Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-09-28

,iE. 70 know your opinion regarding to-
bscco stems as a source Of potash Tor orul-
nary field crops. such as corn ana eoiIou'
owing 10 the shortage Of kainit and murlate,
we have thought OF using tobacco stems as
substitute.
Tobacco stems have long been conSlu-
erde a desirable source of potash, anu
as this material is of vegetable origin
n naturally undergoes decomposition IN
the ground very readily, and hence the
fertilizer constituents contained therein
become readily available. or course
material of this kind varies in compost
tion. hut IL ordinarily contains from
to 2.5 per cent of nitrogen, to per
cent of potash and to per cent ol
phosphoric acid. 1t should prove sat
isfactory source of potash for use on
frui- and truck crops. In fact uhder
existing conditions we would not nest
tate 10 use 1t for this purpose, but IN
fact would recommend it's use provided
II can be bought at a price which woulu
Justify its application.
THE VALUE OF STERELIZED SHEEP
MANURE.
F Columbus, Ca, writes: l would
like some information as to the value oi
sterilized sheep manure as a tertlHer
During recent years commercial ma
nure from animal eXcrements nave
made their appearance on the market
in considerable quantities. This ma
terial consists primarily of the manure
obtained in the vicinity or STOCK yarus
Naturally II is generally mixed with
some dirt and refuse. This material
contains approximately 20 per cent or
nitrogen. Is per cent phosphoric acid
and 5 per cent potash. You can judge
from this of it's merits and value Tor
fertilizing purposes. OF course the par
ticular material you have in mind may
vary somewhat in composition from the
figures quoted above but we presume
they will at least approximate this
composition. Naturally material of this
kind could be prepared by various pro-
cesses and one would need to purchase
1t on a guaranteed analysis to be sure
just what they were getting.
VELVET BEANS AS FOOD FOR
HORSES.
J. J.. H., Americas. Ca, writes: What
do you think of feeding velvet bean meal to
horses and mules along with oatsr Would
it the mules to shed and thereby
make a prettier coat OF hair? How much
should be fed per day?
There is no reason why some velvet
bean meal should not be fed to horses
and mules with satisfactory results, es-
pecially where one is feeding corn eX-
clusively, which is the common practice
on the average Georgia plantation. vel
vet beans without the hulls contain
about 21.S per cent of protein, SO per
cent of fat, "a per cent of fiber, Sill
per cent of carbohydrates, and 81 per
cent of ash Where the hulls are ground
in with the beans the per cent of pro-
tein falls to 16.5 per cent, and there is
a correspo lding decrease in the other
elements mentioned. Velvet beans could
be combined with corn in the proportion
of one-third of the former to two-thirds
of the latter. The addition of con-
centrate rich In protein and containing
a fair amount of ash to a ration of corn
should be beneficial for horses and
mules as this would tend to balance up
the ration and supply elements in which
corn is naturally deficient. We do not
think velvet beans fed in the manner in
dicated would cause horses and mules TO,
shed especially soon. We are inclined
to think that If you would feed a small
amount of silage, say five pounds, or at
most ten pounds per head per day, you
would secure a better coat and an earlier
shedding than through the use of any
other form of roughage. Silage, as you
probably understand, is a good substi-
tute for grass. Only that which has
molds should be fed to horses and
mules Where one proposes to feed cot
tonseed meal to horses and mules, 900
pounds of corn and cob meal and 100
pounds of cottonseed meal mixed to-
gether will furnish q good ration. In
feeding either one of the concentrated
formulas suggested in this letter, 1T
would be best to use ~ to Is pounds per
head per day. This amount should be
m 9r-l1N I'D
should be increased or decreased ac-
cording to the size and age of the ant
mails and the character of work they are
expected to perform
THE COMPOSITION OF LEADING
CONCENTRATES.
A. &. NJ, Valdosta, Ca, writes: | would
like TO know the amount of protein, carbo-
hydrates and fat contained in corn, corn
meal including the cob, and alfalfa and
peanut hay.
Corn meal contains approximately 60
per cent of digestible protein, $50 per
cent digestible carbohydrates and 3.5 per
cent digestible fat. Corn and cob meal
contains approximately 61 per cent di-
gestible protein, 63.7 per cent digestible
carbohydrates and 81 digestible fat. AL
falfa hay contains approximately Il
pounds of crude protein, 43 pounds OF
fiber, 70 pounds of nitrogen free eX-
tract and 9s pounds of fat. Peanut vine
contains approximately 70 pounds of
crude protein, 90 pounds of fiber, "
pounds Of nitrogen free extract and 80
pounds of fat.
With this data before you you can no
doubt Judge satisfactorily of the rela-
lively merits Of these food materials for
the nutrition Of different classes of live
stock. You understand OF course that
rations unduly rich in nitrogen should
not be fed to horses and mules Dairy
cows require a good deal of protein and
beef cattle a little less. 500 pounds,
say of corn and COD meal mixed with
about 100 POUNDS of cottonseed meal
and fed along with about IL pounds Of
mixed hay and pounds OF alfalfa hay
would make an excellent ration for