DIGESTION AND WINTER FEEDING. 57 



and caught up an onion, and ate it. The animal was slaugh- 

 tered within a short time ; and the flavor of the onion went 

 into the circulation, and flavored the beef so that it could not 

 be used. Now, if that steer had remained alive a sufficient 

 length of time for the gases to have had an opportunity to 

 pass from the body, then that meat would have been good. 

 I think it is just so with the feeding of cabbage. I think the 

 system is at first impregnated with the gases, or the flavor 

 of the cabbage, when the milk has been withdrawn from the 

 animal ; and I think that the gases have an opportunity to 

 escape before the milk is secreted in large quantities, and 

 consequently it is not flavored with the cabbage, as it would 

 be if it had been fed between the milkings. 



Mr. Peterson (of Marshfield). I do not wish to prolong 

 this discussion, as it is quite late; but my personal experience 

 confirms Mr. Hadwen's. Once in my life I had two thou- 

 sand heads of cabbage on hand that were worth only three 

 dollars a hundred. I had a sale for all my milk ; and the 

 question arose, when I put them into my cellar, whether I 

 could not feed my cabbage to my cows, and get my pay for 

 them in milk. I did so, and there was no complaint made 

 all through the winter; and I never had such cream, even in 

 summer time, as I had when I fed those cabbages. The 

 cows had all they wanted to eat ; and for four weeks — I 

 take care of my own cows : I don't allow anybody else, 

 except when I go to a meeting of the State Board, to take 

 care of them — for four weeks they did not drink a drop of 

 water, and saved me all that trouble. They got all the water 

 they wanted out of the cabbages. When my cabbages were 

 gone, I had a quantity of turnips ; and I undertook to get 

 along a little while with them, but I had to stop it very 

 soon. They imparted a disagreeable flavor to my milk, and 

 my customers would not use it. Besides that, my cows lost 

 as fast as they gained when I commenced on cabbages. 



Question. Did you feed both your cabbages and turnips 

 just after milking? 



Mr. Peterson. I did, sir ; and still the turnips tainted 

 the milk. 



Dr. BoWEN. I am very glad to hear that point of feeding 

 cabbage treated by practical men. Theoreticall}^ I think 

 the remarks of Mr. Hadwen are correct ; for it is a fact that 



