The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-05-29

The Mark Lane ETpreSs, n or the
best of the British exchanges, dis
cusses food and feeding, from an Eng
lish standpoint. There are many
points of value to American feeders,
even those who feed grain in summer,
which many do. Hence we lay the
whole matter before our readers as
follows:
Hay and oats, admirable as they
are, according to Prof. Long, rank
among the dearest of any stock foods,
and the farmer can try other materials
which will do the same work for a
great deal less money, and it is to his
advantage to do so if he has a knowl-
edge of the properties of food, and
can mix them for himself. Linseed,
for example, contains the fat which is
so necessary, and in the cheapest form.
Roughly speaking, three pounds pro-
vides one pound of oil-really more
than enough for a large cow-but it
also contains some of the lean and the
bread-like foods.
Maize, which is one of the cheapest
foods known if bought when cheap, is
largely used in its ground state, when
it is called Indian meal; it contains
the bread Of the ration, with small
quantities of the fat and the lean in
addition; while cotton-cake contains
large proportions of the lean or albu-
minous food, and is the cheapest food
of this kind which can be obtained.
1t also contains or should contain pure,
a large percentage of oil Or fat, so that
a ten per cent. cake would provide a
beast with one-half pound of oil for
every five pounds consumed. Beans
and peas are also extremely valuable
foods of the same nature, being extra
rich in lean, which makes the lean of
meat and the curd of milk; but both
foods are very deficient in oil.
Linseed cake is not so valuable as
linseed, price for price, especially when
the quality Of the cake is unknown.
We know what we get with the pure
linseed, but in the cake, as everyone
knows who has experience, all kinds
of seeds are mixed, while the oil is so
pressed that very little is allowed to
remain. Cotton cake is cheaper than
linseed, and contains more nourish-
ment; but it is more binding, and is
more valuable for use with roots,
grass, ensilage and Indian meal. Lin
seed cake is not so we'll adapted for
use with rice meal or Indian meal,
because it is of a similar nature, nor
is it so good for use with turnips or
mangels, unless for actual fattening
purposes. Now, cotton cake and
maize are cheap foods when we'll
bought, much cheaper than either
oats, linseed cake, or hay, and they go
further.
The cotton cake has the inestimable
advantage of being nearly as valuable
after passing through the cattle as
before consumption, so much is the
manure enriched. We might, then,
almost make our ration for milking
cows one-half pound of linseed steamed
IN water, three pounds of decorticated
cotton cake, and three pounds of In
dian meal, irrespective of the roots
they will use. If no hay, but plenty
of roots and straw, then four pounds
to five pounds of the cake would be
necessary. Bran is a valuable food,
of similar nature to cotton cake, ex-
cept that it is not so binding; but
it is, nevertheless we'll adapted for
use with Indian meal, which is a cap
ital winter food, being very heating.
We have stated that hay is the dearest
Of oil foods This ia hocarSo If iS
necessary to consume so much of it
in order to extract sufficient nourish-
ment to maintain a large animal and
to provide her with the means of
manufacturing milk.