall-plates, and push out the tops of the either grain or straw, after being fed walls.

into the drum , until each is deposited

Rats and mice breed under ground be- in its appointed quarters. These modern

1

CORN AT THE STEADING .

449

built -in threshing machines are of many livers the good grain to elevator ark x, to patterns, several of which may be said be carried up to the roof and discharged to be equally efficient. into vibrating inclined plane z, passing Scotch Threshing machine. - A sec- over a series of sand, seed, and small

tion of the threshing-mill wing of a grain extractors, and being delivered modern Scotch steading is represented in through the gable into the granary z' for

fig. 172 ( p: 450), showing at a glance storage or bagging. When thegrain requires awning the not only the position of the threshingmachine, but also the courses ofthe grain trap -door in cross -spout o is closed, the

and the straw until the former is dressed grain passing over same to the patent and carried by elevators and oscillating pneumatic awner (shown by dotted lines

spout into the granary, and the latter by at back of machine) and discharged into shakers and a travelling web to the ex- vertical tube, the air carrying the dust, &c., up same, while the grain falls down

treme end of the straw -barn .

The following is a working description to thebottom of the tube and enters the of this machine, as erected by Mr R. G. machine by the port ad , and slides down Morton, Errol, Perthshire : the plane R to the oscillating plane s, to The sheaves to be threshed are fed be winnowed and riddled as above. through the hopper A, the grain being The threshed straw as it leaves the driven from the husk by the drum b in

shakers E at e I falls on the first section

its grated concave cc', which is regulated of straw -carriers e 2, to be delivered above for the different kinds and conditions of the balks on to second section e 3, which

grain, by an instant and parallel acting in like manner delivers on e 4, which drops

set - gear od'. A large portion of grain it into straw -barn at e 5,to be stored as at mainder is discharged, at a tangent, turn in rack 8. The frame and pulley 9

and chaff fall through c, while the re- e 6 until full, when pinion 7 is caused to

amongst the straw by the centrifugal are drawn along with it, making an open force of the drum against the reflecting ing at 10, where the straw drops to the

boardd ', then droppingupon the shakers barn -floor, the operation being repeated E.

The straw is tossed forward to the

at 11 .

straw -carriers by the action of cranks on The whole parts of this machine are shaft F, and the patent balance throw- driven off drum -coupling, which is driven gear G. The grain falling through the by " Morton's" direct-acting poncelet tur shaker and concave gratings is gathered bine, set in corn -room , designed for 34 by the inclined planes hh, and oscillating feet fall, and 26 feet suction, with 130

planes JJ' of first riddle K, which, by the cubic feet of water per minute, making current of air from first blast L, carries 509 revolutions, and developing 1.172 the chaff, short straws, & c., to chaff- horse - power. The power required is 9 room MM ', while the good grain falls horse - power and 100 cubic feet water

through K to plane n , fromwhich it per minute. slidesdown to cross-spout o. The light The best of these modern machines grain, & c., blown over n , falls on plane P, often thresh and dress from 12 to 16

over which it slides and falls into the quarters of ordinary oats per hour. current of air from second blastT, to be further cleaned as it falls into the lightgrain compartment y ; while the good grain falls through a trap -door in spout o, from whence it slides down the inclined

Much, of course , depends on the length of the straw and the wealth of grainin the crop. From 6 to 8 quarters per hour are common quantities.

By ingeniously constructed blasts

planes Q and R to oscillating plane s, and worked in conjunction with the thresh receives the current of air from second ing - machine, the newly threshed and blast T, as it falls from s to second riddle dressed grain is in some cases conveyed,

v, the wind carrying all the lights over v or rather blown , into granaries situated into y. The remaining husks and dust at awkward angles from the threshing are blown into chaff-room M.

The good machine, whereone would scarcely con

grain falls through v into oscillating spout sider it possible to have such work ac w , which, with a perforated bottom for complished. extracting the small seeds and sand, deBy extension or contraction of the VOL. I.

2 F

CORN AT THE STEADING .

450

travelling - web

the

straw may be carried to the extreme end

of the longest straw barn, or, as already

indicated, dropped at intermediate points as desired.

Saving of Labour . -A remarkable sav

ing of labour is effect ed by these mechani cal contrivances, and this, of course, is a point of great import ance. The dressing machines attached to

the most improved threshing-mills are so .Fig machine dressing and threshing Scotch --Modern 172.

effective as to dress

the grain sufficiently well for ordinary pur poses ; and thus,when the grain is to be im mediately sent to mar ket, it may also be bagged — and not only bagged but alsoweigh edautomatically, as it issues from the spout

at z'. To accomplish this automatic bag ging and weighing, means are provided

for hanging a bag upon or underneath the

mouth

of

the

spout, so as to catch

the grain. The bag rests upon a portable

weighing apparatus, upon which are placed weights equal to the weight which it is de sired to have in each

bag.

As soon as the

bag receives the pro per quantity of grain, it of course presses down its side of the

weighing

-

machine,

and in the act of thus

descending it disen gages a sluice, which thereupon shuts up the mouth of the spout. The attend

ant instantly removes the full bag, hangs on an

empty

one, and

lifts the sluice, and

CO2

CORN AT THE STEADING .

the operation goes on with admirable speed and precision.

451

It is only in exceptional cases that the automatic work is carried on to this ex

CHAFF

threshing .173. Fig portable of .--Section machine

STRAW

A I R

HED UNTHRASCORN

ONOS@

B CORN SACK

tent, but the practicability, as well as portable form of threshing-machines pre the advantages of the plan, is obvious vails in England. As a rule, there is no enough.

threshingmachineof any kind at English Portable Threshing-machines. The farm -steadings. The threshing is done

452

CORN AT THE STEADING .

by travelling machines owned by com- made by Marshall & Sons, Gainsborough

panies or individuals, who may have the operations of threshing, dressing, several machines at work in different and bagging, all going on simultaneously, parts of the country at one time. This are shown very clearly. The working is system is now also pursued to a large seen so distinctly in the sketch , that no

extent in Scotland, but not so exten- detailed description of the process is ne cessary. The machine is supposed to be sively as in England. Several leading firms of implement- working in the stackyard. The sacks of makers have given much attention to grain asthey get filled have to be conveyed the manufacture of portable threshing- to the granary ; but that is easily done. The disposal of the straw entails more machines, and now the farmer has ample choice of machines of the highest effi- labour. It is usually formed into a large ciency. These portable threshing -ma- stack at the rear of the threshing-ma chines are usually worked by steam chine, and the conveyance of the straw

from the shakers to this stack is, in most traction -engines, which also draw them some

from one place to another .

In

cases portable steam -engines are

cases, accomplished by means of elevators,

em

which can be lengthened and raised in

ployed in working the machines, but the pitch as the stack increases in height. then horses have to be used in taking Theworking of this elevator is shown in fig. 174, which represents one of Clayton

the machine from farm to farm .

In fig. 173 - a longitudinal section of & Shuttleworth's portable threshing-ma a modern portable threshing - machine, chines at work in a stackyard.

Onvita Fig. 174. – Portable threshing machine, showing straw -elevator.

Hands required for Threshing- economy of threshing must depend in a Machines. — The number of persons re- great measure on the proper distribution

quired to work these portablethreshingmachines varies according to the operations performed and the speed of the machine. Ransome, Sims, & Jefferies, whose portable threshing machine is represented in fig. 175, in process of be-

of the hands employed, and state that the force should consist of eleven men and boys, to be engaged as follows : “ One to feed the machine ; two to untie and hand the sheaves to the feeder ; two

on the corn -stack to pitch the sheaves on

ing placed for work, point out that the to the stage of the threshing machine ;

CORN AT THE STEADING .

453

one to clear the straw away as it falls spout; he will also have time between

from the straw -shaker ; two to stack the the removal of a full sack and the filling straw ; one to clear away the chaff from of another, to look round the machine,

give general attention to oiling the underneath themachine,andoccasionally and bearings.

to carry the chobs which fall from the chob -spout up to the stage, to be threshed again ; one to remove the sacks at the back of the machine as they are filled ; and one to drive the engine. The feeder,

Whena large quantity is beingthreshed at one time, additional hands will be re quired to take away and stack the straw . It is better to cart the sheaves to the threshing -machine than to shift its posi tion in the stackyard.

CNATE

C

G

CAVES

18

Fig. 175. - Ransome's threshing machine.

Safety -drums. — The frequency of seri ous accidents to those engaged in feeding threshing machines led to the passing of an Act of Parliament providing thatthe drum and feeding-mouth of every thresh ing - machine must be sufficiently and securely fenced so far as practicable. Great ingenuity has been displayed by

leading manufacturers in devising means for preventing these accidents, and now

on whom very much depends, should be there are several patent safety-drums or an active man, and should have the con- drum - guards, most of which seem to trol of all those stationed near the ma- render accidents by contact with the

chine. He should endeavour to feed the drum , if not absolutely impossible, at drum as nearly as possible in a continu- least extremely improbable. The guard

ous stream , keeping the corn uniformly used by R. Garrett & Sons consists of a spread over the whole width. The two simplecover, which always remains closed men or boys who untie the sheaves should over the mouth of the machine — where

stand on the stage of the threshing-machine, so that either is in a position to hand the feeder a sheaf with ease, but without obstructing the other. The men on the stack must keep the men or boys on the stage constantly and plentifully supplied with sheaves, which must be pitched on to the stage, so that the boys

the sheaves are admitted into the drum —until the feeder gets into the box in which he stands when feeding, and where it is considered he is beyond the risk of accident. When he gets into this

box, his weight depresses the bottom of the box sufficiently to give movement to levers which thereby open the feeding

can reach them without leaving their mouth . In other machines protection is pro position. The man who removes the

straw from the end of the shaker should vided by having the feeding - board never allow it to accumulate so that it

and a curved hood which half covers

cannot fall freely. The man whose duty the drum - opening so arranged that if it is to clear away the chaff and cavings any undue pressure come upon either from underneath the machine must not of them, the opening to the drum is

allow these to accumulate so as to ob- instantly closed by an automatic flap struct the free motion of the shoes ; he falling over it.

Marshall thus describes

must watch the skep or basket under the the action of his drum -guard : “ In the

chob-spout, and as soon as it is full, front any undue pressure coming upon empty its contents on to the stage, in the feed -board releases a board under

a convenient position for the feeder to neath same, which instantly closes over sweep the same, a little at a time, into the drum -mouth in a direction from the the drum to be threshed over again. feed -board. To protect the drum from

The man attending to the sacks must the back a hinged hood is provided, remove them before they get so full as which, on any weight falling on it, drops to obstruct the free passage of the corn over the mouth and closes it. This hood from the ats, otherwisethe clean corn can readily be adjusted to overhang the

may be thrown out at the screenings- drum -mouth more or less as may be de

i

CORN AT THE STEADING

454

sired, and is fitted with wrought-iron to 25 bushels of grain per hour. These curved end plates sliding in grooves little machines are extensively used on through the top of the machine; these small holdings, where they are supplant end plates protect the drum at the sides whatever the posi tion of the hood may be." With these precautions a serious drum - accident now rarely happens. Straw - trusser . — This is a most useful contrivance.

It

is attached to and worked in

conjunction with a threshing machine. leaves

the

The straw as it shakers of the

threshing - machine is caught by the trusser, securely tied in convenient bundles — which

may at will be varied in size with stout twine, and

thrown on the ground behind

HARE

Fig. 177.-- Small threshing machine.

the machine, ready to be

forked on to a stack or cart. This excel- ing the “ flail,” which is now almost a lent machine, represented in fig. 176, thing of the past. made by J. & F. Howard, Bedford , A very useful little threshing-machine,

will tie up the strawas fast as it leaves arranged for driving by handand foot, themost speedy threshing -machine, thus or byother power, is made by Ben Reid performing the work of five or six men. & Co., Aberdeen, and illustrated in fig. 177 MOTIVE POWER FOR THRESHING

MACHINES .

Steam is fast taking the place of horse - power in working threshing -ma chines. Where the supply is plentiful, water still holds its own, and will con

tinue to do so, for it is the cheapest of all motors for the purpose .

But the

horse - wheel is gradually disappearing, and the windmill may be said to have Fig. 176. - Straw - trusser attached to threshing

gone.

machine.

As is indicated in the illustration , the

Steam -power. The steam -engine in its various forms,

threshing -machine and trusser attached suitable for farm -work, has already been takes up very little more space than the

threshing machine by itself.

fully explained — see page 122 — so that nothing more need be said in regard to

Hand Threshing -machines. Sev- it here. Steam -power possesses two im eral tiny threshingmachines are made portant advantages : itis always at com for hand-power, and there are machines mand and can be completely controlled.

somewhat larger, but still, of course, of By the use of steam the threshing may a comparatively small size, for one-horse proceed continuously as long as may or pony -gear. The " Tiny " threshing. be desired ; while, except in the rare machine made by G. W. Murray & Co., cases in which the force of running

Banff, adapted for hand, pony, or horse water is sufficient to drive the mill power, is capable of threshing from 10 wheel, the threshing for the time ceases

}

CORN AT THE STEADING .

455

with emptying of the “ mill-dam .” Ex- the fall low. It therefore rarely answers

perience has abundantly proved that for farm purposes, and need not be dis threshing-machines dependent on water derived chiefly from the drainage of the surface of the ground, frequently suffer from a short supply in autumn, and late in spring or early in summer, thereby

cussed. Bucket Water -wheel. — A much more

useful kind is the bucket-wheel, which may be overshot or breast, according to the height of the fall. It is this wheel

creatinginconvenience for the want of that is adopted in all cases where water straw in the end of autumn, and the is scarce or valuable, and the fall amounts want of seed or horse -corn in the end of to 6 or 7 feet or more, though it is some spring. Wherever such casualties are times employed with even less fall than

likely to happen, it is better to adopt 6 feet. a steam -engine at once. Although coal Measuring the Water - supply. should be distant and dear, for all that when it is proposed to employ a stream a steam -engine requires, a steam -engine of water for the purpose of power, the

should in these cases be chosen rather first step is to determine the quantity de than horse -power. livered by the stream in a given time. The other advantage is also important. This, if the stream is not large, is easily Water or horse power cannot be so nicely accomplished by an actual measurement

governed as steam, and, as a consequence of thedischarge, and is done by damming with these powers, irregularities in feed- up the stream to a small height, say I or ing -in the grain or variations in the

2 feet, giving time to collect, so as to

length of the straw are apt to make send the full discharge through a shoot, the motion of the corn -dressing appliances irregular, which , of course, causes imperfect dressing. This irregular working is to a large extent obviated by the

from which it is received intoa vessel of any known capacity, the precise time that is required to fill it being carefully noted. This will give a correct measure

use of steam -power.

of the water that could be delivered con

It may perhaps be as well to point out stantly forany purpose. If the water be that where steam is the power used for in too small a quantity to be serviceable

threshing, the engine-house should be at all times, the result may found a cal placed as conveniently as possible for culation of the time required to fill a dam communication between the engine driver of such dimensions as might serve to and the person feeding the machine. As drive a threshing -machine for any re there can be but two propositions to quired number of hours. make - to set on and to stop - one signal If the discharge of the stream is more is sufficient, and a bell seems to be the than could be received into any mode most convenient medium of communi- rately-sized vessel, a near approximation cation .

may be made to the amountof discharge by the following method : Select a part of its course, where the bottom and sides Still, wherever there is a sufficient fall are tolerably even, for a distance of 50 or Water -power.

and a reliable supply of water, it is desirable, for the sake of economy, that the latter should be utilised for threshing purposes. There are various methods by which water -power is made available for

100 feet; ascertain the velocity with which it runs through this space, or any measured portion of it, by floating light substances on its surface in a calm day, noting the time required for the sub

driving the threshing -machine, pulper, stance to pass over the length of the space. A section of the stream is then to be taken, to determine the number of superficial feet or inches of sectional area that is flowing along the channel, and undershot and bucket wheels. this, multiplied into five - sixths of the The velocity of the stream , will give a toler Undershot Water - wheels. undershot or open float-board wheel can able approximation to the true quantity

chaff-cutter, grist-mill, &c. The turbine is a comparatively modern invention, and a valuable contrivance it is. The water-wheels are usually of two kinds

be advantageouslyemployed onlywhere of discharge - five-sixths of the surface the supply of water is considerable and velocity, at the middle of the stream ,

CORN AT THE STEADING .

456

being very nearly the mean velocity of the entire section .

Example. If the surface breadth be 3 feet, thebottom breadth 22 feet, and the slope

Supposing the substance floated upon

of the sides each 9 inches, a transverse sec

the surface of the stream passed over a distance of 100 feet in 20 seconds, and

square feet nearly, which, divided by the

that the stream is 3 feet broad, with an average depth of 4 inches — here the area of the section is exactly 1 foot, and the

velocity being 100 feet in 20 seconds,

tion of these dimensions will contain 2

periphery, which is 3 +.75 + .75 +2.5 = 7, the periphery, then the area of the section = 2 feet ;

and 2: (7-3) = .5 foot, or = 6 inches, the hydraulic depth. And suppose theslope at the place of sec

gives 300 feet per minute, less one-sixth sectional area in feet, or i foot, is 250

tion to be 1/2 inch on 100 feet, or 6.5 feet per mile, apply the formula 1.6 * .5 6.5 = 2.3 feet, the velocity

cubic feet per minute for the discharge.

per second nearly, and the delivery will be 2.3x2 = 4.6 cubic feet per

= 250 feet, and this multiplied by the It is to be borne in mind that this is

second, which, multiplied by 60, gives

only an approximation, but it is simple,

276 cubic feet per minute.

and from repeated experiments we have found it to come near the truth .

For

The next step is to ascertain the fall, by

those who wish to enter more elaborately levelling, from the most convenient point into the subject, we may here state a for- at which the stream can be taken off, to mula, derived from those of Sir John the site where the water -wheel can be set

Leslie, for finding the mean velocity, and, down, and to that point in the continua having also the transverse section, fortion of the stream where the water can finding likewise the discharge of a stream be discharged from the wheel, or what is called the outfall of the tail- race.

or river.

If the

water has to be conveyed to anyconsider Multiply the constant 1.6 into the hydraulic able distance from the point where it is depth, and into the slope of the surface of diverted from the stream to the wheel, a the water per mile, the square root of the product will give the mean velocity of the

lade must be formed for it, which should

multiplied by the section of the stream in

100 feet, and this is to be deducted from

streamin feet per second ; and the root, have a fall of not less than 1/2 inch in square feet, is the discharge per second .

the entire fall. Suppose, after this deduc The hydraulic depth is the transverse sec tion, the clear fall be 12 feet, and that the tionof the streaminsquare feet,divided by the periphery of the stream , less the surface breadth .

water is to be received on a bucket-wheel whose power shall be equal to 4 horses.

The rule for finding the quantity of water required per minute toproduce 4horses' power is to multiply the constant 44,000 by the horse-power, and divide the product bythe product obtained by multiplying the constant, —the weight of water per cubic foot by the height of the fall.

Escample. — Multiply the constant By the horse - power

44,000 4

Which divide by the

weight of water per cubic foot

Multiplied by the height of thefall

5176000 (234 cubic feet, the quantity 62.5

1500

12

750.0

2600 2250

of water required per minute to produce 4 horses' power.

3500 3000

The formula is this

44,000 X 4 = 234 cubic feet. 62.5 x 12

The rule for finding the horse -power of any ascertained discharge of water will be found in p. 28. Mill - dam . - If the stream does not

period as may be thought necessary . The

produce this quantity, a dam must be quantity required for the wheel here sup formed by embanking or otherwise, to posed, for three hours, would be 42,120 contain such quantity as will supply the cubic feet ; but suppose the stream to wheel for three or six hours, or such supply one-fourth part of this, the re

-

CORN AT THE STEADING .

457

mainder, or 31,590feet, must be provided over this gives a sectional area for the for in a dam , which, to contain this, at a depth not exceeding 4 feet, would be 88

water laid upon the wheel of 234 = 1.06 220

feet square .

But the constant supply of feet ; but as the bucket should not be water is often much smaller than here more than half filled, this area is to be supposed , and in such cases the dam doubled = 2.12 feet ; and as the breadth

must be proportionally larger, and also of the wheel may be restricted to 3 feet, 2.12 to allow for evaporation. then = .704 foot, the depth of the Forming Mill-dam . — The dam may 3 be formed either upon the course of the shrouding, equal to 872 inches nearly ; stream , by a stone weir thrown across it, and if the wheel is to have wooden soling, and proper sluices formed at one side to 1 inch should be added to this depth

lead off the water when required ; or, what already found, making 972 inches. is much better, the stream may be diverted

The

Arc . -

The arc in which the

by a low weir into an intermediate dam , wheel is to be placed must have a width which may be formed by digging and em- sufficient to receive the wheel with the bankments of earth, furnished with sluice toothed segments attached to the side of and waste -weir, and from this the lade to the shrouding. For a bucket-wheel it is the wheel should be formed .

The small

not necessary that it be built in the arc

weir on the stream , while serving to of a circle, but simply a square chamber

divert the water, when required, through a sluice to the dam, would , in time of floods, pass the water over the weir, the regulating sluice being shut to prevent the flooding of the dam . This lastmethod

one side of it being formed by the wall of the barn, the opposite side by a wall of solid masonry, at least 22 feet thick : one end also is built up solid, while the opposite end, towards the tail

of forming the dam is generallythe most race, is either left entirely open , or, if economicaland convenient, besides avoid- the water is to be carried away by a

ing the risk which attends a heavy weir tunnel, the water-way is arched over upon a stream that may be subject to and the space above levelled in with floods. When water is collected from earth. It is requisite that the walls drains or springs, it is received into a

of the wheel-- arc should be built of

dam formed in any convenient situation, square-dressed stone, having a breadth which must also be furnished with a waste- of bed not less than 12 inches, laid

mortar, and pointed with weir, besides the ordinary sluice, to pass flush incement. Roman off flood -waters. Construction of the Wheel. —Fig. The position of the sluice in the dam should be so fixed as to prevent the 178 is a sectional elevation of the wheel. wrack floating on the surface of the water The barn -wall, and the sole of the arc finding its wayinto the sluice, and thence or chamber, are formed of solid ashler,

to the water-wheel. To avoid this incon- having an increased slope immediately venience, the sluice should not be placed under the wheel, to clear it speedily of at the lowest point of the dam , where it water. The shaft, the arms, and shroud

buckets and sole most commonly is, but at one side, at ing are of cast-iron, the which the water will pass into the lade, being of wood ; and to prevent risk of while the rubbish will float past to the fracture, the arms are cast separately lowest point. from the shrouding. The width of the Dimensions of the Bucket-wheel.- wheel being 3 feet,the toothed segments

The water-wheel should be on the bucket principle, and, for a fall such as we have supposed, 12 feet, should not be less than 14 feet diameter; the water, therefore, would be received on the breast of the

4 inches broad, and they being 1 inch clear of the shrouding, gives a breadth over all of 3 feet 5 inches, and when in

the arc there should be at least 1 inch of clear space on each side, free of the wall.

wheel. Its circumference, with a diame- The length of the shaft depends upon ter of 14 feet, will be 3.1416 x 14 = 44 how the motion is to be taken from the feet; its velocity, at 5 feet per second, water -wheel. In the case of the wheel

is 44 x 5 = 220 feet a minute ; and 234 illustrated in the sketch it is taken off cubic feet per minute of water spread by the pinion shown on the left hand, in

G CORN AT THE STEADIN .

458

a line horizontal to the axis of the water- formed the grooves for securing theends of the buckets and of the sole-boarding. The form of the buckets should be

wheel.

The eye-flanges, 2 feet diameter, are

separate castings, to which the arms are such as to afford the greatest possible bolted ; the flanges being first keyed space for water at the greatest possible

firmly upon the shaft. The shrouding distance from the centre of the wheel, is cast in segments, and bolted to the with sufficient space for the entrance of arms and to eachother at their joinings. the water and displacement of the air. հարստանաք

On the inside of the shroud -plates are In discharging thewater from the wheel

m

с

с

h

Fig. 178. - Section and elevation of a bucket water- wheel. a ' a ' Barn - wall.

V B Sole of arc. Eye-flanges. c Arms,

dd Shrouding. e Groove for securing the buckets. ff Pitch ofthebuckets.

fg Front of bucket. gh Bottom of bucket. 1 Trough . m Spout.

n Regulating -sluice. 9 Pinion .

Sluice-stem . s Friction - roller. t Cross -head.

k Pinion ,

o Trap-sluice. op Spout. u Connecting rod . v Crank -lever.

also, the buckets should retain the water side, should not exceed two- fifths of the to the lowest possible point. These con- depth of the shrouding. ditions are attained by making the pitch

If there is the least danger of back

of the buckets, or their distance from water— that is, of interruption to the lip to lip, 1/2 times the depth of the discharge in the tail-race — it is a good

shrouding; the depth of the front of the plan to keep the bottom of the are high bucket inside, equal to the pitch ; and at the up-water side.

This gives the

the breadth of the bottom as great as water discharging at the higher points can be attained consistently with free a velocity greaterthan 5 feet per second,

access of the water to the bucket im- and assists in driving the water away from mediately preceding; this breadth, in- below the lowest discharging buckets.

CORN AT THE STEADING .

459

In the illustration one - half of the falling .156 " ; for 32 : 1" :: 5 : .156 ", shrouding -plates are removed, the better and 1" : 16 :: .156" : .4 foot, the

to exhibit the position of the buckets. fall to produce a velocity of 5 feet. The shrouding-plates are bolted upon the But this being the minimum , the fall

buckets and soling by bolts passing from from the trough to the wheel may be side to side ; and in order to prevent made double this result, or about 10 resilience in the wheel, the arms are inches. supported with diagonal braces. The So as to secure the proper filling of

toothed segments which operate on the the buckets, the breast-wheel at 5 feet pinion are bolted to the side of the per second should have the pen -trough, shrouding through palms cast upon them with two or three guide-vanes set to

for that purpose, and the true position turn the direction of the water into the of these segments requires that their bucket at a velocity of about 6 feet per pitch - lines should coincide with the second. This will also prevent the force circle of gyration of the wheel : when so of the water from opposing the wheel.

placed, the resistance to the wheel's for an overshot wheel at 6 feet per sec action is made to bear upon its parts, ond at the periphery, it would be well to without any undue tendency to cross have the water entering the bucket at strains. For that reason, it is improper about 7 feet per second. to place the pitch -line beyond the circle Trough and Sluices . The trough of gyration, which is frequently done, which delivers the water upon the wheel even upon the periphery of the water should be at least 6 inches less in breadth

wheel. The determination of the true place of the circle of gyration is too abstruse to be introduced here, nor is it necessary to be so minute in the small

than the wheel, to give space for the air escaping from the buckets, and to pre vent the water dashing over at the sides ; the trough and spout convey the water

wheels, to which our attention is chiefly to the wheel.

It is convenient to have

directed ; suffice it to say, that the pitch- a regulating sluice, that serves to give line of the segment wheel should fall more or less water to the wheel ; and

between one-half and two-fifths of the this is worked by a small shaft passing breadth of the shrouding, from the ex- to the inside of the upper barn. The shaft carries à pinion working the rack Overshot or Breast ?-An import- of the sluice-stem , a small friction -roller

treme edge of the wheel.

ant point to decide is whether the wheel being placed in proper bearings on the is to be worked on the overshot or cross-head of the sluice-frame ; and this breast method. Where the fall is ample apparatus is worked inside the barn by but the supply of water small, or moder- means of a lever handle upon the shaft ate, the overshot is the best ; where the of the pinion. As a waste -sluice, the

water is fairly plentiful and the fall not most convenient and simple, in a mill so great, the breast may be most suit- of this kind, is the trap-sluice, which is able.

But whether the water be de- simply a board hinged in the sole of the

livered over the top of the wheel or on trough, which in opening turns up to the breast — that is a little below the

wards the wheel. It is made to shut

crown of the wheel as shown in the close down to the level of the sole, and illustration — the water should be allowed when so shut the water passes freely

to fall through such a space as will give over it to the wheel. The lifting of this it a velocity equal to that of the peri- sluice is effected by means of the con phery of the wheel when in full work. necting -rod and crank -lever, the latter Thus, if the wheel move at the rate of being fixed upon another small shaft, 5 feet per second, upon it through

the water must fall which passes through the wall to the

a space of not less than .4 foot ; for, by the laws of falling bodies, the velocities acquired are as the times and whole spaces fallen through to the squares of the time. Thus the

interior of the barn , where it is worked in the same manner as the lade-sluice. When it is found necessary to stop the wheel, the trap is lifted, and the whole supply of water falls through the shoot,

velocity acquired in 1" being 32 feet, a leading it to the bottom of the wheel velocity of 5 feet will be acquired by arc, by which it runs off, until the sluice

CORN AT THE STEADING .

460

at the dam can be shut, which stops Brothers) consists of a movable wheel further supply with radiating vanes which revolves upon Speed of the Wheel. - The wheel

a pivot, and is surrounded by an annular

here described, if it moves at the rate case closed externally, but having towards of 5 feet per second, will make 634 rev- its internal circumference four curved

olutions per minute. The pinion -shaft guide passages. The water is admitted

will carrya spur-wheel, by which all the by one or more pipes to this case, and other parts of the machine can be put in issuing through the guide passages, acts

motion. The rate of the spur-wheel de- against the vanes of the wheel, which is pends onthe relation of the water-wheel thus forced round at a rate proportionate

and its pinion.

In the present case they to the height of the fall. The water, as

are in the proportion of 8 to 1, and as it expands its force, passes out below at

the water-wheel takes634revolutions per thecentre of the case. minute, this, multiplied by 8, will give 54 to the spur -wheel.

Professor Rankine ascribed the advan tages of the Vortex or inward -flow turbine

The Turbine. — The turbine is much

to thefollowing points : 1. Its discharging water near the cen for utilising water - power, and it is tre of the wheel. rapidly taking their place. It is an 2. The action of centrifugal force in

superior to the ordinary vertical wheels

ingenious and powerful water - engine, regulating the pressure of the water one of the many useful inventions we

owe to the development of science. It

within the wheel.

3. The mode of varying the supply of

is suitable for high or low falls, and, as water when required. a rule, can be fitted in at much less cost 4. The action of centrifugal force in

than the common vertical water-wheel. regulating the speed. The power which the turbine generates The nature of these advantages he de can be applied very easily, and the “ en- scribed as follows : gine ” can be worked at different degrees 1. The advantage of discharging the

of its capacity, so that it may be adapted water near the centre of the wheel is of either to the working of the chaff-cutter, root-pulper, or grist-mill alone, or to the threshing-machine and all the smaller machines combined. The turbine makes

the following kind : In every form of turbine a whirling motion is given to the particles of water before they begin to drive the wheel, and the efficiency of the

the most both of the water and the fall. turbine depends on the completeness with As its action is not impeded by back- which that whirling motion is taken

water, the turbine may be placed on a away from those particles during the level with the tail-race,and thus give the action on the wheel. By discharging water before entering the turbinethe full the water from a part of the wheel whose benefit of the entire available fall. Its motion is comparatively slow, the prac

small size is another advantage, and a tical fulfilment of that condition is ren small bed of masonry is all that is re- dered more easy and certain. quired for its foundation. Turbines re2. The action of centrifugal force in

volve with such velocity — from 80 up to the regulation of the pressure within 1400 revolutions per minute — that the the wheel is of the following kind.

It is

motion for drivingmachinery may be ob- favourable to economy of power that the tained direct from the wheel-shaft, thus effective pressure of the water immedi ately afterentering the wheel should bear saving intermediate gearing. Various types of turbines are in use in a certain definite proportion to the effec this country and elsewhere.

In some,

tive pressure in the supply -chamber, not

those invented by Fourneyron for ex- differing much in any case from one-half. ample, the water is admitted to the cen- The centrifugal force of the water which

tral part ofthe wheel, and passes out of whirls alongwith the vortex wheel tends the circumference; in others (Jonval & to preserve at its circumference the very Fontaine), the flow of the water is in a pressure which is most favourable to economy of power ; and the centrifugal direction parallel with the axis. The Thomson Turbine . — Thomson's

force of the two discs of water contained

Vortex Turbine (made by Williamson between the wheel and the two shields

-

CORN AT THE STEADING.

461

4. The advantage of the mode of vary thatpressure from makingthe water leak ing the supply of water to the vortex

or cover of the wheel-chamber prevents

wheel by means of movable guide-blades out between the wheel and the casing. 3. The action of centrifugal speed is turning about their inner ends, is of spe

as follows: Should the load be suddenly cial importance, and consists in this, that diminished,

and the wheel

begin to revolve too fast, the centrifugal force of the water

whirlingalong with it increases and opposes the entrance of water from the supply -cham ber ; on the other hand, should the load be suddenly increased, and the wheel begin to revolve

too slowly, the centrifugal force of the water whirling along with it diminishes, and allows more water to enter from the

supply -chamber; and thus sud den variations of the load are

prevented from causing exces sive fluctuations of speed, the

whirling water acting as a gov ernor.

In outward - flow tur

Fig . 179. - Morton's turbine.

bines the centrifugal force of

the water acts ina contrary way, and how small soever the supply of water

tends to increase the fluctuation ofspeed. may be, the passages through which it In parallel- flowturbines it has no sensible flows are always of a smooth and con tinuous form , and free from enlargements

action of any kind.

Fig. 180. - Vertical section of horizontal turbine.

and from sudden contractions or throt- tensive use, and has been applied to

tlings, which causes of waste of power falls ranging from 3 to 400 feet. can never be wholly avoided when the

The Poncelet Turbine. — Mr R. G.

supply is regulated by sluices or side- Morton, Errol, whose turbine is illus valves. This vortex turbine has come into ex

1 Scott's Farm Engineering.

CORN AT THE STEADING .

462

trated in figs. 179 and 180, writes : “ The at any time, be employed than with one poncelet turbine is a practically perfect horse to each leveror beam . poncelet wheel, in which the theoretical Horse-gear for one or two horses is principles ofperfection are fully carried now provided in great variety, and, as a

An efficiency, obtained by experi- rule, of a very convenient and serviceable ments, of fully 60 per cent is claimed for description, easily fitted up or removed

out.

the ordinary poncelet wheel.

If this from one place to another. Only thresh

claim can be maintained, an efficiency of ing-machines of small proportions can be nearly 80 per cent may unquestionably worked by this form of horse-gear. Its be claimedfor the poncelet turbine. most general function on the farm is “ The mechanism of the sluice of this to drive the chaff-cutter, turnip -cutter,

turbine overcomes the well-known diffi- cake-breaker, and grist-mill. culty experienced in others when it is

Driving Horses in Threshing . – To

desired to work at less power, or when drive horses in a threshing machine cor the water - supply is variable.

In the rectly, is a work which tests the natural

temper of thedriver more than most other operations. If he is a lazy or indifferent man, he at one time will look from him , and see the horses lagging as if coming to a stand -still; the next moment he will walk along with the horses ; the nearest through a single pair of sluice orifices to one then exerts himself beyond what he should . Or he will plant his back against the maximum .'

ponceletturbine the variation is produced by totally closing or fully opening the sluice orifices in pairs, one of each pair being exactly opposite the other. By this means the efficiency is constant for all discharges, from the volume passing

Fig. 180 is a vertical section of the the central shaft upon the platform with horizontal wheel, showing base and foot- in the wheel, which some threshing-ma step, guide-vanes, regulating sluice and chines have, but which should never be there, and at intervals will give a loud

gear.

whoop with the voice, or a crack of the whip , which will make the horses nearest As already indicated, horse-power for him pushon with a start. Lagging Horse-power.

threshing purposes is gradually giving causes the machine to take in the sheaves place to water or steam power — to the with difficulty, and at every start the latter most largely. Still it is in use sheaf will be drawn through suddenly, on many farms, and it demands brief and escape the beaters. Now, a steady notice. driver walks the course in an opposite

Formerly there were two leading types direction to the horses, and he thus of horse-wheels, known as under-foot and meets every horse quietly twice in every over -head .

The under - foot was used round of the course . Irregular action of

chiefly where small powers are required, the horses injures the more complicated and the over-head on large farms where parts of the machine, and makes bad four horses and upwards were employed. work in the threshing and dressing of But on nearly all large farms either the the corn . steam -engine or turbine water-wheel has

taken the place of horse-power for thresh

THRESHING AND WINNOWING CORN ,

ing, so that the over-head horse-wheel is now rarely seen in use. It is therefore

The first preparation for threshing corn the under-foot horse-wheel that now pre- —that is, separating the grain from the vails, and with it the horses draw by straw by the threshing - machine is means of trace - chains and swing -tree. taking in the stack to be threshed, and

The horses usually worked singly, one at placing it in the upper or threshing barn. each lever or beam ; but sometimes they

Old -fashioned Corn -barrow Plan .

are yoked in pairs, two horses at each –Formerly a common plan was to con lever.

It is often found that horses ac-

vey the sheaves from the stack to the

customed to go together in the plough sheaf-barn with a corn -barrow such as is work most willingly in the horse-wheel illustrated in fig. 181. This method is when yoked sideby side ; and in this scarcely ever pursued now except upon

way also a greater force may, if desired small holdings; yet it may be interesting

-

CORN AT THE STEADING .

to retain the description of the process which appeared in the third edition of this work . The person appointed to superintend

463

emptied at once, instead of the sheaves being lifted out of it one by one, the form of the barrow allowing this to be done. Two barrows, if the distancefrom

the barn -work forks down the stack to the barn is not great, will bring in a be conveyed into the barn . This is the stack of ordinary size in about 3 hours.

steward, or the person who superintends The fourth worker remains in the upper the field -workers. The hedger does it barn, to pile up the sheaves as they are when there is not much field -work in winter .

brought in into what are called mows—

Whoever undertakes the duty, he that is, the sheaves are placed in rows,

is assisted in it by 4 field -workers. When parallel to each other, to a considerable height, with their butt ends outwards, the first row being piled against the wall.

In casting the stack, the steward takes up the sheaves in the reverse order in which the builder had laid them at

harvest-time, beginning with those in the centre first, and then removing those around the circumference one by one. The fork thrust into the band Fig. 181. - Corn -barrow .

will generally hit the centre of gravity of the sheaves, where

about to take in a stack, he provides him- they are most easily lifted , and swung self with a ladder, and reaches its eaves

towards the sheet. The sheaf is about

with it ; also a long small fork , employed the position it assumes on being pitched to pitch sheaves at leading -time to the by a fork , the corn end always having builder of stacks; and a strong clasp- a tendency to drop downwards. knife, which most farm -servants carry. When all the sheaves of the stack have Standing on the ladder, he, in the first been wheeled in, the steward takes a rake

place, cuts away with the knife all the and clears the ground of loose straws of tyings of the straw -ropes at the eaves of corn that may have been scattered from

the stack. On gaining the top, the lad- the stack to the barn, and puts them into der is taken away, and he cuts away as the sheet, the four corners of which are much of the ropes as he thinks will allow then doubled in towards the middle, in

him to remove the covering with the fork. cluding within them the grain that had The covering is then pushed down to the been shaken out by the shock given to ground, until the top of the stack is com- the sheaves on being thrown down to pletely bared . the ground ; and the sheet, with its con

On the side of the stack nearest the tents, are carried by the women into the barn, a little of the covering is spread barn, and its contents emptied on the upon the ground by the field -workers, to floor, near the feeding - board of the

keep the barn -sheet off the ground, and threshing-machine. they unfold the sheet over the spread straw , close

the bottom of the stack .

The sheet is then shaken, and spread out upon the stackyard wall, or other

As many of the sheaves first thrown airy place, to dry before being folded up down from the top of the stack upon the to be ready for use on a similar occasion. sheet are taken by the women, and

The covering of the stack is carried

placed side by side, with the straw ends upon the edge of the sheet, along both its sides, as will keep the sheet from being blown up by the wind, or turned

away by the women to such parts of the courts and hammels as the cattle-man says require littering, in case it may become wetted with rain ; and the ground is

up by the feet.

raked clean .

The straw - ropes which

Each barrow -load, as it arrives at the bound down the covering of the stack

upper barn, is tilted upon the floor, and should be cut into shortlengths before

464

CORN AT THE STEADING .

being carried away in the litter, as long one cart is employed in taking in the ropes are very troublesome to the men stack ; but it has this drawback , that the when filling their carts with dung on tipping is apt to shake out grain from the straw .

clearing out the courts. Stacks should be carried into the barn

Ladders . — Ladders are most useful

They are best spars, muggy day will do little harm to the formed of tapering Norway pineform of straw . Damp straw passes through the sawn up the middle. A useful

in dry weather, though a drizzling or about a farm -steading.

threshing-mill not only with difficulty, ladder for farm purposes is in fig. 182, but is apt to mould and contract a dis- where the rounded form of the Nor way spar, divided in two, is placed out agreeable smell in the straw -barn . The barn -sheet is made of thin canvas,

and should be about 12 feet square.

It

is useful not only for this, but many other purposes of the farm . A very convenient form of corn -barrow

is in fig. 181, the construction of which is obvious : it is 6 feet in length, and stands

272 feet in height to the top of the bracket.

The sheaves are laid across the barrow in rows, with the corn and butt ends

alternately, and they are kept fromsliding off when wheeled by the slanting bracket supported by stays. In this way from 10

to 15 sheaves, according to bulk, may be wheeled away at once by a woman. Carting Corn to be Threshed.

The almost universal plan now is to cart the unthreshed corn from the stack to the

threshing-mill or machine. It is more expeditious than the time-honoured bar

row -plan, and saves manual labour, which is more costly now than when the anti

quated plan just described prevailed. The corn is usually carted to the sheaf

barn as the threshing proceeds ; but in many places where there is sufficient sheaf - barn accommodation , a stack is stored there at some convenient time and

threshed out at another time, or at inter

vals, according to circumstances. In many cases where the threshing machine is fed from the ground -floor, or where a cart-way can be made up to the level of the sheaf-barn on the first floor,

the sheaf-door is made wide enough to

Fig. 182. – Ladder, 15 feet long. a a Spars of ladder.

c Stack .

b Steps of ladder.

admit the load of straw , which is de

posited there by a tip-cart without any most, though it 18 as often placed inmost. further handling. Where the sheaf-door Those spars are connected together by is not wide enough to admit the load, the steps of clean ash, pushed through auger sheaves are usually forked off the cart made holes in the spars, and rendered into the barn. Where the floor of the firm by means of wedges driven into

sheaf-barn is level with the ground outside, the load of sheaves may be tipped at the door and carried or forked in. This is an expeditious plan when only

the outside ends of the steps. The steps and 16 inches long are 9 inches ,apart, at the bottom and 13 inches at the top, in a ladder of 15 feet in length, which

CORN AT THE STEADING .

465

is the most useful size for use in a stack- ground, and one person with the hands yard. To prevent the ladder from falling stretched above the headupon the spars :

to pieces in consequence of the shrinking the ladder will approach the horizontal of the round steps, a small rod of iron is position the further he steps back, while

passed through both spars, having a head at one end and a screw and nut at the other, under the upper, middle, and lower steps, the head endkeeping its hold firmly

the higher part is supported by another person with a long fork. When not in use, ladders should be hung along the stackyard wall, or some other handy stone

while the screw end is rendered tight by or close wooden fence ; and careful far

the nut. When well finished and painted, mers will have slanting boards fixed above such a ladder will last many years. A the ladders in roof-like fashion to protect

couple of ladders 10 feet, a couple of 15 them from rain -water, just as the project feet, and one of 24 feet long, will suffice ing part of a roof at the “easing" pre

for all the purposes of a farm , as also for vents the roof-water running down the the repairs of the steading and houses. Some dexterity is required to set a long ladder on end, as also to carry it from one place to another. To place it in a perpendicular position, its lower or

outside of the walls of a building. Long ladders are more frequently de stroyed by being brought to the ground in a careless manner, and by beingblown

that will prevent its slipping upon the ground ; and on its light end being elevated arm's-length above the head, the position is kept good by another person taking one of the steps between the

setting on the threshing -machine, its several parts required to be oiled . Fine machinery - oil should be employed for this purpose, though too often a coarse

down by the wind while resting against a heavy end is placed against any object stack , than by fair use. Preparing for Threshing. – Before

prongs of a long fork, by which the dirty oil is used. It should be put for ladder is farther elevated, and the first use into a small tin flask, having a long

person then pushes arm's-length, simul- narrow spout (fig. 183) to reach any taneously, against one step after another, until the perpendicular position is gained. A long ladder is carried a short dis tance in this way : Set the perpendicular edge of the ladder against the right shoulder, and then take hold of a step

Fig. 183. - Oil- can ,

with the right hand , and raise the ladder steadily by it a little from the ground, gudgeon behind a wheel. It is import- ' while, to retain the perpendicular posi- ant that the machine should be thorough tion, grasp a step above the head firmly ly oiled, and it should therefore be carried with the left hand, and then walk stead- out with great care, and by one acquaint

ily forward . Some can carry it steadily ed with the construction of the machine. by grasping one step with both hands, When steam is employed as the mo with the edge leaning against the shoul- tive power, the fire should be kindled by der; and some even are so powerful in the engine-man in time to get up the

the arms as to carry a ladder by the steps steam by the moment it is wanted. From at arm's-length before them, with one arm

half an hour to an hour may be required

above and another below the head .

for this purpose, according to the state of

A ladder may be moved on the ground the atmosphere. a short distance, while standing in a perWhen water is the power, the sluice

pendicular position, by holding a spar in each hand at arm's -length, and then moving first one foot of the ladder in advance, and then the other, till the spot is gained .

of the supply -dam should be drawn up to the proper height, to allow the water time to reach the mill -wheel sluice when it is wanted. When the power is of horses, the

A long ladder is brought down from horses are yoked in the wheel by their the perpendicular to the horizontal posi- respective drivers, immediately after leav tion, by placing it against any object ing the stable at the appointed hour of

whichVOL will resist its foot slipping on the yoking ; and while one of the men is left . I. 2 G

CORN AT THE STEADING .

466

in charge of driving the horses, the other water may flow quicker or slower ; the men go to the straw -barn to take away horses move slower or faster, duller or the straw from the shakers of the mill brisker ; and the steam be more or less

with straw -forks, fig. 150, and fork it in easily raised, and retain its elasticity

mows across the breadth of the barn, longer or shorter one day than in another. which mows may be tramped down by The state of the atmosphere has a great a woman in narrow breadths — that is, influence on all these conditions. If water

where the straw is not carried away is flowing freely into the supply-dam while automatically, as in fig. 172. the threshing is going on, it will come Every preparation ought to be com- more quickly towards the wheel, and con

pleted before the machine is started by sequently maintain the threshing pace of the order of the person who is to feed the the mill for a longer time than when it

machine, and who should be a careful flows from a full dam until it is emptied, man of experience. The power should when the power becomes less by degrees.

be applied gently at first, and no sheaf So with horses : the state of the weather should be presented until the machine will oppress them one day, and they will has acquired its proper momentum — the work with languor and irregularity, do threshing motion , as it is termed .

what the driver can to induce them ;

Care in Feeding. — The capacity of while on another day they will work with the modern threshing-machines compels an active pace throughout the yoking. the feeder to be active at his work. The Little of this variation will, of course, be efficiency of the threshing, however, is felt with steam . not now so much dependent upon the care Fig. 184 represents the feeding process and skill of the feeder as was the case

with the old -fashioned machines formerly in use .

in a threshing-mill of the olden type. Irregular Driving.There are cer

With the improved high-speed tain circumstances which greatly affect

drums, the best modern machines make the action of the machine in the foulness

a perfect separation of thegrain and the of its threshing. One depends— where

straw even with unskilled feeding, yet it horse-power is used on the driving of is desirable that this important piece of the horses, in which a considerable differ work should be executedcarefully. ence is felt by the feeder when one man It may therefore be useful to read the keeps the horses at a regular pace, whilst

following directions given in previous another drives them by fits and starts. editionsto feeders of machines with slow The regular motion is attained by the drum -movement.

When the machine has attained proper speed , the feeder takes a portion only of a sheaf in both his hands, and,letting its corn -end fall before him on the feeding-in board, spreads it with a disengaging mo-

driver walking round the course in the contrary direction to the horses, in which he meets every horse twice in the course of a revolution, and which keeps the horses upon their mettle, every horse ex pecting to be spoken to when he meets

tion across the width of the board . His the driver.

The irregular motion is pro

great care is, that no more isfed in than duced by his walking in the same direc the mill can thrash easily ; that none of tion with the horses, when the horse next the corn is presented sideways, or with him makes the greatest exertion until he

the straw end foremost. He thus pro- outstrips the man, when he slackens his ceeds with a small quantity of corn for a pace ; and then the horse following him , few minutes, until he ascertains the capa- on coming up to the man, exerts himself

city of the mill forwork at the particular time, which is much affected by many circumstances, and then the requisite quantity is fed in . The ascertainment of the

until he also passes him ; and so on in succession, onehorse after another. The man always walks slower than the horses ;

and when he gives a crack of the whip

capacity of the mill is necessary every the horses give a start, and strain the time the mill is used ; for however well machine ; but immediately after this they

acquainted the feeder-in may be with it relapse into the irregular motion, caused generally, and whatever power may be as above described . In such a style of employed, it is not alike effective under driving, a willing horse is sure to get all circumstances. For example, the more to do, and a lazy one less than he

CORN AT THE STEADING .

467

should, as horse-wheels are usually con- when the threshing -machine is in mo structed . The gangway, which is some- tion. The straw , as it falls from the shak ers, is taken up in forkfuls, and carried

times made for the driver to walk on

within the stays of the wheel, serves only to the part of the straw -barn where it is to encourage in him carelessness and in- intended to be mowed up, and where a dolence.

field -worker is ready to receive it and The horses receive a breathing of 15 or mow it up. The mowing consists of 20 minutes at mid -yoking in the mill. spreading the straw in a line, across the

Removing Straw .— The straw , as it end or along one side of the straw -barn,

is threshed, is mowed up in the straw- in breadthsor mows of 5 or 6 feet, and barn, and the mowing is done in this trampling it firmly with the feet ; and manner — that is, where it is not carried away automatically, as shown in fig. 172, or trussed as in fig. 176. Two persons are required to take away the straw

when one mow has reached such a height as the roofing of the barn will easily allow, another one is made upon the floor beside it, and so on in succession, one

h

Fig. 184. - Feeding in sheaves into the threshing machine of the olden type. a Sheaves mowed up from the stackyard. b Rake.

c Refuse on floor,

d Feeder-in of corn .

g Field -worker bringing forward

e Feeding in board . ſ Field-worker loosening

sheaves from the mow. h Wecht. i Broom .

sheaves .

mow after another, in parallel order, threshed, the cattle-man may be saved a until the stack is threshed or the barn good deal of trouble by the men or the filled .

women who are taking away the straw

Mows of Straw . — The advantage of putting up straw in the barn in mows in preference to building it over a large portion of the barn -floor, is — that a mow

carrying the litter to the courts and ham mels, should these require to be littered.

In this case the straw is carried in back

loads from the shakers in short ropes, receives the straw in forkfuls, which re- one end of which is hooked on to the

quire to be only spread a very little be- bottom ofthe straw -screen, and the other fore being trampled firm ; whereas over end is held in one hand of the person a broad space the forkfuls would haveto who is to carrythe load, while the other be carried to the farthest end and sides hand guides the straw into the rope. —a task which no single field -worker Those who carry assist each other on could do as fast as the men fork it. And

with the load in the barn .

moreover, when the straw is to be used,

litter one court after another methodi

The carriers

each mow is easily removed by force of cally, and not at random , in which they the arms alone, whereas straw is very are assisted and directed by the cattle difficult to be pulled asunder when built man, and by the field -worker who would have had to mow the straw in the barn . up and trampled in broad spaces. Carrying Straw to the Courts.-

Straw -screen .

For the convenience

When a stack of litter -straw is being of this process, as well as many others, it

CORN AT THE STEADING .

468

is better to have the end of the straw- in modern improved machines do their screen, or straw -rack as it is sometimes work most efficiently. called, cut off about 3 feet above the floor of the straw -barn, than to allow it to slope down to the floor, because, when

Dressing Corn. In former times the threshing and

so prolonged, its end is apt to be injured dressing of grain were distinct operations

by the prongs of the forkswhen remov- performed at different times. Now they ing the straw ; and it interferes with the may be said to be but two parts of one bundling of straw directly from the mill, operation. The modern threshing -ma either for litter, fodder, or thatching chine of the most improved type is so

stacks. In some machines there is no admirably equipped as to efficiently clean straw -screen at all, the straw falling on

and dress the grain, as well as separate

the floor direct from the shakers, which it from the straw ; also “ hummelling ” or i

C

m

l'

1 m

k

k C

Fig. 185. - Elevation of the dressing - fanner. a Fore -framing, made in halves. g Connecting -rod . ń Bell-crankspindle. 6 Back-frame, made single. cc Side -boarding. i Hopper for undressed corn . klm Spouts for first, second , and light grain . d Crank on fan -spindle. e Arms of fans. Kl' m ' Sliders upon spouts for the opposite side.

ff Sliding-panels on air - port.

n Slot-bar for adjusting the fanner to the floor.

“ beating " the barley,and, as has already stances ; but that day has not quite been explained, conveying the grain to arrived, and in the meantime it may be

the granary, and the straw to the ex- interesting to many, and useful to not a treme end of the straw -barn - all this in

few , to present here the greater portion

one continuous operation. Still there are many farms on which

of the detailed information given in for mer editions as to the dressing of grain . Corn - dressing Machines. — Some

the threshing - machines only partially

dress the grain, and not a few indeed, idea may,in the first place, be given of mostly of small size, where the thresh- the machines employedin dressing corn . ing -machines do little or nothing except They are often named blowers or fanners,, separate the grain and the straw . Most because they blow away the filth from probably another decade or two will see the corn by means of fans. When clean these latter ca es reduced to rare in-

ing -fanners are fixed to one spot, and are

CORN AT THE STEADING .

469

connected with elevators, they are gen- correspond with those in fig. 185.

The

erally of large dimensions, and of more proportions of the wheel and pinion are complicated construction than when made 472 to 1 , the fan making from 212 to to be moved about in the barn .

Fig.

185 is the elevation of a fixed fanner, long used in the country, but now considerably improved upon. It is 6 feet 9 inches in length, 4 feet 9 inches in height, and 1 foot 9 inches in breadth.

revolutions per minute. The full 2 complement of riddles for the riddle frame is 6, of which 2 only can be em

ployed at one time. Their meshes are for wheat 5 in the inch, for barley 4 in the inch, and for oats 3 in the inch.

inch, Fig. 186 is a longitudinal section of the The slap -riddles are three-quarter sieves same fanner, the letters of which partly and 1 inch in the meshes. The

20

P

u

d

d

bi

e

h

p' K ? n'

k

m

b

Fig. 186.- Longitudinal section of the dressing -fanner, with riddles and sieves. Stretcher - rod

a Fore -framing, in halves. b Back - fraining, single . cc Side-boarding. dd Arms of fans. e Air - port of fans. fg Space for discharge of air.

qrs Riddle - frame.

go Funnel-board for the air.

e' f Sieves, upper and lower . Wh' Chains supporting riddle - frame.

st Shoe .

u v Riddles, upper and lower. w Hopper for corn . s Sluice.

across

fan

ners .

i Toothed wheel acting on a

pinion on fan-spindle, and

o Screw -winch to regulate feed . a' b ' Sieve - frame.

moved by winch -handle. k Locker for spare riddles. l' Lid of locker.

on Slider for catching light corn .

are made of wire-cloth ; the upper one and seeds are blown beyond the sieve meshes in the inch, the lower 7 frame; the blast not having power to

has 9

meshes. When this fanner is in opera- carry them over the slider, they fall tion, the blast is sent through the funnel,

down between it and the sieve-frame,

its chief force being directed upon that end of the riddles ; and as the grain falls from the hopper upon that end of the riddles, the lighter chaff is immediately blown offbeyond the point of the slider, the remainder, with the grain , will be passing through the riddles towards the

and are discharged at the lights spout; at the same time, the heavy grain and seeds fall upon the upper sieve, when all the plump full-sized grains roll down over this sieve, and are delivered at the firsts spout ; these grains, together with other seeds whose specific gravity exceeds the

sieve ; and during this stage, any remains foot of the lower sieve, into thechamber of chaff are blown off, and the light grain of the seconds spout. The smaller seeds,

CORN AT THE STEADING .

470

such as those of sinapis and others, being ler ; and as it falls perpendicularly in a too small to be retained even upon this

thin sheet, is intercepted by the blast

sieve, fall through it, and are received into a chamber , from which they are removed at convenience through an aperture which is closed by a sliding shutter. Fig. 187 is a transverse section of the dressing -fanner.

under the most favourable circumstances.

All such chaff and dust as yet remain

amongst it are blown over the sliders ; the light grain that may have remained

is separated over the sole, and falls down the spout; the remainder runs down The finishing-fanner or duster is a fan- the sole, and in passing over the sieve,

ner of simpler construction than fig. 185, should any small seeds yet remain, they although as regards the blast it is con

structed on the same principle. Fig. 188 is a transverse section of the finishing f

h

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d

d 22

OCE

o

O

7

BO

ke

al C

P

o

o c

in

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Fig. 188.- Transverse section of the finishing fanner or duster. a a Frames. i Hopper. b Winch -handle . m The sole . c Wheel- framing. p Division under the Fig. 187.- Transverse section of the dressing fanner. aa The frames. u v Riddles. cc Side-boardings. w Hopper. mm Light spouts.

sole .

ſ Pulley of feeding-

dd Arms of fans. ee Axle of fans.

roller.

h Feeding-roller.

s Sluice.

m Sliders to change direction of dis

charge.

o'p SieveSloping division. frames a 'b

g Wheel.

with

sieves,

If Flaunch -boards. To Riddle- frames .

9

End of connecting rod .

bo Attachments of rid dle - frames with bell - crank . i' Toothed wheel. k Winch -handle . 1 Framework .

are intercepted, and fall through it, while the best corn passes on, and is delivered at the end spout.

Modern Winnowers. The modern winnowers, worked in conjunction with

the threshing-machine, are, as a rule, fanner, fig. 189 is an elevation, and fig. built upon similar principles to those on

190 is a longitudinal section. The frame- which the machines just illustrated were work is similar to fig. 185, but its overall dimensions are smaller, the extreme length being 5 feet 8 inches, the height 8 feet 8 inches, and the width, as before,

constructed , but many improvements have been introduced which enhance their efficiency . The blowing, finishing, and dusting — that is, the blowing away

I foot 9 inches. In operating with this of the chaff, theseparating of the light fanner, the grain is taken from the hop- grain from the heavy, and the removal per by the revolution of the feeding-rol- of sand and dust — are now all performed

--

-

CORN AT THE STEADING .

471

9

k

h

Fig. 189. - Elevation of the finishing fanner or duster . e Cross - belt between wheel and h i Boarding cut away to give access to light corn and pulley. seeds. Pulley on axle of feeding -roller. to carry the fanner. Handles l k 9 g Side-boarding.

a a Frame, in halves.

bb Frame, single. c Air-port. d Wheel and pinion .

a

10

C I N E

P

n

Fig. 190.- Longitudinal section of the finishing-fanner or duster. a a , 60 Cross -rails of the frames. c Air -port. des g Open funnel for the air. h Feeding -roller. i Hopper.

k Slider of hopper. 1 Adjusting -screw . m d Solid sole of funnel.

n End spout. m d , g o Slides up and down for chaff and light corn .

d n Wire -sieve for good

p Division between light

corn .

corn and seeds.

472

CORN AT THE STEADING .

by one machine — a machine of which the grain as it leaves the elevator, rais

there are numerous patterns, made by ing it from the threshing machine as at various firms, many of them very inge- zin fig. 172, falls into the hopper of a winnower, which is worked by hand, and It is necessary to have at all farms at which remains in the granary to give the

nious, and nearly all very efficient.

least one detached corn-dresser, as even grain its finishing touches. with modern threshing and finishing

In fig. 191 a representation is given

machines it is usually desirable to put of an improved corn -dressing machine, once through a winnower, before sending with apparatus attached, for bagging and

to market,grain which may have lain in weighing the grain automatically, made the granary for a little time. Indeed, by T. Corbett, Shrewsbury. The ele the majority of farmers still put the grain vatoris worked by a strap from the driv once through a separate winnower after ing-wheel spindle of winnower, and raises leaving the threshing -machine. In some the grain by conducting tins, as it passes

cases arrangements are made whereby from the machine, into a hopper , suffi

Fig. 191. - Combined winnower and bagging -machine.

ciently high to apply a bag at full length. same time a saving of two men is effected. Under the spout is an ordinary weighingmachine, to which a cord passes from a catch applied in the elevator spout, so that when the bag (which is placed on the weighing - machine) has its proper

The grain may beelevated at the rate of from 60 to 80 bushels per hour, with

wonderfully little difference in the power required to work the winnower.

Many of the improved modern win weight, the descent of the machine dis- nowing-machines are so constructed that

engages the catch, and the slide falls by change of riddles, screens, &c., all instantly, and thereby prevents afurther kinds of grass as well as grain seeds can discharge. The hopper is sufficiently be cleaned by them. Notwithstanding

large to receive the grain while the at- their more varied accomplishments, the tendant is moving the bag and applying modern corn -dressing machines are easier

another, by which arrangement the labo- to work than the simple and less efficient rious work of filling the bag from the but clumsier machines of former times. Corn - screens . - Screens of various machine is dispensed with, and at the -

---

-

CORN AT THE STEADING .

473

patterns are often used in addition to than in the threshing, dressing, and winnowers in dressing and finishing handling of grain. grain. By these screens sand and dust

are thoroughly removed, and small seeds are separated from those of the proper size. Screening is specially serviceable

CHGERIA

in dressing barley for malting purposes, uniformity of the size of the grain being an element of some importance in the manufacture of malt.

Some of these

screens are made on the flat, and others

on the rotary, principle. Barn Implements . — There is less use

now than formerly for such appliances as riddles, wechts or maunds, and shovels, in the corn -barn .

In former times hand

riddles played an important part in the Fig. 194. - Old wooden oat- riddle.

Riddles. — Although they are

now

little used, it may be interesting to pre

N1 Fig. 192. - Old wooden wheat- riddle .

cleaning of grain, but they have been

almost entirely supplanted by improve ments in the threshing and dressing machines. The riddling of the corn was

Fig. 195. - Old wooden bean - riddle .

heavy and tedious work ; and altogether serve here some of the illustrations of

the barn implements in use in former

HT Fig. 193. - Old wooden barley -riddle.

there are few branches of farm -work in

which there has been greater saving of manual labour through the introduction of improved mechanical contrivances

Fig. 196. - Old wooden riddle for the roughs of wheat and corn .

CORN AT THE STEADING .

474

times, and illustrated in previous editions

sheep's skin without the wool, tacked to

of this work. See figs. 192 to 196. In the rim in a wet state, after becoming earlier times riddles were, as a rule, dry and hard , makes a better and more made of wood, but latterly wire came to be extensively used . In the illustrations the meshes are shown at full size, and

Fig . 200. - Wecht of skin .

durable wecht than wood. Fig . 197. - Wooden sieve.

Baskets of

close and beautiful wicker-work, such as

fig . 201, have been used in barns in parts

the diameter of the riddle was usually ofEngland instead of wechts. about 23 or 24 inches. The mesh for

The articles for lifting the loose corn,

wheat was % inch square, for barley either for pouring into the bushel, the and beans to inch, and for bag, or the winnower, are now usually

Fig. 198. Iron -wire sieve.

oats 38 inch ; while for rid dling the roughs of wheat and oats a riddle with meshes of 1 inch square was em ployed .

AN

RIS

BER

T

Tam

Sieves.The use of the

sieves was to sift out dust, earth, and small seeds from corn . The

wooden sieve, fig. 197, had meshes of 78 inch square, and the iron -wire sieve, fig . 198, 64 meshes to the square inch, in

Fig . 201. - Corn -basket of wicker- work .

made of wood, almost square, with a deep frame at three sides ; and these are much more expeditious than the older forms. Barn - stool.

-

A strong four -legged

stool, 2/2 feet long, 9 inches broad, and

9 inches high, fig . 202, made of ash, is

Fig. 199.— Triangular-meshed iron -wire sieve.

cluding the thickness of the wire. Fig. 199 is a triangular-meshed iron -wire sieve, with an oak rim. Barn Wechts or Baskets . — A form

Fig. 202. - Barn - stool.

of wecht or maund long in use for taking up corn from the bin or floor, is repre useful in a barn , to allow the women to sented in fig. 200, made either of withes reach the hopper of the fanner easily.

or of skin , attached to a rim of wood. For want of a stool the inverted bushel A young calf's skin with the hair on, or is taken to stand upon, much to its in

--

CORN AT THE STEADING .

475

jury. There is, of course, much less injure a floor so much as an iron spade, need for this homely article than in and better retains the corn upon its face former times, yet it may still at times in the act of shovelling. be useful, and will not add much to the

outlay for barn machinery.

Barn -brooms.

Excellent brooms for

the corn -barn and granaries are made of

Barn -hoe. - A wooden hoe, fig. 203, 7 inches long and 4

stems of the broom plant (Genista sco paria ), about 3 feet inlength, simply tied

inches deep in the

together with twine at one end, and used

blade, fixed to a shaft 9 inches long, made of plane - tree,is better

without a handle.

The broom is also in

the best state when fresh , and becomes

than the hands to fill wechts with corn from the floor.

too brittle when dry. When long straight stems of the common ling ( Callunavul garis) can be procured, they make both

Fig. 203. – Barn wooden hoe.

good and durable brooms. A hard birch

Corn -shovels . — A couple of wooden broom is required to clear the dirt from scoops or shovels, such as fig. 204, to between the stones of a causeway, while shovel

up the corn

the softer broom answers best for the barn - floor. Hair brooms do not answer ,

in

heaps, and to turn it over, are indispensable imple

as bristles have not strength to clear away the heavierdust often generated in

ments in acorn -barn . The scoop is 3 feet 3 inches

Perhaps brooms of whalebone or of coir would do.

barns.

in height, with a head like a common spade ; a helve 18 inches in length, and

An open coir mat in a corn -barn is use

ful in cleaning the feet of the workers when coming into the barn . Nails or pins of wood should be driven at convenient places in the walls

the blade 14 inches wide

and 16 inches long. The blade, helve, and handle are of one piece of wood,

and partitions of the barn , to hang the riddles, wechts (or baskets), and sieves

of plane - tree, the belly of the blade being a lit

upon .

tle hollowed out, and its back thinned away to the sides and face.

Winnowing in Olden Times. - Dress

ing corn in the olden times, when the

Some

times scoops are made longer, with a handle of a separate piece of ash,

threshing - machines and flails left the grain and the chaff together, was a very Fig . 204. - Wooden corn -scoop.

tedious process, taking a great deal of time from the farm hands. A scene such

but they are clumsy im

as that depicted in fig. 205 was quite plements when made of more than one common up till 1860, and even later in

piece of wood . A wooden scoop does not certain parts of the country ; but now,

a

h

% Fig. 205. - Winnowing corn in olden times. a Fanner. b Driver.

c Woman feeding the hopper. d Woman taking up corn .

ee Women riddlers . Corn -basket. g Wooden shovel.

h Besom .

i Light corn . k Chaft.

476

CORN AT THE STEADING .

happily, very little work of this kind has Others are so spread at top as to render them unsteady. Some have no handles, Care in Dressing Corn . — The farmer and must be lifted in the arms ; whilst will find it advantageous to see that his others have only one handle, sometimes grain is perfectly dressed before sending jointed, and sometimes too low. These it to the market or using it for seed. different structures of bushels are in

to be done.

Most likely he will find it necessary to convenient when much corn has to be put it once through a winnower after it measured up in a short time. leaves the threshing -machine and fanIn connection with the bushel is the

ners attached . If this after-dressing does strike for sweeping off the superfluous not leave a clean uniform sample, it be- corn above the edge of the bushel. It is comes evident that a turn of the screen made of two forms; one a flat piece of would be useful. In former times the wood, the other a roller ( fig. 207). The hand - sieve was made to perform the b

function now much more expeditiously and efficiently accomplished by the screen. Measuring Grain . — Corn is now in

variably measured by the imperial bushel, a

fig. 206.

It is of cooper -work, made

Fig. 207. - Corn -strikes. 6 Cylindrical corn -strike.

a Flat corn - strike.

Weights and Measures Act prescribes thatthe strike shall be round, of light wood, 2 inches in diameter ; but he who drew up the Act must have had little experience of using one. If the object

of striking corn in a bushel be to separate Fig. 206.-- Imperial bushel of a convenient form .

one stratum of grains from another, the sharp edge of the flat strike is best fitted

of oak and hooped with iron ; and, ac-

for the purpose. A cylinder, passed in

cording to the Weights and Measures a continuous motion over a bushel, must Act, must be stamped by competent push down some of the grains in front authority before it can be legally used. under it ; and if it is rolled across the

Having been declared the standard mea- bushel, it must press down still more sure of capacity in the country for dry grains, and make the bushel hold more measure, it forms the basis of allcontracts corn than it should contain. On striking

dependent on measures of capacity when wheat, the flat strike is drawn straight

otherwise indefinitely expressed (5th across the bushel; the grains, being nearly Geo. IV. c. 74, sec. 15). The bushel round, settle themselves easily to the must contain just 2218.19 cubic inches, forward motion of the strike ; but with though its form may vary. The form barley and oats, peas and beans, their represented in this figure is somewhat grains not being round, the strike should

broader at the base than at the top, and be moved across the bushel with a zig furnished with two fixed handles. It is not zag motion. The strike should be made of

too broad for the mouth of an ordinary seasoned wood, and plane-tree is the best. Bagging Grain .- As already indi half-quarter sack, nor too deep to compress the grain too much ; and its two cated, a great deal of grain is now run handles are placed pretty high, so that it into bagsor sacks rightfrom the thresh

may be carried full without the risk of ing and finishing machine, or from a de overturning

tached dressing-machine ; but in former Some bushels are made inconveniently times the universal practice was as repre

broad for a sack, made shallow that the

corn may not be compressed in them.

sented in fig. 208.

Some care is required in measuring

CORN AT THE STEADING .

477

The bushel should be filled at fall compressing more grains into the once, because two separate basketfuls will bushel. The women are purposely shown

corn .

put more corn into it than two at once.

in fig. 208 pouring the corn from too

The basketfuls should be poured into the great a height into the bushel. The bushel from a small height, the higher bushel should be striked immediately

11

Fig. 208. - Measuring up corn in the corn -barn . a Measurer of corn . b Bushel.

cc Women filling bushel. dd Women holding the sack .

e Sack being filled .

i Heap of corn .

ſ Sack -barrow . g Filled sacks.

k Wooden shovel.

I Besom ,

h Empty sacks.

after it is filled . The corn raised in the corn , the strike is applied to make the

centre of the bushel bythe pouring should superfluous corn fall off near the heap. be levelled lightly with a wave of the As proof how much grain sinks in a fingers of the left hand, not lower than bushel, a space round the rim will be the edge of the bushel farthest from the

seen the moment the bushel is touched

heap, and sweeping the edge clear of to be emptied ; and with a smart stroke

Fig. 209. - Bagging grain with sack -holder.

of the strike the grain will subside a considerable space.

Formerly, the almost universal custom was to put exactly four bushels into each

It is much easier for a man to carry a bag and ascertain the weight of the grain firmly filled sack than one loosely filled. by weighing two or three bushels taken A filled sack is under command ; in a from the body of the heap of grain. Now,

slack one, the corn is apt to shift, and grain is more frequentlybagged and sold change the centre of gavity of the load.

by weight than by measurement, the

ING

CORN AT THE STEAD

478

.

quantity sometimes reduced or measured, hummellers are also made with parallel according to whether it is unusually bars only, in which case they are less ex heavy or exceptionally light, to bring it pensive but much less effective. It is to the standard weight of four bushels.

used with a mincing motion on a thin

The standard weights of the different layer of barley on the floor. kinds of grain vary throughout the counArranging Sacks of Corn . — To make try — oats from 38 to 42, barley about 54,

sacks stand so that each may be taken

and wheat 60 or 62 lb., per bushel. away with ease from a number, the first A useful arrangement by Richmond & one should be set in a corner, with one

Chandler for saving labour in bagging shoulder against one wall, and the other shoulder against the other wall, fig. grain is represented in fig. 209. Hummellers. — Wheat and oats are 211 ; and every other sack in the same dressed clean by the winnower ; but it is row will stand with the left shoulder

otherwise, at times, with barley. When against the wall, and the right shoulder barley has not been thoroughly ripened, against the side of the sack set down the awns are broken off at a distance

before it.

from the grain by the threshing -machine; and as the part left must be got rid of before the corn can be clean dressed, a hummeller is used for the purpose. Im-

sack will have its right shoulder against

In the second row , the first

the wall, and its leftshoulder in the hol low between the first two sacks of the

first row , and so on, with the second and proved modern threshing -machines are third sacks, row after row . In short, the

provided with hummellers, so that barley sacks stand shoulder to shoulder instead as well as oats and wheat is threshed and

dressed at the one operation. The hum-

of side to side.

Now , the utility of this arrangement

mellers in use are of various patterns; is, that the sacks are as closely set to and besides those worked in conjunction gether as they can . As each sack is re with threshing machines, there are hum- moved in the reversed order from that mellers which work separately. The in which it was placed , it presents its hand -hummellers are now seldom used, broad side to the barrow to be wheeled except on small holdings. A very simple away, or to be lifted upon a man's form of hand -hummeller is shown in fig. back . It con 210. The figure shows the difference between

sists ofa square tight and slovenly sacking of corn , in the crease at the bottom of the third sack

frame of iron, 12 inches each way, 2 inches

in depth, and 18 inch thick .

of the second row , and the projections of its corners. The first in this row is a well-filled sack .

Filled sacks wheeled aside should have

their mouths flat-folded. On tying sacks, dimensions are which they must be when intended to be

Bars of similar

riveted into the sides of the

sent away by cart, the tying should be

made as near the corn as possible, so as to keep the sack firm . crossing each Lifting Sacks of Corn . There are other, form four modes of lifting a sack to a man's compartments back . One is, for the man to bow his of from 1/2 to head low down in front of the sack, bend frame,

and

2 inchessquare, ing his left arm behind his back , across branched A iron stem is is riveted to the frame below Fig. 210. - Simple hand . hummeller .

his loins, and his right hand upon his

right knee. Two persons assist in raising

the sack, by standing face to face, one

on each side of it, bowing down and and at top, and clasping hands across the sack near its forms a socket bottom , below the carrier's head, and

into which a thrusting the fingers of the other hands wooden helve is fixed, having a cross-head into its corners . Each lifter then presses the hand. Such his shoulder against the edge of the sack , by which it is held

1

CORN AT THE STEADING .

and with a combined action upwards, which the carrier seconds by raising his body up, the bottom of the sack is

479

on his back , with his left arm across its mouth.

Another plan is, for the carrier to lay

placed uppermost, and the tied mouth hold of the top of the shoulder of the downmost, the sack resting upon the sack with both hands and crossed arms. back of the carrier. The lifters leaving His two assistants do as directed before ;

hold, the carrier keeps the sack steady and while they lift the sack between

H. S.

Fig. 211. - Filled sacks on the barn.floor properly arranged. a First sack set in a corner. b c Second and third sacks in the first row .

d First sack in second row set

in the hollow between

gh Bottom of ill-filled sack . d Well - filled sack .

a and b.

ef Second and third sacks of second row.

def Sacks with folded mouths. a b c Sacks with tied mouths.

them , the carrier quickly turns his back which consists of two pieces of ash, 3 feet round to the sack and receives it there, 9 inches long, terminating at both ends

retaining a firm hold of all the parts hé in the formof handles, and united to had first. at

gether, at 15 inches apart, by three cross

A third plan is for the assistants to bars of wood tenoned and mortised into lift the sack upon another one, and the the handles. A thin boarding is placed carrier lowers his back down against the over the bars for the sacks to stand upon .

side of the sack, laying hold of its shoul- On using it, the sack is lifted upon the ders over his own shoulders, when he is board ; two assistants, taking hold of the assisted in rising up straight with it on handles, lift it up simultaneously, while the carrier turns his back to the load to

receive it.

An improved and very convenient sack lifter is shown in fig. 213. This is a combined sack - barrow and sack - lifter, made by Clayton & Shuttleworth. The Fig . 212. - Sack - lifter.

barrow is pushed below the sack in the usual way,and then, by the handle shown, his back . A fourth plan, and by far the the bag is screwed up sufficiently high to easiest, is with a sack -lifter, of which enablea man to take it easily on to his there are different patterns. A simple back. form of sack -lifter is shown in fig. 212, The more upright a man walks with a

480

CORN AT THE STEADING .

loaded sack on his back , with a short take a proportionate quantity of 15 cwt. firm step, the less will he feel the weight The carters in towns take much heavier of the load. loads of corn than those in the country. A filled sack is kneed forward from

Corn - sacks . — The sacks for corn re

one spot to another by placing both quire attention to keep them serviceable. knees against one side of the sack, while They are usually made of tow yarn ,man ufactured, tweeled , or plain. Every sack ful of corn, before it is put into the cart, is tied at the mouth with a piece of soft cord.

The ties should be fastened to the

seam of the sack . Every sack should be marked with the initials of the owner's

name, or the name of the farm , or with both. The letters are best painted on

with a brush, rubbing the paint upon open letters cut through a plate ofzinc. When sacks become wetted with rain

they should be shaken and hung up to Fig. 213. - Combined sack- barrow and lifter.

dry ; and if dirtied with mud,theyshould be washed and dried .

If the air in win

embracing the other side with both arms, ter, when sacks are most used, cannot and lifting it slightly from the ground, dry them in time to prevent mouldiness,

while pushing it forward a space with they should be dried before a fire. Where the knees, and thus space after space is steam is used for threshing, sacks may be attained .

dried in the boiler-house. An airy place

Loading a Cart with Sacks. — In to keep sacks is across the granary,over

regard to loading a cart with filled sacks, ropes suspended between the legs of the the general principle is to place all the couples. Holes will break through sacks, by mouths of the sacks withinthe body of the cart, that should any of the tyings wear and tear, or mice. The best thread

give way, the corn will not be spilled for darning even canvas sacks is strong Worsted. upon the ground. The mode of load When a sack ing a double - horse cart so is shown much torn ,

is

inPlate I., which is intended to repre sent the general method of conveying grain to market prior to the introduction of railways. Two sacks are laid flat on the bottom of the cart, with the mouths Two are placed with next the horse. their bottoms on the front ; two on the tail - board, with their bottoms in the rear ; other two on edge above these four ; and one behind , on its side, with

it is used to

patch others

in

with.

The who

person

hasthe charge of threshing and cleaning the corn has the also

the mouths of all three pointing inwards. From 54 to 60 bushels, in 6 -bushel sacks,

charge of the sacks, and

used to be carried by two horses, as in the plate, according to the distance ; but now half-quarter sacks and single-horse

must be ac countable for

carts are employed, the loads are placed in a different form , according to the length of journey, and whether the horses return home loaded or empty. About 36 bushels of wheat, 40 of barley, and 54 of oats, each quantity making about 1 ton weight, is considered a good load for a double cart in the country in a journey of some miles ; and a single one will

1

their number. Sack - bar

Fig. 214. - Sack -barrow .

row . – Sacks,

b Shelf. filled ,

a Handle. c Shields over wheels .

most

are

easily

removed

to

any part of the barn by a sack -barrow , fig. 214 - see also fig. 213. The height of the barrow in fig. 214 is 32 feet, and breadth across the wheels 1/2 foot .

-

--

CORN AT THE STEADING .

481

The body consists of two stilts of ash- in an iron shelf for receiving the bottom wood, connected together in the centre with two bars of wood and one iron bolt with head, screw , and nut. The lower ends are united by a shield of

of a sack. Two iron wheels, connected by an iron axle, support the load in motion , and are so placed in reference to the shelf, as that the body shall stand

iron on each, terminating at a high angle a little inclined back off the perpendicu

?

k

Fig. 215 — Balance weighing -machine. a a Cast -iron framework . b Cross -stretcher bolts. cc Wheels. d Feet.

e Folding handles.

ſ Double beam of cast -iron.

n Shelf for sacks.

g Pillar.

p Upper shelf or scale . 99 Light frame for supporting sacks when placed on the

h Shelf-plate. i i Weights. k Top scale .

i Dead -plate for small weights.

upper scale .

m Framing.

lar. The frame may be painted or left pushing off the mouth of the sack at plain.

arm's length with the left, shoves the

The mode of using the sack -barrow is shelf, with the foot between the bottom

this : When the full sack is standing by of the sack and the floor, and then pulls itself, the person to remove it stands be- the sack towards him upon the body of hind the wheels, and taking a hold of the barrow . When the sacks are as in the handle with the right hand, and fig. 211 , lying a little off, the shelf is VOL. I.

2 H

CORN AT THE STEADING .

482

pushed under the sack, and held firm of the frame, and the light frame folds there by the foot upon the axle ; the down over the folded -up lower shelf, sack is pulled by theleft hand upon the reducing the machine to a very compact body of the barrow . The iron shields C, fig. 214, over the wheels, save their

state .

In weighing with this machine, from

rubbing against the sacks. The load is its being on the principle of the balance,

most easily wheeled away when the the amount of weights required is equal barrow is in a nearly upright position. to the absolute weight of the body that Weighing-machines. — A weighing- is being weighed, and the true weight is machine is an important article of barn determined when the scales coincide in furniture, and various forms of it are one level line with the dead -plate. In resorted to. The common beam and constructing this machine, the bottom of

scales is the most correct of all the in- the pillar and of the frame is provided

struments of the class ; but it is defec- with a horizontal connecting-rod, which tive, as being less convenient for the preserves their parallelism , and, conse purposes of the barn than several others quently, the correct indications of the that are partially employed. Steelyards beam . of various forms are also used. Fig. 216 is a perspective view of a A weighingmachine on the balance portable lever weighing machine, exten principle , which combines every convenience for the setting on and removal of the bags of corn, with accuracy and neatness of construc

tion, is shown in fig. 215. The beam is double, with steel centres, the two bars forming the beam stand, and are connected by a di agonal truss. The one end of the double beam supports a cross-head

b

suspended on the end centres of d

the beam , and to which is attached

a pillar, to the lower end of which

is attached the shelf-plate or scale upon which the principal weights are placed.

The cross -head carries

also the top scale, upon which the smaller weights are placed, and a

dead -plate is fixed on the frame work on which the small weights stand ready for use. The opposite ends of the beam carry a frame, to f

the lower end of which the shelf is

jointed, upon which bags about to be weighed are placed. To the upper end of the frame is also

attached, by a strong bracket, a scale, upon which

a bag may be

Fig. 216. - Portable weighing machine. a Lever .

c Balance.

d Weight-plate. b Sliding-weight.

sſ Platform . e Standard.

placed and weighed with equal accuracy, while it is supported by the sively used . When the lever of the stan

light frame. The object of the top and dard' is up, as in the figure, any weight bottom weighing-shelves is to suit the placement, or the removal of the bag, either from or to a man's back by the top shelf, or from or to the corn -barrow by the lower shelf.

placed on the platform does not affect the balance-beam ; but on pulling it down, it puts the platform in connection with the beam . Weights are then put on the weight-plate connected by a rod

When the machine is not in use, the with the extremity of the balance-beam , lower shelf is folded up against the back these weights representing cwts. and

VARIETIES OF CORN.

The balance - beam is divided into parts, each showing a pound, from 1 to 14 lb. After bringing this beam nearly to the balance - level, the

imperial stones.

483

agriculture, in those plain terms which may be intelligible, not to the botanist or scientific reader only, but to the great mass of farmers."

And the principal

sliding-weight is moved along it till the object he considers should beheld in balance is accurately obtained .

The view , in establishing such a classifica

weights on the weight-plate shows the tion , is the nature and qualities of each number of cwts. and stones, and the variety for making bread. In prosecut sliding -weight indicates on the scale of ing this idea of a classification, Colonel the beam the number of pounds beyond le Couteur divides all the varieties of the cwts. and stones. The article to be wheat into two classes — namely, beard weighed is placed on the platform .

less and bearded.

In so far he imitates

the modern botanist, who divides the cultivated varieties of wheat into the VARIETIES OF CORN .

two divisions of barbatum and imberbe,

signifying the above conditions. But, Wheat, like all true cereals and grasses, unfortunately for the stability of this

belongs to the natural order Gramineæ. classification, that distinction is not im In treating of the plants cultivated on mutable, for some bearded wheats lose a farm , systematic writers on agricul- their beards on cultivation, and some ture describe their characters in minute beardless ones are apt to become bearded botanical phraseology. This is right when cultivated on poor soils and ex when different species of plants have posed situations. to be distinguished from each other. Some other cereals indicate a tendency When mere varieties and sub -varieties are to similar sporting, for the potato-oat numerous, they should be described in a assumes a beard when sown a long time more easily understood if less scientific on the same ground in a poor state. method, so that others besides botanists Colonel le Couteur subdivided beard may easily distinguish them . less wheat into white, red, yellow, and liver -coloured, smooth -chaffed, and vel Wheat. vet-chaffed ; and the bearded he divided Professor Low enumerates a different

under the same colours.

Some varieties

subdivisions of wheat 1 which are culti- of wheat are, no doubt, decidedly downy vated, and doubtless possess distinct bo- on the chaff ; but others, again, are so

tanical characteristics, but these are not likely to be appreciated by farmers. Mr Lawson has described 83 varieties of wheat ; ? Colonel le Couteur - mentions having in his possession, in 1836, no fewer than 150 varieties.3 To acquire a knowledge of all these varieties through botanical termswould puzzle any farmer.

very little so, that it is difficult to dis tinguish them from some of the roughest varieties of smooth -chaffed ; and it is known that the same wheat will be dif ferently affected in this respect by the soil upon which it grows. A sharp soil renders the chaff and straw smoother · and harder than a deaf one, and the

If he wishes to have a precise knowledge deaf soil has a tendency to produce soft of them, he must study botany. and downy chaff and straw . Downiness Simple Classification.— It is thus is thus not a more permanent character desirable that a method should be estab- than the beard for establishing the de

lished for easily recognising the different nominations of the great divisions of kinds of corn by the external characters wheat.

of the ear and grain. Colonel le Couteur

Conjoining the characters of the grain

has given a classification of wheat involv- and ear of wheat seems unnecessary, in ing this principle, and adduces a similar asmuch as the character of either separ reason for attempting it, when he says , ately cannot positively indicate the state “ No one has done so, as a branch of

of the other, and both characters are not

1 Low's Ele. Prac. Agric ., 229.

required to indicate the superior pro perties of any variety of wheat for mak

2 Lawson's Agric. Man., 29. 3 Le Couteur On Wheat, ii., Dedi. ; and 77.

ing bread. A miller at once distin guishes the grain which will afford the

CORN AT THE STEADING .

484

best bread ; and neither he nor any far- æstivum or summer wheat; but experi mer could indicate such a property from ence has proved that the summer wheat may be sown in winter, and the winter the ear of any wheat. Colour of Wheat. — Colonel le Cou- wheat sown in spring, and bothcome to

teur assumed that a liver-coloured wheat perfection. Paxton says that Triticum was a distinctive colour.

We never re-

is derived from “ tritum , rubbed — in

member to have seen a wheat of a liver- allusion to its being originally rubbed brown colour. All the colours of wheat, down to make it eatable.” ] we think, may be classed under two In d, fig. 217, is represented a bearded

primary colours, yellow and red — for wheat, which shows the appearance the even the whitest has a tinge of yellow , beard gives to the ear. The bearded and every dark colour is tinged with wheats are generally distinguished by

red ; andas white and red are the terms the long shape of the chaff and the open by which the colours of wheat have been longest known, these should be retained.

The sub -tints of yellow and red might be easily designated. Classification by the Ear. — Were

we to classify both the plant and grains of wheat by natural marks, we would make two classifications, one by the ear and the other by the grain, so that each

might be known by its own character istics. In this way confusion would be

avoided in describing the ear and the grain . The farmer who grows the wheat

plant, and sells it in the grain, should be acquainted with both ; but the miller who purchases the grain need know nothing of the ear. The ears of three classes of wheat are

represented in fig. 217, which shows the ears half the natural size. The first, a, is a close or compact eared wheat, which is occasioned by the spikelets being set near each other on the rachis ; and this construction makes the chaff short and broad .

a

The second class of ears is b,

the spikelets being of medium length d

and breadth , and placed just as close

upon the rachis as to screen it from view ; this ear is not so broad , but longer than a ; the chaff is of medium length

and breadt . The spikel

Fig. 217. - Classification of wheat by the car .

of c are set position of the spikelets , and theref ore cul

ets h open , or as far asunder as to permit the fall under the third class c.

But

ti

rachis to be easily seen between them ; this ear being about the same length much narrower, the chaff long as b, but and narrow . There is no chance of confounding these three structures of

vation has not only the effect of decreas ing the strength of the beard, but of setting the spikelets closer together, as in the white Tuscany wheat. Bearded wheat constitutes the second division

the ears of wheat.

of cultivated wheat of the botanists,

These three classes of varieties con-

under the title of Triticum sativum

stitute the Triticum sativum imberbe of barbatum .

The term bearded has been

botanists, that is, all the beardless cul- used synonymously with spring wheat, tivated

wheats.

Formerly they were

divided by botanists into Triticum hy1 Paxton's Bot. Dic. Tritic. See bernum or winter wheat, and Triticum er’s Brit. Flo ., 20, edition of 1831.

also Hook .

-

--

VARIETIES OF CORN.

485

but erroneously, as beardless wheat is as the principal varieties found in our mar fit for sowing in spring as bearded, and kets. Relation of Ear and Grain . It will the bearded for sowing in winter. Classifying by the Grains.— Classi- be seenfrom what has been stated, that fied by the grain , wheat may again be no inevitable relation exists between the grouped under three heads. The first ear and grain ; that the compact ear does class is shown in fig. 218, not always produce roundgrain nor white where the grains are small, wheat; that in the medium ear is not always found medium -sized grain ; and short, round, and plump, that the open ear does not always pro with the bosom , the me duce large long grain. dian line, distinctly mark ed, and well filled up. Fig. 218. - Short, Still, there exist coincidents which con Fine white wheat belongs round, plump nect the chaff with the grain . For ex to this class, and is en small sizemot ample, length of chaf indicates length of closed in short, round, thin , wheat. grain, upon whatever sort of ear it may

and generally white chaf, which, when ripe, becomes so expanded as to endanger the grain falling out. Very few redwheats belong to this class. In reference to the ear, thisclass is found in short-chaffed and broad spikelets, which are generally compact, as a , fig. 217. The second class is in fig. 219, where

be found ; and, generally, the colour of the chaff determines that of the grain;

the grains are long and ofmedium size,

and colour of the chaft determine the

and as the open spikelet bears longchaff,

long chaffcovers grain of coarser quality than the chaff of the compact ear. On desiring, therefore, to determine the sort of grain any number of ears of

different kinds of wheat contain, the form

longerand larger than the grains of fig. point, and not whether the ear carries 218. The chaff is also medium sized . In compact, medium , or open , bearded or reference to the ear, it is of the medium beardless, woolly or smooth spikelets. standard, in respect to breadth and closeVilmorin's Classification . - M . Hen ry Vilmorin, in his beautiful work1 on

ness of spikelets, as b, fig.

217, though medium -sized

wheat, adopts the following arrange

grain is not confined to this sort of ear ; and is found in the compact ear, as well as in the open

ment :

ear .

Most

red

the

white

Soft wheat.

T. turgidum

Plump "

.

T. durum

wheat

belongs to this class of Fig. 219. - Long, medium - sized

grain , though many of

Triticum sativum

form ofwheat.

T. amyleum T. monococcum

medium - sized

Hard Polish

T. polonicum T. Spelta .

11

Spelt. Starchy wheat. One-grained ..

also belong to it. This grain is the Caucasian red wheat, whose ear is The most important of these, T. sati

bearded , and belongs to the open- vum , he subdivides according as the spiked class c, fig. 217.

variety is awned or unawned , the ear The median line is strongly marked, white or red , smooth or downy, and the and the ends are sharp . grain itself white or red . Familiar forms of T. sativum are Chidham , Hunter,

In fig. 220 is the third

form of grain , which is

Trump, Talavera,

large and long. Its chaff is long, and in reference to the ear, the spikelets are

Dantzic, Shireff, Browick .

pod

generally open. The me

Hickling, Hallett,

Judging Wheat. — But the classifica

tion is unimportant to the farmer, com

pared to the mode of judging wheat, to

dian line is not distinctly Fig. 220.00Large ascertain the external characters which marked .

The ends of the

form of wheat.

grain are pointed but not

best indicate the purposes for which the corn may be best employed, in the par

sharp, and the skin is rather coarse. ticular condition of the sample. The The germ and radicle are boldly marked . These three sorts of wheat are of the

purposes are, for seed and for making

natural size, and indicate the forms of

1 Les meilleurs blés .

CORN AT THE STEADING .

486

into flour - whether the flour is to be after washing and slow drying indicates employed in bread, in confections, or good quality.” 1 Weight of Wheat. — The weight of

starch.

In its best condition, all wheat, whether wheat varies, according to the state of red or white, small or large, long or

the season, from 55 lb. to 66 lb. per im

round, should appear plump within its skin. The skin should be fine and smooth . The colour should be bright and uniform . The grains should be of

perial bushel ; the 55 lb. being very light, and producedin a wet late season on in ferior land — the heavy being veryheavy, and produced in a hot season on the best the same size and form , and perfect. soil. An average weight for wheat is With all these properties wheat is fitted 62 to 63 lb. per bushel. The average weight of all the wheat sold in the Edin Wheat for Flour . — When wheat is burgh market in the thirteen years up to

for every purpose.

quite opaque, it is in the best state for yielding the finest flour. Such flour, from white wheat, confectioners use for pastry,

1880 was 62.2 lb. per bushel.

“ A plump, rounded, white, smooth

grain , without wrinkles, gives the heavi ushel. Wheat grain is and it contains the largest amount of est weight per bushel.

starch, but it is too dear for the starch- heavier than water, its specific gravity maker. When wheat is translucent, hard, ranging from 1.29 to 1.41." 3 High specific gravity is, above all, and flinty, it is suited to the baker, as

affording flour that rises freely with yeast, an indication of good quality. Wheat having much gluten in it . For bread of which weighs 50 to 60 lb. per imperial finest quality a mixture of the two condi- bushel is considered good — that is, rich in flour. The grains should be equal tions of flour is best suited.

Some sorts of wheat naturally pos- sized, large, and full. In rare cases the sess both these properties, and are great weight rises to 66 lb. per imperial

favourites with millers. Generally speak- bushel. " 4 ing, the purest-coloured white wheat indi-

Number of Grains in a Bushel. — Of

cates most opacity, and yields the finest flour ; and red wheat is most flinty, and yields the strongest flour: translucent red wheat will yield stronger flour than translucent white wheat, and yet red wheat

Chidham white wheat, weighing 65 lb. per bushel, 86 grains were found to weigh one drachm , so that the bushel should

contain 715,520 grains. At 63 lb. to the bushel, and 87 grains to the drachm — the

never realises so high a price in the mar- most common case — the bushel should

ket as white - partly because it contains contain 701,568 grains. more bran, makes darker -coloured bread,

and yields less starch. Wheat varying with Soil. Soil.- Mr Powles says, in his translation of Kick's treatise : “ Wheat varies very much ac-

cording to the soil and country in which it is grown.

Wheat for Seed . — For seed, the root

end of the grain should be distinctly pro minent, and the stem -end slightly hairy. When either end is rubbed off, the grain is deprived of its vitality . Kiln -drying also destroys vitality. Wheat unfit for

Among the best kinds of seed may be detected in various ways.

wheat are the Hungarian and the Banater, If it hasbeen in sea -water, although not though they frequently show a flinty ap- enlarged by moisture, it never loses the pearance in cross-section . This is not the saline taste. When washed in fresh water

case with wheats grown in more northern countries. Their grain, which shows in cross-section a uniform white colour, gives better flour, and is called soft or white

and driedin a kiln, the washing gives it a bleached appearance , and the kiln -dry ing is detected bysmell or taste. When shealed, the ends are rubbed down.

wheat, whereas that which shows a

When heated in the sack, it tastes bitter.

mottled or flinty cross-section takes the When heated in the stack, it has a high name of hard wheat, and gives less and colour. When long in the granary , itis A fine, clear, glistening exterior and oval form, are a sign of good quality with old wheat, which has been

2

kept for many years in the granary ; the

3 Church's Food .

recovery of its original colour and lustre

4 Powles's Kick's Flour Manufacture.

inferior flour.

1 Kick's Flour Manufacture. A Bushel of Corn , A. S. Wilson, p. 35 .

1

VARIETIES OF CORN.

487

dull and dirty, and has a musty smell. little affect him , the best way of keeping When attacked by weevils and other in- wheat being in the straw in the stack ; sects in the granary , which breed within and when the stacks are threshed, that its shell and eat the kernel, the shells are the straw may be used, he should dispose light, and have holes in them. Germi- of his wheat immediately, and take the nated, swollen, burst, bruised , smutted current market prices. During the cur grains, and the presence of other kinds rency of a lease, this is the safest practice of corn and seeds, are easily detected by for securing him an average price ; and th e eye. Preserving Wheat in Granaries.

Difference of opinion exists in regard to the best mode of preserving wheat in granaries. The usual practice is to shovel the heap over from the bottom

it saves much trouble in looking after

the corn, much vexation when it becomes

injured, and much disappointment when the price falls below its expectedamount. Loss is likely to be the fate of farmers who speculate in corn of their own

every few weeks, according to the dry- growth ; and when they become mer ness or dampness of the air, or heat or chants besides, they are likely to become coldness of the atmosphere. In this mode involved in the intricacies of foreign

of treatment a free ventilation of air is trade, and feel the effects of their thought requisite in the granary , and the worst lessness.” state of the atmosphere for the grain is Production of an Acre of Wheat. when it is moist and warm . Extreme A crop of wheat, yielding 30 bushels per

heatcorn or extreme cold are preservatives acre, weighing 1800 lb., affords of nutri of . tive matter, 270 lb. of husk or woody The practice of others is not to turn it fibre; 990 lb. of starch, sugar, &c. ; 180 over at all, but tokeep it in the dark in to 340 lb. of gluten, &c. ;36 to 72 lb. thick masses, reaching from the floor to of oil or fat ; and 36 lb. of saline the ceiling. No doubt, if air could be matter.? excluded from a granary, the corn would Lawes and Gilbert found at Rotham be preserved in it without trouble ; and sted that the average quantities of total a good plan of excluding the air seems mineral constitutents (ash ) yielded per

to be, to heap the grain as close together acre per annum , over sixteen years on

as possible. When kept long in heap three plots,differently manured, on which withoutturning, it retains its colour with wheat was continuously grown, were the fresh tint, which is also secured by the following : keeping it in the dark . Ancient Practice in storing . - The By farmyard manure

ancients preserved grain many years, to

Without manure

serve for food in years of famine. Joseph, in Egypt, preserved wheat for seven

With ammonia salts alone

' In grain. In straw. Total. lb. lb. lb. 36.3 201. I 237.4 16.6 89.5 106. i 23.0

119.2

142.2

years in the stores ; in Sicily, Spain, and

the northern parts of Africa, pits were

Kernel and Husk.—Mr A. S. Wilson

formed in the ground to preserve it ; and found that of the grain of wheat about the Romans took great pains in construct- 95.59 per cent consisted of kernel, and ing granaries, which kept wheat for 50 4.41 per cent of husk . and millet for 100 years ."

Origin of Wheat . -“ It is a very re

Storing v. Immediate Selling . — The markable circumstance ," observes Lind practice of storing grain in farm gran- ley, “ that the native country of wheat, aries is not now pursued to so large an oats, barley, and rye should be entirely extent as formerly ; yet it is often found unknown ; for although oats and barley necessary or desirable for the farmer to were found by General Chesney , appar store a moderate quantity for a limited

ently wild, on the banks of the Euphra

time. As to this point à cautious and tes, it is doubtful whether they were not the remains of cultivation . This has led experienced farmer says : “ As regards the farmer, the question to an opinion, on the part of some per

of preserving wheat in granaries should sons, that all our cereal plants are arti 1

Dickson's Hus. Anc., ii. 426

? Origine des Plantes cultivées.

CORN AT THE STEADING .

488

ficial productions, obtained accidentally, tivation appear to coincide with the but retaining their habits, which have parallel of 59° or 60 °. Wheat is here become fixedin the course of ages ." almost an exclusive cultivation, especially Antiquity of Wheat Cultivation.-

in a zone which is limited between the

A. de Candolle 2 observes that the culti- latitude of Tchernigov, lat. 51°, and

vation of wheat is prehistoric in the Old Ecaterinoslav, lat. 48º. In America the World.

Very ancient Egyptian monu- polar limits of wheat are not known, on

ments, older than the invasion of the shepherds, and the Hebrew Scriptures, show this cultivation already established ; and when the Egyptians or Greeks speak ofits origin, they attribute it to mythi-

account of the absence of cultivation in the northern regions. The physical con ditions of these limits are, in the dif ferent countries where cultivation has been carried to the utmost extent, as

cal personages - Isis, Ceres, Triptolemus.

follows :

The earliest lake-dwellers of western

Switzerland cultivated a small - grained wheat, which Heer has described under the name of Triticum vulgare antiquorum .

Mean temperature , Fahr. Lat. Year. Winter . Summer . 57° 58° 46° 35°

Scotland (Ross-shire) 40 62 Sweden 40 The first lake-dwellings of Robenhausen Russia (St Petersburg ) 60 15' 38 Norway (Drontheim ) 64

25 25

59 59

16

61

were at least contemporaneous with the Trojan war, and perhaps earlier.

The

This table shows how little influence

Chinese grew wheat 2700 B.C. It is re winter cold has in arresting the progress markable that wheat has been twice as- of agriculture towards the north ; and

serted to be indigenous in Mesopotamia, this is confirmed in the interior of at an interval of twenty-three centuries,

Russia, where Moscow is much within

once by Berosus, and once by Olivier the limits of wheat. The spring -sown in our own day. The Euphrates valley wheat escapes the cold of winter, and lying nearly in the middle of the belt of wheat sown in autumn is protected cultivation which formerly extended from during winter by a thick covering of China to the Canaries, it is infinitely

snow.

The farther we advance to the

probable that it was the principal habi- north, the more deep and enduring is tation of the species in very early pre- the covering. The temperature of air, historic times. The area may have ex- during the severe season, can therefore tended towards Syria, as the climate is have no direct action on plants which

very similar ; but to the east and west of are annual, or at least herbaceous, and Western Asia wheat has probably never buried under the snow.

The isother

existed but as a cultivated plant, anterior, mal curve of 57 ° 2', which appears to be the minimum temperature requisite for

it is true, to all known civilisation .

Limits of Wheat Culture. Only the cultivation of wheat, passes in North the lower - lying parts of the United America through the uninhabited regions Kingdom are well suited for wheat cul- of Canada. AtCumberland House, which tivation, yet in recent years wheat has is situated in the middle of the continent been grown to a greater or lesser extent in of North America, in lat. 54° N., long. every county in England and Wales ; and 102 ° 20' W., the officers of the Hudson's

also in every Scotch county, excepting Bay Company have established aprosper Selkirk and the Orkney and Shetland ous agriculture. Captain Franklin found islands.

In former times it was not so

widely grown .

“ Wheat is cultivated in Scotland the vicinity of Inverness (lat. 58 °); Norway to Drontheim (lat. 64°) ; Sweden to the parallel of lat. 62°;

to in in in

fieldsof barley, wheat, and even maize ( Indian corn ), growing here, notwith standing the extraordinary severity of the winter. The polar limits of the cul tivation of wheat are the more import ant, since, during a part of their course,

western Russia to the environs of St they coincide with the northern limits of

Petersburg (lat. 60° 15') ; while in those fruit-trees which yield cider ; and central Russia the polar limits of cul- in some parts also with the limits of the oak. 1 Johnston's Lect. Agric. Chem. , 2d ed., 928. 2 Lindley's Veget. King ., 112.

Agriculture and forests, therefore,

both undergo a sudden and remarkable change of appearance on approaching the

-

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1

VARIETIES OF CORN.

489

isothere of 57° 2'. In middle and western are just two kinds, bere or bigg, and

Europe, wheat (Triticum vulgare) is cul- barley ;and thoughboth are awned, they tivated chiefly in the zone between lat. are sufficiently marked to constitute dis

36° and 50°; farther north, rye ( Secale cereale) is generally preferred. To the

Fig . 221.

south of this zone, new combinations of

heat, with humidity, and the addition of many other cultures, sensibly diminish

the importance of this precious cereal. The isocheimal curve of 68 ° or 69', which appears to be the extreme limit of the

possible cultivation of wheat towards the equator, oscillates between lat. 20° and

25 °. The cultivation of wheat is very productive in Chili, and in the united state of Rio de la Plata . On the plateau of southern Peru, Meyer saw most luxuri

ous crops of wheat at a height of 8500 feet, and at the foot of the volcano of

Arequipo, at a height of 10,600 feet. Near the lake of Tabicaca ( 12,795 feet high ), where a constant spring -heat pre vails, wheat and rye do not ripen, be cause the necessary summer - heat is

wanting ; but Meyer saw oats ripen in the vicinity of the lake.'

a

Barley. The botanical position of barley is the genus Hordeum , of the natural order of

с

4 • rowed bere or bigg

6 - rowed

2 -rowed

barley .

barley.

Graminec . Professor Low divides the tinct varieties. In the bere, fig. 222, cultivated barleys into two distinctions,

the median line of the bosom is so

-namely, the 2 -rowed and the 6 -rowed, traced as to give the grain a twisted and these comprehend the ordinary, form , by which one the naked , and the sprat or battledore of its sides is larger forms.2 Lawson describes 20 varieties than the other, and

of barley.3 Classifying by the Ear. — The nat

thelengthened point is from where the

ural classification of barley by the ear is awn was broken off. usly into three kinds - 4 - rowed , The figure gives the obvio 6 -rowed, and 2-rowed. Fig. 221 repre- grain of the nat-

Fig. 222. -Scotch bere or bigg.

sents the three forms, where a is the ural size . 4-rowed, or bere or bigg, c the 6 -rowed , In barley , fig. 223, the median line

and b the 2-rowed , which figures give passes straight, and divides the grain the ear in half its natural size. Of these

the bere or bigg was cultivated until a

into two equal sides, short and plump, with

a crenulated

recent period , but the 2 -rowed has al- skin . The grain most entirely supplanted it, and become here is of the nat in Scotland, along

ole

with a 2 -rowed vari

Fig. 223. - English

the most commonly cultivated variety, ural size. The bigg the 6 -rowed being rather an object of was long cultivated curiosity than culture. Classifying by the Grain . - In classi-

fying barley by the grain we find there ety named common

barley.

Scotch barley ; but several English varieties are now cultivated which show a brighter and

or

| Johnston's Phys. Atl. - Phytol., Map No. 2. ? Low's Ele. Prac. Agric., 244. 3 Lawson's Agric. Man ., 33.

fairer colour, plumper and shorter grain,

CORN AT THE STEADING.

490

quicker in malting, though less hardy

Pot and pearl barley are made from and prolific, than the common barley . barley for culinary purposes. Both meal A variety known as awnless barley is and flour are manufactured from barley now cultivated. When it becomes fully for making unleavened bread, which is

ripe the awns fall off, hence its name.

eaten by the labouring class in some

Judging Barley. — The crenulated parts of the country. skin is a good criterion of malting ; and Of the states of barley the soft is best as most of the barley is converted into adapted for making into malt and meal, beer or spirits, both requiring malt to and the flinty into pot barley. It was produce them of the finest quality, it is supposed that flinty barley contained the not surprising that English Chevalier most gluten or nitrogen ; but Professor

barley should realise the highest price. Johnston showed that it contains less In judging good barley it should break than the soft barley, in the proportion of soft between the teeth, and show a white fracture, and be wrinkled in the bosom .

8.03 to 10.93.

not malt well.

from barley.

As to grinding barley, “ the indications of good flour-producing qualities in barley are these: a fine pale-yellow colour, roundish rather than long form ,

wheat, and to make bread ,that they gave barley to the cattle. They made barley -meal into balls, which they put

and a high specific weight.

down the throats of their horses and

Barley-meal.— " The meal so highly When it breaks hard it is flinty, and will commended by the Greeks was prepared

Long,

It was not untilafter the Romans had learnt to cultivate

pointed, and flat grains yield less flour, asses, after the manner of fattening According to fowls, which was said to make them and of a bluish tint.

yield strong and lusty. Barley continued to Neumann, barley one year old will 1

flour whiter than fresh barley.”»

be the food of the poor, who were not

Yield and Weight of Barley.- A able to procure better provision ; and in

good crop of barley yields a return of the Roman camp, as Vegetius has in from 48 to 60 bushels per acre.

Good

formed us, soldiers who had been guilty

barley weighs from 54 lb. to 59 lb. per of any offence were fed with barley bushel. A crop of 60 bushels per acre instead of bread corn . 3 will yield of straw about 176 stones of Malting . — The malting of barley is 14 lb. to the stone, or it ton, and the noticed, in connection with the use of

weight of the grain of that crop, at 56 malt as food for stock, in pages 248-252. lb. per bushel, will be 12 ton. Mr X. Limits of Barley Culture.— " Barley S. Wilson states that the average weight is cultivated farther north than any of

of all the barley sold in the Edinburgh the other grains : fields of it are seen in market in the thirteen years ending with the northern extremity, in the Orkney 1880 was 54.93 lb. per bushel, the range Islands, and in Shetland (lat. 61° N.), being from 46 to 60 lb.?

and even at the Faroe Islands (lat. 61°

Grains in a Bushel. — It takes of to 62° 15' N.) Iceland (lat. 63° 30' to bigg 111 grains to weigh one drachm ; 66° N.) does not produce it, although an of 6 -rowed barley, 93 ; and of Chevalier industrious population have made every barley, 75 grains ; of which, with the exertion to acquire some species of cereal. weight per bushel of 57 lb. , the number In Western Lapland the limit of barley of grains of Chevalier barley in a bushel is under lat. 70° near Cape North , the will be 547,200. northern extremity of Europe. In Rus About

90 per cent of the grain of barley sia, on the shores of the White Sea, it is

consists of kernel, and 10 per cent of husk. between the parallels of 67º and 68° on Utilisation of Barley . - By far the

the western side, and about 66° on the

largest proportion of the bestbarley is eastern side, beyond Archangel ; in cen converted into malt for making malt tral Siberia, between lat. 58° and 59° ; liquor and spirits. Barley is also used such is the sinuous curve which limits for distillation in the raw state. the cultivation of barley, and conse quently that of all the cereals. 1 Kick's Flour Manufacture. 2 A Bushel of Corn .

3

Phillips's Hist. Culti. Veget., i. 50.

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-

VARIETIES OF CORN.

491

“ A little farther north, all employ- succeed in the plains, because it suffers ment of vegetables ceases, at least as an from heat more than any of the other important object of nourishment — the cultivated grains." people live onthe product of their cattle, Oats. as in the high Alps, or by hunting and fishing, according to locality.

The oat-plant belongs to the natural

“ But beyond the limits of barley there order of Graminer, genus Avena . Its occurs a narrow and indeterminate zone, ordinary botanical name is Avena sativa, in which certain early potatoes are culti- or cultivated oat. The term oat is of vated, and where the snow does not cover obscure origin. Paxton conjectures it to the ground for a sufficient length of time have been derived from

to prevent the raising of some lichens,

the Celtic etan, to eat.?

some fruits, barks, or wild roots, fit for

There are a great number of varieties of

the nourishment of man.

As the intro-

duction of the potato is, in comparison this cereal cultivated in

to barley, recent in these regions, it al- this country. Lawson most everywhere forms the limit between describes thirty-eight.3 the agricultural and the pastoral or

nomad life.

Classification by Fig. 224. — Potato oat. the Grain . — The nat

“ From the importance of the cultiva- ural classification of the oat by the grain tion of barley in the north, it is evident

consists only of two forms — one plump

that wherever the human species has at- and short and beardless, as fig. 224, the

tained the first stage of civilisation, the potato oat, smooth -skinned, shining, hav it as far as possible towards the pole. end short and pointed.

attempt will have been made to advance ing the base well marked , and the germ If, then, it islimited by a sinuous curve

The other form is

as already explained, it is because cir- in fig. 225, long and cumstances of a purely physical nature thin , and having a tendency to produce “ A mean temperature of 46° 4' during a beard, the white

oppose to it an insurmountable barrier.

summer seems to be, for our continent, Siberian early oat. the only indispensable condition for the It is cultivated in

Siberian cultivation of barley ; in the islands of the poorer soils and Fig. 225.--White early oat. the Atlantic Ocean, a summer temper-

higher districts, re

ature of three or four degrees higher sists the force of the wind, and yields appears to be necessary for its success. a grain well adapted for the support of

Iceland indeed, where this grain cannot

farm -horses.

be cultivated , presents in its southern The straw is fine and pliable, and makes districts, at Reikavik, a mean temper- an excellent dry fodder for cattle and ature of 37 ° 4' for the year — 24° for the horses, the saccharine matter in the joints winter, and 49° 4' for the summer. It being very sensible to the taste. It comes appears that here considerable rains are early to maturity, and hence its name. Mr A. S. Wilson divides oats into three the means of preventing the cultivation of cereals. groups ,which he designates as the Ovi

“ Thus the limit ofbarley in the coun- form , Coniform, and Fusiform . In the tries where its cultivation is of the most first he places the short round oats ap

importance, varies between 46° 4' and 499 proaching the form of an egg, the potato of mean temperature, during summer. oat and Scots barley oat being, types of In the continental regions 46° 4' is suffi- this class. The Coniform embrace the

cient ; but in the islands the excessive oats of medium length in proportion to humidity requires to be compensated by their thickness, as the sandy oat. The a little heat in summer.

long oats, such as the Tartarian and

“ Barley is cultivated as an alimentary Arkangel oats, comprise the Fusiform.4 plant as far as the northern limit of rye and oats.

Farther north it loses its im

1 Johnston's Phys. Atl.- Phytol.,Map No. 2. 2 Paxton's Bot. Dict., art. Avena.

portance, and is very little cultivated.

3 Lawson's Agric. Man ., 44.

Between the tropics this cereal does not

* A Bushel of Corn.

492

CORN AT THE STEADING .

Classification by the Ear.—The

were first found in 1789 in Cumberland,

natural classification of the oat by the growing in a field of potatoes. The ear ear is obvious. One kind, fig . 226, in the figure was taken from the stack ,

has its branches spreading equally on none being at the time available in the all sides, shortening gradually towards field , where it would have been more the top of the regular and beautiful. The white Siberian oat, fig. 225, has spike in a conical form , and

an ear of this description.— The other

the panicles are

kind of ear

beardless . This is the potato oat. While the ear is yet re cent, the bran

has its pani nearly

ches are erect ;

same side of

but as the seeds advance to

the

cles shorter, of

equal length all

the

on

rachis,

and bearded.

wards maturity,

Fig. 227, a

and become full

head of Tar tarian oat, taken from stack , the

and heavy, they assume

a

de

pendent form . By this change, the air and light have free access

shows this form of ear . The seeds of

to the ripening grain, while the

this form also assume

rain washes off

the pendant position . It

the eggsor larva of insects that

is of such a

other

hardy nature

wise prey upon

as to thrive

the young seed. This variety is extensively cul

in soils and climates where other

would

Fig. 226. - Spike of potatooat. tivated inScot land on account

of the fine and nourishing quality of its

meal, which is largely consumed by the

oats

could

not be raised . This variety its Fig. 227. — Spike of Tartarian oat. derives

name, most people — unfortunately not so largely now in probably, from Tartary. It is much cul

as in former times. It is cultivated the richer soils of the low country.

The plant of the potato oat is tender,

tivated in England, and only to a limited extent in Scotland . It is a coarse grain ,

and the grain is apt to be shaken out by more suitable for animal food than for the wind. The straw is long and strong, making into meal. The grain is dark -col

inclining too much to reediness to make oured , awny ; the straw coarse, harsh, good fodder. It is late in coming to ma- brittle, and rather short. turity. Its peculiar name of the potato Yield and Weight of Oats . — The oat is said by one writer to have been crop of oats varies from 30 to 80 bushels

derived from the circumstance of the first per imperial acre , according to kind, soil, plants having been discovered growing and situation, 40 to 48 being very gen accidentally on a heap of manure, in eral. Oats vary in weight from 33 lb.

company with several potato-plants, the to 48 lb. per bushel. The average of growth of which was equally accidental ; 1 all the oats sold in the Edinburgh mar while another writer says plants of it ket during the thirteen years ending with 1880, was 42.22 lb. per bushel. Whiteness, of a silvery hue, and plump 1 Rhind's Hist. Veget. King., 218.

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VARIETIES OF CORN.

493

ness, aro the criteria of a good sample. ofthe country people of Scotland. Meat,

A crop of potato oats, yielding 60 bushels fish, and milk food are now consumed to the acre, at 47 lb. per bushel, weighs much more largely by the rural classes of grain 1 ton 5 cwt. 20 lb., and yields of Scotland than in foriner times ; and of straw i ton 5 cwt. 16 lb., in the the “ cheap loaf” is fast supplanting the neighbourhood of a large town ; or, in

more substantial oat- cake.

other words, yields 8 kemples of 40 A sharp soil produces the finest cake windlings each, and each windling 9 lb. meal, and clay land the best meal for

in weight. A crop of Hopetoun oats, boiling. Of meal from the varieties of of no more than 60bushels to the impe- the oat cultivated, that of the common

rial acre, grown near Edinburgh, yielded Angus oat is the most thrifty for a poor man, though its yield in meal is less in Grains in the Bushel. — The potato proportionto the bulk of corn. oat, 47 lb. per bushel, gave 134 grains to Oatmeal has long been and is still the one drachm ; the Siberian early oat of 46 principal food of the Scottish ploughman. lb. gave 109 grains: and the white Tar- În several districts of the country he 2 tons 18 cwt. 16 lb. of straw .

tarian oat, 42 lb., gave 136 grains ; so lives upon it three times a -day, consum

that

these kinds respectively afford ing 14 lb. every week.

And a stouter

806, 144 , 651,792, and 731,136 grains of oats per bushel.

It was considered a rather anomalous

Kernel and Husk . - Mr A. S. Wilson

circumstance to find men thriving as well

and more healthy man cannot be seen.

gives the proportions of kernel and husk

on oatmeal as on

in the various kinds of oats as follows :

butcher-meat; but the anomaly has been

wheat bread and

Oviform — kernel 76.34, husk 23.66 per cleared up by the investigations of chem cent ; Coniform — kernel 76.07, husk istry. By analysis, the oat contains fully

23.93 ; and Fusiform — kernel, 73.23, and 7 per cent of oil or fat, and 17 per cent husk 26.77 per cent.

Average of all of avenin - a protein compound, as the

kinds - kernel, 75.21 , and husk 24.79 gluten of wheat is making together 24 per cent . 1

per cent of really nutritive matter, cap Oatmeal. — For human food the oat is able of supporting the loss incurred by

manufactured into meal, not into flour.

labour of the muscular portion of the

Oats are always kiln -dried before being body. All vegetables contain fat, and ground, in order the more readily to get the largest proportion of vegetable fats

quit of the thick husk in which the grain contain the elaic and margaric acids, is enveloped. After the husk has been mixed with a small proportion of the separated by a fanner, the grain, then

stearic. The elaic is

vays in a fluid

called groats, is ground by the stones state, and the margaric and stearic in a closer set, and yields the meal. The solid ; and of the latter two,the margaric meal is then passed through sieves, to is much less, and the stearic acid very separate the thin husk from the meal. much greater, in animal fat than in those

The meal is made into two states: one fine, of plants. It is by the dissipation of which is the state best adapted for mak- this oil or fat by heat, in baking, that ing into oat-cake or bannocks; and the the agreeable odour of the oat-cake is at other is coarser or rounder ground, which once recognised on approaching the hum is best adapted for making the common ble cottage of the labouring man. food of the country people - porridge ; Yield of Meal. - In regard to the Scotticè, parritch. A difference of cus- yield of meal from any given quantity of tom prevails in respect to using these oats, when they give half their weight of two different states of oatmeal, the fine meal they are said to give even meal.

meal being best liked for all purposes in Supposing a boll of oats of 6 bushels to the northern, and the round mealfor por- weigh 16 stones, it should give 8 stones ridge in the southern counties. or 16 pecks of meal, and, of course, 8 There is, unfortunately, too good rea- stones of refuse, to yield even meal. But

son to fear that this wholesome article is the finer class of oats give more meal in losing its position as the “common food ” proportion to weight than this — some 1 A Bushel of Corn .

nearly 9 stones and others as much as 12 stones per boll. The market value of oats

CORN AT THE STEADING . 494

is therefore often estimated by the meal strong, that it intoxicates sooner than the

they are supposed to yield, and in dis- richest wine. " 2 Origin of the Oat. - As all the varie covering this property in the sample ties of oats are cultivated , and none have millers become very expert.

Composition of Oatmeal. — The fol- been discovered in a truly wild state, it lowing figures show the percentage com- is very probable that theyare all derived position of fresh Scotch oatmeal :from a single prehistoric form , a native of eastern temperate Europe and of Tar Water . 5.0 tary ( A. de Candolle ). Fibrin and its allies 16. I Starch and its allies Fat .

Limits of Oat Culture.- " The oat

63.0 10. I

Cellulose and lignose

3.7

Mineral matter

2.1

100.0

( Avena sativa) is cultivated extensively in Scotland, to the extreme north point, in lat. 58° 40'. In Norway its culture extends to lat. 56° ; in Sweden to lat.

63° 30'. In Russia, its polar limits ap One hundred pounds of oats (weighing pear to correspond with those of rye. 4572 lb. to the bushel) commonly yield Whilst, in general, oats are cultivated for the following proportion of products :the feeding of horses, in Scotland and in Lancashire they form a considerable por lb. 60 26

Oatmeal Husks Water Loss

I2 2

tion of the usual food of the people. This is also the case in some countries of Ger

many, especially in the south of West phalia, where the inhabitants of the Sauerlands ' live on oaten bread.

Kick ,? quoting the mean of

many anal

South

of the parallel of Paris oats are little cul

yses, gives for oats the following percent- tivated ; in Spain and Portugal they are age composition :

scarcely known ; yet they are cultivated

Starch Gluten

56

Cellulose .

12

Salts Water

3 17

I2

100

Oats as Food for Stock . - Oats are

with considerableadvantage3 in Bengal to

the parallel of lat. 25° N.” Rye.

Rye, botanically, occupies the genus Secale of the order Graminece.

It is the

Secale cereale of the botanists, so called , it is said, from á secando, to cut, as

now used much more extensively than opposed to leguminous plants, whose formerly as food for horses, cattle, and fruits used to be gathered by the hand. sheep. Indeed this is now their chief A spike of rye, fig . 228, is not un For this purpose they are function. usually crushed flat. Antiquity of Oat Culture. “ We find no mention made of oats in Scrip-

like a hungry bearded wheat.

is only one known species of rye,

There which

is said to be a native of Candia, and was known in Egypt 3300 years ago.

ture, ” says Phillips, “which expressly But several varieties are raised as food, states that Solomon's horses and drome four of which are described by Law son . use of oats as aprovender for horses apA. de Candolle adduces historical and

daries were fed with barley ; ” but “ the

pears to have been known in Rome as philological data to show that the early as the Christian era , as we find species probably had its origin in the that that capricious and profligate tyrant, countries north of the Danube, and Caligula, fed Incitatus,” his favourite that its cultivation is hardly earlier

horse, with giltoats out of a golden cup.” than the Christian era in the Roman Oats are mixed with barley in the dis- Empire, but perhaps more ancient in tillation of spirits from raw grain ; and Russia and Tartary. " the Muscovites make an ale or drink of

oats, which is of so hot a nature, and so

2 Phillips's Hist. Culti. Veget., ii. 9.

3 Johnston's Phys.Atl. - Phytol., Map No. 2. i Flour Manufacture.

4 Lawson's Agric. Man ., 31 .

VARIETIES OF CORN .

495

The grains of rye are long and narrow , acteristic grain of middle and northern not unlike shelled oats or groats, but Europe; in the southern countries it is more flinty in appearance. They are seldom cultivated .” ? in fig. 229, of the natural Rye is much used in the distillation of gin in Holland. Rye-bread is heavy, dark - coloured, and sweet ; but when

size.

Rye is not much cultivated

allowed to ferment, becomes sour.

in this country, and in Scot land only a patch here and

Rye - flour . - In Russia, 100 lb. of rye

It is ex

flour, containing 16 per cent of water,

tensively cultivated on the Continent, on all soils, and

yield from 150 lb. to 160 lb. of bread.

forms the principal article of food of the labouringclasses.

of corn .

there is to be seen.

There, horses get it on ajourney, in lieu The following is an analysis of rye-flour, showing the percentage compo sition :

66

* Closely resembling the wheat berry is that of rye.

Its appearance is well known

Water Fibrin and allied bodies Starch and allied bodies Fat Cellulose Mineral matter

as naked, rather long, very tapering off at the lower end, curved or slightly keeled at the back, with a furrow at the front, and with hairs at the upper end. It is of a greyish- brown colour, and slightly wrinkled .” 1 Yield

and

Weight

13.0 10.5 71.0 1.6 2.3 1.6 100.0

Beans.

of

Rye . - The produce of rye is about 25 bushels per acre, and

Beans are classed with a very different tribe of plants from the cereals which we have been considering. They belong to the natural order Leguminosa , because

the weight of the grain is from

52 to 57 lb. per bushel. The they bear their fruit in legumes or pods. Fig. 228. number of grains in i drachm Ear of rye. Their ordinary systematic name is Faba vulgaris ; but the bean is also known as being 165, at 55 lb., the bushel

should contain 1,161,600 grains. In a crop of 25 bushels to the acre ,

Vicia Faba.

The common bean is divided into two

weighing 1300 lb., the nutritive matter classes, according to the mode of culture derived from rye consists of 130 lb. to to which it is subjected ; that is, the field 260 lb. of husk or or the garden. Those cultivated in the field are called Faba vulgaris arvensis, woody fibre ; 780 lb. of starch, sugar, &c.; 130 to 230 lb. of glu ten, &c. ; 40 to 50 lb. of oil or fat; and 26 lb. of saline matter.

or, as Loudon calls them , Faba vulgaris

equina, because they are cultivated chiefly Fig. 229. - Grains of pye .

for the use of horses, and are usually termed horse -beans. Some farmers at tempt to raise a few varieties of the

Limits ofRye Culture.— “ Rye ( Secale garden -bean in the field, but without cereale) is cultivated in Scandinavia, on success . All beans have butterfly or the western side to the parallel of lat. 67° papilionaceous flowers. N., and on the eastern side to lat. 65 ° or

Field -bean - Lawson has described 8

66° N. In Russia, the polar limit of rye varieties of the field -bean. The variety is indicated by the parallel of the city of in common field -culture is thus wellde

Jarensk, in the government of Wologda, scribed by him : “ In length the seed is lat. 62 ° 30'. .

It is as common

from a half to five-eighths of an inch,

in Russia , Germany, and some parts of by three-eighths in breadth, generally

France, as it is rare in the British slightly or rather irregularly compressed Islands. Rye-bread still forms the prin- and wrinkled on the sides, and fre

cipal sustenance of at least one-third of quently a little hollowed or flattened at the population of Europe; it is the char- the end ; of a whitish or light -brown 1 Kick's Flour Manufacture.

? Johnston's Phys. Atl . - Phytol., Map No. 2 .

CORN AT THE STEADING .

496

colour, occasionally interspersed with darker blotches, particularly towards the extremities; colour of the eye black ; straw from 3 to 5 feet in length. There

species which are used for food by man and animals are exceptions to the general rule ; the deleterious juices of the order not being in such instances sufficiently

is, perhaps, no other grain over the concentrated to prove injurious, and shape and colour of which the climate, being in fact replaced, to a considerable soil, and culture exert so much influence extent, by either sugar or starch . ” 2 Thus, in a dry warm Yield and Weight of Beans. — The

as the bean.

summer and harvest, the sample is produce of the bean crop varies from 20 always more plump and white in colour to 40 bushels per imperial acre, the pro than in a wet and cold season ; and lificness of the crop palpably depending these more so in

on the nature of the season .

The aver

a strong rich soil age weight may be stated at 66 lb. per than in a light, bushel. It requires only 5 beans to weigh and more so in a i drachm , so that a bushel contains only drilled crop than 42,240 beans. Beans have been known Fig . 230. - Horse- beans.

in one sown broad-

to yield 2 tons of straw or haulm per

cast.”" 1

acre.3

A crop of 40 bushels, at 66 lb. Fig. 230 repre- per bushel, gives i ton 3 cwt. 64 lb. per

sents the horse -bean of its natural size.

Leguminous Plants. — “The legu-

acre .

Consumption of Beans . — Beans are

minous order,” observes Lindley, “ is given to the horse, whole, boiled, raw , or not only among the most extensive that bruised. They are given to cattle in the are known, but also are of the most im- state of meal, but can be ground into fine portant to man, whether we consider the flour, which is used at times to adulterate

beauty of the numerous species, which the flour of wheat. Its presence is easily

are amongst the gayest - coloured and detected by the peculiar smell arising flour on warm water being most graceful plants of any region, or from the four their applicability to a thousand useful poured upon it. purposes.

“ There are several varieties of the

“The cercis, which renders the gardens bean in use as horse-corn, but I do not

of Turkey resplendent with its myriads know that one is better than another. of purple flowers; the acacia, not less The small plump bean is preferred to the valued for airy foliage and elegant blos- large shrivelled kind. Whichever be soms than for its hard and durable wood ; used, the bean should be old, sweet, and the braziletto, logwood , and rosewoods sound ; not mouldy, nor eaten by in

of commerce ; the laburnum ; the classi- sects. New beans are indigestible and

cal cytisus ; the furze and the broom , flatulent; theyproduce colic and founder both the pride of the otherwise dreary very readily. They should be at least a heaths of Europe; the bean, the pea, year old .” 4 the vetch, the clover, the trefoil, the Ancient Superstitions regarding

lucerne, all staple articles of culture by Beans.— “ The ancients entertained some the farmer , are so many leguminous

curious notions in regard to the bean.

species. The gums, Arabic andSenegal, The Egyptian priests held it a crime to kino, senna, tragacanth, and various look at beans,judging the very sight un other drugs,not to mention indigo, the clean. But thebean was not everywhere

most useful of all dyes, are products of thus contemned, for Columella notices other species ; and these may be taken as a general indication of the purposes to which leguminous plants may be ap plied. There is this, however, to be borne in mind, in regarding the qualities of the order in a general point of view , viz., that, upon the whole, it must be

them in his time asfood for peasants, and for them only And herbs they mix with beans for vulgar fare .'

The Roman husbandmen had a religious

considered poisonous, and that those ? Lindley's Veget. King ., 546, 547 . 3 Brit. Husb ., ii. 215.

1 Lawson's Agric. Man. , 62.

* Stewart's Stab. Eco., 205, 206 .

VARIETIES OF CORN.

497

ceremony respecting beans somewhat remarkable : When they sowed corn of any kind, they took care to bring some beans from the field for good -luck's sake, superstitiously thinking that by such means

seed, is suited for strong land in low sit uations ; and the early, the partridge, grey maple, or Marlborough pea ,adapted to light soils and latesituations, is super seding the old grey Hastings, or hot-seed

their corn would return home again to them. The Romans carried their super-

pea.

The grey pea is described as having stition still farther, for they thought that " its pod semicylindrical, long, and well beans, mixed with goods offered for sale filled,often containing from 6 to 8 peas. at the ports, would infallibly bring good- The ripened straw indicates 3 varieties luck to the seller.”

The Romans used

-one spotted with a bluish -green ground,

beans more rationally, when they were one light blue, and one bluish - green employed "in gathering the votes of the without spots.' The partridge pea has people, and for electing the magistrates. its " pods broad,and occasionally in pairs, A white bean signified absolution, and containing from 5 to 7 peas of a medium a black one condemnation .

From this size, roundish, and yellowish -brown spec

practice, we imagine, was derived the kled, with light-coloured eyes. The ripe plan of black -balling obnoxious persons." I straw is thick and soft-like, leaves large It would appear, from what Dickson and broad, and states, that the faba of the Romans — a average

height

name, by the way, said to be derived 4 feet.” 4 Fig 231 is the from Haba, a town of Etruria, where the

same as the partridge field -pea bean was cultivated — isthe 2

small bean of our fields.'"

of the natural size. Produce of

Peas.

Fig. 231. - Partridge field pea .

Peas. — The pro

The pea occupies a similar position to duce of the pea crop is either in abund the beån in both the natural and artificial

systems of botany.

ance

or almost a failure.

In warm

The plant is culti- weather, with occasional showers, the

vated both in the field and in the garden, crop may amount to 48 bushels , and in and in the latter place to great extent cold and wet it may not reach 12 bushels and variety The natural distinction the acre. The grain weighs 64 lb. the

betwixt the field and the garden pea bushel, and affords 13 grains to i drachm ; is founded in the flower, the field pea al- consequently a bushel contains 106,496 ways having a red -coloured, and the gar- peas.

den almost always a white one ; at least Consumption of Peas. — The pea was the exceptions to this mark of distinction formerly much cultivated in this country are few .

in the field , and even used as food, both

The botanical name of the pea isPisum in broth and in bread, pease bannocks sativum , the cultivated pea ; and those having been a favourite food of the la varieties cultivated in the field are called bouring class : but, since the extended

in addition arvense, and those in the garden hortense. The name is said to have been given to it by the Greeks, from a town called Pisa, in Elis, in the neigh-

culture of the potato, its general use has greatly diminished. It is now chiefly given to horses, and also split for domes tic purposes, for making pea -soup а

bourhood of which this pulse was culti- favourite dish with families in winter. vated to great extent : Paxton derives Its flour is used to adulterate that of the

the name from the Celtic word pis, the wheat, and is easily detected by the peculiar smell which it gives out with pea, whence the Latin pisum . Lawson has described 9 varieties of the hot water.

Peasemeal in brose is admin

field -pea. Of these a late and an early istered in some cases of dyspepsia. Pea variety are cultivated. The late kind, pudding is eaten as an excellent accom called the common grey field -pea or cold- paniment to pickled pork. Pea and barley bread is eaten on the Borders by 1 Phillips's Hist. of Cult. Veget ., i. 67, 2 Dickson's Husb. Anc., ii. 182. 3 Paxton's Bot. Dict., art. Pisum . VOL. I.

68 .

the peasantry. It was customary in the 4 Lawson's Agric . Man ., 70 . 2 I

CORN AT THE STEADING .

498

country to burn peas in the sheaf, and wheat-straw contains the following ingre mix them with butter for supper, under dients : the name of carlins.

In some towns,

where ancientcustoms still linger, roasted peas aresold in winter in the hucksters ' stalls. Pigeons are excessively fond of

Berthier. Boussingault. Fromberg. Potash Soda Lime

the pea, and it has been alleged that they

Magnesia Oxide of iron .

can devour their own weight of them every day.

Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid

9.56

5.36

0.31 8.83

5.19 2.32

15.52

4.58 2.45

1.56

77.08

1.04 3.22 1.04 0.62 70.19

1.56 60.58

100.00

100.00

99.76

Percentage of ash 4.40

7.00

1.12

0.44

Chlorine Silica

Wheat- straw .

10.86

2.82

Wheat-straw is generally long, often up

2.92 10.59

wards of 6 feet in length, and it is always strong, whatever its length. Of the two sorts of wheat, white and red, the straw

of the white is softer, more easily broken In Fromberg's analysis silica is deficient, by the threshing-mill, and decomposed and sulphuric acid abundant. in the dunghill.

Red wheat-straw is

The following figures show the mean

tough, and is used for stuffing horse-col- results of analyses of the ash of wheat lars.

The strength and length of wheat straw , grown under ten different condi

straw render it useful in thatching, whe- tions as to manuring, during two consecu ther houses or stacks. It is yetmuch tive periods of ten years each,by Sir J. B. employed in England for thatching Lawes and Dr Gilbert, at Rothamsted : houses, and perhaps the most beautifully 10 years. 10 years . thatched roofs are in the county Devon, whilst excellent examples of this art may be seen in Wiltshire.

Since the general use of slates in Scot land, thatching houses with straw has fallen into desuetude.

Wheat - straw

makes the best thatching for corn -stacks, its length and straightness insuring safe ty, neatness, and despatch, which, in the busy period of securing the fruits of the earth , is valuable . It forms an admira

Pure ash Ferric oxide Lime

Magnesia Potash Soda

1852-61.

7862-71.

55.6

55.6

0.32 2.86 0.81 11.19

0.22

0.23

Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Chlorine Silica

3.50 1.03 10.46 0.34

1.75

1.77

2.42

2.25

1.95

2.17

34.48

34. 28

ble bottoming to the littering of every These figures show the quantity of each

court and hammel of the steading. As ash -constituent per 1000 dry substance litter, wheat - straw possesses superior of straw .

qualities, and few gentlemen's stables are without it.

Wheat-chaff.

The chaff of wheat is

not relished by any stock, and is strewn

It is not so well suited for fodder, its upon the dunghill. It ferments with hardness and length being unfavourable great heat, and would make a valuable to mastication ; yet farm -horses are fond ingredient in maintaining heat around of it when it is fresh . the frames of forcing -pits. The odour

If wheat - straw were cut in short arising from wheat-straw and chaff newly lengths, say of 4 inches, it would make threshed is glutinous. not only more economical litter than long straw for stables and courts, but the manure from it would be better made

Barley -straw.

Barley - straw is soft, has a clammy

and would more equally decompose in feel, and its odour, with its chaff, when the soil.

newly threshed, is heavy and malt- like.

Upholsterers use wheat-straw as stuffing in mattresses for beds, under the name of paillasse ; but such a mattress is a miserable substitute for crisp, curled,

In its long state it is relished by no sort of stock as fodder ; on the contrary, it is deleterious to horses, engendering grease in the heels. It is thus mainly used as

elastic horse-hair.

litter, and is much inferior to wheat

Ash of Wheat-straw . — The ash of straw for cleanliness, durability, or com

VARIETIES OF CORN.

It does not make a good thatch for stacks, being too soft and difficult to fort.

499

Oat-straw ,

Oat-straw is used mostly as fodder,

assort in lengths, apt to let through the being too valuable for litter. It makes Cut into chaff, it is sweet soft odour when newly refreshing. now used largely in pulped mixtures athreshed, its fodder,is and, rain, and rot. for cattle .

Of the different sorts, that of the com Ash. — The ash of barley - straw con mon oats is preferred , being softer, tains these ingredients : sweeter, and more like hay than that of Potash Soda Lime

Magnesia .

Boussingault. Sprengel. the potato oat. When oats are cut a little green , the straw is much improved 3.43 9.20 .

.

0.30 ..

.

8.50 5.00

0.92 10.57

1.45

Oxide of iron and a little

oxide of manganese Alumina .

.

1.00

hay, under the name of oat-hay.2

0.65

In Holland, oat- straw is built in the

2.78

hay-stack, and both oat -straw and hay are cut together and given as fodder to horses

Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid ,

3.10

3.06

1.00

Chlorine

0.60

2.25 1.33

67.60

73.56

Silica

as fodder; and it has been recommended to be cut green and dried, and used like

and cows.

Ash . — The composition of the ash of oat- straw is as follows :

96.30

Percentage of ash

.

7.00

100.00

5.24

Strength of Straw.- “ There exists

a popular notion that strength of straw is dependent on a high percentage of silica ; but direct analytical results clearly show that the proportion of

silica is, as a rule, lower, not higher, in the straw of the better-grown and better ripened crop — a result quite inconsistent with the usually accepted view , that high quality and stiffness of straw depend on a high amount of silica. In fact, high

Potash Soda Lime .

Magnesia Oxide of iron

Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Chlorine Silica .

Percentage of ash

Levi.

Boussingault.

KURHESS. 12.18

ALSACE.

26.09 4.69

14.69 7.29

8.84

4.58

2.98

1.41 1.94 2.15 1.50

2.24

3.19 4.37

54.25

5.00 42.60

99.99

100.00

.

5.10

Oat - chaft . - Oat-chaff is not much rel

proportion of silica means a relatively ished by cattle. Being very clean and low proportion of organic substance pro- elastic, it is used by hinds' wives to fill

duced. Nor can there be any doubt that

the tickings of beds, after being riddled .

strength of straw depends on the favour- It is apt to get into the eyes of

young

able development of the woody substance; stock in the courts. and the more this is attained the more

Chaff as a Foot -warmer . — The chaff

will the accumulated silica be, so to of all the cereals is an admirable conserver speak, diluted - in other words, show of heat. Poachers in Scotland, when

a lower" proportion to the organic sub- sitting out in winter nights in wait for stance. " 1 ground-game, have effectually kept their Barley -chaff. — Barley-chaff is relished feet from getting cold by letting them lie by cattle of all ages, and, rough as the in a bag containing dry chaff. A bag of awns are, they do not injure the mouth chaff may not be a convenient, but it is in mastication . It soon heats in the certainly a most effective foot-warmer. chaff-house, and, if not removed in the Rye-straw. course of two or three days — dependent on the state of the air - decomposition Rye -straw is small, hard, and wiry, will rapidly ensue. Both barley -straw quite unfit for fodder, and would be an

and chaff seem to contain some active unmanageable litter in a stable, though useful in a court, in laying a durable

principle of fermentation.

bottoming for the dunghill. It makes 1

Fream , The Rothamsted Experiments on

Wheat, Barley, & c.

Trans. High. Agric. Soc., xiv. 148.

CORN AT THE STEADING .

500

excellent thatch for stacks.

Young cattle are very fond of bean

It is much

sought for by saddlers for stuffing collarschaff, and, with turnips, thrive well upon of posting and coach horses. It is also it.

the above sorts of straw gave the follow

remarkable feature in this straw .

COXSTITUENTS .

The plaiting of rye-straw into hats was practised as long ago as the time of the ancient Britons. Bee-hives and

Ib .

3 % 15

094

1

Alumina

Oxide of iron

Potash

1012 274 I 172 012 2743 a trace

Magnesia

Oxide of manganese Sulphuric acid Phosphoric acid Chlorine Silica

0.31 9.06 2.41

Lime

a trace

7

Ib .

Ib.

I

532

474

0 % 142 6 20

54 %

0%

0972 a trace I

2

5

3

I

114 a trace

81

17.36

Magnesia

Ib .

0 %

Soda Lime

made of rye-straw .

Soda

Ib.

Potash

ruskies - baskets for supplying the sowers with seed - are beautifully and lightly

The ash of rye-straw contains these ingredients : Will and Fresenius.

Wheat . straw

Rye -straw is sometimes three or four ing weights of these constituents : times as heavy as the grain, which is a

737

100 YOO

1% 0%

80 100

Pen straw

of Rhine wine are packed in rye-straw.

Cows also relish it much. Ash of Straw ,-100 lb. of the ash of

6% 0% o%

lb.

‫ܚ‬ ‫ܘ‬ ‫܀‬ ‫ܘܗ‬

in great request by brickmakers. Bottles

1

764 0 %4 274 8274 7 TOO

20

1OO 100

Oxide of iron

1.36

On comparing these numbers, one can

Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid

3.82

0.83

not fail to remark the large proportion of potash in bean -straw ; the trace of

0.46

soda in all the straws except the bean ;

Chlorine . Silica

64.50

the large proportion of lime in pea -straw 100. II

Percentage of ash, about

.

40.00

compared with bean -straw ; the large proportion of silica in wheat and oat straw compared with pea-straw and bean straw ; and the large proportion of phos phoric acid in bean -straw comparedwith

Bean and Pea Straw .

Pea and bean straw , or haulm , are difficult in some seasons to preserve, but,

oat- straw .

Straw as Food or Litter. — Of the

when properly preserved, no kind of cereal straws that of oats is most relished straw is so greatly relished as fodder by stock , that of barley least. Barley by every kind of stock. An ox will eat straw should therefore be the first used

pea-straw as greedily as he will hay ; for litter, and then wheat-straw, and if and a horse will champ bean -straw with the supply of these is not sufficient, then more gusto than ill-made rye-grass hay. oat-straw may have to be used. The Sheepenjoy pea -straw much. The pro- use of straw as food for stock is fully duct of the pulse crops is considered much too valuable to be given as litter.

considered in the chapter in this volume dealing with foods. So also is that of

According to Sprengel, the ash of bean the different kinds of corn. The colour of fodder affects the dung

and pea straw contains the following

ingredients : Field - bean . Field - pea , 53.08 4.73 1.60 19.99 54.91

Potash Soda Lime

Magnesia Alumina

0.32

1.21

Oxide of iron

0.22

0.40

Oxide of manganese

0.16 7.24

0.15

Phosphoric acid Sulphuric acid Chlorine Silica

6.69

.

6.88

of the various animals ; thus, pea and bean straw and chaff make the dung

quite black, wheat-straw gives a bleached appearance to the dung of horses, and oat-straw a brownish hue to all dung. Yield of Straw . — The value of straw

4.83

may be estimated from the quantity usually yielded by the acre, and the price

1.09

6.77

which it realises.

2.56 7.05

0.09 20.03

100.00

100.00

crops — but rejecting the weaker soils

at

I ton 7 cwt., or 3024 lb. per English acre .

Percentage of ash, from 472 to 6.

Arthur Young esti

mated the straw yielded by the different Mr Middleton estimated the dif

ferent crops in these proportions

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE. cwt.

Wheat straw

Barley

11

Oat Bean

I! 11

Pea

11

.

.

lb.

or i ton 5 cwt. 62 lb. per English acre.

31 or 3472 per acre . 2440 2800 25 2800 25 2800 25 20

.

Average rather more than 25

In the immediate vicinity of Edinburgh, the produce, both in Scotch and imperial measures, per acre, has been found to be as follows :

2862 Stones

Ib .

ton cwt. lb.

Wheat straw , 9 kemples of 16 st. of 22 lb. = 144 or 3168 or I Barley Oat

501

7 8

8 32

= II2

2464

I

2

o

= 128

2816

I

5

16

-

Average

8

11

11

= 128

2816

I

5

16

or i ton 5 cwt. 16 lb. per Scotch, or i ing-machine " appeared in the Caledonian ton o cwt. 3 lb. per imperial, acre. Mercury of August 26, 1735 : “ Whereas

Ancient Uses of Straw . — TheRomans many have wrote from the country to cattle andsheep. They consideredmillet- the threshing-machines, the following

used straw as litter,as well as fodder,for their friends in town about the price of

straw as the best for cattle, then barleystraw , then wheat-straw. This arrangement is rather against our ideas of the comparative qualitiesof barley and wheat straw ; but the hot climate of Italy may

prices are here inserted, for which the machines will be furnished (with the pri vilege of using them during the patent) by Andrew Good, wright in Edinburgh, whose house and shop are in the College

have rendered the quality of barley -straw Wynd — viz., to those who have water

better, by making it drier and morecrisp, mills already, one which will thresh as and the wheat-straw too hard and dry. much as 4 men, costs £30 sterling.

The haulm of pulse was considered best One which threshes as much as 6 men, for sheep. They sometimes bruised straw £45 ; 8 men, £ 60 ; and so on, reckon on stones before using it as litter, which is analogous to having it cut with the straw -cutter. Where straw is scarce, they recommend the gathering of fern , leaves, & c., which is a practice that may be beneficially followed in this country, where opportunity occurs . Varro says, “ It is the opinion of some that straw is called stramentum , because it is strawed before the cattle .” 1 An Ancient Threshing -machine. ,

ing £7, 1os. for each man's labour that the machine does, which is but about the expense of a servant for one year, whereas the patent is for 14 years. One man is sufficient to put in the corn to any one of ' em and take away the straw. About 6 per cent of the grain

which is lost by the ordinary method be saved by this ma of threshing may One of the machines may

chine.

be seen in said wright's yard in the

This “ advertisement anent the thresh- College Wynd.”

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE. Losses from Want of Care. - Farmers as a rule are not nearly so careful in the treatment of farmyard manure as they ought to be. It would be impossible to estimate the loss entailed annu-

mainly of course by the washing away of valuable elements of plant-food in rain - water, by the escape of volatile ammonia, and by what is known as “ fire-fang." The dung -heap with its

ally by want of proper attention to both rich store of costly plant-food is too often solid and liquid manure, but it is well left to look after itself. The heart may The loss arises be burning out of it by “ fire-fang," or its

known to be enormous.

1 Dickson's Husb . Anc., ii. 407.

life-blood , so to speak, passing away in a black streamlet, or disappearing in the

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

502

atmosphere — all for want of thought- parts to have the dung removed, and fulness and thrift, and a little timely formed into dunghills in the fields in work on the part of the farmer and his tended to be manured in the ensuing men.

But this is not all.

season . The most convenient and proper Over and above time to do this is when the frost, snow ,

these there are losses of a negative kind, or rain prevents the ploughing of the on account of which the amount of manure made upon many farms is much

land.

Different kinds of Dung for Differ

less than it might otherwise be. Some ent Crops.—In carting out manure at careful farmers lose no opportunity of this time care is taken to have the dung

adding to the manure-heap any sort of placed upon or convenient to whichever waste material, earthy or vegetable, field or division of field it is to be ap which is capable of there becoming use- plied. Some farmers have considered it ful manure.

They thus not only con- desirable to keep the different kinds of

serve what is already in the heap, but dung separate, so that each may be used sensibly increase its bulk and value; for the crop for which it is best adapted. while there is the further pleasing ad- It is well enough known that the differ

vantage in this careful system that where ent sorts of farmyard manure - stable, it is pursued the steadings are kept clean cow , and pig — are not equally suitable and tidy, the roadways and foot-paths in for all kinds of crops. and around it dry, comfortable, and free Suppose that carrots are to be raised from mud and loose straw or other litter.

on a field of light land, then the land

Others again never seem to think that should be dunged in the autumn with any effort should be made to assist a large proportion of cow - manure, or

the live stock in adding to the contents mixed manure ; because if the manure be of the dung-pit. Those who are thus very nitrogenous, like stable-manure, the neglectful not only lose useful manure, land light, and the rainfall heavy, a large

but also have the thoroughfares in and portion ofthe nitrates will be washed into around their steading constantly in an the drains or subsoil, while if cow -manure untidy and uncomfortable condition . be used, it being less soluble, little is

From all points of view, therefore, wasted. Then when potatoes are desired the treatment of farmyard manure is a to be raised on heavy soil, which is not subject that demands and will amply their natural one, horse-litter should be repay the most careful consideration and

used .

attention.

kinds of cheap and efficient artificial manure, the advantages of keeping the

Forming Dunghills.

But with the choice of several

different sorts of dung separate are now

Carting out Manure.— The carting of less importance than formerly. Mixing Dung . - The better plan is ter is not now pursued so largely as in to have all the kinds of dung mixed to former times. Better provision, in cov- gether as they are taken away from the

of dung to dunghills in the fields in win-

ered courts and prepared dung-pits, is various classes of stock. Thus, the horse now made for storing the dung at the manure should be daily and systemati

steading. The winter carting of dung cally spread over the cattle-dung in the of course lessens spring work , which is cattle -court or manure - pit. If horse

it will an important consideration. The fertil- dung is left by itself in a heap, ising value of the dung, however, can be speedily get injured by “ fire - fang.” most effectually conserved by retaining Then, it is also well to have the manure the dung in the court or dung -pit at the made by cows and store cattle mixed steading till it can be spread on the land. with the richer manure made by cattle In some cases the dung, towards the which are being fattened . close of winter, will have accumulated

Position ofthe Dunghills . — Another

so high in the cattle-courts, as to become nearly level with the feeding -troughs, thereby making them inconveniently low for the cattle. To avoid such inconvenience it is still the custom in many

matter which deserves consideration be fore courts are begun to be cleared in winter, is the position the dunghills should occupy in the field. This point is determined partly by the form which

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

503

The precisespot which a dunghill should the surface of the field presents, and partly from the point of access to the occupy in a field is thus not a matter of field . It should be a general rule that indifference. We have seen a dunghill the dunghill should be placed in the placed in the very centre of a field which field where the horses will have the ad- it was entirely to manure.

From this

vantage of going downhill with the loads point the carts must either go across ridge between the one which is from it when the manure is applied to every manured and the dunghill, or go Wherever practicable, this being the land.

be violated, as facili- direct to a head -ridge, and thence along should never rule afforded to labour in the busy season it to the ridge to be manured. This ties are of great advantage.

latter alternative must be adopted if the

If the field has a uniformly sloping surface, the dunghill should be placed at the highest side; but the access to the field may only be at the lowest side, and

dung is to be deposited in drills; and if not followed, the drills prepared for the dung will be much cut up by the passage of the carts across them—a practice never

it may be impracticable to reach the to be allowed when neat work is desired. highest side by any road . In such an The proper position for the dunghill is untoward case the loads should be taken

on a head -ridge, or at the end of a side

to the highest side, up a ridge of the ridge of the field. Some prefer the end field, and frosty weather chosen to form of a side-ridge, because the length of a

the dunghill init, as the cart-wheels and dunghill upon a head-ridge prevents the horses' feet will then have firm ground to move on. The loss of time thus incurred by the distant travel will not be much felt in winter. But if it be impracticable to lead dung there, on ac-

ends of the ridges opposite to it being ploughed or drilled to their proper length. The dunghill on a side-ridge only pre vents that single ridge being ploughed to

count of the soft state of the land or

When a large field requires two dung

the last.

steepness of the ascent, the only alter- hills, the one first to be used should be native isto form the dunghill at the side placed along the end of a ridge at such a nearest the access. distance from the far side of the field as When the field has a round -backed that the ridge occupied by the dunghill form , the dunghill may be placed on the may be ploughed when the manuring top of the height, to allow the load to go reaches it. The second dunghill should downhill on both sides — in all cases cer- be on the nearest side-ridge. The first tainly where the manure is to be put out dunghill should be first used, for the in heaps, with a heap in every third drill, farthest side of the field . each heap about three or four yards apart. Should the weather be fresh and the

But when the manure is to be thrown ground soft, one dunghill may be made from the cart in graipfuls as the horse on the side-ridge nearest the gateway, moves along the drill — which is by far and made large enough to manure the the most expeditious method — some con- whole field . A large dunghill in one sider it a better plan to have the dung- place will doubtless take more time to hill at the lowest end of the field, so manure the field at the busy season than

that as the cart goes up the hill, it al- two dunghills at different places ; but, in ways becomes lighter until it arrives at soft weather and soil, it is better to incur the top, by which time the cart will be a little future inconvenience in good empty. This is the best system to pur- weather, and on firm soil, than make the sue, where the landis flat enough atthe horses draghalf-loads axle-deep along a

entrance of the drills to allow ahorse soft head-ridge. to draw easily a full- loaded cart. If this The mainobjects to be kept in view , cannot be done, it is better, as already in selecting the sites of dunghills in the suggested, to empty downhill.

field , is to ensure that the loads in the

To form aproper site for a dunghill, a busy season will not only have a passage

head -ridge should be formed along the downhill, but that the dung will be crest of the height when the stubble is situated at the shortest distance from ploughed . In a level field, it is imma- the place where it is wanted, and that terial which side the dunghill occupies. the ploughed or drilled land may not

504

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

be injured by cart - wheels and horses'

Any sacrifice of time must be made on

the instant, or the field will be deprived When it is considered desirable to go of its due proportion of manure.

feet.

through a part of the prepared land on

This is no hypothetical case ; it has

the way from the dunghill to the drills, it is a good plan to draw six or eight drills for a road, following as easy an incline as possible. This prevents the treading of the surface-soil by the horses

occurred in every farmer's experience. Now, what was the primary cause of

and carts.

this dilemma ?

Either too much time

had been spent upon the road in driving the manure, or interruption had been experienced in the courts. To which of

Fields to be Manured . — The fields these two causes ought the waste of time

in which dunghills are usually formed to be probably attributed ? With re are those in which, in the ensuing sea- gard to driving, farm - horses get into son, are to grow the green crops. The so regular a pace upon the farm -road , potatoes coming first in order, the land at all times, that little loss or gain of for them should first have its manure

time can be calculated on their speed.

carried out and formed into a dunghill,

Besides, when a number of carts are

that is, if it is decided to cart the man- employed at any work, each cart must

ure into dunghills. The mangels and keep its turn, otherwise it will be over turnips come next. All the dunghills taken or left behind by one of the other should be respectively of such a size as

to manure with a given quantity the ex-

carts.

Careless Strewing of Litter

in

tent of land to be occupied by the par- Courts . — The probability is, the loss of ticular crop. time was incurred in the courts, and the Loss of Time in Carting Dung: would believ the care required in

Fe

reason was this : The usual way of taking the wet litter from the work-horse stable

laying straw in a court, except those who is to roll as much of it together with a have experienced the trouble and loss of graip as a man can lift, and throw it into time incurred in removing dung from it, a barrow , in which it is wheeled into a

when the straw had been carelessly laid cattle-court, emptied on any spot to get down. The courts are usually cleared quit of itin the shortest time, and leftin during frost, when time is regarded of heaps to be trampled down by the cattle.

less value -- the plough being rendered Bundles of thatchings of stacks, not useless ; but notwithstanding this com- always dry, are carried into the court,

mon feeling, a loss of time at this season and put down anywhere and partially may cause a serious loss of it in a future spread.

Long straw -ropes from the

operation. stackyard are pulled along the court. In doing all this at intervals of time For example : The hard state of the ground may favour the carriage of manure -it seldom enters the head of any one to

to a distant field, to gain which most of the time is spent upon the road. Suppose frost continued as long as to allow time to carry as much manure as would

do what would facilitate the lifting of the dung-straw afterwards, when the court is being cleared of its contents. When that time arrives, and before the litter has be

serve the whole field , provided ordinary come short by fermentation, the difficulty diligence were used on the road, and no attendingits removal is then experienced. interruption occurred in the courts. A lump of long damp straw is seized by Suppose, further, on manuring the field onepart of a graip, while the other part in summer, there was found to be less manure in the dunghill, by a small quantity, than was wanted , and that half a day, or, at most, a whole day's

of it goes into a coiled -up heap of straw rope, which cannot be torn asunder with out much exertion on the part of the ploughman, pulling it this way and that.

driving in winter, from the steading, Another graip encounters a long straw wouldhave supplied the requisite quan- rope, which , after much tugging, is tity, it is clear that one day's driving broken or pulled out, and thrown upon its end dangling down. could have been accomplished in frost the cart with In short, not a single graipful is easily season when the manure is wanted . raised, and the work is not expedited

at much less loss of time than at the

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE.

505

when a heap of chaff intervenes and thod of avoiding the losses arising evades the thrust of the graip. Add to from the uneven spreading of long lit this the few hands generally sent to assist ter on manure - heaps and in courts, is the ploughmen to fill the carts, and some to have the litter cut short by a litter idea may be formed of the waste of time cutter. The advantages claimed for this incurred at this necessary work . The men process are well set forth by Mr H. How

are not intentionally idle, and har when they man, on page 231. and Emptying Courts

are put to it, they work

very

d;

of Dung. - When

yet, in such circumstances, they show but the time has arrived for emptying the courts , the process is begun at the gate How Litter should be Spread in through which the loaded carts are to

small result from unwonted exertion .

Courts. — Thus, much time is uselessly pass, and the dung lifted from there will thrown away which would have been come up in sloping layers, having an

saved had the litter been spread judici- inclination to the top of the dung-heap, ously over the surface of the dung -heap, not in entire layers of the whole depthof and had the straw -ropes from the stack- the dung -heap, but in successive small de yard been cut into short pieces.

Free tached layers, one beside the other, and

from such unnecessary obstructions, a succeeding one after the other, from the

whole day more of driving of dung gate to the farther end of the court. The might have been obtained ere frost gave empty carts enter the court by another

way, which would have avoided the di- gate, if there be one, and, without turn lemma experienced at the manuring of ing, take up their position where the the field .

loaded cart was before, and has just

The effectual way of preventing delay passed through the gate appointed for it. in carrying out dung to the dunghill in

When there is only one gate to a

the field is at first toput down the litter court, and the court not very large, and so as to be easily lifted afterwards, and to the lot of beasts obliged to be kept in it,

afford as much assistance at filling the for want of room to put them elsewhere, one cart, on starting work for the day or yoking, may have to wait on the out The litter should be laid down at first, side until the other has been loaded and

carts in the court as to detain the horses for the shortest time.

and continued to be so , in this manner.

The bare ground in the empty court

gone away.

When the court is large, it may be

should be covered evenly with straw, possible to load two or three carts at one and the future layers of litter should be time. spread thinly, beginning at the end of

On dropping work at mid -day, it will

the court furthest from the gate. The litter should be spread with the slope of its lower part towards the gate, and carried gradually forward every day until

savetime, at starting again after dinner, to fill a cart and allow it to stand loaded, without the horses, until the time for yoking, when the horses are put to, and

it reaches the gate ; and every kind it forms the first load to start for the

of litter, whether from the work -horse field — the work being so arranged that stable, the stackyard, or straw - barn, only one cart is at the court at one should be intermixed and treated in the

time.

same manner .

On clearing a court, or any part of it, it should be cleared to the ground ; be

The straw - ropes should be cut into small pieces and thrown about, and the chaff not fit for fodder sprinkled, and not laid in heaps. Thus layer above layer is scattered, until the whole season's manure is made. Another very important reason why

cause the manure made from a dung

heap that has been simultaneously formed, will be more uniform in its texture than that made from a heap composed entirely of new dry straw on the top, or of old and wet straw at the bottom. Indeed litter should be evenly and carefully so important is this point of having the spread over courts or heaps of dung, old and the fresh dung mixed, that to will be explained in speaking of " fire- ensure it many farmers turn over the fang ” in farmyard manure. entire dung -heap before it is carted out. Chaffing Litter. - An effective me-

Besides, it is much better for the

506

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

future comfort of the cattle that the

both men and horses.

It is essential to

court receive a fresh dry littering from have the whole dunghill equally com the bottom , than that the wet bottom- pressed, with a view to making the ing should remain. Turning Dung. — But this turning

manure of similar texture throughout. If the manure is being carted from a

should not take place except within eight dungstead at the farm , containing a large or ten days before the dung is to be ap- proportion of manure from the cow -byres,

plied to the land. The turning sets up it may be too soft to enable the carts to a rapid fermentation, and if this fer- go on it as recommended above. In such mentation is allowed to go too far, the a case a row of carts should be emptied across the bottom of the proposed dung dung will be seriously injured. Cattle sometimes are injured by a cart heap, the rest of the manure being thrown or horse when the court is emptying ; from the carts by the graips on to the and, to avoid the risk, they should be top of what was emptied up, until it

confined in the shed as long as the reach the desired height, perhaps 3 to people are at work in the court. Art in forming a Dunghill. — To

472 feet.

After the dunghill is completed , the

form a dunghill in the field requires scattered portions of dung along the some art. A dunghill having a breadth sides and the thin extreme ends should of 15 feet, and of four or five times that be thrown upon the top and trampled length, and of proportionate height, will down , and the entire top brought to a uld be gentle ridge, like a house -top, so that contain as much manure as sho taken from one spot in manuring a field heavy rains may be run off, instead of

quickly . Suppose that 15 feet is fixed soaking down through the whole mass . upon for the width, the first carts should Such a finishing to a dunghill is very lay their loads down at the nearest end generally neglected. Preventing Fermentation . The ob of the future dunghill, in a row across

the whole width, and these loads should ject aimed at by the compression of the not be spread thin . Thus, load after dunghill by the loaded carts, is to prevent load is laid down in succession upon the immediate fermentation. So long as the

ground, maintaining the fixed breadth, temperature continues at its average and passing over the loads previously laid down . On frosted ground the bottoming is easily formed . After the bottom of the dunghill has

there is little degree in winter of 45°, chance of much activity of heat in the interior of a dunghill ; but towards spring, when the temperature rises, it

been formed of the desired breadth and will show symptoms of action.

Even

length, a gradual slope upwards is made then, a temperature of 65° is required from the near end and carried to the to commence the second stage of fer

highest level near the farthest extremity, mentation. The first fermentation only from which also a slope descends to the evaporates the water, the destruction of

end. Thus layer after layer is laid on fibre commencing with the second stage until the full height of the dunghill has of fermentation . been reached, thedung in the meanwhile Covering Dunghills. - Covering a being trampled down by the carts and dunghillinthe field with a thick layer horses. The slope towards both ends of earth, with a view to exclude the air facilitates the passage of the carts in and check fermentation , is unnecessary going on and coming off the dunghill.: in the coldest months of winter, though

Every cart-load laid down above the of service in spring to a dunghill which bottom stratum is spread around, to mix the different kinds of dung together, in order to give a uniform texture to the whole heap of manure . To effect this purpose the better, a field - worker should be employed to spread the loads on the

is not to be immediately turned, and useful in winter to throw off rain .

In

some cases loose sheets of corrugated iron are used to carry rain -water off dunghills. A dunghill, made up in a loose man

dunghill as they are laid down, plough- nerat once in graipfuls from each cart menbeing apt to spread it too little, and load, gives, in effect, the dung a turning,

the field -worker will save the time of and although covered with earth, it soon

1

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE.

507

becomes fermented enough for an early here till required on the land. It does crop, such as beans ; but if it is not to not need any more turning, and soon

be used until an advanced period of the gets in a state fit for potatoes or turnips. season, when the temperature will have This plan saves the trouble of turning risen considerably, loose dung will fer- the dung, and if a roof were provided to ment too rapidly . A new -made dunghill the pit, loss by washing would be pre should thus be covered with earth or not,

according to the use to be made of it.

vented. Is Winter Carting -out Injurious to

Dung -spade. — The dung in hammels the Dung . – As to the influence which

and courts is often so much compressed the carting out of dung to heaps in the as almost to resist the entrance of the

graip. To enable it to be easily lifted , therefore, it may in this case be cut in narrow parallel div isions with the dung spade, fig. 232. This consists of a heart-shaped blade of steel, thinned to a sharp edge along both faces ; and its cross head, or helve, is fastened

contend that the carting process entails loss by volatile ammonia passing away in the atmosphere, and by rain -water washing away valuable ingredients. The danger of this, however, is reduced to a minimum , if not altogether removed , by proper care in forming and finishing the dunghill. If the dunghill be well packed in the field and finished off on the top

--- by being raised in a ridge along the

to it with nails into a

split socket. The height of the spade is 3 feet,

manure there is some difference of opinion. Some

field in winter has upon the

centre and covered with a smooth layer Fig. 232. Dung- spade.

length of the cross-head

of earth so as to keep out rain -water, there will be little risk of loss.

Upon the whole, therefore, the carting

18 inches, length of the helve 18 inches, of at least a certain quantity of the dung length of the blade 16 inches, and its to the fields in the slack months of winter

breadth 10 inches. It is sharpened with has several points to commend it. With proper care it may be done with safety In using this spade, it is raised with to the manure, and there is great advan

a scythe-stone.

both hands by the cross-head, and its tage in the saving which is effected in point thrust with force into the dung. heap, up to the head of the blade at least, making a rut across the dunghill by a repetition of thrusts. The blade is heart-shaped, not squared like a common spade, because, when cutting the

the carting in the busy spring-time. Field - sheds for Manure . — To pro

tect the dunghills it has been suggested that permanent sheds might be erected at convenient points in the various

fields, to which the dung could be

dung-heap to a greater depth than the carted in winter as usual.

The great

length of the blade, its rounded ears es- expense involved renders this plan im cape catching the dung on the blade practicable, except, perhaps, in a few being drawn up.

rare instances.

Another instrument for cutting dung is like the common hay-knife, and used in like manner, but is not so efficient an implement as the spade. The common spade used in cutting surface-drains, well

this work the following sketch was given of a shed for manure, which might answer in any part of the fence of a single field, or in the point of sec tion of two fences in the corners where

In the third edition of

sharpened, is used by many farmers for four fields meet. Fig. 233 is such a cutting dung.

place, where there is a shed, 80 feet

Manure -court. - It is the practice of long and 1272 feet broad, over walls, many farmers to keep the dung from the standing either E. and W., or N. and S., cow -byres in a loose state in a dung-court, whichever is most convenient for the

enclosed with a strong wall 3 or 4 feetin dung to be brought from the steading height, into which the dung is wheeled as

to the corners of the four fields, where

it comes from the byre, a plank being used are the midden - stances, 18 feet wide as a roadway for the barrow to ascend, each, upon which the dung is first put the dung being allowed to accumulate when taken out of the courts early in

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

508

winter, but if towards the end of win- thing in the busy season of spring. Let,

ter it should be put into the shed at then , everything done in winter tend to once.

As most of the dung experiences much warmth from a high temperature of the atmosphere before it is ploughed into the ground, a plantation, 12 feet in width, of spruce or Scots fir, around the midden

facilitate and expedite whatever has to be done in the ensuing busy season ; and for that intent, few things require more atten tion than the judicious distribution of litter in the courtyards. Dunghills Injurious to Drains.

A rather curious and entirely unlooked

for effect took place from the oozings of dunghills in two fields on the estate of

Pumpherston, near Midcalder, in the county of Edinburgh, in March 1848.

d

Tile -drains that had been made in the

autumn preceding were found to be

g

choked in spring, and bursting out water.

On opening them , the tiles

within a limited space were completely filled with a peculiar substance. The subsoil in one field was gravelly, andthe

d

drains 3 feet deep ; that of the other, C

Fig. 233. — Dung- pit forfour fields. a Shed . bb Fences of a fields. cc Fences of 2 other fields . h Points where the fences of 4 fields come.

d d Midden -stances.

e e Outlets to 2 fields from their mid den -stance. SS Outlets to 2 other fields from their midden - stance.

gg Passage at the ends of the shed .

clay, with drains of 20 inches deep. In both cases the drains leading from a

dunghill were only so affected , and the conclusion arrived at was, that the ooz

ings from the dunghills had induced the growth of the substance found in the tiles. The substance was of a dirty grey

colour, slimy, tenacious, some pieces of it stances, would be a screen from the sun resembling fragments of skin , but appear or a protection to the outside of the ing to consist, when pulled asunder, of midden from heavy rains from any quar- minute fibres, too fine to be easily ob ter in winter.

served by the unassisted eye.

It had an

There are four slip-gates, 10 feet wide, extremely offensive, putrid, animal odour, for taking the dung in and out to the four fields. The midden -stances should be firmly causewayed or macadamised. Such an arrangement, shed, stances, and

and was impregnated with a good deal of earthy matter, which long washing with water could not entirely separate . It was pronounced by Dr Greville to be a

fences, would occupy a space of 134 feet plant — the Conferva bombycina - the long by 8472 feetbroad, or about a quarThe fences of the four fields meet those of the midden -stances at four points. There is a passage for carts

filament of which are extrem fine, and act sas a cobweb in catchingelyand re taining minute insects, larvæ , and float ing atoms of inorganic matter in water. at both ends of the shed . These plants grow rapidly, and as rapidly Winter Industry lessens Spring pass into putrescence. ter of an acre.

1

Work . — We have dwelt the longer on

The moral of this is that no dunghill

the subject of clearing the courts of should be formed above tile-drains, for dung for the making ofdunghills in the although in this case the alarming state

fields in winter with the view of enforcing of thedrains was but of short duration, the fact that farm - servants are apt to

more permanent injury might be experi

believe that work may be done at leisure enced from stronger materials. Anyhow, during a stormy period in winter, on the it is safer to avoid such inconveniences supposition that time is of less value at by placing dunghills beyond the reach of that season than at any other. We have drains, and alsomakingthe sites of dung seen , on the other hand, that time use- hills impervious to liquids. A side-ridge

lessly spent in winter on one thing may cause much trouble and delay on another

? Trans. High. Agric. Soc., July 1848, 278, 279.

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

of a field is the safest place, and, when the dung is put into a pit, it is quite out of the way of doing harm . Drains of 4 feet deep would probably have been less injured , if at all, in being beyond the

509

serted that_tramping down manure is injurious. Each party is right according to circumstances. If a manure-heap is wanted for immediate use, a free admis sion of the atmosphere is necessary , to

reach of oozing. promote rapid fermentation ; but this is done at the expense of a considerable Covered Manure-pits. escape of its volatile contents. On the Fermentation in Dung. — The im- other hand, if intended to lie for some

portant questions relating to fermenta- months, as is frequently the case, pres tion in farmyard manureits causes and sure, and consequent absence of a cur effects, and how it may be regulated— rent of atmospheric air, will retard fer-: have, from time to time, given rise to mentation. much interesting and intelligent discusThe Manure - pit. " By restricting sion.

the admission

air, we have a direct

As pointed out on page 231 , Dr John command over the fermentation of the Voelcker considers that the fermentation manure-heap ; and this restriction can

which takes place in dung does no injury be attained only by placing the manure —that is, if anything like ordinary care is in pits. The usual shape of a manure bestowed upon the making" of the man- heap is that of a cube or parallelopipedon, ure,

He explains that the gases generated by fermentation in the centre of the heap get cooled and fixed as they penetrate the colder surface - layers of the dung ; so that if care is taken to have the dung spread evenly, and tramped firmly — still more particularly if it is

each being a figure of six sides, five of which are exposed to the influence of the atmosphere, the bottom only not being surrounded by it. By the pit we shall completely reverse the order, one side, the top, only being exposed to the at mosphere, and that is also the side,

kept moist in the surface-layers — there from the altered circumstances of the will be little or no loss by fermentation . heap, into which the air will have the

Mr Rowlandson, of Bootle village, near greatest difficulty in penetrating.

In

Liverpool, writing in the Journal of fact, from the absence of draught from Agriculture for Oct. 1845, said : “ The

the sides, fresh volumes of air will only

the top by means of pres fermentation of manure-heaps depending penetrate sure.

upon the presence of heat, moisture, and " Another advantage to be derived by the atmosphere, the skilful farmer will avail himself of the means in his power using pits is, that in winter the caloric

to promote or retard fermentation, by arising from the fermentation of the dispensing with or admitting one or heap could not be dissipated so speedily, other of these agents, as the case may but would be diffused through the heap require.

This is done in several ways.

more equally than it is under the present

The free admission of the atmosphere is system , when surrounded by a cold, one of the principal causes of excess of perhaps a frosty, atmosphere. It is so

fermentation ; and Boussingault, although he does not state this to be the cause, admits that it is of much importance that the heap be pretty solid, in order to

well known that manure-heaps formed in winter do not ferment equally, or scarcely at all, that it has given rise to the axiom , that one load of manure

prevent too great a rise of temperature, formed in summer is worth two formed

and too rapid a fermentation, which is in winter. Oozing of Liquid from Heaps. always injurious. At Bechelbronn, our

dung-heap is so firmly trodden down in “ The amount of my observation is, that the course of its accumulation by the in heaps, as usually formed, with free

feet of the workmen, that a loaded access to the atmosphere, a larger amount waggon, drawn by four horses, can be of humic acid, soluble in alkalies, is taken across it without very great diffi- formed than when the manure is placed in pits, and access of the atmosphere is culty. ' “ Notwithstanding this opinion of a limited. In the latter case, some humic man of science, many writers have as- acid is formed ; in both cases, the humic

510

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

acid is in the same state as that which desirable that the bottom of the manure

is found in barren mosses, as I have pit should be made water-tight, so as to

determined by repeated experiments. prevent the urine from passing into the The humic acid has a strong affinity to combine with the alkalies, potash, soda, and ammonia in manure-heaps, and this forms the brown-coloured solution which is observed running from them after rain . It is perfectly obvious, therefore, that every drop of the brown -coloured

earth. A layer of clay pounded firmly makes a good bottom and is very often adopted. Concrete is very effective, but may be more costly. What should be done with any excess of urine will be explained presently. Extra Value

of Covered - court

liquid which oozes from the manure-heap Dung. — There is less winter carting of contains, in combination, one or other of manure to the fields now than formerly. the above-named alkalies, two of which, With the extended introduction of cov

potash and ammonia, are of so much im- ered courts, the practice of keeping al

portance as fertilisers. The mode I have most all the season's manure under the suggested of placing the manure in pits cattle till required for the land has may be said to remedy this evil, as, at gained in favour.

Upon very many

all events, it will prevent the liquid from farms the dimensions of the covered running away."

courts are now so extensive as to easily

It will be observed that these latter admit of this ; and important advantages remarks apply to the dung - heap in a are claimed for the system . The spring state of fermentation . When not fer- work is of course increased by having

menting, the dung -heap, in winter, parts the manure to cart from the steading, with very little liquid and if the top of but it is contended — and the contention dunghills in the field were finished off is supported by many eminent practical and covered with sheets of iron or with farmers, as well as by men of science earth made smooth on the surface as al- that this extra work in spring is far ready explained , little or no rain could get into the heap.

more than counterbalanced by the great

er value imparted to the dung by its Manure - pits at Steadings. — Al- continuous good treatment under cover. though the proposal to erect manureIt is unnecessary here again to discuss

sheds in the fields cannot be said to fully the relative properties of manure have come into practice, permanent man- made in covered courts and in open yards.

ure - pits with substantial roofs have The subject has already been dealt with As to the respec .

been constructed at many farm -steadings.

in pages 226-232.

This covered pit is situated as conveniently as possible to the cattle -courts and byres, and is sometimes round or oval, but as a rule square or oblong. Corru-

tive and relative merits and influences of dung which has been turned, and lying for a time in a dunghill in the open field, and dung taken direct from

gated iron roofing is frequently used for below the cattle in the covered court, this, and in somecases the side walls are there is some difference of opinion . It

not carried close upto — about 4 or 5 feet has in several cases been found in prac high, or 3 or 4 feet from — the edge of the tice that the latter was the more effica

roof, which therefore rests on pillars. cious for potatoes, and there is perhaps The manure is conveyed into this pit in a preponderance of testimony in favour carts or barrows daily, or at intervals, of carting direct from the covered court . as may be considered best, or as may be The Art of “ Making ” Manure. most suitable to local circumstances. But a preferable plan - except in norWell -made Dung. - It is of course thern districts, where the winter is long important that the manure should be and idle and the spring short and busy- “ well made ”. a term sufficiently under is to have the dimensions of the covered stood by farmers.

It should be even in

courts sufficient to admit of the whole texture, with no lumps of fresh straw or season's dung being allowed to remain of litter of any kind. Well-rotted dung under the cattle until it is required upon will exert its influence more rapidly than the land.

rank fresh dung, and this is often a

Flooring of Manure - pits. — It is point of importance. Too often farm

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE.

511

yard manure is estimated merely by its into themanure-tank periodicallypumped There could be no greater mis- on to the mass of solid dung, the drier bulk . take. Far more important is the question parts getting the largest share of the of quality. The mechanical influence liquid . Where the supply of litter is which bulky farmyard manure exerts in sufficient, this is perhaps the best way opening up a close soilis certainly of of utilising liquid manure. By this considerable moment . The chief func- method both thequantity and thequality tion of the dung, however , is the supply- of the dung may be greatly enhanced . ing of plant-food. Its value is dependent Where litter is scarce, the animals may

mainly upon the amount of plant-food it be able to moisten and make thoroughly is capable of providing ; and in the esti- all the material placed beneath them , mating of this, it is the character rather without any aid from the liquid -manure

than the mere bulk of the dung that has to be considered. One load of short, rich, well-rotted dung may be worth two of rank fresh dung in which there may be a good deal of straw but very slightly decomposed . There is little use of filling

tank. In that case, as will be presently explained, other uses will be found for the contents of the tank . Injury from “ Washing .” — An argu

ment used against covered courts is that the dung made in them is apt to be too

drills of rank fresh straw , in which it dry.

In open courts the rainfall no

should albe remembered there is little doubt helps the urine of the animals to uri ue

man

val . make the litter wet, but the wetness The Art . — There is therefore some which comes from the influence of rain art in having dung “ well made ." It fall may not be altogether beneficial. lies mainly in this : Litter the court so Indeed it has been well established by

as to provide every part of it with just scientific investigation that dung is more as much litter as the animals can turn liable to suffer injury by having its fer into well-soaked firmly packed manure. tilising elements washed out of it by

Spread the litter frequently, and in thin rainfall than by either evaporation or

layers, taking care above everything that “" fire-fang.” fire-fang.

The late Dr Ā . Voelcker

no dry bundles of straw can get buried investigated this matter fully, and he in any part of the heap of dung. found that the loss by washing some Depend upon it such dry bundles will times amounted to as much as two-thirds

become veritable volcanoes, burning up of the whole fertilising value of the the valuable fertilising materials around manure. It is therefore desirable to note, that them. If stable -dung is taken into the court, spread it evenly over the manure . while moisture is essential to the suc

If left in a heap, by itself, it will be cessful making of manure, great damage The may be done by having the dung ex dung which is taken from the cow or posed to washing. In open courts more liable to injury by " fire-fang."

other house in which there may be harm is often done by the collected rain

stalled cattle should also be carefully water from roofs being allowed, through spread over the court, the wetter por- defective water-spouts at the eaves, to tions being thrown on the drier parts of rush upon the dung with considerable the manure already in the court. force, than by the direct rainfall upon

It is also desirable, as already indi- the area of the dung-heap.

Indeed , if

cated, to have the dung from cows and all the small quantity of rain which store cattle mixed with that made by usually falls during winter would only

fattening cattle. The last will, of course, distribute itself pretty evenly over the be richer than thetwo former, and it is season , and descend in nice gentle

well to have the dung -heap of uniform showers, its influence upon the dung quality.

heap might be all for good — that is, if the neglectful farmer would only give Then, in the event of the farmer desiring up his careless ways and insist upon the How the Urine may be Utilised.-

as possible converted water - spouts doing their duty. But into manure, the cattle may be con winter rain is wilful, and too often falls

as much straw

siderably assisted in this by having such in such torrents as to be perilous to the of the liquid manure as finds its way unprotected manure-heap.

512

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

It is thus, upon the whole,a good thing come centres of " fire-fang, " doing harm to have a roof over the manure, whether where it is little expected . Now all this mischief is quite easily it be kept in the cattle -court or in a pit

by itself. Do not attempt to convert prevented. If the dung, as it is removed more litter into manure than the animals, daily from the stable and cattle-houses, with the assistance of their own urine, were spread evenly over the heap in

can moisten and tread into " well-made ” layers, and well packed - tramped with dung. Little reliance can be placed upon cattle, perhaps, in covered courts — and moisture from extraneous sources; and moistened by having the liquid manure dung that contains any considerable from the tanks pumped over it once a quantity of straw merely rotted by rain- week, there would be no fire-fanged dung water cannot possess very high manurial upon the farm . It is asimple cure, but value.

quite effective. By careful and constant

Mischief from Defective Water- attention to this simple method, enor spouts. — Incidental reference has been

mous loss which now takes place every

made to the neglect of water -spouts. year would be entirely saved. Cutting Now this is a point seemingly small ſitter into short lengths helps greatly in enough, yet of great importance. For avoiding “ fire-fang ” and in makingfirst be it remembered that through the ab- class manure.

This is well pointed out

sence of efficient spouts around the eaves by Mr Howman, whose remarks are to catch and carry away the water as it quoted on page 231 . falls from the roof, the benefit of the Different kinds of Dung. roof over the manure may, as far as concerns rainfall, be almost entirely nulliHorse and Cow Dung Compared.

fied. We have occasionally — even where The dung from a cow - byre put in a substantial roofing had been thrown over covered pit, direct from the byre, will the courts — seen the rain -water from the probably remain a long time, after the roofs allowed to rush upon the dung arrival of warm temperature, unsuscep

with all its concentrated force, thus tible of fermentation; and perhaps it is doing much more harm than the same from this property that cow - dung has

received the character of being a cold it fallen directly and universally upon manure ; whereas horse - dung easily fer the manure . And all this mischief arose ments, and goes rapidly through the

amount of rain would have done had

through neglect to repair a few feet of a stagesofdestructive fermentation ,termed decayed water - spout.

Decayed water- “ fire-fanging, ” and is said to be a hot

spouts around the eaves of the cattle manure . Both dungs mixed form a valu court are like great holes in the farmer's able manure. The hot nature of horse purse, through which hard -earned coin dung, and its rapidity of fermentation,,

steals imperceptibly away.

For the sake of the manure we would rather

are supposed partly to arise from its con taining more nitrogenous matter than

have an entirely open court than the cow -dung ; but, according to the analyses best covered court in the universe and by Boussingault, it would seem that it is no water-spouts to carry the rush of only as long as the dung is fresh that rain -water away from the dung-heap. that supposition is well founded. The “ Fire - fang ” in Manure. — Much analyses are :

loss, all of which is preventible, is sus tained through " fire-fang ” in manure. Horse -dung is most liable to it, but it occurs in other kinds of manure where

Fresh dung . Cow .

Water

.

Horse.

90.60 75.31

Nitrogen

0.22

Saline matter

1.13

0.54 4.02

Dry dung. Cow ,

Horse.

...

2.3

2.2

I 2.0

16.3

great neglect prevails. When stable-dung is thrown into a heap, and allowed to be- " From these analyses,” remarks Professor come dry, it will ferment in the centre, Johnston, “ it appears that, though recent

and if left undisturbed, will rapidly pass cow -dung contains more water than horse into the most rampant stage of " fire- dung, yet the dry matter of the former is

fang,” which results in great destruction richer in nitrogen than that of the latter. of plant-food. Bundles of dry straw , Were this generally the case, it ought, buried amongst cow -dung, may also be- one would suppose, after becoming a little

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

513

drier, to ferment, or be as warm as horse- material by which the volatile substances dung. However this may be, the two given off (much ammonia) may be ab

circumstances — that the nitrogen of the sorbed and arrested .” food is discharged chiefly in the urine, Pigs' Dung. — “ Pigs' dung is still and that the cow voids a much larger colder and less fermentable than that of quantity of urine than the horse — incline the cow. A specimen examined me to believe that cow -dung must gener- by Boussingault was found to contain ally contain less nitrogen than that of per cent :

the horse, and that this isreally the cause of its greater coldness. The correctness of this opinion can only be tested by a series of careful analyses. At the same

Water

.

Recent. 81.00

Dry.

0.63

3.37

Nitrogen

time it is proper to add, that the peculiar being richer in nitrogen even than horse state ofcombination in which the nitrogen dung ” Our experience determines pigs' exists in two bodies, supposing the pro- dung to be hot, and excellent; and this portion in both to be the same, may wasalso the opinion of the ancients, as modify very much the rapidity of the the Quintilli remarked, that “ the dung decomposition they respectively undergo ofhogs, being of superior goodness, is in the same circumstances.

improper for fields instantly of burns heat, -for it on account “ Though fermenting with such appa- itsabundant corn rent slowness, fresh cow -dung undergoes corn grounds."" 1 in forty days a loss of one - fifth of its Sheep's Dung .- “ Sheep's dung is a solid matter (Gazzeri). Though this re

rich dry manure, which ferments more

sult was observed in Italy, yet there is readilythan that of the cow , but less sufficient loss in our climate also to make so than that of the horse. Boussingault it worth the while of an economical found a specimen to consist of : farmer to get his cow - dung early in heaps, and to shelter it as much as pos sible from the sun and air.

Recent.

Even when

Water

fed on the same food, the dung of the

Dry .

63.0

.

Nitrogen

I.II

1.99

horse should be richer than that of the

cow , because of the large quantity of The food of the sheep ismore finely mas urine the latter animal is in the habit of ticated than that of the cow, and its

voiding. In the short period of twenty- dung contains a little less water, and is four hours, horse-dung heats,Ifandleftbegi ns richer in nitrogen ; henc.”e , 2probably, its in a more rapid ferme . ferme to suffer by

ntation

ntation

heap for two or three weeks, scarcely

Heat from various kinds of Dung .

seven -tenths of its original weight will — The following are the results of Jac Hence the propriety of early quin's experiments on the heat given

remain .

removing it from the stable, and of mix- out by dung of various kinds, and its

ing it as soon as possible with some other duration : Sheep -dung lasts 4 months, giving out a heat from 122 141° to11 158°

Horse Cattle

11

6 8

Tanner -bark

11

6

Tree -leaves

11

12

!!

11

°

01

11 11 11

140 °

95° , 113° 95° 1 104 104° 950

Pigeon -dung increases the heat of other dung. Quantities of Dung from Stock.An ox fed on turnips or mangel, with The following quantities of dung have 24 lb. or 28 lb. of straw, gives 150 lb. of been obtained from horses and oxen

from given quantities of food in a given time :

dung and urine a -day in winter. An ox fed on turnips, corn , and hay, in seven months in winter produces 12 tons

A horse produces 34 of the weight of food he consumes in manure.

A horse makes 12 tons of manure in a

year, of superior quality to that of oxen . VOL, I.

1 Owen's Geoponika, i. 68. 2 Johnston's Lec. Agric. Chem ., 2d edition, 821 , 822. 2 K

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

514

the oozings from manure-heaps and farm With just enough straw to keep it clean, yards, the wash from byres ,stables, and

of manure, and in summer 7 tons more.

an ox will make i ton each month ; piggeries, and the whole surface-drainings all extra litter going to increase that of a farm -steading, assumed to meet and quantity. An ox fed in a box produces 11 cu-

mingle in one common stream or reservoir. In this sense, pure urine does not form

bic yards of manure in four months, or ordinary liquid manure ; but as it con stitutes the source and the basis of the 33 cubic yards in a year. An ox's dung is better than a cow's. chief ingredients that impart to liquid manure its high fertilising properties, it is proper, in the first place, in order LIQUID MANURE.

clearly to understand the character of the latter, to examine in some detail the

Its Composition and Character.

composition of the urine of the different animals of the farm .

The liquid manure of the farm co ists The following analyses by Stoeckhardt of impure and diluted urine, comprising shows the Composition of Urine of different Animals. Swine.

Sheep. ( Fed with hay . )

Cows.

Horses.

(Meagre diet, (Hay and chiefly oats.) potatoes .)

(Hay and

potatoes .)

Per cent.

Per cent.

Per cent.

Per cent.

86.5

97.5 2.5

89.0

92.0 8.0

3.6 9.9 1.4 0.05

1.0

3.0

2.0

1.5 0.3

8.0

6.0

1.2

0.8

Alkalies

2.0

0.2

1.4

1.4

Lime and magnesia

0.6

0.05 0.05 0.5

0.15

0.15 0.15

Water Solid matter Ashes

Organic matter Nitrogen . Phosphoric acid

13.5

Sulphuric acid .

0.4

Salt

0.25

Silica

trace

II.O

0.12

trace

0.15 0.1

0.025

Complex Character of Excreta.The solid and fluid excrements of ani-

14. Uric acid .

mals form a very complicated mixture,

16. Benzoic acid .

17. Urea.

as may be seen from the following enu-

18. Bilious matter.

15. Lactic acid.

meration by Sprengel ; but this renders

19. Bilious resin .

them the more valuable a manure for

20. Picromel.

vegetables :

:

1. Vegetable or woody fibre. 2. Wax and resin .

3. Chlorophyll, or the green substance of leaves, partly decomposed. 4. Deposited humus. 5. A fatty and oily substance. 6. Mucus.

7. A peculiar brown colouring matter, in the solid excrement of oxen.

8. Vegetable albumen (hardened ). 9. Animal gelatine. 10. Animal fibre.

0.1 0.01

Originating in the uri. nary passages.

21. Oxides of iron and manganese , derived from vegetables.

22. Earths — silica, lime, alumina, magnesia. 23. Salts, consisting of mineral acids and bases, derived from plants and water. 24. Common salt.

25. Carburetted hydro gen .

26. Phosphoretted hy. drogen. 27. Sulphuretted hy . drogen . 28. Ammonia.

Products of the fermentation and

putrefaction of the food in the bodies of ani mals.

29. Hydrogen .

II . Salivary matter.

Originating in the uri. 13. Hippuric acid. I nary passages.

12. Osmazone .

Numerous as these substances are, it was Sprengel's opinion that many more

LIQUID MANURE .

515

might be discovered by carefully con- terials as go to produce milk in cows. ducted chemical analyses. The water drunk has an effect ; an ox

Conditions influencing Excreta.— that drinks 80 lb. of water a-day will The value of animal excrements as man-

pass more urine than a cow which drinks

ure depends very much upon the age of the animals, their kind, their mode of employment, the kind and quantity of food they eat, and the nature of the

the same quantity, because a large pro portion of the water she drinks goes to the formation of milk . Boussingault found that a cow which drank 132 lb.

water they drink. Thus: age has effect, of water a -day passed 18 lb. of urine, for the excrements of a full-grown animal are much better than those of young animals. The state of the animal has an effect, the manure from oxen being much better than that from cows, a

great proportion of the substance of whose food goes to the production of milk ; and in like manner, the manure of the wether is better than that of the ewe. The kind of food has an effect ;

and gave 19 lb. of milk ; an ox that drank the same quantity gave 40 lb. of urine ; a horse that drinks 35 lb. a-day passes 3 lb. of urine — no more than a man, which fact seems remarkable ; but when we consider the much greater extent of surface over the body of a horse, compared to that of a man, the insensible perspiration of the horse, it is seen , must carry off a large propor

for poor

and scanty food cannot supply tion of the liquid food ; whereas a man so rich manure as nourishing and abun- drinks daily only one -tenth more than

dant food. The manner in which the the urine he passes. animals are treated has an effect ; workFresh and Stale Urine. — A compari ing cattle afford better manure than son of the composition of cows' urine

fattening oxen , because the latter ab- fresh, and after it has been kept a stract from the food, to support their month, will show the change that takes

increasing flesh and fat, the same ma- place in it by exposure to the air : Cows' urine. Fresh . A month old .

Water in 100,000 parts by weight Urea, along with some resinouscolouring matter Albumen . Mucus

Lactic acid Carbonic acid

combined with potash, soda, and ammonia , forming salts

Acetic acid

190

40

90

250 500

516 256

combined with soda, lime, and

magnesia, forming salts

Magnesia . Alumina . Oxide of iron

205 664 554 405 70 272

165

2 22

bined state .

0

1

36 ...

Sulphuretted hydrogen Sediment, consisting of phosphate, and carbonate of lime, and magnesia, alumina, silica, and oxide of

554 338 26 272

65

Oxide of manganese Silica

487 occurring partly 664 in an uncom

36

AN

Chlorine Lime

1,000

I

Ammonia Potash Soda

Phosphoric acid

95,442

4,000 10

Benzoic acid (hippuric acid )

Sulphuric acid

92,624

iron and of manganese

5 I

180 100,000

100,000

Decomposition of Urine. - In winter, it has been putrefying for a month, it urine scarcely contains half the quantity contains more than as much againof of urea stated in the first column, and is ammonia as urine in a fresh state.

The

then, of course, of less value ; and when ammonia is derived from the decomposi

516

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

tion of the urea, and the other organic heat has in the body; and four weeks bodies containing nitrogen. The caustic are not sufficient time to decompose all ammonia remains partly dissolved in the the urea , as still 0.6 remains. When

water, and is the substance through exposed for three months and longer, which urine not properly putrefied is so urine loses its carbonate of ammonia, apt to injure plants. which is evaporable as well as the crude If exposed long to the atmosphere, the ammonia itself. caustic ammonia absorbs from it carbonic In short, a six months' urine con

acid, becomes mild, and the urine may tains not a trace of its original urea, then be employed without danger as a mucus, and albumen , and new acid manure for vegetation. But on urine combinations take place, such as the

being thus exposed to the air, part of it

lactate, humate, sulphate, acetate of

will escape in the form of gas, unless ammonia. some substance is added to the putrefyUrine is supposed to be in a ripe

ing urine to neutralise the ammonia — to state after it has putrefied in summer fix it, as it is usually termed.

for five or six weeks, and in winter for

Fixing Ammonia. — This fixing of eight or nine, though no absolute rule

the ammonia is often done by adding can be laid down on this point, so water to it, which, of equal bulk to much depending on the evaporation of the urine, enables the diluted mass to the air. The chemical rule for knowing retain four times as much ammoniathe ripeness of urine is when it contains that is, in every 100,000 lb. of diluted neither urea nor caustic ammonia, and urine, 1135 lb. more of ammonia is re- this can be ascertained only by chemi tained .

cal investigation.

Another simple substance for fixing

After exposure to the air a year and

the ammonia is black vegetable mould, half, urine contains no organic remains, which supplies humic acid, and every and only salts and mineral bodies dis 90 lb. of it saturates 10 lb. of ammonia ; solved in water. Specific Gravity of Urine. The but as the best earth contains only 45

per cent of humic acid, 200 lb. of earth specific gravity of the urine of the horse,

will be required to fix every 10 lb. of according to Fourcroy and Vanquelin, ammonia.

varied from 1.03 to 1.05 ; according to

Gypsum is now extensively used for Prout, 1.029 ; and to Boussingault, this purpose. It may also be effected

by adding sulphuric acid, at the rate

1.064.1

Composition of its Saline and Min

of a gill of the acid to every 18 or 20 eral Ingredients . — The saline and min gallons of the liquid manure. This eral ingredients of the urine of the horse,

is preferable to water, as it lessens ox, sheep, and pig, consist of the follow carting

ing substances :

Changes through Decomposition . -It is rather important to trace the

Carbonate of lime

magnesia potash

change in liquid manure occasioned by keeping. Fresh urine of cattle has a soda yellow colour, occasioned by a small Chloride of sodium potassium quantity of resinous colouring matter ; Sulphate of soda but on standing exposed to the air, Phosphate ofpotash soda 11

the yellow assumes a

own, and at

11

lime

11

magnesia

Horse.

Ox ,.

21.75 II.26

1.07

0.82

6.93

0.46

33.12 15.16 6.27

Sheep.

77.28 0.30

12.1

45.25 32.01 12.00

II.03

7.72

13.30

Pig .

53.1

little 7.0

2.98

19.0 0.70

length a black colour, attributable to

Silica

the formation of humic acid .

Oxide of iron and loss

In win

8.8 0.52 0.79

0.35 0.77

1.06

ter, urine does not possess a trace of

ammonia, whereas it does in summer, The conclusion Professor Johnston comes

thereby indicating the decomposition to, in reference to the contents of this of urea by heat in the body before last table, is, that “ the fermenting urine the emission of the urine.

of our domesticated animals cannot af

The above table shows that exposure ford phosphoric acid, which must be of urine for a month to the air has the

same effect of decomposing the urea as

1 Thomson's Ani. Chem ., 493.

LIQUID MANURE.

517

conveyed to the soil by the solid ex- of the extraneous substances with which crements. " 1 it has become commingled. As a rule it Valuable Character of Liquid Man-

consists most largely of the urine of cows

ure. — The analyses given show clearly or other cattle, with a less quantity from whence urine derives its great manurial

horses and pigs, mixed with drainings

value. If we take the average composi- from the yards and middens or man tion of the urine of the four kinds of ure-heaps, and with some parts of earth animals, we find that thirty -five parts of and solid excrements. Drainings from Yards and Dung the total solids in the urine contain 3.7 parts of nitrogen , or rather more than 10 heaps . — Where the yards are entirely

per cent of the most costly substance uncovered and exposed to the whole rain that is purchased by farmers for man- fall, the drainings from yards and man urial purposes. Three cwts. of the solids ure-heaps form by far the bulkier portion of urine contain approximately as much of the liquid manure. The composi nitrogen as two cwts. of commercial ni- tion of this part of the mixture differs trate of soda, or one and a half cwt. of greatly from that of the original urine, sulphate of ammonia.

not only because it is more or less diluted

The mineral ingredients in urine must not be overlooked. In thirty- five parts of total solids, there are five parts alkalies, about one part each of salt, lime, and magnesia, and some phosphoric acid. Probably all these ingredients have some manurial value, and this is enhanced

with rain -water, but also because of the chemical changes that have occurred dur ing the time occupied in its passage through the bulky mass of solid litter and manure, and because it contains some of the products of the decomposi tions that have taken place, as well in

materially by the very fine state of divi- the solid as in the liquid excrements. It is obvious therefore that, in most sion in which they exist.

Variation in its Composition . — Or- cases, ordinary liquid manure must differ

dinary liquid manure, however, cannot very greatly from pure urine, and that be regarded as having a composition or the analyses we have examined of the value precisely identical with that of any latter can be serviceable only in that of the kinds of urine mentioned. It has they enable us to see clearly what are

indeed in the main a similar character, theingredients contained in liquid man and its high fertilising qualities are due ure that are of use as fertilising agents, to the same causes. But it is a less con- though they must by no means be ac

centrated manure, and part of the sub- cepted as showing precisely the forms stances in it which assist in raising its and combinations in which these ingre

analytical standard of apparent merit, dients ultimately exist, nor as indicat

are present in combinations less readily ing their relative proportions to its available for the use of plants, less imme- whole volume. diate in their effects, and therefore in Johnston on Liquid Manure . some degree of less intrinsic worth. It “The drainage of dung-heaps,” says Pro is necessarily liable to considerable varia- fessor Johnston- " the usual liquid man tion of quality, according to the circum- ure of our farmyards— differs in compo

stances attending its production and sition according to circumstances. When The urine itself, as the the urine of cattle is mixed with it in

management.

analyses quoted have made manifest, considerable quantity, it is found to con alters in character with the species of tain a portion of the constituents, not animal producing it, and in some meas only of the solid and liquid excretions ure it also varies with the nature of the of the stock, but also of the straw and

food with which the animal has been other vegetable matter which have fer mented along with it. It varies in supplied.

But the liquid manure varies still more, strength, however, very much with the according to the proportions in which each quantity of rain or other water with

species of animal has contributed to it, which it is mixed, or which falls upon and according to the nature and amount the dung -heaps from which it flows.” The composition of two specimens of 1 Johnston's Lect. Agric. Chem ., 2d ed ., 811 .

such liquid is as follows :

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

518

Drainings of

Cow -dung washed by

Farmyard manure

rain .

Grains.

An imperial gallon contained Ammonia

9.60

Solid organic matter

Solid inorganic matter or ash

watered with cows' urine. Grains. 21.30

200.80 268.80

518.40

479.20

617.30

207.80

420.40

25.10

77.60

Inorganic matter in a gallon consisted of Alkaline salts .

Phosphate of lime and magnesia, coloured with a little phosphate of iron Carbonate of lime

18.20

Carbonate of magnesia and loss

4.30 13.40

44.50 31.10 3.40 19.00

268.80

518.40

Silica and a little albumen

From these facts Professor Johnston

concludes, “that the liquid which flows from a dung-heap watered with urine is

Potash

0.49

Phosphoric acid

0.01

Lime

0.03 0.04

Magnesia

greatly richer in ammonia and in saline matter than that which flows from the

Liquid Manure Acts

quickly.

solid excrements newly washed by the The value of nitrogen in manures de rain ; that the liquid in both cases con- pends not only on its quantity, but also

tains a considerable proportion of phos- on the particular combination in which phate of lime. This does not exist in it occurs. An insoluble or slowly soluble cows' urine alone. In both cases it has form will give a less immediate return,

been washed out of the solid dung ; and and is consequently of less value, than both contain also an appreciable quantity one in which the nitrogen acts more of silica not existing in urine. This is rapidly on plants. In this respect urine derived from the straw of the fermenting takes a high position among manures. farmyard dung, or from the grass which Its nitrogen, as uric acid, hippuric acid,

has passed through the digestive organs Asfermenting manure can yield in a soluble state every mineral ingredient which a plant requires, the of the cow.

&c., is entirely contained in solution. It is capable of being more readily and

more widely distributed through the soil than it is even in ammonia compounds,

liquid that runs from the farmyard ought and it is at once available for the use of to be no less carefully preserved than the plants. Hence, urine is universally re pure urine of our cattle.” 1 cognised in practice to be a " forcing " or Average Composition of Liquid quickly acting manure. It produces its

Manure. — It would be impossible to full effects on the first cropto whichit state with absolute accuracy the percentage of useful substances, or even of total solids present in liquid manure, because the conditions hardly permit the selection of an average sample.

It will not

is applied, and its nitrogen is thus fully equal in value to that of the most expen sive nitrogenous manures that are offered in the market. The fact that the valuable ingredients

however, be far wrong to accept Wolff's of liquid manure are contained in solu analysis as being fairly representative. tion in a large volume of water adds He gives the average percentage compo- distinctly tothe certainty and uniformity sition as follows :

Water .

98.20

Organic matter Ash ingredients

0.70

Nitrogen

0.15

I.IO

of their action, on such soils at least as are suitable for the reception of large quantities of liquid applications. In deed the most striking characteristic of liquid manure, and that to which it owes its special differences from all other

* Johnston's Lect. Agric. Chem ., 2d ed ., 812.

forms of manure, is the enormous bulk

LIQUID MANURE.

519

of water in which its valuable constitu- ance. It promotes processes of oxidation,

ents are contained . It is necessary at

assists in the dissolution and redistribu

this point to consider more particularly tion of soil constituents, brings with it the effects produced by this special fea- some further supply of useful minerals,

ture. They are of a twofold and contra- and contributes in itself a condition ab solutely essential to a luxuriant plant Advantages of the Liquid Form.- growth. Such are the beneficial effects Except when employed in a fresh or produced by the water in the liquid undiluted form , burning effects seldom manure.

dictory character.

follow the application of liquid manure .

Still it is right to remind farmers that

Itcauses, besides, the most perfect dis- if the watering of farm crops is once tribution of the manure ; for the water, begun, it must be systematically and in its slow circulation through the whole persistently pursued till rain takes its

body of the soil and subsoil, conveys its place. Unless this is done, the latter valuable materials into every pore into state of these crops will be worse than which the tender rootlets of plants can the first. penetrate. The important constituents Disadvantages of Excess of Water. of the manure, instead of being left in -But the large quantity of mere water

unequal lumps spread irregularly on the in liquid manure must also be considered surface, or scattered in drills, from which in another aspect, that has a very im

they only become, slowly and with diffi- portant bearing on the whole problem of

culty, diffused through the soil,-as may economical liquid manuring. be the case with dry manures in dry seasons,-are

Dry artificial manures have this not

deposited in the most min- able practical advantage, that they can

ute state of subdivision through all parts be conveyed great distances, and can be of the soil.

applied to crops at an expenditure which Indeed it is strictly accurate to say of is relatively low in proportion to the many artificial manures, that they never amount of really valuable ingredients

can become so completely distributed supplied. But it is quite otherwise with liquid through the soil, or so thoroughly mingled with its particles, as are the same sub manure . The enormous bulk of water stances when abstracted by each little adds so much to the cost of handling as grain of earth from the liquid manure

entirely to control the whole system and

percolating in a sluggish flow through its mode of using it. If we accept Wolff's pores, and carrying its cargo of enriching average analysis, already given, we find materials into those deeper layers of soil that for two tons of solid substances which are untouched by the common added to our soils in liquid manure, we

operations of tillage, but which are never- have to deal in no case with less probably theless laid under contribution by the than about 100 tons of water, and in

deeper searching roots of plants.

many cases much more .

It is clear that

Utility of the Water . — It is not to the mere conveyance of a material of this be overlooked that the mere water con- weight and bulk must be undertaken in

tained in liquid manure, which consti-

the face of such obstacles as to confine

tutes by far the greater portion of its the area of its availableness within a very

bulk , is not without a very considerable utilityin those circumstances of soil and crop when its employment can be regarded as at all advisable . It is obvious

limited distance from the place of its pro duction , and to make the question of its value turn chiefly on the readiness and cheapness with which it can be applied.

enough that in years of drought its in- Assuming even that the initial difficul fluence must be beneficial toa degree ty of spreading such a volume of liquid quite beyond its usual merits, and in over a wide extent of land has been suc such a season the application ofthe water cessfully overcome, it still remains to itself is simply invaluable.

But inde- be decided how far its superior efficacy

pendently of specially dry years, the repays the greater cost involved in its water in the liquid manure in its passage application. Butbeforeproceeding to consider the through the soil produces effects that in

suitable cases areof considerable import- profitable utilisation of liquid manure,

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

520

something may be said as to how be conserved at farm -steadings.

is to

Neglect of Liquid Manure. - The

water passing through it as we have in dicated.

Preventing Loss in Liquid Man

general body of farmers are not nearly ure. - Now it will readily occur to one so careful as they ought to be in the that useful measures may be taken in preservation of liquid manure. This two ways to prevent these losses. In

neglect hasbeen commented on by writers the first place, by efficient water-spouts on agriculture for generations; and and roofed courts or dung-pits the rain while it is readily acknowledged that water may be prevented from reaching great improvement has taken place in the dung. In the second place, arrange

the management of liquid manure, it ments may be made whereby any liquid must at the same time be urged that, in escaping from the dung may be direct ed into some safe receptacle for preser

many cases, the subject does not receive

vation until it can be advantageously

that amount of attention which it so well deserves.

utilised.

The loss through leakage from dungheaps in the field is not, as a rule, very serious— that is, if the dung-heaps have been properly formed, with a covering of earth , orsome other material, to prevent

treating of covered courts ( pp. 226-232 ), and offarmyard dung (pp. 501-514 ), we have referred to the various ways of covering cattle -courts and dung-pits, and to the advantages arising therefrom .

Already at various points, in

rain - water getting into the dung to carry Liquid - manure Tanks.Here we away its own rich juice. But at the need, therefore, consider only the second steadings, the losses which arise from of these measures whereby the loss of want of attention to liquid manure are liquid manure may be averted — that is,

often enormous — such as would greatly the means whereby it may be preserved

surprise the negligent farmers them- for useful application. There are vari selves if only they had the actual ous methods by which this may be done amounts of the losses « figured out” —the liquid -manure tank being the most to them. general. Liquid -manure tanks of many Often have we seen cattle-dung lying sizes and designs are in use. The for

in heaps for weeks and weeks - perhaps mation of drains and tanks for liquid manure, as they exist on many farms, is cattle-byre, in such form as to press out described on pages 223 and 224. In the its liquid contents rather than conserve cases there referred to it was not in

even for months — as thrown from the

them ; a rich brown liquid oozing out tended that any of the liquid should be freely at all sides, and passing away into returned to the dung, so that the tanks utter uselessness. Rainfall

and

Loss

were not placed close to the dung-pit. of Liquid Modern experience, however, inclines

placing the Manure. — The heaviest losses in liquid more and more towards desirable the liquid

manure occur where the rain -water from

tanks so that when

the roofs of the adjoining buildings and (as will be presently explained) may be the open heavens is allowed to rush on pumped out of them on to the manure,

to the dung -heap in the yard, and pass or into a liquid -manure cart when it is through it and go where it may without to be carried away. It is also desirable, let or hindrance. It may sink into a on the score of expense, to have the tank

porous soil, or findits wayinto a passing near the cattle-court, and thus avoid un stream , carrying with it a great deal of necessary outlay on drains to conduct the the very richest of the ingredients of the liquid manure. There are several circumstances to be taken into consideration before proceed exit, so to speak, to the rain -water to ing to construct a tank for liquid manure. manure.

And be it remembered that

wherever there is free access and free

and from the dung-heap, robbery of the When a tank is made deep, such as a dung is inevitable.

We have already well, the building of the lower part will

seen (p.231 ) that dung is very susceptible require to be particularly strong, and, of of damage by washing - in fact, that two- course, will be so much the more expen thirds of the total manurial value of a

sive in construction .

A tank should

dung-heap may be carried away by rain- therefore be shallow , not deeper than 4

!

LIQUID MANURE.

521

or 5 feet below the sole of the drains tight enough at the joints to bear the which bring the liquid manure. It is requisite pressure. very desirable to have the tank covered , Size of Tank required .-- To know for the sake of protection against acci- the size of tank required for any particu dents. The most durable covering is an lar case, an allowance of 1000 gallons for

arch ; and to keep the cost of that with- every cow on a dairy farm will suffice, in bounds, the tank should be narrow, and that number of gallons occupies 162

not exceeding 6 feet. The desired capa- cubic feet. When enlarged tanks are city of a tank will thus be attainable by desired, it is better, because cheaper, to have parallel rows of narrow tanks con extending its length . A tank should neither let in nor let out tiguous to each other, than to extend the

liquid. To prevent its letting in water, breadth or length, or increase the depth. a drain should be formed where there is In a series of parallel tanks, the common the least appearance of it in oozings or a walls support the arches on both sides.

spring; and to prevent the liquid getting A tank of 72 feet in length, 6 feet wide out, a puddling of clay should be used, inside, and 6 feet deep below the soles of where the subsoil does not consist of the drains, contains about 2600 cubic feet. tenacious boulder-clay. The clay for A Mid - Lothian System . — A simple

puddling should be well pugged, or beaten and convenient mode of collecting the into theconsistency of putty. A fall of liquid manure of a dairy farm -- of from from 6 inches to a foot is required along 130 to 170 acres, with a stock of cows the floor, according to its length ; and a from 14 to 24, with young beasts and roomy man -hole should be made in the horses — has long been practised in Mid arch of the roof, at each end of the tank,

Lothian.

Drains are formed from the

and at the deepest end a third opening byres and stables into one main drain , for the pump.

the mouth of which is elevated as high Liquid -manure Pump. — The pump above the ground below it as to admita

used in tanks is generally the chain one, liquid -manure barrel — a common butt, in which an endless chain passes from mounted on its cart — to stand under it, the bottom of the tank to the height to and receive the liquid direct into the

which it is desired to raise the urine, bung-hole ; and as the barrel becomes

where it passes over a pulley, constructed full, it is carried away , and its contents so as to firmly hold the chain. On the emptiedon the field. The barrel contains chain, every 15 or 18 inches apart, are

150 gallons, and is usually filled three

fixed circular discs about 2 inches in

times a -week . When there is an excess

The up -going side of the of liquid, in consequence of much rain, it endless chain is inside an iron pipe, is allowed to run into the dunghills below the diameter of which is slightly greater the drain , and after saturating them it

diameter.

than that of the discs.

To the pulley flows into an open shallow tank, from

is affixed a crank -handle, which when which it irrigates at pleasure a drained turned at an ordinary speed, carries the moss laid down to perpetual grass. A water up the tube to the desired height. common butt, of 150 gallons, sunk into This class of pump works best with lifts the ground, forms a good tank for a under 12 feet; over that it is heavy labourer's cottage, and, retaining all liquid to work .

Loose straws or mud do not in refuse, affords a ready means of manur

any way interfere with its proper work- ing a portion of the garden. Incorporating the Liquid with the ing, and it lasts for many years without any renewal.

Dung.- We may say at once that we

Dispensing with Pumps. — If the think the best way of utilising liquid configuration of the land will permit manure is incorporation with the solid of such, tanks should always be emptied manure, and that therefore the liquid by a pipe direct from the bottom to some manure which finds its way into the

high enough tanks should in the first place be used place on a lower level, but Much labour is in saturating the drier portions of the

to run into a cart.

thereby saved, and not a little time. dung-heap — that is, in so far as it can

Cast-iron pipes are the best for the pur- be readily absorbed and held by the solid pose , as fireclay ones can rarely be made material.

522

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE.

Where this practice prevails, a con- attention of some of the most enterpris

venient arrangement is to have in eaching agriculturists of this century, and court a tank into which any liquid that that numerous attempts should have escapes from the dung finds its way — a been made to overcome the difficulties

tank sunk in at the lowest point in the attending its practical application . " Perhaps the most widely known in vestigator into this question was the late from the tank , and once every week the Mr Mechi of Tiptree Hall ; and further

court, with access for the liquid manure through a grating. A pump rises up

cattle-man pumps the liquid back over attempts, modelled on the practice re the dung, directing it by movable spouts commendedby him , were made at Myrie of various lengths on to the drier parts Mill and Kinning Park, in South Ayr of the dung-heap. This is a capital plan shire. The efforts made on these farms both for the solid and the liquid man- tosecure the complete and effective dis ure, and by it the maximum quantity of tribution of the liquid manure by means

of elaborate arrangements of pipes, con first-class dung may be made. Of course the extent to which this duits, hydrants, and other machinery, plan may be advantageously carried out were continued over a series of years,

and have furnished sufficiently conclu sive proof that the thorough distribution and utilisation of the whole quantity of liquid manure produced on a farm is perfectly possible, and they have further shown that the expectations entertained On the other hand, where litter is scarce of the effects of the liquid dressings have and the dung therefore short in texture, been in no degreeexaggerated, and that it may not be able to absorb nearly all by judicious applications crops of won

will depend largely upon the supply of litter. If there should be plenty of litter, the whole of the liquid manure maybe fully and most profitably utilised in this way — that is, where the liquid manure is not increased to excess by rain -water.

derful luxuriance can be successfully the liquid manure. Utilisation of Surplus Liquid.- grown. There will thus in many cases be more Outlay greater than the Return. liquid manure than can be advantage- “ But the ultimate collapse of these sys

ously absorbed by the dung. This in- tems of farming has just as completely deed will rarely happen where the cattle- demonstrated that, however remarkable courts are roofed and any extraneous the results obtained from the use of

water prevented from reaching the dung, but it will very often occur where the greater part of the cattle-court or dungpits is uncovered. Now the profitable preservation and utilisation of this surplus liquid manure are the two most important points in connection with what is generally known as the liquid-

liquid manure, the return is not suffi cient to defray the expenditure. Mr Mechi, indeed, is said to have main tained to the last that his practice was profitable ; but it is now almost univer sally held that the bulk of material to be disposed of in liquid manure wholly rules the economy of its use , and that with the low average prices of the farm crops

manure question. In reference to this economical utilisa- for which it is best suited, no method of

tion of liquid manure, some remarks utilising it can be profitable unless the well worthy of careful attention were outlay involved be reduced to a very low made by Mr R. P. Wright, Lecturer on point. Any costly process of treatment

Agriculture in the Technical College, must be looked on as unlikely to yield a

Glasgow , in a paper in the Farming satisfactory remuneration . World Year- Book, 1889, from which we have made copious extracts.

Noteworthy Attempts. — Mr Wright says: “ It is not surprising that the problem of the economical utilisation of a manure possessing such high qualities as have been described, and which is re-

Suitable for Exceptional Crops.

“ It must not be forgotten , however, that

this objection does not hold good when the liquid manure is employed for crops of relatively high value. Expensive me thods of application may be justifiable for the production of certain market

garded by many as the most valuable of gardening crops, or even some common all manures, should have engaged the farm crops grown in a district of high

LIQUID MANURE.

523

markets ; but for ordinary farm practice prevails somewhat widely, it has never

it may be fairly concludedthat only such obtained a very great popularity among modes of utilising liquid manure are farmers. Many of them, however, hold commendable as involve the minimum decidedly the opinion that, whatever be of expenditure."

its other drawbacks, it has the crown

Application by Cart . — In discussing ing merit of being thoroughly profitable, the various methods of applying manure, and of far more than repaying the cost of which have been found most successful application.

and been most largely adopted, Mr

Fig . 111 illustrates the process of fill

Wright says: " Perhaps the best known ing a liquid -manure cart by a pump fixed and most widely adopted practice is to in the tank . collect the liquid manure in a central

Fig. 234 represents a

tank or reservoir, to pump the liquid at

intervals into a specially constructed manure-cart, and by its means to spread the liquid over the land. The initial ex

pense is confined to the provision of a tank , of a pump, and of a manure -distrib utor ; and the amount will vary accord ing to the dimensions and extent of building needed, and the size of the . pump and distributor. The after -cost is limited to the charge made for the man and horse required for the conveyance of the manure to the fields; and this may

Fig. 234. - Liquid -manure cart.

properly be estimated at a low rate, as liquid -manure cart (Coleman & Morton,

such work can be done, in part at least, Chelmsford ), which has attached to itself a pump and pipe with which to raise the “ Although this plan of utilising the liquid out of the tank . A new and in

at odd intervals of time.

manure is pretty common in some districts of the country, it cannot be regarded as a very satisfac tory one.

genious form of liquid -manure cart, in

The first expense is

not inconsiderable, and the manner of applying the man ure does not warrant the ex

pectation of the most favour able results. The operations of pumping and carting such large quantities of liquid are slow,

cumbrous, and troublesome, and in the press of other farm -work

the dressings are apt to be given at irregular intervals, and per haps at unsuitable times. Very

often the liquid so applied is not sufficiently diluted, when it is liable to injure and destroy the

vegetation . There is a constant temptation to use the manure in a strongly concentrated form , because any addition of water entails some additional difficulty,

Fig. 235.- New liquid -manure cart.

and the greater the dilution the heavier vented by a farmer near Wishaw, Mr D. becomes the subsequent labour of pump- Macpherson, is shown in fig. 235. As the liquid escapes from the barrel of the ing, carting, and spreading.

" For these reasons, while this practice cart it is caught by a revolving disc

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE.

524

(driven by a chain from the axle of the

as water .

The liquid -manure cart differs

cart), with several equidistant flanges, very little from the water-cart, except in and' is sent over the ground in an even its being provided with the distributing spray as shown in the figure. The trials apparatus in place of the spigot ; but in we have witnessed with this ingenious large establishments the cask is super yet simple contrivance have been very seded by a covered rectangular cistern or successful, and it is just possible that tank, which takes the place of a common

the invention may be found capable of cart-body. For a liquid -manure cart, a more extended use than the inventor cask of 120 or 140 gallons contents will

had originally in view — for instance, in be found more economical in first cost watering field crops at critical periods, than a rectangular tank ; and as these notably newly sown turnips in severe machines can be only occasionally in drought. It spreads the liquid evenly, operation, they will, if not very carefully

and takes a breadth of about 30 feet at attended to, become leaky while standing a time.

unoccupied .

The water-cart has been very long in use for the conveyance of water, when the supply of that necessary element for household use has been distant from the steading. A modern

will have a manifest advantage over the tank, for the tightening of a cask is an operation the most simple, by the act of driving up the hoops ; while in the

Water - carts .

In this respect the cask

case of the tank becoming leaky, no water-cart, with iron cylinder for the means of that kind can be resorted to,

water, is represented in fig. 234. But the and the alternative is, either soaking it old form still prevails, consisting of the in water till the wood has imbibed as naked bed -frame of a cart mounted on much of the fluid as will expand its wheels, and surmounted with a cask of substance and close the leaks, or the

a capacity suited to the demands of the vessel must be tightened by some more establishment. The cask is furnished expensive process with a funnel, inserted in or attached

. For the more easy means of filling the

immediately over the bung-hole ; and it cask, it is suspended between the shafts is likewise furnished with a spigot, or of the cart, and this position requires the

with a stop -cock, inserted into that end bending of the axle to nearly a semicircle.

of the cask which hangs over the back of The cart is a mere skeleton, consisting the cart .

When the water-cart has been

of the shafts, which for this purpose may

drawn to the fountain or the pond from be made of red pine, their lengthbeing which water is to be conveyed, it is filled about 14 feet. They are connected by a either by means of a pump, raised so high as to deliver the water which it lifts into the funnel of the cask, or the water is lifted with the hand by means

fore and hind bar, placed at such distance as will just admit the length of the cask , while the width between the shafts is suited to the diameter of it. The axle is

of a scoop, having a helve of sufficient bent downward to nearly a semicircle to length to enable the workman to reach receive the cask , and its length will of the pond on the one hand and the funnel course be greater than the common cart

on the other. The scoop best adapted axle ; even the distance between the

to this purpose is a small wooden pitcher, caddy -bolts, in a straight line, will be fig. 236, about 8 inches in depth and 10 usually greater, but this will depend on the diameter of the cask.

A pair of

common broad cart -wheels are fitted to

the axle. The cask is suspended on two straps of hoop -iron, the ends of which are bolted to the shafts, and the same Fig. 236.--Scoop for filling a water -barrel.

bolts pass also through the ends of two

lighter straps which pass over and secure inches in diameter, the helve passing the cask firmly in its place. through its sides in an oblique direction, The funnel or hopper is usually fixed and a little above its centre of gravity. upon the top of the cask over the bung

Liquid manure can be conveyed into a hole, or it may be inserted therein by barrel by means of such a scoop as well means of an attached pipe.

The dis

LIQUID MANURE.

tributor may be made of sheet-copper, of

525

When the liquid -manure cart is fur

cast -iron or malleable iron, or even of nished with a tank, the latter can with wood ; the copper will be found the most equal facility be placed low for the con

durable, and it should be at least one- venience of filling : thus the axle may twentieth of an inch in thickness. The be cranked, as in the Liverpool dray

next best is the patent malleable - iron cart, the tank resting on the cranked tube ; cast- iron , though sometimes used, is not to be recommended ; neither is wood desirable, from its liability to choke. The distributor should consist

of a strong rectangular trough of sound wood, 7 feet or so in length, and 6 inches

wide, and 6 inches deep . The discharge pipe should be bent down at right angles,

2

so as to deliver the contents into the

trough. Along the bottom of the trough are holes to let the urine away. Immedi

ately under the discharge-pipe these holes should not be over 34 or 78of an inch in diameter, but they should gradually in crease up to 192 inch as the ends are reached .

k

This is necessary to prevent

the holes filling up with straws and sludge, while the force of the urine at the outlet keeps the smaller holes there clear. The distributing trough is generally hung from the hind trams by two iron hooks, into which it slides. It is

Fig. 237: - Apparatusfor discharging liquid manure .

Stem of distributor.

ħ Stop- cock. i Chamber. k Valve ,

cc Part of cask . 1 Chain attached to the valve. m Roller .

never permanently fixed ; and when in part of the axle ; or the axle may re use is better taken off every time the main straight, and the tank suspended cart is emptied, and left as a mark below the axle.

Such a tank may be

where to begin next time - be it the conveniently built to contain a ton of the same

day, or next week, or month. liquid, or about 220 gallons ; and the dis A stop -cock is frequently put upon the tributing apparatus is the same as for the

stem to regulate the discharge — and for cask.

this purpose it is very beneficial, serving The distributor, as made by Mr in a great measure to regulate the quan- Crosskillof Beverley, swings upon a tity per acre ; but for the entire setting stud. This is a great improvement off or on of the supply, the stem opens on the former construction, inasmuch into a small chamber inside the cask, as the distributor always remains in

which chamber is closed by a flap -valve heavily loaded . This valve, when closed, stops the discharge ; and when lifted, the fluid has a free passage to the distributor. The opening of the valve is

a level position, whatever may be the inclination of the ground upon which the cart has to pass over, and there fore always distributes the liquid uni formly ; whereas, in a fixed distributor,

effected by a small chain attached to the the liquid isdischarged with the greater flap, rising to the top of the cask, where it passes over a small roller, and onward tothe fore part of the cart on the nigh side, where it hangs at hand for the carter to set off or on at pleasure.

force, and of coursein greater quantity, on the lowest side, for the time being, of

the uneven ground. Making

Compost with

Liquid

Manure. — In many cases the surplus

Fig. 237 is a section of part of the liquid manure, instead of being collected cask, showing the chamber and valve, into a tank is directed by a channel which is the common leather flap or in some cases open, in others covered, as

clack valve, well loaded with lead , and it always should be — into a compost-pit.

the chain attached to the valve passing On many farms this pit is merely a con over a roller.

venient hollow near the steading, but

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

526

where there is a good deal of surplus however, that the carting of large quan have a properly constructed reservoir. easy matter, owing to its light weight; This pit is made a receptacle for dry and, on the other hand, the manure pro liquid manure it will be profitable to tities of dry rubbish is a comparatively

rubbish, earthy or vegetable matter, duced would be worthless indeed, did it such as withered weeds, waste straw , not more than handsomely repay the

brackens, dried scrapings from open labour of conveying it out again to the drains and roadways, or any similar fields." material capable of absorbing the liquid Forming a Compost Reservoir. manure and then forming useful dress- The receptacle for the liquid - manure ing for land.

The liquid manure runs compost need not be costly or elaborate.

into this pit, and converts the dry rub- It should be water-tight at the bottom masonry would and sides. Concrete valuable

bish into

or

compost.

Referring to this system Mr R. P. be most substantial, but it might be Wright, in the paper quoted above, formed merely of earth with a coating fro

says :

“ The liquid manure

m

a

of clay pounded into the sides and bot

steading running regularly day by day tom . It may be from 272 to 3 feet on to such a body of dry material grad- deep, and at one end should slope up to ually works into it, till ultimately the thelevel of the ground, so as to provide waste becomes so much enriched by the easy access and egress for carts. constant deposition of the valuable inIrrigation with Liquid Manure.

gredients contained in the liquid slowly Where the configuration of the land and percolating through its mass, as to be the system of cropping are suitable, and converted into a manure, not inferior in a stream of water available, this is an

its character and qualities to ordinary

farmyard manure, and requiring a simila

excellent method of utilising liquid man ure. The liquid as it escapes from the

after treatment and management.

steading is conducted into a small stream ,

Advantages of the Compost System .— " This system appears to possess many valuable features, and to be preferable to that previously described . It

which is controlled for the purpose, and which is then employed in irrigating an adjoining meadow . Mr R. P. Wright says: “ This practice is less known than

allows of the utilisation of quantities of organic material, which otherwise might have been got rid of by burning or some other equally profitless method. It gives

it ought to be. In those districts in which it is carried on, its benefits are well understood and thoroughly appreci ated . It combines at once all the ad

the farmer the command of what is vantages of water irrigation with those

practically an additional supply of farm- of ordinary manuring It secures the yard manure . It is capable of being employment of the liquid manure in its adopted on farms in any situation, and most highly diluted and most effective

it permits the application of the fertilis- and favourable form , while the water

ing substances ofthe manure to a greater from the stream may itself contain no variety of crops than can be conveniently inconsiderable portion of fertilising in or beneficially treated with any manure gredients. It allows the manure to be in a liquid form . used on the crop, grass or hay, for which “It is a cheap method, as reservoirs it is best suited, and on which it will may be dispensed with entirely, or may give the largest increase. be of the crudest kind, while the expense

“The fullest fertilising effects are ob

of forming conductingchannels is trivial. tained from this system , because there It is particularly suitable where the are no hindrances in the way of the liquid manure is of a strongly concen- most regular and periodical applications trated character, and it is freefrom any of the manure, and because the thickly

of the drawbacks that attend the direct matting roots of the grasses do not per use of the liquid in such a condition.

mit the escape to the drains of any ofthe

Amount of Carting .— " The only ob- valuable substances. It is the cheapest · jection that can be taken to this practice of methods, as there is no expense fur

is on the groundof the amount of cart- ther than cutting the small channels and ing required. It is to be remembered, water-courses, and keeping them in re

LIQUID MANURE .

527

pair. No horse labour is required, and conserve both the solid and liquid manure,

only a very slight attention is necessary Mr Livesey had a gutter, 2 feet wide and to keep the whole system in good and 5 inches deep, made behind the cows. regular working order.”

This gutter is nearly filled with dry earth As will be readily understood, the cir- sprinkled over with gypsum , and this

cumstances necessary for the success of porous matter receives both the solid and

this method of irrigation are of rare liquid excrements of the animals. Guide occurrence , but wherever they do exist they should be taken advantage of ; for Mr Wright adds, “ I have never yet met a farmer who had given it a trial who has not had reason to be perfectly

rails are laid in the passage behind the gutter, and the soil isdaily removed and collected in a shed adjoining. Mr Livesey regards the material thus collected as, weight for weight, three times the value

satisfied with the results.”

of ordinary farmyard manure made in

An Irish Example. - We have seen this system of irrigation with liquid

his district. 1

This system must, of course, involve a

manure pursued with capitalresults upon good deal of extra labour, but such ad Mr Richard Barter's farm , St Ann's Hill, County Cork. The liquid manure from his large herd of dairy cows, in the first place, flows over the dung-heap, and the portion which escapes therefrom is carried by a passing stream over a sloping stretch

vantages as are claimed for it would most probably far outweigh the increased expense. The practice, it will be observed, not only utilises the whole of the liquid manure in a most effective manner,but

also renders litter unnecessary, which is

of meadow -land lying in front of the in itself a point of great importance. steading. The water from the drained land, at a higher level than the steading,

Fresh Urine injurious to Vegeta

tion .If urine is applied to grass-land is as far as possible utilised for this pur- or to growing crops while the urea is pose, as well as for irrigation by itself. undecomposed, or the ammonia is in a

caustic state, it will destroy vegetation . Preventing Loss of Ammonia.Wherever liquid manure collects there is When intended for direct application to risk of loss by evaporation of its ammo- crops, the liquid should therefore be al nia. This, however, may be prevented lowed to “ ripen " for some time - per

by sprinkling gypsum over the liquid in haps four or five weeks in summer, and the tank, or on the liquid manure wher- eight or nine in winter; or by the addi ever it may

be collected or exposed. Mrtion of a little sulphuric acid ,the caustic Richard Barter has the gypsum -boxkept ammonia may be turned into a neutral constantly in a corner in his cow -byre, salt - sulphate of ammonia — and if thus

and immediatelyafter thebyre iscleansed, prepared, liquid manure mayat any time a little of the gypsum is sprinkled over be applied with safety. Read in this the fresh dung, and on the spaces behind connection what is said as to the compo 66

the cattle.

The gypsum

fixes

the sition of fresh and stale urine, and the

and thusprevents its evapora- changes the liquid manure undergoes by ammonia, tion, This practice is a most commend- keeping, pp. 515, 516. But fresh urine able one. It causes little extra labour, may safely be applied to the ploughed and may save considerable loss of the soil at any time, in as far as the soil is

most costly of all manurial ingredients. concerned , although it is better received The gypsum -box should be at every stead by the soil in some states than in others. ing, and its contents should be used with unfailing regularity, not only for the liquid -manure tanks but also for the dung-heap itself. The Problem solved in Sussex.—

Time for Application . - Early spring

is considered the best season for applying the liquid manure, not only because it is then most abundant, but the ground, being all ploughed, is then also in the

Professor Wrightson makes favourable best state for imbibing it : and if applied to by Mr Livesey, C.E., in his beautifully much trouble will afterwards be saved in reference to an ingeniousmethod adopted the soil just as it has fowed into the tank ,

constructed cow -house at the Mayfield driving out the water, which must be put Dairy, Rotherfield, Sussex. So as to avoid the necessity of litter, and to effectually

1 Agric. Gazette, 1888, p. 464.

TREATMENT OF FARMYARD MANURE .

528

amongst it to save the ammonia, and which in fact is better saved by the humus of the soil. Formerly winter was considered the best time for applying liquid manure ; but the Rothamsted investigations as to the loss of nitrates through drain -water from land not cov-

tion for the formation of the cistern, is the effect of hydrostatic pressure ; inat tention to this has caused the failure of

many such cisterns. The liquid we have here to deal with, like all other fluids, acts on the bottomand sides of the vessel or body that contains it with a pressure

ered with any crop, have shown that this directly in proportion to the depth at was an error.

See “ Accumulation and

whichthe fluid stands, without reference

Exhaustion of Fertility ” in soils, on pp. to either length or breadth ; that is to 60, 61. Frozen ground will not take in say, suppose a cistern, whose bottom is liquid manure, neither will very dry 12 inches square, and its depth 10 feet, filled with water, every square inch in ground take it in easily.

Advantage of Incorporating with the bottom will suffer a pressure equal to the Dung . – As Sprengel states, “ it will the height of a column of water whose be obvious to every one that the urine- base is i inch square and 10 feet or 120 tanks are no such excellent arrangements inches in height. The weight of such a

as they are frequently represented to be ; column will be 472 lb. nearly, and this and that it is in many cases more pro would be exerted on every square inch fitable to pour the urine over the dung on the bottom , or the whole pressure on in the dung-pit, or to supply as much the bottom would be 625 lb., the weight straw that the whole of the urine may be

absorbed , for then the humic acid arising

of 10 cubic feet of water.

Pressure of Fluids.— “ There is a

from the solid excrements will be com- natural law that governs the pressure of bined with the ammonia formed at the fluids, which shows us that they press equally in all directions, downward, hori same time from the urea,” &c.

There is this aditional advantage, that zontally, and even upwards, the last the urine, as the most efficient portion of arising from the general statical law,

animal excrement, being mixed with the that action and reaction are equal, and

dung, may be distributed more equally in opposite directions.' It follows, from overthe ground — thatnomanure-barrels, thesehydrostatical laws, that the lower &c., are required — and that there is no most portion of each side of our supposed necessity to bestow labour on the pre- cistern will suffer a pressure from the

paration of the urine; for the urine, if water equal to that which acts upon the any, which is not taken up by the dung,

bottom — hence, taking the lowermost

may always be most profitably pumped inch in the height of the sides of this back upon it again .? cistern, it will be pressed witha force of Town Sewage.--Although the utili- 5272 lb. or thereby, or 472 lb. on the sation of town sewage has some relation square inch, and each of the four sides

to that of the liquid manure of the farm , it will be conve to discu that wide

will suffer the same pressure.

and more intricate subject by itself.

elongated in one direction to any number of feet, and again filled to the depth of 10 feet, the pressure on each square foot

nient

ss

r

Construction of Liquid -manure Tanks .

“ Suppose, now, that the cistern is

of the bottom remains the same as before,

The following general remarks by Mr and so on in like manner does it remain Slight as to the construction of tanks for

the same upon the sides ; for the pressure

liquid manure may be perused with in- is not altered in any direction, although terest : the proportion of the cistern has been " The cistern for collecting liquid man- changed. ure in the farm -stead is apparently simple

Depth the Chief Element.

" Keep

in its construction, being merely a cov- ing this in view, it will be seen that ered pond or a well ; yet serious errors length and breadth produce no effect on

are frequently committed in its formation. the pressures that a fuid exerts against The first and most important considera- the vessel or body that retains it ; and that, in calculating the resistance to sus tain such pressures, depth is the only 1 Jour. Royal Agric. Soc. Eng ., i., 455-480.

LIQUID MANURE.

529

element requiring to be taken into more than that proposed for the cistern.

account. It is also to be kept in view, Two or three thin layers of the prepared that pressure on the bottom or sides is directly as the depth : thus, if our supposed cistern were reduced to 5 feet in depth, the pressure on the bottom would

clay are then to be compactly laid over the whole breadth of the excavation, and beaten firmly together at all points, mak

ing up the depth to 1 foot, and the sur

only be one-half, or 2 74 lb. on each square face of it brought to a uniform level. inch.

Upon this the side - walls are to be Pit or Well Form .— " The conclusion founded, and these may be of brick 9

to be drawn from these remarks is, that inches in thickness, or of flat - bedded a cistern in the form of a pit or well rubble -stone 14 inches. The wall should

should be always avoided, unless it can be built in successive courses of about i be formed in a natural bed of impervious foot in height, the whole being bedded

clay. When such a substratum can be in mortar; and as each course is com attained a pit may be adopted, but not pleted, the puddle is to be carefully laid otherwise. If such has been found, and and beaten in behind, in layers of 6

the pit dug out, it should be lined with inches or thereby — the first layer being brick, or with stone built in mortar, the properly incorporated with the founda

bottom being first lined with the same tion -puddle, and each succeeding layer material. When the building approaches with the one immediately preceding it. to the surface, the wall can be gradually

“ To prevent the side-walls from being

reduced in diameter to a small compass, pushed inward by the pressure of the leaving only an opening of 2 to 3 feet puddle or of the bank, tie-walls of brick square, which is covered in at small ex- or of stone should be formed at every

pense ; and the saving in this last item is 5 feet of the length of the cistern. the only apparent advantage that seems These may be 9 inches of brick or 14 to attend the practice of pit cisterns.

inches of stone, and they must have conduits formed at the level of the sole, Deep cisterns are liable to another in- to allow the liquid to run towards the Disadvantage of Deep

Tanks.-

convenience — of their becoming recipi- pump. ents of spring or of drainage water ; and " The sole should be laid all over with it is sometimes more difficult to keep brick set on edge, or with strong pave

such water out than to keep the proper ment jointed — the whole having a slight liquid in — for if springs and their origin declivity towards one end, where a small lay at considerable heights, their hydro- well-hole of 9 inches in depth is to be static pressure may be so grea as to formed to receive the bottom of the

render the prevention of access to their products a process of great difficulty. Shallow Tanks . “ A cistern of moderate depth, not exceeding 4 feet below the outfall of the drains, may be

pump. The brick or pavement, as the case may be, is to be bedded on the

puddle, and grouted flush in the joints with mortar ; and when the walls and sole are built up, they should then

constructed in any situation, whether in be pointed in every joint with Roman gravel or in clay, and its length can be cement. extended so as to afford any required Covering Tanks. “ The covering

capacity ; the breadth being restricted to may be effected with strong pavement, that for which materials for covering it of length sufficient to rest on the side can be most easily obtained, which may walls, laid and jointed with mortar ; or be from 3 to 4 feet, or, if arched, it may with rough found -stones, where such can

be 6 feet. Whatever be the stratum in be procured ; and if neither can con which such a cistern is to be formed (unless it be perfectly impervious clay ), it should be puddled to the thickness of at least í foot with the best clay that can

veniently be found, a beam of cast or malleable iron may be laid along the middle of the cistern resting on the tie walls, and, with this bearer, stones of

be procured. For this purpose, the half the length will be sufficient to form earthy matters are to be dug out to a a cover. A thin layer of clay may be

depth of 172 foot lower than the in- laid over the stone covers, and upon that tended sole, and to a width of 4 feet VOL . I.

a coat of gravel. 2 L

CLAYING LANDS.

530

Preventing Accidents. " To pre- expense of covered drain to convey vent accident, it is always desirable to the manure from the dunghills to the construct the cistern in a situation where cistern . The best and most secure plan, it will be as little as possible exposed to no doubt, though the most expensive, is the transit of carts ; and this may be to cover the cistern with an arch of stone always obtained at a small additional or brick .”

CLAYING

LANDS.

Benefits of Claying . — This is a prac- is extended to 20 yards, and varying be tice often followed by excellent results. tween these two extremes. When the determined on, it is Where the surface-soil consists chiefly of distance has shifting sand or of soft mossy matter, its marked by a plough making a furrow in

agricultural value may be improved by each line of pits. The width of the pits

spreading and mixing with it a layer of depends also on the depth of the clay; if clay, chalk, or marl.

This admixture it is 2 feet deep to the clay, the width is

binds the sandy material and increases its cropping capabilities. The clay or

(L e

6

marl is usually dug from the layer below m

the soil with which it is to be mixed .

The cost of carting the clay from any n

considerable distance would be so great

as to render the operation unprofitable. Chalk, however, is often conveyed long

distances for the purpose of being mixed with soil.

Professor Wrightson says that thirty or forty yards of clay per acre has a

wonderful effect in binding sands to gether ; and mentions that in some coun ties, as in Norfolk , marling is thoroughly

appreciated.

Marl or clay pits are open

9

d

Fig. 238. - Claying ofsoil.

ed in the fields, and from forty to sixty

abcd Four sides of a field .

cart-loads are applied per acre. The lower chalk is the best material for chalking. Large quantities of chalk are carried upon the Thames in barges for application to

g to 1 Distance, 12 yards.

the heavy soils of the London clay, and to the heavy marine clays which extend still nearer to the Essex coast.1

e e Lines of pits out of which the clay is taken .

m Where the first surface -soil is laid down.

n n Spaces of ground left untouched between the pits.

m h Half-way between the lines of pits.

3 feet 3 inches, but if 6 feet and upwards,

Clay Pits.-- This process of claying the width is 4 feet. the soil, which may conveniently fill in A pit is dug in the first line, which

work for several days in winter, is in should be begun near the upper fence. At half-way between the lines of pits,

some cases conducted in this manner :

Within the four sides of the field to be the surface -soil taken out of the first pit

clayed, fig. 238, two lines of pits are set is laid down. The pits are made 9 feet out, the clay of which is to be taken. in length. Should the clay be far down, The space between the pits depends on

the sides of the pit should be supported

the depth the clay lies from the surface. by planks, or framework of wood , to pre If to the clay is deep, the distance be- vent the earth falling in, and to protect tween the pits is 12 yards; if shallow , it the lives of the men working in them. 1 Prin. of Agric. Prac., p. 113.

Lives have been lost through neglect of this precaution.

CLAYING LANDS.

Spreading the Clay. — The clay as it is dug out is taken up with a fork or spade by a man or boy, and thrown equally over the space on both sides of the pit in

531

sort of sheep , they could not live upon it ; and still more unhealthy would it be if it was clayed. And as to ewes, the man

would bemad who would attempt tokeep

which themen are working. Two good them . Now that farm has been clayed spits of the spade generally afford the very heavily ; it has been clayed, marled,, requisite quantity of clay. After one pit and chalked. All those three materials, has been sufficiently dug out, another which are held to be injurious, have been

is formed along the line, spaces of the applied ; and what has been the result ? ground being left untouched between the Not that all the sheep died, but this pits, of sufficient strength to support the has occurred : From Michaelmas 1861 to Michaelmas 1862, the last year we had

sides from curving in.

The upper soil of the second pit is put the farm , and consequently at a time into the first pit, to fill it up as far as it when we had to feed off turnips grown

will go, and the clay is taken out of the from artificial manures or clayed land, second pit and spread upon the surface, there were on the farm 306 ewes , 340 in the same manner as that out of the

hoggets, 100 shearlings, and we had 352 first pit ; and so on, from pit to pit, until lambs. Between 1861 and 1862 our loss

all the pits in the line are dug. When the first pit in the second line is begun, its surface-soil is wheeled to fill up the last pit of the first line ; and when all

comprised the following: 5 hoggets, 10

ewes, 3 shearlings, and 3 lambstotal 21 , lost out of 1098 sheep, including lambs,

and not a single case of abortion.

“ Through the kindness and fairness line, the surface- soil taken out of the first of our excellent tenant, Mr Bunting, I pit of the first line is wheeled to fill up am enabled to give youthe result ofhis experience for 1863. He had 300 ewes the last pit of the second line. In this manner, with every two rows of on his farm last year, and he had not a pits is the entire field spread over with single case of abortion ; his loss of ewes

the pits have been dug out in the second

the clay. The pits are levelled

up after-

only 5. I think that is a certain proof

wards with the adjoining soil by the that, under judicious management, with plough. A little frost does the clay good proper feeding, the virulence of clayed by pulverising it, and makes it more ready land may be very much mitigated. to mix with the soil ; but it is better to “This year we have 220 ewe-hoggets

6

plough the clay in soon than allow it to feeding upon clayed land, clayed atthe become too hard either bydrought or frost. rate of something like 100 loads per acre ; If the clay had to be carted upon it they are in the same field they have been

thus, the claying of land would be at- ever since Michaelmas. I state it as a tended with much trouble and expense.

fact, that never since those ewe-lambs To cover an acre of soil with only one have been fed on those turnips has one

inch deep would require 180 cubic yards of them ailed anything ; and they have of clay. very much improved in condition and Is Claying injurious to Sheep.-- appearance, and have been very much Mr Henry Woods, in his essay on sheep, admired. They have, in addition to

asks, “ Does clayed land materially affect ground white turnips, 72 lb. of cake per the health of the ewe ?

I know the

sheep per day, and we give them a little

prevalent opinion is that it does, and long hay in racks. Ilight tell yousand, mustblowing that probably it may ; but I say that it is also the land used to be

now.” í I hope its blowing is stopped process very much within the control of the butMixing Soils T . he opposite

i

flock -master himself.

I believe that with

the care and intelligence which a person to that described above may also, in cer

may bring to bear upon the matter, it tain cases, be carried out with advantage. will give you some practical experience chiefly of stiff adhesive clay, its texture

may be very much controlled ; and I That is, where the surface-soil consists

on this point. I have been told, time and usefulness may be increased by the after time, that the Waterloo Farm admixture of a quantity of sand.

would kill any sheep — no matter whether they were hoggets or ewes, or any other

1 Wood's Breed . and Manag. Sheep., 21.30.

CLAYING LANDS.

532

Professor Wrightson says : "The mix- among the materials composing a com ing and moving of soils may sometimes post dunghill - or midden , as it is tech be carried out with benefit. Wherever nically called in Scotland, being the cor clay or sandy soils exist in close proxim- responding phrase to the English mixen ity, an interchange may be effected with -it is a favourable time for collecting

good results, although the effect of clay materials from convenient places, and upon sandy soils will always be more apparent than the reverse operation of adding sand to clay. Top -dressing bare Heights .—“ The carting of soil on to bare brows is a work that may profitably occupy horses during

mixing them in proper pro portions. There are many

winter. The tendency for soils to slip

obtained while preparing

materials which may be

collected at the commence ment of winter - as quicken

or couch-grass of the fields, the land for the

down hillsides, and gradually accumulate Every tillage operation tends to effect this result, and in process of time the upper

green

crops of last year ; dry

at the bottom of slopes, is well known.

potato -haulms, scourings of ditches, weeds destroyed

portion of hill becomes denuded of soil, while there may be an excess of soil at

during summer ; leaves fall

the bottom.

available ; and every vege

en in autumn ; moss or turf

The restoration of this soil

to the upper portion of the field is a

table matter whatsoever.

beneficial act."

Immediatelyafter a rainy day, when the land is in such a state of wetness as

While the detailed treatment of the

to prevent work being done

work of winter may fittingly enough

upon it, and the horses have

terminate here with volume i., there are

nothing particular to do,

some operations not yet noticed which

two or three of the men should each take a mud

receive a share of the farmer's attention

in the course of the winter months. Wheat -sowing. - Wheat-sowing, espe cially in late seasons, forms a consider able portion of the field -work in earlier

hoe or harle, fig. 239, and rake the loose straws and

liquid mud on all the roads

This, however, is a con

around the steading to the lowest side of the roads,

tinuation of work begun in autumn, and may be more appropriately described

and out of the way of carts

part of winter.

in dealing with the operations of the autumn.

and people passing along ; 239 .-—-Mud while the rest should take Fig. hoe, harle, or claut.

Forming Compost. — Similar remarks

graips and shovels,

and

form the raked matter into

apply to the forming of composts -- a heaps, to be led away, when it will bear subject which deserves more attention lifting, to the compost-heap. than is generally given to it.

Every

The general subject of forming com

farm should have its compost-heap, and posts will be referred to in other parts of large additions should be made to it in the work. winter. It should be remembered that Collecting Sea -weed . — The supplies by well - matured compost a substantial of sea -weed are usually most abundant in addition may be secured to the supply winter. Farmers who have access to the of manure made on the farm . sea -coast should therefore lose no oppor Although winter is not the season to tunity of laying in a store of this useful

expect a quick fermentation to arise fertilising material. The value of sea weed as manure will be explained in the i Prin . of Agric. Prac., p. 113.

chapter dealing with Manures.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

STORAGE

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