The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-02-25
Feeding Cabbages.

An important discussion on the feed
ing of cabbages to mich COWS took place
at the Bridgewater meeting of the State
Board of Agriculture, but like many other
similar discussions, terminated without
arriving at any definite conclusion or Of
fering any explanations, although there
were those present who were learned in
rhetoric, logic and the laws of natural
science. The question under considera-
ton was, "will cabbages, if fed imme-
diately after milking, disagreeably affect
the taste of the milk?'' The feeding of
turnips would, Of.course, be included in
the same question. Ehe experience of
every farmerhas shown that when cow
is fed with turnips and eabbages Just after
milking no flavor of these vegetables is
impaired to the milk, but when fed be-
fore milking the milk is invariably affect
ed. These vegetables contain apungent
gas, which permeates all the absorbing
glands, and from which it is transferred
to the blood and thence to the milk, long
| before the COW has finished mastication.
But when twelve hours had elapsed be-
tween the feeding and milking, the efflu-
via has been thrown off, and its presence
cannot be detected.
If an animal be slaughtered immediate
ly after eating either cabbages OF turnips,
the beef will have the same flavor that's
noticed in the milk, but the beef of an
other animal, fed in the same way and at
the same time, when slaughtered twelve
hours afterward, will have no unpleasant
taste, nor will the effiuvia be detected in
the rumen.
The statement was also made that if
cabbages are placed in pile at low tenn
perature little effiuvia escapes, so long as
thetemperature remains low; but if by fer
mentation the temperature is raised to
over ninety degrees, then decomposition
becomes rapid, and the gas rapidly es-
capes, becoming evident to the olfactories
of every person present. Is it possible,
then, as claimed by scientists, that cab
bages or turnips remain in a cows paunch
for twelve hours before she chews her cud,
the temperature remaining above ninety
degrees, that fermentation will not take
place in the cows stomach and evolve
gas sufficient to permeate the whole sys-
tenn of the cow. I.
| We should remember that the fermen-
tation in the cows stomach and that
taking place in pile of turnips or cab
| bages are not the same nor identical in
character. The action of the acid in the
stomach which produces digestion, pre-
vents decomposition. Decomposition,
where gases are evolved in the stomach,
producing bad breath and sick headache
through the pollution of the blood, is the
result of indigestion; or, in other words,
an undue fermentation. Digestion pre-
vents decomposition, but dissolves the
albumen and the vegetable fibrine so
that they are changed to animal fibrine
and albumen. This change is very
slight one, and evolves no. offensive gas
The factis these feeding substances are
scarcely changed at all, the starch and
sugar only very little.
Professor Arnold, one of our ablest
authorities in matters connected with
dairying, has attempted to show that the
stomach of COW is a miniature silo; but
even Professors sometimes make mis-
takes. No one ever found the contents
of cows stomach similar to the con-
tents of silo, either to the taste or to
the smell. 1t is true that Tactic acid is
found in the gastric juice, but it acts as
preventive to decomposition, and never
as an agent of decay. Whenever Tactic,
or any other acid, is formed in the stom-
ach, it is an evidence of Indigestion
that the stomach is out of order, and
that such acidity needs to be corrected
by an alkali, which may neutralize the
acid When mother has reason to
think that the 'sugar of her child's milk
is being converted into Tactic acid, she
quickly detects it by the odor of the
breath and adopts means to cure the
difficulty. The ferment of an healthy
stomach and the ferment of pile of
vegetable matter outside the stomach are
never identical. The ferment of..an I'M
healthy stomach, however, and the fer
ment of the outside pile of cabbages or
turnips are too often very much alike.
The contents of the pauhch OF COW
when emptied into the open air will soon
ferment and evolve noxious gases, al
most unbearable to persons present;
while nothing of the kind ever takes
place in the paunch of a living, healthy
animal.-Americdn CuliUdtor.