American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-12-05
Stock Feeding.

ty. this State, writes that he has but
twenty tons of hay on hand, against
thirty tons last year, with about the
same amount Of stock to feed. He mas
the usual amount of straw stacked in the
yard, to which he usually allows his Cat
tie free access through the day. He has
no more stock than the farm should
maintain, and he desires to know how he
can make his twenty tons of hay last
through the winter. AS many farmers
who will read this may find themselves
placed in similar circumstances, we will
be excused for answering this query at
some length.
The Importance of economy in feeding
stock is underestima ed. 1t is so hard to
get out of the old routine of doing things.
We become accus omed to certain
inodus Operdndi, and we adhere to it, al
though convinced that there is better
way, until circumstances compel US to
do otherwise. A few facts ought to con-
vince us that this subject is important
enough to demand serious attention. a
great part of the severe lahors of the
farmer through six months of the year
are devoted to raising and garnering
food to MAINTAIN his stock through the
remaining six months, and then nearly
all his labors during these latter six
months are devoted to taking care OF
them. 1t requires more food to keep the
domestic animals of the United States
than it does to maintain its whole popu-
latiOn of human bipeds. The value of
| the total hay crop of this country is, an
nually, about $40O,OOO,OOO. This is all
| fed to the stock of the country, most of
| it through the few months of winter.
| Now il, by more economical method of
| feeding, one-fourth of this vast amount
OF hay could be saved, it would amount
to $1OO,OOO,O0O, which, distributed
among the farmers of the United States,
would be no insignificant increment to
their annual income. The profits of the
| farmer should arise from the stock he
or less in proportion to his economy in
feeding. When a farmer has plenty oil
feed he does not feel the necessity OF
| economy and most wasteful method is
the consequence. We know many good
stock farms that produce abundantly
but are, Notwithstanding, much less
profitable to their owners than other
farms far less productive, just from this
| cause alone.
feed nothing but dry hay or fodder to
cattle; sheep the same, with, perhaps,
the addition of little grain. Horses
are the only stock that get grain regu,
larly. Now dry feed is unnatural-one
of the necessities, in this climate, of do
INVESTIGATION. In the natural state ami
mails seek and obtain green, succulenI
food, and reason would therefore teach
US that the nearer we can approach this
the better every way. One of the essen
tial differences in dry and green food lies
in the difficulty of masticating the former
| For much of the energies of the ANNA
must be devoted to it, the process is more
or less imperfect, and loss of substance
must follow. This can be overcome b,
puiverizing the food by artificial means
cutting, grinding or pulping. The de
mand for machinery to do this work ha:
created a supply, and cheap machine
can now be obtained that will do tn,
work well, either by hand or hor-'
power. Out of the many experiment.
made to determine the relative value -
different kinds of food, fed in various
ways, we gather the following facts, al
application of which will help our CORE
spondent out of his dilemma: A bushe
of cut straw, fed with two quar- of mid
dlings, or steamed bran, is fully equa
to the same weight of good timothy hay
One quart of corn meal, mixed with Gu
straw, is equivalent to the same. Certain
elements of food produce flesh, othe
elements heat, fat, etc, and certain
portion of all dry food is woody fiber, @
no value at all. Analysis of wheat straw
shows that it contains 35 per cent. of heat
producing elements, and is notably dc
iicient in flesh forming principles alone
If this is supplied by bran or middlings
as before described, the straw is con
verted, at small expense, into that much
hay. In this market middlings ar
worth about the same as hay. If GU
correspondent will sell five tons of hi
. hay and buy five tons of middlings, an
feed it with cut straw. he will bring hi
stock through the winter in better cOndi
ton than he could with the hay alone
and at less expense, counting in the COS
, of a machine for cutting. His straw !
, turned into hay, instead of being tram
pied down into the manure pile, the foo
is nero easily masticated and digested
and the manure made thus is Of NOR