Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1876-09-20
Feeding Meal TO Cattle.


Feeding Meal TO Cattle.
A correspondent, to whom we are much
obliged, takes the pains to copy out and send
us the following, as he says, from a New
York paper" 1t would have been better to
have given the name Of the paper, since
every journal is entitled to full credit for art-
cles considered of sufficient interest OF value
to be copied into other papers.
The stomach Of ruminant animals is com
pound organ It is divided into four compart-
ments. when grass. hay orany other coarse food
is eaten by the ruminant 1t passes, after partial
mastication, down the @sophagus, or meat-pipe,
and Is lodged in the rumen, or first stomach, more
commonly called paunch. It is retained in this
receptacle or reservoir till the animal has leisure
to remasticate IT, It does not lie at rest, but is
constantly stirred up and kept in motion by the
peristatic action Of the sack that contains it, and
il mixed up and softened with mucus by this
means and by fermentation, preparation Is made
for the work Of digestion, II 1t is not in the strict
est sense actually begun here
For the purpose of remasticaton, according to
Youatt it is gradually moved into the second
stomach, honey-combed bag, and then, by a
spasmodic motion to the mouth After sufficient
mastcation it is swallowed again, but instead Of
going back to the place from which it was raised
or to the receptacle where it went the first time it
was swallowed, it now goes according to authority
just cited, to the third stomach, or maniples,
where 1t undergoes a further material change, and
thence to the last DIVISION or fourth stomach,
where the process Of digestion is completed
Though digestion proper is only carried on in the
fourth division Of the stomach, it is evident that
the action of the other divisions OF that compound
organ is useful to the digestive process or they
would not have been placed where they are. That
the changes wrought upon the food in passing
through the several divisions hasten and perfect
the action Of the true fourth) stomach, can hardly
be questioned But the food eaten by cows, does
not pass through all the appendages Of the real
stomach, This complicated arrangement of the
ruminant stomach, was made for coarse, herba-
Genus food and not for that which is finely pulyer-
lied, or Concentrated, and hence does not manage
such food alone TO the best advantage When
meal alone is ted 70 cows, it drops into the fourth
stomach, missing entirely the other three 1t
does not even stop at the third DIVISION where the
food that has been made fine by remastlcation
goes. So when straw or hay, cut or whole, is well
weited, and finely ground meal is sprinkled on
and well mixed with it, the whole goes in like
manner, to the first stomach, and the action oil
every part Of the stomach is made available fol
complete digestion.
Not only can the dairyman derive better result
from meal when fed in this way, but more Of I
can be consumed ina given time, because more of
can be fed without producing securing. Mea
produces securing when more is fed than can b.
digested 1t is imperfectly digested meal NOR
than anything else, that disturbs the bowels il
this way. Less meal will produce securing IL
cattle when fed alone than when fed mixed; evi
IDENTIFY because when mixed, by having the acton
of the first three stomachs upon it, the work /
well along by the time II reaches the last division
and hence will be done not only more thoroughly
but also more easily and rapidly.
Apropos TO the above there may be cited tw,
witnesses, viz: Wilson Leason and Moses Bennett
Of Westmoreand, n. IL. Theirs were specially
grass farms, and one season there was so mucl
wet weather that they secured but a small part o
their hay in good order Their practice had beei
for years to buy oxen late in autumn, and stall
feed them during the winter, giving the mea
clear. But how were they to fatten cattle on tina
uupalatable hay, was the question. They final
solved 1t by cutting and wetting the hay and mix
ing the usual quantity Of meal with it, and wer
susprised TO find the cattle relishing it so well
and in few weeks were still more astonished 3
find that they fattened much faster than ever b,
fore, and ever after practiced that method whethe
the hay was well saved or not, and were In the Ia
belief that three bushels OF meal used In this wa
was more than equal to four bushels when ha
and meal were given separately, though the
knew nothing of the scientific reasons for tn
effect produced
The statements of the article sent us b
our friend are mainly accurate, and impor
tant TO be known. The conclusions draw
therefore are also of practical value, n
guides to practice upon the farm. Their
can be little doubt that it is good way T.
feed meal, to sprinkle it upon the mootene,
hay or straw, especially when the class o
forage is OF poor quality.
But it ought to be known that the accurac
Of the observations supposed to show tina
when meal is fed it goes to the fourth in
stead of the first stomach, is strongly ques
toned. Sometimes, and under some eil
eumstances, it may do SO but many time,
and under other circumstances, as proved b
actual trial, Il does not What these differ
ent circumstances are that thus control th
course of the food when swallowed, have no
yet been thoroughly worked out, and this i
one of the innumerable problems in agricul
ture for which we need an experimental
station-an institution that would cost tire
to five thousand dollars year, and if wei
managed ought to return that much benef
annually to every town in the state. vii
our correspondent and all our readers try +
awaken the interest of their respective
neighbors in this matter