Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1851-08-06
AGRlGULTURAL----S SCIENTIFIC,
GROUND rooD FOR STOCK.

49,
GROUND FOOD FOR STOCK.
Few persons seem to be aware Of the int
oortance of grinding every variety of grain,
before feeding it to animals. In fattening
any kind of ANIMALS, it is all Important
There is no animals stomach that can di-
gest any variety of grain with cortical
covering. All animals that swallow sim
ole kernel without crushing, void it whole /;
aud what Is singular, after passing the Or
deal Of the gastric juice, the heat and di-
gestiye organs Of the stomach, and the
whole intestinal canal, the seed will still
terminate aud grow. Horned cattle are
not careful chewers of their food, as they
depend upon ruminatioa to commute their
food properly, in which grain, meal and
roots are never brought up to undergo that
process. The hoy is a notorious sormandl-
ger, and scarcely chews at all; and it is
said that if three hogs confined in a narrow
stall, and only the first one ted what corn
he can eat, the middle one will fatten fast
est and the last one keep in good order.-
The horse masticates better, but age and
hard fare often disable him from perform
ing such duty as is required to render his
food fit to produce the nutriment it con-
tains.
The stomach is a mascerating vessel
where all the food is intended to be dissolv-
ed, and its nutritious parts TO be taken up
and carried to the blood, to be distributed
and deposited on all the tissues. The peri
cd that all PARTICLES take in dissolving, is
exactly in proportion to their bulk. A cube
of salt or loaf sugar, if divided into two, viii
dissolve in water in half the time it would
whole as will metals in acids, or ice in the
sun.
In every point of view, therefore. either
for profitable expenditure or the speedy fat
tening of animals, the grinding and commi-
nuting the food has nearly one-half the adj
vantage over the ordinary process; and il
cooked saves the stomach, and its compli-
Gated organs and nerves, the eXertion Of
cooking it there-as cooked, it has to be,
before digestion. 1t is the opinion Of close
observers that fully one-half the expense Of
sustaining and fattening is saved.
In feeding horses or cattle, for simply
carrying them through the winter, if what
grain they are entitled to was ground and
their hay or straw cut mixed and properly
moistened, the saving would amount to
quite an item-every inch of hay or straw
would be eaten and nothing lost. Two
thirds the quantity now fed in racks for the
horses to pull under their feet, and that fed
to cattle on the ground and trodden down
and spoiled, would suffice to carry stock
through the winter. But habit is every.
thing; it is stronger than the ties of family
affection, the good will and confidence Of
the world, or the hopes of salvation, as is e,
WINGED by the inebriate-and it holds gooc
in all the duties and actions of life. If we
had been habtuated from youth to cut
cook and prepare food for our valuable ami
mails. the most benefcent gifts of the Crea.
tor, should we not look with establishment
at the practice of waste and mismanage,
ment now in general use?
In England, where necessity teaches PEG.
pie wisdom-where ten or twelve dollars
rent is paid for an acre of land-they man.
age things differently. In that country
where the best work horses IN the world
are kept and the latest animals sent to mar.
ket, every particle of food is cut and ground
and horses food often baked into loaves.-
Their experience has settled the most eco.
nomical process and necessity enforces it
Our whole system Of feeding is wrong
The under-cover stall feeding is the only
true one, both as respects the saving o.
proyender, the comfort of the animals, and
the value Of the manure.-Rural NJ Yorker