Part 8

No. 3. 17 lbs. clover hay. 3 " wheat bran. 10 " corn meal.

No. 4. 25 lbs. oat straw. 5 " wheat bran. 4 " linseed cake.

DIGESTIBILITY OF FOODS.

The following table, copied from Prof. Stewart, gives the digestibility of a few of the more common foods:

Digestible In 100 lbs. Digestible. in 2,000 lbs. ------------------------------------------------------------- CLOVER HAY. Albuminoids 15.3 10.7 214 Carbo-hydrates 35.8} 37.5 752 Crude fibre 22.2} Fat 3.2 2.1 42 ---- 1008

In 100 lbs. Digestible. Digestible in 2,000 lbs. ------------------------------------------------------------------- AVERAGE MEADOW HAY.

Albuminoids 9.7 5.4 108 Carbo-hydrates 41.6} 41.0 820 Crude fiber 21.9} Fat 2.5 1.0 20 ---- 948

CORN FODDER.

Albuminoids 4.4 3.2 66 Carbo hydrates 37.9} 43.4 868 Crude fiber 25.0} Fat 1.3 1.0 20 ---- 954

OAT STRAW.

Albuminoids 4.0 1.4 28 Carbo-hydrates 36.2} 40.1 802 Crude fibre 39.5} Fat 2.0 0.7 14 ---- 844

LINSEED OIL CAKE.

Albuminoids 28.3 23.77 475 Carbo-hydrates 32.3} 35.15 703 Fibre 10.0} Fat 10.0 9.0 180 ---- 1358

WHEAT BRAN.

Albuminoids 15.0 12.9 252 Carbo-hydrates 52.2} 42.6 852 Fibre 10.1} Fat 3.2 2.6 52 ---- 1156

CORN MEAL.

Albuminoids 10.0 8.4 168 Carbo-hydrates 62.1} 60.6 1212 Crude fibre 5.5} Fat 6.5 4.8 96 ---- 1476

OATS.

Albuminoids 12.0 9.0 180 Carbo-hydrates 55.0} 43.0 860 Crude fibre 9.3} Fat 6.5 4.7 94 ---- 1134

ELEMENTS OF FOOD.

We give the names of a few foods, with their relative amount of nitrogenous and carbonaceous elements:

FOODS. Nitrogenous. Carbonaceous. ------------------------------------------------------ Meadow hay, medium 1 to 8.0 Red clover, medium 1 " 5.9 Lucerne, good 1 " 2.8 Swedish clover (alsike) 1 " 4.9 Orchard grass, in blos'm 1 " 6.5 White clover, medium 1 " 5.0 Timothy 1 " 8.1 Blue grass, in blossom 1 " 7.5 Red top 1 " 5.4 Fodder rye 1 " 7.2 Italian rye grass 1 " 6.3 Hungarian grass 1 " 7.1 Rich pasture grass 1 " 3.6 Green maize, German 1 " 8.9 Fodder oats 1 " 7.2 Sorghum 1 " 7.4 Pasture clover, young 1 " 2.5 Red clover, before bl's'm 1 " 3.8 Red clover, in blossom 1 " 5.7 White clover, in blossom 1 " 4.2 Buckwheat, in blossom 1 " 5.1 Fodder cabbage 1 " 5.2 Ruttabaga leaves 1 " 3.9 Fermented hay, from maize 1 " 12.0 Fermented hay, from beet leaves 1 " 4.0 Fermented hay, from red clover 1 " 4.1 Winter wheat straw 1 " 45.8 Winter rye straw 1 " 52.0 Winter barley straw 1 " 40.5 Oat straw 1 " 29.9 Corn stalks 1 " 34.4 Seed clover 1 " 7.4 Wheat chaff 1 " 24.1 Rye chaff 1 " 32.6 Oat chaff 1 " 23.8 Barley chaff 1 " 30.4 Potatoes 1 to 10.6 Artichokes 1 " 8.7 Ruttabagas 1 " 8.3 Sugar beets 1 " 17.0 Carrots 1 " 9.3 Turnips 1 " 5.8 Wheat, grain 1 " 5.8 Rye, grain 1 " 7.0 Barley, grain 1 " 7.9 Oats, grain 1 " 6.1 Maize, grain 1 " 8.6 Millet, grain 1 " 5.4 Peas, grain 1 " 2.9 Buckwheat, grain 1 " 7.4 Cotton seed 1 " 4.6 Pumpkins 1 " 18.4 Coarse wheat bran 1 " 5.6 Wheat middlings 1 " 6.9 Rye bran 1 " 5.3 Barley bran 1 " 4.5 Buckwheat bran 1 " 4.1 Hempseed cake 1 " 1.5 Sunflower 1 " 1.3 Corn bran 1 " 10.3 Brewers' grain 1 " 3.0 Malt sprouts 1 " 2.2 Wheat meal 1 " 5.7 Rape cake 1 " 1.7 Rape meal, extracted 1 " 1.3 Barley, middlings 1 " 6.0 Oat bran 1 " 9.7 Linseed cake 1 " 2.0 Linseed meal, extracted 1 " 1.4 Cot'n-seed meal, decort. 1 " 1.8 Cot'n-s'd cake, undecort. 1 " 1.7 Cow's milk 1 " 4.4 Buttermilk 1 " 2.6 Skimmed milk 1 " 1.9 Cream 1 " 30.5

ENSILAGE.

Major Henry E. Alvord, of Houghton Farm, N.Y., gives the following as the range and average of analyses by a large number of eminent scientists: Range in 100 lbs. Average. Total dry matter 15.10 to 25.90 18.60 Water 84.90 to 74.10 81.40 Protein 0.90 to 1.90 1.30 Fat 0.30 to 0.90 0.60 Nitrogen-free extract 7.60 to 13.40 9.60 Crude Fiber 4.70 to 7.90 5.90 Ash 0.90 to 1.40 1.20

REMARKS.

It is safe to always feed cotton seed meal, bran, or linseed cake with corn fodder, or fodder corn, or ensilage. And it will always be found to work well if corn meal is fed with clover hay. Corn ensilage with clover hay will constitute a proper feed. To avoid waste, and secure the best results, we must learn to balance the nitrogenous and carbonaceous foods. Our greatest difficulty in feeding, as in manuring the soil, is to secure enough of the nitrogenous elements. These are what we have mainly to look out for, the carbonaceous foods usually being over abundant.

Not only must we proportion the elements of food properly, but we must prepare the food so that it will be in a proper condition. It may contain all the elements, but in consequence of being in a bad or wrong condition, the animal cannot digest it. There is plenty of carbon in coal, but who would expect the animal stomach to digest it? So there is nitrogen in saltpeter and gun-cotton, but they are not in a suitable condition or form for digestion, and hence have no food value. Most raw vegetables are indigestible in the human stomach, but cook them, and thus put them in a proper condition, and they become nutritious foods.

There are few, if any, perfect foods. Every food needs to be supplemented with something else. Hence it is that both men and animals want variety. Summer pasture, composed of mixed grasses, makes the best food for all kinds of stock. Meadow hay, cut at the right time and properly cured--provided there is a mixture of grasses--makes a proper food for winter; but even this needs to be accompanied by roots, ensilage or something of a juicy nature, as a relish, if for nothing else, and as an aid to digestion.