Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-09-29
Loss In Feeding.

The question is often asked " How much
fertilizing material is lost from any feeding
crop in its passage through the bodies of the
animals to which it i. fed 2" The answer
to this question is one of the most important
practical matters TO be considered ON the
farm. 1t will not he the same under all cir
cumstances.
Mature animals take nothing out of their
feed that is of any manurial value, provided
they are yielding no product, such as milk
or wool, which is taken off the land. This
is true whether they are laying ON fat or not,
since fat is composed of materials in the
food that have no manurial value, And if
the milk is not carried away, but only its
fatty portion separated and sold as butter,
while the skim milk is fed to mature animals
that are fatting, there sno loss. But ii this
skim milk is fed TO young animals that are
gro'ciag, aud are 10 be sold away from the
land, then the loss is nearly as great as if all
the milk were sold in the first place. If the
digestive powers OF these Young animals are
perfect enough TO take out all the food ma.
terial from the milk, then the loss is Just as
great
When cheese is made, the loss is nearly as
great as when the milk is sold, since the
whey contains but small part Of the manurial
value of the milk and if this whey is fed to
growing animals, the loss is total, or very
nearly so.
Unwashed wool takes away a considerable
amount Of fertilizing material that has been
derived from the food consumed by the
sheep from which it came. But If this
wool has been tub-washed, and the wash
water added to the compost heap, the loss is
greatly reduced, since nearly all the potash,
land the quantity is large) which unwashed
wool contains, is washed out and saved, The
amount Of fertilizing material left in washed
wool is very small, compared with the total
amount Of food consumed by the sheep du-
ring its growth and hardly need be consd-
cred in an estimate Of profit aud loss.
Young animals take from their food all
the phosphoric acid, nitrogen and potash re-
quired to form their bones, flesh and other
tissues. From a farm where many young
animals are raised and sold off, the drain of
these valuable elements is very heavy, aud
only the richest lands can endure it for any
length Of time, And since milk contains
all these elements which go TO make up the
bodies Of young animals, otherwise it could
not serve them as food,) the loss in selling
milk is quite as great as in breeding and
selling animals. Aud this loss is the same,
or nearly the same, whether the milk is sold
directly or manufactured into butter or
cheese, the skin-milk or whey fed to grow
ing pigs or calves, aud they sold off. Nearly
all the manural value of the milk Is lost to
the land in either case But il the butter
alone is sold, and no young animals fed upon
the skim and butterlnilk but such as are
consumed on the farm, then there is no loss.
Unless pork and veal is high, therefore, il is
quite as economical to throw all the dairy
waste not required for feeding calves to be
retained on the farm, or pigs for home use,
upon the compost heap, as " feed it to pigs
or calves for sale.
All OF the above statements must, how
ever be understood as standing upon the
supposition that none Of the excrement,