EIGHTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 547 



with the soup, taking care not to make the meals sloppy. After thoroughly 

 mixing the soup with the meals your ration is fit for use. 



"Preparation of Gruel. — In preparing the flaxseed gruel the proper 

 way is to drop the flour with one hand into a pail with sufficient water 

 for admixture, all the time stirring with the other hand to prevent 

 lumping; allow the flaxseed plenty of time to soak and become jelly-like. 

 Once a day will be sufficient for the preparation of the jelly or gruel in 

 cold weather, but in warm weather twice a day will be found necessary on 

 account of souring. Keep the soup pails sweet and clean. Before adding 

 the flaxseed gruel to the grains, add the molasses allowance at the rate 

 of one-quarter pound for each animal at a feed, stirring the two well 

 together; now pour the contents over the feed and mix most thoroughly; 

 cover up with sacking and kneed well down before feeding. Again rub 

 the compound well through your hands; by this time it ought to have 

 soaked for several hours, and should feel gritty and dry to the 

 touch. As soon as you have fed the animals at once get ready the forth- 

 coming feed, mixing in the usual manner, thereby giving the grains 

 sufficient time to absorb the soup and cause slight frementation. If an 

 animal will consume more than one pound of flaxseed and one pint of 

 molasses daily, then by all means let him have it, taking care not to 

 overfeed, in case of their becoming too laxative. I never use oil-cake 

 for show-yard preparation; as a general rule it is much adulterated 

 and the precentage of oil is very low. Flaxseed contains all its original 

 'good properties. From observation I have found one pound of flax- 

 seed equal to about four pounds of average cake. 



"It is almost needless to add that all feed-stuffs must be of the best 

 quality. Never think of expense; if you do you will never make a 

 successful exhibitor. It is unnecessary to measure out the daily pro- 

 portions of meal, etc., for each animal; the better plan is to weigh a week's 

 supply at a time and sack it up. Be most particular as to mixing so 

 that each animal may get equal proportions of the several ingredients. 

 I never use condiments. One of the foremost secrets in feeding is to 

 make a food both palatable and digestible; it is not the total amount 

 of food eaten, but the amount of digestible matter which it contains, 

 that determines the food value of a ration. Mixing as I do I am con- 

 fident it renders the mass more easy of digestion, enabling the animal 

 to extract the maximum of nutritive material the ration contains. Owing 

 to the high percentage of protein or muscle forming elements in bran 

 and shorts, some may suppose I have been rather sparse with them 

 in the feed mixture, but you must consider that the cattle have the 

 full benefit of the bran or husk from the ground wheat in addition to 

 the prescribed allowance. As for the shorts I consider that contained 

 in the bran and wheat quite sufficient. Shorts, like oatmeal, are very 

 free from crude material such as the skin or husk of the grain, con- 

 sequently they are much more indigestible, and, therefore, cannot give 

 results equal to the wheat with its shell, or peas and oats with their 

 rougher skins. 



"Surnmer Treatment. — In summer give the animals a moderate al- 

 lowance of cut-clover or green corn-fodder. 



