Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1856-01-12
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SHELTER CHEAPER THAN FoDDER.-
Notwithstanding much that has been
written during few years past, especial
ly in the agricultural Journals, on the true
princi pies OF winter protection and feed
ing of domestic animals, there is still
great amount of costly ignorance on this
subject.
Last winter we chanced upon the farm
of a man who possessed fair share of in
telllgence upon general matters, and we
were not little surprised to find him still
clnging TO Use old opinion that his stock
wlnlersd better when exposed TO the cold
than if warmly housed. He kept no ac-
count of the amount Of food consumed,
but Ills observation had taught him, and
truly, that his sheep, for instance, con-
sumed more food in a cold winter than IN
one Of moderate temperature and he rea-
soned that if they ate more 1t indicated
better health and faster growth Of flesh
and wool, and of course greater profit.
Following out his opinion, he kept flock
of sheep in an open field, exposed to bleak
winds and Pelung storms. In this field
he had pIaced,a number of small stacks of
hay, 10 one after another Of which they
had free access, AMI Of which they made
rapid inroads. Their only shelter was
afforded by the leeward side Of these hay
stacks and by stone walls that surrounded
the field, together with a grove on the
northern side that served to break off the
wind from that direction, but from enter
ing which they were prevented by the IN
lervening fence. lie was quite sure they
ate better when thus exposed than if hou-
sed TO allow warm shelter around and
under the barn. His other stock was
treated in a similar manner. Instead of
warm sheds or stables, they fed and slept
in cold open yard. lie said that ii
kept them in better heart, and gave them
sharper appetite. As to the latter he
was doubtless correct.
But he, like thousands Of others, had
drawn his conclusion from false theory,
which few careful experiments would
have corrected. He should have consd-
cred that the profabless of keeping ami
mails depends not upon the absolute
amount Of food they consume, but upon
the greater or less product of flesh, wool,
&c, obtained from given amount Of nu-
triment. Had he weighed his animals in
the fall, and divided them, keeping one
part in warm sheds or stalls, and the 9th
er part in the cold situation, he would
have perceived that the protected animals,
while consuming less good, 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, ii was found ne
cesSary TO give the sheep a dose of tar, by
applylng II upon the noses, IN the spring,
to operate as a tonic, and to counteract the
running at the nose" produced by colds
which sheep "cach," as well as men.
There is principle or two involved in
feeding and nulrltion which, if well under
stood by all who have the care of animals
would render their labor double profitable
The food consumed in animals serves a
double or treble purpose. ltsupples 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.
The aOear depends upon the amount Of
exercise taken; hence The more quiet AMI.
mails are kept, after allowing them just
enough exercise to preserve the organs In
a healthy state, the less will be the a.
mount of food required TO supply The
waste. .... ...., ,......r. ..r
The heat Of the body resalts from the
consumption of carbonaceous food, espe-
ciaIly The oily and starchy portions. The
union OF the carbon in tallow candle or
oil lamp with the surrounding air, produ-
cing the heat and the fame, has an exact
counterpart in the lungs and blood of the
animals, when the air drawn in at respira-
lion unites with the oily or fatty matter in
The blood, and gives heat TO the system.
Ona warm day not much heat is reno
we'd from the surface of the body, and the
animal breathes less rapidly and fully, and
less fat is consumed TO supply wasted
heat.
II the same amount of oily food is con-
sutned and digested as on cold day there
will be alaiger surplus TO be stored away
as lat. ..' --
As matter of course the colder the
weather the less Surplus fat or profit will
be obtained from the food.
Another poin. usually overlooked is
this In the cosrser substances such as
hay and straw, consumed by animals,
there is but smalI proportion of oily or
carbonaceous matter, and to get at this II
is necessary 10 digest ProdigIous quantI-
" Of food. Tins overlaxes digestive or