The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1885-06-04
FEEDING.

Not Enough Consideration Given to h
Value of the Manure from Fattening An.
imals.
The value of the from fatten-
ing animals is a matter less within the
positive knowledge of the average farmer
than should be the case. The effect of
different kinds of feed on the value of
manure is also a matter not so thor
oughly appreciated as would be for the
advantage of farmers. Much of the
feeding, so far as tn e value of the ma
nure is concerned, is at ~haphazard.
Farmers can generally give some idea
as to the best feed for the production Of
pork, beef and mutton. By the feed
ing of so much corn, hay, oats or bar
ley they expect to make a certain guam
tity of meat. But how much the ma
nure from this will be worth is to many
an unsolved and often an unthought of
problem.
The truth is that the value of the ma
nure from a tor of some kinds of feed
is a much more certain quantity than
the weight of meat that it will produce.
During the past winter, for example,
the manure heap will N some cases be
worth far more than anything else OBJ
tanned from the feed. It is possible t.
make this the fact nearly always, and
that, too, while giving kinds of feed
that are excellent for making fat and
flesh. We have lost much i'll this country
from our inattention to this point, while
England has profited by the popular
ignorance prevailing in this and other
countries of the varieties OF feed essen
tial to making the richest kinds of
manures. Many years ago Sir John B.
Lawes published tables showing the
comparative value of made
from a ton of the various kinds of food.
Linseed cake and cotton-seed cake stand
at the head of the list, and it is a note
worthy fact that for very many years
these oilcakes were the staple food for
fattening beef cattle.
In this country fully three-fourths of
the food given to ~fattening. or other
stock, is corn. 1t does not become us
to speak against corn. Growing and
feeding it largely are evidences of inn
proved farming. We rather exalt our
selves on the fact that farmers here can
grow corn, while those in England can
not. But, after all, corn is not among
the more valuable feeds for manure,
especially on lands requiring phos-
pilates. as most of our long cultivated
soils do. What has been called the
English farmers prejudice against feed
ing corn is possibly a recognition OF
this fact. According to Mr.. Lawes'
tables, based on values in England, the
manure from IA ton of Indian corn meal
a be worth only $3.50. That from a
ton of linseed cake is worth SIZE,
from beans $3.50, and from peas
S15.75. The manure from a ton of
clover hay is worth S9.65. while that
| from coarse to fine wheat middlings
varies from $13.53 to S14.50. These
figures are very suggestive. They
show not only that many kinds of feed
have more value as manure than corn,
but that some of these are worth more
for the n alone than the money
value of the r cost. 1t is not uncom'
mon to have wheat bran selling very
near to what it is worth as manure even
i'll the East. At the West it can often
be purchased for $40 or $11 per ton in
the fall. 1t must be remembered that
the above figures are made in England,
vet the matter of comparative values is
equally applicable here.-N. Y. Herald.