Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-02-09
CHECKS AND BALANCES.
Paper Read by l.. NJ. CraGin at u Meeting
ofth- Board OF Agriculture.


The State Board of Agriculture held a
two-day institute AT Springfield, Windsor
county, on Thursday and Friday last at
which Mr.. l.. Nj. Cragin read a paper en-
titled "Checks and Balances" :"
He said that the yearly inventory was a
business custom, u CHECK upon business op
erations which farmers might well initiate,
thus knowing whether corn, potato or hay,
cattle or sheep paid best. Farming opera
tions, however, are intricate and eu-
tangled one with another that most of us
are unwilling or unable to spend the neces-
sary time on the details Hence we are apt
to depend on our ability to meet current
expences as an answer to the query, does
our farming pny'
How may we apply trial balances to our
business aud determine profit anu loss
Darirymen used largely to eei their win
ter fodder one kind ut the time, beginning
with straw and following with corn fodder
swale and meadow hay; many still so feed
andI fear too few OF us realizs the impor tauc ce
OF properly compounding foods to make
balanced ratious. Impoverished sofia, in
creasing competition and greater demands
are forcing us to study the matter of pro-
ducing more economically and cheaplv, to
consider the work OF scientists in this direc-
tion aud to apply the results obtained to
best our local individual circumstances as
seems to us. Let Inc instance some of the in
vestigations The food requirements of ami
mails OF all sorts in all conditions have been
determined the portions of food which are
digestib!e found out and the various use of
albuminoids, and carbohydates discovered.
1t has been shown that certain combina-
tions OF food ingredients produce the best
he dt fOD1a ntai,
ing amounts of food ingredients. The por-
portion OF albunimoids to carbohydrates is
called the "nutritive ration and these re-
tions vary from 1.12 for oxen at rest to
l. 81 for milking cows and in plants from
l. 80 ia oat straw to l. 13 in cotton sesd
meal.
Mr.. Cragiu illustrated his points by a
couple of tables Of ratios taken from the
German standard rations and showed the
manner of compcun ling rations from th ,
more common folders aud grains and for
the usual farm animals in an interesting
and instructive manner. He went on to
say that some dairymen are supported by
their cows while Others support their COWS,
and that study Of this matter OF properly
compromising ratlons would tend to in
crease the former and decrease the latter
class. Cows will live, oxen and horses
work aud sheep grow wool on i'll balanced
foods, but in less satisfactory and less
profitable manner Like animals, plan is
need food and need q balanced food, need
nitrogen, phos. 'horic acid snd potash. They
are exactiug in their demands and will not
substitute ono for another. Ii one be lack
ing, the crop does not thrive; if an over
abundance Of one i. present the surplus may
be loss. Cotton seed meal enriches manure
wonderfully, but it is a one. sided richness
nitrogen only. Add little of the other
ingredients TO balance the manure. One
third of the manure of our farms escape ut
in one way and another and it bshooyes Iii
to look up our wastes and check them.