Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1856-01-30

were not little surpTls - md him still
j cliDging to the old o. Nthat his stock
wirssered better wEJ ed to cold than
4 i warmly housed e aceountso OF
| tsasgnt s- a "A. ~ - =
instance, consumed moEs food IN cold
winter than in one of moderate tempera-
ture; and he reasoned that if they ate more
1t indicated better health and a faster
growth of flesh and wool, and of course
greater profit. Following out this opinion
he kepta flock Of sheep in an open field,
exposed to bleak winds and pelting storms.
In this field he had placed number of
small stacks of hay, to. one after another
Of which they had free access, and upon
which they made rapid inroads. Their
only shelter was afforded by the leeward
side of these hay stacks and by the stone
walls that surrounded the field, together
with grove upon the northern side that
served to break off the wind from that di-
rection, but from entering which they were
prevented by the intervening fence He
was quite sure they ate better when thus
exposed than if housed or allowed a warm
shelter around and under the barn. His
other stock were treated in similar man
ner. Instead of warm sheds or stables,
they fed and slept in cold open Yard
He said it kept them in better ''heart,"
and gave them a sharper appetite. AS to
the latter, he was doubtless correct.
But he, like thousands of others, had
drawn his conclusions from false theory,
which few careful experiments would
have corrected. He should have consid-
cred that the proftableness of keeping an
imals depends not upon the absolute amount
of food they consume, but upon the great
er or less product of flesh, wool, &c, OBJ
tanned from given amount Of nutriment
Had he weighed his animals in the fall,
and divided them, keeping one part in
close, warm sheds or stalls, and the other
part in the cold situation, he would have
perceived that the prote cted animals, while
consuming less food, gained more in weight
than the others, and in May or June would
have been in superior health and heart.
In the case referred to, it was found ne
cessar5 to give = -ssleze-eff tks, by
applying it upon the noses. in the spring,
to operate as tonic. and to counteract the
running at the nose" produced by colds,
which sheep +" catch,' as well as men.
There is principle or two involved in
feeding and nutrition, which, if well under
stood by all who have the care of animals,
would render their labor doubly profitable.
The food consumed by animals serves
double or treble purpose. It supplies the
, waste of the system produced by the nat
ural wear of the various organs, and keeps
up respiration and the resulting heat
What is left after these ends are served
goes to increase the flesh or weight.
1 The acear depends upon the amount of
exercise taken hence the more quiet ami
mails are kept, after allowing just enough ex-
ercise to preserve the organs in healthy
state. the less will be the amount of food re-
), quired to supply the waste.
. The heat of the body results from the con-
0 sumption Of carbonaceous food, especially
the oily and s:archy portions. The union
of the carbon in a tallow candle or oil lamp
L with the surrounding air, producing the heat
; ; and the flame, has an exact counterpart in
the lungs and blood Of the animal, when the
= air drawn in at respiration unites with the
: oily or fatty matter in tie blood, and gives
heat to the system.
f On warm day not much heat is removed
from the surface Of the body, and the ami
= NAL breathes less rapidly and fully, and less
fat is consumed to supply wasted heat.
+ 1.-THE same amount of oily food is consul
med and digested as on cold day, there
: : will be larger surplus to be stored away as
e fat.
J. AS matter ofcourse the colder the wealth
'- er the less surplus fat or profit will be OBJ
Q tanned from the food.
% % Another point usually overlooked is this /:
), In the coarser substances, such as hay and
# straw, consumed by aHss1ais, there is but a
f. small proportion of oily or carbonaceous mat
% ter, and to get at this it is necessary to di
Of gest prodigious quantity of food. This
over-taxes digestive organs, and results il
more or less debility.
We have here an explanation why asmaIIe
a quantity of meal, which supplies oil anc
m starch, (both of which are rich in carbon, tn,
N chief heat producing eement,) will keep al
If animal in so much better health.
! ! The principles above indicated, which are
' fully established by both scientific theor
IS and oft-repeated experiment, lead to the Ger
ne tain conclusion that, for all kinds of animal:
G. whether kept as stock or for fa!tening. it i
OF most profitable to furnish warm shelter
20 :, We repeat. flock of sheep or a drove {
40 cattle will without doubt eat much less foo
in ard gain much more weight if kept nearl
of at summer heat during winter than if lie
as exposed to our inclement weather
de ~ T. Times.
he
20
es MARRIAGE WITH DECEASED Wires ST.
ID ER-The GlasgoM lScntland\ Nail ra- L.