The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-05-01

I, las been asserted by some farmers who
have been accustomed to tatten meat cattle
that the practice Of feeding meal separately
from hay, COrnStalks and straw i Just rs sai.
is!actory as to mngle the meal with cut iod-
der before feeding the stock Bat numerous
experiments conducted with care by intelli-
gent farmers assure Us that ii vii! he more
economical every way to cut the fodder, wei
ii and ming!e the meal with it prior to feed
ing the mass to animals of any sort, The ad-
vantage will be more apparent when feeding
meat cattle than when similar feed is given
to horses or mules. If the feed can be steam
CO the advantage will be still great In addl'
ton to our experience IN regard 10 this sub
ject some recent experiments are herewith re
ported by f.. q. Sewari, of the Lire stock
JOUyUdl, who writes: During the last ten
years have made the following tests: Fed
Il COW that had not eaten anything for sixteen
hours four quarts Of fine cOrAmeal, and killeS
her Ill fifteen minutes after it was eaten and
found none of this meat in the first stomach
but all in the fourth. Fed steer under the
same conditions four quarts OF shelled corn
found it all in the fourth stomach. Again,
fed three year old heifer four quarts of
heavy oats, killed her Immediately, and found
the oats nearly all in the fourth stomach
Made the same test upon a COW with soft corn
IN the ear and found Seveneighths in the
sourth stomach and the balance in the first
Fed four quarts of fine cOrnmeal mixed with
six quarts of cut hay to a steer, killed in h alf
AN hour, and found all in the first stomach
Fed, under same circumstances, SIX quarts of
coarse bran and found most of il in the first
stomach Fed shelled corn mixed with twice
its bulk of cut hay and found nearly all the
corn in the rumen or paunch. Fed "a seven
months calf two quarts Of sbelled corn, kill
md fNnn nd al hale in ct,Nv,,
ach"
In order to understand more fully the rea
son why meal should be mingled with cut
fodder before the cattle are fed, those who
feed cattle should be made familiar with the
physiological constitution of the animal we
purpose to feed. Ruminants such as neat
cattle and sheep, have a compound stomach,
divided by nature for special purpose
When grass, hay, or other coarse food is |
eaten by cattle 1t passes, after slight mastii- |
cation, down the esophaguS into the rumen,
or first stomach. Here 1t lies and macerates |
in mucus for time, constantly in motion by |
the contracting and expanding peristaltic &C
ton OF the coats Of the stomach, which soft
ems and prepares it for reconsideration and the
further work of digestion. From thence the
food passes into the second stomach, or rccti'
culum, where il is formed into balls or Cuds
whence, by spasmodc action, the balls pass
upthe gullet into the mouth for rcmasticatlon
After being properly lnasticated the Cuds are
swallowed and pass along the csophagean
canal 10 the third stomach, or maniplus,
where the !ood undergoes an important
change by being triturated between the man
folds, grinding down the vegetable fiber and
preparing it for the fourth or true digestlng
stomach. All these stomachs are certainly
important in the digestive process of the
oh In frt,
in such form that it may bc directed to the
first stomach, so that it may have the benefit
of Administration. But nature has provided
that only coarse herbaCeous food, and fine
food mixed with this, shall go to the first
stomach, for when grain, whole or ground, is
given alone, it goes to the fourth stomach
without the preliminary preparation of the
other stomachs. BY this means the fourth
stomach will be so greatly OvcrtaXed that il
will not be able to perform its functions, and,
besides endangering the health of the animal,
a large percentage of food will be wasted.
Where cattle at the west are fed bountlfully
on Indian corn, their droppings are frequent
covered with kernels of corn apparently
whole and probably not 10 per cent of the
nutriment extracted. If this corn had goI e
to the first stomach been sottened there and
remastica,ed, i, could not possibly nave pass
ed the animal in such an entire state. 1t has
frequently been noticed that calves digest
corn better than grown animals. This dem
stratCs coaClusively that coarse, bulky food
only will go to the first stomach, and that il
il is desired &c. give the more concentrated
grains, either whole or ground into meal, II
must be combined with bulk food, 80 as to be
carried along with it to the Illuminating stom-
ach. Hence it follows that every feeder who
consults the health of his animals or econo-
my in feeding will avoid using grain alone as
the food Of cattle-N. ]. Ucrdd.
0pcU,pD or ,Ss-In orsupr IN a rrGun, |