Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-10-18
CORN AND coe-MEAL

CORN AND coe-MEAL-
How Best to Utaliss n, I~nors>nt Pro-.
net Of ths Farm.
Some years ago there was a 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
and then analysed it to discover that
1t 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-
perience 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
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
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-meai came out ahead.
The man who stands by and sees
COW eat an ear OF corn, and notices
with what care she consumes both
corn and cob, can not we'll 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 its favor, is 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
Ratchet cutting the corn into short
pieces, to help the COW along. while
others use spade. This is better
than feeding the whole ear. but is yet
very primitive. Others soak the corn
for several days in barrels of 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 1t is still ques-
ton with many feeders if the meal is
not better for not being ground too
fine, and this makes a great saving of
the labor of grinding. In helping ami
mails to digest their food We some
times override the matter, as when We
cook the food for them. and it 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 scien-
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 a thor
ough and careful trial with your own
stock. Do not buy a 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
Observation-Disclosures Dairynsan.