162 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



possess many points of great usefulness. I wish it every 

 success. The price, £30, is rather high. 



MANUFACTURED CATTLE FOOD, i. e., THOR- 

 LEY'S FOOD FOR CATTLE — BRADLEY'S 

 FOOD FOR CATTLE. 



The manufacture of food for cattle is certainly by no 

 means new; but as we find our agricultural papers 

 teeming with advertisements of " Food for Cattle," I 

 acQ tempted to look a little into the matter. I do not 

 pretend to inquire into the mysteries of the food ■pie- 

 Yivcd by Joiitph Tkorleij, jExq., or Mr. Bradley, and 

 others ; but as these preparations of food are obtaining 

 considerable notoriety, if not popularity, I may be par- 

 doned for classing them amongst the new things in agri- 

 culture, and briefly alluding to them as such. 



The great and very important subject which is here 

 involved is that of animal nnlrition. Now as this is 

 a subject upon which 1 am free to confess great igno- 

 rance, I hope to be excused making copious extracts 

 from a work now before me, and which ought to be in 

 the hands of every intelligent farmer — " Morton's Cy- 

 clopiedia of Agriculture." The article written by Pro- 

 fessor Voelcker is a very talented and instructive one. 

 He says — 



No scientific investigation in which the animal physiologist 

 engages is more intimately connected with the successfid prac- 

 tice of farming than the inquiry into the processes of nutri- 

 tion. On the views we entertain with regard to the theory of 

 nutrition not only depends our success in breeding and rearing 

 stock and the fattening of animals, but also the economic 

 management and application of farm-yard manure. The 

 greatest interest and higheat practical importance, therefore, 

 belong to the beautiful researches with which Muhler, Bous- 

 singanit, Dumas, aud particularly Liebig, have made us ac- 

 quainted. We are bound to acknowledge witd gratitude the 

 services already rendered by these and other philosophers, who 

 have endeavoured to d-^termiue experimentally the relative 

 value of the different articles of food, aud to throw light on 

 the still mysterious process of nutrition. Tiie bodies of ani- 

 mals consist principally of the following parts, the composition 

 of which we must briefly consider : The flesh, or muscles ; 

 the blood ; the fat ; the skin, hair, or wool. 



The fleshy parts, or muscles, of animals consist principally 

 of muscular fibre, and contain, besides, celiular tissue, nervons 

 substance, blood aud Ij mphatic vessels, and an acid juice. In 

 this juice is found a peculiar organic base, called kreotine, also 

 lactic and inosinic acid, albumen, the sapid or taste-giving in- 

 gredients of flesh, aud inorganic matter, principally salts of 

 potash and phosphates of lime and magnesia. 



Chemically considered, animal bodies may thus be re- 

 presented as consisting of — 



1st. Organic matters free from nitrogen (fat). 

 2nd. Organic substances rich in nitrogen (fibrin, albu- 

 men, &c.). 

 3rd. Inorganic salts (chloride of sodium, phosphate 



of lime, salts of potash). 

 4th. Water. 

 These constituents the animal can only liave derived from 

 the food with which it is fed, or from the air, in which a 

 portion at least of the organic elements occur; but as we all 

 know that life is not supported by air, the food naturally is 

 regarded as the source h-om which the constituent parts' of 

 the animal body are derived. 



Professor Playfair, in another part of this valuable 

 work on diet, says — 



All food may be divided into thi'ee groups : — 

 1st. Flesh-forming substances. 

 2nd. Heat-giving ingredients. 



3rd. Mineral matter for the production of bones and 

 inorganic ingredients of flesh and blood. 

 The.se three groups exist in all kinds of vegetable food 

 adapted for the nutrition of animals. It is therefore easy 

 to tabulate the principal subsfcmces used for human nutri- 

 tion, so as to show their relative value. 

 Apart of which I extract, as showing the composition 

 100 parts food as it occurs in commerce— 



CO 



w 

 o 



H 

 «? . 



^■^ 



25 



H 



A ci 



0-<00.-it>.00-*COOOOCOO»Otoa3CO 



0000-*-*C100-*0— IIMO-^OOOO 



. c: i^ iTi -:i> '__5 o C5 



o CO o o — M :■; o o o -"-• CO -* o o 10 o o 10 

 o 'O o '.c (^ CO -f --t< o 9> ^ -* 'o r— I us t-— "O o 02 



1'^ CO 



2a 



'^^£ &-.S-13 ten • • 



03 ? f-j 0) ;i 



The column exhibiting the amount of flesh-forming prin- 

 ciples in the food is a very close approximation to the 

 true nutritive value. 



I have taken these extracts with the view of showing 

 that in the hands of a good practical chemist a prepara- 

 tion or compound of ingredients made from the above 

 articles of food named, and other sources, may consti- 

 tute one of our most valuable resources for the fattening 

 of cattle aud the nutrition of other animals. I am 

 generous enough to give Messrs. Thorley, Bradley, and 

 others, credit for making the attempt to provide for this 

 want in our new order of things. I regret that just at 

 this moment I cannot lay my hand upon any analysis of 

 the locust or Carib bean, which is so generally well 

 spoken of, as adding nutritive value to many compounds. 

 I presume these manufacturers of cattle food well know 

 its value ; for if one might judge from olfactory exami- 

 nation, it forms no inconsiderable portion of their 

 mixtures. I find no fault with their prepared or " in- 

 vented" food, their " invaluable compound" "invented 

 by the sole proprietor," &c. : I believe them to be good 

 and serviceable; all I desire is to guard my brother- 

 farmers against '' paying too much for their whistle. " 

 Thorley 's Food is sold in cases containing 448 packages, 

 each package one feed, at a cost of 58s. per case, or the 

 same quantity in casks at 50s. Bradley sells his horse 

 and cattle food at 42s. per cwt.,and his pig food at 24s. 

 per cwt. Mr. Thorley does not give us the weight of 

 his packages. I am now purchasing barley-meal at 10s. 

 Gd. per cwt., the best linseed-cake at 10s. 6d. per cwt., 

 and Carib beans at 8s. 6d. per cwt. These are really- 

 great contrasts in price ; but of course I do not compare 

 their relative values with these nev> things iti agricul- 

 ture ; in fact I know nothing about them, more parti- 

 cularly as to their composition. Those samples coming 

 under my examination appeared to consist of a rather 

 coarse flour of a yellowish colour, having the peculiar 

 rancid smell of the Carib bean alluded to above. I 

 have no doubt whatever that a judicious admixture of 

 Indian corn-meal (maize), barley, bean, pea, or oat 

 rneals, together with Catib bean or linseed-meal, and 

 similar substances, does constitute a good article of food, 

 of highly nutritious and fattening quahty. My aim in 

 forwarding this paper will be fully answered if it should 

 lead any of your readers to make full inquiry as to th 

 nature of these kinds of food, and their value, befor 

 making their purchases. 



