, 1885-02-13
HOW ro FEED FOR PROFIT.
Some Things About Cattle Feeding Not
Generally Understood.

some Things About Cattle Feeding Not
Generally Understood.
1t is not difficult to arrive at the ex-
pense attending the summering Of ami
mails on grass alone, says the National
Lire Stock journal, as the value Of the
land upon which they are grazed, adding
the cost Of maintaining the pasturage
through the agency of manuring, etc,
leave it not very difficult to assign to each
animal its proportion Of surface, and in
this way arrive at cost Of maintenance.
But winter feeding is of such Importance
that it should be more fully looked into
and estimated than is generally the case.
The value Of different animals as feeders
is not ascertained, nor is there any ap-
proach made to this. under the usual
plan pursued Of punching the stock to-
gether, throwing out the feed in bulk, the
strong getting the lions share. The cost
Of feeding animals is. in part determined
by the extent TO which the food agrees
with the beast consuming il. Thus, corn
meal and bran are well adapted for many
cattle. both young and old, while it will
not agree with some individual animals,
by reason Of showing a tendency to loosen
the bowels. When this follows there is
more or less indigestion, and the food
passing through the bowels too rapidly,
due absorption fails to take place, and
much nutrimcnt is lost. de-
Some animals do well, month after
month, on one kind OF grain, while others
require a variety, else they do not thrive.
This is true of many brood cows while
sucking, and it is equally true of many
cows while giving milk. If pcrsistently
fed on one kind of food, they shrink in
their milk, but with suitable changes
maintain an even flow. Animals that are
liable to constipation, lose their appetite
when this condition sets in, Immediately
regaining it when such changes are intro
duced in the feeding as overcome the
torpid state. Thus, if an animal is kept
On a full ration Of a given kind of grain,
and becomes somewhat tired of its feed,
the bowels become a little torpid.
The cost of feeding depends very ma
terially upon the fixtures and shelter pro-
vided, as the cost of warming a house de-
ponds largely upon its construction, plac-
ing it in ones power to keep TO air that
has been warmed from getting out OF
control, and mingling. at c~revicea here
and there with cold air from without. 1t
is expensive to maintain the normal ami
NAL temperature of 9se Fair. where full
protection is given, and when protection
is withheld. there is the double contest to
carry on, viz. the demands of the system
within, made even when fair protection is
given, and that from without, the exac-
tons increasing as the mercury goes
downward in the tube. Feeders are
in error when they suppose digestion will
be more vigorous and promptly
completed, when animals are in cold
quarters than when in a place so well
protected as to give a feeling Of warmth
and comfort. While it is tue that a cold
atmosphere stimulates the appetite, it
does not follow that it promotes the di-
gestive forces, but, on the other hand, it
may be expected TO retard the process.
Digestion is hidden from view, and not
seeing it, we do not comprehend hat it is
a laborious process for tho system to
carry on, and one which needs the accom-
paniment of entire comfort and compos-
ure. As stated. the cost Of feeding is
largely a question Of temperature. Non
heterogeneous articles Of food are, so to
speak, burned within the body. Arctic
travellers state that as high as twenty
pounds ofblubber have been consumed by
one person in an hour, this amount being
required to meet the demands of the sys-
tenn, caused by the intense cold. So, in
feeding farm animals, the cost, that is,
the relative gain and cost compared, hinges
upon ~ the completeness of the digestive
and assimilatiye processes, (2) the natural
aptness in a given animal to lay on fat,
depending largely upon its anatomical
formation, (3) the extent Of the contest in
a given case, with the cold, al the cost of
food, and the wisdom manifested in its
selection, combination and the variations
made in giving it u to meet the ever
varying conditions OF animals. 1t is
needless to say that in the knowledge Of
how TO feed to the best advantage most
men are much behind what they learned
in other directions.