Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-05-08
Sunshine in the Barn.

sunshine In the Barn.
In an address before a body
of prominent Agriculturlsts DIR.
Nichols some timessssaros~1pre,
scented some curious and Snterestins
Information, which can scaseely be pull
into more readable form than thai
stored sunshine in our. bsrns in Che form
of grain and hay is, in its utilization.
attended by losses corresponding with
forms. of organized material In mod
ernN barns propeay CONSTRUCTED
We are astonisheds to = find how
comfortable the. temperature is
when we enter them on the cold morn
ings of winter. 1t may be difficult for
many farmers to realize that this warmth
all comes from the contents of their
hay-mows and grain bins-from actual
burning or combustion of these nutrient
materials. The long rows of cows and
oxen in sthezsstalB may be- properly
likened toap arrangement of little
stoves, in which the sproducts of the
summer fields are burned; each animal
representing stove of greater or less
capacity, according, to the size. This
burning lis not spoken of in an ideal or
poeticaf sense; it is actual, positive.
Every load Of hay which the husband
man takes to his barn from his fields in
July or August is to be burned up in
winter; and the exact amount of heat
which would be-. afforded by its tive
combustion in thaield is to be gradual
ly elm mated from his animals in cold
weather. - And .sftgther: the amount of
heat liberated must represent in its
energiz;ng capabilities the solar ener-
gies conSnmed IN the growth of the
grassaor gram. In. other words, the
number of incTemeptsof heat made sem
sible I'M the organization of a COW blythe
consuraption Oh leo pounds of hay ex-
actly represents the number of incre-
aments of heat in the sunshine which
produced thatSamount of forage. The
food eaeEgiesofa COW are not all ex-
pended in producing animal warmth.
A4cQpsiderabie portion goes toward the
milk-pail; and all the sunshine of our
fields that we can utilize in the COW IL
the milk product and tbe adipose tissue
resulting from the sfattening process.
The warmth whichtwe Eexperience in
our barnsSin winter isftes considerable
extent wasted heat energy it isthe sur
plus HEAT generated BY the animals, and
which is radiated into space through
the respiratory. and eScrctoryi organs.
We diminish fhis radiation of heat when
we give bukket.of water to each ami
NAL, AS is often done inlthe morning,
and the diminution of warmth in a barn
where there is al large number. of ami
mails is so great that the Thermometer
is senslbly affected. The same results
are reached when waterfis thrown upon
hot bed of GOALS. It requires THE
same expenditure of heat to raise 100
gallons OF ice-cold water to the temper
allure of ninety degrees F. in the organ
ism of a herd of COWS that is required to
raise the same to, like tempera ure by
the fires In farmers kitchen. AS
wood and coal are cheaper products
than hay OF, grain, it follows that it is a
matter of economy to warm the water
supplied to mich cows in the winter
season. I but give voice to the expert
enee of observing farmers whenI assert
that three gallons Of water at the freez-
ing temperature given. twice a day in
winter to COW will cut short the milk
product more than six per cent. in the
twenty-four hours. The chemical en-
ergy requisite to produce milk can not
be diverted to heating water in the sys-
tenn of the cow without serious loss.-~
CHICAGO Tribune. go.