THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



157 



THE VALUE OF STRAW AS FOOD. 



We recently drew the attentioa of our readers to a 

 consideration of the value of straw as food ; and in 

 now continuing our remarks on this siubject, we may 

 state, that although there is a great disparity between 

 the organic analyses of wheat-straw as made by 

 Dr. Sprengel and those by Mr. Nesbit, we are quite 

 disposed to place the greater confidence in the more 

 recent analyses given by the latter chemist. It must, 

 however, be admitted that we very much need a series 

 of organic analyses of farm-produce, conducted upon 

 well-selected specimens grown under different circum- 

 stances as regards climate, soil, and manure. From 

 those offered us by Mr. Nesbit, we may consider 

 wheat-straw to consist of 



Per cent. 

 Albuminous matter .. ., .. 3.5 

 Carbonaceous matter .. .. 10.0 



Available as food 



13.5 



Per cent. 

 Ash 6.0 



Wcody fibre 80.5 



Not available as food 



86.5 



100. 



This shows the proportion of good wheat-sbraw which 

 is available for food, as distinguished from that which 

 cannot contribute to the support of life. We may now 

 inquire into the real market-value of this nutriment 

 which is contained in the straw, "Various methods for 

 calculating the market-value of food have been intro- 

 duced; but that suggested by Mr. Spooner, at the 

 Blandford Farmers' Club, is as correct and simple as 

 any. For reasons which cannot here be gone into, he 

 calculates 



Albuminous matter worth £20 per ton. 

 Oil „ 20 „ 



Starch, or dextrin „ 12 „ 

 Mineral matter „ 5 „ 



Upon applying these multiples to the analysis, we have 



the following result : 



Percent. £ £ s. d. 



Albumen... 3.5 x 20 = 70 



Oil ... 0.84 X 20 = 1 13 7 



Dextrin ... 9.16 x 12 = 109 16 5 



Ash ... 5.0 X 5 = 25 



£206 10 for 100 tone; 

 or about £2 per ton as the feeding value. 

 This result very Closely approximates to the value put 

 upon straw by those who have used it as food with 

 great care, and closely calculated the results obtained 

 from it ; and their conclusions are thus far worthy of 

 our full acceptance, namely, that the value of the nu- 

 triment in superior quality of straw may be taken at 

 ^2 per ton. 

 Food differs very much in the results it produces, ac- 



cording to the mode in which it is used. The support 

 of the body, in a healthy state, requires a certain 

 amount of food which produces no profitable result; in 

 fact, gives no return for the food eaten. Thus, if by 

 the use of oilcake we were to give to an ariinial just 

 sufficient nutriment to meet the waste of the body, it is 

 clear that no remunerative return would be gained by 

 its use, and yet the value of the oilcake as a food 

 would remain the same ; for it is the mode of using it 

 which has rendered it productive of little or no ad- 

 vantage. It is the same with any other food, whatever 

 its value (for it may be so employed as to nullify that 

 value) ; still we must distinguish between its worth for 

 feeding purposes and the result we gain by our mode of 

 using it. It is in this way that there is such a differ- 

 ence of opinion amongst practical men as to tlie value 

 of straw as food. We know that if cattle are kept 

 upon straw, unless it is of unusual quality and very 

 freely supplied, the ^stock will fall off in condition ; 

 and probably after several tons have been consumed, the 

 stock will be actually lighter than before they ate the 

 straw. This does not in the least degree contradict the 

 fact that so many pounds' worth of straw has been eaten, 

 for it would have been the same with any other food. 

 It is too often forgotten that no animal can be kept alive 

 without consuming food for which no return is made 

 except the maintenance of health; and it is, in fact, 

 a health-tax. If you only supply enough to 

 pay this tax, it is all outlay without any re- 

 turn — the food is sacrificed ; but if you supply food 

 more liberally, the residue over and above tha 

 reijuired for this tax is added to the body, 

 and assumes a profitable form. A given quantity of 

 food supplied in any given time, and which is just 

 equal to the support of life, without adding to the 

 weight of the animal, would, if given in half that time, 

 not only support its life, but also add to its weight. 

 For this reason, the more rapidly an animal can con- 

 sume a given quantity of nutriment, without prejudice 

 to its health, the more fully will the flesh-forming 

 power of that food be rendered available. It would 

 therefore appear from these facts that in order for 

 straw to manifest its fattening properties, and give evi- 

 dence of its powers, it should be more freely consumed; 

 and no doubt, if this could be done, it would, like any 

 other standard food, produce fat in proportion to the 

 fat-forming materials it contains. But this increase of 

 supply cannot be made, because it is such a bulky 

 food, that when the animal has consumed as much as 

 it possibly can, itdoes not get, in the food, more nourish- 

 ment than is necessary to pay the health tax. Those 

 who have seen cattle_in yards, with nothing but straw 

 to eat, must have observed how very much their 



