CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 193 



BOUSSINGAULT has recently made some observations concerning the 

 influence of salt upon the fattening- of cattle. His experiments show 

 that salt does not exert that beneficial influence on the growth of cat- 

 tle, and the production of flesh, which is usually attributed to it. The 

 experiments extended over a period of thirteen months, and were made 

 upon a number of steers, some of which had their rations salted, while 

 others had not ; in other respects they were treated in a precisely 

 similar manner. The results show, that the increase in the propor- 

 tion of flesh does not pay for the salt employed. It is, however, re- 

 marked, that a saline diet does exert a beneficial effect on the appear- 

 ance and condition of animals ; for the steers which were deprived of 

 salt for eleven months appeared sluggish, and of a languid tempera- 

 ment, their coats being rough, devoid of gloss, and partially bare, 

 while those which had been fed with salt were lively, had a fine 

 glossy coat, and were sure to attain a considerably higher price in 

 the market. Ann. Ch. Phys., XX., XXII. 



DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DRY AND MOISTENED FODDER. 



BOUSSINGAULT has recently tested by experiment the widely diffused 

 view of the practical farmer, that soaked fodder forms a more suitable 

 food than that which is dry. It was found that heifers fed with soaked 

 hay gained in weight over those fed during the same time with dry 

 hay, though the increase was so slight that it hardly compensated for 

 the additional trouble. By reversing the order of feeding, the results 

 were the same. The moistening of fodder also appears to have no 

 influence upon the secretion of milk. The use of moistened fodder 

 appears to be of advantage only in those cases in which quick fattening 

 is required, since the cattle devour the fodder much quicker nearly 

 twelve times as fast when it is in this condition. Liebig's Annual 

 Report. 



NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES OF THE APPLE. 



THAT apples are valuable as food for animals is now generally ac- 

 knowledged, and their use for this purpose has, within a few years, 

 been greatly extended, though it is probable that their relative value 

 compared with other articles is but little understood. From accurate 

 experiments, it has been ascertained that apples, after having been 

 stewed with meal, in the proportion of four quarts of meal to a bushel 

 of apples, when fed to swine, are fully equal, if not superior, in nu- 

 tritive qualities, to the same amount of potatoes similarly prepared. 

 A peck of apples a day, fed to a cow, has been found to add more 

 than a quart to the daily quantity of milk, besides greatly increasing 

 its richness, as well as improving the condition of the cow. The 

 effect of apples is equally favorable on other stock. Horses fatten on 

 them, and their coats assume a brilliancy which hardly any other food 

 will give them. For all stock they answer a similar purpose as veg- 

 etables, in preventing costiveness, which is likely to ensue from exclu- 

 sive use of dry food ; and in this way, and by the nutriment they con- 



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