St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-07-11
PROFITABLE FEEDING.

Not Enough Consideration Given to tho
Value of the Manure from Fattening An.
finals.
The value of the manure 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 matter not so thor
oughly appreciated as would be for the
advantage of farmers. Much of the
feeding, so far as the 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 certain guam
tity of meat. But how much the ma
nure from this will be worth is to many
an unsolyed and often an unthought of
problem.
The truth is that the value of the ma,
nure from Il tor OF some kinds of feed
is much more certain quantity than
the weight of meat that it will produce.
During the past winter, for example,
the manure heap will in some cases be
worth far more than anything else OBJ
tanned from the feed 1t is possible to
make this the fact nearly always. aud
that, too, while giving kinds of feed
that are excellent for making fat and
flesh. We have lost much in 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 manures made
from ton of the various kinds of food.
Linseed cake and cottOn-seed cake stand
at the head of the list, and it is note
worthy fact that for very many years
these oilcakes We're the staple food for
fattening beef cattle.
In this country fully three-fourths of
the food given to fattening. or other
stock. is corn. It does not become lis
to speak against corn. Growing and
feeding it largely are evidences of inn
proved farming. We rather eyalt 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 farmer prejudice against feed
ing corn is possibly recognition of
this fact. According to Mr.. Lawes''
tables, based on values in England. the
manure from n ton of Indian corn meal
can be worth only S6.65. That from a
ton of linseed cake is worth S19.72.
from beans 1856. 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 1888 to $3.50. 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 manure alone than the money
value of their cost. 1t is not uncom.
mon to have wheat bran selling very
near to what it is worth as manure even
in the East At the West it can often
be purchased for so or 81 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,-A J. Herald.