The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-01-21
HOUSEHOLD AND FARM.
Grinding Corn and Cob for Feed.

Some time ago one of your correspondents
enquired about the value of corn cobs Tor feed,
and your reply was to the effect that there was
not much nutriment IN them. AZ the writer
had found the contrary to be the case himself,
he states this In your columns.
In season like the present when ieeed, even
in the West, is scarce and dear, such expert
ments as those detailed below, are worth at
tention by close, money making cattle feeders.
This appeared some time ago in an easternl
journal:
There seems to be considerable inquiry att
present as to the actual value of the corn cob i
also the actual per cent OF grain IN saving ana
feeding ground feed over whole gram
DIR. Nicholas, in the Massachusetts PlOUgh
man. analyZed corn cob, and declared there
Is over 80 per cent of fatproduclng and flesh
forming substance in the cob, after the corn is
removed; or a per cent. of nutrlment fully
equal to the best oat straw. A report from the
experiment station at Middletown, Conn,
shows the nutriuve ratio of the corn cob to be
II per cent. and that when compared with
hay II stands O64 per cent. while the stalks
are 06l, and the best oat straw O.G9. y paper
read before the Massachusetts, State Board or
Agriculture, by Prof. Goersmann gives the.
maze cob as high nutritve value rs The stalk
itself Richard Goodman, ir, OF BerkshlreI
county, Mass, says: 81 believe that we'll
ground cob has great mechanical value in the
process of digestion" and recommends cobsI
to be ground by all means.
We see gong the rounds Of the press re
port of Joint committee Of the Pamired and
Woodstock Comm Farmers Clubs, which
took nine pigs as near of size as possible, dill
yiding them into lots Of three each, makingI
three lots to one lot they fed clear corn and
water, to second lot ground corn and water,
and to third lot ground corn and coband water.
The result shows that 337s pounds Of corn meal,
when mixed with the cob, produces one pound
of dressed pork; and 518 pounds of clear corn
meal, without the cob, to make one pound of
pork; and 1t required over SIX pounds or
whole corn to make one pound of pork. Thus,
the feeder received SO cents per bushel for his
corn when fed whole, 60 cents when shelledI
and ground, and nearly II cents when ground
corn and cob together
These experiments show us that when wei
compare analysis Of food With results IN feed
ing, there is something we fail to discover.
Neither chemistry nor theory would expect
that corn ground with the cob would prove al
feeding material of nearly equal value to that
of corn meal; yet tins experiment proves such
to be the case, and further proves that cob
meal is superior in feeding value to that off
clear corn without grinding. Corn, fed with
the cob, is greatly enhanced in value, This
is somewhat contrary to generally received
opinions. We have long been satisfied that al
certain amount of coarse material fed to cattle
with concentrated food was both judlclous,
economical and profitable but on account of
the peculiar construction of the pigs stomach
we were not prepared for a result showing theI
desirabillty offeeding coarse materia! in con
nectlOn with corn meal.
In the valuable suggestions made and the
facts gwen by George Geddes in late mum
Der OF the Country Gentleman, on grindlngl
corn for domestic animals, he was as yet una
BILE TO give the cost or grinding into fine HOurl
with his new burr stone mill with which hel
was about experimenting. In the meantlmel
1t may be useful to report the result of the ex'
perlments we have made for year or two. At
first we ground the corn and barley rather
coarsely, breaking the grain up into fragments
from the SIZE Of pepper corn down TO dust.
The work was rather hard for one horse, but
quite easy for a pair. They ground hushel
every four mlnues-say from twelve to fifteen
bushels an hour. Afterwards / had the mill
adjusted to grind much finer, or, on an aver
age, like coarse sand, requiring seven or eight
minutes for a bushel. One man attended III
carrying the grain to the hopper and return
ing the meal to the bin, at the same time sec
ing that the horses kept moving. AS the
horses were used only at spare times, there
should not be high estimate for their servl-
ces. 1t would be safe to reckon the amount at
eight bushels an hour iOr the finer grinding
and IN eight hours a day itwould be sixty-four
bushels. Calling mans labor one dollar for
the eight hours the work of the horses and the
use of the mill another dollar, the cost of the
grinding would be about three cents per bush
ell. For Coarser grinding it would not be so
much This is only half what Mr.. Geddes has
PAID for grinding at the neighboring mill.
Although we are within a mile of large MILL
we find, for the small quantities we grind at
odd spells at a time (ten or twelve bushels)
that 1t is no more work to do the grinding
than to bag and draw to mill and go again for
the grist, saving all the toll | may add tina,
although, according to theory, the fine meal is
best, am not aware that any definite expert
mons have ever been made to show the degree
of 81, "rlority, which may be quite small in
pract4,t.
We are informed that Mr.. Geo H. Rugg, OF
this city, has purchased and will soon have
running at his factory near the junction of the
side cut and canal, a mill for grinding corn
with the cob at the rate of 40 or 80 bushels
per hour, by which he hopes to be able to fur
nish the article to feeders at an expense little
above the cost of bran.
Exposure of stock.
The man who lives in climate reputed to
be moderate cannot expose his stock with i'm
punity, because the frequent cold rains of
such 4 climate are more damaging than the