of German Landowners in 1841. 225 



doubled his crops. He lays it on his fallows in June half an inch 

 thick, and finds it last longer than dung. The land is ploughed once 

 in the previous autumn and twice in summer, before the peat is laid on, 

 which is broken small with hoes. Afterwards it is ploughed in very 

 shallow, or the land is merely scarified.' Mr. Hilmers, from Holstein, 

 had laid peat an inch thick on a strong loam, ]and also on sand, with 

 advantage. Mr. Thaer found peat rubbish act best upon sheep-pas- 

 tures. Another member had used it largely on loamy land, and known 

 its effect last as long as ten years." 



There arose a considerable debate on the merits of our own 

 breed of Ayrshire cattle, which I am tempted to give at length 

 as it is printed in the Report of the Meeting. The Chairman 

 read the 43rd question on the list : 



" ' How has the Ayrshire breed of cattle, now for some years intro- 

 duced into Germany, succeeded as to richness of milk, fatting quality, 

 and food ? ' 



" In order to answer such a question we must first decide what we 

 should call richness of milk and moderation in feeding, and we must 

 therefore join the 50th question with the present one, namely : — 



" 'What is the most approved method of testing the milking qualities 

 of a cow, due regard being had to her requirement of food ? ' 



" We have then to compare the Ayrshires with our own German 

 breeds ; and I must recall to you the excellent observations which Mr. 

 Riedesel made, at our meeting in Carlsruhe, on the feeding of horned 

 cattle, and on their produce. These will be found in the printed report 

 of that meeting. Without entering into the details of his statement, I 

 will only observe that his leading principle agrees not only with all my 

 former experience, but also with the inquiries I have since made on the 

 subject. That principle is, that we should supply cows with abundance 

 of food, and in equal quantity at all times. I will now, however, only 

 state to you his principal figures. Mr. Riedesel assumes that the 

 quantity of food required for keeping up the actual condition of a beast 

 is one-sixtieth of its own weight — either hay, or so much of other food 

 as is equally nourishing with that amount of hay — that only the food 

 which is given besides this necessary allowance produces either milk or 

 meat, and that, if we w^ould feed profitably, we must give double the 

 amount of the necessary allowance — that is, one-thirtieth of the live 

 weight, in hay or its equivalents — that then a good cow, for every pound 

 of this extra allowance of productive food, that is, for every two pounds 

 of the whole supply of food, would yield one pound of milk. Thus a 

 cow weighing alive 1000 lbs. must receive daily SS^lbs. of hay, or the 

 equivalent either in pasture or in stall-feeding, for which she would 

 return 2190 Berlin quarts yearly; or, deducting what nourishment is 

 required for her calf before its birth, 2000 quarts, which our best cows 

 will certainly give when allowed to feed at large. In practice, it is true, 

 we cannot measure the food so accurately as this, still these estimates 

 afford a valuable standard for our calculations. 



" With regard to the immediate question of the Ayrshire cows, it 

 will be very interesting if we obtain facts on which we can depend re- 



