The Concordia eagle. [volume] (Vidalia, La.) 1873-1890, 1885-01-31
BOILED GRAINS.


the grain intended for the fowls they
! wish to fatten. They boil it till the
farina swclls and softons, so as to burst
the cnycloping membrane. 1t is the
general opinion that burst grain is bet
ter than dry for fattening poultry, and
whether this is founded upon accurate
experiment or not it is of Importance to
ascertain the difference of expense be-
tween the two, and whether more or
less is eaten of the one than of the 9TH
CT. To discover this NJ. Rcaumur causel
four pint measures OF each Of the six
common sort Of grain to be boiled till
they were we'll burst, and he found the
increase of bulk in each sort was the
following:
Pin.
6eqSAlTes.
Four PINT measures OF oats, after beng
boiled to bursting, tilcd ..........,........ 7
-Four pint measures of hurley, after being
boiled TO bursting, filed .....,......... 10
-Four plat measures of buckwhcat, after be
ing boiled to bursting, hllcd. ".s,...:.. IA
-Four pint measures Of maize, after being
boiled TO bursting, Hliea above. :........ IL
-Four pint measures of wheat, after henS
hci'cd to bursting. rIcd - little more than 10
boiled TO bursting. iilCd nearly .....:"..: ID
Rice swclls considerably more by boiling
than any Of these six sorts, but it is
seldom given to poultry, except for fat
tening, under the notion that it tends
to Whiten the lesa To ascertain whether
the boiling altered the liking Of fowls
for any OF the particular SORTS, eXper-
imen,s varied in every possible way,
similar to those already detailed were
made by NJ. Rcaumur The fowls were
furnished with two, three, four five and
six different sorts; sometimes all the
kinds were dcvoured alike, and at
others nothing but dry era II, and
third nothing but boiled. All that could
be collected from these experiments
was that the greater number Of fowls
prefer boiled grain TO raw, though
there are many of them that show a
preference to the dry grain on certain
days, and no pcrmancncy could be dis
covered in the preference shown for
any sort of burst grain. Some fowls,
for example, which one day preferred
boiled wheat, would on other days make
choice of buckwhcat, or maize, or bar
ley, and sometimes, though more
seldom, even in rye; but rye, either
boiled or raw, is the least favur,te sort
of grain. 1t follows rs an important
conclusion from such experiments, that
We may make choice of the sort Of grain
which happens to be the cheapest,
without much, if any disadvantage;
always cXccptng rye, when other sorts
are 10 be had on reasonable terms.
Other experiments We're required to
show whether there Is any economy. or
the contrary, in feeding poultry with
boiled grain, and this was readily ascer-
tanned from knowing first how much
dry grain suiiccd for one OF more fowls,
aud then boiling the same quantity and
irving how much of that would in like
manner he sufficient. The ex-
pcriments made with the different sorts
Of grain were rs follows:
Rye. although so very considerably
increased in bulk by boiling, instead OF
being more filing becomes less so, and
more of it is eaten when boiled than
whom raw. Oats, although increased
in bulk nearly onc-half by boiling. arc
not on this account rendered more sui
ticing for the fowls. which in two days
consume four pint measures OF dry oats,
and in the same period eat seven pints Of
them when boiled, so that there appears
20 be no economy in the additional
trouble. Mowbray SAYS that oats have
securing tendency, although they are
recommended n prOmotive of laying,
and IN the South OF England are much
used for fattening. BuckWheat swells
still more than oats by boiling, but
fowls will cOnsUme fourteen pintS
boiled in the same space of time that
four dry ones would he sufficient.
Mowbray pronounces it an unsub tam
tial food. Maize Tor rnrn) is said to be
more profitable boiled than raw When
kept long upon It they begin to dislike
it, and it j. perhaps on this account
that less of boiled maize is consumed.
The saving is supposed TO be one-thrd
or one-fith.
Fowls, which would have eaten two
pints of dry barley a day, ate but two
pint measures of the boiled grain.
Therefore. rs ten pint measures of boiled
barley are produced from four piuts of
dry, three pints of the boiled are cquiva-
lent To no more than siX-iifths of pint
of the dry, consequently the experiences
in dry barley is to that of boiled as ten
lifths to six-tifths, that is, as ten to six,
or rs five TO three, showing a saving of
two-iifths by giving boiled instead of
dry barley. We have found by expert
cnce that barley is more profitable and
effective when boiled than when raw.
If given warm, but not hot, we have
known it to hasten, materially, the
period of laying, and TO promote in a
nigh degree the health and comfort of
the hens.
Wheat. as shown in the preceding
table, increases in bulk by boiling. near
ly the same rs barley, and these inter-
csting experiments prove that the use of
boiled maize, barley or wheat is mat
ter of economy. The expense Of fuel
must be taken into account, but in the
routine of almost any domestic cstab-