Lower coast gazette., 1909-06-05
Stock Feeding in Europe.

Stock Feeding in Europe.
The plentitude of livestock %foodstuffs in the United states has
prevented that careful consideration Of the relation between the
cost of feeding and final results, that has prevailed in Europe for
a long period. Twenty years ago Liverpool houses were soliciting
shipments of molasses from Louisiana to be sold there for stock
feed. At that time the market for molasses had broken down to
a low level for the first time in its history and the tank car method
of transportation had not yet developed.
Our readers are familiar with the history of molasses feeding
during the last twenty years, but we advert to it now because OF a
report of Prot. W. J. Kennedy of the Iowa Agricultural College Ex-
pertinent Station on Methods of Feeding in Europe. His findings
over there were that the farmers did not raise much Indian corn
and did not buy il to any extent for stock feeding, but fed on
other materials and in feeding consumed a greater proportion of
rough forage than has been the custom in this country. Expert
'ence has shown that in horse and mule feeding. half and half OF
corn and oats and cut hay includes about the largest portion OF
rough forage that has been fed to work stock. Some years ago.
lin a large New York stable. where over two thousand horses
were fed, their ration was II pounds of grain and 8 pounds OF
cut hay per day.
Prof. Kennedy found that in England the farmers were pre-
dspositioned in favor of various root crops, such az mangel wurt'
zds, turnips and ~rutabagas, while in France and Germany sugar
heets and sugar beet pulp were largely used as feedstu1fs, with
hay and straw for ~roughage in the winter and grass pasturage or
soljpg crops in the summer. The dependence of the farmer seems
to have been largely upon c~ottouseed oil cake or linseed oil cake,
the allowance Of this oil cake per day reaching in some cases as
much as 4 or 5 pounds to the animal. Cattle feeding seems to have
had the most considerations from Prof. Kennedy and he states that
some farmers fed as high as l25 pounds of root per animal per Gay
and that the majority of the farmers fed from 50 to 80 pounds,
with a large amount of oil cake all the time. The cake Is broken in
to small pieces and fed on the ground and the grain is crushed or
ground and the hay or straw cut,
This brings us to a point that we desire to bring out IN this
article and that is to the effect that in I feeding molasses in Louisi'
ana we began by feeding it directly in open tanks, allowing the an
imals to lick up as much Of it as they desired, and. they were SO
fond Of it that frequently in coming in from the fields the mules
would 90 to the molasses tanks before going to the watering tanks
Since then there hrs been inaugurated on many plantations a sys
tenn Of cutting uphay into short pieces say two inches long, and
mixing the cut hay and moasses together with an amount OF cot
ton seed meal equal to about 2 pounds per day per animal. This
! ration seems to be very effective, the quantity of molasses and hay
being limited only by the amount that is taken by the animals ant
) the cottonseed meal, being bought in ! hundred pound bags is read
8 lily adjusted to the number Of animals and their meals. This methot
t of feeding the rough forage which Prof. Kennedy says is yer!
t much desired in Europe, has in instances under our own obser
$ walton, doubled the consumption Of rough forage. IN other words
d this molasses feed made on the basis, we will say, Of II pounds Q
molasses 2pounds of cotton seed meal and 20 or more pounds o
e cut hay per animal per day, results in the consumption OF abou
e twice as much hay as was consumed under the old method OF sta
s feeding. This enormously increased consumption of hay in tn
) molasses feedin this way results in a very large amount Of chewing
being done by the animals and the resulting. thorough insaivatio
n of the food, which is an essential eementin digestion Of starch Q
y carbonabious foods. England uses beans and oil cake as we US
|, oats snd cottonseed meal, for the heterogeneous portion of our stoc
g feed and the large amounts Of hay and straw and rough roots. tia
70 they use doubtless entail upon thier animals an amount of chewin
e very similar to that which is had here by the use Of cut hay wit
moasses and cottonseed meal. This thorough insaivation OF tn
food reflects itself in the generally good condition Of the ANNA
that are carefully fed in this way,