FISH FODDER FOR CATTLE. Ill 



made to preserve a standard of quality, and produce a manure 

 which for fineness of manufacture is very satisfactory ; but it is 

 quite evident that in all this industry there is a great waste of 

 ready-made albumen and oil, which might be converted directly 

 into flesh and fat if it were used as fodder instead of as 

 manure. 



If fish meal becomes, as it ought to become, a recognised and 

 established article of fodder, there would be some grading 

 adopted according to the sources from which it was derived, and 

 methods of manufacture would be employed that would render 

 the substance irreproachable as an article of diet. This is a 

 matter that might jDrofitably receive the attention of the Nor- 

 wegian Government, and of those interested in the fisheries of 

 that country. 



In this country the curing of white fish is a comparatively 

 small affair, but we have a very large and valuable herring 

 fishery, and the curing of herrings is carried on on a large scale 

 all around our coasts. The herring is a very oily fish, and the 

 offal derived from the herring curing is also very rich in oil. 

 This property should enhance its value as a source of fodder, 

 but it adds considerably to the difficulty of making a fodder 

 from it of good marketable quality. I am not aware whether 

 any successful attempts to produce herring fodder meal have 

 been made in this country, but two years ago there came under 

 my notice a sample of such a meal, manufactured by Harald, 

 Heiberg, & Co. in Christiania. 



Through the kindness of Mr Anker Bodtker, the Swedish and 

 Norwegian consul-general, a supply of the herring meal was 

 obtained for the purpose of making an experiment. On analysis 

 it was found to contain about 40 per cent, of albumen and 20 

 per cent, of oil. It smelt strongly of herring, and did not im- 

 press one as being likely to be relished by cattle. It occurred 

 to me, also, that the strong fishy taste and smell of the sub- 

 stance might render it objectionable as a fodder for milch cows, 

 by contributing a flavour to milk and butter. Accordingly, I 

 was anxious to have the meal used as a bye-fodder in the diet 

 of milch cows, and compared with linseed cake, cotton cake, or 

 other bye-fodder. Mr Speir, Newton Farm, kindly undertook 

 to make the experiment with his own dairy cows, and the 

 record of that prolonged experiment given below will be read 

 with much interest. It shows very distinctly that even so oily 

 and rich a substance as herring meal may be given to cows in 

 large quantities without in any way affecting the flavour of the 

 milk, and that as a bye-fodder it is able to take the place of 

 concentrated fodders such as oilcake, peasemeal, and the like. 

 The price of the meal was £7, 10s. per ton two years ago. It 

 will probably be cheaper now, but even at that price the meal 



