The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-10-18 00:00:00

ftriculture.

THE FEEDING OF STOCK.

A lecture by Professor T. Anderson, of Glasgow,
chemist to the Highland and Agricultural Society, was
given on this subject in the Society's museum during
the recent Edinburgh meeting of the Society.
lie said :—The feeding of stock, and its relation to the
general management of the farm, is a subject of the very
highest practical importance, and one of those in which
definite information is most essential; and yet there is
probably no branch of agricultural practice in which
more difference of opinion exista—eo much so that while
one claw of persons believe it to be a highly remunera-
tive department of farming, others with equal confidence
maintain that cattle are chiefly valuable as mediums for
the manufacture of manure. Even regarding details
much doubt exists, and there are really but few points
on which absolute unanimity exists. Looking at the
magnitude of these differences, it wsa not without
some diffidence that I ventured to select it as the subject
of my address on the present occasion. Those matter*,
however, in regard to which doubts and differences of
opinion exists, are,
ion the other hand, specially suited
to discussion, for it is ncismbent upon us to sift our in-
formation, and to aecertain what can be relied upon and
what requires to be elucidated by further experiment.
When this is done it appears that there are many points
on which we are very imperfect!), informed, and others
on which statement* of the most conflicting nature have
Liven made. A great point is gained when we admit
that both may be right, and when we net to work
cordially to trace out the 0110.13 of the discrepancy.
All branches of agriculture are now going through
this phase of their existence, and principles are
being gradually established. The feeding of ttock
is exactly one of those subject; which can be moat
successfully advanced by studying the principles on
which it depends ; and though these involve many most
complex chemical and physiological questions, we have
obtained some foundation on which to go. The food ,
which an animal consumes is partly assimilated and
partly excreted, but if it be properly proportioned to its
requirements, its weight remeins constant, and hence
I we learn that the food aloes not remain permanently in
I the body, if, now, an animal be deprived of food it
loses weight, owing to the eubstances stored up in the
body being used to maintain the process of respiration
and the waste of the tiMiles. The course of events ;
within the body is .0 far as known, somewhat of this
kind. The food is digested. abeorbed in the blood, and
deposited in the form of flesh and fat in the body, a !
certain quantity being con/mined to support respiration.
If the food be properly aaljneksi to the requirements of
the animal, its weight remains unchanged—the quantity I
absorbed and that excreted exactly correspond to one 1
Reuther ; but if we increase the food, • part of the '
excess will be deposited in the tissue mid add to its
weight. Now the quantity absorbed depends upon the
state of the animal—a lean beast thoroughly exhausting
its food, while, when it is nearly fat, it takes only a
small proportion. So, likewise, if the quantity of food ,
be greater than the digestive organs can well dispose of,
a certain quantity escapes digestion altogether, and is
practically lost The problem which the feeder has to
solve is how to supply his cattle with such food, and in
such proportions, as to insure the largest increase with
the smallest loss. In solving this problem we must, in
the first place, consider the general nature of the food
of all animals, the constituents of which may be divided
into three great classes—the nitrogenous matters, which I
go the formation it flesh; the saccharine and oily, which
support respiration and form fat. It is sufficiently
obvious that as the two great functions of nutrition and
respiration must proceed simultaneously, the most
advantageous food will be that %inch supplies them in
the most readily assimilable forms and in proper pro.
portions. In regard to the first of these matters, it will
be obvious that if two foods contain the same quantity
of nutritive matters, but in one they are associated with
a larger quantity of woody fibre or other non-nutritious
matter, the latter will have considerably less value than
the former. The necessity for • proper balance of the
two great classes of nutritive constituents is also suffi-
ciently obvious ; for if, for example, an animal be sup- I
plied with a large quantity of nitrogenous matters, and
a email amount of respiratory elements, it must to sup- j
ply a sufficiency of tile latter. COMIUIIIO a much larger I
quantity of the former than it can assimilate, and there
is practically a great toes. We may determine
the proportion of thew substances in three different ;
ways: Ist, We may determine the composition of the ;
animal body; 2nd, we may examine that of the milk. I
the typical food of the young animal ; and 3rd, the I
results of actual feeding experiments may be examined.
The composition of the animal body is a subject on which
as it !INMAN from the recent experiments of lAwes and
Gilbert, great misapprehension has hitherto existed. It
has always been supposed that by far the larger propor-
tion consisted of nitrogenous matters; but that is quite
an error, and even on lean animals the fat greatly pre-
ponderates over the lean. A lean sheep, for instance,
contains 14 lb. of fat for every pound of dry nitrogenous
matter, and when very fat it may contain six times as
much fat as lean. The inference obviously is that the food
must contain a very large quantity of non-nitrogenous
matters. The milk, which contains a number of each of
the three great chimes of nutritive • matters, also affords
us instruction, although, of course, more especially as
regards the feeding of young stock, when the conditions
are different from those existing in the mature animal.
Hut, however valuable the data derived from these ex-
perimental may be, they are less important than those de-
rived from actual feeding experiments. In fact, it by
no means follow, that the proportions in which the dif-
ferent substances are found in time animal ere exactly
those in which they ought to exist in the food. On the
contrary, it appears that while one-tenth of the saccha-
rine and fatty matters are assimilated by the animal, only
one-twentieth of time nitrogenous compounds, and one
thirty-thinl of the mineral substances in the food are
assimilated by the animal. On the other band, how-
ever, it must be remembered that the particular com-
pounds also exercise a very different influence. Thus,
ilb. of fat in the food when ass 111 l dated will produce lib.
of fat in the animal; but it requires about 24Ihs, of
sugar or starch to produce the Malin effect. The broad
general principle arrived at is, that we must afford a
sufficient supply of readily assimilable food, containing
&proper proportion °leach class of nutritive substances.
But there are other matters also to be borne no • I,
for the food must nut only increase the weight of the
annual, but also support respiration and animal heat ;
and the quantity of food required for this purpose is
large. It appears from ilouseingault's experiments that
in a cow 10 us. of nitrogenous matters are required to
counterbalance the waste of the tissues—a quantity con-
tained in about 10 or 12Ibs. of wheat flour ; and it is
well known that an ox expires 4 or rtlbs. of carbon daily,
to supply which Itellb, of turnips are required. We see
(rum this the large quantity relatively to that used up
which is required for the maintenance of these functions,
and the importance of adoptiug such merours as, by
restraining them within the narrowest mossuble liniite,
produce a saving it food. The diminution of muscular
exertion, and keeping time animals warm, MO that • small
quantity of focal may be required to act se fuel to main-
tain the animal heat, are the most important consider-
ation.. .%Ithough the presence of a sufficient quantity
of nutritive matters is aim essential qualification of all
foods, their mechanical omilition ig not unimportant,
for unless its bulk be such as to admit of the stomach
acting upon it properly there must be an appreciable
loss; and there is no greater fallacy than to suppose
that the best results are W be obtained by the use of
those which contain their nutritive matters in a very
small bulk. As a practical question, the principles of
feeding are restricted to determining how the staple
food produced on the farm can be most advantageously
used to feed the cattle kept on it. and on this point
lunch requires to be said. It appears that they can be
best made use of when conibined with more highly
nutritious food, such as oilcake or rape ; and when this
is properly done, a very great advantage is derived. It
appears from experiments that sheep which, when fed
on hay only, attain • weight of liffibs., reach ltiOlbs.
when rape is added. The subject cannot be completed
without referring to the value of the dung produced,
which has been very variously estimated. The experi-
ments referred to in the course it the ad irew appear to
show that, of food generally, shout one-third to one-
fourth of the money value and seven-eighths of the
valuable matter appear in the dung. Or. Anderson
concluded by saying that lie had by no means attempted
to exhaust the subject, but had given only a sketch,
trusting that the observations of others might fill up the
details.

Aaalcturca.tt Svoca.—The last few weeks have
witnessed the usual number of agricultural sales in the
eastern ties in consequence f the removals and
changes which always take !dace at Michaelmas. At
some of these sales hash prices have been realized for the
stock submitted for competition. At one sale, in Suffolk,
two four-year-old geldings realized upwards of £131:1;
a year-old filly mule ; and the horses colts and
foals averaged o.leach.

SIMI/NESS OF THE SEASON.—There is now growing
in a garden of Mr. Hobert l:ralisin, of liolingate, near
Warwick, a pear tree which has lately blossomed and
has now many sonall pears on. In this part of the
country we have had two crops of grass and two crops of
seed onions, showing the 'minium, of the seaaon.—Cur-
lisle

TIIR ORIGINAL FOOD AND ROTAL PATINT CARR
YoR CArrtg.—Mewirs. Thomas Retigan and Company,
of Manchester, exhibited these now well-known produc-
tions at the Ifedlineal°. Fair, and were most suocesdul
in the attention they excited and the orders they ob-
tained. At • period when our cereal produce and
green crops are failing the feeder, recourse to these pre-
pared CoNCRNTRATRD Foams may be made with the
advantage of better condition to the animal, cool a
hwher price is the market Attested by high chemical
analysis, and the most undoubted testimonials, they are
submitted to the public, invested with every anr.bete
of character and erre!, sernriig for patronage. They
have already received that of our leading agriculturists
and nobility, eliciting satisfaction of the most decided
nature ; and are calculated to hold all important posi-
tion in a country so largely devoted to cattle feeding as
ours.

A NECDOTS CIF TIIE Duse or PORTLAND. —Mr.
Howitt gives the following interesting anecdote of the
Duke of Portland :—•• The duke found that one of his
tenants, a small farmer, was falling year after year into
arrears of rent. The steward wished to know what was
to be done. The duke rode to the farm, saw that it was
rapidly detoriating, and the loan, who was really an
experienced and industrious farmer, totally unable to
manage it, through poverty. In fun, all that was on
the farm o was not enough to pay the arrears. ' John.'
says the duke, as the fanner mine to inert him as ho rode
up to the house, ' I want to look over the farm a little.'
As they went along. 'Really.' said he, 'everything is in
a very bad case.' Thig won't do. I see you are quite
under it. All your stock and crops won't pay the rent
in arrear. I will tell you what I must do. I must
take the farm into my own hands. You shall look after
it for me and I will pay you your wages.' (If course
there was no saying nay—the poor man bowed assent.
Presently there came a reinforoemsnt of stock, then
loads if manure, at the proper time seeil, and wood from
the lilsiltatiomma for repairing gates and buildings. 'his
duke rode over frequently. The wan exerted himself,
awl eieemed really quite relieved from a load of care by
the change. Cm!u and stocks flourished, fences and
outbuildings were put into good repair. In two or three
rent-days it was seen by the steward's books that the
farm was paying its way. The duke on his next visit
said:—' John, I think the farm does very well
now. We will change again. You shall be tenant
again, and as you now have your head fairly above
wider, I hope you will be able to keep it there.' The
duke thou rode off at his usual rapid rate, The MAU

stood in astonishment ; buts happy fellow hi we;
when, on applying to the steward, he fogad that be
was actually re-entered as tenant te tbe fares, jut as it
stood in its restored condition. I will vesture to
say, however, that the duke was the happier luau of the'
two."

The harvest in France is this year admow—"i6da—W th.
average, both for oorn and wine.