Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1865-02-06
Want of Caleulat ton in s.ack Feeding.

want oil Calcuia ton IN Stock Feeding.
A contemporary states thata large farmer at
the West sold last fall twenty tons of hay at
six dollars per ton; and again, in January,
twenty ton at ten dollars per ton, and thought
he was making his fortune In the spring,
however, he was compelled to go long dis.
tances to bny hay at twenty dollars ton,
giving his note, to save his stock from star
vatIon.
Such occurrences as this show the common
want of calculation among farmers in provid-
ing winter food for their stock. Every man
who has Kept cattle and horses as long as three
years, ought to know the average amount they
will consume per head each winter. The
amount will OF course, vary with the seasons
"A long and cold winter requiring more than
a mild one. If the animals are exposed to the
weather and wintry winds, the difference will
De very considerable, say twenty-five or thirty
per cent; II they are well sheltered, il will be
quite small, say not more than ten per cent.
The farmer must make his calculations accer-
dinghy, and be sure to have enough for any
contingency, for il will not be profitable for
him TO keep them well through three-fourthS
OF the winter, and then starve them to death at
last The amount required per head Will also
vary with the latitude, as well as the size of
the animals, and the general economy in the
management Perhaps it may be taken as an
average in the Northern States. that a horse
will consume three tons of good hay, and
COW two tons, where good care is given, and a
moderate amount of roots, meal and other food.
II is important that farmers should inform
themselves well on this point, in doing which,
approximate results may be easily obtained, by
occasionally weighing the food given them
curing week.
Every farmer should know the amount OF
hay he has secured during the summer. A
weighing scale for this purpose (which may be
also used for weighing fattening animals would
coon pay for itself, by enabling the owner to
determine mis- whereabouts accurately; but in
the absence Of such scale, the occasional
weighing of a load will soon enable him to
guess the amount not very far from the mark.
Every load drawn INTO the barn or stack,
should De entered in hIs memoir ndum book,
and he will thus be enabled to know, with
toierable accuracy, how much he has on hand,
and how many animals it will safely carry
through the winter. He can then lessen or
increase his stock accordingly in good season,
without waiting until he has reached the last
extremity. Those who have no such account
may nearly determine the amount on hand by
measuring. bay, cut early, when the stocks
are soft Gnd flexible will settle closer than
such az is cut when nearly ripe, or wnen the
stocks is stiff and dry. But as an average,
good timothy hay in now or stack, will yield
a ton for every five hundred cubic feet-the
top, OF course, will he lighter, and the bottom
heavier, but this will be the average. Glover
hay will be nearly one half Eghter-tnat is, it
will require some seven hundred feet to the
ton. A little practice in this way, with hay
which has been weighed, will enable the far
mer TO Judge nearly the amount ct hay he has
stored. And this knowledge. applied a. al
ready stated, will not emily enable him to meet
his calculations with accuracy and economy,
but will save him from much uHeasiness and
anxiety occasioned by the fear OF starving his
animals Country Gentle:aan.