The Springdale news., 1888-09-28
CORN AND COB-MEAE.
How Best to Utilize This Important Prod
 uct of the Farm.

uct of the Farm.
 Some years ago there was raging war carried on in the newspapers about the value of "cob-meal, as it was called, that is, the corn and cob ground together. The two factions were rep resented by the scientific men on one side, who took the dry cob, pulverized it and then analysed it to discover that it contained no nutriment to speak of, and counting the cost of grinding they pronounced it a waste of time and labor. The other side, who wrote in favor of this feed, had only their ex- perienee to offer in its favor, but to practical man this meant more than science could disprove, and so the war went on, but the adoption of cob-meal got black eye until some one suggest ed that perhaps the cob part of the meal had something to do with giving the gastric juice of the stomach a chance to put in its good work by me- chanically holding the particles of corn meal apart, so that this juice could get at the meal.
 At this the advocates of cob-meal took new heart and began the war afresh, and then the managers of some of the most progressive experiment stations decided to give the matter q practical test, by comparing the feed- ing results of the cob-meal with pure meal and mixtures of other ground foods. This comparison told the tale, and cob-meal came out ahead.
 The man who stands by and sees a COW eat an ear of corn, and notices with what care she consumes both corn and cob, can not well doubt that she has some good reason for all the chewing she does on that old cob.
 Now, that the utility of cob-meal is settled in it's favor, i5 a good time to begin to study up the subject of how best to utilize this important product of the farm. We have seen many a farmer put in a rainy day with sharp hatchet cutting the corn into short pieces, to help the COW along, while others Use a spade. This is better than feeding the whole ear, but is yet very primitive. Others soak the corn for several days in barrels o. water to soften it before cutting. The better plan, however, is to grind the corn and cob together. There are many styles of mills made for this purpose, and some of the late inventions are well nigh perfect. It is still a ques- tion with many feeders if the meal Is not better for not being ground too fine, and this makes great saving of the labor of grinding. In helping ani- mals to digest the. food We seme- times oyer-do the matter as when We cook the food for them, and 1t may be that in grinding very fine We tend to clog the machinery of the stomach, as it is alleged, by causing the meal to form in small balls, when i. should re- tain its granular condition.
 However this may be, it is well to remember that the tendency Of seien- tifc thought is in favor of fine grind ing. while the emphatic opinion of some of the best and most intelligent and successful feeders is in favor of coarse grinding. The proper thing to do is to try both, and so long as the question remains unsettled then decide it for yourself after giving it thor ough and careful trial with your own stock. Do not buy mill until you have secured all the circulars you can, and studied them carefully in the light of such experience as you can command. This is the only way to get satisfaction. -AmericaH DairyHaH.