The Cecil Whig., 1875-11-13
M'sSkt Ratttt+
COOKED OR DRY FEED.

Of Chester county, Pa. 1t will be seen
that the experiments are against the
practice of steaming or cooking food for
Illuminating animals. While this may
be true for obvious reasons with regard
to animals which chew the cud, the
reverse may be, and doubtless is, the
fact, when applied to hogs and horses:
The committee report "They fed
COW corn meal and unground oats,
three quarts each, mixed Immediately
after eating she was killed. and the con-
tents of her stomach examined.
The position of each stomach was
found to be as follows: The gullet or
psophagus empties into the first stomach
or rumen near its connection with the
second stomach or reticulum, and food
might pass readily into either of them.
The second stomach connects with the
manyplies or omasum, and empties into
a channel that might allow food to pass
into the fourth stomach or abomasum
WITHOUT PASSING THROUGH THE FOLDS
OF THE MANYPLIEs!
In the case under investigation the
meal and oats had evidently undergone
an immediate and thorough separation
the ungroand oats being found in the
first stomach and the meal in the sec
ond, and in the above mentioned chan
mel of the third stomach, and in the
fourth stomach. No meal was found
either in the first stomach or among
the manyplies. The committee there
fore doubt if mixing meal with coarse
or cut food necessarily secures its better
digestion
This conclusion was accepted by
some and objected to by other members
of the Club, and the committee directed
to continue their investigations further.
The committee appointed to report
on Steaming Food for Stock made a
very lengthy and valuable report Only
brief synopsis can be given. After
preliminary remarks they assert -
"That cooking rendered most aliment-
ary substances LESS digestible," that
the effect of cooking on fibrin was
doubtful; on casein injurious; on albu-
men positively so' They sum up this
part of the subject as follows: Starch,
of all common vegetable principles, is
the only one, (speaking in strictly
chemical sense) that is positively bene-
fitted by cooking or sieaming, and even
in this case it is Of little weight when
applied to Illuminating animals. But
cooking has a mechanical effect on veg
etables. Woody fibre is disintregated
and softened, liberating the assimilable
principles confined within its walls
Starch exists in vegetables in the form
of small grains, and these are bursted
by heat, and the confined starch releas-
ed. The MECHANICAL effects of steam
ing food are probably beneficial to all
vegetable principles; while the cHEMI-
CAL changes are of positive benefit to
starch alone, and actually hurtful to
many" They further assert that
spoiled hay, straw or fodder, is greatly
improved by steaming, as this process
destroys the fungus of mold" but they
say farmers should have no SPOILED
hav."
They next considered the character
istics and functions of the stomachs of
different domestic animals, and made
GulS pOlill, llidt Ill tuC CldSS
one great purpose of CHEWING THE
CUD was the introduction of oxygen
into the food, and thorough mixing
with saliva, increasing its solubility,
and introducing the air-bubbles into the
stomach so necessary to proper diges-
tion; that cattle fed with steamed food
seldom chewed their cud, and therefore
cuff 1o-, froy k1 Oh
causes" They attached considerable
Importance to CUTTING FOOD, and to
mixing the meal or grain with it, there
by securing the better digestion of the
meal, and the more economical and
rapid fattening of the cattle" They
asserted "that much the greater part
of the saving in cutting and sTEAMING
food was due to to the cutting or grind
ing alone. After careful search for
reliable experiments on this subject,
they confess that most Of them are
made without proper data to make
them conclusive, or worthy of conf
dence; and that the results of the best
authenticated are against steaming the
food"
HC COlCiuSiOuo vi lle COlllluillpt
were strongly rebutted by Thos. Wood,
Chas. B. Moore and others, who from
their experiences with cooking food for
pigs, &C., were led to believe in its
utility The report was held over for
further discussion. In this connection
the superintendent of the Experimental
Farm reported an experiment, made a
few days ago, comparing scalding cut
feed, with feeding the same kind of
feed dry for butter cows. Mr.. Carter
says: During this experiment the
cows were fed the same amount of feed
in both cases, as near as possible, some
allowance being made for the severe
cold Of the last week. The first week
the cows We're fed as follows: Morning
feed, 10 lbs. cut fodder and 4 ID qts.
of meal mixed and sCALDED the pre-
vious evening; noon feed Is sheaf of
corn fodder and one peck beets; even
ing feed, lbs. cut hay and ID uts
meal mixed and scalded in the morning:
after milking little whole hay was
given
Cdnsnaenced 1st trial Jan. 26, lasting days
Whole amount of milk, 1909 lbs.
&C number of lbs.
of butter GO "
Tbs. of milk to make
ID. Of butter, 81 &" 10 OF.
Mean temperature of
weather at milking, 2Go
Commenced End trial February 10M Coms
Jed as before, except the feed scas fed dry.
Whole number of TBS.
of milk, 1,21s4 lbs.
Whole number of lbs.
of butter, 551 "
TBS. of milk to a fb. of
butter, 81 13 OF.
Mean temperature of
weather at milking 100
Loss on dry feeding, Al
The natural shrinkagc of the COWS
with the waning season, and the low
temperature during the last week,