390 



food designed to sustain tlie existing condition of the animal and that 

 designed, in addition, to lay on flesh, produce milk, supply the demands 

 of labor, increase, &c. With regard to the former kind, the farmer 

 may assume, as shown by the experiments of Wende, that the amount 

 of nourishment needed for 100 pounds of live weight is from ^ to 1 

 pound of nitrogenous food, and from 7 to 8 pounds of food free from 

 nitrogen, or of the same composition as starch. In regard to the other 

 kind, we may make subdivisions with reference, 1, to work ; 2, to flesh 

 or growth -, 3, to fat ; 4, to milk ; 5, to wool -, G, to increase. 



For iDroducing flesh a.n increase of food in substances not containing 

 nitrogen is needed. Albumen must be furnished, and this can be done to 

 the best advantage when the efiect of oxygen in ths circulation is re- 

 duced to its minimum, a result secured by the use of hydro-carbons, 

 such as oils and oily grains, which are far cheaper than albumenoids. 



For producing fat the farmer should use non-nitrogenous foods, be- 

 cause they are the cheapest. Fats can be produced from other fats, 

 from hydrocarbons, and from albuminates ; of these three ways, prac- 

 tical agriculturists will chose the least exi^ensive. 



For producing milk, if quantity rather than quality is aimed at, the 

 lacteal glands must be stimulated to their greatest activity, and for this 

 j)urpose food rich in nitrogen is needed ; and since storing up fat is in- 

 consistent with the activity of the superficial glands, to which the udder 

 belongs, foods which contain a large amount of hydro-carbon must be 

 avoided. 



Wool-production, provided the animal be kept in good condition, 

 seems to be independent of the kind of food. In a specific sense there 

 is fat-producing food ; but in that sense there is no wool- producing food. 

 It appears from the experiments of Wolff that sheep will grow lean in 

 body before the production of wool will be arrested. Professor von 

 Gohren concludes his discussion in the following words: 



The most important part of our labor relates to the increase of the rc^ce. Animals 

 ■which are intended for labor must have a fully developed skeleton, ample room for the 

 play of heart and lungs, and this can only be obtained by a full supply of food rich 

 in albumen and iron. The development of the intestines should be restrained by con- 

 centrated food, that they may not interfere with the play of the lungs. Young cattle 

 intended for fattening should bo brought forward as fast as possible. According to 

 Sanson and Claire Deville, early ripening depends, not so much on race, as on the com- 

 position of the bones ; the sooner carbonate and i^hosphate of lime are deposited the 

 sooner the animal will be ripe. To attain this end milk and grain must be fed. 



The development of the chest viscera will be retarded by want of exercise and pure 

 air, since this renders the labor of the lungs less. The development of the fourth 

 stomach is promoted by food that is easily digested and full of fat. The opposite rule 

 should be observed with young cattle intended for milk. The anirhal should be kept 

 rather thin, and hence should not be allowed to suckle too long. Skimmed milk, hay, 

 tea, &c:, is much better food for calves intended for the dairy, as well as much cheaper, 

 than the milk of the dam. 



Crops in Hun&aPvY. — The Department of State has transmitted to 

 this Department a report on this year's grain crops in Austrian Hungary, 

 forwarded by Mr. John Jay, United States envoy at the imjjerial court 

 of Austria, the same having been courteously transmitted to him by 

 the Baron Orczy, acting minister in that court for foreign affairs. From 

 this report it appears that agricultural products are classified in three 

 grades: good, middling, and bad 5 that the country is divided into dis- 

 tricts and sub-districts, having reporters and sub-reporters, who, in 

 each instance, report the grain as belonging to the one of these grades 

 which its condition justifies. The aggregate of these reports is as fol- 

 lows : 



