Woodville Republican., 1889-11-30
AGRICULTURAL.
coTToN-sEEp HuLLs.

1
1t is desired to call attention to some
Of the practical as well as scientific
features connected with the use of cot
ton-seed hulls and meal as a stock food.
Up to the present time nothing like
In economical utilization of the cotton
seed hulls has been attempted, the COM
mon practice having been to burn them
Gnder the mill boilers as a cheap means
81 disposal, and even the valuable ashes
thus produced have been largely ex-
ported to other parts of the country. As
an absorbent for bedding stock they are
found to undergo rapid decay, giving
of perceptible quantities of ammonia,
and hence are not regarded with favor
by those who have tried them in this
way.
The process of separating the kernels
Of the cotton seed from the hulls, in the
oil mills, consists essentially in crush
ing and cutting the seeds and dividing
the two portions by n system Of screens
and shakers. At first sight it would
seem to be physical impossibility for
an animal to consume any apprecia-
bio quantity of the hulls thus produced.
They consist of fragments Of seed coats
one-sixteenth to one-fourth inch in
diameter, Of dark brown color, very
tough and leathery, and entangled in
mass of cotton flbers, which still adhere
to the outside of the hulls, and which
the ginning process fails to entirely re-
move. 1t is apparently the most dry
and tasteless form of animal food which
could be found. 1t is a matter of difficulty
to reduce it to any thing like suitable
form for analysis. In the mortar it
forms an elastic felt, while it is scarcely
amenable to any grinding process.
Taken into the mouth it is harsh and
dry. Mastication promotes an abun-
dant secretion of saliva as would be
only natural with any similar material.
1t has very little taste and that appar-
emily due to the small particles of the
kernel remaining with the hulls. AL
together they possess apparently few
inviting features as food. In spite of
this, it is said that animals which have
never seen the hulls or meal before,
soon acquire an eager appetite for them,
and after few days prefer such diet
to one composed of hay and corn. Prob
ably this is due to the meal rather than
the hulls which, as already noted, are
well nigh tasteless.
From the large amount of fiber on the
hulls the danger of balling up or pro-
ducing stoppages of the bowels might
be anticipated. But we have been un-
able to learn of a single such case, nor
is there even tendency toward consti-
patton. On the contrary the effect upon
the bowels is loosening, which, with an
excess of meal, may develop into ''scour-
ing" This is the well-known result Of
excessive feeding of cotton-seed meal in
connection with other materials. The
hulls and meal seem particularly adapt
ed therefore to being fed together, the
effects of each counteracting the other.
More experience has been had in feed
ing the hulls and meal to fattening and
dairy animals than to any other class.
The following is brief summary of the
information gathered in this connec-
tion
All ages and conditions of cattle have
been fed for beef. Naturally the same
general principles which apply in other
methods of feeding hold good here.
Poor, scrubby animals, too young or too
old, and in bad condition, are unprofta-
bic under any system. Two and half
to four years is the best age, according
to some authorities; in Houston, Tex,
steers from four to six years were most
profitable. Steers are preferred to heif-
ers. The best season is winter; summer
feeding has been found improbable.
The feeding should last three to four
months, and the animals disposed of as
soon as they have reached a stand-still
in the increase of weight: 1t has been
noted that, if carried beyond this
point, hull-fed cattle are liable
to degenerate, especially on the
of warm weather. An aver
age steer should receive at the begin
ming three or four pounds of meal daily, |
increasing to six pounds. |
After six weeks the feed may be in
creased to eight or ten pounds. During
the whole time as many hulls should be
given as the animal will cat, but no
more. Stress is laid upon these two |
The feeding should be done
with regularity and system, and no ex-
cess of food should be allowed to accu-
mulate in the troughs, since the hulls,
when wet by the "slobber-
ing" of the cattle, quickly become sour
and offensive.
If an animal "scours," it should be |
from the others, and the feed |
reduced; the danger from this is, how
ever, very slight.-Southern Cu1tivator.