The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-11-20
AGRICULTURAL.


III the newer portions OF the West straw is
burned to get it out of the way. In the
Eastern States, where the soil has been CROP
pea Tor long time, the organic matter is
more or less exhausted; hence straw is of
vital Importance in supplying the constitu-
ems OF Whlch 1t is composed to the earth
from WHICH they are drawn. Rye straw is
used largely in some parts of the country for
manufacturing paper. Last winter it was
worth 81 more ton on this account in Sar-
atoga County, N. Y, than hay. Whenever
this Is the case, it is advisable to sell the
straw and buy hay, as the difference in price
and In value for. feeding, make considerable
margin In favor OF hay. Hay is the most nat
ural and valuable winter food for farm ami
mails No animal would eat straw as clean
as hay, but would leave the .coarser parts of
the straw. This would be large percentage
not utilized for food. II it was cut up fine
more would be eaten, but this would add to
is more valuable in its quality as it IS
general rule that the more nu-
tritive principles there are in food the richer
is the animal waste from such food. Thus
oil cakes makes the richest manure. Straw
and oil cake may be considered opposite
examples in this respect. For an animal to
receive equal benefit when living on rye
straw as compared to hay, it would have to
eat, as straw is ordinarily harvested, more
buou tHlCO UiluCo buC Uuih vi Straw, LII Is
impossible tor an animal to consume this
excess.
This rule would vary in proportion as the
straw was green and bright and the hay was
over ripe. The straw of wheat, barley and
oats is not so valuable for manufacturing into
paper as that of rye, but for animal food is
superior. Three times more of straw of these
grains should be fed than Of hav, in order to
furnish the same nutriment. This statement
Is founded on the suppositlon that all of the
straw will be consumed. This is never the
case; hence, If the farmer would keep his
stock up to hay standard, he must not re-
quire his stock to pick so close, but give them
more forage to select their food from. or
he must supplement the straw with little
grain. A gill OF oats day to a sheep. or
pint OF corn meal to cow, will make up the
shortage In nutriment when straw is fed.
This is fair conclusion when the respective
analysis of straw and grain are summed up,
and have found that practically the above
conclusions are correct. Straw can be util.
lied for manurial purposes better by being
fed to stock than by being thrown into the
barnyard to slowly decompose. The more
stock farmer can carry through the winter
the larger will be the manure pile and the
ensuing crop. Many Western farmers could
doubtless add to their herds and profits too,
by using the straw OF the farms, supplemented
with enough grain to promote vigorous
growth. The same is true of the smaller
farmers OF the East. Straw with a little
grain foots up no moie in the scale of cost
than hay.
There shonld be variety of stock on farms
to utilize straw. When this is the case there
need be but little waste. Let the sheep be
fed during the day and at night so bounti-
fully that their racks when cleaned out in the
morning will furnish enough of bits and
stems to supply all that may be needful for
the colts and breeding mares to pick over
for the night. At night feed them plenty of
straw with buckwheat bran or oats, rating
the mess according to age and size. The
fodder pulled out of the racks and trodden
under foot will be saturated with the strong
urinal salt of the sheep and will be aaten
greedily by the horses. Garry the straw
used for the bedding Of the horses into the
narnyard and scatter it around for the cows.
They will eat it greedily, as it will be satu-
rated with salts of urine, which they crave.
especially II they have not been fed common
salt regularly, and in quantities to satiate
their appetite. The portion of straw which
the cows leave may be used to bed other
horses and be given atterward daily to the
cows. The saturated straw will supply all
the salts the cattle and horses require, and in
the very forms of which. the system is de-
pleted 6y the natural course of physical &C.
ton. The waste straw left scattered around
the barnyard may be used to bed the cows.
and II there is not enough of this, the balance
required may be taken from the racks. I
nave followed this plan for years, and with
this close and careful management nearly all
OF the straw crop can be consumed during the
winter, adding to the growth and number of
the stock, and at the same time making
manure OF superior value ready for immedi-
ate use.
There is but little difference in the actual
nutrltive value OF rye, wheat, oat and barley
straw. Wheat and barley-straw are cons,d-
cred by some chemists to contain the most
nutrition, and rye-straw to be the weakest.
ny others oat-straw is made the strongest in
albumen, tat, starch and gum, which are the
transforming aud fatteniDg Qualities. This
dI1erence in analyses is accounted for nv the
dinerence in the samples analysed, as every
farmer knows that the straw of grain cnt
wnen turning, before it is ripe, and gathered
AZ gooo oroer, is worth double that of straw
dead ripe, from which most of the iuices have
dried out and the vegetable substance of the
plant has been transformed into woody fibre.
worthless for food, and of but little account
Tor manure, being more valuable as an absor-
Dent than Tor any intrinsic worth. Straw
with coarse stalks has less nutritiye valne.
as 1t contains more woody fibre. AS rnle'
Tue softer and inner the straw the better fod-
ger It is; and the less work. Steaming straw
preaks down and softens the cellular tissues
and fibres of straw, and reduces it to condi-
lion 30 that It will all be consumed by stock.
.Steamtng will not pay, so far as the straw
alone is concerned, as the nutritive value of
the harder portions made palatable by steam
Ing is so little, but when roots and meal are
fed with straw largely, and the straw is de-
signed not so much for nourishment as to
supply the necessary waste material for the
healthy distention of the bowels, steaming the
food is desirable, especially for cows giving
MliR. When straw is fed in this way, lib
eral allowance of salt should be added
Steaming fodder will never be extensively
practised, on account Of the expensive OUTLAY
and the risks from fire. Animals will always
eat straw or any coarse food best in cold
weather, as their appetites are keener at such
times.-N. Y. Tribune.
RTnp nm INK