THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



73 



ANALYSIS OF IlAPECAKE. 



Per cent. 



Moisture 7.50 



Oil 10.60 



Albumiuous compounds, or flesh-producing 



principles 33.34 



Ash 9 00 



Other couatituenta 39.56 



100.00 

 Nitrogen 5.22 



The result of a comparison is to show that oilcake isj 

 so far as oil is concerned, of 15 times greater 

 value than straw ; and I perceive that in this work, 

 which was referred to by Mr. Mechi, 3Gs. is set down 

 as the value of a ton of straw. The assumption that 

 is erroneous, I say, is, that a certain amount of carbon, 

 oxygen, and hydrogen in straw is equivalent to a certain 

 amount of oil, starch, or sugar. 1 beg to say that so 

 far as my experiments have gone they show that assump- 

 tion to be utterly unfounded (cheers). During a 

 twelvemonth's investigation I have seen nothing which 

 tends to show that that, which Mr. Mechi spoke of as exist- 

 ing in straw, is equivalent in value to a corresponding 

 amount of oil, fat, starch, or sugar. I must, therefore, 

 recommend you, gentlemen, not, till you have proof 

 that you would be right in so doing, to discontinue the 

 use of oilcake and resort to the feeding of cattle on 

 straw (cheers). The analysis of rapecake and oilcake 

 show also that they are nearly equal in feeding proper- 

 ties, and 1 have no doubt that in time rapecake will 

 be much more largely employed than at present. 

 Let me further remark, that all the parts of plants 

 have some functions to perform, and may be used. 

 There is a certain amount of feeding material in 

 wheat straw, bean straw, and other straws, but it 

 is very small compared with the amount contained 

 in seeds. The chief use of such things is to add bulk to 

 the food, because the animals that you usually feed, 

 namely, herbivorous animals, and those which are in the 

 habit of ruminating, required a large quantity of solid 

 matter. We know very well that if persons eat honey 

 by itself they will become sick. The Indians when they 

 have found a bee- hive in a tree get some of the rotten 

 wood of the tree and mix it with the honey, knowing 

 from experience that too large an amount of strong 

 food is injurious. With respect to straws generally, my 

 opinion is that they are exceedingly useful if properly 

 employed. To this I would add that if you fed animals 

 on straw you would find the manure very different from 

 what it is when they have been fed on oilcake or any 

 similar feeding substance. I must reiterate that I would 

 advise you not to use too large a quantity of stimulating 

 manure £pr plants, unless your object be simply to obtain 

 grasses. You should, of course, apply good manures — 

 such as well-made dung, guano, or other nitrogenous 

 substances— to your corn crops ; but you should, at the 

 same time, use something that will tend to arrest the 

 first action of the manure, such as salt, in order that 

 you may have the benefit of its action afterwards in the 

 production of ithe grain. In the case of turnips and 

 other root crops, it is, in my opinion, necessary to take 

 care that too large an amount of soluble phosphate 

 should not be given to the plant, that a considerable 

 amount of the phosphates should be not exactly insoluble, 

 but still, in a state in which there will be less power 

 of solution, in order that a certain amount of materials 

 maybe furnished to the plant in the months of October 

 and November. There should be soluble phosphates, 

 to enable plants to pass the fly and assume the broad 

 leaf. I believe that if my recommendation on this sub- 

 ject were followed, there would be fewer failures of tur- 

 nips than have been seen recently. Mangel-wurzel 

 generally requires higher manuring than turnips These 



opinions are the result of practical observation. Time 

 will not permit me at present to lay before you an ex- 

 tensive series of analyses in which I have been engaged ; 

 but the results will be sent to the chief agricultural 

 organs, and to each of the members of the club. I con- 

 clude, gentlemen, by thanking you for the kind manner 

 in which you have listened to my remarks (cheers). 



It is necessary to state here that Mr. Nesbit retired 

 from the room at the conclusion of his lecture, being so 

 much indisposed that he had been accompanied to the 

 room by two medical attendants, and had delivered his 

 lecture in opposition to their advice. 



Mr. Bond (Ipswich, Suffolk) could not help ex- 

 pressing the pleasure with which he had listened to Mr. 

 Nesbit's introduction. It had struck him that the re- 

 marks that gentleman had made with regard to over- 

 manuring, and the consequent formation of extreme cell- 

 ular tissues in straw, were well worthy the consideration 

 of farmers in connection with their daily culture of the soil 

 (Hear, hear). He found that in Norfolk the barley had, 

 owing to excess in manuring, been completely thrown 

 down; and farmers in that part of the country were now 

 adopting the system of growing barley after wheat- 

 stubble, instead of growing it after the turnip crop. As 

 regarded straw for feeding purposes, it was quite evident 

 that its value arose not solely from the nutritive pro- 

 perties in the straw itself, but from the fact of its bulk, 

 and of its enabling animals to derive the entire nutrition 

 from other more valuable substances which they con- 

 sumed therewith, so that nothing was wasted. They 

 knew also from experience that the manure of a young 

 animal was not so good as that of an old one, and this 

 seemed to lead to the conclusion that it was most ad- 

 vantageous to fatten the young animal. Of course it 

 was a mere question of pounds, shillings, and pence, 

 depending upon market prices ; but as a principle the 

 young animal manufactures the largest amount of ma- 

 nure from a given amount of food. 



Mr. Wells (Booth Ferry House, Howden) said he 

 had hoped that Mr. Nesbit would have gone a little fur- 

 ther into the question, especially as he found upon the 

 card the words, "their respective values as food" 

 (Hear, hear). They found a very great difference be- 

 tween mangel wurzels and turnips, and, knowing that 

 Mr. Nesbit had had great experience in the analyzing 

 of various foods consumed by animals, he should have 

 felt much obliged for any information on the subject of 

 relative values. 



The Chairman here explained the indisposition of 

 Mr. Nesbit, and observed that but for that he would no 

 doubt have entered into the question much more fully 

 than he had done. 



Mr. Wells said if he had been at all aware of what 

 the Chairman now stated, he should certainly not have 

 complained. He hoped, however, that the branch of 

 the subject which he had mentioned would be discussed 

 at some future time (Hear, hear). 



Mr. CoussMAKER (Westwood, Guildford) must 

 confess that he also had felt somewhat disappointed at 

 not hearing something about the relative values of those 

 kinds of food on which they were in the habit of feed- 

 ing their animals— not straw and other substances of 

 that kind, which were only make-shifts, but mangel 

 wurzel, swedes, carrots, parsnips, and other roots. 

 Moreover, had Mr. Nesbit given them the relative values 

 of these roots, he should like to have heard at what 

 period of the year they were taken. Different roots had 

 always appeared to him to vary in value at different 

 periods of the year, and taking all the values at a par- 

 ticular time might be disadvantageous to some kinds of 

 roots. As regarded early feeding, he had always thought 

 that a good sound turnip was the most nutritious thing, 

 I swedes not having at that time obtained their nutritive 

 properties. After that came the swede ; and in the 



