The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1878-04-04
Cob Meal.

To the minds of great many
farmers quantity seems Of much
greater Importance than quality.
They would rather have farms of
two hundred acres Of miserably poor
aud barren soil, than tifty.acre farms
OF really good and productive land.
This same principle is seen in all
their choices. And there seems to
be inherent in the human miul a
strong tendency in this direction.
We find men anxious to get large
quantity Of something, without much
regard to what that something is, or
what it is really worth. Probably
this had much to do with the stroIy
desire which some men have TO get
their cobs converted into meal. The
question whether it pays to have
ears of corn ground has been often
argued, but never settled TO the sat.
isfaction OF the oposing parties. Ia
the section in which live moro cobs
have been ground the past season
than ever before. Some of our farm.
ers seem to think that because tbey
get more meal in quantity, the value
must be greater. Besides, they get
more meal with less work Shsllino
corn doesn't seem to agree with
some farmers. They had rather do
almost anything else. SO they car,
~ tho ears to mill and try to per-
suade themselves that, because the
quantity Of meal is much larger than
they get from the shelled corn, the
valne must be greater But this
does not necessarily follow. Ten
plus nothing is ten still. Nothing
may bo added five hundred times
aud the original quantity will not be
changed. So, fcobs are, for feed
ing purposes, essentially worthless.
having them ground with tho corn
will not add to the value of the
meal. There is moro meal in bulk.
but no more fattening material than
there would be il tho cobs were left
out. II is very much like turning
water into PARTIAL y.tlled lamp
Tho lamp may be half full of oil. By
the addition Of water it may be filed
to over'howing yet it contains
no moro oil, and possesses no mere
illuminating power than it did be-
fore. So corn meal may be made
moro bulky by the addition OF cob
meal, sawdust or some other inert
substance. There is qrantity of
the material, but there is no more
nourishment in it than there was be-
fore. In any specified quantity Of
tho material there is less nutriment 4
han there was before the mixture
vas made. Any one ought to be
sble to sec that four quarts of corn
neal must contain much more nutri
aent than four quarts of mixture.
ne-half Of which is corn meal and
ie other half sorno worthless sub
tance. In feeding cattle this point
,ould over be kept in mind, quan,
~ has no connection with quality
little nourishing food is better
feeding purposes thon car load
material which CONTAINS no nutri.
70 elements.
do not assert. that cobs contain
; nutritious elements, but / am
70 to express my opinion, founded
on some experience in feeding,
another party,) that the proper,
n OF nutriment is infinitesimally
all, and that the minute quantity
I they may contain is in such an
indigestible form as to be practically
worthless. do not want to eat
bread made from cob meal, and
presume the men who favor feeding
cobs 10 their cattle would rather b.
excused from eating them or setting
them before their faiailiss.--Cor' 7,
QASe FarrNer. ,