Vol. IX. No. 217, 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



267 



SOY ME^L AND CAKE AS CAT TLE FOODS. 



The Munthlii Considar and Trade Reijurtfi gives 

 the following translation of an article on soy meal 

 and soy cake, which is based on results obtained at 

 the Central Institute for Agricultural Experiments, 

 Sweden: — 



In connexion with the now concludtd experiments with 

 soy meal and soy cake, in order to find their value as cattle 

 food, a .series of analytical tests ha.'^ been made regarding 

 the chemical composition of these fodder stutls. Similar 

 analyses, made by the managers of the bureaux of chemistry 

 located in the parts of the country where the soy feeds have 

 already come to be extensively used, have also been submitted, 

 so that the mean figures give the average results from 

 analyses of twenty samples. According to these tests, the 

 average composition of the soy food.sluffs is as follows: — 



Soy cake. Soy meal. 



Water IMl IISC 



Raw protein 43-29 45-48 



Kaw fat 610 1-88 



Carbohydrites 3404 35 33 



Ash ... ... 5'46 5'75 



Total 10000 10000 



Lately, soy-cake meal, sometimes called bean gluten feed, 

 has also appeared in the market, and differs from ordinary 

 extracted soy meal in so far that it contains the same fjercent 

 age of fat as the soy cake. 



By reason of their low percentage of cellulose, which, 

 according to the tests, varies from 2'67 to .5'27 per cent., the 

 soy foodstuft's are highly digestible. In this respect, the .soy 

 cake seems to be somewhat better than the soy meal, but in 

 comparison with other fodder stuffs both rank very high. 



When the percentage of water has been Ioav enough, 

 neither soy cake nor soy meal has undergone any changes 

 during lour to five months' storage On the other hand, two 

 samples of meal which contained 15 per cent, of water, and 

 were kept for some time, got mouldy and showed signs of 

 decomposition Therefore, buyers should lie careful, and see 

 to it that the moisture does not exceed 13 or 14 per cent. 



In the feeding experiments made, it has been shown that 

 soy cake as well as soy meal are eagerly consumed by neat 

 cattle, and daily rations as large as 3'3 D). to 44 B). have not 

 caused any unfavourable dietary etiects. In this respect, the 

 soy fodder stuffs seem to have a .slightly loosening effect, 

 comparable to that of good sunflower or ground nut cakes. 



Soj' cake, as well as soy meal, has iiigher fodder value 

 than ordinary sunflower cake, and, through experiments, it 

 has been found that 0'90 kilo. (kilo. = 2l' !b.) of soy cake, or 

 0'95 kilo, of soy meal, is, on an average, an eijuivalent substi- 

 tute for 1 kilo, of sunflower cake. On the two experimental 

 farms, the soy cake gave nearly identical results, while the 

 soy meal, by rea.son of varying composition, gave figures rang- 

 ing from 091 to 0'99 kilo. Counting 91 kilo, of sunfiower 

 cake as one fodder unit, the experiments have shown that, for 

 practical purposes, 0-85 kilo, of soy meal or cake, of usual 

 composition, can be counted equal to one fodder unit. 



With reference to the influence of the soy fodder stutt's 

 on the percentage of fat in the milk, the results of the experi- 

 ments are confiicting. Some of them show decrease, others 

 increase. If we compare the results here witli those obtained 

 in Germany, we are inclined to believe that the soy foodstutt's 

 have some tendency toward lowering the jiercentage of fat in 

 the milk produced, still, not in such a dcL'ree as to be of any 

 practical importance. 



No change in the appearance or taste of the milk has been 



detected, but the churning tests made in the summer time 

 have shown that the butter had a pronounced fodder taste 

 when larger ijuantities of .soy meal or cake were used. There- 

 fore, at places where the milk is utilized for the production of 

 butter, the daily ration of soy meal or cake given to each cow 

 shc>uld not exceed h- to |-kilo. 



With the limitation required on account of the above- 

 mentioned unfavourable effect on the taste of the butter, soy 

 meal and cake may be considered as good foodstufts for milch 

 cow.s, and deserve the farmer's attention, as they can be 

 obtained at a price somewhat lower than that for good 

 ground nut cake, and not appreciably higher than for sun- 

 fiower cake. 



AN APPARATUS FOR SOIL 

 STERILIZATION. 



A very efl"ective jilant for the sterilization of soil for the 

 purpose of securing a pure seed bed consists of a shallow pit, 

 18 inches in depth, Hoored with bricks. The walls are formed 

 of 9-inch brickwork, and divided into two compartments by 

 a singie-brick partition. Each of these compartments has 

 a capacity of 2 tons, only one being used at a time, so that 

 whilst one lot of .soil is being sterilized the other one is 

 being filled. 



'I'lie method adopted for the production of the necessary 

 heat is a simple one. Steam is sujiplied by means of a small 

 Ijortable boiler worked at a pressure of between 25 to 30 fc.; 

 ^'-inch piping is led from the boiler to the floor of each pit, 

 where it is joined to a T-piece, and from the T piece in each 

 of the pits six pipes are let into siiaces between the brick- 

 work on the floor, somewhat resembling the prongs of 

 a large fork. The pipes in the spaces of the brickwork are 

 lightly covered with sand. They are 8 inches apart, are 

 plugged at the ends farthest from the boiler, have a fall of 



1 inch, and are perforated along one side by iij-inch holes, 3 

 inches apart. To carry ott' the condensed steam, a drain is 

 provided of ordinary tiles. It runs along the whole length 

 of the pits close to the plugged ends of the steam pipes, is 

 buried in cinders an inch below the surface, and has a fall of 



2 or 3 inches. Two valve taps enable the operator to turn 

 the steam into the desired corajjartment. 



The soil or other substance to be sterilized is placed in 

 one of the pits. It is then covered with sacking, and the 

 steam turned on for a period of about two hours. The sack- 

 ing prevents the too rapid escape of the steam from the surface, 

 and rai.ses the whole mass to a higher temperature and in 

 a shorter time than it would otherwise attain «ere it left 

 uncovered. AVhen the upper layers reach a temperature of 

 212 ' F., it is allowed to steam for thirty minutes, the 

 whole operation occupying a period of two and a half hours. 

 The second compartment having been prepared during the 

 sterilization of the first one, the steam is cut ott" from the 

 latter and turned on to No. 2, and in this manner the steriliz- 

 ation of the soil proceeds without interruption. 



As soon as the soil taken from the sterilizer is sufficient- 

 ly cool, it is ready as a seed bed. When it is necessary to 

 sterilize cow or stable manure for the purpose of killing 

 weeds, etc., it is treated in like manner, but on removal from 

 the pit it is desirable to spread it out in a layer of 4 inches 

 to dry it somewhat. 



AVhen once a sterilizing [ilant of this description has 

 been fixed in position, the operation can be carried out at 

 little more than the cost of the labour, for it is a convenient 

 method of dispo.sing of the accumulations of leaves, pieces of 

 wood, and other refuse. (The Journal of the Department of 

 Afirirnltvri' of Victoria, Yo\. VIII, p. 366.) 



