REPORTS ON DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF FOOD FOR STOCK. 71 



cream are given in Table IV., and the quantities of butter from 

 10 lbs. whole milk, churned at 66°, are given in Table V. 



The specific gravities of the whole milk, the skimmed milk, 

 and the whey, were also taken; the results, however, are so close, 

 that it would only take up space unnecessarily to give them in 

 detail, the difference (which was very slightly in favour of bean- 

 meal) not being greater than is within the ordinary limit of error 

 in weighing. The same remarks apply to the observations on 

 the difference in the colour of the milk, or the comparative lengths 

 of the time taken to churn it, and to the colour and quality of 

 the butter. The difference may simply be put as nil. 



During the two periods, of twenty-eight days each, the quantity 

 of meal consumed by each lot was 896 lbs., or 3^- loads. The 

 gain in weight acquired by the feeding beasts when on oatmeal, 

 over that acquired on the beanmeal, was 51 lbs. (Table I.) As the 

 greater part of this must have gone to add to the " dead weight " 

 of the animals, we shall strike off only 3 lbs. for offal, thus leav- 

 ing 48 lbs. net. This quantity, at the moderate price of 4s. per 

 stone of 8 lbs., gives 24s. According to this experiment and 

 these calculations, then, if the beanmeal was worth 25s. per load, 

 the oatmeal was worth 32s. 6d. ; and their relative values for 

 fattening cattle would stand as 10 is to 13. 



Dealing with the milch cows' experiment in the same way, we 

 have 25 lbs. gain in favour of oatmeal (Table II.), say 24 lbs. net. 

 This, at the same rate as before, gives 12s. The 73 lbs. milk 

 (Table III.), at the price of 3 Jd. per imperial pint, would fetch just 

 about 4s. In this case, if the beanmeal was worth 25s. per load, 

 the oatmeal was worth exactly 30s. per load, and the proportion- 

 ate values stand as 10 is to 12. We are not entitled, however, to 

 conclude that oatmeal is thus much the better of the two as a 

 milk producer ; for if we throw aside the gain in weight, and 

 take into account the increased quantity of milk only, the 

 values would stand thus : beanmeal 25s., oatmeal 26s. 3d., or as 

 10 is to 10 h. 



We invariably look with a certain degree of distrust on the 

 deductions from single experiments — more especially if these 

 have been on the feeding of animals — no matter how carefully 

 or satisfactorily they may have been conducted. Experiments 

 of this class are liable to so many causes of inaccuracy, that it is 

 only when a considerable number have been made, on the same 

 plan and under like conditions, that we feel entitled to make 

 minute deductions ; but the above seem to indicate that oatmeal 

 possesses weight for weight, a considerably higher value than 

 beanmeal for the production of fat, and that it is at least equally 

 valuable with beanmeal for the production of milk. 



