American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-03-20
Taking Into Account the Weather.

Every StOCk-teeder knows that AMIN ais
consume far more feed in cold than in
mild weather. They know, also, that in
windy weather animals suffer more from
cold than in still weather, although the
thermometer may mark a much lower
degree of cold in the latter than in the
former case.
A portion of the food of animals goes
to supply waste, and large part of this
waste is in the form of heat. This heat
is supplied by carbonaceous matter in
the provender, and if the food taken be
not sufficient to supply the demand it is
furnished by the fat of the body, stored
up for the purpose, and the animal
shrnks in weight For this reason ami
mails kept on hay and straw alone, both
of which are deficient in starch, sugar,
gum and other forms of carbon, which,
in the animal is represented by fat, lose
weight constantly in the winter and, If
exposed to The inclemency of storms,
often come through SO poor that they
can scarcely stand. Some even die be-
fore they can recuperate on grass.
1t is evident, therefore, that it will not
pay the breeder and feeder to allow an
animal to lose flesh seriously. For if he
DO, it must be replaced and the same an
imal waste must be given off in increas-
ing the flesh the second time was
previously done. Hence the economy in
keeping an animal thriving as uniformly
as possible during the whole period of
growth, or until it be ready for the
butcher This preccpt is now too gen.
orally understood by intelligent stock
men to need elaboration.
1t is also pretty well known that ami
mails during periods of exhausting labor
must have an extra supply of concen-
trated food to enable them to respond to
the extra strain upon their systems.
But it is not generally known that con-
stituents are called for in the one case
| that are not essential in the other
AT exhausting labor not only is heat
evolved and carried away, but the mus
| Gle and nerve power is wasted; and
| therefore, the animal must be supplied
| with food consisting largely of nitrogen
as well as carbon. These, oats, barley
wheat, etc, supply. But where the ami
nal is simply required to keep up the
| supply of fat wasted through exposure
| to cold Indian corn will furnish these
requisites most perfectly, since, besides
oil and starch, both forms of carbon, il
contains fair proportion of the flesh
| forming elements.
| To bring the whole down to the point
which we set out to elucidate: During
| cold weather store animals, beside the
usual amount of fodder necessary tC
| keep them in condition, under ordinary
| circumstances, should have corn giveI
them daily; and this in proportion tC
the severity of the weather and the eX
posture they have to submit to; and, also
it should be given them at the precise
time they need it; since, if they have t.
draw upon the fat already stored up Thu
must again be accumulated.
Experiments carefully conducted SHOW
that the human body is raised in tenn
perature from two to three degree:
Fahrenheit after taking a meal. Thu
same law will work with animals. l
full fed they have greater powers OF en-
durance and of withstanding cold, 81
that the wise farmer should not grudgt
the extra feed at such times, for by it Ii,
saves the waste, at the very time i
should be conserved, and this enables thu
animal to carry flesh through the pinch
and again 90 on increasing in growth o
fat as soon as the weather moderates
| Warm shelter is of the utmost impor
lance in this connection, since it save
feed and becomes of more and more i'm
portance in proportion to the scarcit,
and high price of food, so that the feede
vino eXpends some twenty dollars il
providing shelter and thereby saves
larger amount in the value of the forag
supplied is not only saving food, but i
also saving in the cheapening of thu
food products. 1t is evident that if
per cent. could be saved IN the food b,
means of shelter it would leave a larg
amount of grain to be employed in othe
directions. SO, taking into account tn
weather, the Western Rural believes
will pay the feeder not only to provid
shelter for stock, but also TO supplement
this shelter with increased forage durin;
the cold storms of rain, snow, or win,
which so often prevail all over our prai
| RE regions Western RuyaL